by Terry Spear
Nicole seemed so at ease, no longer worried about the phantom stalker. Even he had nearly forgotten about the perceived threat. Almost. But from time to time, he observed the visitors enjoying the pyramids, just in case any one of them looked like he was following Nicole.
In the American Rainforest, philodendrons, orchids, and rainforest cacti, passion vines, powder puff trees, and guava, chocolate, papaya, avocado, allspice, and pineapple all grew. Nicole pointed to the tree that produced cocoa. “That’s what I want to grow at home.”
He smiled. He had her now. “Where’s your home? Killeen?” Many of the service members stationed at Fort Hood lived there. Other places too, but he was betting on Killeen.
Her smile inched up.
Yeah, she was from Killeen. Either that or he amused her, he fished so hard to discover the truth. He took her hand and led her through the reproduction of ancient Mayan Colonnades.
“Oregon,” she finally said.
He chuckled. She worked in personnel. But what division? She wouldn’t have worked for a small unit. Well, maybe she could if she were enlisted.
Then he smiled. If she were an officer, she would have gone to college. He opened his mouth to speak but she tugged him into a cave where sixty bats from Africa and Central America fed on fruits in their dark home.
When they walked out of the cave, he admonished himself. He should have brought a camera with him to take a picture of her. Sitting among the flowers she would have been a picture of beauty and health. Then again, he could take a picture with his phone. Even if he couldn’t see her after his vacation, he could still have told his buddies what a time he’d had with her. No one would believe him otherwise.
But he wasn’t sure she wanted to share photos of herself with the guys he worked with.
She walked with him to a pond where golden koi swam underneath a stone bridge. “Ready for the aquarium?” She interlocked her fingers with his and hurried him out of the gardens.
They walked outside. The air was so much drier than the humid tropics exhibit. The clouds had built up blocking the sun, making Nicole rub her arm and shiver.
He wrapped his arm around her, then walked into the aquarium. She took a deep breath. “This sure has been fun.”
“For me too.” But now, he wanted some answers. “Where did you go to college?”
He was sure she realized he was trying to learn more about her, and she smiled at him. “The University of Oregon.”
“Bachelor’s in—”
“Accounting.”
“Why aren’t you a finance officer then?”
She grabbed his hand and hurried him into the South Atlantic exhibit. Her head riveted backward.
He looked back too. Then he pulled her to a stop, his neck tightened with concern. “Is someone following you?”
Her blue eyes looked up at him and seemed to search his for understanding. Only briefly, before she looked around him again.
This time, he had to know. She feared someone stalked her. He was certain.
“Who’s following you?”
Chapter 6
Nicole shook her head at Scott, not willing to tell him about a perceived threat that could amount to nothing. He was the nicest man she’d ever met. No way did she want to ruin their relationship this early in the game, but she still didn’t know his rank. That could kill their relationship before it barely began. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if any of this means anything.”
She walked with him to the King Penguin exhibit where the penguins dove into the frigid waters. They slid onto their bellies on recreated rocky beaches like their native South Georgian Island habitat. Nicole led Scott down below so they could see the penguins swimming in the caves under the ice sheet.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “What is this all about?”
“You’ll think I’m crazy.” She thought she’d seen a glimpse of the gold-toothed man at the aquarium, chilling her bones.
“I think you’re scared of someone.”
Yeah, she was. Ever since she killed the man, well, shot the man at her parents’ house, her nerves had become raw with worry. Twice, she could have sworn someone followed her home from work. More than once she felt as though someone had been in her apartment. Then again, it could have been maintenance staff that had been there. Yet, they were required to leave a note if they entered her apartment to do something, and they hadn’t.
She pulled Scott to the cold waters of the North Pacific exhibit. Fur and harbor seals from above and below the water played on the rocky shore and then dove below the water’s surface. After watching the playful antics of the mammals, they strolled over to a tide pool filled with sea urchins, anemones, and other colorful marine creatures. They continued along the walkway to an exhibit housing a kelp forest from Northern California to the Gulf of Alaska.
“Nicole.”
“I don’t even know you, Scott.”
“I know you’re afraid to trust me, but I promise you can tell me what’s wrong.”
“Where do you work at Fort Hood?”
“I’m in finance.”
She groaned.
He raised his brows. “That’s not such a bad job. I’m a captain and the pay’s good for a single officer.”
“You’re a captain?” At once a wave of warmth washed over her. He was an officer. She could continue to see him once they returned to Fort Hood, if he liked her well enough after what she had to tell him.
He raised a brow, as if trying to figure out the surprise in her voice. But it wasn’t surprise, more like relief.
“And you are?” he asked.
“A captain.”
He smiled, and she was certain he was pleased. Then he frowned. “You don’t like finance officers?”
She chuckled. She couldn’t help herself. “Sorry. I hoped you were a military police officer and on an off chance you had a civilian permit to carry a gun. You know the drill. You can influence a situation more with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.”
He stared at her, his mouth slightly dropped. Did he think she was nuts? Or was he worried she might be in some serious trouble and he was ready to find a new girl to spend the week with?
Before he could respond, she took his hand and led him into the South Pacific exhibit.
“What’s this all about?”
Although she studied the large tide pool filled with vividly colored fish and other sea creatures, she turned her head twice to see if she could catch sight of the blond-haired man.
“I’m still waiting.” His hand stroked her arm soothingly as if he tried to coax a confession from her.
“You’ll think I’m nuts.”
“Okay, so I’ll think you’re crazy. We still have another couple of exhibits to go to, dinner, and a movie.”
She looked up at him, not believing he’d truly want to see her any longer.
He smiled. Then he grew serious. “Listen”—he pulled her close—“if you’re scared of someone, I’m not about to let you be alone. We’ll stay together until you feel safe.”
She relaxed her back and the tension eased. She took a deep breath. Maybe he could chase away the nightmare, perceived or otherwise. She wasn’t used to asking for help. Not since her parents had died. “It’s not like I don’t know how to shoot a weapon and I even know some hand-to-hand combat, not to mention my teeth and claws can be deadly, but—”
“Whoa, you’re talking about some serious stuff.”
Yeah, well she knew he wouldn’t believe her.
She sighed deeply, grasped his fingers in hers, and walked him to the Caribbean exhibit. An underwater glass tunnel passed beneath sharks, eels, snappers, sea bass, and other colorful fish. Brightly colored coral covered the sea floor of the tank. She paused with Scott to watch the fish swim.
There wasn’t a soul anywhere and he wrapped his arm around her waist again. The warmth from his touch warmed her whole body. He seemed to enjoy holding her close and she had to admit,
she did too. His touch tugged at her heartstrings. She could certainly get used to a man who acted as caring and interested in her as much as he did. She wished they could go somewhere to run as cougars, free their wild halves and enjoy each other in their cougar form. If the gold-toothed man was someone truly to be afraid of and followed her, he’d think twice about hassling her if he met up to her as a cougar.
“Okay, tell me what’s going on.”
“It sounds crazy, but…” She let out her breath in exasperation. “I read lots of thrillers and all, but I’m not one to be flighty.” Not normally. Not until her parents died and strange things began to happen. “I have a vivid imagination, but I don’t think I’m imagining all this.”
She couldn’t believe how patient he was with her. He stroked her arm again trying to sooth her. She put her fingers on the cold glass window as a nurse shark swam by.
Were they sharks…predatory sharks of the human variety who were after her? What did they want with her? A personnel captain from Fort Hood…unless…unless it was a case of mistaken identity.
Then again, the death of her parents in a single car crash on a clear road in south Texas had never been explained. The coroner had ruled out foul play and she’d finally concluded that was all there was to it. Maybe her dad had fallen asleep at the wheel, something he’d never done before. She still couldn’t shake the feeling there was more to it.
What about the break-in at her parents’ house right before the auction? The police explained the guy must have known her parents were deceased, and the house was an easy target for ready cash. Jed had startled the burglar and he had shot him. That was all there was to it. Except she couldn’t quit thinking how dead he had seemed to her and then he had up and vanished.
Then her former boyfriend had been angry with her for calling it quits. It didn’t matter that he’d been seeing another woman behind her back and she’d learned of it. He wanted to be the one ending the relationship, she figured. He’d called her all night long before she’d left on vacation. She knew it was to make sure she had someone accompany her on her trip or he’d tattle on her and Colonel Tilton would have pulled her leave. And Tom would be busy with work. It wouldn’t have anything to do with him.
Then Jackie was acting awfully strange. She’d made the arrangements for the trip, insisted they go, and had a weird sudden change of plans—lied about it being a family emergency—something wasn’t right.
Seeing Scott still watching her, she realized he waited to hear what this was all about. As serious as could be, she watched his reaction. “Earlier today, when I was swimming in the Gulf, a boat came close to running me over past the breakers.”
His mouth gaped. Which meant? He believed her?
“Uh, listen, you might think I’m crazy, but…I get premonitions sometimes,” Scott said.
She just stared up at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. She couldn’t believe he’d be a cougar and have a sixth sense like her. Not to mention they were both stationed at Fort Hood.
“I’ve been plagued with visions all week before this trip—of a woman in the Gulf, well, I thought of her as a mermaid—”
She smiled, then frowned and nodded for him to continue.
“And a boat plowing through white-capped waves. That’s why I was down at the beach.”
Her lips parted and she frowned again. “To rescue me? You were sleeping.”
“The vision woke me in the middle of the night. The sun, the sound of the waves, being tired, all lulled me right to sleep before you fell over my big feet. Unless there’s some other woman who was swimming that far out in the Gulf and a boat is about to run her over on some other day, then you have to be the mermaid.” He kissed her forehead.
“Wow, you were supposed to save me, and you were sound asleep instead,” she said again.
He chuckled and she was glad he wasn’t taking offense. His intensely dark eyes waited to hear more of her story. “Go on.”
He was still listening to her. It appeared he believed her.
“At first, I thought they couldn’t see me, but I couldn’t believe they’d come that close to the breakers in the first place. Then I wondered if perhaps they thought I was drowning and tried to rescue me.” She paused. He waited, his face gravely anticipating her next words. She felt foolish, as if she were a small child making up a tall tale to get attention. He nodded, prompting her to continue.
“After I finally made it to the shore, it looked like one had a rifle. He aimed it at me, and I ran, hoping to get out of range. I think I was beyond the range of his rifle anyway and that’s why he didn’t fire at me. Then again, it could have been a telescope.” She took a deep breath. “Then I tripped over you.”
Scott’s smile stretched across his face.
Her cheeks heated in embarrassment.
“I kind of wondered what you were doing. One minute, I had my eyes closed, enjoying the heat on my body—”
“And you were sleeping.”
“Uh, yeah, and the next, a pretty woman was stumbling over my big feet.”
She didn’t need to be reminded. Even now she breathed in the delightful aroma of his coconut oil fragrance and could visualize his golden chest beneath her fingertips. She cleared her throat, trying to wipe the tantalizing image from her mind. “Did you see the boat then?”
“I did see a boat after you left. I hadn’t seen your towel lying on the beach until you retrieved it.”
“The sand was really piled high in places.” She turned to observe the fish in the tank again.
A kid squealed in an earth-shattering, high-pitched voice, “Look at the shark, Mommy!”
Nicole instantly caught a scream in her throat.
The tow-headed boy and his parents paraded through the glass tunnel.
Nicole’s heart pounded wildly in her breast and she knew Scott could hear her frantic heartbeat.
Scott pulled her close, she figured trying to calm her frayed nerves. She was coming unglued.
He kissed her forehead. “Are you okay?”
Only if she had a mega-dose of Valium. “Yeah.”
“Are you sure? That kid nearly gave me a heart attack. Your face lost all its color.”
She attempted a chuckle. “Yeah. The glass tube amplified the sound of his voice and the high pitch, well, I just wasn’t expecting the outburst. I’m okay.”
He walked her along the walkway and led her to the touch tanks exhibit where starfish, crabs, stingrays, and small sharks could be petted. She ran her hand over the sandpaper skin of a shark.
“So what else has happened since the boating incident?”
At least Scott wasn’t discounting her story and she couldn’t believe he had premonitions like she did. With being in the military, there was no way she could tell others about it. “A man came to my room dressed in a suit. A blond-haired man. I saw him again at the restaurant. He walked into the restroom and never came out. Just a few minutes ago, I saw him here in the aquarium.”
“Do you want to leave?”
“No. I want to see the IMAX theater at the Discovery Pyramid. He’s not going to scare me off.” Not while she was with Scott anyway.
They exited the blue glass pyramid and entered the pink-glassed one. When they walked inside, the show still had another fifteen minutes before starting. He pointed to a vendor, selling dot-sized ice cream.
“Not substantial enough.” She crinkled her nose. “I’ll stick to the old-fashioned kind.”
He chuckled. “I have to agree with you there. Kind of dissolves before you have much of a taste.”
She turned suddenly as the color of peach caught her eye, but it was only a woman dressed in a blouse and shorts of the same shade. She took a deep breath, fighting to control her fear.
Luckily, Scott hadn’t seen her reaction to the woman. He’d think she was totally unbalanced.
Then a few minutes later, she and Scott entered the theater. They took their seats and put the 3D glasses on to watch Deadly Dangerous E
xhibit. Venomous insects, marine animals, reptiles and plants striking at her from up close forced Nicole to sit back against her seat a few times.
A man turned to look at her through 3D glasses from several rows below. When she pulled off her glasses to get a better look, he hurried out of the theater. This one was dressed entirely in black, ebony slacks and shirt. He had black hair and swarthy skin. He looked out of place here as much as the man in the peach suit did. Was he the same one who attempted to ride in the elevator with her at the hotel? With only the movie’s light illuminating the theater, it was hard to tell.
She glanced at Scott, deeply entranced with the deadly creatures of the film. He hadn’t seen the man at all.
When the film ended, they viewed another where they swam with the dolphins. By the time the movie finished, it was dinnertime.
Both kept watching their backs as they walked to Scott’s car with a quickened step. After he helped her into his car, he strode to the driver’s side.
When they were both buckled in, he drove out of the lot. Her skin prickled with fright. For some reason, he seemed to really believe her, and the notion meant she wasn’t just imagining a real threat to her.
“I didn’t see anyone, did you?” She was hopeful that it was just her vivid imagination.
His face grew stern and for the first time, she noticed how intense his dark eyes were and how set his square jaw could be. “Scott?”
He shook his head. “Where did you want to eat for dinner?”
Relieved in a way, she attempted to loosen up. “I said it was your choice.”
“How about we get a pizza to go, a bottle of champagne, and rent some movies in the room.”
She raised her brows at him.
“Or not. We could eat out, get the champagne, and rent the movies in the room.”
Cute.
When she didn’t respond, he reached over and patted her leg. “Hopefully, some champagne will help you to relax a bit.”
“It’s the room thing I’m not certain about.”
“They won’t let us drink the champagne anywhere else.”
