With Honor

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  “If it’d been anyone that I know, they would have told me. Whoever did it feared a connection between something he’d said in the interview and to the person who engineered the plane going down. Hell, maybe the asshole behind this thought you would convince him to tell all, like some of those other big name journalist.”

  “The only thing I got out of him was macho bragging and a night that ended with a baby. Other than that, I swear, he didn’t say anything or mention anyone’s name.”

  “Do you still have the write-up?” he asked.

  She shook her head, sending damp tresses of hair across her shoulders. “I handed it to Daryll and I never saw it again.”

  He clenched his hands into fists. “Figures.” He could put his hand through a wall. Each time he got close to an answer a barrier came up. “If it wasn’t the interview, then they feared his connection with you.”

  Her face paled and bottom lip trembled. “There was no connection, not during the interview. Not even after. We both needed sex, as crude as that sounds.” Her hand moved to her stomach. “Look, I know this is your brother and you want to solve his disappearance, but I need a moment to digest all of this. Can we, just for a while, stop talking about it?”

  He understood. “Okay.”

  Without another word, she moved past him. He checked her slender body. She’d lost some weight. The pale pink top and pajamas hung loosely on her. Bringing his gaze to her profile, he watched for a few minutes as she dug into her purse and withdrew a pill bottle. He recognized her prenatal vitamins. Blowing a long breath through his lips, he finally asked, “I’m sorry.”

  “Actions are louder than words.” She didn’t even bother to look at him.

  “You have reason to hate me, but I wish you’d reconsider.”

  “Yes, I do and no I won’t.”

  “You really mean that?” he asked.

  “Maybe you should have thought about the consequences before.” There was no forgiveness in the tone of her voice.

  He hadn’t expected warmer communication from her. He started to apologize when a soft knock sounded at the door. “I hope you’re hungry. I ordered a feast.” Damn, he hoped he ordered something she’d like.

  Opening the door, he spotted a young man wearing a red and white service suit. He looked legitimate, Shawn thought. The man rolled the metal cart into the room and parked it next to the edge of the bed. “I hope the food is to your liking, sir.”

  “I’m hungry and it’s grub. That’s all that matters,” Shawn said

  The man handed Shawn a piece of paper. He took it, signed it and handed it back with a tip. “Charge this to my room.”

  The waiter glanced down at the signature, and gave a quick professional nod. “Thank you, Mr. McKeever.”

  Jasmine snorted. Yeah, he guessed he’d be the target of her irritation for some time. She could have at least appreciated his craftiness for sticking McKeever with a hefty bill. The door closed.

  “I’d love to see the look on the bastard’s face when he checks out,” he said.

  “You should get some self-satisfaction,” she said. Glancing across the silver trays and platters on the cart, she sighed. “Hmmm, what grub are we eating?”

  Popping the lid to the largest one, he said, “Lobster. Or how about a salad? I think the menu said it has figs and some sort of soft goat cheese.”

  She wrinkled her nose and held up her hand. “No fish, please.”

  Lifting the next lid, a savory smell of spices made his mouth water. “Filet mignon?” Off with another lid. “Duck with deep fried something?”

  With a quick shake of her head, her drying hair fluffed around her face. Even angry, she was lovely. He scolded his misbehaving cock. He had a feeling sex wasn’t on the menu and wouldn’t be for some time, if ever again.

  “I’m not hungry.” She moved back to the bed.

  Why should he care so much if she ate? He didn’t want to, but damn. He couldn’t control those flowery emotions that kept popping up and causing him to have a softer side. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told the woman at the desk that you were ill and asked if she had any ideas what I should order. She said she knew exactly what you needed, having been pregnant three times herself. Then she told me how she delivered early each time, and fifteen minutes later she finally said, ‘Soup.’” He lifted the lid to a small container and waved a hand over the steaming bowl of chicken noodle. “And crackers with cold lemon lime soda. The soup is the canned stuff, but it tastes just as good when you can’t hold anything else down.”

  “I guess I could try.”

  That was a start. That’s all he could ask for. “Having no idea what pregnant women eat when they are sick, I hated to order something and have you vomit again. And the lobster and steak was the most expensive thing on the menu that I could find. That is my going away gift for old Mr. Charmpants.”

  Taking the bowl and grabbing a spoon, she took her meal to the chair. “I could think of a few things I’d like to do with him. A huge bill is only a start. I have that same feeling toward many people at this point.”

  Shawn didn’t bother responding.

  Chapter 17

  Jasmine finished off her soup in silence. Feeling better, she wanted to thank Shawn for the thought, but she didn’t feel like she owed him anything, not even a sliver of kindness.

  She did want to go home, though, wherever home was. His place didn’t feel like home any longer. Maybe she would plan to stay at a hotel until she could think clearer.

  With her thoughts weighing heavily, she climbed into bed, alone. She knew Shawn wouldn’t make a move to sleep with her. For all she cared, he could go get his own room. Otherwise, the floor or chair would be his parking spot that night.

  Snuggling under the blanket, she was exhausted but her mind wouldn’t shut down. Shawn’s rustling around on the floor annoyed her like fingernails across a chalkboard. She didn’t care. Tomorrow would be a new day. For her baby, she’d rise above and be the best possible parent.

  * * * *

  Jasmine was in the middle of a pleasant dream when she heard her name. She rolled over and protested with a groan.

  “Jasmine, wake up.”

  Lifting one eyelid, she moaned in agitation. Once the blurriness subsided, she saw Shawn standing at the side of the bed. The light was on. He was dressed, clean-shaven and a worried expression made him look older. Lifting on elbow, she momentarily ignored the fact that she wasn’t talking to him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Get dressed. We’re heading home.”

  Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she questioned whether she heard right. The clock read an ungodly hour. “I’m not getting up now.” Blowing him off, she rolled back into the covers.

  He stripped the blankets from her warm body. “Our flight leaves at seven,” he said gruffly.

  “Good. Enjoy your trip.” She kept her eyes closed. Maybe he’d leave her alone and she could manage getting some sleep.

  “I booked two tickets. Meaning, where I go, you go, at least until I have some answers.”

  Oh hell! Anger raced through her. She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yesterday you were all high and mighty about staying here. Now you want to go back home. What’s the hurry?” she grumbled.

  “My friend, Pete, has been helping me with the case. He called and said he had some important information about Shane. He wants me to meet him later at the hangar.”

  “Okay, I get that you’re investigating your brother’s death, but why do I have to come along? And, didn’t he tell you what it is? Couldn’t he text the information to you like everyone else does?”

  “I don’t know. He isn’t answering any of my calls or texts.” Grabbing his phone from the nightstand and checking the screen, he shook his head. “My battery is going dead.”

  Shawn clearly had his mind set on heading back to Lackland. Without any more discussion, she slid from bed and dug through her suitcase for clothes. She chose the simplest thing she had. Black dress
pants and a blue top. She changed and applied a small amount of makeup, pulled her hair into a ponytail and finished in less than twenty minutes. She was surprised that she could function before the sun came up.

  Thirty-minutes later they were in the back of a cab and on their way to the airport. By the time their flight was called to seating and in the air, Jasmine was exhausted, surely due to stress more than being tired. She allowed herself a quick glance at Shawn’s profile. He’d been quiet since he woke her that morning, consumed in his thoughts. Although forgiving him for what he’d done wasn’t her priority, she couldn’t deny that she had compassion for his desire to solve Shane’s mystery. If she’d had a sibling, she could only imagine what she’d do to protect them–or unfortunately, to protect their reputation.

  With the bit of empathy she had for Shawn and Shane, she couldn’t wrap her mind around the dishonesty. Why did Shane find her? From the moment she’d walked into the downtown cafe where they’d met, he’d utilized his charming smile like a tool. How had she allowed herself to be drawn in? In her own defense, she hadn’t known at the time he had deeper intentions. She’d been lonely and he used that against her.

  And then oddly, before the story could run, he recanted his interview. Her boss then disappeared with a load of cash. Now he was dead.

  Everything became stranger the more she thought about it.

  Charging into Shawn’s life that night at the bar, she hadn’t left him much option, she guessed. She’d been hell bent on telling him about the baby.

  In fact, Shawn was sucked into this case blindly, just like she’d been.

  “I imagine if you could, you’d use those eyes as weapons to slaughter me.” Shawn’s husky voice broke through her thoughts.

  She’d been staring at him.

  “What did Shane want with me? What am I missing?” she asked.

  He turned slightly sideways to face her. “It wasn’t a one-night stand.”

  “Shane seduced me into bed.” Her chest tightened.

  Glancing past her shoulder, he settled his gaze on the window. “I think in all of this, that part was the only unplanned thing, though.” When he looked back at her, his eyes were distant. “Sleeping with you may have thwarted his plan.”

  “He certainly used his charm.” She laughed, but without humor.

  “Shane learned early on that he could use his manly tactics to get about anything he wanted.”

  “Ouch.” That was a dig. “I’m not easy.”

  “Never once thought you were. He did get what he wanted, right?”

  His words buried inside her chest like an invisible knife. “No, he didn’t. Like you said, you don’t think ending up in bed together was part of his ‘plan.’ And he certainly didn’t walk away with anything else that night. So, what did he want from me?”

  “I’ve racked my brain and all that I came up with is that he wanted information. You’ve said he didn’t ask you anything out of turn. You didn’t suspect him of anything cunning. Nothing was missing.” His brows snapped together. “Or was there?”

  He must have sensed her thoughts. “Not important or related. Trust me.”

  “Let me be the judge of that,” he said.

  “Okay,” she answered. “A box of old photographs from my childhood. See, not connected.” She shrugged.

  “What? Old photographs? Are you sure they came up missing after that night?”

  “Specifically that night? No, I can’t be positive, but the timeframe does fit. I had just moved into that apartment and I had the box of pictures stored in my closet. I hadn’t looked through them since the move. The only reason I noticed was I searched for my suitcase for a business trip and I saw that the box had been tampered with.”

  “And you didn’t find that suspicious?”

  “Sorry, Shawn, but usually when you have a one-night stand, if they’re going to steal something it’s going to be things of value, not pictures of me and my parents when I was a child.”

  “The only thing missing, or upturned, was the box of pictures?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yes. Nothing was ransacked or looked like someone had gone through it.”

  “Did you keep these pictures in your bedroom?”

  “Yes, in my closet. I slept ten feet away.” The more she talked about that night, the more confused she felt.

  “The box you kept the pictures in, was it worth anything? Have any value?”

  “No. A simple wooden box my father brought back from a trip he took overseas. The sentimental things he’d brought me sat on my closet floor. The items of value, like jewelry, were untouched.”

  He leaned closer. “Sentimental things?”

  “My father was gone a lot, on far away trips. Each time he came back he brought me a gift to ease his guilt. Bracelets, statues, boxes, scarves, sarongs…lots of knickknacks. None of these items could be worth anything monetarily, only sentimentally. How can this be related to your brother?”

  “In the letter, he specifically names you. He wanted me to find you because he was looking for something.”

  She laughed at the insanity of that claim. “I’m nothing but average, Shawn. I assure you. I am hiding nothing.”

  “Maybe you’re hiding something that you don’t even realize you’re hiding.”

  “You can’t be serious. What would I possibly hide?” She rolled her eyes at his ridiculous statement.

  “Apparently my brother believed you are important.”

  Laying her head back onto the cushioned seat, she closed her eyes. Could she block him out? How the hell had she gotten into this craziness? She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Trust me, I’d know if I had something that was a red flag.”

  “What did your dad do for a living?”

  “He was an investment banker. I’m not sure where this is leading–” The buzzing of the intercom blared. A flight attendant announced their arrival at the San Antonio Airport. Jasmine buckled her seatbelt.

  “You have these items at Lackland?”

  She nodded.

  “I don’t know what the connection is, or if there is one, but I’ve got to stop over at the hangar and find out what Pete knows. Then, we’ll need to do some research into what my brother wanted to get his hands on besides your ass.”

  Her gasp snapped the air. “Excuse me?”

  “I knew my brother well. You were the best thing that ever came his way.”

  Chapter 18

  Shawn glanced back at the parked Jeep, where Jasmine still had her head leaning against the window, sound asleep. She’d dozed off on the ride from the airport to the hangar. He didn’t want to wake her. Scanning the almost-empty parking lot for anything suspicious, he found nothing. He slid open the door to the building and entered.

  Holbert was at the back of the building and Shawn waved. “Has Pete showed up?”

  The other man shook his head. “No sign of him around. Although, I just got here myself. This girl is due up in the air and I’ve got to get her working.”

  Shawn checked his watch. Six-ten. Pete was never late. Where the hell was he? He didn’t want to leave Jasmine alone too long.

  He headed toward his office, sat down at the desk and stared at the blank computer screen. His mind was a mess. Time for the investigation to come to an end. The answers he needed to his brother’s accident were getting closer, and then he could concentrate on getting things in order in his personal life.

  Jasmine and the baby.

  Would she ever forgive him for lying? Even if he could rewind time and change what he’d done, he wouldn’t do anything differently. At the time Jasmine waylaid him at the bar, he’d had no clue who she was or whether what she said was actually factual. The investigation into his brother’s disappearance was fairly new and everyone had been a suspect then.

  Regrettably, she might never see his reasons as acceptable.

  He’d lied about his identity, that’s all. He’d made love to her not because he’d felt obligated. Sure, he was a man with
a raging libido, but he wasn’t a pig. If he didn’t find a woman attractive, he definitely wouldn’t sleep with her, no matter who she was or what she looked like.

  The baby may have started with a sliver of obligation on his part. Once again, he wasn’t a jerk. There’d be no way in hell he’d ever allow a child of his blood to be alone if he could help it. Jasmine carried his brother’s baby. The child deserved the best possible life.

  A part of him hoped he and Jasmine could raise the child together. If anything, he’d be a role model for him or her.

  He checked the time. Six-thirty. He started to get up, but the door opened. He expected to see Pete, but instead it was Holbert.

  “Still no sign of Pete, Conner?”

  “No.” Shawn scratched his chin. “You plan on being here a while?”

  Holbert shrugged. “You know me. I’m here until the plane is fixed.”

  “You still working on the fuel line?”

  Holbert nodded as he scrubbed his hands with an old greasy cloth. “She’s a stubborn one, for sure. Damn thing.”

  Shawn shook his head. “If anyone can figure out what the sputtering is, you will. I know I said I’d help on getting her up in the air but–”

  “Nah, don’t worry about it. You have a beautiful woman keeping you busy. Well, boss, I’m going to head back to my girl and see if I can persuade her to show me some action.”

  “Good luck, brother.” Shawn bid him farewell. His patience grew thin, waiting on Pete. He’d wait until he finished using the restroom. Shawn had closed himself in the bathroom when a loud blast screeched through the silence. The metal door popped and bowed in the middle. A long moment passed before he gained his bearings and realized what he’d heard. An explosion.

  Bursting out of the door, almost swinging it off the hinges, he tore through the opening. The inside of the building was ablaze. Smoke billowed like heavy gray clouds. Shawn couldn’t see three feet in front of him as he slowly moved forward.

  He took in a deep breath, then covered his mouth with his shirt. “Holbert?” he yelled through the thin material. No answer.