by Dale Mayer
He laughed. “Dave’s in his glory. He’s always telling me to bring people over so he’ll have somebody to feed. Now you guys are here and he’ll be cooking for days.”
“And we’ll be happy to eat Dave’s cooking.” Swede laughed. “It’s good to see you, Bullard.”
“And you. Why the hell haven’t you come around before now?”
“I didn’t need a job,” Swede said with a big grin. “Neither did I require your medical services.”
“Maybe you haven’t but I heard that several might. What’s this about Dane and Cooper?”
“Both of them are actually doing fine. Even Levi, Merk, and Rhodes are well on the mend.”
“I heard about them.” Bullard’s voice deepened. “That’s never a good thing.”
Dave spoke from the sidewalk, large platters of food in his arms. He placed them on the table. “What about Stone?”
There was a heavier silence. Mason spoke up, “Stone is on the mend. There’s obviously an adjustment. As you well know.”
Dave nodded. “Maybe I’ll give him a call.”
Chase spoke up. “Do that. He’d appreciate it.”
After that the topic turned to lighter issues. Everyone dug into the platters of ribs, chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. Brett kept a close eye on Ceci as she fed the children. Leaning closer to her, he whispered, “Are you getting any food?”
She flashed him a bright smile. “I’m getting lots to eat.”
Brett returned to his own meal until Mason pushed his empty plate back and said, “Brett, what the hell’s going on at the embassy?”
In a quiet voice Brett explained everything that had happened since his arrival. As he concluded he added, “Ceci did say right from the beginning she felt unnerved, that instinct told her to run. She hadn’t seen anything that would explain it, but if we’d run earlier we’d have avoided all of the rest of that mess.”
“In which case, Amanda would have likely died.”
Brett turned to face Ceci. “True enough.”
With the men tossing ideas back and forth the conversation went from the military to the US and back to the embassy as everyone discussed the outcome. Mason piped up and said, “The US is not admitting to an attack at the embassy, but they have assigned a team to take back control.”
“The place was empty when we left. So there likely isn’t anything to take control back from.” Ceci looked at him. “Besides, what team is that?”
He grinned. “Us.”
Chapter 10
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She understood the team was here on-site so that made it logistically the best answer. And as they hadn’t seen anybody at the consulate maybe they wouldn’t be in danger. But it bothered her to think of these men going back into that nightmare. Yet, as she stared at them she realized they were looking forward to it. She shook her head. Who knew?
Jimmy wanted out of his high chair. Having slept long he was full of energy. She tried to keep him entertained for a few minutes, but as soon as Jennifer was done eating she unbuckled both and carried them over so they could look at the lights. Jimmy squirmed to get down. She let him stand but held on to his hand firmly. She quietly explained what the problem was with the water, but Jimmy was already a good swimmer and he just wanted to go in.
Dave appeared magically at her side. Towels in hand. “If the children want to go swimming let’s take them over to the shallow end of the pool where they’ll be safe.”
She looked at him in surprise. “The shallow end? A pool?”
He nodded and led the way. She’d seen the lights in the distance but hadn’t realized it was a large pool decorated with colored lights. Jimmy started screaming hysterically with joy. Within seconds he was stripped down to his underpants and jumping in.
Comfortable in the water, he paddled and laughed in the shallow end. Jennifer cried out to go in too but that was a different story. She couldn’t go in unless Ceci went in. And Ceci had no bathing suit.
Hell, she barely had any clothing. If she got wet now, she was stuck.
She slipped off her shoes then rolled her pants up above her knees. That was as high as they’d go. At the stairs, and after stripping Jennifer down to the buff, she let her play at the edge of the water.
With the lights, it looked magical. She longed to go in but at the same time it was nice just to sit here on the top step with her daughter. At the sound of a heavy splash she looked up to see Dave diving into the far end. He swam all the way across the pool to pop up beside Jimmy, causing him to break out in a full set of giggles. That’s when she realized he’d come in to help with the children. She smiled her thanks.
Dave didn’t seem to notice. He was just too busy having fun with Jimmy.
For the first time in over a week she could feel some of the tension slipping from her shoulders. After everything they’d been through this was a much needed idyllic break.
Brett sat down beside her on the edge of the pool, his jeans pulled up over his knees and his feet bare. “Bullard has a selection of bathing suits for everyone if you would like to go for a swim.”
She brightened. Then sagged in place. “No, I should probably stay with the kids.”
“Why?” He reached over and picked up her hand. “I’ll stay here with Jennifer. You can go into the bathhouse right there.” He nodded toward a small cabin looking structure on the side. “See if you can find something to wear. We are here so you might as well enjoy it. I doubt you did your time on the yacht at all.”
She laughed. “No, I really didn’t. It was hard with the kids.”
“Here you have almost a dozen built-in babysitters. We’re all very capable of looking after these two. Go,” he urged. “Remember you have to live a little and enjoy life too.”
She hesitated then with a big smile she hopped to her feet, handed Jennifer to Brett and ran to the small bathhouse. Inside was an amazing array of bathing suits for both sexes of all ages. A closet door stood open with a sign at the top that said ladies. Another one said men and another one children. Jennifer’s was big, but it was good enough. Then she found a bathing suit that might fit her.
When she put it on she realized it was a whole lot smaller than she’d expected. Then again since motherhood she was a whole lot more endowed. She yanked on a beach cover up then spied the towels. She grabbed three and took them out to add to the pile Dave had brought.
Self-conscious but grateful the men weren’t staring, she dropped the towels beside Brett, eased off the cover and jumped into the pool water. As soon as the water closed over her head she knew she’d done the right thing.
Her body rejoiced as she floated carefree. So damn refreshing and freeing.
*
Good, he was glad she decided to go in. His mom had filled him in on her last few years of life with and without Jimmy. Brett had deliberately stayed away, not wanting to deal with any more hurt and anger. It hadn’t been easy for her. But she’d devoted her life to raising the children.
He could well imagine that going on a yacht for a week would be a gift. And he certainly didn’t blame her for that. Everyone needed a break. It hadn’t turned out the way she had expected, but here she was actually managing to find some enjoyment in the current situation. He admired that.
Knowing she was self-conscious, he’d kept his gaze away from her as she dropped the robe. The water couldn’t camouflage the mermaid in front of him though. She was beautiful inside and he already knew she was outside as well, but motherhood had given a ripeness to her figure that was hard to mistake. It looked good on her.
Jennifer wanted to go back in the water so he walked over to the stairs and stepped down so she could paddle around on the wide stairs, his hand holding her safe. This cherub was truly adorable. He hadn’t been around babies very much, but because of his mom’s extended family he had a lot of experience with children.
Ceci swam close and held up her arms to Jennifer who squealed and threw herself into the water. With a laugh
Ceci swam out a little further away just letting the baby float. Brett sat back watching mom and baby.
There was a Madonna look to the two of them. As a man, there was a certain reverence to the scene. Something he couldn’t access for himself. And had never been interested in having before. Now he wondered if he had a child of his own, would they have a similar bond?
Footsteps approached. He recognized the sound before his friend opened his mouth.
“Is this serious?” Chase asked. “And are you nuts? She hurt you once already.”
Brett raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t quite the question he’d expected. “There’s been no time to answer that,” Brett said with a smile. “I’ve been trying to keep her safe.” He glanced up and said, “She’s also different now.”
Chase frowned, his gaze on the mother and child in the water.
“Is she? I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I’m not planning on it,” Brett muttered.
Chase wandered back to the other men, leaving Brett to his thoughts. And none of them were good. Ceci was all he’d ever wanted, but she’d broken it off with him. He’d been devastated at the time. He wasn’t as young now and the world had narrowed. He wasn’t sure he could go back to that time, and could he trust her again. She had torn his life apart and left him broken. There was no way he wanted to go through another session like that.
Besides, she’d shown no interest in him. Or in anyone that he could see. She’d lost someone dear to her, and she might not be ready to move on. And there was a much bigger issue – two children.
The phone rang behind him. He heard Bullard answer and then a shuffle of chairs as he made his way past the group still collected around the table. A few moments later he hung up the phone and called out, “Our injured guest from the embassy is awake.”
Several of the men got up and walked inside the house to where she lay. Brett watched them leave. He was torn. He wanted to go question her himself, but he didn’t want to leave Ceci alone here with the two kids. He caught Dave’s eye who motioned toward the house.
Brett nodded and stood up, pulling down his damp cuffs and followed the group inside.
Chapter 11
“Thank you and good night.” Ceci closed the door behind Dave. She still carried Jennifer bundled up in a towel and Jimmy walked beside her dripping water everywhere. “Let’s get you a quick, hot bath.” She walked through the gorgeous guest room to the large bathroom. Marveling at the modern contemporary look, she quickly filled the bathtub with warm water a few inches deep for the kids and set about rinsing off the chlorine. With both of them shampooed, and rinsed and now showing signs of being very tired again, she got them dressed in PJs and tucked into bed. She picked up the only book they had and read a bedtime story. It wasn’t long before both kids dozed off.
That was her cue. She was still wrapped in a towel herself. She stepped into the bathroom, quickly tidied it up then pulled the plug and turned on the shower. Finally she stood under the hot water letting the heat wash over her body. It was warm outside, almost humid, but the water had been cool. She wished she’d gotten an update on the poor woman. She rinsed her hair and then shut off the water. After wringing out her shoulder length locks, she opened the door and grabbed a towel to wrap around herself. Stepping out she grabbed a second one and dried off her hair. Wandering back into the bedroom, she froze.
Brett sat on the large armchair.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I did call but you didn’t answer.” He shrugged. “After what we’ve been through I needed the peace of mind of knowing you were safe, so I came in.”
She raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything. Under the circumstances maybe that was understandable. “And now you know that we are fine.”
She walked to the closet and opened the double doors. She gasped in delight. She’d wondered after seeing the fully stocked bathhouse if there would be more clothes in the room, but she hadn’t contemplated such a variety. A robe hung on the back of the door. She quickly pulled it on then dropped the towel.
Feeling better she carried the towel to the bathroom where she hung it up to dry. Back out in the main room she sat down on the only other chair. “How’s Amanda?”
“Unconscious again. She woke briefly, but was groggy and barely coherent. She said something about change of staff recently, and having no warning until they were rounded up at gunpoint.”
Ceci sank back against the chair. “That would’ve been so terrible,” she exclaimed.
Brett nodded. “Exactly. It also means they had an inside man. Someone had to know the bulk of the people were going to be leaving the embassy that day. Making it perfect timing.”
“Normally everybody would know about staff changes weeks in advance,” she said thoughtfully. “So they had to have some kind of a reason why a switch like this was made so fast.”
“Apparently there was a major shuffle in the department. She’s now thinking maybe they had an idea of the mole.”
It was so damn unbelievable that it actually made sense. Ceci was sorry for all those poor people who had died through this attack, but she was glad it was not on a more global scale. “So now what?”
“A couple of things. The US is almost finished processing your passports so we should be able to get you home soon – possibly tomorrow. Are you okay to stay here with Bullard until they come through? And did you have enough interactions with any of the people from the embassy that they might be concerned about you identifying them?”
At his first comment her smile lit up until he continued and finally finished talking. Her heart went back to pounding under major stress again.
Cautiously she said, “That’s good news about the passports. I’ll be happy to stay here.” She frowned. “Yes, I could identify some of the people. I was there for several days.”
He nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of. We’re getting photos of the staff who were killed. And trying to get video feeds from the embassy during the takeover. Let’s see if you can identify any of the attackers as having been part of the staff you interacted with.”
“In other words you want to know if I can identify any of the bad guys in particular.”
He nodded.
Her breath pushed out in a big gust. “That’s scary.”
“Yes, but you’re safe here.”
Her gaze flew to the sleeping children, wondering what it was going to take to get home safe and sound. “Even if I can identify them that does not mean they are going to come after me, right?”
“We can’t say that. It depends on how high a position the mole has obtained and whether it’s important his or her identity be kept secret. The US is already working to take back the embassy. That means whoever is left in office is going to be in danger.”
“Of course.” She shook her head. “How did my life come to this? All I wanted was to raise my children in peace.” She glared out the window. “Was this punishment for actually thinking I could have a vacation on the yacht?”
“Just because you ventured out of the safety and sanctity of your home doesn’t mean all this bad stuff happening is your fault. I don’t know how you ended up in the middle of it, all I know is that when it’s over you can expect to go back to your safe life, and it’ll be fine.”
“I wonder about that.” The good news was they were safe here. And she had no doubts it would take quite an army to breach this place. It was also an idyllic spot to stay so she was happy to be here. “Go on, go save the world. Again. I’ll be fine.”
He laughed. “That’s not exactly what I was planning on doing.”
“Oh, why was that?”
“’Cause somebody needs to stay and keep an eye on you.”
“And I suppose you volunteered for that job?” she said in a dry tone. Inside she was happy to know she wasn’t going to be deserted by everyone. As much as she loved the surroundings she really didn’t know Dave or Bullard. And she had no idea how many other men were
here.
His voice turned cool as he said, “It was a group decision, but it wasn’t a hard one to make considering the children are most comfortable with me.”
Immediately she felt like an ass. He was right. The children had come to accept him. There were a lot of men downstairs and the kids had been fine at dinnertime, but that didn’t mean they were going to be very happy to be passed from one to the other. Her gaze slipped over to where the baby slept. In a soft voice, she murmured, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be.” He stood up and looked around the room. “I’m in the room next door if you need me. You can pound on that wall.” He pointed. “If I don’t respond feel free to come into the room. I won’t lock the door.”
She shook her head. “We’ll be fine.”
He nodded and walked back to the front door. “Good, then I’ll say good night.”
He went out and closed the door abruptly. She trailed behind and stood feeling like a fool. An ungrateful one. She opened the door and peered outside to find him staring down the hallway.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me. For us.”
And hit a nerve.
He spun, his eyes dark. “The last thing I want is your gratitude.” He walked inside his room and slammed his door closed.
And that just made her feel much worse.
*
Brett walked a few feet into his room and bowed his head. What an ass. What was it about the situation that was setting off his inner stupidity? Sure they had history, but they didn’t have anything now – this was a job. He had to remember that. It was also damn near impossible to forget the smell of her in his arms, the sight of her body in that damn bikini or that absolutely unbelievable sensation when he watched her cuddle Jennifer.
Her kids were great, and he knew at one point in time he would head down that same road with a family of his own.
