Southern Secrets (The Southern Series Book 2)

by Shelley Stringer

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The morning came way too early. While Banton showered, I slipped out to check on Julia. Finding the bed in the nursery empty, I hurried downstairs. Everett sat at the dining room table with a steaming cup of coffee. Answering my questioning gaze, he nodded into the living room. Julia lay cradled in Ben’s arms on the sofa, in the pajamas she’d borrowed from me. Ben still had the same Jeans and t-shirt on from the night before.

  I smiled to myself…they’d sat up talking and had fallen asleep on the sofa. It was all completely innocent, I was sure, but I knew I’d better wake them before Banton found them asleep together. I shook Julia’s shoulder to wake her.

  Ben’s eyes popped open.

  “Oh, gosh…Jules, wake up!” I saw a look of panic cross his face. “Chandler, I promise, nothing happened! I’m sorry, we fell asleep…” he began. I held my hand up.

  “Save it, I believe you. But Banton might not, so let’s break it up, before he gets down here,” I suggested. Julia jumped up, and bounded down the hallway to the bathroom. Ben rushed out the front door and out to his truck parked at the curb.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Ty asked, bounding down the staircase.

  “Don’t ask questions, just lay low, my son,” Everett sang out over the top of the newspaper. Julia hurried back down the hallway toward us in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt I’d loaned her. Ty watched out the window with an amused look on his face.

  “What’s he doing?” I asked, taking a seat beside Everett.

  “Changing his shirt in his truck. Guess he doesn’t want us to know he spent the night here last night,” Ty chuckled. I shot him a warning glare.

  “Chandler, do you want a cup of coffee?” Julia excused herself as I nodded.

  “I don’t know why I ever even bother to leave this house. Every time I do, I come back to a new drama. Who needs a life? This house is pure entertainment, twenty-four seven,” Everett declared.

  “You can say that again, Fruit-Loop!” Ty exclaimed. Julia came back into the room with our coffee. After she handed my cup to me, she sat down quietly across the table from me.

  Banton’s footsteps on the staircase drew everyone’s attention. “Morning, everybody,” he murmured, his eyes settling on Julia seated quietly at the table. “Ty, did you get the text from Singleton? They’ve moved our meeting up, so we’ll have to get a move on.” He bent over to kiss Julia on the forehead. “Hey, Ju-bean. How did you sleep?”

  “Oh, fine,” Julia murmured. Ty chuckled.

  “Um, yeah, I guess Ben got the text about the time change too. He just pulled up out front,” Ty commented as he glanced my direction. I couldn’t help but notice the devilish twinkle in his eye. Julia blushed, and hung her head down over her coffee.

  “Good morning, everybody!” Ben announced, entering through the front door. Ty suppressed a smile. Banton looked back and forth between Ben and Julia.

  “Did I miss something?” Banton asked intuitively.

  “Just your coffee, Sweetheart. Go and get a cup, and sit with me a few minutes before you have to leave.” He leaned over to kiss the top of my head, and then headed into the kitchen. I shot Ty another warning look, and he laughed out loud.

  “I’d tread a little lighter if I were you, Ty my boy. Chandler’s hormones are raging these days,” Everett warned.

  “Good morning!” John called out as he came in the front door, followed by Mr. Philippe. “Everybody ready to go? Y’all can ride with me, and Colin will meet us there.”

  “Sure, I’m just going to go up and tell Constance goodbye.” Ty rose, and bounded back up the staircase.

  “Hey, Banton…did you talk to Sam yet?” John asked.

  “Not this morning,” he answered, sitting down beside me.

  “Sam didn’t get the message about the meeting, so he called Singleton. Singleton told him he’s not deploying with the rest of us. They won’t release him for a mission yet. They haven’t cleared him medically.”

  “Is he upset?” Banton asked as he stirred his coffee.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t think it surprised him. He said Singleton told him he isn’t calling the shots on this mission. Did you know?” John asked. Banton frowned, shaking his head.

  “No, it’s news to me. That must mean…”

  “Yeah. I’m afraid we’ve drawn Commander Reed this time.”

  Something inside me went cold. Just the mention of the Commander’s name alarmed me. If I needed anything else to make me uneasy about this deployment, Commander Reed’s involvement was it.

  “Well, I guess there’s a bright side. Sam can help watch the girls here while we’re gone.” Banton instinctively reached over and took my hand under the table, and placed it in his lap. He drained his coffee as it reached the half-full point, and then rose.

  “We’d better get going,” he murmured, pulling me to my feet.

  “Ty! Get it in gear, brother, we’re leaving!” John yelled up the staircase. Ben pulled Julia around the table, into the foyer and out the front door to tell her goodbye.

  “Sweetheart, I’ll call you when the meeting is over. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Banton assured me.

  “I love you. I’ll see you soon,” I replied as cheerfully as I could manage. I was determined to save the tears until our final goodbye for this deployment, which I was sure was only days away.

  “I love you too,” he whispered. “I fall deeper and deeper in love with you, each passing day.” He stared into my eyes. “Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be to leave you this time?” he asked, placing his hands on my abdomen.

  I just nodded. He was making it impossible to fight the tears.

  He knelt to place a kiss on the baby-bundle, and then he was out the door. I watched out the dining room window. Ben pulled Julia up into his arms and kissed her passionately, just as Banton turned to see him.

  “Ben, come on!” he barked at Ben, breaking up their moment. Everett chuckled behind me. Ty bounded down the staircase and out the door.

  “Well, Bebe…these exits get more and more dramatic. I’m emotionally drained, and I didn’t have to kiss anyone!” Everett declared as I laughed. I turned, and he pulled me into his arms.

  “Darlin’, I can feel your unrest this morning. Let’s get your mind off this mess, for today anyway. We’ll know more when they get back from this meeting. Come on upstairs with me. Are you ready for a little-old project?” he pulled me back to look into my eyes.

  “Sure, what did you have in mind?” I asked as he pulled me upstairs.

  “I have some sketches I drew last night, to see if you approve of what I have in mind for the nursery walls. I thought we could start moving some furniture out and paint today.”

  I followed him up the stairs, and we went over the drawings. They were beautiful, carrying out the nursery rhyme theme he had going for the room. I just couldn’t match his enthusiasm; my thoughts and my heart were on the way to New Orleans with Banton and the SEALs.

  * * *

  “Oh, my sweet fanny ass! I give up. You three are useless!” Everett exclaimed after three hours of pushing us to help him. Constance lay in the floor, contemplating the ceiling. Julia was painting the same area of wall for the third time, and I couldn’t get anything productive done for stopping to check my phone for texts.

  “Ladies, your time would pass much more quickly if you could focus on something else besides all your lover-boys.”

  “Sorry, Ev…I just don’t have an attention span since the attack, you know…” Constance moaned, and then turned over on her stomach.

  “Attack, what attack?” Julia’s attention was averted from her daydreams.

  “Um…just an incident that happened a few weeks ago with the SEALs.” She recovered, realizing she’d said too much in front of Julia already.

  “The three of you can just come clean and fill me in. Momma and Daddy think they are protecting me, but I know all about our genetics and these Orco creatures. My parents are ju
st like Banton, they treat me as if I’m still twelve. They forget I live in the same house, and I hear their conversations. Since I’m a target too, don’t you think it’s about time you all leveled with me?” she demanded, wiping her hands on her t-shirt.

  “You underestimate the young one, dear girls. She might just be more perceptive than both of you put together,” Everett commented, standing back to contemplate the soft violet-blue he’d just painted the wall.

  “Okay, Jules…just how much do you know?” Constance asked. Julia placed her paintbrush back on top of the bucket. I noticed Constance had picked up on the nickname Ben had already given Julia.

  “I know our family carries this gene, and it has something to do with fighting these creatures Banton and the SEALs have been fighting with. I know my dad was infected years ago, and he’s stronger than the average human, and he doesn’t age. I overheard Banton was bitten too, and Chandler’s attack had something to do with the creatures. So now you’re telling me you have super-powers too?” she asked Constance comically as she kick-boxed the air for effect.

  “Yes, but it’s not quite that cool,” Constance replied, popping Julia with a towel.

  “How about you, Chandler? Have you been transformed?” she grinned at me.

  “Well, yes…right before the wedding, remember? It’s painful, Julia, and not something you want to have to go through. You shouldn’t even be here with us, we draw them in, and they will be drawn to you naturally. They can sense your genetics,” I warned her.

  “I don’t see a downside…superpowers, right? Makes you strong enough to fight them if you have to?”

  “Not that simple, Ma Petite. You’re still human, you aren’t infallible. You don’t want to mess with these creatures; they can kill you with one bite. It doesn’t take them but a few moments to drain enough of your blood to kill you. And once you’re bitten, my sweet girl, your chances of ever having a family are practically zero. It changes your body in ways that can’t be undone,” Everett warned her sternly and truthfully.

  “But Chandler…” she began.

  “She was bitten after she was already pregnant,” Constance murmured. She looked down at her hands.

  “Oh…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean,” Julia began, embarrassed.

  “It’s all right,” I assured her as I studied Constance. She’d become uncharacteristically silent since we’d begun discussing pregnancy. We hadn’t had that discussion since she’d been attacked.

  “Let’s just make sure our Julia doesn’t have to find out. Has Ben talked to you about any of this?” I asked her curiously.

  “I asked him some questions last night. It seemed to upset him, he only told me he hadn’t been infected, but he and Colin also carry the gene. He didn’t act as if he wanted to talk about it anymore, so I dropped it.”

  “He won’t like discussing it with you. Banton and Ty are the same. He will worry about you, and he’ll be protective.” Constance warned her. “A relationship with one of the SEALs is complicated enough, without genetics and Orcos involved,” she finished.

  “Well, I think we’ve had enough work for today. Why don’t I take the three of you out for lunch, and then we’ll do a little shopping? I haven’t bought any baby things in weeks, and we’re due a little fun today!” Everett urged us all to our feet, and before the hour was up we’d cleaned up and dressed for our outing.

  “Chandler, you’re beginning to look double preggers,” Constance joked, patting my tummy as we walked down the sidewalk to our favorite tea-room. It was official, I had retired all of my mid-term clothes to the back of the closet, and moved the tent and awning clothes to the front of the line just this morning.

  “I know,” I sighed, taking in my profile as we passed by a picture-window.

  “She still has the cutest little figure, don’t tease her. She’s self-conscious enough,” Everett admonished Constance as Julia patted my tummy.

  “I can’t wait for them to get here! I’m going to love having more nieces or nephews…hey, is Claudia back from her trip with Will yet? I miss the doodle-bug!” Julia exclaimed. I pulled my cell from my purse. I checked and had a text from Claudia.

  “She just texted, and they are home. She’s coming over about four o’clock and bringing Ava to see us before she takes you back to New Orleans,” I told Julia as the waiter in the tea room seated us.

  We chatted while we ate, and then strolled back down the street to a new children’s shop. An hour later, we emerged with such a bundle of sacks I was afraid they wouldn’t all fit in Everett’s car. Everett wasn’t the culprit this time, Aunt Julia and Aunt Constance tried to buy out the store despite my objections.

  “Come on, Chandler! This is so much fun,” Julia quipped. “Besides, we’ve both got Daddy’s credit cards…it’s more fun that way,” Julia high fived Constance as Everett chuckled.

  “Y’all are awful…I don’t think I ever even touched my parents’ credit cards, much less used them like y’all do,” I informed them. My upbringing was so different than theirs, I could hardly even relate. Neither one of them had the slightest concept of living on a budget or making financial decisions. I sighed…it wasn’t likely either one of them would ever have to worry about it.

  “Ladies, looks as if some of the guys are back,” Everett quipped when we pulled onto Rue Dauphine. John’s pickup was parked in our driveway.

  “All right!” Julia exclaimed, flinging her door open and jumping out of Everett’s car.

  “Wait, Darlin…I don’t even have it in park yet,” Everett laughed as Constance and I both bounded out of the car and up the steps of the porch. I entered the house behind Julia and froze. John stood in foyer alone, a serious look on his face.

  “John, what’s going on?” I asked as Julia turned a puzzled expression to me.

  “Andie, let’s all go and sit down. I need to talk to all of you.” John’s tone caused every hair on my arms to stand on end. After the three of us were seated on the sofa, John began.

  “There’s been a change in plans. When we arrived at base this morning, we had our meeting with Singleton. He informed us while he’s under investigation about Brie’s disappearance and the Navy’s involvement, he’s on administrative leave. They’ve put Reed in charge of our unit’s operations. And in view of the events of last week with the new hostage situation, the unit’s being deployed.”

  “We’ve guessed all of that, John. What are you trying to tell us?” I asked. Constance took my hand.

  “Reed took over then, and informed me they don’t think I’m fit for deployment right now, I’m still in a period of mourning for Brie. He dismissed me and Sam, but not before he dropped another bombshell.”

  “What?” I whispered, dreading the answer.

  “He introduced two new members of the team, two guys straight out of SEAL training, took up all personal cell phones and personal communication devices, and then sent Banton and the others to gather supplies and board. They’re already gone, Chandler. I’m sorry; he didn’t even give them the opportunity to call home. They’ve already deployed.

  We all three sat in stunned silence. Everett came over and stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. After several moments of silence, I cleared my throat.

  “Did you get to talk to them, before they left?” I whispered.

  “Just as Banton passed me, he made me promise I would come and tell you in person. He said for you not to worry, this was just Reed’s way of throwing his weight around. He wants me and Sam to stay here at the house with you. Ty feels the same, Constance. Banton also said he wants Julia to go back to New Orleans.”

  I looked at Julia, and her eyes began to water.

  “Not because of Ben, but because he’s worried if there are any Orcos left in the city, they will see this as an opportunity to attack now the SEALs are gone. He doesn’t want you here if that happens.”

  “He’s right, Julia. You’ll be safer at your parents’,” Constance agreed.

  “Ben said to t
ell you he wants you to go home too. He said he’ll call as soon as he can, and he loves you,” John said softly. Julia began to cry.

  I continued to sit in stunned silence. Banton was gone. No long goodbyes, no last night out together. All I’d told him this morning was I loved him. I turned and looked up at Everett in disbelief.

  “John…do you have any idea how long this will take? Will they be able to communicate at all while they are gone?” Everett asked the questions he knew I would ask if I weren’t so shocked.

  “Ev, I wish I knew. Anything now would just be a guess. Reed seems determined Sam and I stay out of the loop on this mission. I’m not supposed to talk about any of it, but I will break protocol on this one if it means easing Chandler’s worries. I promise you,” he said, turning to me, “I will let you know what I can. I’m hoping we’ll find out something from Singleton soon, but even he seems to be in the dark about some of this.”

  I raised my head to study his reaction. “They’re going to Somalia, aren’t they?”

  John nodded slowly and cautiously.

  “They are going after the leader…After this Dante?” I asked.

  He just stood there watching me. I took his silence as a yes. It was a turning point. Chill bumps appeared on my arms. I turned, and looked directly at Everett. He nodded his head knowingly. Something had just changed. It was a force I’d never sensed before. I knew at that moment the SEALs were in for the fight of their lives, and somehow, my life was to be forever altered in the process.

  Epilogue

  Banton Dreams…

  Holy Mother…! I sat up in bed, stunned. Glancing hurriedly down at Chandler, I relaxed. Good. I didn’t wake her. Taking a deep breath, I realized I hadn’t had a bad dream since…since I could remember. I rubbed my eyes, ran my hands through my hair, and then leaned over and placed a kiss on the silky skin of her bare shoulder. She is so beautiful when she sleeps…Who was I kidding? She was beautiful, period. She looked so young, innocent and helpless. I watched her, her chestnut brown tresses spilling across the pillow, her rhythmic breathing. Her chest rose slowly, getting the rest I’d been so worried about her being deprived of. My only hope was for her to have some peace and quiet. I desperately wanted her life to be normal for a change. She had been through so much for me.