Smoke Road

by Toby Neal

  Nani had left herself wide open for that zinger, and heat prickled her neck.

  Yeah, if it weren’t totally inappropriate and she’d met him at a bar far from work or home, she’d have been down for some “field research.” He was likely proportional, and the width on him... That thought wasn’t helping her face cool down.

  Her attraction to Cocky Lupo was becoming uncomfortable. Nani hadn’t gotten laid in ages. That was the problem. Anyone would be getting itchy around such a hot guy, and she had been too busy at work, and worrying about forming attachments since her divorce, to have anything but a few random hookups.

  But military men? Strictly off the menu since her crash ’n burn with Clyde. She was never going down that road again.

  Nani kept her eyes on Luca’s big, heavy weapon as she popped the magazine out, emptied the chamber, rubbed the weapon down and then inserted a swab into the barrel. “You’ve got a little gunk in here. Always good to make sure your weapons are in top shape before any operation.”

  “Yeah, I would have, but I’ve been a little busy since you blew into town.” Luciano pushed the aviators high on his nose. “What did you think of the men?”

  “I know a trick question when I hear one. More importantly, what do you think of them? How long have you known them?”

  “I’ve had this posting for two years. They’re good, experienced soldiers. But this will be our first actual combat situation, together, except for me and Jaguar. We go way back.”

  “What’s he doing out here in Texas?”

  “Maybe he’ll tell you his story someday.” Luciano still wasn’t giving anything away. Nani wished she could see those pretty eyes of his to pick up on what he was thinking. It was essential to stay two steps ahead at all times, or she’d find herself sidelined, as had happened too often in the past.

  “So what’s your story? Why’d you join up?”

  Luciano raised those black brows in that way he had. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”

  Heat flashed over her skin and tightened her nipples. Damn his sexy voice! “All right. My family is Hawaiian Japanese. I’m the oldest, and I have five brothers. I grew up in the Aloha State.”

  “I’m the oldest of five brothers. But we’ve got our sister Lucy on the youngest end, not the oldest.”

  “I think I’d prefer being youngest to oldest with that many brothers,” Nani commented. “My father was a martial arts instructor and ran a dojo. I learned martial arts from the age I could walk, as did my brothers. I had to ride herd on the little monsters morning, noon, and night.”

  “No wonder you knocked me on my ass in the ring.” Luciano gave a rueful chuckle. Good. He could laugh at himself. “Lucy would probably tell you that being the youngest is worse. She says she can’t fart without someone coming to see if she needs help. Dating is out of the question for her, too. No one’s good enough, as far as we’re concerned.” Luciano’s teeth flashed in a smile framed by stubble. Did he forget to shave this morning? Or did it grow that fast? She kind of had a thing for guys with a little more body hair and a nice happy trail—so many interesting textures to explore...

  Nani wriggled a little on the seat, biting her lip, and clicked the big Magnum’s magazine back into place. She set the cleaned, loaded weapon beside him. “There.”

  He slid it back into the holster. “So which island are you from?” Luciano even tugged the aviators down an inch to glance at her. “The one with all the surf, or the volcanoes?”

  “The Big Island is the only one with active volcanoes, so I suppose that’s the one you mean—and yeah, that’s the one I’m from.”

  “So how did you get from paradise to...this.” He gestured to the freeway as they followed the Humvee. Blue sky and hills dotted with scrub and coated in golden grass rolled by them as suburbia fell away.

  “Martial arts came first, then wanting to be a doctor. I actually got a martial arts scholarship to UCLA, where I majored in cellular bio for my undergrad.” Should she tell him about her marriage? Nani stared at the clear sky and kept all those memories stuffed down where they belonged. “I graduated early and went straight into medical school.” Nani blew out a breath. “And in medical school I realized I just wasn’t a people person.”

  “You sure had all the guys dancing to your tune today.”

  “I can schmooze with the best of them. I’m a woman in a male-dominated world.” She gestured to his bad thigh. “You’ve been wounded, so you’re no stranger to patient care from the customer end. All that blood, pain, and mess? No, thank you. I like a nice, quiet lab. So after medical school I did a fellowship in virology and got recruited from there to the FBI’s bioterrorism unit. You?”

  “I’m too busy listening.”

  “Ha.” She didn’t know why his comment sounded like a compliment, but it did. “Then something happened, and I left the FBI and went back for a double doctorate in virology and psychology. I wanted to understand viruses, and the types of people who would use them as weapons.”

  “I’m still listening, but a brief pause for a drink, Doc. You need to wet your whistle to keep talking. What’ve you got in that bag?”

  “You’re going to like this.” Nani reached in and pulled out two jumbo sized, old-fashioned bottles of root beer, beaded up with moisture. She used the opener in the haft of her knife to pop the top and handed one to Luca. “This artisanal root beer is made right here in Texas. It’s my favorite, and I can hardly ever find it.”

  Nani couldn’t tear her gaze away from the way the muscles worked in his tanned, wide neck as he drank—nor from the big grin he gave, holding up the bottle to look at it more closely. “Clearly I’ve been missing out on an entire subculture. Artisanal root beer, huh?”

  She dug in the bag. “I’ve got snacks. Sweet, or salty? Your choice.” She held up a bag of caramel twists and one of salted peanuts. “There’s more to choose from if you don’t like these.”

  “Caramel. Definitely.” He pushed the aviators onto the top of his head and gave Nani a look that curled her toes. “It’s my favorite flavor.”

  Now why was that so damn sexy?

  Flustered, Nani handed him the candy and took the peanuts along with a big swig of root beer.

  They had several hundred klicks to go before reaching the area where the compound was rumored to be located, and they planned on camping tonight. Nani reached into her bag for the lightweight satellite-linked laptop the Vice President had given her to keep in touch with the White House.

  “You said something happened.”

  “What?”

  “Something happened that caused you to go back for another doctorate. Hell, woman, three doctorates? Now who’s overcompensating?”

  Nani shrugged. “I get interested in a topic and I’ve got to learn all about it so I can come up with the right plan. There’s always a best way to do something.” She opened the laptop and checked her maps.

  “You never answered my question.”

  Nani glanced at Luciano, surprised by his persistence—and met his eyes. The aviators were still on top of his head, and the gold-flecked heat in his gaze made her throat go dry. “I thought this was ‘I show you, you show me.’ Your turn.”

  “Fair enough. Our father passed when I was a kid, he was a cop and died in the line of duty, working undercover.” Luca didn’t seem to want to linger on that. “As I said, I’m the oldest. Next down is JT. He’s an environmental biologist, what they call a prepper. He has a place in Idaho all set up for the end of the world.” He cleared his throat, the skin around his eyes tightening.

  “Your brother must be very glad to have that place right about now.” Nani closed her laptop and stored it under the seat.

  “JT left me a message a few weeks ago. He told me things were getting really bad, and asked me to come out to his survival camp. He said the family is gathering there.”

  Nani felt a pang of envy to think that Luciano had a sustainable place for his family to go, and a family that wanted to
be together. Her brothers were scattered all over the Hawaiian Islands and their parents ran a good-sized coffee farm on the Kona side of the Big Island. She wondered how the flu was manifesting in Hawaii. She’d been too submerged in crisis mode to pay attention, and her family was notoriously bad at communication so her phone hadn’t rung in weeks. Calling them and not being able to answer any questions about her classified work was frustrating, and had led to avoidance.

  That compound in Idaho could be very important for the Luciano family’s survival, and Luca was lucky to have it as a fallback position.

  “Will you join them in Idaho?”

  “I’ll go where I’m needed. I’m sure everyone in the army wants to stop this thing. We’re lucky to get to be the ones to do it.”

  Nani nodded. She liked that. This whole time she’d been freaking out, nervous about their ability to pull it off. It had never occurred to her to feel grateful that she even got the chance to try. “So, who’s next? You, JT, and...”

  “Third brother down is Cash,” Luca continued. “Cosimo is his birth name, but he’s always been like cash–easy come, easy go. The guy’s an adrenaline junkie. Then come the twins.” Those expressive black brows drew down, his expression darkening. “Dolf’s an investment banker, the brains of that operation, and Nando was the heart—a legal aid lawyer.”

  “Was?”

  “He died the day I met you. Scorch Flu.” Luciano’s heavy jaw bunched with muscle and tightly held emotion.

  “I’m very sorry to hear that.” Nani softened toward the man. He’d come off so gruff and haughty the day she met him, but he was grieving. She knew from experience that grief was powerful, life-changing.

  “Yeah, well. He might have benefited from some of that B12 booster you were passing out.” Luciano’s hands clenched on the wheel.

  “And I wish I could have given it to him. That’s why it’s so important that we shut down these terrorists and make sure this thing stops spreading.” The lack of access to the vaccine bothered Nani, too, but she knew that it took time to produce enough to protect an entire population, time they didn’t have.

  “It’s one thing to deal with them overseas—it’s another when they’re your own countrymen. A lot of those sick sons of bitches even think they’re patriots.” Luciano threw his shoulders back as if heaving off a burden. “And that leaves our youngest brother, Dante, the computer genius. The kid’s always been a little oddball, but he’s done super well for himself—writes programs and games, things like that. And bringing up the pack is Lucy, who I already told you about. She’s in law school and lives at home with my Moms.”

  “I’m glad you have that place in Idaho to go to.” Nani was sincere. “Even if we shut these guys down, this country’s going to be in deep shit for a long time. Your brother is wise to bring everyone together in one place that’s safe and sustainable. You haven’t seen it here in Texas yet, but whole cities are falling into chaos with this thing.”

  Luciano rubbed the back of his neck and pushed the sunglasses down over his eyes. Was he sorry he had told her so much?

  Nani looked out the windshield, splattered with late summer Texas bugs, into the low light of the afternoon. He’d told her something sensitive; now it was her turn. She reached into her pocket and took out the piece of aqua-blue beach glass. Velvety smooth, slightly curved, and the size of a quarter, it was the perfect shape to rub between her thumb and fingers. She held it up. “I had a younger sister named Mikaela, and she gave me this. Like your family with Lucy, we all adored and protected her. But she died when she was fourteen, of an unknown tropical disease. Her death was the thing that sent me back to school.”

  Luciano ducked his head. “Terrible thing. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah.” There was nothing more to say. Nani rubbed the glass.

  A muscle twitched in Luca’s jaw, but he stayed quiet. His stony stare out the window with those mirrored aviators hiding his eyes reminded her of the Terminator, and she felt his withdrawal as completely as if a steel door had come down between them.

  Had mentioning her sister reminded him too painfully of the recent loss of his brother?

  Or maybe the wall had always been there between them and she had only imagined, for those few minutes, that it wasn’t.

  Nani’s gaze drifted to the landscape, her mind wandering back to that dark period after her sister’s death. She had stopped believing in God at Mikaela’s funeral. What kind of divine intelligence let an innocent child die so painfully? Why would it allow the kind of disaster they were facing now?

  Still, she missed the comfort of believing in a loving force that cared, and of praying and feeling she’d been heard. Her mother’s religion had always brought her comfort—now there was nowhere to turn but inward, to her own strength.

  They drove in silence, and Nani watched the light change across the arid countryside. Evening painted the taupe hills in gold, amber, and rose. As they neared the compound’s location, Nani felt an increasing sense of pressure and anxiety.

  They had to succeed.

  Jaguar led them off the main road into a little canyon. Passing a stone abutment, they traversed a dry stream bed. The supply truck was as heavy-duty as the Humvee, and navigated the rugged terrain with no problem. But the bouncing threw Nani against Luciano several times, and every touch burned.

  They came to a stop in a small, hidden ravine. Luciano said nothing as they got out, and nothing as he approached Balam. The two men conferred, their heads close together.

  Nani got out of the truck and went around to the back tailgate, popping it open. She recoiled with a little cry as the huge, black-faced, brindled fawn-and-brown German Shepherd that she’d met yesterday leaped out. The dog gave her a contemptuous look and squatted to pee.

  “Well, hello, gorgeous.” Nani extended her hand, palm down in a fist, for the dog to sniff, clearly she was a working dog.

  “I see you let Peaches out.” Luciano had appeared behind her.

  He still had those damn glasses on even though it was practically dark. Luca snapped his fingers, and Peaches trotted to his side, sticking like Velcro as he returned to the other men at the Humvee.

  Peaches? There must be a story there—probably something stupid, like his ex had named the animal. Probably a petite, lithe blonde with a small ass. Shut up about your ass already, Nani!

  She reached into the truck and grabbed the large, heavy backpack that Sergeant Stolen had put together for her. Tug approached and asked if she needed any help, but Nani refused with a smile.

  She popped up her own small tent a short distance from the half circle of other structures being erected. Biscuit was working on something for dinner at the kitchen station, and the smells made Nani’s stomach growl.

  She took off her sweatshirt, stripping down to a tight tank top. Then she unraveled her braid, working a comb through her waist-length, thick hair while her laptop booted up. She’d debated cutting her hair many times, but it was a link to her home, and to her heritage.

  Plus, her mother would kill her.

  Nani put in a call to General Beauregard on a secure line and updated him briefly on their progress so far. She asked for the most current “sit rep” on activity within the compound.

  “I’ll send you the latest satellite imagery. As you know, it looks like there’s been a lot of activity in the compound in the last few days and some major changes in personnel numbers. We only have still images at intervals, and our last capture from the satellite nearest that location was this morning, so things might have changed.”

  “You don’t have anything more current?” Nani knew her voice sounded worried. “We need accurate intel.”

  “Sending the images now.” Beauregard’s voice was flat. “Our analysts looking at the photos suspect the birds have flown.”

  Nani’s belly hollowed out.

  They’d missed their chance.

  “But on the plus side, definitely still human targets inside the compound. Recommend infiltrate an
d interview.”

  “Thank you, sir. I will inform my team.” Nani downloaded the photographs of the compound and looked out the flap of her tent. From her seated position, cross-legged on her sleeping bag, she could clearly see Luciano’s bulky silhouette against the tent fabric of the large tent he’d put up with Balam. The men sat on camp chairs in front of a table—and was that a deck of cards?

  Well hell, she wasn’t going to put her shirt back on over her tank top or braid her hair again if they were getting casual. It was time to go into the lion’s den.

  Nani folded the laptop shut and approached the zipped screen door of the big tent. A battery-operated lamp shed light on the two men’s heads, and yes, they were playing cards, and neither of them had their shirts on in the sweaty heat. She could hear quiet talking and laughter in another tent next to theirs, and the smell of Indian-spiced cooking gave the feeling of a camping holiday.

  But this was no frolic in the wilderness.

  “Permission to enter,” Nani asked.

  Balam looked up. The tattoos on his chest, abs, neck, and arms were amazingly detailed representations of stylized Mayan artwork: flora and fauna, with a jaguar theme repeated over and over. “Of course, Doctor Kagawa. Food’s up in a few minutes.”

  Nani kept her eyes on Balam’s face so that she didn’t have to look at Luciano at all. Even out of the corner of her eye, and seated, Luciano was a chiseled mountain, looming and dark. The overhead light gilded his dime-a-dozen muscles and the arrow shape of his chest hair pointed in a direction that didn’t interest her at all. Nope, not one little bit.

  Eyes front, Dr. Kagawa, and cold shower right after this. Is that a tattoo over his heart? Don’t look!

  “I have some updated intel to share.”

  “Fine.” Balam wasn’t exactly insubordinate, but he didn’t hurry to pick up the cards or offer her a chair either. In fact, she didn’t see one anywhere as he leisurely collected the cards and Luciano sat back and crossed his arms.

  She wasn’t going to ask these jerks to put their shirts on, nor stand while they sat to do the briefing, or ask for a damn chair. They wanted to be assholes? She could handle anything they dished out. Nani turned and yelled out into the dark, “Need a chair in here!”