Chapter Seven
If both Noah and Kali were here in her apartment to talk, it couldn’t be good news. Annie hoped she had gotten through to Seth and he met with Brice, Nate and Sierra last night. They hadn’t called. She called Sierra, but only received her voicemail.
Maybe what they wanted to tell her is Seth was in love with his wife and he didn’t want to have anything to do with his old life, and it included Annie and his daughter. Seth obviously thought he was dreaming. Hell, so had she. Noah and Kali were both looking at her with such compassion. She felt her eyes well up.
“No, Annie, no. It’s nothing like you’re thinking. I’m so sorry, I’m not handling this well at all. Kali tried to push herself off the couch and her big husband gently helped her into a standing position so she could come over and hug Annie.
“No, I’m sure Seth cares about you. According to Brice he was torn apart when he realized you knew he was married. He cares, I would bet anything he loves you Annie.” She softened into Kali’s embrace, and then felt the soft kick of one of the babies and laughed.
“See, even baby girl knows Seth loves you.” Kali smiled up at her.
“If that’s not the reason you’re here, what’s wrong?”
“They went in thinking they could extricate Seth fairly easily. Unfortunately there are a lot more variables than they originally anticipated. They don’t know how long this could take. Seth is a big part of this whole operation.”
“Is he in danger?”
Kali threw a look over her shoulder to Noah, who stood behind his petite wife. “You know Seth has always been in danger.”
“I mean even more than before.”
“He has more backup than ever before. I think he is in a better position to come out of this and come home to you and Nell.”
“If it’s what he wants to do. I don’t want to force him into anything he doesn’t want.” Noah wrapped his arm around Kali.
“How long has Seth been visiting you? Because now you know these are actual visits, not just dreams you’ve been having.” It was hard to look into Noah’s brown eyes, but she did it anyway.
“A couple of months after he left, up until last night.”
“I’d say he’s committed then. Wouldn’t you?”
Annie thought about it, and not just about the erotic dreams, but to the day and night when he held her as she gave birth to Nell. He might not have known what was going on, but he knew she needed solace, needed him, and he was there for her. Yes, those were the actions of a man who loved.
Kali and Noah gave her knowing smiles. It was kind of eerie how these found were, it was almost like they could read her mind. Then she remembered how Kali had explained she could read emotions.
“So what are the complications? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I told you she would say that,” Kali grinned at Noah.
“No there is nothing you can do to help. Brice, Nate and Sierra are fantastic operatives. They will assist him. They are going to stay in Florida until they can get him the hell out of there,” Noah assured her.
“Did they say why the DEA weren’t able to give his parents any sort of information?”
“Yes they did. Why don’t we all sit.” Nell let out a cry from the other room. “I guess your daughter wants to hear about her Daddy,” Kali said.
Annie frowned. She was worried it was exactly what was going on. Unfortunately Shilah had left with Riley to go grocery shopping, and she didn’t want to leave Nell in her crib when she was upset.
“Hold on, let me get her. I know you were just teasing, but I think Nell comprehends things better than I realized. I don’t want her upset about Seth. Can you be cautious in what you say?” Noah and Kali exchanged a look and they nodded.
Nell was standing, without holding onto the side of her crib looking very proud of herself, when Annie came into her room. She was wearing one of Annie’s favorite sleepers, it was emerald green, with white piping. “Hello Beautiful.”
“Mama,” Nell said, showing off five pearly white teeth.
“Nelly,” Annie answered and laughed when Nell shook her head vehemently. Nell definitely did not like the nickname. “Okay, you are my lovely girl, Nell.” Once again she was awarded a beautiful baby smile.
Annie took her into the living room. Kali held out her hands, and Annie deposited her into the woman’s arms. Kali had to lean far back into the couch and shift sideways in order to snuggle with the baby around her pregnant belly. Nell put a gentle hand on Kali’s tummy and grinned.
“Babas.”
“Aren’t you a clever girl?” Noah smiled as he stroked the straight black hair on Nell’s head. “Yes, Kali has babies in her tummy.”
“The other night she recognized a picture of Seth as her daddy. She shouldn’t have been able to do it, but she did.” All three adults watched as Nell snuggled against both Kali and her belly, seeming to gain comfort from the twins and Kali.
“So you’ve never shown her a picture of Seth before?” Noah asked.
“No, it was just too painful,” Annie admitted. “Maybe I should have. Anyway, you know how she plays the guessing game?” They nodded. “The other night, after a vivid dream she was basically saying her dad was making me sad. It was the first time she talked. I showed her a photo with Seth and me. She called him Dada and me Mama.”
“Aren’t you a smart little girl?” Kali cooed, and Nell smiled at her.
“It kind of scares me. I think our two are going to end up keeping us on our toes,” Noah said, with a slight frown.
“Oh, I think you can count on it. Can I get you anything, while I’m getting Nell her bottle?”
“I’d love a ginger ale if you have it.”
“What about you, Noah?”
“Make it two.” Annie went to the kitchen and got the drinks and bottle. After she passed them out and made sure Kali was comfortable with Nell resting against her, she settled into the armchair across from the couch.
“So why didn’t Seth check in with his office? Why weren’t they able to give his parents any information about his whereabouts?”
“He has a leak in his department. So he’s going over his boss’s head.”
“Couldn’t they have gotten in contact with Seth’s parents?”
“Annie, I’m sorry, they had to make this look believable.” She looked at the couple in front of her, and saw their compassion.
“At least we’d all seen the photos of the wedding. We knew he was alive. We had that comfort. Even more, there was never any doubt he was on the side of the angels. But it looked like he might have found a new life,” Annie’s voice broke.
Kali leaned forward, and Nell went with her. “It was never that,” Noah assured her. “He is being watched every day. His bedroom is bugged, his car is bugged. He can’t leave the house without someone following him. This isn’t just the drug lord he was originally sent to infiltrate. The Benitez Shipping family he married into is tied to Labado’s operation, and they are spying on Seth, so since he’s been on this assignment he hasn’t been able to take a breath without being watched.”
“This can’t be real.” Annie tried to comprehend such a life, but couldn’t.
“These people are beyond paranoid. It’s likely they are also spying on their own blood relatives.”
“I thought Seth stopped some of the shipments, how was he able to do it?”
“We don’t know, but it had to have been him. There is no one else in place, he’s made a tremendous difference. From everything Brice told us, things are coming to a head.” Annie gripped the arm of the chair.
“That doesn’t mean he gets to leave, it means he’s in greater danger, right?” Nell dropped her bottle, and when Kali tried to give it back to her, she pushed it away. Annie went and picked her up. Nell picked up on the stress of the conversation and wanted her mommy.
“Annie, it’s definitely going to get worse before it gets better. Brice, Sierra and Nate are down there for the long haul
.”
“Why is it going to get worse?”
“Two competing operations are trying to use the shipping company owned by Seth’s father-in-law to ship drugs. It’s beginning to escalate, and it could end up being an all-out drug war.”
“Then there is the new business Labado has started. Seth and our team will be working to shut it down before they can come home,” Kali said quietly as she gently rubbed her stomach. Annie waited to hear about the new business. When Kali didn’t say anything further, Noah spoke.
“Labado is selling women. This isn’t prostitution, he is finding girls, sometimes kidnapping them, sometimes coercing or tricking them into believing they will be models or actresses. Bottom line is these young women end up being sold to the highest bidder, and Labado is reaping the rewards. This is the new way Labado found to make money since his drug and arms business has taken such a hit with the successful DEA raids.”
Kali was trembling, and Noah hugged her close. Annie understood, she felt just as desolate. Nell must have felt her anguish, because she burrowed deeper into her arms.
“I have you, baby. Mommy has you,” Annie murmured. She kissed her daughter’s forehead and out of the corner of her eye she could see Noah’s big hand covering Kali’s as they both smoothed over her tummy. It was times like this she desperately missed Seth. But was he even the man she once knew? How had the last two years changed him? Was she just holding onto a dream?
She rocked her daughter, focusing on what was real, what was right in her world. “How can he even stand it?”
“You just do. I might not have worked undercover like Seth, but I’ve been in my share of wars. I’ve seen and done things that haunt me to this day, but they needed to be done. Seth is in the same situation. He has no choice but to get things done.” Kali turned her hand over and gripped her husband’s, and he smiled at her.
Annie took in his words, they made sense. Nell was the best thing that had ever happened in her life, but finding out she was pregnant when Seth was gone had been a very difficult time. She stroked her hand over her daughter’s silky black hair.
“So what do they intend to do so Seth can come home? What about his wife?”
“His wife is involved in this up to her pretty little neck, at least the arms and drugs, we don’t know about the human trafficking. Seth didn’t explain to Brice why he married her in the first place, but she is definitely going to prison when this is all over.” How could Seth be married to a criminal? Someone involved in distributing drugs and guns? Annie watched as Kali once again started to rise.
“Don’t get up Kali, I’m fine. This is just a lot to take in. What can I do to help?”
“You did the most important thing, to get Seth to connect with Brice, Nate and Sierra. Sierra thinks in two or three days she will have disabled the listening devices in Seth’s office to the point they will be able to communicate freely with him. In the meantime, if he needs help, or needs to get in touch with us, he’ll have to contact you through dream walking.”
The heat crawled up Annie’s neck and suffused her face. Neither Noah nor Kali gave any indication they noticed, but since they could feel her emotions, they didn’t even need the blush to know what she was feeling.
The door to the apartment opened. “Annie, we’re back,” Shilah called out.
Annie was relieved to have the awkward moment behind her.
“Noah. Kali. How wonderful you’re here. You can stay for lunch. Riley and I bought enough for an army, or at least a woman pregnant with twins.”
Kali laughed as Shilah plucked a bag of Oreos from one of the grocery bags Riley was carrying to the kitchen and handed it to Kali.
“I’ll bring a glass of milk,” Shilah said, as she kissed Kali’s cheek. Annie smiled at her grandmother’s antics. For the millionth time she wondered how she had been so blessed to have this wonderful woman in her life.
Looking a little bit guilty and a lot hungry, Kali handed the bag to Noah. “Open please.” She turned to Annie. “I’d open it, but sure as hell, I’d end up with half the cookies on the floor.”
“It’s true, we like to call it the Kali factor, especially when there is packaging involved,” Noah said, as he ripped open a side of the package and handed Kalie three cookies. Shilah arrived with the milk, and Noah took it. Kali immediately started dipping and eating, sighing in bliss.
“Noah, you can explain why you stopped by over lunch, unfortunately Riley has to leave.” Annie looked up and saw Riley heading for the door. She handed Nell over to Shilah, and went to him.
“Why do you have to leave?”
“With Sierra gone, I’m in charge of communications here,” he said quietly. Annie looked at the young man and saw something was wrong.
“Can you come back for dinner?”
“I think it’s best if I don’t.”
Annie looked at the young man who had been such a good friend and an integral part of her life since she arrived seven months ago.
“I don’t understand.”
“I talked to Nate, and he explained about Seth. It sounds like he really didn’t abandon you like we thought. It sounds like his marriage is a sham. I have to go.” Riley was barely holding it together, she could see it now. She thought if he was really interested in her he would have given some sort of indication, made a move, but he never did. Seeing his hurt, she could realized she was wrong.
“Okay, maybe we can see each other tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow would be better.” She reached for his arm, and then thought better of it.
After he left, she went back to the others in the room. All of them were talking to one another pretending they hadn’t watched the scene between her and Riley.
“So what’s for lunch?” Annie asked.
****
That night she tossed and turned, she couldn’t sleep if her life depended on it, even though the night before she probably had two hours of sleep maximum. Last night the lovemaking had been so poignant, knowing it was real, or at least Seth was actually coming to her, and wasn’t a figment of her imagination. The moment she had told him they had a daughter together, the moment of shock, wonder and joy on his face would be one she’d never forget.
Nell whimpered, normally it would have gone unnoticed during the night, but she was awake and hyperaware. Putting on her robe she went down the hall. Annie expected Nell to be sitting or standing in her crib which was normal when she made any kind of noise, but not this time. Her daughter was sleeping, butt high in the air, cheek resting on the mattress pad, huge smile on her face. She made another one of those small cries, and Annie recognized it. She was saying dada.
Holy Cannoli, Seth was dream walking in Nell’s dreams. Her little girl was smiling and gurgling. Annie sat in the rocker and watched her, fascinated. After a bit Nell’s breathing evened out and she seemed to be sleeping contentedly. One of Annie’s favorite pastimes was to watch over her as she slept. She was beautiful. At long last she began to feel tired.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Hmmm?”
“You’re so beautiful. You make my heart ache.”
“Were you talking to Nell?” She stroked her hand down his cheek and he held it and kissed her palm.
“It was just nonsense. I was getting to know her, and babbling with her. Getting her to smile.”
“She understands a lot.”
“Really? I thought I was imagining it. You know, hoping for more than was really there. I don’t know anything about babies.” Seth moved, and Annie realized she was sitting on his lap in the rocking chair.
“I think they’re easy. At least it is with Nell. You just have to love her.” Seth moved again, and Annie found herself even more ensconced in his arms, her head was under his chin. She felt safe and surrounded.
“Can you tell me about her? About both of you? What it’s been like while I’ve been gone. Tell me about all I’ve missed. It’s too much, how can you forgive me? You must hate me.” She pressed closer to Seth
.
“I could never hate you. I love you.”
“That was before, when we were together and I was only going to be gone a couple of months. That was when you loved me, but then I never came back.”
“You’re right, you didn’t. Instead you gave me the greatest gift of my life. You gave me Nell.”
Seth stroked his hand down her arm. “She’s wonderful. I don’t get it. She’s, she’s…well you’re her world. She showed me so many images of you. She kept showing me this same picture of you wrapped in a pink blanket, were you sick? You didn’t look sick, you looked happy and peaceful. It was one of her favorite memories.”
“I’d wrap the blanket around us when I was nursing her. Oh my God, you were actually in her mind.”
“Actually, I was in her dreams. So whatever was flitting around, I could see. Almost everything revolved around you.”
“But she was smiling, she was saying dadaa in her sleep.”
“Really? She recognized me?” He sounded amazed, so hopeful. She told him the story of the picture.
“Oh sweetheart, I never wanted to make you sad. I was so selfish the way I took from you. I should never have come to you.”
“Seth, you couldn’t help it, you were dreaming.” Annie laid a kiss against his neck, and moved upward, to the angle of his jaw before ending at his lips. She didn’t have to coax him much before his hand reached into the curls of her hair and cradled her head, angling her perfectly to join their mouths. She sighed at the taste of him, the slide of his smooth lips surrounded by the rough stubble of his beard.
Annie expected a marauder, and was met with a seducer, as he traced her upper lip with his tongue, teasing her to allow him entry. When she did, the kiss spiraled, but his hands stayed in the proper places, aware their daughter was in the room, even though this was but a dream.
“A dream?” Annie found herself lying on her bed, no idea where her robe disappeared to, and Seth, a naked god, looming above her.
“Since this is a dream we can be where we want. I would take us back to the bed and breakfast in Albuquerque, but you want to listen for Nell. You wouldn’t believe me if I said you could hear her, so we’re in your room.”
Forsaken (The Found Book 2) Page 6
