Unguarded Love

by KaLyn Cooper

  Daniel did as directed. “What’s in there?”

  She deftly dodged the plastic tubing running into Bella’s arm as she transferred the baby to him. “Rosita made it. Her Spanish dialect is little different from what I learned in language school, but from what I could understand, it’s water infused with several fruits. What she really needs is electrolytes made specifically for babies.”

  “I’ll get some sent in on the next shipment.” He closed his eyes dreading that phone call. Uncle Tom, in family mode, would be thrilled about becoming a great uncle. The man, who had been more of a father to him than his own, would treat Simon and Isabella like grandchildren. They were going to be spoiled rotten once they all return to the United States.

  Tom Gilpatrick, though, would be pissed as hell that one of his agents had created not one, but two children, while working undercover in a Third World country. It wasn’t Daniel’s fault, though. Both pregnancies were caused by busted condoms provided by the crazy bitch. More than once he’d wondered if she’d somehow weakened the latex or poked a hole in it on purpose. He’d never had unprotected sex. Never. There’s too much bad shit out there in the world, and he had no desire to die from fucking.

  When he opened his eyes, Kira was injecting something into the IV. “She’ll probably sleep for a couple hours. I thought we had her fever under control, but it is still jumping up and down. The acetaminophen seems to be helping.” She smiled at him over her shoulder. “I like seeing a father take care of his baby.” After disposing of the needle, she said, “I think I’ll take you up on that breakfast. I’m sure the hotel has already finished serving. I’ll come back up and check on her before I leave.”

  Daniel stared down at the small life he held. Tiny hands pretended to hold the bottle as she sucked away, bliss written in her miniature features. She was as helpless as he felt. What the hell did he know about raising kids? Sure, he’d been around Katlin when she was a baby, or at least the first four years. He had definitive memories about stinky diapers, but remembered laughing at the disgusted face she’d made when he’d fed her peas for the very first time. Those were followed by happier memories.

  He and Santiago had teased Katlin to the point of tears when they were in their early teens. By the time she’d reached that same age, she’d already killed several men, defending children the ages of his during an attempted coup.

  Bella’s angelic face told him nothing of her future. Would she be the fierce warrior that her Aunt Katlin was today? Or would she be the refined woman hosting parties for princes and ambassadors like his mother? Or would she be fucking crazy like the woman who gave birth to her? Only time would tell.

  With a sigh, his daughter released the nipple she’d been sucking. Her head rolled to the side. He threw the small towel over his shoulder then placed his baby’s head next to his cheek. He’d just learned the skills last night from Rosita along with the lesson that babies had to be burped after feeding. He gently patted her back until she belched like a frat boy. For some reason he couldn’t explain, that made him proud.

  After laying her back in the crib and tucking her in, Daniel drew in a deep breath and reached for his phone. Rather than calling him through normal contacts, he dialed his uncle’s private cell phone.

  “Daniel, are you all right?” The fatherly concern on the other end touched Daniel in a way he could never explain, nor wanted to.

  “Hey, Uncle Tom, I need to talk to you about something very personal.” A fist tightened in his gut. Daniel was embarrassed that he hadn’t proudly called his uncle and announced the birth of his son three years ago. He’d wonder why later, but right now he needed to get on with it.

  “You know, son, you can talk to me about anything.” Tom often called anyone younger than him, son, but that term of endearment suddenly meant more to Daniel than he’d ever imagined.

  “Look, uhm, I’m just going to come right out and say this… I need your help to get my son and daughter into the United States without hassles.” Daniel took a deep breath as he waited for the explosion on the other end of the line.

  There was no sound whatsoever for a long time. Daniel pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it to see that they were still connected. “Uncle Tom?”

  He heard a long inhalation of breath. “There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don’t know where to start.” On a heavy exhale, he began, “First, are you sure the children are yours.”

  “Definitely. They have my eyes, the only blue ones in camp.” From the moment those children were born, he’d never doubted their parentage. Those unique Irish eyes, the ones that matched the man on the other end of the phone, were as much proof as any DNA test.

  “Very well.” Keys clicking could be heard to the line. “I don’t suppose they have birth certificates?”

  At that, Daniel laughed. “The previous president of Nicaragua wasn’t big on birth certificates or death certificates, so that answer would be, no.”

  “Hmm. That could play to our advantage,” Tom noted. “How do you feel about your children carrying dual citizenship with Costa Rica?”

  “That’s one hell of an idea.” Daniel smiled. Not everyone in the Costa Rican government liked the fact that of four U.S. government employees owned a large resort hotel, a private compound, a private airstrip, and nearly a hundred acres of prime real estate on the Caribbean coast. He glanced at his daughter sleeping peacefully. She and Simon, as Costa Rican citizens, could own his share, skirting around any legislation they imposed.

  “We may need to grease some more palms around Barra del Colorado, but I’m sure the local officials would be more than happy to help us. We’ve proven to be a true boost to their economy.” Neither Tom Gilpatrick nor Daniel Callahan were averse to bribes. They were very familiar with the fact that in most Third World countries, American dollars could buy you almost anything, including certified birth certificates and passports.

  “Works for me,” Daniel agreed. “I’ll handle that this afternoon.”

  “Daniel, what of their mother?” Tom chuckled. “Or mothers?”

  “Singular. And that fucking bitch is dead.” It took everything within Daniel to hold back the fury he had for the woman who had given birth to his children, then abused his son.

  “Did you kill her?” Tom asked as though he were referring to his breakfast.

  “Didn’t have to. The flu, which may have really been Ebola, killed her two days ago.” Daniel needed to shift gears and put on his CIA hat.

  “What’s the status back in the camp?”

  “When I left, the farmers and townspeople were bringing their sick and dying to our doc, but he didn’t have anywhere near enough supplies to handle them.” He had to ask. “Is there any chance I could get a shipment of pain medication, rehydration packs, or anything else physicians in the states give patients who have the flu?”

  “You have a resupply plane coming in a few hours for the scientists. I’ve included a few cases of those medicines, but nowhere near enough for the guerilla camp. I sent those to Costa Rica just in case anybody there got sick, although if Nita has done her job, all our people should have been inoculated.” Under his breath Tom added, “I just hope that shit works.”

  “It has so far,” Daniel reassured his uncle. “I must have had a dose of Ebola though, because I ended up sleeping on and off for almost three days. When I woke up, I felt great.” He sat on the edge of his bed and glanced into the crib. “Bella, that’s what we call her, got hit pretty hard. Do you think on the next shipment down here you could send me some electrolytes and aspirin made specifically for babies? Simon, my son—”

  “His name is Simon?” Tom interrupted in a choked voice.

  Daniel smiled. “Yes, I gave him Grandpa Gilpatrick’s name.” It was also his uncle’s middle name, one that had been given to the oldest boy in every generation for over a hundred years.

  “Thank you for that, son.” Tom audibly swallowed hard.

  “It was the right thin
g to do,” Daniel admitted. Needing to change the subject, and wanting to get this part out there, he asked, “How soon can I be brought in? I want to get my kids the hell out of here. I want them to grow up in the U.S.”

  “Understood, but we really need you there for now. Was Cristobal Maximo still alive when you left camp?”

  “Yes, and doing well. The shots you sent about six months ago were used on the children, the pregnant, and the important which included Cris.” Well, not all the pregnant women took the shots. Damn her. Daniel had made sure they stretched the solution as far as it could possibly go.

  “Did you take the shot?” Tom’s direct question hit the spot.

  “No, sir, not then. I wanted to make sure everyone was protected against the flu, but there wasn’t enough to go around.” Even giving children partial doses, there had barely been enough to include the doctor, who was essential, and Cris. Emilio had also deemed himself important and taken a full dose. “We had already started recruiting for the coup and the numbers in camp were in the hundreds. But Nita gave me the shot when I first saw her.”

  “You do know that wasn’t the flu shot, right? It was the first batch of serum against the Ebola found in northeastern Nicaragua last year that was ready for human testing. I sent it to you because I wanted you and your camp protected.”

  “Thank you for that. There simply wasn’t enough,” Daniel insisted.

  “And being the conscientious leader that you are, you wanted to make sure everyone else was served first.” Once again Tom was accurate.

  Daniel had always been taught to make sure his troops were housed and fed before he was. It was a leadership style he’d learned while training with the Marines. Treat your men right, and they’ll follow you into hell…and out the other side in victory. The mantra had been repeated so many times, and demonstrated constantly by the officers in charge that taking care of everyone else first had become an unconscious decision for him.

  Trying to force the conversation back around to his children leaving Central America, he asked, “You mentioned that you needed me here. Is there something specific you need me to do before I leave?”

  “Yes. We’re getting mixed reports out of Nicaragua. The new official government is requesting international aid due to the overwhelming flu epidemic. If what you just told me is true, that this is really the Ebola strain discovered nearly a year ago, they are in more trouble than they know. Other agents are reporting thousands dead. Our man on the streets in Managua said it looks like a zombie apocalypse movie with dead bloated bodies just tossed into the streets.”

  Daniel could only imagine how terrible it must be inside a city with no electricity, in the heat and humidity of summer.

  “As you well know, we have the best satellites in the world, but they can’t give us the human intelligence we need to make good decisions. I’m ordering you to Managua. I want you to pick up our asset there then check out the situation in San Miguelito.”

  Tom finally took a breath before he continued. “Satellite pictures coming in show absolutely no progress on the new capital. The United States needs General Cortez’s new government to stand up quickly and to start digging that damn canal. We’re willing to send them anything they need in order to keep that government friendly toward the U.S.A.”

  “Will do,” Daniel promised. “What you want me to do with the Managua asset?”

  “Leave him in San Miguelito. Set him up with you as his new handler.”

  “Yes, sir.” Daniel hoped the disappointment didn’t come through in his voice. This was his job and it wasn’t done until Deputy Director Thomas Gilpatrick told him to come home.

  “Hey, Daniel,” Tom’s voice had changed to the gentle one he’d used so often while Daniel was a teen and in college. “Congratulations on the children. Could you do me a favor? Use that secure phone in your hand and take pictures of Simon and Bella. Send them to me right away.”

  “For the passports?” Daniel speculated.

  “Fuck, no. I’m going to frame them and put them on my desk.” There was a short pause before he added, “And the handler assignment, it’s just temporary. DD CIA out.”

  Daniel closed the connection on his end and opened the camera app. As he was moving around Bella’s crib for the best shot, one that didn’t include the needle in her arm or the tubing, a soft knock came at the door.

  “Daniel,” Katlin whispered. “We have orders to fly you into Nicaragua.”

  He zoomed in on the tiny face with light pink cheeks. As though his daughter knew exactly what he needed, she opened those beautiful blue eyes and smiled up at him.

  Click. Click. Click.

  Grace stepped next to Daniel. “Oh, goody. She’s awake. I love babies.” She picked up the child and started with nonstop baby talk. “Are we going to have fun together while Daddy is off working? You bet we are, baby Bella. We’re going to read a book. We’re going to get a bottle when we need one.” She lifted the child and sniffed loudly. “But right this minute, we’re going to get a fresh new diaper.” She looked at Daniel. “In case you hadn’t figured it out, I’m going to take care of the baby since Kira is on the chopper crew.”

  “Where’s Simon?” Daniel kicked off the flip-flops he’d worn to breakfast and grabbed a pair of black socks from the drawer and his boots. “I need to take a picture of him and send it to Uncle Tom before we go.”

  “You’d better send a copy of those same pictures to Uncle Francis, too. You know how competitive those two are when it comes to you and me. Can you imagine how bad they’re going to be about the kids? It will be a constant competition about who can buy the biggest and best presents.”

  His sister was right. He needed to send the same pictures to both uncles. Why did families have to be so fucking complicated?

  Chapter 10

  Damn men. Who needs them anyway?

  Nita stomped on the abrasive rug to remove as much sand from her flip-flops and body as possible before entering the vestibule. She hit the large metal panel that opened the first set of doors. Stepping through, they rapidly closed behind her as the first line of prevention to keep germs out.

  I certainly don’t need Daniel Callahan. I could walk in that resort bar right this minute and have any man I want begging to take me upstairs to his room within an hour.

  Taking tiny steps across the sticky mat she attempted to remove as many fine particles as possible. She walked to a locker designated as hers and slipped out of her clothes and into a new paper robe before entering the wet shower. After scrubbing every inch of her body with antiseptic soap, she rinsed off with treated water and stepped into a drying tube under ultraviolet-C lights that reached down to DNA to kill viruses, yet posed no known threats to humans.

  Too bad the shower and lights couldn’t wash away her anger. She’d had the whole walk from the Callahan compound to the new clean room to think about what had happened. She would never be able to erase the picture in her mind of little Simon’s scarred back and multiple fractures.

  How could Daniel have let this happen to his child? Any child, but especially his. Sure, he claims he didn’t know, but how could he not? Was he that much of an asshole to be a totally absent father? Little more than a sperm donor? And how could he have kept two children a secret from his entire family, especially Katlin?

  Nita just didn’t understand.

  With practiced hands, she grabbed a new jumpsuit from the shelf and slipped into it, flipping up the hood to cover her hair. Next came the latex gloves and her personal crocs. She didn’t need to think about the clean room protocol. Good thing. Her mind was filled with Daniel.

  He had kissed her, right there in the bathroom. And he’d apologized. That was the Daniel Callahan she thought she knew.

  Balancing on one foot at a time, she slipped booties over her shoes then walked through the plastic curtain into the next phase of dressing.

  Anger rose again when she considered what she’d found when she’d gone upstairs to check on the baby…he�
��d been flirting with Kira. Or at least that’s what it sounded like through the closed doors. Nita wasn’t about to walk in and see for herself. She had better things to do than deal with a baby.

  At least that was the lie she told herself. Even she didn’t believe it.

  She lifted the heavy helmet with her name on it and checked the clear face shield. Everything looked fine. Carefully placing it over her head, she wiggled her shoulders for a more comfortable fit. Next came the thick coveralls that looked like a damn spacesuit. It took a little maneuvering to get a tight, smooth fit, but she managed.

  As she stepped into the boots, Daniel’s words sliced through her.

  He was right.

  She was lying to herself. And had been for years.

  Nita couldn’t walk into that bedroom and see clear liquids running through a tube from a hanging bag into an arm that was strapped to a board. At least there were no beeping machines. Although, Nita had noticed that the pulse-ox apparatus was missing from her medical equipment bag.

  As a physician, she had an obligation to check on the patient. She’d been frozen in place. She couldn’t force herself to close the short distance to Daniel’s door.

  There was a tiny baby inside that was sick…and might die. Nita couldn’t have the death of another child on her conscience. The last one had ruined a promising career and sent Nita into an emotional depth she never wanted to see again. She’d gone on a ten-day drunk, fucked men she would never remember, missed her medical school final exams, and ended up in the emergency room with an alcohol overdose.

  Fortunately, the Uniformed Services Medical School board had allowed her to graduate based on her stellar classroom scores and physician observations. They’d allowed her to become a doctor. But, she had lost her residency.

  She needed to get out of Washington, D.C. as fast as possible, and as far away from the neonatal unit as she could get.