“Eat your pie,” Liam said easily.
“I don’t want my pie,” Caroline said fiercely.
“A goat needs to eat. If the goat isn’t fat enough, the wolf won’t want him.”
That stopped her before she could start another tirade. Her lips twitched. She looked over at Addison. “Are you two a couple?”
“What makes you ask that? Yes, we are, but what made you ask?”
“You have that vibe. He’s just pretty good with women, I thought he might have had some training.”
Addison laughed. She liked this woman. A lot.
“I think I resent that.” Liam’s tone was mild.
“No, you don’t. That’s why I think you’ve been trained. You’re a SEAL, you should resent the hell out of me saying that,” Caroline picked up her fork. “So, do I get to be a goat?”
“No, you get to be put under protective custody so that he stays the fuck away from you.” Now Liam didn’t sound laid back in the slightest.
There was the Neanderthal that Addison knew and loved.
“You will stay put where we tell you. You will not take unnecessary risks, you will stay safe.”
Caroline swallowed her pie and took a swig of tea. “You still have to give him more lessons,” she said to Addison.
Liam glanced sideways at her, his look was heated. Addison blushed.
“So where do you want me to go? Because I’m not going back to my apartment, that’s for damn sure.”
“We have a safe-house for you.”
“Is Big Red going to be there?”
“Eventually,” Liam answered.
Addison motioned for the waitress.
“Can I order some pies to go?”
“How many pieces?” the waitress asked.
“Nope, I want the full pies. And if you could heat up the apple, that would be great.”
“Sure thing.”
12
Oh, he was going to have his hands full, and he wasn’t talking about the pies that were currently in his lap. Laird better get his ass back from Northern California pretty damn quick.
“What are you thinking about, your friend the goat?”
“What was she thinking?” Liam damn near shouted. He saw Addison’s lip twitch, which in no way helped his temper.
“Don’t worry, I see her in the rearview mirror, she’s not running around trying to draw the attention of the killer.”
“Addison, that isn’t even fucking funny.”
She dropped one of her hands from the steering wheel and put it on his thigh. “I know.” She continued down the highway. “Do you think it’s the right thing to do, though? Is that why you’re so upset?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
It was not fun having someone know you this well. It was not.
“You did not see her like I did when we found her.”
Addison snorted.
“What?”
Addison put on the blinker and took their exit off the highway without commenting.
“What?”
“You came home with bruises because of her. I’d say for someone who had been Tasered and tied up with duct tape she was doing remarkably well. Yeah, she was traumatized. Yeah, like any reasonable human being with a brain, she was scared. But does she want to be part of the planning and solution to put this guy away, yes she does. I hope to God if I were ever in her shoes, I would be that determined.”
She blew her bangs off her forehead then turned left at the bottom of the exit ramp.
“You would be that brave, there isn’t a doubt in my mind,” Liam said as he melded their fingers together there on his leg. She sighed and smiled.
“Thank you for that.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for, it’s the truth. Now, what’s with buying all the pies?”
“The guys will be here soon. I’m sick of Conroy being the one who stocks up the house. It just feels kind of wrong that I haven’t contributed.”
“Is this a girl thing?”
She gave him a sideways glance. “It’s a woman thing, Liam. I’m a woman. I left being a girl behind a hell of a long time ago. Hell, if Brody has his way, I might be a grandmother sooner than I think.”
Liam sat up a little straighter. “Is that how you see Brody, as your son?”
“Absolutely. And any children he has would definitely be my grandchildren. I’d really like that. I missed out on Brody being a baby and his really young years.”
“Are you saying you want children?”
“I’m forty-three, it’s a little late. The viability of my eggs isn’t what it used to be. Personally, I wouldn’t want to risk it. I’m satisfied with where my life ended up on the kid thing. How about you?”
“You know, we never talked about that, did we?”
“No. It wasn’t something you wanted to discuss. You weren’t into the future talk.”
Liam winced. He really hadn’t been. “It wasn’t you. I didn’t think much of my future at all, it wasn’t until Donovan slapped me upside my head two years ago that I started thinking about things. Really started thinking about things. But no, at this point kids are off the table. It’s a younger man’s game. But I definitely enjoy being part of Donovan’s grandkids’ lives. They are a hoot.”
As she pulled into the driveway of the house and shut off the car, she turned to him and grinned. “I love hearing that. You deserve to have that kind of joy in your life.”
“There’s another kind of joy I want in my life, Addison. The kind that you can bring.”
Her smile dimmed just a little bit. “We’re having a joyful time right now. I’m so glad we’re here together.”
Damn, that is not the answer he wanted.
“I’ll come around and help you with those,” she said as she unbuckled her belt.
“I’ve got it. You go unlock the door.”
Three hours later, Caroline was watching T.V., Liam was talking on his phone to Cooper, and Addison was researching something that had just occurred to her. She had been able to get the list of Naval attendees for the next day’s celebration from Stacy. She wanted to just dump all the names into a spreadsheet and do some sorts, but she ended up having to create a stupid-assed database, to start getting the data she needed.
She weeded out people who hadn’t been in the Navy long enough, then looked at their rank, where they had been stationed. When she had the list narrowed, she used the CIA data to obtain some of their financials. Like the potential recruiters that the team was out questioning, she had a list of people who could be the killer. She didn’t limit it to men, even though the profile skewed that way. There had been instances where the profile had been off, the killer had been a woman, and the body count had doubled because of it.
“What are you doing?” Liam came up behind her.
“I really think our killer is going to be at tomorrow’s celebration.”
He pulled up a chair so he could sit next to her behind the desk. Addison tilted her computer so he could see it better.
“I felt the same way,” he said. “But tell me what your reasons are.”
Addison lowered her voice. “He knows we’re here, and instead of that being a deterrent, his personality would take that as a challenge.”
She peeked over at him.
“Go on,” he encouraged.
“Then there is the fact that I’m in a hundred percent agreement with Caroline, he will want to get his hands on her again. Guaranteed. Now that’s metaphorically speaking, because he never touched her. But he’s going to have considered her his.”
Addison warmed to her subject. “Now, the other man who had been in the cabin with Caroline, he won’t show up there, but you can be sure that our pompous ass killer will be standing there with his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance.” Just the thought of it made her want to gag.
“Down, girl.”
“Is my disgust showing through?”
He put his hand on her back and chuckled. “Just a litt
le.”
“Do I get to be a goat?” Caroline called from the sofa.
“No.” Addison and Liam yelled simultaneously.
“Then I’m going to go cook something for lunch. You two don’t get input.”
They watched as she got up and went into the kitchen. “I’m surprised she didn’t end up breaking your arm,” Addison said with a smirk.
“She should have signed up to be a SEAL, not a machinist.”
“Mention it to her. She can still transfer, can’t she?” Addison pulled her laptop closer. She pulled up the names she wanted to show Liam.
“I get the feeling she won’t be with the Navy much longer.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My nephew’s going to try to recruit her. Now show me what you’re so excited about.”
Addison wanted to ask more questions, but this was important. “We’ve got eleven. Nine men and two women. My gut says that there isn’t a chance in hell it’s a woman, but in good conscience, I can’t rule them out. I’ve seen that happen and investigations have been bitten on their asses.”
“Do you want to go over them now?”
“Didn’t you say Cooper and Laird were going to be here by three? I think it would be more productive if we went over everything then. Maybe you could tell me Conroy’s status with Stan since he’s not going to be here until six tonight.”
Liam shot a quick glance over to the kitchen. “She’s got pots and pans out. I think we’re getting a real live meal.”
“Quit stalling. Is it bad?”
He leaned back in his chair and looked at her. “Stan’s the man.”
She rolled her eyes. “You had to put that much thought into coming up with that?”
“Nope, Conroy gave me that line, so it didn’t take any thought at all.” He caught her chair with his foot and pulled it closer to his so he could touch her neck. She liked it. “Conroy had made a lunch date with the guy as a recruiter for McAllister Enterprises. Got him to have a few at lunch.”
“Drinks?”
“Bourbons to be exact.” His thumb started swirling circles in the sensitive spot at the nape of her neck. She had to force herself to focus.
“It didn’t take much actually for Conroy to hook him, all Conroy had to do was offer him a hundred percent matching 401k, double his salary and a one percent share in the company. Then he started reeling him in.”
“What did he do?” Addison asked.
“Conroy said that all the goodies were contingent if Stan could bring some information over with him. The guy couldn’t agree fast enough.”
“The guy stumbled his way over to Conroy’s rental car to sign some papers, and that’s when our man let him have it. He played back the recorded conversation for Stan. The guy started crying. Conroy poured him into his car and that’s when Conn got him to confess to giving information to someone he’d never met. He’d been doing it for over twenty years.”
“Twenty years!”
“Did you say something?” Caroline called from the kitchen.
“Yeah, when am I going to get fed?” Addison yelled back, trying to cover her slip.
“There’s pie waiting for you, any time, Sister.”
“I’m considering it,” Addison shouted back.
“Twenty years?” Addison hissed at Liam. “This changes my model. This changes everything.” Suddenly the truth of it slammed home. “Ah God, Liam, there are even more dead women.”
He moved their chairs so that their knees touched.
“More,” she whimpered. “I know this should be an investigation. I’m better than this. But that means there are more Carolines.” She blinked fast.
“Honey. It’s going to be all right.”
She looked into those beautiful blue eyes, so filled with tender compassion, and tried to take comfort, but the look of Caroline hunched over in the booth at the diner kept getting superimposed. How many more young women had been taken? She tried to do the math at the killer’s take rate.
“Wait. Did Conroy get a list of names?”
Liam shook his head. “Not yet. That’s why he’s coming later. He’s waiting for Stan to sober up and get him everything. He’s going to stand over him and make sure that he doesn’t try to pull a fast one and delete his records.”
“He has them at his home?”
“Apparently, even though he’d never met the guy he was supplying to, he wanted blackmail material in case things went sideways.”
“Didn’t he know what the man was doing with these names?”
“He knew.” Liam’s words were solemn.
“Bastard,” she breathed.
“Wait. Are you telling me Conroy can’t get into this man’s computer?” That didn’t sound right at all.
“Apparently besides being drunk, Stan took a really bad fall in his house. It’s taking him a while to come around. Conroy’s having to act as a nurse. I’m not sure what’s going on. I didn’t ask. All I know is that Conn said he wasn’t going to make it back here until tonight.”
Addison shuddered. “Is Stan going to be alive when he leaves?”
“I can’t guarantee in what kind of shape he’ll be in, but he’ll be alive,” Liam promised.
She nodded. She could live with that then.
13
“Honey, I’m home!”
His friend was a fucking idiot.
“We have pie,” Addison said as Laird walked up the few stairs from the front door up into the living room. Liam noticed how his eyes swept across the room. He knew the women didn’t see it, but it was clear as day to him, that Laird breathed easier when he saw Caroline. Was it just because he was worried about yet another ‘Lamb’ or was it something more?
“What kind of pie?” Laird asked.
“Banana Cream, Butterscotch and Apple,” Caroline answered from the couch. Now that he thought about it, she’d been sitting there an awful lot. He hadn’t asked to see the hospital report on her injuries.
Dammit.
Liam jerked his chin to Addison. She understood, and sidled over to him and they walked into the den together.
“What?” she asked. They watched as Laird headed for the pie and started asking Caroline questions.
“Can you get the hospital records on Caroline. I want to find out how badly she was injured. I should have done that first thing and I didn’t. I noticed she isn’t moving around all that much.”
“She has two broken ribs, so they have her taped up.”
“How do you know?”
“I did this weird thing called asking,” Addison said as she squeezed his arm. “It’s okay. You’re juggling a hell of a lot.”
“Jesus Addison, do you think I did that to her?”
His woman laughed up at him. “That’s why she didn’t say anything. She was positive you’d be all wigged out. She said she couldn’t deal with your guilt trip.”
Liam reared back. “She did not say that.”
“Scouts honor.”
“You were never a girl scout.”
“She said it Liam. I agreed with her. I promised her I wouldn’t say anything unless it was pertinent to the mission.”
“Coop just drove up,” Laird bellowed.
“We better get back out there,” Liam said.
“You promise not to drip guilt all over here?” Addison eyed him.
“Scouts honor.”
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “You didn’t hurt her. Honest.”
He didn’t believe either one of them. But what could he do? It was water under the bridge.
The front door open and Coop walked in.
“You can’t just live on pie,” Caroline was telling Laird. “I have some grilled chicken and asparagus for a lunch.”
“You cooked?” Cooper said, his eyes lighting up.
“Yep.”
Laird glowered at Cooper.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Caroline asked Laird.
“No.”
�
��Hi, I’m Cooper Laughlin,” the dark-haired man held out his hand as he grinned over at his Scottish friend. “You must be Caroline Jakes. I hear you beat the hell out of Liam. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She blushed but regained her equilibrium fast.
“Good to meet you. Now, you guys have to set the table, since I cooked. I’ll get everything put out.”
“I will,” Liam interrupted. “You go and sit down.”
Caroline immediately glared at Addison. “You told on me.”
Addison spread her hands. “He asked. I wasn’t going to lie. Now go sit down at the table and wait to be served.”
Liam liked that side of Addison. He could just imagine her raising Brody. She would have been good with him. She would be good as a grandmother too. A hot, sexy grandmother.
“I want to go over some things while we’re eating,” Addison said to the people at the table.
“What about Conroy and Declan?” Cooper asked.
“Who are they?” Caroline wanted to know.
“They’re the last two guys involved in rescuing you,” Addison answered. “Liam’s the team leader. His nephew, Declan McAllister runs McAllister Enterprises. That’s the company most of these gentlemen work for.”
“McAllister does a lot of high-end security and consulting jobs around the world. It keeps us pretty busy. We mostly hire former military.”
“But only men, right?” Caroline asked cynically.
“That’s not true, Lass.”
Ah, the recruiting had begun, Liam realized as he bit into his food. He looked up to see what Addison was thinking of all this and she winked at him.
“So, where are they?”
“Declan won’t be here til tomorrow,” Liam answered. “He’s stopping off in Chicago and spending the night with his wife and baby.”
“And what about this Conroy guy, who’s he and why isn’t he here?” Caroline persisted.
Cooper and Laird started laughing.
“What?” Caroline looked from one to the other.
“You and Conroy would get along,” Cooper said. “You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“Four years on the debate team, two years as president,” Caroline said proudly. “So, the scoop on Conroy?”
SEAL at Sunrise (Silver SEALs Book 12) Page 13
