by KaLyn Cooper
“Good plan,” Micah agreed. “I’ve got this, let’s go.”
“Here, Teagan.” Elizabeth wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, bringing her attention away from the chatter in her ear. “Do you want to go next door and change?” She said aloud then pulled her in for a hug. “You can bring back night clothes for the children,” she whispered directly into her ear.
Teagan could do that. “Why don’t you strip the children of their clothes and pop them into the bathtub for me.” She kneeled down to be at Brann and Anora’s level. “I’m just going to run next door and grab your nighty and your Batman pjs. I’ll be right back.”
“Why can’t we go with you?” Anora asked as she clutched Teagan’s neck.
“Because you are going to get warmed up in the bathtub upstairs.” She hugged the little girl who meant more to her than her own life. “I’ll be back in a flash.”
Brann took his sister’s hand and led her toward the steps. “It’ll be okay. Aunt Teagan is back. Uncle Logan and Uncle Micah will make sure that Aunt Ashley can’t ever take us away again.”
As though for reassurance, Anora turned and looked at Teagan.
“That’s right, sweetie. I’ll be back before you’re done in the tub.” Teagan waited until the children had turned the corner at the top of the stairs before she trotted over to her side of the duplex.
“Matthew, it’s me, Teagan.” She closed the door behind her and nearly tripped over the two men on the shower curtain in the foyer. Both were out cold. The bandage Logan had applied to the knee she’d shot was soaked with blood. One cheek and eye were beginning to swell. The other man’s nose was off-center and both eyes were already turning black and blue.
She skirted around them and sprinted up the stairs, avoiding the bloodstained carpet.
“Matt, where are you?” She yelled as she darted into her bedroom.
“I’m in Brann’s room,” he replied.
Quickly lifting the sundress over her head, she tossed it into the hamper and peeled out of her underwear.
“Matt, grab the Batman pajamas under his pillow and a change of clothes for tomorrow.” She changed into comfortable shorts and a T-shirt.
“Already in the bag,” her friend called from the room across the hall.
Chilled, she threw on her favorite pair of sweats.
“Shorts or jeans for Anora for tomorrow?” Matthew had obviously moved on to the little girl’s room.
“Better throw in both. You know how the girls are when they get together.” As an after a she added, “Did you grab a pair of gym shoes or sandals for Brann? His are soaked.”
“Already in the bag.”
As Teagan stepped out of her bedroom, Matthew emerged from Anora’s room holding a small suitcase.
“Cleanup crew will be here in less than two minutes. They prefer to work in private so you might want to get a move on,” her friend suggested.
“Color me gone.” She grabbed the bag from his hand and trotted down the stairs. Just as she was about to leave by the front, the sliding door toward the beach opened. Micah staggered in with Ashley’s body in a fireman’s carry, Logan right behind him.
The minute she saw her lover, she dropped the suitcase and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He was soaked head to foot.
“You’re home.” The kiss she gave him was filled thankfulness and joy mixed with a boatload of relief. She vaguely heard the front door open across the room.
With one hand Logan picked up the small suitcase, and with the other, maneuvered her out onto the deck, closing the door behind them.
“The kids?” He asked as he broke the kiss.
“Bathtub,” was all she could manage to get out.
He glanced to the sliding doors and watched. “You need to leave.” Returning his gaze to her, he added, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He gave her a peck on the lips. “Our children need you.” After handing her the suitcase, he spun her around and smacked her butt. “Ice-T, you were incredible.”
“You were pretty bad ass yourself, Marine.” She didn’t look back as she trotted down the steps then cut through the stilts that held up their home. She didn’t want to know what the cleanup crew did. That day, that night, would be more than enough to generate nightmares for the rest of her life.
Thirty minutes later, Anora was on one side of her and Brann on the other, snuggled under a soft-as-mink blanket. In their favorite pajamas, warmed by the bath, they had finally stopped shaking.
Elizabeth had taken her children up to the king-sized bed for stories, giving them some privacy. Their friends showing up had been a true godsend.
The children hadn’t said much; one-word answers when asked a direct question was the extent of their conversation. Teagan didn’t know where to start, so she remained silent, holding them. The child psychologist said that the children would talk when they were ready. But this was a completely different circumstance. Maybe they needed little encouragement.
“I’m sorry about what happened today.” Teagan regretted the events from the bottom of her heart. “I’m sorry I had to leave you and go take care of Nana.”
“That’s okay. We understand. Nana is old.” Brann patted her leg. “She doesn’t have anybody else but you, and us. Is her tummy still sick? Did she eat something bad?”
Teagan loved this little boy. He had such a generous heart. After everything he’d been through that day, he was concerned about her mother. “She was just really upset, and they had to give her a shot.”
“I’m not upset anymore,” Anora announced. “I don’t need a shot.”
She hugged both children. “It’s all right to still be upset. I’m still upset. I was so scared when I got home and found out your Aunt Ashley had taken you out for ice cream.”
“I didn’t want to go with Aunt Ashley, but Erin said that since she got here, we were supposed to stay with her and do what she said.” Brann’s words cut through Teagan. Those instructions were meant for Elizabeth.
“You’re not mad at Erin, are you?” Teagan looked from one child to another. “She did exactly as I asked. It wasn’t her fault that Aunt Ashley showed up before Aunt Elizabeth.”
Neither child said anything.
“Look at me,” Teagan demanded. Both turned their eyes upward to meet hers. “This was not Erin’s fault. You like her as a babysitter, right?” When they both nodded their heads, Teagan continued, “We like her too. How about a promise that aunt Ashley will never come back here, again? Would that make things better?” Teagan had just made the executive decision not to tell the children that their Aunt Ashley was dead. They had experienced enough death in the last few months.
Both children nodded vigorously.
“Never?” Brann asked.
“Never. I promise.” Teagan kissed both children on the forehead. They sighed in unison.
The front door opened and both Logan and Micah walked in.
Brann and Anora bolted from the couch and ran to Logan. They were both crying. He kneeled down and spread out his arms. The children buried their small faces in his neck and bawled.
Micah quietly slipped up the steps.
“You kids trying to make me even more wet than I already am?” Logan joked.
Teagan’s heart liquefied into a puddle of love. She loved those children. She also loved the man holding them.
He picked up one child in each warm and brought them to the couch, sitting them beside her and tucking them into the blanket. “Will you keep my spot warm for me while I run upstairs and shower and change into my jammies?”
Logan returned five minutes later in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He crawled under the blanket next to Teagan and pulled both children onto his lap. “Now, what is it all the tears?”
“Aunt Ashley said you were going to…die.” Anora leapt onto Teagan, throwing her small arms around her neck. “She said the bad men were going to kill you, too, if we weren’t good and did exactly as she said.”
“That f
ucking bitch,” Logan said just above a whisper.
“We were really good. Really, really good.” Tears streaked down Anora’s rounded cheeks.
“Yeah, Anora didn’t even cry very much when Aunt Ashley slapped her face for sassing.” Brann told them.
“I…” Gasp. “I…” Gasp. “I don’t know what sassy is.” Hiccup. “I sorry I sassy to Aunt Ashley.” Anora rubbed her cheek.
“Oh, sweetie, you’re not sassy.” Teagan held the small, trembling body to her chest. “You’ll never see Aunt Ashley again.”
“Absolutely never,” agreed Logan.
“We’re going to live with you and Aunt Teagan, forever, right?” Brann stared into Logan’s face.
“Right. Forever.” Logan nodded. “But right now, I’m looking at two very sleepy little children. Their friends, Austin and Liza, are already asleep upstairs. How about we all sleep in my bed tonight? Even Aunt Teagan. Deal?”
Both children nodded eagerly. When his eyes met hers, she smiled in approval.
“Let’s get these kids into bed and see if the adults would like to join us for drinks back down here.” Loving Logan’s suggestion, Teagan stood with a half-asleep Anora and headed upstairs.
By the time they had tucked in their two children, their guests had already made themselves at home downstairs in the living room.
Teagan took a sip of wine and savored the flavor as it washed over her tongue and down her throat. “How soon will we be able to move back in next door?”
“Late tomorrow,” Matthew replied.
Damn. Those cleaners worked fast.
She settled into the soft leather couch and Logan put his arm around her shoulders. “You’re going to have hardwood steps when you get back over there.”
“So, do we know who the fuck those assholes were?” Micah sat down in the overstuffed chair, swirling his twelve-year-old scotch.
“Not exactly.” Matthew took a sip and set his glass on the coffee table. “The plates on the van parked downstairs in the driveway, which will be gone by morning, were traced to a private compound in Pennsylvania. Homeland Security has been watching the place for over two years. They’re pretty sure it’s a military training camp for an extreme Muslim cell. Well-funded.”
He sipped his drink and looked each person in the eye. “One of the names Homeland keeps hearing is Nassar al-Jamil.”
The quiet gasp sounded almost deafening in the large living space.
“You’re fucking shitting me.” Micah set his glass down on the table with a thunk.
Matthew shook his head. “They rattled off a few other names, but as soon as I heard that one, I knew. It just felt right.”
“It seems like everything that happens comes back around to him,” Elizabeth noted. “I’ve been analyzing chatter from his group for over ten years. Now that Iran has given him space to establish his New Islamic State, we can’t keep up with the translations.”
“Do you think all this is centered around those gold bars?” Teagan couldn’t keep the connection out of her mind. She shook her head. “So many deaths,” she whispered.
“According to Tony Alvarez, money is one of the biggest motivators for murder.” Matt took a swig. “Ten million dollars is a lot of motivation.”
“Speaking of Tony, I settled his bill but told him we might need him again, now that he’s familiar with our situation,” Logan said. “He said he was really sorry he couldn’t find out who killed Marsha.”
“On that subject,” Teagan interjected, “did the Fairfax cops ever reclassified Marsha’s death as murder?”
“I got an email on that just before I left,” Matt smiled. “Her autopsy showed no gunshot residue on either hand. The medical examiner changed it to murder.”
Whoops of joy went up around the room and quieted just as quickly when they thought about the children upstairs sleeping.
“So, was that Ashley on the video? Could she have killed Marsha?” Teagan shook her head. “Before she tried to shoot Logan, tonight, I would’ve said the woman wasn’t capable of murder. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Clarence, my computer geek, compared the video of Tony Alvarez’s meeting with Ashley at the rehab facility with the security video taken by Marsha’s neighbors. He gave me some kind of accuracy percentage, but he’s pretty damn sure it’s the same woman.”
“How can one woman look so different?” Elizabeth sipped her wine. She was so pretty, naturally. She could wear minimal makeup and still look beautiful.
“Simple. Drugs.” Matthew hugged his wife. “When Ashley was high, she didn’t give a fuck what she looked like. The only thing an addict cares about is where she’s going to get money for the next fix. Ashley Helms would do anything for money when she needed drugs, including kidnapping her niece and nephew.”
“So, her alibi was bullshit.” Micah picked up his drink and held it.
Matthew chuckled. “According to the rehab center, that’s where she is right now, enjoying a physical and mental cleansing at a private yoga retreat that doesn’t give out its member’s names.”
“I take it yoga is rehab code for hooking up with your dealer?” Logan lifted Teagan’s chin, so she was looking directly into his eyes. “You are never going to take yoga.”
Teagan stretched up and kissed his lips. “I love doing yoga and I’m not going to stop.” Then she added, “I’ve never done drugs, and I’m not going to start.”
“I’ll accept that.” He kissed her nose before turning his attention to Matthew. “Are you going to use the yoga retreat to cover…” Logan tilted his head toward the other side of the duplex.
“Fuck, no, we’re not going to hide her drug addiction.” Matt scowled. “Officially, Ashley Helms was hit twice in a drive-by gang shooting while trying to buy drugs. Her body will be sent home to her parents and they can deal with her one last time.” Almost as an afterthought, he asked, “Have Marsha’s parents ever called to arrange seeing their grandchildren?”
Teagan and Logan looked at each other. Simultaneously, they shook their heads.
“I made sure they had my phone number before they left on their RV trip up the East coast.” Teagan looked at Logan expectantly.
“I don’t give a flying fuck if they ever show up. As far as I’m concerned, the farther we can keep our children from that family, the better.” She had to agree with Logan.
“If Ashley didn’t kill Marsha, then who did? The guy in the baseball hat on the video?” Micah had a point.
“We haven’t had any luck identifying that man. He was damn good. Hell, Clarence can’t even be sure of the man’s skin color.”
Somebody killed Teagan’s best friend and she would do everything within her power to see that person come to justice. “Do you think it was one of the thugs who kidnapped me?”
Matthew shrugged. “I have no idea. Both those men will be interrogated by the best. We’ll have to wait and see if one of them talks.”
Elizabeth yawned. “It’s been a long day, and an emotional night. I’m heading to bed.” She stood and reached out her hand for Matthew. “Are you coming?”
Matt stood. “Not with a bed filled with our children. Liza thinks she’s a starfish and takes up half the bed, and Austin is a hot box, throwing all the covers onto whoever has the misfortune to sleep beside him.” He pulled his wife to him and kissed her, hard and fast, ignoring everyone else in the room. When he broke the kiss, he turned to Logan and Teagan. “All the kids are moving to your side as soon as the cleaners are done. We have a baby to make.”
Logan gave her a little hug. He leaned in close enough so only she could hear. “No babies. Our two are more than we can handle.”
“Absolutely.” She turned her head to whisper in his ear. “But we can still have sex. Lots and lots of sex.”
Logan stood, pushing her to her feet. “To bed, woman. We have traumatized children who need cuddling.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The man was not surprised when the unique ring tone on his secur
e satellite phone sounded at ten o’clock at night. It was six thirty in the morning in Iran. He pulled into an empty Christian church parking lot, the irony not missed.
“Good morning uncle.”
Had the Caliphate for the New Islamic State already heard about the incident in North Carolina? “You tell me. Has it been a good day?”
Well, whoever his uncle had working for him in the CIA was well connected.
“I believe so,” he said with a smile.
“How can this be? Your men failed to retrieve both the computer and the data. Then they allowed themselves to be captured.” His furious voice boomed across the planet.
“Everything has worked out well, uncle. The captured men are on their way right this moment to the jail cells in my building. The hard drive from Gabriel Davis’s computer is accompanying them as well as all backup copies. By morning, my time, I’ll be able to put my hands on everything. I have been assured that a computer virus will be released in the CIA system tomorrow afternoon targeting anything dealing with your gold, that Syrian mission eleven years ago, and a few other items I’ve deemed necessary to delete.”
“Your computer man can do that?” He sounded worried. Yes, his geek could do a lot more than wipe out specific files.
“Not only can he, he’s already uploaded the virus. It’ll trigger the millisecond anyone tries to access the information from the microSD drives.” He felt smug as he leaned back into the white leather of his expensive sports car.
“What of the men? Will they talk?”
What a worrier his uncle had become. He looked up at the lighted cross in front of the church. His uncle should have more faith…in him.
“Dead men don’t speak.”
“It seems you have the current situation handled.”
“I do. Our plans are firm. Everything will begin on the date we agreed upon. Glory will be ours, uncle.”
“Allah be with you and give you strength.”
The line went dead.
He let out a long slow breath. The tension in his shoulders was almost unbearable. He needed a release.
Pulling out of the church parking lot, he headed to the private club.
