Brianna's Navy SEAL

by Natalie Damschroder

  "Would you grab the mail for me? I'll just be a sec.” He glanced at the steady light on his answering machine, then picked up the folder from where he'd left it on the coffee table. He got back to the porch as Brianna was climbing the steps, staring down at the top envelope on the small stack she held.

  "Cable.” She stopped on the steps. “Is this the first mail you've gotten from Sid Carothers?"

  His blood went to ice, and he felt his face fall into his old SEAL expression, the one that earned him the nickname Granite by a few of his BUD/S. Brianna handed him the mail, looking worried.

  "Are you going to read it?"

  He glanced at the return address and postmark. “Not now. This came from Florida. It can wait."

  "It came from Florida. Two days ago. That doesn't mean he's not here. He knows where you are.” Her voice went slightly shrill. “He could be watching you right now."

  "He's not.” Cable tossed the mail into the foyer and slammed his door. “We're going to be late for the meeting."

  "Screw the meeting. Cable.” She grabbed his arm, and he knew ignoring it wasn't going to make her stop thinking about it. “Cable, he's more serious than you thought. Can you please open that letter and see what it says?” She tried to laugh. “Or at least call the bomb squad?"

  His watch beeped the quarter hour. “We're definitely going to be late. Brie, don't worry.” He pulled her into his arms and tried to keep his voice from sounding like he knew his face looked. “We'll read it when we get back, okay? He's not going to come up here. It will violate his parole, and after the number of years he's spent inside, he won't be eager to go back.” He rocked slightly until he felt her relax. When he looked down into her eyes, he was relieved to see anger rather than fear.

  "Fine, but I'm reading that letter with you. You're not keeping it from me."

  "Never."

  "Okay. Let's go."

  As he followed her to the car, he had a feeling they were going to have a very long night.

  An hour later, he wished he hadn't thought that. It seemed like self-fulfilling prophecy. He sat on the couch, Darcy next to him acting like there was no one else in the room as she babbled on and on and on with all her ideas. Brianna hunched into her chair, shooting daggers at either him or Darcy, he couldn't tell which. Ken sat across from her, making moon eyes. Cable had never seen moon eyes before, but these were definitely them.

  "So, Cable, would that work for you?"

  "Huh?” He hadn't been listening to Darcy for a minute and hoped it wasn't too big a lapse.

  "Dinner Friday, so we can pick up these things in Boston?"

  Cable felt Brianna's eyes spearing him, but didn't know why. He just wanted to get this done and get out of here, and the quickest way to do that was usually to agree with someone, so he said, “Right, sure, Friday pickup."

  "And dinner. There's a wonderful bistro right down the street from the warehouse, which will be convenient since it would be too early to eat when we leave here, and too late when we get home.” Cable nodded a few times, then pointedly looked at his watch. Ken gave a bit of a snort, and Cable wondered if he'd fallen asleep.

  Brianna jerked forward, as if to get up, then fell back into her seat with her arms folded tightly and a glower on her face. After a second, her expression smoothed out and she looked calmer, but resigned. The whole scene made Cable uneasy, and he wondered what had made him think he wanted to do stuff like this. Teaching was great. He had an even bigger sense of satisfaction when one of his kids mastered a concept or read a whole page than he had when his team completed a mission. But this community stuff ... he'd been looking for a replacement for that team, and this committee wasn't it.

  Darcy was starting to repeat herself, so as soon as she paused, he stood.

  "Thanks, Darcy. Good meeting. I'll see you Friday."

  Brianna was at the door before he'd finished speaking, and he shook his head. He'd never seen her be rude like this, and wondered what was going on. It couldn't all be about the letter.

  Ken waved at Darcy and Cable and joined Brianna at the door, saying something that sounded like the “defender file.” Brianna looked irritated, but walked out into the dark with Ken. Cable started to follow, but Darcy stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  "Can we use your truck on Friday? I don't think I clarified that."

  "I made a logical deduction. I'll pick you up here?"

  "No, my real estate office. I have a closing that afternoon.” She stroked his arm and moved closer. “I'm looking forward to it, Cable."

  She was obviously looking for more than a ride—or maybe, that was exactly what she was looking for. He didn't let his self-amusement show. It didn't look like Darcy would require much encouragement.

  "Friday night traffic in Boston?” he said mildly. “Not usually my idea of a good time."

  Darcy was undeterred. “It depends on the company, Cable. Bumper-to-bumper sounds good to me."

  He shook his head, said goodnight, and joined the others outside. Brianna looked like she was dealing with the same come-ons from Ken, though he doubted Ken was as smooth.

  "Brie, you ready?” he called, heading for the truck. She nodded, said something to Ken that Cable couldn't hear, and went around to the passenger side of the truck. Cable waited for Ken, parked behind him, to pull out of the driveway. He roared up the street in his little Honda. Cable figured he didn't like whatever Brianna had said.

  Cable drove more slowly. He saw no point in holding their conversation until they got to his house. Brianna would be all over the letter then, and he wanted to deal with her other issues, first.

  "What's bothering you?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I don't like being the point of a triangle."

  He was surprised at her directness. “You mean me and Ken?"

  "That, too, but that's manageable. Ken isn't a threat to you. I'm talking about you, me, and Darcy."

  "You picked up on that."

  She glared at him. “I'm not stupid, Cable. But maybe you are. She's been after you since before we got this committee assignment. She orchestrated it. And now she's moving in."

  "I don't think she realizes we've been dating. We've been discreet, remember?"

  "Not that discreet, and she wouldn't care, and what she does and doesn't realize is irrelevant.” She unfolded her arms and looked at him, but he was navigating an intersection and couldn't look back. “I won't be involved in a triangle, Cable. Not again."

  "Brie, it doesn't matter what Darcy wants, it matters what I want, and I want you. I thought we'd established that.” He glanced at her and put his hand on her knee. He wished now he had waited to start this discussion. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, convince her he had no interest at all in Darcy Langlais. There was no traffic, so he stayed put at the next stop sign. “We haven't talked about the future much, but I hope you know what I'm looking for."

  "If you haven't said, how can I know?” she asked testily.

  "I want a family.” He hesitated, not sure this was the right conversation to say this, and it seemed too early. But he'd do anything to stop Brianna from the path she was on. “I think you and I can create that family."

  "I'm sorry, Cable, but that's irrelevant, too.” Her voice was soft, but steely, and she looked at him steadily. “I'm not looking for those things. If I get them, great, but it's not a hole in my life. It's more important that the last time something like this happened, it ended badly."

  "The last time something like what happened?” He had that feeling in his chest like he got just before an op went bad.

  "The last time two people were interested in the same person."

  "I can't believe you care about Darcy's feelings. She obviously doesn't care about yours."

  Brie didn't respond. Cable checked the intersection and started moving again.

  "You're really considering ending this because of a woman I don't have any interest in?"

  "I know it sounds dumb, but you don't understand—"
>
  "So tell me. What could be so bad that you'd throw us away?"

  "It was bad."

  He shook his head. “It can't be that bad. Not unless someone died.” He parked in his driveway and looked at her. Her expression was full of grief and guilt.

  "Someone did."

  CHAPTER 6

  Cable didn't look like he knew what to say. Brianna started to get out of the car, then froze.

  "Cable, your door's open.” The front door yawned wide, the entrance a black hole. He'd left the foyer light on, she remembered that. The porch light, too, was out.

  "Stay here."

  She hesitated, not sure if she should close and lock the truck or be ready to run if someone approached her. Cable left the key in the ignition and moved silently up the walkway. Brie pulled her leg in and clicked the door closed, then climbed over to the driver's side. She only took her eyes off Cable for one second, but when she looked back up, he'd disappeared. Into the house, or the shadows out front? She put her foot on the brake and her hand on the gearshift, constantly sweeping the area to make sure no one snuck up on her. Everything was completely silent.

  She saw a small movement by the front door, but when she stared at it, she saw nothing. She tried looking to the left of the doorway, but still nothing. Cable must have gone inside.

  She waited tensely for five minutes according to the dashboard clock, and five hours according to the pounding of her heart. Finally, Cable came outside, walking normally. Brie shut off the engine and climbed out of the truck.

  "Someone broke in,” he told her, crossing the lawn. “I called the police."

  "Carothers?"

  "I don't know.” He was doing the same sweep of the yard and street she'd been doing, even as he rubbed her back as if to reassure her.

  It didn't take long for Officer Downey to show up. He asked a ton of questions, repeating himself as if questioning Cable's story—like he'd burglarize his own home—and making Brianna's blood pressure increase by the minute. He wouldn't let them go inside, and then asked if anything was missing.

  "Bob, you wouldn't let us go in. Cable told you he didn't take the time to look. He was more concerned about safety."

  Bob looked Cable up and down. “Securing the premises is better left to the police, Mr. Addison."

  "For God's sake, Bob, he's a former Navy SEAL!"

  Now the cop's implacable expression focused on her. “I'm still not clear on what you're doing here, Miss Macgregor?” He emphasized the “Miss,” though he knew damned well Brianna went by Ms. Her temper flared even higher.

  "That's none of—"

  Cable cut her off, actually stepping in front of her. “Brianna and I are on the decorations committee for the ball. She lives across the street, so we attended a committee meeting together. We'd just pulled up when she noticed my door was open.” His words were simple and didn't address the implication, but his tone was hard, leaving no doubt what would happen if Officer Downey pursued that line of questioning.

  "Can we go inside now?” Cable motioned to the front door, and they all started toward the porch. Cable stopped Brie halfway there. “I think it might be better if you go home while I finish this. I'll come over when Downey's done,” he said in a low voice.

  Brianna just shook her head and kept walking. She wanted to see what had been done. A triangle with Darcy Langlais was one thing. A reservation Cable could probably overcome. But this thing with Sid Carothers was something else. If he was a threat to Cable, she wanted out. She couldn't handle the tension and fear that went along with being stalked, and she also didn't want to give Carothers ideas. The bad guys always went after the ones their target cared about most. Cable didn't need to be worrying about her.

  Her throat swelled and began to ache, and her eyes burned. Stupid. She blinked and swallowed, trying to ignore the less physical pain that was swelling inside her.

  She knew what was going to happen before the night was over.

  The damage in the house was minimal, surprising her. She stood outside the living room while Downey took pictures of the ripped cushions on the floor and smashed TV screen, and followed down the hall to the kitchen, which displayed broken glass and a ripped-off cabinet door. That was all.

  "Upstairs?” Downey asked Cable.

  He hesitated and glanced at Brianna. She turned and ran up the stairs before he could tell Downey no. There was something up there he was trying to hide from her. Something important enough that he thought about not even telling the police, just to keep it from her.

  She heard him following her up, though he didn't call out. Downey was spluttering at the bottom of the stairs when Brie reached the bedroom. She gasped. The destruction here was worse. The bed linens were torn and piled on the bed, the curtains yanked from the windows. His dresser had been tipped forward, the attached mirror smashed on the floor.

  "Brie.” Cable put his hand on the back of her neck.

  "I'm okay.” She leaned into the room, bracing her hands on the doorjamb. The clothes in his closet had been pulled off their hangers, some looking shredded. “I don't get why you didn't want me to see this."

  "Excuse me.” Officer Downey sounded irritated. Brianna and Cable moved aside, and he raised his eyebrows. “Nice. Someone really hates you, Addison.” He clicked the camera a few more times, then moved into the room.

  Assuming that gave her permission, Brie followed, moving closer to the bed. “Ohhh,” she breathed. “Now I get it.” The mound of the comforter had hidden the down pillows, both of which had been speared with knives from his kitchen.

  Cable stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. She shivered, and he rubbed her arms. Downey had asked him about enemies, and he'd told him about Carothers. But Brianna wasn't sure Carothers had done this. Not that she knew anything about him, but this just didn't seem to fit.

  "The letter.” She turned on Cable, and he backed up a step, looking surprised.

  "What letter is that?” Downey asked, jotting notes on his pad.

  Cable frowned. “I got a letter from Carothers. I tossed it onto the foyer floor before we went to the committee meeting.” His eyes met Brianna's, and he looked angry. “It's gone."

  Her own temper flared, then she realized he was angry because he hadn't remembered the letter until now.

  "You sure?"

  Cable turned and led them back downstairs, where he searched the empty hall, looking for cracks in the baseboard and opening the coat closet. Then he went into the living room and moved around the things that had been strewn on the floor. No paper appeared.

  "I'm sure,” he finally said, looking disgusted. “My phone bill is gone, too. And I think there was a flier for insurance or something."

  Downey shook his head. “What would someone want with those?"

  Brianna yawned and hoped Bob would leave soon. Cable glanced at her, then maneuvered Bob toward the kitchen, asking him questions she knew he knew the answers to. Scowling, she dropped onto an untouched hard-back chair in the corner of the living room. No way she was leaving before they hashed things out.

  Before she broke up with him.

  Eventually, Cable got the message and escorted Bob out the door, locking it behind him and facing her with no further avoidance strategies.

  "Let's deal with the Darcy thing first,” he said, jerking his head toward the kitchen so she'd follow him in there. There was nowhere for him to sit in the living room. “Do you want something to drink?"

  "No, thanks.” She took the broom he'd retrieved from next to the back door and helped him sweep the glass into the dustpan. Then they both sat at the table, across from each other. Cable reached for her hand, but she slid it back and tried not to look at him. If she'd hurt him, she didn't want to see it.

  "What happened last summer?” His voice was low, serious, but matter of fact.

  Brie swallowed against the tightening in her throat. She'd been prepared to resist telling him, but since it had a lot to do with why she was about to dump him, she
didn't think it was fair not to.

  "I was working with a treasure hunting group in the Caribbean,” she began. “They had a lead on a big wreck. It was a lark for most of us on the crew, only half of whom had any experience.” Her mind went back, to golden days and partying nights. She'd learned to dive, and actually found a gold coin on the ocean bottom. They'd teased her all summer when it turned out to be one of the U.S.'s new golden dollars someone must have dropped or pitched.

  "It was the most exciting thing I'd ever done. I was ready to give up teaching and steady income, be apart from my family, risk my life on a daily basis. The adrenaline and excitement were amazing."

  Cable smiled, and she knew it was because he understood the feeling. But he didn't interrupt.

  "A rival team started hunting in the same area as us. It was a friendly rivalry, and I think, early on, intentions might have been to share the find. We all hung out together on shore, bunking and drinking together. There was some crossover. Then..."

  Andrew's face spun into her vision, laughing and innocent. She closed her eyes, hard, and tried not to let the image change, to the last time she'd seen him.

  "Then the hookups started. Some of the teams slept around, some started real relationships. I didn't get involved in any of that, and they called me Mother Brianna. But it didn't seem worth the risk to me.” She sighed and dropped her chin a little. “It figures I was the one who messed everything up."

  "I doubt that.” Cable reached again and snagged her fingers before she could move them. His thumb swept over her knuckles, back and forth. “Being responsible doesn't mess everything up, Brie. It usually stops it from messing up."

  "Not this time.” She blinked when her eyes prickled. “Andrew was the most experienced hunter on either team. He knew the ocean, the currents, the history. He'd memorized charts and descriptions and had researched market value of the potential pieces. And he'd been, in the past, seriously involved with a woman from the other team.” She allowed a smile. “We used to play games, racing each other to certain spots, planting decoys, sending false weather alerts. But this woman, who started out flirting with Andrew, like she was trying to get him back, got madder and madder the more he ignored her. He and I became friends.” She stopped. Cable's hand had tightened. “Just friends. He wanted more and I said no, and that was that. He was good-natured about it. But he never really stopped pursuing me, lightheartedly. Crystal hated it, and started doing things to try to take me out of the picture."