Code Name: Kayla's Fire

by Natasza Waters

  Greg was an extremely stable, sexy, understanding man. The brothers were the same except for one thing: anger. Daniel had been possessive to the point of violence. She’d chosen the wrong one to marry. Greg had taken a lot of responsibility that didn’t belong to him after Daniel had his breakdown. Since those days, Greg had been someone she could always count on. “Greg wants me to marry him.”

  Mace shook his head slowly.

  “He wants me to go home. He calls every day, asking me to leave San Diego.”

  “I know. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” He gave her a crooked look. “I haven’t told the Captain because I know how he’d react.”

  She drew the basket toward her with an enormous compunction to eat everything and anything in sight. God, she was hungry. She turned, looking for the waiter.

  “What d’ya need, beautiful?” Bruce asked, seeing her wave.

  The wind tried to whisk the menu from the table and she snagged it, handing it to him saying, “Can I get the appetizer platter?”

  “Sure thing.” He swept a look at her drink, and seeing the first one gone already, and the second one halfway drained, he raised a brow. “Another?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Kayla, take it easy. I’m not getting a ripping because you’re falling out of the chair when the Captain gets here.”

  She ignored him. “Extra sour cream too, please, and extra jalapenos. Hot ones.”

  “Are you feeling all right? You’re eatin’ like one of us, and you hate hot food.”

  “I’m hungry, what the heck! Am I on ass watch too?”

  “No, but it’s gonna be if you keep eatin’ like that.”

  She threw him a dirty look. “Back on point, SEAL.”

  Mace shook his empty bottle at Bruce and got a wave. “Kayla, he’s already burned his black book and every napkin he’s ever gotten. He kept them in the middle drawer of his desk. We used to razz him about it, making up excuses to get to that drawer.” Mace’s expression sobered. “The day the finger came, and we had the meeting, the Captain opened it for a second, only pens rolled around in there.”

  Mace’s attention drifted over her shoulder. She cranked her head to see a pretty young blonde sitting two tables to their right eyeing him. “I know what kind of man he is. He’s devoted to his profession and his country. Not to mention a different flavor of woman.”

  “He’s in love with you, Kayla. That’s why he gave you his trident. It’s our most honored possession, and when a SEAL gives it to one woman, he’s telling her she will be the only woman. She is his challenge and his future. The same promise and dedication we make when we accept the trident.”

  “When did he become a SEAL?” she asked, changing the subject. The night after the car accident, she thought she was dreaming when Thane told her he loved her. It was ludicrous. She didn’t doubt he was concerned for her welfare. Nor was there any guessing when it came to the bedroom, but love—he’d overreacted because of the accident, and he hadn’t said it since.

  A grin teetered on his lips. “Don’t you guys ever talk? Or are you too busy doing something else?”

  “Stop that,” she blurted, purely from embarrassment.

  Mace broke out into a laugh. “Kayla, that shade of red looks good on you.” She cuffed him. “Hey, it’s a perfectly natural thing to do when two people are in love.”

  She concentrated on the street instead of him. “Not in love.”

  “Really?” he said, nodding slowly with a broadening grin as if he could read her thoughts. “I know different, and so does the Captain.”

  “What? Why do you say that?”

  Mace leaned forward, and waited for her to do the same. She rolled her eyes and leaned over. “Because when the drugs took effect in the hospital, you spilled the beans.” He sat back with a big grin, and raised a brow at her.

  “Here ya go, gorgeous,” Bruce said, placing another margarita in front of her. “So when’s your friend going to leave? I’ve got a break in fifteen minutes.”

  Mace’s lips twisted into an evil, satisfied smile.

  “She’s busy,” a low timbre growled from behind them.

  “Umm, okay.” The waiter stepped back as Thane, dressed in a black torso tight T-shirt and fit jeans cupping the parts of his body in proportion to the enormous man, kept his steely stare on Bruce as he took the seat next to Kayla.

  Mace’s lips curled with a grin. “Not so tough now are ya, Brucccce?” Mace said, followed by a short laugh.

  Bruce stretched his neck and threw Mace a fuck off look.

  “What do you have on tap—Bruce?” Thane asked, but the edge in his voice wasn’t missed.

  “Whatever you’d like, sir.”

  “Uh-huh, pale ale, thanks.”

  Bruce shot a quick look at her while dropping two sets of napkins wrapped around cutlery on the table. “Your order will be up in a couple minutes, ma’am.”

  “Thanks, just Kayla, not ma’am.”

  “You guys work at the base?” Bruce asked. “SEALs?”

  He was an observant guy, spotting the UDT belt buckle Thane wore.

  “Just Navy,” Thane replied, turning his topaz gaze on her, raising her body temperature.

  “How you feeling, sweetheart?”

  Mace dug in his pocket and dropped a ten on the table. “My cue to leave. See ya guys later.”

  “Thanks, Mace.” They fisted each other, and Mace dropped between their heads, and gave her a big noisy kiss on the cheek.

  Thane burned a grin and shook his head. “She’s mine, ya know. That’s not gonna change, Petty Officer Callahan.”

  “A guy can always hope. Later.”

  She finished the rest of her margarita. Bruce swept by picking up the empty glass, steering clear of the mountain of man sitting beside her. Thane tracked him as if studying a hit. “What’s with Romeo?”

  “He’s cute. I think he wants a date. Why don’t we make it a double, me and him, and you and Miss Sweater-too-tight?” stirring the embers of the fight they’d had in the weight room over the admin assistant.

  Thane coursed her with a look, and then his lips tightened into a grin. Trying to read the meaning behind that grin had her brows coming together. “Miss Sweater-too-tight have any more flat tires or is she all full of hot air?” Thane folded his mighty arms across a taut chest, and leaned back comfortably. “How many times did she rub her ass against you today?” He stared at her, not letting his gaze veer, just a blink. “What the hell are you doing here, anyway?”

  He gripped her arms, and yarded her to within an inch of him. “Fall back, my sweet mermaid. That tongue of yours is especially sharp today, and there’s no reason for it.” His hand threaded through her hair, and he came down on her lips with a hard, disciplinary kiss, one that extinguished one fire, but created another. Releasing her, but not enough for her to pull away more than a couple inches, Thane kissed her gently on each cheek, and then placed a serene kiss on her lips. “Who’d want a woman pumped up with Botox, when a guy could have a beauty like you?”

  She sputtered. “Right.”

  “You were right. I sent the request for an in-depth investigation into her roots. This afternoon intelligence reported back saying they’ve found a few loose ends.”

  “So when’s your date with her? Let me guess, you’re going to screw it out of her.”

  Her phone vibrated on the table, and they both looked at it. The planes on Thane’s face darkened like the prairies under a moving thunderstorm. “What the fuck does he want?”

  Chapter Four

  “Bonjour, Greg.”

  “How’s my beautiful expat?” Greg said with a cheery, familiar note.

  “C’est bonne, et tu?”

  “I miss you, but I tell you that all the time, don’t I?”

  Her heart unfurled from a corner with his comforting timbre. Thane’s brow creased tight, and so did his fists as if trying to stop himself from swiping the phone from her hand. “Oui, c’est vrai.”

  �
�Oh, I get it. The SEAL is close by, isn’t he?”

  “Oui.”

  “I called to let you know I’m on a plane next Friday.”

  “Where?” Tension tweaked her temples. In all the years they’d known each other, he’d taken the role as a brother, in spite of his feelings. She missed him.

  “To San Diego. I’ve got too much leave banked, and my captain wants me to chew some of it up. You and I are going to Hawaii.”

  “Hawaii?” she echoed, suddenly longing for a tropical westerly to sweep all the bleedin’ insanity into a corner for a week or two.

  “Don’t worry about the overbearing SEAL. He can survive without you.”

  “I don’t know, Greg.” Silence on the phone indicated she’d hurt his feelings, and just like that she caved. Greg was the last man on earth she ever wanted to hurt, and he knew it. “I know you. You’re making an excuse for a working holiday. You’re not getting involved with chasing down the Shark.”

  An honest growl emanated from the SEAL sitting beside her.

  “Either way, I’m coming, Kayla. I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re always fine. You need to get out of there and take a breath. You love Kauai. We’ll go there. Laze around. We both need some R&R.” He chuckled. “You can burn your ass like you did last time snorkeling.”

  “Very funny.”

  “Seriously, Angel, I know what being hunted by the Shark is doing to you, even if you won’t admit it.”

  Greg had an eerie way of tuning into her frequency. They always spent their vacation time together. “Hawaii, huh?” A familiar sound of triumph, if not relief resonated through the line. “All right, get your behind here and we’ll figure it out.”

  “See ya soon, Angel. I love you.”

  “Je vous aime aussi, au revoir.”

  The storm hadn’t moved away from Thane’s expression, and the trough of angry creases intensified as she disconnected the call. “He’s coming?” he rumbled.

  She sat the phone down and shored up her defenses; she would not buckle under because of his expanding chest, and an aura quickly turning white hot. “For a visit.”

  “On his way to Hawaii?”

  Over time, she’d learned Thane’s anger meter. When he stilled, it meant he was peaking out. “To pick me up on his way to Hawaii.”

  “What?” At a half-shout, heads cranked around and stared at the man radiating anger at dangerous levels. “Are you seriously considering this?” A flash of insecurity rose in his eyes. “You’re going to get on a plane with a guy that loves you?”

  The couple next to them darted glances their way, and she lowered her voice. “Thane,” She rubbed her temples, and felt like screaming inside. “His CO wants him to use some leave, and probably shake the war off his back. He’s reaching burnout, and his senior officer sees it. It’s regular operating procedure in Canada. There’s only a couple hundred JTF guys, and they’re overworked.” Thane’s biceps strained. If he uncoiled, he was going to neutralize something or someone. “I think he’s right. I need to get away for a little bit, and regroup.”

  Thane’s brow furrowed, and he began to work his jaw. “You mean get away from me, is that it?”

  “Stop it, Captain. This isn’t about you. We always take our holidays together, every year, a couple times a year.”

  Thane leaned forward, his eyes pinned to hers. “So for a couple weeks he can pretend he has what he desires.”

  Sparks flared in his eyes, and she looked away. “He’s as close to me as a brother.”

  “He wants to be your lover. Again,” Thane shot back.

  “I’m—”

  “Je vous aime aussi. I love you also,” he said wistfully. “And you don’t think that gives him hope, Kayla?” His expression emptied, and he dropped his gaze to the table then shook his head. “You’ve never said that to me.”

  “Said what? I love you?” A small laugh jumped from her throat. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Thane’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “You say it to Mace. You say it to Lapierre.”

  What the hell? “Are you criticizing me? I say it because I mean it, Captain, and I don’t say it to a lot of people.”

  Thane rolled the bottom of his bottle, following the embossed tiles of the table. “I’ve noticed,” he said, shifting in his chair.

  She reached for his trident hanging around her neck, and his eyes rose to track her movement. Countless months of restraint between them had finally broken when the Shark turned all his attention on her. Fear kept her mind looking one way, while her desires snuck under the fence and ran rampant. She had to herd those desires back into the pen, or she’d be making the biggest fool out of herself, and telling him the same thing, except it wasn’t the same kind of love. It was the dangerous kind.

  “I need a break, and so do you.” She swiped her purse from the back of the seat, digging for some bills tossing them on the table, and sliding her glass over a corner, so they wouldn’t blow away. Thane’s hand came down on her wrist, and she yanked it away. “Captain, you’ve done more for me than I deserve. I’m asking you to stand down. I don’t want you chasing the Shark any more.”

  Thane wound his hand around the nape of her neck. “Never going to happen, sweetheart, and neither is you getting on a plane with Lapierre.”

  His muscles contracted under her hand as she tried to push away. “I want you to go back to work.”

  “You’re serious,” he breathed out. “Kayla—”

  “If you won’t stop chasing the Shark, then I have to leave.” She clutched his pendant and drew it over her head, placing it on the table in front of him. “I will never forget your kindness, but it’s time for you to walk away, Captain Austen.”

  There. Done. He stared at her, his expression a sheet of confusion. “Kayla, we need to talk about this, don’t— ” He stared down at his trident, and then up at her.

  No more words. Cutting this off now was the right thing, and she headed for the stairs.

  The restaurants and shops began to glow with strings of lights twined around potted cypress trees and dangled across every entryway as the sun fell behind the hills. Music poured from the venues butted next to each other. The nighttime ambiance hung in the air, and dusted everyone but her. She turned right down the main drag walking quickly. Tears rained down her cheeks. She had nothing to cry about, certainly not Thane.

  Keeping her head bowed, she ploughed down the sidewalk. Thane fell in step with her, and she immediately turned left away from him. He followed silently. She halted near the end of the road beside the Old Town San Diego State Park. A restored hotel and a couple of museums skirted the edges. “Stop following me.”

  “And then what?” he said reaching for her, swiping her tears away with his thumbs. “I don’t want you living in fear. This ends now, and I know I can end it.”

  “Captain, I’m not going to live.”

  Strong fingers clenched her waist, the angst in his features clear. “I know you have more mettle in you than that.”

  Resting her hand on his heart, she tried again. “I’m being realistic, Captain. I want you to set a trap for him, and I want you to use me. I know you know how to do that.”

  “I’m going to catch him, Kayla, but I won’t put you in danger. So don’t ask me again, because the answer will always be no.” She pushed as he pulled her tighter to his chest. “Do you really think you’re going to send me packing just because you’re all bristly? I’m used to tough, little lady.”

  A grin creased his lips, and it ticked her off. “You are going packing—like a mule,” she said tersely. “You’ve had your fun, and so have I. Now you’re going to hit the road.” Uncertainty flashed in his eyes before he released his grip. Looking into the darkness, she bit down on the disappointment in her heart. In a second, he’d be gone, but she wouldn’t hear his feet on the gravel walkway. The Ghost would draw his men back, and let NCIS do their job.

  She jumped when h
e clutched her. “You’re scared,” he said, against her ear.

  “So what? I’m not allowed to be scared knowing what’s going to happen to me?” she snapped at him.

  “Not of the Shark.”

  “Go home, Captain.” She continued to stare out at the lights of Old Town. Somewhere, in the darkness the Shark was planning and unraveling. All she needed to do was put herself in the open and he’d come. A chill ran up her spine, the killer’s mind had to be twisting with impatience by now.

  “If you’re not afraid, then I’m taking you home with me.” He kissed her cheek tenderly. “I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in a week, and it’s because you’re not next to me.”

  “Then call Miss Sweater-too-tight for company.”

  “I don’t want the secretary. I want you. I want us.”

  “You’ve had me, now move on,” she said harshly. He pointed a finger at her, but before he said another word, she grabbed it and twisted, glaring back at him. “Don’t start. Take the men and go on a mission.” He shook his head, but at least he was listening to her. “I’m putting in my resignation, Captain. This time you’re going to accept it.”

  He stepped back, blinking. “So you can go on some vacation with Lapierre, then two weeks of indoctrination and you’ll be back in Canada. Like hell,” he sputtered. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going home, for one.” She stepped around him, heading for one of the hotels to call a taxi.

  Before a shout could even leave her lips, the gravel was gone from her feet, and she was in his arms. He walked straight across the field and plopped her onto a bench.

  Squatting in front of her, he said very slowly, “You’re not going anywhere. Now, cool off, Ms. Banks.”

  She thrust her hands against his shoulders, and he tipped backwards, but she didn’t get far. This time he had her from behind squeezing her like a python. Turning her, he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. “I will leave you alone, but I am not going to stop hunting for the Shark.” His fingers squeezed her arm. “I don’t blame you for not wanting a life with me. Who the hell would?” He paused, his voice caught in an uncommon stutter. “But you—are not resigning.” His jaw tightened to a rigid edge, and his eyes sharpened to angry gems with the little bit of moonlight reflecting in them. “You can fight me every day. Call me out when I act like an ass. Shatter my heart into a thousand pieces if you leave with Lapierre, and I’ll accept that too. But you are going to live.”