by KaLyn Cooper
Dex wasn’t going to waste time correcting the captain’s assumption that he was still active duty.
Doubting that they were on a secure line, Dex asked, “I have a real hankering for frogs legs. Any chance you have some on board that you might be willing to send my way?”
“I have plenty,” the captain replied. Dex was pleased that the man had understood he was asking for SEALs.
“If you could have them delivered to the little island, I’m sure the five men in uniform there would truly appreciate some frog legs.”
The captain laughed. “I think I can make that happen.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“By the way, Commander Carson, we’re watching a storm developing off Africa. It’s currently only a tropical depression, but some of the weather guessers think it could go big.”
Christ. Another thing Dex had to worry about. The tick-tock of time seem to surround him.
“Thanks for the information, sir. I’ll have Washington start tracking that.”
“Good hunting. The Abraham Lincoln out.” The line went dead.
Dex quickly typed out a note about the impending weather conditions and sent it to Si Branson. Hopefully, it would fizzle out and die at sea.
As he looked at his stack of personnel files, he knew who he had to go see next. Part of him wanted to go to her since she was surrounded by other members of the team. He was sure she wouldn’t bring up anything personal within earshot of someone else. But that was the cowardly way out. He was a SEAL and had never backed down from adversity.
Dex took a deep breath and stood before making an uninterrupted line for her seat.
“We need to talk.”
She pointed to the chair beside her, obviously reluctant as well.
Dex flipped his thumb toward the front. “Privately.” Without waiting for her reply, he turned on his heel and strode to his seat.
Chapter Five
Point to Dex. Not that Rayne was actually keeping count as she made her way to his table at the very front of the plane. So, he didn’t want to talk where anyone else could overhear them. On the other hand, he had talked to the others privately so why should she be any different?
He signaled for her to sit across from him. “You’ll be staying on St. Thomas with the FBI women.” It was a statement, not a question.
“No. I’ll be on the breaching team.” She hoped her voice would have been softer, but Rayne had never been good at hiding her feelings.
Dex narrowed his eyes. “That’s my call, not yours.”
“The women from the FBI have a completely different mission than I do. Callie and Angelique Sedgwick are my responsibility. I’m going in to get them,” she insisted. “And if Jaja gets in my way, he’s going down along with everyone else who dared to kidnap those children.” She hadn’t meant to pause, so she quickly added, “and the four women.”
“I’m in charge of this team and you’ll do what I tell you to do.” Dex leaned forward and put his forearms on the table.
Rayne was not going to be intimidated by that tactic. She had gone to the same Navy Officers Candidate School as Dex. Then she had additional training at Judge Advocate School before working in the JAG office as an investigator, even though she had a law degree. She’d always preferred to be the one kicking down doors. After completing her tour in the Navy, she’d been recruited as an investigator for the Secret Service because she was damn good at her job.
Until she had literally fucked up one night with the hunk of testosterone sitting across from her.
She couldn’t go there now. She had to rescue Callie…and the Speaker’s wife.
To counter his move, she mirrored it by placing her forearms on the table and leaning forward as well.
“This is a joint task force and I am the Secret Service representative. I will be there to rescue Callie and Angelique.” Without realizing it, Rayne had moved even closer until her nose was only two inches from Dex’s. Aware of their closeness, but unwilling to back off, she held her position and stared into eyes the color of good whiskey.
“I see you’re still the ballbuster you were twelve years ago.” Dex straightened his back as he sat up.
Once again, she mirrored his move. “I didn’t get to be the highest-ranking woman in personal protection by allowing misogynistic men to walk all over me.”
His eyebrows pinched together. “I thought you’re on the investigative side?”
Damn. She did not want to talk about this. But maybe it was time he learned how badly he had damaged her career. “I had to switch career paths eleven years ago after I was finally cleared of any wrongdoing in Nigeria if I wanted to stay with the Secret Service.” She glared at him. “I like working for this agency and didn’t want to give up my job.”
She noticed her name on the personnel file in front of him and tapped it with her index finger. “I’m sure everything you need to know is in there.” She spread her arms wide. “I can assure you I have kept in top physical condition, a requirement for my job.” She started to stand up. “Now, Commander Carson, unless you have specific questions for me concerning this mission, I’ll just return to my seat.”
“Sit down,” he ordered sharply.
She debated just turning in leaving but thought better of it. She was expected to be a team player and he was the team leader, no matter how much she hated that fact. She had given him her word that she would follow his orders.
When his gaze met hers, his eyes softened. “Please.”
She settled back into the plush captain’s chair. As the Speaker of the House, Robert Sedgwick was given first-class treatment everywhere he went. Even though she had become accustomed to executive jets, she had to admit that this one was exceptionally nice.
“First, it’s no longer Commander Carson.”
That was a shock. When they had worked together over a decade before, Dex had wanted to make a career out of the Navy, the lifer kind where they were going to have to throw him out after thirty years.
Her heart beat faster. Had he been dishonorably discharged after the Nigeria incident? No. She had cleared his name, even though he hadn’t done the same for her. She had proven to the investigators that Dex had nothing to do with the hookers.
Had something else gone wrong during the years that followed?
“It’s now just Dex. I retired over a year ago,” he explained.
She quickly did the math and realized he had been in the Navy for twenty years, the requirement for retirement. Rayne still wondered why he had left the job he had always loved. Maybe, like her, his career path had to change.
He brought her back to the present and the situation at hand. “I need you to talk to me about these little girls.”
Rayne didn’t consider Callie and her friends as ‘little girls.’ Young ladies, yes.
“Do you think that each man on the breaching team could carry two girls to safety?” He cocked his elbows out to the side as though he were holding small children.
“No. I don’t believe they can.”
Shock washed over his face. “Have you seen the size of the men on this team?”
“Yes. But I also know the size of these girls.” She tried to explain, “At twelve and thirteen years old, they’ve reached their adult height. They are all between five foot four inches and five foot nine.”
Dex’s eyebrows shot up.
“These are young ladies, not little children.” She indicated the height difference with her hand. “It was very difficult to see their true size in the video, but I can assure you, Gia is five foot nine and she’s thirteen years old. She’s also a competitive diver hoping to make it to the Junior Olympics this year.”
“Okay, so she could hold her own in the jungle, as long as she’s not hurt.” Dex pulled out the list of names of the hostages and placed a check mark beside Gianna. “What about the rest of these girls?”
It was a good thing Rayne could read upside down because she didn’t want to get close to him and share the
piece of paper.
“I’ve seen these girls in action. They are far from helpless.” She pointed to Luna Collins’s name. “She has a brown belt in karate and she’s one tough young lady. Her mom works for the FBI as a field agent.”
Rayne pointed to the girls’ names as she called them out. “Aria Moore, Elianna Martin, and Zoey Garcia are competitive cheerleaders.”
At the look on his face, Dex obviously didn’t understand the sport.
“They’re not the raw-raw pom-pom cheerleaders. These girls can do a back tuck from a standing position and land on their feet every time. It’s more like floor routine gymnastics.”
He seemed to understand the comparison.
“All of these girls are excellent swimmers.” She thought for a minute, trying to recall swim meets three years ago when she had first started guarding Robert Sedgwick. “Yes. They have all competed on the country club swim team for years. That’s part of the reason they were on this trip. They wanted to swim the coral reef.”
“Who else competes in the sport?” Dex glanced back and forth between the list and the school pictures that had been provided.
“They’re all involved in at least two sports,” she pointed out. “It’s required by the school. They’re quite physically fit. This isn’t just any private school for girls. It’s a STEM school.”
Dex had that confused look on his face, again, so she explained, “STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These girls are highly intelligent and very outgoing. That’s the kind of young women that the school develops.”
“You think they’re smart enough to keep their mouths shut?” He shrugged. “We rescued some teenagers out of…where doesn’t matter…but a couple of the boys and one girl had sassy mouths. Sometimes, I just wanted to smack them.” Under his voice he added, “Ungrateful, overprivileged, little bastards.”
Rayne heard every word. “These young ladies aren’t like that. Given who their parents are, they’re extremely politically aware. Many of them have stood in front of thousands of cheering, or jeering, adults, yet maintained their cool. Several first went on the campaign trail with their parents when they were toddlers. They learned the hard way that anything they say or do could appear online with derogatory comments before they were back in the car.”
She tried a different approach. “Children of politicians are unlike your standard junior high school student. These kids have lived in the spotlight all their lives. They, better than anybody else, know what’s expected of them in public. They are much more emotionally in control than most kids their age.”
Dex nodded. “So, what you’re telling me is that I’m not going to have any prima donnas?”
“Just because they have manners and say yes sir or no sir, yes ma’am and no ma’am, and know which fork to use, doesn’t make them little princesses who are afraid to get dirty.” Rayne reconsidered for a moment, remembering Sophia’s meltdown a few weeks ago. “But they do think like twelve-year-olds. Now, that’s not to say they aren’t going to have a total breakdown once they know they’re safe.”
Dex nodded. “That happens with adults, men and women.”
“Have you seen a lot of that?” The question had slipped before Rayne could hold it in. The feminine part of her wanted to know how many times he’d held female captives as they fell apart in his arms. Did he stop with consoling them? Had there been women on his teams? Did he end up in bed with them like he had with her?
He hesitated for a long time before he answered. “I’ve done dozens of rescues, and each one is different. I’ve had grown men break down bawling in my arms and I’ve had small children who never shed a tear but took my hand and their little legs kept up right beside me.” He grimaced. “I’ve had women beat on me in a half-crazed state, thinking I was one of their captors and they were still fighting for their lives.”
Rayne’s heart bled for everything Dex had gone through. She reached across the small table and touched his arm. “You truly are a good man.” As soon as she realized what she had done, she fought the urge to jerk her hand back. Instead, she gave him a little squeeze. Then as casually as she could, she returned her hand to her side of the table and folded them in front of her so as not to be tempted again.
“Unfortunately, the good guys don’t always win.” Changing the subject, he asked, “What do you know about the chaperones and the teacher?”
“Annemarie Rogers teaches science at the school. She’s also their Girl Scout leader. The girls really like her.” For the first time, Rayne tried to define why they admired her so much. “Ms. Rogers doesn’t talk down to them. She treats them more like adults than children. She also listens to the girls. I think they may get more attention from her than they do from their parents.” Realization hit her. “They spend more time with Ms. Rogers than they do with their parents.”
“So, you think she’d be pretty levelheaded?” There was hope and admiration in his voice.
“Definitely. Her first concern is going to be the care and safety of the girls.” Of that Rayne was sure. Ms. Rogers would keep her shit together in the current situation…unless someone tried to hurt one of them.
Dex nodded. “What about Lynda Thompson?”
“She was one of Mrs. Sedgwick’s good friends.” Rayne immediately caught herself. “The first Mrs. Sedgwick. She passed away two years ago of cancer. Mrs. Thompson often came around to visit Bette and she would take Callie to spend the night, or even the weekend. Other than that, I don’t know her personally.”
“Rita Garcia.” Dex’s pen rested on the woman’s name on his list.
“I don’t know much at all about her,” Rayne admitted. “Zoey is a very nice, well-behaved young woman. Mrs. Garcia was always gracious when she came to pick up her daughter, but rarely lingered.” She considered for a moment before adding, “I don’t believe she cares at all for the new Mrs. Sedgwick. On more than one occasion I have seen her roll her eyes at something Angelique has said or done.”
“Okay, let’s talk about Angelique Sedgwick.” Dex pierced her with his gaze.
Rayne took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “As I’m sure you’ve read in her file, she is considerably younger than Robert.”
“So, she’s a trophy wife?” Dex offered.
“You might call her that.” Rayne was proud of herself for that politically correct reply.
“Rayne, you are trained observer. This is a critical situation. I value your opinion of this woman above anything in this file. Everything you tell us will help us.” The tight lines around his eyes eased. “It’s me, Rayne, don’t hold back. Tell me your gut feelings.”
He valued her opinion. She studied the man across the table for a long minute. “None of this ever gets written down. Nothing I say will ever appear in a file. I need to know I can trust you.”
“I’m contracted to the Department of Homeland Security for this one mission.” He grinned. “I don’t write reports. I’m retired.”
Rayne just threw the truth out there. “She’s your worst nightmare as a hostage.”
“Fuck.” Dex dropped his head onto the back of the seat. “Tell me everything.”
“To be honest, I don’t know if she’s that damn dumb or that good an actress.” She tried to think of a good example. “She and Robert were at a party on Capitol Hill not too long ago when he took a senator aside to speak privately. One of the aides to an African ambassador approached her and said he’d love an introduction to her husband. The man knew that the congressman was on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology which threw up all kinds of flags for me. The idiot woman started rattling on about the location of the new bio facility, the deal still in negotiations for long-term space exploration, and the new computer program for the IRS.”
Rayne shook her head. “I didn’t know who to be angrier with, Congressman Sedgwick for telling these things to his wife, or Angelique for discussing national matters with a virtual stranger from an African nation. I think she wanted t
o appear to be well-informed and a confidant for her husband.”
“Did you speak to the Congressman about it?” His face was hard to read.
“Of course.” She was almost taken aback that Dex even had asked. She thought he knew her better than that. But they really didn’t know each other at all any more. “And to his credit, Robert was upset.”
“Good.” Dex pressed on. “How do Angelique and Callie get along?”
“They coexist in the same house but rarely interact.” Rayne told him the truth, the whole truth.
“Then why the hell did Angelique come on this trip?” Dex sounded incredulous.
“That’s a very good question.” Rayne sat back and folded her arms over her chest.
“Does she enjoy the outdoors? Hiking? Swimming?” He offered.
Reign burst out laughing. “Angelique’s idea of enjoying the out-of-doors is an open shopping mall where she’s required to walk in the sunshine between stores. That can also be considered the extent of her hiking experience if she’s wearing boots at the time. Ignore the fact that they are designer rather than rugged for mountain terrain. She does swim laps in the pool almost every day, but I doubt that she would get into the ocean. There are creatures in that water and one might touch her. Worse yet, fish poop’s bad for highlighted hair.”
He gave her a look as though Mrs. Sedgwick couldn’t be that bad.
“Dex, I am not kidding you.” She smiled sarcastically when she shared, “I overheard her tell her mother that she was going with friends on a private jet to the Caribbean to go shopping. Knowing Angelique, she’ll work that in.”
“How do you think she’s reacted to being kidnapped?” Dex looked nervous.
Rayne had been edgy from the beginning. “She’s probably falling apart like a toddler, or acting like a spoiled teenager. When Angelique and Callie are in the same room, the twelve-year-old is the adult. On more than one occasion, I’ve heard Callie chastise Angelique for her posts on social media. The woman doesn’t have a filter. Thank God most people just ignore her, but all too often a journalist will corner her at a party and get her talking. By morning, Robert’s Chief of Staff is on the phone as they discuss damage control.”
