by Vonnie Davis
“I’ll take the Russian with us. Call my superior to ask what he wants done with him.” Clint narrowed his eyes on ZQ. “Or would you rather call your handler at the CIA? I have no preference. I’m just trying to clear the house of bodies.”
ZQ sat at his desk and dialed a number. “If it’s all the same to you, Clint, I’m thinking we can squeeze some more intel out of him.” He spoke to someone briefly, giving the barest of details and promising a full email report. After ending the call, he turned to the group. “I’m to fly Tony’s body and Mr. Pissy-pants to a CIA branch in Austin. They’ll be expecting us.
“JJ, take care of Kelcee first. Then you and Dust move Alonzo. I’ll wrap Tony in an old blanket and carry him to the helicopter. Clint, think you can get your buddy here loaded into the back of the helo and secured?”
“Sure. Not a problem.”
“JJ, if Alonzo looks good enough to you to leave alone for a few hours, you can be my copilot. Fran and Kelcee, I hate to ask you this, but how are you around blood? Could I ask you to mop the floor so we can walk through the kitchen without tracking that mess throughout the rest of the house? One mother speech a day is enough for any man.”
“We can handle it. Don’t you worry. I never saw my Silver Stud work in his official capacity.” Fran shifted her shoulders. “He was so commanding. I had no idea. Why, James Bond couldn’t measure up to him, and that’s saying something. Land sakes, he made me all weak and gooey.” Her bejeweled hand went to her bosom and she heaved a sigh, her fluttering eyes adoring her husband.
“Sugar Loaf, we’ll discuss your goo at home, in private.” Clint winked at her.
The room emptied and Kelcee didn’t know if they were all eager to get to work or to get away from the TMI of Fran’s goo.
“Come sit by me, darlin’.” Fran patted the sofa next to her. She embraced Kelcee. “You’ve had a helluva day, revealing the secrets you harbored, being held prisoner and threatened by your own brother, and having him killed in front of you.”
Kelcee shook her head. “I can’t think about it all now. I’ll start to cry and Lord only knows when I’ll stop. Tony told me it was he who ran me down.” Fran cussed. “Tony also said my parents separated because of Dad’s attitude toward me. In a way, I guess he was right. I tore my family apart. There’s no going back for me. My place is here in Warrior Falls now.”
“No, your place is with Dustin. If he decides to stay in the SEALs, you’ll have to talk about whether you’re staying on here or moving to his home base in Coronado. You’ve been frightened for so long, you have very few friends. None your age. You just don’t allow people to get really close. Oh, you treat folks well, that’s part of your charm, but there’s a line you won’t allow people to cross, except for me and Clint and Owen. I’m so glad you did, but you need more people in your life. Young women. A man who adores you.
“Your worries are finally over. Come out of the darkness of hiding and into the sunshine of the living.” Fran patted Kelcee’s knee.
“I’ll try. I was almost accustomed to my aloneness. Until I met Dustin.”
“Well, he is a hunk, I tell you.”
JJ returned with a first-aid kit and fixed the cut over her cheekbone. Nance rested her paw on Kelcee’s knee and whined. Once JJ was through, he kissed her forehead and told her how to take care of her wound. He and Nance left.
Fran stood and held out her hand. “Now, let’s go mop the kitchen floor. Alonzo and Tony’s body should both be moved by now.” Fran gasped when she stepped into the bloodied kitchen and ran for the back door to throw up.
Clint returned and the two hugged outside. He came inside and started carrying the chairs into the yard. Both he and Fran maneuvered the kitchen table out the back door. Clint hosed them down.
Kelcee and Fran went in search of buckets and mops and found them in the well-organized laundry room. There was also a scrub brush. Fran filled a bucket with hot water and disinfectant before setting it on the floor for Kelcee. “Can you squeeze the water out of a mop one-handed?” Kelcee nodded, trying to keep her mind off of whose blood she’d be mopping up. Fran rubbed Kelcee’s shoulder in sympathy. “Just do the best you can. I’ll fill the other bucket with water and use a brush to scrub off the furniture.”
Soon, Fran was scrubbing beside her with a clean bucket of water. Sounds of the helicopter whirring to life drifted in the back door. Fran elbowed Kelcee. “Land sakes, I hope that noise doesn’t waken Junebug. The last thing I need is for her to come storming down here and emptying a load of beanbag shot in my ass. Hell, it’s swollen enough already.” She snorted and kept on mopping. “One, two more passes, and I think it’ll be clean enough to walk on. Why don’t you start on the counters? I’ll finish up here, darlin’.”
Dustin and Clint walked in. Dustin opened the refrigerator and took out a soda for each of the women. “Go into ZQ’s office, rest, and have some refreshments. Take Nance with you. She’s upset because her JJ left without her. She has serious withdrawal issues where he’s concerned.” He reached for a couple treats and handed them to Kelcee.
“Clint and I will finish up here. You’ve done wonders so far. Do you have a headache from your wound, Kitten? Want me to get you something for the pain?”
“It’s only a little headache. How’s Alonzo?” Kelcee looked at Dustin.
“He’s fine for a man shot. He wanted more whiskey, but JJ shoved painkillers down his throat instead. So far, no temperature so that’s always a good sign. The bleeding’s almost stopped.”
“So, the worst of the nightmare is over?”
Dustin emptied the pink water from the sink and refilled it. “Until this kitchen remodel project starts, yeah.” He soaked a sponge with detergent and washed down the refrigerator. “Go lie on the sofa and snuggle with Nance. She loves having her ear and neck scratched. Take a little nap, both of you. You’ve each had a rough day.”
She made to leave the kitchen and Dustin’s voice dropped. “If you think you’re leaving me without a kiss and a bit of a snuggle, your teacup ass is about to get in some serious trouble.”
Oh, the alpha rumbles.
Wrapping her arm around his waist again after their time apart felt so right. “I missed this.” She lay her head against his pecs, listened to the steady beat of his heart, and absorbed his warmth after the hateful coldness of the day. “I needed to be held.”
“I need you, love.” He kissed her. “Now go rest. See if you can calm Nance.”
Nance seemed unsettled by the odors the dog could still detect in the kitchen and didn’t hesitate to follow Kelcee when she called her. She stretched out on the sofa opposite Fran and gave the dog a treat. Once it was gobbled up, Kelcee patted her stomach and asked Nance to come and lie down. As an enticement, she placed a treat on her blouse.
“You know, I hated to ask, but I wonder how that poor dog lost its one ear.” Fran’s voice was getting deep with oncoming sleep.
“Dustin told me it was shot off in Syria, a few days before he was injured. He said JJ nearly went berserk over his girl’s injuries.” Nance jumped on her and licked her chin a couple times before taking the treat. She sprawled on top of Kelcee and chewed while Kelcee ran her hands over the dog’s fur.
“Well, land sakes…” And Fran’s gentle snoring started.
Nance snuggled against Kelcee, obviously enjoying the petting and crooning about what a pretty girl she was.
—
The whomp, whomp, whomp of a helicopter woke Kelcee and Nance. The dog jumped down and ran for the kitchen where Dustin snapped the leash on her so she wouldn’t get too excited and run into the helicopter’s path when it landed. “Come on, Kitten, let’s walk to the helicopter pad. Did you get a nap?”
“Yes, I did. Fran’s still sleeping.”
Dustin pointed to Clint slumped in one of the chairs by the fire pit, his chin resting on his chest. “He’s played out, too.” Nance dragged Dustin toward the landing helicopter.
ZQ landed the bird and tur
ned off the engine. JJ was the first one to slide open the door and step out. Kelcee unhooked the leash. Nance bounded toward him, barking and yelping a happy song. She jumped for JJ’s chest and knocked him down. She covered his face in canine kisses while she whined and howled, as if she were giving him hell for leaving her behind. JJ laughed as he rubbed and consoled her.
“How did things go, ZQ?” Dustin and Kelcee fell in step with his former commander.
“Good. Dimitri told the corpsmen a crazy woman shot his privates off with a shotgun. They’re still there, just swollen as hell.” He snorted. “I got a few looks when I said it was my mother who shot some BBs in his PP with her crippled arthritic fingers. Is she still asleep?”
“As far as we know.”
“She can get some dingers of a migraine. They’re getting worse with age.” He barked a laugh. “As Dad used to say, ‘If you’re ever in a fight, by damn, you want her on your side. She’s a helluva pistol.’ ”
Chapter 21
Kelcee stood in a hot shower, allowing the water to sluice down her tense back muscles while she shaved. Dustin had wrapped a plastic bag over her cast to keep it dry. Her mind rolled over the events of a horrific day, starting with Jim Dobbins revealing his purpose to her. Yet, she couldn’t dwell on any of it or make herself feel sorry, except for poor, innocent Alonzo’s injury.
The best the guys could figure, he’d been shot as a scare tactic. “An attention getter,” ZQ had called it. “Something to throw us off guard so Tony and Dimitri could sneak into the house.”
Finally, she was free. No more fearing for her life. No more jumping at noises in the night. No more nightmares of Tony coming for her. Surely they would stop now. Or would they haunt her like Dustin’s?
She poured shampoo onto her palm and began washing her hair. There were two kittens she had to make up with. After more than two days of having her here, completely to themselves, they weren’t happy she’d been gone all day. In fact, they were both in their kitty bed, giving her the cold shoulder when she and Dustin came in. Neither one of the babies would look at her. They were just too cute.
Right now Dustin was at Miller’s grocery store buying food for supper. He claimed he was going to cook her a feast. She smiled. Probably nacho chips and Cheetos.
She rinsed her hair and poured on jasmine conditioner to work through her tresses. They were back together and it felt deeper between them, more settled. Perhaps because they’d cleared the air by sharing how they really felt about each other.
Once she finally stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her hair, the aroma of something baking filled her nostrils with all kinds of goodness. What was it? Chicken and cheese and…chocolate? Surely not! She rubbed a towel briskly over her skin and slathered on lotion before stepping into sleep shorts and a tank top. Her sling was next. Dustin sang “When a Man Loves a Woman” and she smiled, tugging a wide-toothed comb through her hair. She added mousse and scrunched it into waves and curls.
Supper was a Caesar salad, a chicken casserole with rice, broccoli, and cheese, and brownies her man had made with his own two incredible hands. They ate in front of the TV, watching a rerun of the first Rocky movie after he’d taken a quick shower and put on black-and-white plaid sleep pants. He was in his bare feet and she watched the movement of his prosthesis, thinking about all the science that had gone into the design of it.
“I love this chicken mixture, big guy.” She rubbed her foot over his.
“I had my own apartment when I worked for Archer and Helms architectural firm. Mom gave me a cookbook of easy-to-make meals. This was one of the recipes I loved. I could get two days’ worth of meals out of it. While I was stirring it all together, I called mom to tell her I was making one of her recipes for a woman I’d fallen in love with. She wanted to hear all about you.”
“I hope you left out all the bad parts. Don’t tell me. I don’t even want to know.” She leaned her head against the back of the sofa. “It’s been a long day. Funny parts, bizarre parts, scary, tender, and liberating parts.”
Dustin set his plate on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her. “I have to tell you, Kitten, seeing you held prisoner in Tony’s arms with his gun pressed into your tender flesh made my blood boil and freeze in my veins at the same time. I’ve been in a lot of war situations, but none that made me physically react like that. No doubt because I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.”
“Not even your ex-wife?” She picked each kitten up and placed them on the floor. They were too interested in the casserole.
He kissed Kelcee’s neck, beneath her ear. “I’ve given that a lot of thought, because I was pretty torn up when she started to pull away, which was a few months before the explosion with Wysocki and the loss of my foot. And, yet, I’ve been surprised by how well you and I have clicked. I’ve felt emotionally closer to you than I ever did with her. It was as if you simply accepted me—all of me, scars and all—and as if I couldn’t bear to be away from you. These last few weeks have been hell, Kitten.”
Leaning forward, he grabbed two brownies. “Open up, take a bite.” He shoved his piece completely into his mouth first.
She bit off half of hers, the warm gooey chocolate zinging sensations in her mouth. Her toes curled as she chewed. “Oh! This is so good. A woman would marry you just for these alone!” She coiled her fingers around his wrist and brought his hand to her mouth to take the final bite, licking his fingers to make sure she got every chocolaty morsel. His eyes turned from sky blue to cobalt.
“And a man would marry you to get his fingers licked off like that.” A slow, sexy smile spread. He removed his arm from her shoulders and draped his forearms over his thick thighs. “We need to talk about our relationship.”
“Don’t tell me you want to break up with me again.” Her nerves were too raw to handle one more thing today, especially losing him so soon.
His head swiveled to hers. “Hell, no! I was going to ask if I could move in here with you for the rest of my time on medical leave. I want to spend as much time with you as possible, although I have two projects to work on. Junebug’s kitchen and your bookstore.”
He leaned against her again. “There’s no reason, now, why you can’t have a nice work area in front of the windows. You can look at the falls anytime you want. I’ll cover the cost of the cashier station remodel as a gift. Then when I’m gone and you’re down there working, you’ll think of me every time you look at it or work behind it. I’ll paint your shelves in the evenings after you close. How would you feel about that?”
She’d feel fine until he left her to go back to Coronado. Then she’d fall apart. “I’d be fine with it.”
He retrieved a folder from the corner of her coffee table. “Here are the designs I drew for your work area. Floor plans and drawings of how the project will look finished. Nothing is set in stone. So, if you like an aspect of one and something in another, I can incorporate them. I want you satisfied when I’m done.”
She fluttered her eyelashes. “Why, big guy, I always am.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “God, I love you, Kitten.”
She studied each page he handed her. “I see you made the front windows look especially appealing with the cashier station on one side of the door and a children’s table section on the other side for when I hold my book readings for the kids. Or a place for them to play while their mother shops for books. Look, you even drew hanging ferns over my register and computer area. Very tempting. I like it. In this version, you have an upholstered chair and on this one, a loveseat. But you’ve added double windows beside the chair. Can you add windows on the side of the building?” She looked at him. She’d always felt the store was a little dark. Some side windows would help.
“I’ve already checked out the studs and structure. I can do the double windows or a bay window, if you like.”
“A bay window? I’ve always loved those.” She shook her head. “But the cost, Dustin. You’ll be in the
poorhouse. No, that’s too extravagant.”
“I told you I’m an indulgent alpha. If that’s what you want, baby, then that’s what you’ll have. I banked all my pay while I was deployed, except what I sent my ex-wife. Do you want white, light, or dark cabinets in your workstation?”
“White would be more feminine. Maybe with pink Formica countertops?”
“My love gets only the best. Pink granite.” He kissed her forehead. “This layout, then?” His long finger pointed to a drawing.
“Yes. I love the idea of you creating my workstation as a gift. I’ll have part of you with me every day you’re gone.” She kissed him, and his powerful muscles pulled her close. “Thank you, big guy. How long will I have you here?”
“I was thinking when I go back to BAMC to get my permanent hardware put on my stump, I’d ask for a longer leave time.” He nuzzled her neck and she trembled in response. “Don’t know if I’ll get it, but even another week with you would be great. Plus I’d have a few more visits with Dr. Raymond, too. He seems to know his stuff.”
Crap. Her tears were coming. She blinked and nodded. “I agree.” She stood and gathered their dirty dishes to take to the kitchen. She rinsed them off before placing them in the dishwasher. “Do you want some fresh coffee to have with our brownies?”
“Sure. You’re okay with my moving in?” He sounded a little unsure.
She measured coffee beans into her grinder. “Believe me, I’m feeling better with the idea of you moving in than I am with the thought of you moving out.” She pressed the button, the grinding noise filling the kitchen. Hell, she might as well be honest. His leaving was preying on her mind, more so since he’d saved her. As if he’d survived the explosions in Syria to come here, to meet her, and, become the beat of her heart—her survivor.
He carried out their glasses of water. “I’m a SEAL, Kitten. I belong with my team.” He dumped the water out and placed the glasses in the top rack.
