Operation Unleashed

by Justine Davis

  Alyssa looked over at Luke, who was still engrossed in his game. “Yes. You realize life is about something bigger than just yourself.”

  “Maybe Doug would have, given more time.”

  “Maybe,” she agreed. And realized with a little shock that she had somehow come to accept the immaturity of the man who had fathered her son. But then, it would be impossible not to see when she compared him to Drew.

  But the rest... No, she couldn’t accept that. She couldn’t believe Doug had intended to just abandon her, leave her alone, broke and pregnant. Yes, that had been the end result, but she clung to that hope, that his intent had been to help them, to take care of them, as if it would somehow make things right.

  The memories flooded her, of lying weak and helpless in a hospital bed, trying to fight off the infection that had flattened her. Needles dripped fluid and drugs into her while, in the brief periods of wakeful lucidity, she worried frantically about Luke. The thought of her sweet little boy in foster care, or worse, in some grim government facility somewhere, spiked her worry into panic, which made it all the more difficult to fight.

  “The day I woke up in the hospital and Drew was there,” she said, barely aware she was speaking aloud, “and he looked at me and said it would be okay. He just held my hand and said to let him take care of everything, he would get Luke back, and I knew he meant it. And that he would. That he could, because he was so solid and respectable.”

  “And what did you feel then?”

  “Relief. Gratitude.”

  “So even then, even sick, you saw the value of all the things Doug had always denied.”

  Alyssa blinked. She’d never thought of it quite that way, but Hayley’s quiet words made it so clear she wondered that she hadn’t.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “I didn’t even find out until about six months later, when I finally worked up the nerve to call about the bill, that he’d even taken care of that. I wondered why they hadn’t been sending me notices. He’d been paying them every month until it was clear.”

  “And he never told you? Didn’t want you to worry?”

  “He said he didn’t want me to feel like I owed him.”

  “But you did feel that way.”

  “How could I not? He swept in like that shining knight and took care of everything. I’ve never felt more useless, but it was better than how hopeless I’d been feeling. And I had my son.”

  “So you married him.”

  “It gave him legal standing to do all that fast and efficiently,” she said. “And it didn’t matter. Doug was dead, and I was certain I’d never love anybody like that again, so what difference did it make?”

  “You were certain? As in you’re not now?”

  “The only thing I’m certain of now, is that I have no idea what love really is,” she said wryly.

  “Except for Luke.”

  She glanced over at her son, still happily, determinedly playing, having successfully tuned out everything else.

  “Yes,” she agreed softly. “Except for Luke.”

  “And Drew.”

  It wasn’t what Hayley said that threw her, it was probably a natural question. It was that it hadn’t really been a question at all. She’d sounded as certain as Alyssa was uncertain. That she loved Drew as well as Luke.

  “I don’t... I mean, it’s not like that, I—”

  “Foxworth copy?”

  A deep male voice issued from the unique cell phone beside Hayley. Alyssa didn’t recognize it, but Hayley picked it up instantly.

  Just be grateful for the timing, she told herself. And that it wasn’t Quinn or Liam or Drew, calling for help.

  She wondered if she would ever feel safe again, with Baird Oliver running loose.

  Chapter 21

  “Foxworth here,” Hayley said into the phone that obviously also served as a walkie-talkie of sorts. She’d heard them call it a comlink.

  “Hayley.” The same, deep voice came back. “Status?”

  “We’re fine here.”

  “How many?”

  “Three. Six-year-old boy and his mother. We’re in the top-floor meeting room.”

  The Foxworth room with a view, Alyssa thought, glancing out the expansive window, finding herself watching for eagles despite everything.

  “Cutter?” the deep voice asked.

  “With Quinn.”

  “Copy.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Perimeter.”

  “Coming in?”

  “In a few.”

  The connection went silent. Hayley put down the phone. At first Alyssa had been simply grateful for the interruption at a difficult moment, but now she was curious.

  “I gather,” Alyssa said, “that was the famous Rafe?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does he talk more in person?”

  Hayley grinned. “Some, but not much. He’s Quinn’s oldest friend. They’ve known each other since they were kids, and Quinn says he’s never been talkative. He’s been in Washington, D.C., working on something...personal for us. But now he’s back, and outside making sure we’re secure.”

  “Does he do that every time he comes back from somewhere?”

  “No. But he knows the basics of the situation.”

  “Those texts you sent.”

  Hayley nodded. “I knew he’d get them as soon as he got off the plane.”

  “I didn’t hear a car on the gravel.”

  “Our approach alarm, you mean?” Hayley said with another grin.

  “Yes.” Alyssa smiled back. She had to admit, it was hard to stay stressed around this woman. She seemed so calm, so confident. But then, she supposed it would take that kind of woman to hold a man like Quinn in such thrall. Or had being with Quinn changed her into this self-assured, capable person?

  If it worked that way for her, she thought with an inward grimace, she’d be a confident, straight-arrow, respected and solid member of the community, instead of Drew Kiley’s quiet, reclusive and touchy wife.

  “He probably parked down the road a bit. When you do hear his car on the gravel, he’ll have already checked every inch of the grounds.”

  “And he’s really...a sniper?”

  Hayley’s smile was understanding this time. “Yeah, it spooked me a little, too. But if you’re going to fight the good fight, you need warriors.”

  “I never thought you’d be needing them for this.”

  “We adapt as the situation changes. Quinn’s big on that. He says staying locked on a plan when the rules have changed is going to leave you dead in that box you can’t think outside of.” Alyssa blinked. Hayley laughed. “He says it that way on purpose.”

  “Breaking the grammar rules to show you have to adapt to the situation?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Foxworth,” Alyssa said, “is rather amazing.”

  “Because Quinn is amazing.” The love that echoed in her voice warmed Alyssa at the same time it set up an ache inside her, a sort of longing she’d been feeling more and more lately. “As is Drew,” she added.

  Alyssa tried to smile at the compliment, but they were back in that awkward place again. Although Hayley didn’t seem to sense it, which was odd, considering how perceptive she seemed about everything else. But once again she was saved by that voice on the phone. She was becoming very favorably disposed toward liking Rafer Crawford, before she’d even met him.

  “Coming in,” the voice said.

  “Copy, Rafe.”

  Seconds later Alyssa heard the door below open. Then, after a moment, footsteps on the stairs. And it suddenly, belatedly occurred to her that there had been a reason Hayley had brought them up to the third floor instead of staying on the more comfortable, homey first; there was plenty of w
arning if someone else came through that door.

  She fastened her gaze on the woman with the meadow-green eyes. “What would you do if someone else was breaking in?”

  Hayley smiled, a different sort of smile. “Quinn’s seen to some training for me, too,” was all she said. And Alyssa wondered if that was where the quiet air of confidence came from. If you were prepared for any situation, then you couldn’t be scared of it when it happened, right?

  She didn’t have time to analyze that thought before the man on the stairs reached the top and stepped into the room.

  Rafe Crawford didn’t look anything like she’d thought he would. She’d expected a slight variation on Quinn, she supposed. And while he was as tall as his boss, he was leaner, rangier. And while Quinn’s eyes were a cool, almost icy-blue except when he looked at Hayley, this man’s were dark gray, and intense in an entirely different way that reminded her, oddly, of Cutter. But there were shadows there as well, the kind of thing she didn’t think could be chalked up solely to whatever had caused the limp she’d noticed when he walked in. His face was lean, rugged, and impassive.

  A hard man, she thought. A fierce one.

  His arrival had distracted even Luke, and the boy was staring at him, wide-eyed. Alyssa wondered what those young eyes saw in this formidable man. The boy relaxed a little as Hayley went to the newcomer, throwing her arms around him in a welcoming hug. The man tensed instantly, but as he looked down at the woman greeting him the tension drained away visibly. And his arms came around her in an echoing hug.

  “Welcome home,” Hayley said, almost fiercely.

  One corner of the man’s mouth lifted in a tiny smile that was almost wistful. And Alyssa realized with a little shock that even that little change in expression changed her entire impression of him. Rafer Crawford might be a fierce man, but he wasn’t that way by nature. He was a man who had been made that way by life. A life that probably made hers look like the proverbial picnic.

  Ending the hug at last, they started across the room. Hayley watched him take a half-dozen steps before she stopped. He stopped beside her automatically. She asked softly, “Long plane ride?”

  The man’s face went impassive again. “It’s fine.”

  “Uh-huh.” Hayley looked at him assessingly. “Let me guess. You didn’t get up and walk on the plane.”

  He shrugged. “More than once or twice and people start getting nervous these days.”

  “So your leg stiffened up.”

  “It’s fine now.”

  “That’s why the long perimeter check.”

  “Needed doing.”

  “And...you’re angry.”

  Finally, his mouth quirked again. “Some would say that’s a given every day.”

  “They don’t know you. I do. And I know you’d rather he let you take care of it.”

  “Another week and I would have had the guy in my sights.” He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, and Alyssa could tell from her reaction it wasn’t a gesture he made often. “He nearly got both of you killed.”

  “Believe me, I remember. But Quinn has his reasons.”

  “Yes.” Rafe let out a compressed breath. “And I wouldn’t have taken that damned order to stand down from anybody else.”

  She smiled up at him. “I know,” she said softly.

  Belatedly Alyssa realized what she was watching. Foxworth wasn’t just a Foundation put together by two surviving members of a family, it was an extended family carefully built and tended. She had the feeling this man would indeed die to protect anyone Foxworth. And for a moment she envied them all.

  “Besides,” Hayley said, “we need you back here for the wedding.”

  Rafe gave her a look that was the oddest combination of smile and grimace Alyssa had ever seen. “It’s not too late,” he said.

  “Not a chance. You’re Quinn’s best man and he’s not changing his mind.”

  “The rest, okay, but he really wants to trust me to give a toast? In front of all those people?”

  “It could be worse. If we’d gone with Charlie’s guest list, it’d be three times as many.”

  For an instant Alyssa saw that wistful look flash in his eyes again, but before she could analyze that Hayley turned to her.

  “I apologize,” she said, “but he’s been gone for nearly a month.”

  “I understand,” Alyssa said quickly.

  “Rafe, this is Alyssa Kiley.” Alyssa held out her hand and, after a moment, Rafe took it. It was a strong, roughened hand, the hand of a man who worked. Hard, physical work. Like Drew’s hands.

  “And this,” Hayley said, gesturing to where Luke was now standing beside the table where he’d been sitting, still watching the new arrival warily, “is Luke.”

  “Luke,” Rafe said. He couldn’t crouch down just now, as most men did when confronted with a small child, Alyssa realized. But he bent and held out his hand much as she had. After a split second Luke solemnly took it and shook it firmly. Alyssa doubted anyone else could see it, but she could tell her son was pleased by the adult gesture.

  “What’s wrong with your leg?” Luke asked. Alyssa winced at the little-boy bluntness.

  “Luke, you shouldn’t—”

  Rafe waved her to silence. “No. It’s all right. I prefer an honest question to all the sideways looks and whispered speculation.” He turned back to Luke. “It got hurt, badly, a long time ago. If I have to sit still for a long time, like on an airplane, it hurts more for a while.”

  “Oh. Will it ever get better and not hurt anymore?”

  “No.”

  Luke frowned. “That’s bad.”

  “It’s not good,” Rafe agreed. “But they wanted to cut it off.”

  “Your leg?” Alyssa winced as the boy’s eyes widened. But Luke had started this, so he should learn about asking questions when the answers might not be pleasant. At least, that’s what Drew would say.

  Rafe nodded.

  “Wow,” Luke said, looking down at his own sturdy little legs. “That would be really bad.”

  “And really bad is worse than just bad.”

  Luke nodded, a little fervently.

  Rafe straightened. “Thus ends our lesson in priorities for the day. As you were.”

  “I know what that means,” Luke said excitedly. “Teague told me. It means go back to what I was doing.”

  “Exactly.”

  The boy did, seemingly happily.

  “That’s the most I’ve heard him talk about it since I’ve known him,” Hayley whispered to Alyssa.

  “I’m glad he didn’t get mad,” Alyssa whispered back.

  “At a child? No. Not Rafe.”

  “It was good of you to indulge Luke,” Alyssa said as Rafe came back. “It was a pretty rude question.”

  “It was honest curiosity,” he said with a half shrug. “Can’t fault that.” He turned to Hayley. “How long have they been gone?”

  “Twenty-two minutes.”

  Alyssa blinked at the exact answer.

  “Eight to go,” Rafe said.

  Alyssa wondered what the half-hour mark meant to them. Time to send in help? And had it really only been twenty-two minutes? It seemed longer. Hayley was remarkably calm, given her fiancé was out there, maybe confronting that nasty piece of work that was Baird Oliver.

  But then, so was Drew.

  She shivered. She’d always thought of Drew as nearly indestructible. But even the strongest rock would eventually crumble in time. What if they lost him? She’d wondered this before, but only in the context that someday he might get tired of supporting them. That he might someday leave them, like Doug had. He was so solid, so strong, she’d never thought about something actually happening to him.

  They’d be all right financially—he’d told
her they’d be taken care of. She remembered something about life insurance for both them and the company. But despite her experience with being broke and living on the edge, it wasn’t that that rattled her now.

  She simply couldn’t imagine her life without Drew there. Without Drew to help her with Luke, without him there for Luke to look up to and emulate. She’d encouraged that, even realizing she was encouraging him to take a different path than his natural father. And she wasn’t sure when she’d decided the carefree and careless life Doug had chosen wasn’t good enough for Luke.

  She wasn’t sure if she even had decided, or if it was just so obvious now that it was no decision at all. But somewhere along the line she’d admitted, at least to herself, that Drew’s was a better way. A tiny spike of guilt stabbed through her. Was it a betrayal of Doug to raise his son to be more like the brother he’d hated? She quashed it. Luke was what mattered, and there was no way she could encourage him down a path that could lead to an end like Doug’s.

  She looked over at Luke, where he was bent over the video game. He’d already dealt with so much in his young life, and Drew had made it all seem only a bad memory. Luke had blossomed under his care, she couldn’t deny that. He would be devastated to lose the man he called, rightfully, Dad.

  What she could deny, what she had to deny right now, was how devastated she would be.

  Chapter 22

  “Thanks, Marcy,” Drew said. “Sorry the alarm disturbed your evening.”

  “Oh, that’s all right,” the woman who ran the real estate office said with a smile. “Whoever set it off could have come here if it hadn’t scared him off. I just wish I’d seen him so I could tell you what he looked like.”

  Drew opened his mouth to assure her it was nothing, then realized that perhaps she should keep on thinking it was something. He thanked his business neighbor again, and headed back toward the street. He could see the single sheriff’s unit sitting down the street in front of the two-story, gray building that was the office for Kiley Construction. It was a converted house, as were all of the half-dozen businesses on the street, courtesy of his father’s foresight years ago, realizing their little town was growing and would need a larger business district. It gave the area a friendly feel he and the townspeople liked.