SEALed With A Kiss: Heroes With Heart

by Low, Gennita

  Vinny obliged, slicing up the turkey with a knife in bad need of sharpening. Mama led them in a blessing and then they piled their plates with food and sat down to enjoy it.

  Mama Rose sent a critical look at Lia’s plate. “That’s all you eat?” she demanded.

  Lia looked down at her plate and up at Vinny. She had loaded up on green beans and white meat, the kind of lean foods she usually ate to keep her figure trim for the cameras.

  “She’ll get seconds, Mama,” he assured her. “Have some cranberry sauce on your meat,” he suggested, passing Lia the cut glass relish plate.

  Lia took the plate with an inscrutable expression, dished up a spoonful of sauce and plopped it next to her meat.

  “Potatoes,” Mama insisted, frowning critically at her daughter-in-law. “How you supposed to make babies when you so skinny?”

  “Mama,” Vinny interjected on a warning note.

  “I’ll eat her portion of the potatoes,” Bella offered. “And her portion of pie, too.”

  “Oh, no you don’t.” Lia surprised them all by leaping to her feet and spooning a heaping mound of mashed potatoes onto her plate, then dousing it with gravy. Vinny held his breath as she retook her seat. Was she playing games? he wondered. Calling his mama’s bluff?

  To his surprise, she proceeded to eat every last bit of food on her plate. She even ate a bite of his pumpkin pie.

  An hour later, they lay across his bed, too replete to do anything but rest for a while. Lia lay with her head on Vinny’s chest, talking on her cell phone to her sister, and then to her three-year-old nephew, Ryan.

  “Is Joe there?” Vinny asked, wanting to speak to his commander. With a curious glance at him, she asked Penny if she could put Joe on the phone, and then she relinquished her phone to her husband.

  “Happy Thanksgiving, sir,” Vinny greeted his commander and brother-in-law with mixed familiarity and formality. “How’s it goin’?”

  “Very well. And you?”

  “Excellent, sir. My mama outdid herself this year.”

  “So did Penny. We’ve got my folks visiting.”

  “That’s what I heard.” He decided to cut to the chase. “Actually, I have a question for you. Did you ever know a SEAL named John Staskiewicz?”

  The silence on Joe’s end supplied an answer even before Joe confirmed it. “Yes, we served on Team Three together. Why do you ask?”

  “You know he’s dead, right?”

  “What?”

  Joe’s outburst betrayed shock. “I’m sorry,” Vinny apologized. “I just heard it on the news. He was supposedly killed by some teenaged thugs who’ve been breaking into houses, but I think that’s bullshit.” Realizing that his wife was listening avidly to their conversation, Vinny transferred the cell phone to his other ear to mute Joe’s side of the conversation.

  “When was this?” Joe asked him, sounding more concerned by the second.

  “Just last night, I’m guessing,” Vinny replied. “I saw his name on that box on your desk.”

  His commander heaved a sigh. “Listen, Vinny.” Vinny could hear him withdrawing to a private area of his house. “What I’m about to tell you stays between the two of us. Can Lia overhear us?”

  Vinny glanced down at Lia to assess how much she was hearing. She’d closed her eyes with her head on his chest, pretending to doze, but he could tell that she was straining her ears to hear, though he was fairly sure she couldn’t. “No, sir.”

  “John and I worked together about ten years ago, along with Senior Chief McGuire and Chief Harlan. I was their OIC in a firing squad sent to Basrah to eliminate a high-profile terrorist. We worked under the direction of a CIA case officer, who must have gotten his intelligence wrong because the target wasn’t in the building we hit, just a bunch of families, mostly women and kids. One kid wouldn’t stop crying and the case officer wigged out and shot him. The bullet pierced the kid and killed the mother, too.”

  “Jesus!” Vinny exclaimed with disgust for the man’s brutality. If Lia hadn’t been listening intently earlier, he knew she certainly was now.

  “Then he threatened to turn the tables on us if we reported him, so we made him a deal. We’d write off the incident as an accident if he promised to leave the Agency. We thought that would be the end of it. But then he went into politics. He’s the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania now, Jay Rawlings.”

  “No shit,” Vinny breathed.

  “And he’s on his way to becoming the vice president. When John realized that fact, he decided to go back on his word and write an exposé. Now you’re telling me John’s dead.”

  It was Vinny’s turn to be shocked into silence. It looked like the SEAL had been murdered—not by teenaged thugs but by a powerful politician determined to safeguard his reputation. “So, what are you going to do with that box, sir?” he finally asked, careful not to mention John’s name, lest Lia put two and two together.

  “I think I need to turn it into NCIS and let them investigate. Thanks for telling me about John. I think I’ll make some phone calls now to find out when his funeral’s taking place and where. I’d like to attend it.”

  “Well, keep me posted if it’s somewhere in the area.”

  “I’ll do that, Vinny. Thanks for the phone call.”

  “I’m sorry about the news, sir.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty sobering. I’ll see you soon, Vinny.”

  “Have a good evening, sir.”

  No sooner had Vinny hung up than Lia’s head popped up. She propped a hand under her chin and searched his gaze avidly. “How well did he know him?” she inquired.

  Vinny pretended ignorance. “Know who?”

  “The SEAL who was killed, of course. Did they work together?”

  Vinny shrugged. “He said he’d worked with the guy back in Iraq.”

  “Hmm.” She didn’t look too surprised to hear it. With only 2,500 active duty SEALs worldwide, most SEALs had at least heard of each other. “But he hadn’t been informed of this Stasky-guy’s murder,” she accurately guessed. “Did he mention if he had any enemies?”

  “Staskiewicz,” Vinny corrected.

  She frowned at him. “Don’t change the subject. What aren’t you telling me?” she demanded.

  He heaved an exasperated sigh and closed his eyes. “You know I can’t talk about certain stuff,” he admonished.

  “But this is a civilian matter,” she reasoned, “because Staskiewicz retired from the teams, and then he was killed. The only reason why you couldn’t talk about his death was if it related in some way to—Oh.” She eyed him with dawning comprehension. “Joe thinks his death is related to the work he did in the Navy.”

  “I’m not sayin’ if he does or doesn’t,” Vinny insisted.

  “I’ll torture you,” Ophelia threatened, pinching the lean flesh of his abdomen.

  “You can’t break me,” Vinny replied with confidence. “I’ve been trained to resist interrogation.”

  She nonetheless gave it her best shot, going up on her knees to tickle him mercilessly. He bore her attack for as long as he could stand it, then captured her wrists, flipped her onto her back, and rolled up and over her.

  “Oh,” she moaned, the color draining from her face. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

  He immediately eased his weight off her, watching with worried eyes as she rolled toward the edge of the bed and covered her mouth. “I’ll get a trash can,” he volunteered, springing from the bed to find it.

  “No, I’m okay,” she assured him. Breathing in through her nose and out of her mouth, she sat up slowly. “I just think I ate too much.”

  “You didn’t have to do that just to please Mama.”

  “I know.” She closed her eyes and gnawed a moment on her lower lip, making him think that she might say something more on the subject of his mama’s overbearing attitude. “I think I’ll take a nap,” she said, instead. “All that turkey made me sleepy.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He flopped back down on the b
ed and gathered her against him.

  “You sure you won’t tell me what Joe said?” she asked, nuzzling his neck in a last-ditch effort to break him.

  “You’re relentless,” he noted without rancor. “Listen,” he added, changing the subject before she could sink her claws into him, “I’m gonna put that new part in Mama’s washing machine tomorrow morning, and then I think we should head home early to beat the traffic. That okay with you?”

  “Sure.” She settled herself more comfortably. “But I promised I’d take Bella to Macy’s tomorrow, so I have to go shopping first. Their Black Friday sales are out of this world.”

  “Sounds okay,” he agreed. “Just remember this city is bigger than what you’re used to. You know how easily you get lost.”

  “Macy’s is a mile and a half away, and Bella will be with me. I can’t possibly get lost,” she mumbled.

  “Keep your phone on, all the same. That way I can find you.”

  “Stalker,” she slurred sleepily. In the next instant, she issued a soft snore.

  *

  “Robert has the day off,” Bella relayed, having just checked the texts on her cell phone. She clutched the phone with a dejected look.

  Ophelia was about to pull her Kia Soul away from the curb at Mama Rose’s. With the heater in Bella’s Escort on the fritz, she’d elected to drive her own car. Bella’s regret-filled tone had her shooting her sister-in-law a sideways glance. “You want to cancel our shopping trip so you can be with him?” she asked, hesitating.

  “No, that’s okay. Vinny wouldn’t want me ditching you.”

  “Hmm.” Considering her options, Ophelia proceeded to pull out, speeding them in the direction of Macy’s. The drooping corners of Bella’s wide mouth made her recall how desperately she had longed to spend time with Vinny back when they were dating. “Well, what if Vinny never found out?” she proposed, arching an eyebrow at her sister-in-law as she neared an intersection.

  Bella’s dejection evaporated. “What do you mean?” Her eyes brightened hopefully.

  Ophelia slowed at the intersection, looked both ways, and gunned straight through it before realizing she had run a stop sign—again. But then the car behind her did the same thing, making her feel a little less remorse. She was supposed to be turning over a new leaf for the baby.

  “How about I drop you off somewhere close to Macy’s?” she suggested. “Robert can meet you there, and you two can hang out while I shop. Then I’ll pick you up again on my way home. Vinny will assume we spent the morning together.” With an impulse to browse the maternity section, she had good reason for wanting to shop alone. “We won’t even have to lie to him.”

  “Well, there’s a Starbucks right across the street from Macy’s,” Bella considered out loud. “Maybe Robert and I could hang out there.”

  “Perfect,” Ophelia agreed, darting a dirty look at the car that was riding her rear bumper. “I turn right here, don’t I?” she asked as she neared a stoplight.

  “Either here or the next light. Are you sure about this?” Bella sent her a searching look. “I don’t want you to feel neglected or anything.”

  “Sure I’m sure. I remember what it’s like to be in love.” She waggled her eyebrows at her sister-in-law.

  “That’s because you and Vinny are still in love,” Bella pointed out.

  Ophelia smiled a dreamy smile. “True,” she mused. Seeing the next light about to turn red, she slowed down instead of speeding up, and the car dogging her nearly plowed into her back end. Watch it, asshole, she almost yelled, but then she remembered that she’d met Vinny by crashing into the back of his Honda. It wasn’t that long ago that she would have done the same thing.

  Should she have told him about the baby last night? she agonized. Or was it better to guard her secret just a little longer and surprise him on Christmas morning as she’d planned?

  “There’s the Starbucks on the right.” Unaware of Ophelia’s private thoughts, Bella pointed to the familiar green sign looming over the sidewalk up ahead. “You can look for parking in the lot farther up Market Street. If that lot’s full, go around Macy’s and you’ll see a Wannamaker parking lot. There ought to be some spaces left in there.”

  “I’ll find something,” Ophelia assured her, slowing next to the curb. “Out you go. Say hi to Robert for me.”

  “Okay. Call me when you’re almost finished, and I’ll meet you somewhere. You have my number, right?” Bella leapt out.

  “I’ve got it.” She stuck a hand out the window, waving for the driver behind her to go around, but he would rather beep his horn than change lanes. Bella shut the passenger door, and Ophelia swung back into her lane, punching the accelerator.

  As Bella watched her sister-in-law veer into the nearest parking lot, a belated sense of uncertainty pricked her. The driver who’d beeped his horn so rudely still followed right on Ophelia’s bumper. Black Friday sales in Center City would make it hard to find parking. Lia, who had an abysmal sense of direction, could probably use her help finding the other lot. All the same, she dialed Robert’s number and held her phone up to her ear.

  “Hey, Bella.” His beloved voice distracted her from her private concerns.

  “Hey, guess what? I have a couple of free hours,” she admitted, grinning at the prospect of spending time together. “Can you meet me at Starbucks in Center City?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Bet I can make it there in under twenty minutes.”

  “I’ll time you.” With a light step, Bella turned and waltzed into the café looking forward to his arrival.

  Lia couldn’t find a parking spot to save her life.

  The same aggressive driver dogged her every move as she circled the lot on Market Street. After three unsuccessful tours of the full lot, she gave up and left in search of the Wannamaker lot. It was right where Bella had described it. At the back of that lot, still tailed by the other car, she spied a tiny space that had gone overlooked due to the oversized SUV’s on either side hemming it in. Careful not to clip her mirrors, she swung her Kia Soul into the aperture, claiming it before the other driver could wrest it away.

  “Hah,” she exclaimed, turning off her engine. A glance in her rearview showed no sign of the other driver. “I win.” Snatching her purse off the floor, she verified that her phone was turned on, her ringer set on high, and then she pushed out of her car intent on some serious shopping. A thumb swipe on the exterior handle locked her car up tight. She turned toward the exit for the short hike to Macy’s.

  She hadn’t taken three steps when she collided with a swarthy, barrel-chested man rounding the SUV parked to her left. “Oops. Sorry.” Oh, God, it was the angry driver who’d been tailing her. He was probably going to chew her out for stealing the space.

  To her astonishment, he threw his burly arms around her, whipped her back to front against his barrel chest, and jabbed something sharp into her upper arm, straight through the material of her lightweight coat.

  Ophelia gasped in horror. The burning pinch of a needle made her realize she’d been injected. Sure enough, she looked down and saw a syringe in the man’s hand. Seizing her purse from her limp grasp, he began dragging her back toward her car, her heels scraping over the concrete.

  I’m being abducted! The realization preceded a humming in her ears. Darkness hovered at the fringes of her field of sight. She fought its encroachment, keeping her eyes wide open. Removing his hand from her mouth, the stranger unlocked her vehicle using the remote key in her purse to give him access.

  Scream! Ophelia commanded herself, but her head lolled, suddenly too heavy to hold up, and a mere whimper vibrated her voice box.

  With a dark snow falling before her eyes, she felt herself being lowered across the rear seat of her car. The man grunted, sliding her up until he could shove her feet inside the car and shut the door. Ophelia lay on her side, one foot on the seat, the other on the floor. Stay awake! she ordered herself.

  The part of her brain still capable of functioning came to
a bone-chilling conclusion. This wasn’t some random abduction. This had to do with her interview with Rawlings yesterday—she just knew it.

  He’s going to kill me!

  The startling insight preceded utter darkness. Vinny! Her heart cried out in remorse. She ought to have told him the truth—not just the truth about her interview with Rawlings but also the truth about their baby. Now, he would never guess what had become of her, unless Bella told him. Oh, Bella, please tell Vinny. Tell him everything!

  Chapter Four

  ‡

  Bella consulted her android, only to frown at the empty display. It was 12:15 P.M., and Ophelia had yet to call her. They’d promised Vinny that they’d be home by noon. At this rate, they would arrive home late, giving Vinny cause to worry for no reason.

  “I’d better call her,” she said to Robert, whose grimace told of his disappointment that their time together was dwindling to a close. Dialing Lia’s number, Bella frowned when Lia’s voice mail answered in lieu of a ring. A frisson of concern had her finishing her second cup of coffee in one big gulp. “Something’s wrong. Her phone’s not even turned on.”

  Robert gave a negligent shrug. “She’s probably listening to the organ recital. Maybe they ask people to turn their phones off.”

  “Doubtful.” Macy’s giant organ, the largest functioning pipe organ in the world, gave a thunderous Christmas recital every two hours during the holiday season. A ringing cell phone wouldn’t begin to disturb the sonorous performance. Bella’s phone buzzed and she immediately snatched it up, only to cringe as she recognized Vinny’s number. “Hello?”

  “Yo, where are you girls? You said you’d be home by noon. Mama’s got lunch ready.”

  “Uh…” Dread put a cold spot on the top of Bella’s head. “I’m not actually with Lia right now,” she carefully admitted.

  “What?” His confusion elicited a pinch of guilt.

  “She…she said I could go to Starbucks while she finished her shopping, and I haven’t heard from her since.” The silence on Vinny’s end had her holding her breath.

  “When’s the last time you actually saw her?” he demanded, apparently seeing straight through her prevarications.