by Dale Mayer
A woman a few years older than Lissa’s age was tied to a chair. Blood no longer dripped from her dead body.
She’d been shot in the head. But it didn’t look like the killing had happened quickly as evidenced by the blood on her wrists and beaten face. Her feet had been tied to the chair legs, and she looked like she’d been here for a while.
He turned, grim-faced, to the guys and said, “This woman was supposed to have checked on Lissa’s house the same day we flew in.”
“Are we thinking somebody, while watching the house waiting for Lissa to come home, instead saw this girl?” Harrison turned to study the rest of the kitchen. “And followed her here and beat her up, looking for information? The poor girl didn’t know anything.”
“And that’s when they shot her,” Levi said.
“Oh, my God.”
Stone spun to see Lissa standing in the doorway, both hands clasped over her mouth, tears in her eyes as she stared in horror at her friend.
He raced to her side. “Damn, I told you to stay in the truck.”
She turned her face toward him, and crumpled into his arms.
He held her close and spoke to the other two. “We need to do a sweep of the house,” he said in a low voice. “Just because she’s dead doesn’t mean they didn’t stay here.”
Both men disappeared through the doorway. Stone held Lissa close. He rubbed her back and shoulders and dropped a kiss on her forehead beside the stitches. They needed to get those removed soon. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I was hoping to save you from seeing this.”
She shook her head. “She’s dead because of me, isn’t she?”
How could he answer that? Probably, yes. And yet Lissa wasn’t to blame. He led her through the front door, onto the small porch, and made her sit down on the steps. “Look, you need to stay here. We can’t contaminate the scene. We need to make sure whoever did this isn’t still here nor won’t return. I need to trust you. Can you stay here for me?”
He could see the shaking start. But no way could he help her. Right now they had to make sure the place was safe.
He reached out and gently stroked her head. “Lissa?”
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “I promise I’ll stay here.”
With that vow Stone went back into the house and raced upstairs. In the master bedroom he stopped to see it had been completely destroyed. Even worse than Lissa’s. Both Levi and Harrison were poking through the mess. “Anything?”
“Not that we can see. It’s similar to Lissa’s house. Everything destroyed as if they were searching for something. But this room seems to have received particular attention.”
He looked around. “It’s pretty darn hard to imagine why though. And if they found anything, there’s no way to know.”
“Considering the disaster here, I’m guessing they didn’t.”
Harrison kicked a drawer and shrugged. “This just looks like rage again.”
They both stared at Stone. “You think she would know anything about the contents of this room?”
“She might, but she’s been gone for eight months, so who knows what or how it’s changed since then.”
“Right.”
“We need to call the police again,” Stone said. “This could be enough to finish her.”
“They’ll ask more questions, but that’s all,” Harrison said. “Where is she staying tonight?”
“She’s coming home with us,” Levi said. “Til we get to the bottom of this, she needs to stay somewhere safe.”
Stone nodded. “I agree, but we also can’t forget the fact that we’ve now shown up at these two locations. If anybody’s watching these houses, they may very well be following us to the compound.”
“Which is exactly why, as soon as we left this morning, it went on lockdown,” Levi said calmly. “Ice is watching. She’ll know if anyone is hanging around.”
“Good. Let’s get this show on the road then. The sooner we’re home safe and sound, the better.”
Chapter 15
She was numb, just not enough. She could still feel the waves of grief as they roared through her system. This was so not fair. Marge had never done anything to hurt anyone. In fact, she’d been such a good friend to keep an eye out on her place. Lissa understood it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she’d seen what they’d done to her friend. It terrified her. Marge had been a hell of a nice person.
What would these men do to Lissa if they caught her?
Even as she considered that, her body made a small cry of protest. She couldn’t think of that right now. First she had to face the police again. This interrogation would be a little deeper, longer, and harder.
But the men stood by her side and explained what was going on. That helped. She couldn’t imagine being a woman alone trying to do this. It just looked a whole lot like rage and jealousy from the condition of Marge’s bedroom.
Until the police had the autopsy report on Marge, Levi couldn’t prove that Lissa was out of the country at the time of Marge’s death.
When they could, it’d be a small relief, considering her best friend was dead. She curled up in the front seat as Stone drove her now-insured car. Not a long drive, yet part of her wished it was a much longer one. She just wanted the world to go away. So she could try to forget what had happened. To pretend Marge—that bright, beautiful young woman—was still alive and laughing.
No wonder she hadn’t answered her phone. She couldn’t.
Lissa didn’t want to return to the compound. Everyone around her was dying. She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. She tried to tell Levi to leave her alone, that she was nothing but bad news for his team and home. That whoever had done this to Marge would come after them for helping her.
He held up his hand and said, “Don’t ever say that again. From now on, Stone will look after you.”
And she’d fallen silent and let Stone lead her around like the lamb she’d become.
Dear God, she hoped her parents didn’t find out about this. It would just give her father even more ammunition for years to come. He’d then tell her how she was such a wreck that she was destroying the lives of everybody around her. He’d told her that once before, and it had hurt so badly.
Only now, as she stared down at her long history with her father and this recent event, did she realize maybe he was right. She was always making impulsive decisions—though she thought for the right reasons. But currently, with such a fallout as this, she wondered if maybe he’d been right all along.
“Don’t try to think,” Stone said quietly in the darkness. “Just relax. It’ll take time to get over this.”
“I don’t think time can help much,” she murmured painfully. “She was a really beautiful person.”
He reached across and grabbed her fingers, interlacing them with his. “I’m sure she was. So you’ll need to grieve for her loss, and then we’ll honor her life and find a way to make her passing a little easier on you.”
She didn’t think such a thing was possible. But she knew people lost someone special all the time. She’d just been blessed to not experience that until now.
It hurt too much.
Instantly a wave of grief washed over her and brought the tears dripping down her cheeks again. Surely no more were left inside? She hadn’t cried since forever, barely making it through the police interviews. She was actually afraid they’d ask her to go to the hospital to see somebody, get counseling—and that wasn’t happening.
The car slowed unexpectedly. She peered in front of them and realized they were already at the compound. Stone drove her car in and parked around the side, out of sight with the other vehicles, blocking it from view. Levi and Harrison drove up behind them and parked the truck, damn-near blocking the car from moving anywhere.
Her mind was fuzzy. She thought she understood their reasoning but wasn’t sure anything mattered anymore. They were trying to protect her, and she was beyond caring. So many people hurt. I
t should have been her.
Stone got out and came around to open the door for her, helping her to her feet. Instead of trying to push her inside, he just held her close. She burrowed into his arms and clasped her hands behind his back.
She couldn’t think of another time in her life that she had had somebody to just hold on to. Someone who was willing to help her through a tough patch in her life. Someone so very special to her.
Also, something she couldn’t afford to get used to. They hadn’t spoken about anything personal between the two of them. She was in no shape right now to even consider something like a relationship, but she knew she wanted to keep him in her life if at all possible.
She had no idea how she’d fit into something like the ex-military unit living at this compound. They had a good thing here. The only couple appeared to be Levi and Ice, and Lissa didn’t know the details behind them either.
Finally she stepped back and gave Stone a watery-eyed smile and said, “Thanks. Any chance I can go lie down?”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and kept her close. “Good suggestion. Come on. Let’s get you into bed. You didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and have had nothing but shocks ever since.”
Just the thought of nearing a bed was enough to keep her putting one foot in front of the other. She let him lead her where he would. When she realized she was standing beside the same bed she’d awakened in this morning, her heart melted a little bit more. “Are you sure?”
He laid her purse and bag down on the floor beside the night table and turned to look at her, asking, “Am I sure about what?”
She paused before answering. This was his bed, his bedroom. “I kind of pushed the limit by coming in here last night. Are you sure you want me to stay here with you?”
“I thought we were past that stage actually,” he said with a smile. “You shouldn’t be alone right now. So I’m totally fine with this. But maybe I should be asking if you’re okay with it?”
He waited for her to answer.
Inside she was torn up with grief and with all her emotions, it was like she had no filters anymore. She didn’t know what to say or how to say it. At first she was afraid it would come out wrong and then realized she just didn’t give a damn anymore. She slipped her arms around his shoulders and said, “There’s nothing I want more.”
She just hugged him and held on tight. She didn’t even understand how, but, a few minutes later, she was lifted and placed on the cool sheets, completely naked, with the blankets tucked up over her from her shoulders down. A gentle kiss was dropped on her temple.
But somehow, in her foggy mind, she realized he had made the impossible happen. “You’re a miracle, you know that?”
“No,” he whispered. “I’m not. I’m just a man.”
And he disappeared from the room.
She lay in the half cloudy space that she’d entered and felt the waves rise once again. And she gave into them, letting the tears flow and the sobs ripple through her as she cried herself to sleep.
*
They had bigger problems now. Stone closed the door quietly behind him, his heart aching at her sobs. But he couldn’t help her or hold her right now. He had to let the storm fly through her system and come out the other side, where she could slowly piece her life together again.
It wasn’t just the loss of her friend that gave her that guilty feeling but believing she was somehow responsible for the murder of her friend. Because their association had likely gotten the young Marge killed. It would be hard to dissuade Lissa from believing she wasn’t responsible. That none of this was her fault would take a lot for her to believe right now.
He walked into the kitchen, headed straight for the coffeepot. After pouring himself a big mug, he leaned against the counter, facing the group collected around the table.
“How is she?” Ice asked. “That’s got to be a tough shock for her.”
“She’s crying right now. Should be asleep in minutes.” He shrugged and sat down heavily at the table. “She’s in shock. Overwhelmed with grief. And horrified that she’s responsible for Marge’s death.”
The others nodded. They understood.
“Anything unusual happening here today, Ice?” Stone asked. “Any sign somebody is watching the place or that we brought anybody here?”
“Not so far.” She glanced at Logan. “You’ve been watching the monitors. Any alerts?”
Logan shook his head. “Not yet. But, if they saw the number of us and the sheer size of the place, I wouldn’t expect them to do anything stupid. They might just hang around and check out the place for a while. Lay low and make a plan.”
Levi nodded. “But I’m not sure this was as organized and as professional a job as we would’ve done.”
“Why would they murder the woman?” Harrison asked, anger threading through his voice. “And I think the damage to her place was more for show than anything. When they finally believed she didn’t know anything about Lissa and didn’t have anything of hers, they shot her.” He stared down at his coffee cup. “The rest was just for staging.”
“Can anybody come up with any other explanation than Lissa being used as a mule to smuggle something across the borders?” Ice asked. “We’ve certainly seen it happen before. But never with this kind of an end result.”
“In this case, she didn’t have the bag. If she did, then maybe it warranted this kind of attention but she didn’t …” Stone said.
“Nothing else makes any sense,” Ice added.
“We’ll figure it out. But it never seems to make sense until the very end.” Levi stood and refilled his coffee cup. “I also spoke to Charles.”
The others turned to look at him.
Harrison asked, “What about Kevin?”
“No sign of him.” Levi shrugged. “And we still don’t know if that’s ominous or not. Or maybe he didn’t give a shit.” He turned to look at Ice. “Although, from what we saw in Afghanistan, he appeared to be a very caring husband. So the other alternative is, he’s lying somewhere dead in an alleyway.”
Ice winced. “Did Charles do a background check on Kevin and Susan?”
“He’s looking into it now. But, so far, nothing’s showing up.”
“Have you considered that they were the ones doing the smuggling? Or that they were also targeted for smuggling?” Stone asked. “We brought three people back with us. We were only expected to bring one. And we got all three through customs at Heathrow.”
“I was wondering about that.” Levi sat down on the bench. “But getting information on Kevin and Susan is turning out to be hard to do. Charles is the best man for that job, and he is struggling.”
“What do we do from here?” Stone asked.
Levi turned to stare at Harrison. “Okay, well, I think Merk has a few connections with mercenaries, as do you, Harrison. Maybe send out feelers and see if somebody knows anything about the job.”
Harrison nodded. “I’ll try. This isn’t exactly a typical job though.”
“I know. I’ll also contact a few of our old brass and see if anybody can get a line on what happened at customs,” Ice said. “Maybe a little bit more information was being withheld.”
Harrison smiled. “Sometimes honey works better than lemons.”
Ice stood up and patted Harrison on the shoulder. “I’ll do that now. I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me.”
Stone stood up. “I’ll check on Lissa, then see if I can grab some sleep.” He stood up and walked to the doorway. He knew the others were watching him. He turned at the last minute and said, “I did check out her car.” He stopped and shoved his fingers in his pockets. He pulled out the contents of the glove box and dropped it on the kitchen table. “I don’t think any of this means anything, but I haven’t had a chance to check. Remember, she’s been gone eight months.”
“Do we know that for sure? Anyone?” Harrison asked. “Not trying to be a shithead here but, at least, confirm she has been out of country for that long.�
��
“I’ll do it,” Levi said. “We can find that out pretty damn fast.”
Stone nodded. “If you check further, prove she’s legit. Because I hate to say it, but I’m falling hard. Make sure I’ve got a soft place to land, not another nasty betrayal after Rodriguez. I lost a leg to that one. I don’t want to lose my heart to her.”
With those harsh words he turned and walked out, leaving the men to stare in his wake.
Chapter 16
She felt the heat soak through her chilled body and bones until it became a burning furnace where she had been added to the hellfires of the damned.
“Easy, Lissa. Stop crying, honey. You’ll make yourself sick.”
Internally she knew she was already. Something was wrong with her. People didn’t love her like they did other people. Something just wasn’t right with her world. Why did shit like this keep happening?
But she also realized that the man speaking was Stone, and he was really worried about her. He held her tight against his chest, and that was the source of the furnace. She opened her watery eyes and wiped at her tears, trying to dry them enough to see him through the waterfall. “I’ll be fine,” she sobbed. “It’s just so hard right now.”
He dropped his head and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “Make me forget. Just for a moment, help me forget.”
He rolled her to her back and positioned himself right between her thighs. Dear God, exactly where she wanted him to be. He kissed, stroked, and caressed her, all while her emotions were jumbled, mixed, and torn. But it wasn’t long before she twisted beneath him. When he finally entered her body, she welcomed him with all her heart. She wrapped her legs around his hips as high as she could go, and she hung on for the ride. A journey to remember. He didn’t just stop at one climax. He rode her right through and drove her off the cliff again and then again. By the time she lay boneless in his arms, with him sated at her side, she knew she’d died and gone to heaven. For real this time.
