by Hart, Lea
“So, are you telling me that you would prefer I wore this robe all the time?”
“No, I’m saying that if you answer the door, I want you to wear that one. Right now you can get rid of it.”
She smiled at him as she slowly untied the sash. She watched him lean forward slightly as his eyes focused on her. She took her time as she let the robe fall away and slowly lifted it off her shoulders as she kept the front closed. “So, you don’t think I need it right now?”
He huffed out a breath. “No, baby. You don’t need it right now. Go ahead and take it off.”
“You want me to take it off right now?”
“Yes, please. Baby, it’s past my ten-hour limit. I haven’t been inside you since five this morning and I need to get my mouth on you.”
She gave him a satisfied smile as she let the robe fall away from her body. Standing in front of him, she enjoyed the look of heat that passed over his face. His reaction to her was always going to have the same effect on her. She felt her body start to prepare itself for him. He was across the room, and it felt like he had his hands on her, not just his eyes. She stepped toward the bed, and he moved like a flash and grabbed her and flipped her over. She laughed as she looked up at him. “I guess you still find me attractive even though we’re parents.”
“Baby, I’m never going to stop wanting you, even when we have the house filled with a bunch of children. We are always going to make time for us and for this.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Travis thought he was in combat again and every instinct he had went into motion without him realizing it. He flew out of the bed and made a visual check for Cary and gave her a command to stay put. He grabbed his gun out of the drawer and flew into Sofia’s room and grabbed her out of the crib. She wasn’t happy about what was going on and was crying loudly at the noise. He quickly kissed her head. “I’m taking you to Mommy.”
He handed the baby to Cary. “Get in the bathroom and lock the door.” He threw her his phone. “Speed- dial one and two and give them a sit rep. Don’t open the door until you hear my voice.”
Cary followed directions without question as Travis nodded and made his way downstairs. The house alarm continued to shriek and Claire was barking downstairs like the world was about to end. He moved quietly as he checked the rooms and made his way downstairs. Everything had slowed down and his instincts were sharp. The only difference was that this time someone was threatening his family. He cleared the rooms as he made his way toward the kitchen. Someone had attempted to break in through the back door and had smashed the window. The alarm and the dog must have scared them, because there was no sign of anyone. He turned off the alarm and went through the back door and threw on the floodlights, so the whole backyard was illuminated. He noticed a small trail of blood and figured that the person cut his hand up when he broke the window. Must be an amateur, because a professional would never leave DNA at the scene. One they got it analyzed they were going to have their suspect stone cold, if he was in the system. That would make his life a lot easier.
He quickly walked the perimeter and confirmed that whoever the perp was didn’t stick around. He called for Claire and gave her the command for hunt. He watched as she made her way around the yard. Once he was satisfied that it was clear, he moved to the front yard and did the same thing. He called Claire back and went into the house to let Cary know that they were clear. He made his way upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door. “Sweetheart, you can open up. We’re clear.” He heard the lock and watched as Cary opened the door. Her eyes were huge as she clutched the baby to her chest. “It’s OK.” He wrapped them up in his arms and held on. He could feel a shudder pass through Cary’s body as she rested against him.
He kissed her head. “You know that I would never let anything happen to you.”
Lifting her head, she looked at him. “I was worried about you. What if someone tried to shoot you?”
“I’m pretty well trained. The chances are fairly slim that’s going to happen.”
“A lucky shot is a lucky shot.”
He heard the phone buzz, and he picked it up and heard David bark into the phone, “Sit rep.”
“All clear. Check the streets surrounding us. I’m going to wait for the police and have them rush the DNA that the guy left on our back porch.”
“Damn, that’s lucky.”
“Let me know if you see anything.”
He heard the police downstairs. “I’m going down, and I’m going to leave Claire upstairs with you both.” He looked at the dog and gave her the command for guard. He watched as the dog moved to sit on Cary’s feet at attention. He felt pretty confident that anyone who tried to get through the dog was going to have a hard time getting at his girls.
“We’re going into Sofia’s room because it will be quiet in there.” She felt Travis kiss her head before he made his way downstairs. “Come on, ladies. Let’s go into the other room, because Sofia needs a new diaper and a little quiet.”
Travis walked down stairs and greeted the two detectives who stood at the front door. “Thanks for coming so quickly.” He held out his hand to the lead guy. “Nice to meet you, Robert. Thanks for taking my calls this week. Max told us that you were our contact at SDPD, so you can blame him.”
“No problem. I was at the scene of a drug bust, so you didn’t get me out of bed.”
“The guy left us some DNA on the back porch, so it should be easy to determine who wanted to wake up my family. There are probably prints as well. I cleared the backyard and so did our dog. David is driving the streets in case the person is hanging around.”
“So do you still think it’s the biological father?”
“Yeah, I think it’s the kid. Did Caroline send you the information that you requested?”
“She sent everything over to me this morning, and I never had a chance to look at it.”
“I can give you a quick download. I had one of the guys at work run a background check, so I can make copies of that for you.”
“Sounds good. Give me what you have now, and I will start with that.”
“The background check on him suggests that he’s unstable and a chronic drug user. I have a feeling that he may be regretting his decision to sign all of his rights away. He also has a conviction for hacking into some secure sites, so that’s how he found us. That’s my guess, I don’t have any hard evidence against him.
I tried to run him down yesterday to have a conversation, and I had no luck. He’s actively using right now, and I think he must be on a bender.”
Robert gave his guys orders and then studied Travis for a moment. “He probably heard that you were looking for him and panicked. Let’s see what we get from the DNA. Sounds like this kid is in the system, so it should be quick.”
Travis heard the door open upstairs, and he moved to the steps and saw Cary stand in the doorway. “What do you need, honey?”
“I’m going to come down and get a bottle for Sofia and make some coffee. There is no way that we’re going back to sleep now.”
“OK sweetheart.” He watched her go into their room, and she reemerged with her robe on. She went back in the baby’s room and got Sofia and the dog. They made their way downstairs, and Travis was glad the he’d gotten her the new robe yesterday.
Robert smiled at the women as they made their way downstairs. “Travis how did you get so lucky?”
“I have no idea, but I think it has something to do with putting my life on the line for fifteen years.”
“Does she have any sisters?”
Travis did a double take and looked at Robert again and then looked at Cary. She was giving him one of her megawatt smiles, and he instantly understood what was happening. “No, she doesn’t.”
Robert held out his hand and heard the dog growl in his direction. He quickly looked down. Cary gave Claire a command, and she relaxed. “Sorry about that. She was still guarding when we came downstairs. Travis thinks that we need seven layers of protection,
so he got us this super fancy guard dog. Thank you for coming over.”
“It’s nice to meet you Cary.”
She handed Travis the baby. “We’re going to start our day a little earlier because there is no way that’s she is going back down.”
“OK, sweetheart.” He watched as she went into the kitchen and observed the men as she greeted them.”
“Don’t worry,” Robert said. “My guys are very professional. No one is going to act inappropriately.”
“I just like to keep an eye on things. Cary seems to have this effect on people, and no one sees it coming until it’s already happened.” He felt Sofia’s soft hand against his face. He turned and looked at her. “I guess this is just how it’s going to be from now on. I have these women in my life who are never going to give me a moment’s peace.” He kissed his daughter’s head and knew that this was the way it was.
Robert laughed at Travis. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t have it any other way, and you feel damn lucky right about now.”
“You have no idea.”
********
Travis sat at Robert’s desk and waited for the DNA results to come back. He had a feeling he knew who it belonged to already. He checked his phone and noticed that all the systems at home were working and there was no text from Cary. He decided not to call because he figured they were probably having a nap.
He looked up and saw Caroline walk into the room and look around. He got up and waved her over.
“Hi, Travis. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hi, Caroline. What are you doing here?”
“I came to speak with the detective who was called to your house this morning. It’s procedure that we receive a heads-up when the police are called to a home where we have a child placed. I have reports to fill out, and I need to get a copy of the details of the call. I also need to make sure that he received the info that I sent him yesterday.”
“Is this going to affect Sofia? Because you know that she’s safe with us.”
“No, it’s a formality. I’m not worried about the two of you, but I have to go by the book because I don’t want to jeopardize it on my end.”
“I think it’s Kevin Parker. Somehow he may not be done and want to see Sofia.”
“That may be a possibility. He’s never showed much interest, but maybe signing the papers finally sank in. I’ve never met him because the case came to me after Sofia was surrendered to the system. I just read the reports, so I have no personal experience with him.”
“I think he was watching us on Sunday, and I tried to catch up with him yesterday and had no luck. The kid is like the wind with no ties anywhere.”
Robert walked up to his desk with a file folder in his hand and stared at Caroline and stood mutely as he smiled. He noticed that she returned his smile and he continued to stare. He finally felt an elbow in his side and looked at Travis.
“Robert, this is our social worker, Caroline. She’s here to get a copy of the report. She has some paperwork to fill out.”
Caroline held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Robert.”
Robert took her hand and smiled slowly into her navy-blue eyes. “Yes, it is.” He noticed the funny look she gave him and he realized what he’d said. “I meant it’s nice to meet you, too.” He heard Travis laugh and turned to him and gave him a dirty look. “You were right. It’s Kevin Parker. It almost feels too easy, but it’s him. We have guys out looking for him. So I’ll give you a call when we pick him up.”
“I think I’ll go home, because if he’s desperate, I don’t want him taking another shot at my house.”
Robert turned to Caroline. “Why don’t I take you to lunch, and we can discuss the case.”
Travis watched as Caroline smiled at Robert. “I guess we could do that. Are you sure that you have time?”
“I have lots of time for you.”
She looked down at her shoes for a moment and then looked up. “That’s nice of you. I would love to go to lunch with you. To discuss the case of course.”
“Of course.”
Travis watched as they walked out of the squad room. “Sure, thanks for your help. Don’t mind me.”
He texted Cary to let her know what was going on and that he was on his way home. He felt like the kid wasn’t done yet, and he wanted to be there when he showed up.
********
Travis turned onto his street and noticed a kid walking on the sidewalk with his shoulders hunched and his hood pulled up over his head. He slowed down slightly and looked into his rear-view mirror and tried to get a look at the kid’s face. He caught sight of part of it and was fairly certain that is was Kevin. He drove to the end and turned the corner and parked and jumped out of the truck. He decided to go double back through the back yards. He sprinted through the first back yard and over a low fence as he made his way back toward his house. This was going to be a crappy way to meet the neighbors if anyone was at home. He made it to the house next to his and waited to see what Kevin was going to do. He looked around the side of the house and noticed the kid was walking toward the backyard. This is it, kid. We’re done playing cat and mouse. He sprinted around the house and ran up his driveway and grabbed the kid from behind in a choke-hold before he was able to get his hand on the gun sticking out of his pants. “No one fucks with my family, kid. You just made the last mistake you’re going to.” He took the gun out of the kid’s waistband and slipped it into his. He heard Claire come up to the back door and start barking. “Maybe I’ll let my dog have a few moments with you before I call the cops.”
“Do what you have to. I don’t care anymore. I have nothing to live for, because I’ve lost everything.”
Travis shook his head, and as mad as he was that this kid had brought a gun to his home, he also felt sorry for him. The odds were so against him from the start and it would’ve taken a miracle for him to break the cycle. He walked the kid over to the garage and punched in his code and watched the door rise. He held onto him as he got some zip ties out of a drawer. He made him sit against the wall as he bound his feet and hands.
He heard the back door open and saw Cary peek her head out. “I called the police, and they’re going to be here in a couple of minutes.”
“OK, honey. This is Kevin Parker. He’s Sofia’s biological father. He was about to break into our house again, only this time he brought a gun.”
He watched Cary step out with the monitor in her hand and make her way over to him. “That was a bad choice. I was going to let you see her, Kevin, but now I’m not. How dare you bring a gun near our home?”
They heard sirens and Cary started to walk toward the front of the house, “I’ll let them know that you’re back here. Then I’m going upstairs because I’m sure that this is going to wake our baby up.” She shook her head at Kevin. “If you ever get your life together, you can call Travis. It’s up to him what to do after that.”
Travis watched her walk toward the front. “If I thought it would make a difference for you, I might be willing to speak with you after I see some real change.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
One Month later
Cary stood at the dining room table and checked the diaper bag one last time. She heard Travis’s footsteps on the stairs and looked up. She lost her breath. Her handsome fiancé came down the stairs in his dress uniform with a chest full of ribbons. She had never seen anything more impressive in her life. “I like your haircut.”
“Thanks, baby. I thought I would try and look like a respectable citizen for our meeting this afternoon.”
“I like the uniform. You look pretty impressive with all those ribbons.”
“All these mean is that I went to work every day and gave it everything I had.”
“I think you might be the master of the understatement. Anyway, thank you for doing this.”
“There is no thank-you necessary. This is just the first step in building our family.”
Sofia grew tired of the lack of attention
and startled babbling so that it could return to her. After all, she was the star of the show. “No one forgot about you. I was just admiring how handsome Daddy looks in his uniform.” She picked her up and turned to look at Travis and noticed that his eyes looked a little damp. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. I just like the view of my future. You two ladies are worth fighting for, and I feel lucky that we’re going to be able to go through with the adoption.”
“First we have to get married, and then we can start the formal proceedings. Today is just an interview with the judge.”
“A couple of the guys said they might stop by to show support.”
“Birdie told me that she and Rory are coming, and Karen is going to try and make it as well.”
“Looks like we may have a full house, then. I hope the judge thinks of this as a good idea.”
********
Cary and Travis walked up to the conference room and met Caroline. “You all look good. I think the judge will be impressed by all the support that you have.”
“What do you mean?”
“Go look inside the conference room.”
Cary and Travis walked into the room and both stopped at the sight that greeted them. Filling seats all around the room were Travis’s team-mates and coworkers. Platoon One had come in off their rotation and showed up showered and in uniform. A lot of the guys from ASI showed up, and they were dressed in suits. Rory and Birdie were sitting in the corner with the twins. “I didn’t know we were having a party.” Travis said.
David stood up and clapped him on the back. “I put the word out that a little support might help the judge rule in your favor. I didn’t tell them to take a shower, though. They did that all on their own.” Everyone broke out in laughter and got up to surround them.
