Code Word

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “Thanks.” Carina glanced down at her watch, clearly distressed.

  Jay glanced to where his car was parked a few spaces away. It was the first car he’d ever purchased on his own, a simple coupe he had bought used while he was at the Naval Academy. Still, it was in decent shape, and it could go from point A to point B. “Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

  Carina looked up at him, seeming a bit stunned by the casual offer. “No, no that’s okay. I have to run a lot of errands before Bianca’s practice tonight. I can just call a cab.”

  “You don’t need to do that.” Jay fished his car keys out of his pocket. “Here. Just take my car. If you leave me your keys, I’ll see what I can get done on your car before your sister’s next practice.”

  Carina looked at him like he’d just told her he was taking a trip to Mars. “Why would you do that?”

  Jay shrugged. “Because I can.” He motioned to the engine. “Look, I’m pretty good with cars, and it’s going to cost you way more than it should if you take it in to a mechanic. If you don’t really need a new battery, it’ll probably only cost a few bucks to get your car up and running again.”

  “That’s really sweet of you to offer . . .”

  “Let me just grab my tools out of the trunk,” Jay said before she could finish what was likely to be a polite refusal. He popped the trunk as he crossed the few spaces to his car and retrieved the small toolkit he always kept there, along with a couple of rags. He then walked back to Carina and pressed his keys into her hand. “My car isn’t anything fancy, but it’s got a full tank and it will get you where you’re going.”

  Pete put a hand on Carina’s shoulder. “Go on, now. Jay will take care of your car.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Still looking stunned, she handed over her keys. “Let me give you my phone number in case you run into any trouble.”

  She and Jay exchanged phone numbers, and then Carina turned to Bianca. “Come on, Bianca. I don’t have time to run you home, so you’ll have to come with me to my meeting.”

  “It’s so boring at your office,” Bianca complained. “Can I stay and help Jay instead?”

  Jay gave a casual shrug, noticing the wariness in Carina’s eyes once more. “It’s fine with me, if you don’t mind.”

  “I guess that would be okay.”

  In response, Jay pulled a screwdriver out of his toolkit and waved toward Bianca. “Come on, Bianca. I’ll show you how to clean a battery in case this ever happens to you.”

  “I’ve got to get home,” Pete said, “but give me a call if you don’t get the car started, and I’ll come back and get you.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Jay nodded in his direction and then looked up to see Carina still watching him with wary eyes. “Carina, I’ll call you as soon as we know anything.”

  “Thanks.” Carina gave him a reluctant nod and slowly crossed the parking lot.

  * * *

  “That’s really all that was wrong with the car?” Bianca asked. “A few minutes of cleaning the battery, and it’s good as new?”

  “Well, not good as new, but at least it’s running.” Jay closed the hood and then packed up his tools. “Let’s drive over to the auto supply store and pick up a few things. This car is in desperate need of a tune-up.”

  Bianca narrowed her eyes. “Do you like working on cars or something?”

  “Actually, yeah.” Jay fished a plastic bag out of his swim bag and stuffed the oily rags into it. Then he looked over at Bianca. “Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know. I just didn’t expect you to do all of this stuff for someone you just met.”

  “It’s my job to do things for people I don’t know.” Jay put his tools and the rags into the trunk of Carina’s car.

  “What’s your job?”

  “I’m in the navy.” Jay pulled open the driver’s side door. “Come on. We can swing by my house and grab some dinner after we finish at the store.”

  “I’d rather go to McDonald’s. Your dad is always on me to eat healthy.”

  “Welcome to my world.” Jay chuckled. “And don’t think for a minute you’re going to get me involved in eating contraband. If my dad found out, he’d kill me.”

  “Chicken,” Bianca taunted.

  Jay shot her an easy grin as the weight lifted from his shoulders. “Yep.”

  * * *

  Carina listened to one of the local store managers complain about a missing shipment of T-shirts. Or at least she tried to listen. Her mind was still on Jay Wellman and the way he had handed her his car keys like they had been friends for years instead of casual acquaintances for days. And they were barely acquaintances, at that.

  A little seed of worry was still lodged in her stomach, but it wasn’t concern about her car; it was concern about her sister. Had Jay not been Pete’s son, she never would have agreed to let Bianca stay with him. She wanted to refuse anyway but hadn’t been able to find a way to say the words without seeming ungrateful.

  “What am I supposed to do about this?” the manager demanded. “I sell dozens of these shirts every day, and there’s no way I’ll be able to last until the next shipment comes in.”

  It took a couple of seconds for Carina to realize that the woman was speaking to her. She tapped a couple of keys on the laptop in front of her. “Pamela’s store has extra stock of those items right now. I can arrange for an interstore transfer to hold you up until the shipment comes in. I’ve been assured it will arrive by next Thursday.”

  The two managers debated for a moment before they came to an agreement. Carina glanced at her watch, annoyed that this meeting was dragging out because of the petty bickering among the managers. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she barely resisted the urge to check to see who it was. Another five minutes and she hoped to be out of here.

  Fifteen minutes and three minor crises later, Carina finally walked out of her boss’s office and checked her phone for messages. A text from Jay informed her that her car was fixed. Another from Bianca told her that she had eaten dinner at Pete’s house and that she would see her at the pool.

  Carina stared at the messages, amazed. Two hours ago, she was certain she was going to have to figure out a way to juggle finances to pay for car repairs, and now it looked like the problem had been solved completely without any involvement from her. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

  She climbed into Jay’s car and dropped her briefcase on the front seat. The bag toppled forward, her gun and a few pens spilling out onto the floor. Carina quickly scooped the weapon up and tucked it back into her case. She then reached down to gather the pens that had fallen out. That’s when she caught a glimpse of blue.

  Curious, she reached under the seat and picked up the softcover book. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a Book of Mormon. She knew Pete wasn’t Mormon, and she never considered that his son might be a member of the Church. Wasn’t that an interesting possibility?

  Her cell phone vibrated again. She looked down at the screen and scowled. Nick. He must have figured out her cell phone number when he’d grabbed it from her earlier. The message was simple, almost identical to what he had been telling her since he’d arrived in town. We need to talk. You’re in danger.

  12

  “I can’t believe you were able to fix the car and change the oil before practice,” Bianca said as Jay slammed the hood shut.

  “I’ve had lots of practice with this kind of stuff,” Jay told her. “If you’re ready for practice, we can take the car for a quick test drive before we head over to the pool.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Jay walked to the front door, pulled it open, and called out, “Dad, Bianca and I are heading out. We’ll see you at the pool.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right behind you,” Pete called from the kitchen.

  Jay headed back to Carina’s car and pulled open the door. “Let’s go.”

  “Are you going to practice with us again tonight?” Bianca asked as she cl
imbed into the passenger seat.

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m only home for a couple of weeks. I figure I’ll give my dad as much opportunity as possible to boss me around.”

  “He definitely looked like he enjoyed it at the last practice.”

  Jay shot her a grin. “He did, didn’t he?”

  He started the car, satisfied that the engine purred smoothly. He backed out of the driveway and asked, “Where to? We have fifteen minutes before we have to go to the pool.”

  “McDonald’s?” Bianca suggested hopefully.

  Jay shook his head. “Nice try. Besides, we already had dinner.”

  “We had a smoothie. With spinach in it,” Bianca said pointedly. “I can’t believe you convinced me to try that.”

  “It’s healthy, and it’ll give you lots of energy.”

  “It was green.”

  Jay chuckled. “Which way? You’re navigating.”

  “Turn right. We can swing by my sister’s work and see if she’s done yet.” Bianca waited until he started down the road before adding, “Maybe she’ll buy me some french fries.”

  “I wouldn’t get your hopes up. If she knows my dad, there’s no way she would buy you that stuff right before practice.”

  Bianca motioned for him to make another turn. “She’s not scared of your dad, but you’re probably right that she wouldn’t get me anything fast food. She’s a health nut too.”

  “What about your parents? Are they like you or your sister?”

  The easygoing look on her face faded. Her lips pressed together before she said, “They aren’t in the picture.”

  Jay glanced over at her, surprised by her sudden mood change. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” She stared straight at the road rather than looking at him. “Turn into that parking lot on the right.”

  He turned where she indicated and parked. A quick scan revealed that his car wasn’t there. “She must have already left. I don’t see my car anywhere.”

  “She might have parked in the back lot.” Bianca reached for the door handle. “I’m going to go check. Do want to come?”

  “That’s okay. I’ll just wait here.”

  Bianca nodded and climbed out of the car. She jogged across the parking lot, returning fewer than three minutes later. “You were right. She’s already gone.”

  Jay waited for her to clip her seat belt into place before pulling back out into the street. Traffic was thick with the tail-end of evening rush hour. Jay noticed a black sedan emerge from the parking lot across the street and take position behind them, but he didn’t pay it any attention until they approached a busy intersection and the light turned red.

  “It might be faster if you take the freeway,” Bianca suggested as Jay pressed on the brake pedal and prepared to stop.

  Instinctively, he checked his mirrors to analyze his surroundings the way he had been trained. His eyes widened when he saw the black car and realized it wasn’t slowing down. In fact, it looked like the car was speeding up as it headed toward them.

  Jay honked his horn, hoping the driver would look up and see the red light, but still, it continued to gain speed. A truck had already come to a stop in front of him, blocking his forward path, but the sidewalk beside him was clear. “Hold on!”

  He whipped the wheel to the right, jumped the curb, and laid on the horn in case any pedestrians might be coming from the other direction. Bianca screamed, but Jay blocked out the sound. He focused on the through traffic going the other way, hitting his brakes momentarily before aggressively turning the wheel once more to cross one lane of traffic and merge into the other, narrowly missing the two cars he cut off.

  Tires squealed and horns blared. Out of the corner of his eye, Jay saw the black car, now parked crookedly behind the truck. He couldn’t tell if the driver had come to a screeching halt when he finally realized that traffic had stopped or if he had been unable to decide whether or not to pursue them. Surely the driver hadn’t really planned on hitting them deliberately.

  “Are you insane?” Bianca yelled, one hand gripping the door and the other pressing hard against the dashboard.

  Jay’s heart pounding, he forced himself to slow down to go with the flow of traffic. An angry driver pulled up beside him, waving a fist. Jay assumed correctly that he was in one of the cars he had narrowly missed hitting when he had merged into traffic.

  “I think we’ll just go the long way,” Jay announced, turning at the first intersection.

  Bianca’s grip loosened on the dashboard, but her voice was breathless when she asked, “What were you doing?”

  “The car behind us was going to hit us.” Jay nodded back toward the way they had come. “If he’d hit us full speed, I don’t know if either of us would have survived the impact.”

  She blinked twice in disbelief. “So you’re telling me that you were driving my sister’s car like a complete maniac because you were trying to save my life?”

  “Yeah.” Jay glanced over at her, feeling a little embarrassed by her analysis. “Something like that.”

  “I’m not sure if I should thank you or vow to never get in a car with you again,” Bianca muttered. “Where did you learn to drive like that anyway?”

  “Let’s just say that I’ve had lots of practice.” Jay checked his mirrors, taking random turns for several minutes before starting toward the pool. “We should be able to make it on time. No one will ever have to know.”

  “You don’t want me to tell my sister what happened?”

  “You can tell her whatever you want. Just do me a favor and don’t tell her about it in front of my dad.” Jay gave her a cynical look. “He already worries about my driving.”

  “Gee,” Bianca’s eyebrows lifted in mock surprise, “I wonder why.”

  * * *

  Carina looked around the parking lot, surprised that her car wasn’t there. Jay had said it was fixed, and Pete was already standing on the pool deck. Why wouldn’t Jay and Bianca already be here too?

  Practice wouldn’t start for another ten minutes, but Carina had seen the way Pete looked at swimmers who were right on time. Clearly, he considered five minutes early right on time. Make that ten, Carina thought to herself when Danny walked in and earned a hard stare from his coach.

  As she approached Pete, Carina did a quick head count to see that all of his swimmers were on deck except for Bianca. “Where are Bianca and Jay?”

  “I don’t know.” Pete’s shoulders lifted. “They left the house before me.”

  “I hope the car didn’t break down again.” Carina grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and texted Bianca. A little sigh of relief escaped her when an immediate response came back that said simply, Almost there.

  Sure enough, a minute later she saw her car turn into the parking lot. Bianca and Jay both jumped out of the car and jogged toward the pool. Bianca headed for the locker room as Jay closed the distance between them.

  “Is everything okay?” Carina asked when he stopped beside her and dropped his towel and swim bag on a chair.

  He hesitated briefly before nodding.

  “What was wrong with the car?”

  “Nothing a little maintenance can’t fix.” Jay stripped off his shirt and looked at her. “I cleaned off the battery and changed the oil, but your car really needs a tune up. If you don’t mind letting me hang onto it for another day, I can take care of that for you.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Carina said, trying to keep her focus on his face and not on his well-muscled chest.

  “You aren’t asking. I’m offering.” Jay nodded toward his dad. “I’m on two weeks’ leave, and I can guarantee my dad is not going to let me sit around all day. I’d much rather work on your car than paint the trim on the house.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Let me guess. You don’t like heights.”

  “It’s not the heights that bother me. I just hate painting.” His eyes sparked with humor.

  Carina smiled in response. “I guess if
fixing my car will save you from painting, it’s the least I can do to help you out.”

  “Great.” Jay motioned to the pool. “I’d better get going before my dad starts his usual rant.”

  As if on cue, Pete turned toward them. “Are you going to swim tonight or what?”

  “Thinking about it.”

  Carina watched him move toward his dad. He stretched for a minute, apparently waiting for Pete to order him into the pool. Then he rolled his shoulders once more, shed the baggy shorts he wore over his suit, and dove into the water.

  * * *

  Jay stroked through the water, his muscles protesting a bit at the pace his father was demanding of him. Swimming a mile or two wasn’t uncommon for a SEAL, but swimming at sprint pace wasn’t expected of them frequently and certainly not three times a day.

  He glanced at the swimmer in the next lane, almost expecting to see one of his teammates. Most of them had left town for their two weeks off, with the exception of Seth and Vanessa. An instructor for the CIA, Vanessa had been scheduled to teach a class this week so they had decided to remain at home. The rest of the squad had scattered within hours of receiving the news that they not only got to take some time off but Commander Bennett wanted them to keep a low profile.

  He thought of the multiple invitations he had received from his teammates. Tristan, Quinn, and Brent were all heading to northern Virginia to visit their various family members after taking a few days to enjoy romantic getaways with their wives. Amazingly, they had all offered to let him tag along on their trips to northern Virginia, always acting like he wouldn’t be a third wheel.

  When he had first joined the squad, he had spent most of his leave visiting his old girlfriend in Annapolis, but that relationship had ended when his visits started getting shorter and his deployments grew longer. After seeing his teammates with their wives, he could admit now that while the break-up had stung at the time, he knew the relationship had been destined to self-destruct eventually.

  He and Darcy had enjoyed all of the same things, swimming, fishing, sailing. They had also been better suited to be friends. When he had deployed, he had always been so busy, so focused on the job, that he had never really missed her. At least he had certainly never missed her the way his teammates missed their wives. The idea of scheduling time for a video chat or a phone call with Darcy never would have occurred to him, and even sending e-mails to her had usually been in response to one she had sent him.