“That’s always a possibility,” Alex admitted. “But I’m trained and prepared, you know that.”
Just because he knew it didn’t mean it made the present situation easy to take.
“I think we should go to a late lunch after the service Alex.”
“What do you need to go to lunch with him for?” Micah looked between the two of them, uncertain of whether or not Alex and Natalia once had a fling or not.
“Because if anybody is following us they’ll follow us to lunch and that gives you all time to get to his place, stash your car in one of his garages and get into position.”
Why did she have to make sense? “Leaves too much room for an ambush. Go to the post service gathering instead.”
“I can’t,” she shivered. “I just can’t.”
“Natalia…”
“No. I can’t do that. It’s going to be hard enough seeing everybody, all of her friends and colleagues and her family, for just that brief hour of the memorial I can’t go back to their place and be surrounded by all the people who…I just can’t.”
“You have to,” he understood where she was coming from emotionally, but her safety came first to him and going to a restaurant for food left too many opportunities for something to happen in the parking lot. At least this way there wouldn’t be an ideal spot for trouble to start. Special Agent Michaels had already told him he was going to be on scene at the funeral and at the post service gathering in case Diego showed up. At least he knew there would be somebody with law enforcement training on site.
“It is a better idea, Natalia.” Alex brushed his hand down her arm. Micah was feeling possessive and he didn’t like the action at all. He was jealous of a kid, he thought to himself. When had that happened?
“Okay. Okay I’ll do it, but…not for too long okay, Alex?”
“Not for too long,” he agreed.
Micah noticed the visible shiver that pulsated through Natalia’s body. He could understand her apprehension. She would be surrounded by Natalia’s friends and family knowing she survived when the woman they all loved didn’t. She had a hint of survivor’s guilt there and in his honest opinion facing it head on was a thousand times better than running from it.
“Okay, now that that’s settled, did somebody get me a dress or what?”
“It’s in the car,” Jet pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’ll be right back.”
Micah reached out and caught hold of her arm, pulling her into his embrace. Out of all of the missions he had been on this one was nearing the top of his fear factor list. He could lose her. He just connected with her on a level he wasn’t going to ever be able to relinquish and now he risked losing her.
He felt her wrap her arms around him and hug him even tighter than he was holding her. “We’ll just um…go,” Preston cleared his throat. Leaving was definitely a good idea for them because the fear he felt right now could only be calmed by connecting with her completely.
“Got it...” Jet’s voice trailed off momentarily. “We’re leaving already?”
“I think the love birds need to be alone,” Preston chuckled.
“Ooh, love birds. Maybe I’ll hang out for a while,” Jet laughed.
“We’re going, Jet—now,” Preston’s authoritative tone was loud and clear.
“Uh, okay. I’ll just set this bag with the dress in over here by the china cabinet.”
Micah didn’t bother to acknowledge, but he felt Natalia’s hand leave his back in what he was sure was a wave of acknowledgement. “Stop hugging her long enough to lock up, Micah.”
He pulled away, reluctantly, so that he could secure his property. After that was done he fully intended to take her upstairs and ravish her sexy body from dusk ‘till dawn.
He set the alarm, made sure all doors and windows were secure and then reached his hand out for her, and she willingly took it. “Let’s go upstairs,” he placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly. “I need you.”
“You need me how, honey? How do you need me?”
“Completely,” she kissed his chest through the fabric of his shirt. “I want you to make love to me.”
“And I want to make love to you,” he let his free hand travel down to her behind and give a gentle squeeze. She giggled. “The sooner we get upstairs, the sooner I can get started.”
“We don’t have to use the bed, Micah.”
“Honey, for what I’m planning to do we are going to need that bed.”
“Hmmm…do tell.”
“I’ve always thought it’s better to show than to tell.” He winked as he placed his hand on her low back, turning her to walk with him to the bedroom.
Chapter Twelve
“How are you holding up?” Alex kept his voice low as to not alert the other attendees to their conversation.
“I’m trying,” she admitted. “I knew it would be hard, but I never thought I would be hanging on by a thread here.” She wished Micah was here beside her, but he and the guys hadn’t come to the post-service gathering. They had told Special Agent Michaels that they had some work to attend to. They had hinted at the need for another search and rescue mission, but they hadn’t given him details. She didn’t understand why they hadn’t alerted Michaels, but when she had asked Preston if he planned to have the feds on standby he had quietly told her the feds weren’t an option. She wanted to ask him why, but she didn’t have time, or the privacy to discuss the matter.
“Those were beautiful words you said for my baby girl,” Miriam said. “Hank was moved to even more tears you know? He rarely ever cries, but he cried today.”
Natalia exhaled slowly, trying to keep her own tears in check. She had spoken from her heart and the entire time she was up there she could hear her voice shaking while she was trying to hold back her tears. She held it together, despite the fact that the tears she had been fighting to keep within her had started to trickle down her cheek.
“Thank you for doing this,” Miriam hugged her once more.
“I’m so sorry,” she shook her head. “I am so sorry.”
“This wasn’t your fault. You wouldn’t even have been out there if it weren’t for her; you and I both know that. Kelly was always the adventurer and you were always just along for the ride. I think you were the anchor that helped keep her grounded and for that I thank you. She could have gotten into so much trouble growing up if it hadn’t been for you.” She took her hand in hers and squeezed gently. “Please don’t be a stranger? Your parents will always be our friends and we hope that you will always feel at home here.”
Natalia gave a gentle squeeze back to Miriam’s hand. Her parents were there at the funeral, and they were there now at the gathering making sure everything was in order. From restocking food to cleaning up the small messes, her mom was doing it all. “Thank you,” Natalia hugged Miriam again. “Alex and I are going to go. I’m not feeling very well.” She was almost an emotional wreck, not feeling well was an understatement.
“I understand. I’m surprised you held up this long. We all know the two of you were sisters of the heart. You get some rest. And come to dinner Sunday. We’d love to have you. And when you and your guy get married I hope I’m in with the mother of the bride.”
Natalia watched how Miriam eyed Alex. “Oh, no…Alex and I are just friends.”
“Oh, I just assumed,” Miriam nudged her. “Don’t put it off. If the two of you are even close to thinking of something more you should do it. You never know when tomorrow might not come.”
“I’m dating Micah, but it’s new,” she added. “We’re not at the walk down the aisle to wedded bliss stage yet.”
“Oh, the guy with the cute eyes,” she smiled. “Now that is something special. Don’t wait,” she said seriously. “Seize every second of every day as if it could be your last.”
What Miriam didn’t know was that it really could be her last. She had faith in these guys, but she also knew the reality of the situation meant tha
t she could possibly not make it. She could die tonight, and that scared her.
She said her goodbyes to the rest of Kelly’s family and to her parents, promising Sunday dinner even though she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle it without Kelly being there. Sunday dinners, the ones she had actually gone to, always had Kelly sitting right next to her, nudging her leg every time something shamefully comical happened. Sunday was two days away so she would figure it out—provided everything went according to plan tonight that is; then she would figure out how to put a rope around her runaway emotions long enough to get through the first of their family dinners without Kelly by her side.
Alex walked her to his sleek black sports car and opened the door for her to get in. “Relax,” he told her as he pressed his hand to her lower back. As if she could relax. They were at the point of no return. It was too late to back out now and the closer she got to encountering Diego Valdez again, the more nervous she became.
The ride back to Alex’s place had been quiet for the most part. Even though she knew Alex was checking behind them the entire time. “Are they following us?”
“That they are,” he noted as he checked his rearview again. “Four vehicles back—the black Impala.”
She didn’t turn around because she didn’t want to give away the fact that they knew, but she tried to look using the side view mirrors.
“Relax,” he stressed the word this time.
“Yeah, right,” she laughed nervously.
“When you’re in a situation like this you must keep your mind clear and focused. Fear can get you killed.”
“Or save your life,” she mumbled. “I shall try, Alex. I shall try.” Although she wasn’t sure how successful she would be at it because she was beyond nervous right now. “Why didn’t you all want Special Agent Michaels to help?” Perhaps talking would help her, and if not it would at least assuage her curiosity.
“Micah did a little research trying to figure out how Diego got in the States and disappeared when the feds were supposedly watching.”
“They weren’t watching?”
“They were,” he admitted. “But the slip was too well executed.”
“Like he had been warned what to expect upon arrival.”
Alex nodded. “Plus we were trying to figure out how he found you so quickly. He could have easily bribed somebody in Australia to release your information, but with the Dallas incident we started thinking maybe there was something more. Or more like, Micah started thinking there was something more.”
“And you all narrowed in on Michaels?”
“I know it seems like a stretch, but Micah was a man on a mission yesterday. He uncovered some recent purchases that would be too much for a man on Michaels’ salary to make. Preston dug deeper and found some off shore accounts.”
“He has off shore accounts and the feds haven’t started knocking down his door sooner?”
“They’re in the name of his daughter, with him as executor.”
“Okay…”
“His daughter died seven years ago and the accounts were opened three years ago.”
“Oh,” she sighed. “He seemed like a nice guy—from what little time I spent with him anyway.”
“Nice…right,” he had a tone that told her he didn’t think Michaels was nice at all.
“Talk,” she demanded.
“When I say his daughter died seven years ago I left out that she died in the car with his soon to be ex-wife.”
“So what’s off about that?”
“Her car conveniently stopped on the tracks. Witnesses say she couldn’t get out. The doors wouldn’t open, and the car wouldn’t start. A man tried to help break the windows to get them out, but…he got killed too. And the entire time, witnesses recalled seeing a basic black SUV sitting a quarter of a mile back, and the man inside never moved.”
Okay, that was suspicious, she would agree, but that didn’t mean Michaels was a bad guy.
“Descriptions varied, but one thing that remained the same was the consistency of Hispanic male.”
She gasped. “You think Michaels had his wife killed and Diego’s men helped him? Then why would he have the money?”
Alex shrugged. “Diego Valdez has been getting a lot of drugs through to the States. Preston thinks maybe Michaels is on his payroll, favors for favors, money for loyalty.
“If he had his wife murdered wouldn’t that be enough for blackmail?”
“You’re on the jury who are you going to believe, an honest federal agent; or a drug dealing lowlife scumbag who has a bone to pick with said agent?”
She saw the point. It would be just as easy to say Diego Valdez went after Special Agent Michaels’ family out of vengeance of his own making and not because Michaels asked him to. If she were on the jury—especially knowing what she knew about the man now—she would side with the federal agent too.
They pulled into Alex’s driveway. She didn’t see the guys. She knew their car was in one of the garages. Alex’s place had two garages. One garage was a two car, and the other was a one car. She had picked on him about the need for two garages and he had told her he didn’t trust his girlfriends to park next to his baby so if they stayed over they parked in the one car. She had laughed at him, but she understood. From the complexity of his little car she could see why he would want to keep it safe.
“They’re here,” he escorted her inside. “Don’t worry.”
“I know they’re here. I can feel him.” She knew that sounded strange, but there was just something in the feeling she had when Alex walked her in through the front door that told her Micah was there. They could have gone in through the door in the garage, but Alex seemed determined to go in through the front door. She imagined it was because he knew people were watching, the good guys, and maybe even the bad guys, and he wanted them to know they were in the house. She could feel Micah watching her. She had that same sense of warmth that she had every other time she had looked up to find him watching her over the past couple of days. He looked at her like a man in love, not just in lust. She had wanted him for so long that she had to resist pinching herself to ensure she was awake and this was really happening; he was really her guy in the real world and not just in her dream world.
“So what do we do now?” They were securely locked inside the house and Alex was now dressed in his military camouflage and ready for battle. What was she supposed to do? They hadn’t exactly designated anything for her—maybe because they knew putting any projectile in her hand was a bad idea.
“Sit, relax, and when the shooting starts you stay where I put you.”
“And where are you planning to put me?”
“One of my work rooms. There are no windows so I won’t have to worry about somebody coming in through there. Now I know you can’t shoot, but I’m giving you a gun anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because if somebody comes through that door and it’s not one of us I want you to shoot.” He held up his hand to stop her protest. “Just don’t shoot one of us.”
She exhaled sharply. Her aim, her luck…and what if she screwed up? “Okay,” she accepted the weapon he was handing her. The weight was heavier than she thought it would be in her hand. It was smooth and sleek and silver with a striking mahogany colored base. He could tell her what kind it was, but it wouldn’t make a difference, she still wouldn’t have a clue because she didn’t know guns. Beyond that, it wasn’t important. What was important was what she needed to do to make that thing work.
“Take the safety off,” he helped her position the gun in hand and take the safety off. “Point and ease back on the trigger.” He showed her how to put the safety back on. She could do this. She knew she could.
“Aim, point, shoot.” She could do that—she hoped.
“Safety off, aim, point and shoot.”
She laughed. “Safety off;” she agreed.
“It’s getting late. The sun will be setting soon and I’m sure they’re going to make their m
ove once it’s dark. So let’s get ready okay?”
“Okay.”
“Getting ready” meant stashing her in the appropriate room. She was so nervous and scared for Micah. If anything happened to him she would never be able to forgive herself. Alex had told her to relax so many times she wanted to scream, but she understood why he was telling her to relax. Her being jittery was not going to help matters.
When she heard the gunfire she felt her heart pounding in her chest. She could hear the shouting outside as if they were in the middle of a war. It sounded like a war with one loud burst of gun fire after another. God, had this been what they went through in Afghanistan? No, it was worse—much worse, she was sure of that, but at least there they had more people backing them up.
Heart of Danger (Special Ops) Page 13
