by S A Monk
“I’d love to.” He winked at her. “But don’t change just yet. Wait for me.”
She was sitting on the edge of her bed in her bikini when he joined her a few minutes later. Her shy smile welcomed him as they fell into each other’s arms and back onto the bed.
“HANNA!” NICK CAME BARRELING through the back door of the McHenry house late the next morning, shouting for her.
At the kitchen table, Colleen’s white head snapped up. “She’s upstairs, still sleeping. I believe you wore her out over the weekend.” The older woman laughed at his startled look. “What’s so urgent?”
“I’ve got some news about Lance. Mom is coming over shortly.” He was carrying a small tape recorder that he set down on the counter top and plugged in. “Snag Christine. I’ll be right back.” Not waiting for a response, he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Colleen shook her head. He might be a grown man, but some things never changed, she thought, remembering how many times he’d come into her house as a boy, shouting for Dylan or Hanna in just the same way, then bounding up the stairs after one or the other. And she had to laugh at that startled look he’d shot her when she had mentioned his weekend. Did he and her granddaughter think she was too old to guess what had happened between them? Hanna had been as radiant as she had been suntanned last night when she’d gotten home. It was about time, Colleen McHenry figured. Her beloved granddaughter had waited long enough for Nicholas Kelly!
Hanna wasn’t in bed when Nick rushed into her room, calling out her name. She was in the adjoining bathroom, in the bathtub, playing with her niece, soaking some of the stiffness and soreness from a body that wasn’t used to the some of the exercise it had done over the weekend.
“I’ll be right out,” she called out to the man on the other side of the bathroom door, who, a second later, burst through the closed door anyway.
“Nick!”
She and Katie were taking a bubble bath together while Christine did her laundry. The baby was cooing and laughing, in spite of Hanna’s shriek of surprise. When Nick invaded, she immediately clutched the infant close to her chest. “Nick,” she repeated, “for heaven’s sake, get out of here!”
He stared at her, holding the tiny girl. Her hair was steam curled and wet, her face radiant and flushed, and her bare breasts were peeking above the frothy bubbles in all their rosy pink roundness. Spellbound, he forgot what he’d come in for.
Damn! He’d held her naked in his arms just yesterday; seen all of her, had all of her. The sight of her in a bathtub full of bubbles, clutching a baby to her naked breasts shouldn’t have the power to disturb him so profoundly. But it did, and he realized, with a sudden jolt, that he wanted what he saw before him— her, a baby, a family.
He dropped into a squat beside the tub and curled his hand behind Hanna’s head to capture her mouth in a wet steamy kiss that expressed just how much he wanted her.
Katie issued a little cry of distress and slapped at his shirt with tiny wet hands. He released Hanna slowly, ruefully, and she handed him the wiggling baby.
“Why don’t you dry her off and put a diaper on her for me? I’ll get out.”
He cradled the wet infant over one broad shoulder, dampening his Marine logo t-shirt as he wordlessly watched Hanna rise out of the tub full of water. Bubbles slid slowly down her shimmering body, gliding over every naked peak and hollow. He sucked in a breath.
Hanna waved him away impatiently. “Go!” She tossed a towel at him for Katie. “What if someone comes in here and finds us like this, for heaven’s sake?!”
He decided it was probably best to go because if he remained much longer, baby or no baby, he was going to have to drag the woman before him back into his arms.
In the bedroom, he dried Katie and laid her on Hanna’s unmade bed. He spotted a disposable diaper, then picked up the baby’s bottom, like he’d seen on the television commercials, and slipped the diaper underneath. Pleased with himself, he managed to figure out that the two halves of the diaper came together at the sides, but where were the safety pins?
Katie was remarkably patient with the big man before her. She cooed at him. He smiled at her. She looked like she smiled back, a gurgling baby smile. Staring at her precious little image, he felt a wave of sadness sweep over him as he was reminded of the fact that Katie would never know her father.
He picked her up, one big hand cradling her half-diapered bottom. Hugging her to his chest, he kissed the top of her downy soft head. She smelled incredible, like nothing he’d ever smelled before.
“Your daddy was a good man— the best,” he murmured into her wisps of dark, curly hair. “He was my friend, and I know he loved you a whole bunch, little lady. Life doesn’t always deal us a fair hand, angel, but I’ll come running if you ever need anything.” And damn it, he was going to get the guys who killed Dylan!
That was the picture Hanna walked in on when she entered her bedroom, wrapped in her damp terry robe. She heard what Nick said to the baby. It brought tears to her eyes. Silently, she went over to them and put her arms around them both. Her brother’s death was such a terrible tragedy, especially when viewed through the loss it meant for his daughter.
Katie let them both know when she’d had enough hugging. She uttered a little series of distress cries, then her diaper fell.
Hanna stepped back and saw it on the floor. Nick lifted one broad shoulder in a helpless shrug. “I couldn’t find the safety pins.”
Hanna took the baby and set her back down on the bed. “Come here,” she said over her shoulder to him. “Let me show you how this is done.” She pulled apart the sticky tabs on the sides of the diaper. “See. No pins needed. They’re kind of built in.” She turned to smile at him as she picked the baby back up. “Now you can add one more skill to your extensive training, Colonel Kelly. Diapering 101.”
Nick followed her across the hallway, into Katie’s and Christina’s room. “You look good with her, Hanna. Have you ever thought about having a baby?”
At the changing table, she laid Katie down and pulled open a drawer below to select some clothes for her. Surprised by his question, she turned to him as he came closer. “Have you?”
“No.”
“Neither have I, then.” Slipping a tiny shirt on Katie, she saw him frown, as if he hadn’t expected her response. “Why were you looking for me? It must have been important, the way you came charging into the bathroom.” Hurt and anger gave her words an edge.
“You know, I lied.”
She couldn’t imagine what he was talking about now. She stared at him, vexed.
“I have thought about having a family,” he explained as she slipped a pair of tiny shorts on Katie. “I mean, I’m not getting any younger, and most men my age have a wife and kids by now, even my fellow teammates in recon. I’ve begun to think I’m missing something.”
When Katie was dressed, Hanna turned her full attention on Nick. “Missing something, huh? You mean the Marine Corps doesn’t fulfill your every need?” She was mocking him, being sarcastic. She’d always been half jealous of his love for the Corps.
“No, it doesn’t fulfill every need, though I know it tries to make you believe it does.”
“Oh my! You mean that you’re not completely brainwashed after twenty years?”
At that, she marched out of Christine’s room, dressed in her bath robe, holding Katie over her shoulder. Nick followed. The baby was too young to understand his confused expression, but her vision was fixed on him nevertheless. He thought Katie might be commiserating with him, the way she was smiling at him. He had no idea, though, what had set Hanna off.
He followed her into the kitchen. Colleen, his mom, and Christine were seated around the kitchen table, drinking coffee, apparently waiting for him. He heard Christopher in the den watching television.
Hanna plopped down in a chair and bounced the baby on her knee. “We just gave Uncle Nick a lesson in diapering,” she told the three women at the table. “Katie was very c
ooperative. She didn’t even pee on him when he couldn’t figure out how to keep her diaper on.” Hanna rolled her eyes and tossed him an impertinent smile. “He was looking for pins.” She did try not to laugh— for about five seconds before it simply burst forth from her.
Nick failed to see the humor. “Real funny! At least I tried.”
“So, now he thinks he’s qualified for fatherhood!”
Colleen, Jessie, and Christine all stared at the two of them quizzically. Despite her laughter, Hanna seemed irritated, and Nick looked clearly annoyed with her.
“Nicholas,” Colleen interjected. “What did you want us all here for? I gather you have something to tell us.”
“Yeah, I do, actually.” He shot Hanna one last disgruntled glance, then went over to the small recorder on the kitchen counter. “My phone taps picked this up over the weekend, while we were in Seattle. I’m just going to replay it for you and let you listen. It’s a phone conversation between Yancy Masters and a man named Li Chen.”
For his mother’s benefit, he explained who Li Chen was. Jessie paled, clearly distressed by the information that Nick had killed the man’s brother in a drug raid in Indonesia.
He pushed the play button on the recorder, then sat down next to Hanna and Katie, who was now in her baby carrier, being rocked to sleep. The recording began with Yancy greeting Li Chen.
The drug lord wasn’t too happy to hear from the bar owner. “I don’t like phone conversations, Mr. Masters,” Chen told him. “They can be taped and traced. You have other ways of reaching me.”
“This time it can’t be helped,” Yancy snapped. “I have a big problem with your last shipment. It was two containers short of what I paid for.”
“It was as you ordered, no more, no less.” It was a crisp, unemotional reply.
Yancy’s angry voice played next. “It was not as I ordered or, may I remind you, paid for!”
“Are you calling me a liar, Mr. Masters?”
“Are you calling me one, Mr. Chen?”
“Since neither of us seems to be liars, I suggest it may have been someone else who was responsible for the loss of the two of the containers sent to you,” Li Chen suggested quite rationally and coolly.
Hanna looked over at Nick. They were the only two people who apparently knew he had the containers the two drug merchants were talking about.
“It wasn’t one of my men. I sent my best and most trusted to pick up the shipment,” Yancy informed him.
“The same here,” Li Chen countered sharply. “I am told, though, that two of your men were the fools who tried to make a pick-up while it was still daylight and got caught by that provincial policeman. It is a good thing our friends there were able to develop other reasons for the unfortunate man’s death.”
Christine gasped as she understood whom that provincial policeman was that they were discussing. Colleen reached over and caught her hand.
“As long as we’re talking about stupidity,” Yancy ventured irritably, “I’d like to know why it was necessary to seize and detain Colonel Kelly’s brother.”
A collective feminine gasp circled the table. Hanna immediately looked to Jessie and saw her eyes fill with tears. Hopefully, she had found some solace. These two men had just confirmed that Lance was indeed alive. It was news they had all hoped and prayed for. Now they had to find out where he was being held.
“Certainly, Mr. Masters, you are not calling me stupid or questioning my actions, are you?” Li Chen’s voice was quietly chilling.
“Not if you weren’t the one who nabbed Lance Kelly,” came the instant reply.
“My men did so on my orders, so yes, I was responsible for his nabbing, as you call it.”
“Why didn’t you just leave him alone? He had no evidence of anything, did he?” Yancy paused to wait for a response. When there was none, he continued. “His brother is a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and he’s home, investigating Lance’s disappearance, as well as the death of his friend, Officer Dylan Wallace. This guy is Special Forces. You don’t want him breathing down your neck, and we sure as hell don’t need him fucking up our operations.”
There was a protracted silence before Li Chen spoke again. “This conversation is over, Mr. Masters. Contacting me in this manner is utter foolishness. We will continue this matter at our usual location, tomorrow afternoon. Three o’clock.”
That was the end of the conversation. For a few moments, the kitchen was absolutely silent.
“Nick!” Jessie finally exclaimed. “Lance is alive!” She stared across the table at him, her eyes still shimmering with tears. “But where? And for how long? It’s been a month already. Why would this Li Chen hold him that long?”
“I’ve been giving that some thought,” he contemplated aloud. “I think Li Chen is waiting for me to come for Lance. The Triad is big on revenge. He won’t do anything to Lance until I show up.”
“Oh my God!” Jessie lost what little color she still possessed.
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Nick reached for her hand across the table. “But you have a right to know what I think Lance’s disappearance is all about.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Jessie got up slowly from the table and headed toward the back door. “I need to go home.”
Nick intercepted her and put an arm around her shoulders. “I will bring Lance home, Mom.”
She looked up at him worriedly. “But will you be all right, too?”
“I’ll certainly do my best.”
“Oh, Nick! What a nightmare!” Leaning against him, Jessie left with her oldest son, and the two headed across the yard to her house.
When Nick returned an hour later to talk to Hanna, Colleen told him she had gone jogging along the beach. After seeing how upset his mother was and comforting her, he decided he could use a good run, too. Conveniently dressed in the appropriate clothes, he headed for the beach.
The sun was out in its full summer brilliance, and there was a cool breeze blowing from the northwest, across the strait. He could smell the sea salt on the wind. No matter where he was in the world, the scent of the sea always reminded him of home.
At the McHenry dock, he looked around for Hanna. Finally, he decided to run north, toward McHenry Point. Ten minutes into his run, he spotted her, sitting cross-legged on a big smooth rock by the water.
When he jogged up to her, he noticed she looked like she had run hard and fast. “Mind if I join you on your rock? I brought a bottle of water.”
She took a long drink, then handed the bottle back and scooted over to make room for him, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.
Nick drank more slowly. Neither of them spoke as they looked out across the water. He could tell Hanna was troubled by the news of his brother. It was such a mixture of good and bad. He sat beside her and decided to wait until she had something to say.
It took her about five minutes. “Did you have any idea this Li Chen was holding your brother?”
“Once I heard he was in the region, it crossed my mind that he might have had something to do with Lance’s disappearance.”
She turned to him. “If this Li Chen wants revenge because you killed his brother, why hasn’t he killed Lance? Why is he simply holding him?”
“I imagine he’s waiting for me.”
“He wants you?”
“He’ll want both of us.”
“Oh, God!” Hanna dropped her head onto her kneecaps. Nick slid an arm around her, and she turned her head sideways to peer over at him. “Neither Li Chen nor Yancy Masters seem to know you have those two containers of heroin. Since you didn’t tell Kurt or those DEA agents, either, what are you going to do with them?”
“Hang on to them for a while,” he replied. “Rattle their cages a little. Turn one against the other possibly. Maybe use them in a trade for Lance.”
“This is going to be dangerous, isn’t it?”
�
�Dealing with drug cartels like the Triad or the Columbians is always dangerous, but I’ve dealt with them before.”
She studied his calm determined expression. “Are you going to get help from the FBI and the DEA?”
“Quietly and unofficially, yes. It’s too risky for Lance if I call in a lot of visible assistance. I’m going to find out where he’s being held, then use Kurt and his connections when it’s time to take Chen and his operation down. First, I’ll get Lance out, though.”
Hanna didn’t like the solitary sound of his plans. “I’m still going to help you.”
“Not for this stage of the mission.” His response was swift and firm. “The Triad is much too dangerous for a civilian. I can’t be distracted by you, either.”
That hurt. It also made her angry. “Distracted? Is that what I’ve been to you? A distraction? A diversion?”
He swiveled his long body around on the rock to face her. “No, not the way I know you mean it,” he countered. “It’s just that once I get close to the target, I can’t worry about your safety.”
She pushed off the rock and glared at him. “Well, to hell with you then!”
He hopped down and reached for her. “Hanna....”
She whirled out of his reach as he came after her. “I’m already deeply involved! You aren’t going to exclude me now, or tell me to sit home and wait like a good little girl. I want to find Lance as much as you do. He wouldn’t have gotten abducted if I’d gone diving with him.”
“Then you both would have ended up enjoying Li Chen’s hospitality,” he responded angrily.
She refused to entertain that possibility. “I want to go with you to find Lance.” With her hands on her hips, she stood her ground, staring at him determinedly.
Nick was reminded of how stubborn she had often become, as a girl, trying to hold her own with three older boys. She could be tenacious when she wanted to be, and she looked like she was digging those lovely feet of hers in now.
“You’re more than capable of keeping us both safe,” she said to him. “And I won’t be useless. I can watch your back. Remember that time we all went backpacking up behind Hurricane Ridge? When we came across that big brown bear that looked like a grizzly? You guys all thought it was funny to make me carry the rifle. But I saved your hides when that bear came after you, and I scared it off with several shots. In fact I nearly hit it.”
