"They're Mai-Tais."
"I'm going to like this," Riya curled her legs under her, and leaned into him. "This is the life. Just please tell me we aren't watching something scary."
"You don't like scary movies? I would have thought they would be up your alley. You could spend the entire time figuring out who the bad guy is."
"One time Annika was taking care of all of us when my parents went out to dinner. They stayed out really late, and she let us stay up and watch the Exorcist. I had bad dreams for years afterwards."
"How old were you?" Gray frowned.
"I was probably four or five. It was before I started kindergarten. I have never heard my Dad yell like that. He is one of the most easy-going people in the world. He's a surgeon, but people say he has a wonderful bedside manner. Annika was grounded for weeks."
Gray put his arm around her, loving the way she snuggled up close to him. "You have nothing to worry about, even the scary parts are funny."
"Thank you." She took another sip of her Mai-Tai. "How's your beer?"
"Good."
They watched as more people came in and took their places around the pool. He liked seeing how intently Riya observed every little thing around her. Then she frowned, and opened and closed her mouth twice.
"Spit it out, Honey."
"Do you see that couple?" She pointed surreptitiously at a couple who were easily in their mid-seventies sitting in a cabana.
Yeah, like he'd missed that show.
"They have to be my grandparents’ age. And I think he has his hand up her skirt."
"Yep, I think management is going to close the flaps on that cabana pretty soon, or ask them to go up to their room."
He was trying to decipher how she felt about this. There was definite shock.
"My parents have never been this demonstrative. I've only seen them kiss when Dad's given Mom a present or something."
Gray just waited.
"I think I like that better. Well, maybe not the public exhibitionism, but definitely the idea that they are so into one another at that age. But is that really possible?"
"I told you I ended up almost living at the Conway's house when I was growing up. I go over and visit Mr. and Mrs. Conway every time I go to Springfield. They've been together forty years and they’re always sitting right next to one another on the couch. I can't imagine not seeing Mr. Conway's arm around his wife."
"That would be wonderful." Her tone was wistful.
It would. He'd never realized it, but the Conway's marriage had always been his absolute idea of perfection.
A server came with a tray of food. “We have the Caesar salad, pumpkin ravioli and beef medallions,” he said.
"You ordered?" Riya asked Gray.
"They had two choices for dinner. One was vegetarian, but after watching you with that meat lovers pizza, I figured the fillet would be fine.”
"You thought right."
"Do you want to put out the blanket, before I set down the tray?" the waiter asked.
"Riya?" Gray queried. When she nodded, he snapped out the blanket and covered both of them. He liked how she snuggled even closer to him. It was a Thursday night, which was the only night The Princess Bride was playing. So he had to get Dr. Patel home as soon as the movie was over, or her carriage would turn into a pumpkin.
"The movie is going to start in five minutes, we'll come by with flashlights to clear your plates. Don't worry, we'll be quiet," the server said with a grin.
Gray watched Riya's eyes dart over to the cabana, which had been blocked while they'd been served. The older couple were no longer there. Even in the evening light, Gray couldn’t tell if she was disappointed or relieved.
All of the lights around the pool were shut off, which just left the blue lights within the pool glowing. Then the movie started playing against the wall high in front of them. Gray waited to see if Riya would recognize the music, but she didn't. Finally the name of the movie appeared and she clapped her hands.
"I've heard of The Princess Bride." She pulled to the side and turned so she could get a good look at Gray. "But why would you want to watch something like this? Isn't it just a fairytale for little girls?"
"I'll tell you what, you watch it, and then tell me what parts I liked."
"That'll be easy," she scoffed.
He remembered the first time he’d watched the movie. He’d been seven years old, Aunt Kristie and Aunt Jeannine had taken him to the theatre in town. He’d gotten his own tub of popcorn, but he forgot about it as soon as Buttercup came on screen. He’d fallen in love. He loved the sword fight, been scared of the monsters, hid at the torture scene, and laughed himself silly over the silly little man. But it was always Buttercup he remembered.
Years later his aunts had purchased the DVD, and he found that he liked the movie even more. There were so many nuances to it. But it also made him sad, there he had been at seven falling in love, believing in love, and there he was at thirty-one, settling. His relationship with Felicia didn’t last much longer after that trip to Springfield.
By the time the waiter arrived to take away their meal, Riya was totally entranced by the movie, and Gray didn't think she even noticed that their food had been removed. She had a wonderful laugh, and he wasn't surprised to see her eyes shimmer with tears as the movie progressed. What did surprise him was how often he found her looking at him. She was good at it too. Half the time he didn't notice her doing it, instead he just felt her eyes on him, and he would turn his head and catch her.
"Oh, Gray," she whispered, as the movie came close to the end. "This is so poignant. It's very funny, but it's really loving."
"Are you sure it's not the two Mai-Tais talking?" he teased. The lights came on. People were all standing up and stretching. He didn't want to leave, Riya was perfectly placed against him. It had taken all of his restraint to not do more than cuddle her, but she had been so engrossed in the movie, he didn't want her to miss a moment of it.
As people began to leave the venue, and get out of the pool, Riya looked questioningly at him. "Shall we go?"
"I should have said you needed to bring a jacket."
"I'll be fine."
Gray moved the blanket and then stood up. He held out his hand. Riya took it and stood up as well. He then wrapped the blanket around her.
"Gray, this is overkill."
"Live with it, Lady."
She rolled her eyes for the second time that night.
Little did she know he was damned tempted to carry her to his vehicle. He hadn't realized just how thin that sweater was, he'd been too busy ogling her in it.
Dammit, it was a rookie mistake.
"Gray, why are you frowning. Are you mad at me?" He realized she was having to walk two steps for his every one, and he was frowning.
Great job, Tyler.
"Honey, let me get you into the lobby of the motel, okay?"
She looked sad. He couldn't stand it, so he stopped. He hated it when he made it hard for her to read him. He put his hands on her shoulders and started to rub them up and down along her arms, trying to get the blood moving. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled.
"I'm mad at myself for not realizing how cold it was going to be at midnight and not insisting you bring a coat. I just want to get you onto those seat warmers as quickly as possible, that's all."
"Seriously?"
"Cross my heart."
She let out a deep breath, her smile huge.
He put his arm around her shoulders, and they walked at a more sedate rate out to his car.
By the time they got buckled into their seats and Gray had them on the eight-oh-five heading North, Riya had yawned twice.
"Have you been working long hours?" he asked.
"Probably fewer hours than you. Wanna compare?"
He chuckled.
"Nope. I've played this game with you before. Why don’t you rest? We’ll be at your house in thirty minutes.”
“But I have some ideas on w
hy you like the movie,” she protested. Then she ruined it by yawning again. “Maybe I’ll rest my eyes for just a minute.”
“You do that, Honey.”
She put her hand on the console between the seats and Gray took hold of it. His girl worked too hard.
* * *
The next day, Susan handed Riya her caramel macchiato latte. She had a huge grin on her face.
“Please tell me that smile is because you and Mike discovered some fantastic new sex position while you were on your honeymoon that you need me to write up in Dr. Kennedy’s study,” Riya begged.
Miranda laughed. “You should be so lucky. Susan’s smile was definitely directed your way.”
Susan laughed as she sat down next to Miranda on the small office couch. Both women started sipping their coffee drinks, trying not to smirk.
“I saw that!” Miranda crowed. “You smiled.”
“Yep, I saw it too,” Susan concurred. “It was a dreamy smile. It was all man-smarmy.”
“It was not,” Riya denied. “It was the kick of caffeine.”
“Bullshit. You were thinking of Gray,” Miranda said. “How many dates have you been on now?”
Riya cleared a tiny spot on her desk where she could rest her coffee. The desk was covered in in binders, with precise tabs. They were all live projects, otherwise they would be in the overflowing bookcase.
“Come on, ‘fess up,” Susan pleaded. “I was out of the loop while Mike and I were in Cancun, and then I was stuck playing catch-up. I want all the dirt on you and Gray.”
“Didn’t you hear? Gray and I broke up after he and three of his team members came over and installed an alarm system without my permission.”
Miranda let out a big laugh.
Susan looked between the two of them, confused.
“Don’t let her bullshit you. That was a couple of weeks ago. She might have been pissed, but she continues to go out with Gray. I believe their latest date was last night,” Miranda said smugly.
“Anyway, Griff told me how unsecure your place was. He would have done the same thing if it had been me,” Miranda said.
“So this is getting serious?” Miranda asked gently. It was unlike her, usually she was the more in-you-face type of girl.
“Five,” Riya smiled.
“Have you done the deed?” Susan asked point blank.
“Last week he mentioned that he would really like to show me Northern California, maybe take me for a weekend up in Sonoma.” She squirmed in her seat just thinking about it.
“He sounds like Griff, he’s taking it slow because you matter.” Miranda gave a knowing nod.
Susan gave a long-suffering sigh. “Dammit, Mike was the same way. What is with these men?”
“I thought I was just giving off the vibe that I wasn’t all that experienced, so he was taking it slow.”
“Just how experienced are you? I thought you were a virgin.” Susan said.
“I’m not the most experienced girl in the world, but no, I’m not a virgin,” Riya defended herself. Dammit, she was blushing.
Susan opened her mouth to ask another question, but Miranda cut her off. “Enough, if she wanted to share, she’d share.” Miranda paused. “How do you feel about him?”
“I’ve never had someone so attentive. He opens doors. He always helps me into my coat. He even holds out the chair for me at dinner. He told me it was a Southern thing.”
“Oh no, it’s a Military thing,” Susan said. “But Mike doesn’t hold the chair out for me at dinner.”
“Neither does Griffin,” Miranda said. “But I never get to go down the stairs first. He always worries about my safety, so he wants to make sure that if I lose my footing he’ll be able to catch me.”
Riya’s eyes widened. “I noticed that Gray did that, but I never realized why.”
Miranda’s mobile phone chirped and she frowned. “It’s the director’s ringtone. Gotta go.” She took the additional napkins that Susan proffered and started out of Riya’s office as she answered her phone.
“So, are you going to go up to Sonoma with him?” Susan asked Riya.
Riya’s cell phone rang. She looked down at the display. She recognized it as a number from the Pentagon. “Susan, I need to take this. Let’s talk later, okay?”
“Understood,” her friend smiled as she left her office.
“Hello, this is Dr. Patel,” Riya answered.
“Dr. Patel, this is Colonel Lockhart. We have a situation. We need you in a briefing tomorrow morning here in Washington.”
* * *
The lights were off in the room and all of the members of Black Dawn were looking at the photograph of a young woman with clear hazel eyes and brown hair pulled tightly back from her face. Gray wondered what she would have looked like if she’d smiled.
“Brief us,” Gray commanded his youngest team member, Wyatt Leeds.
“This is Emily Hoag, she’s twenty-four and the youngest daughter of Leland Hoag, the American Ambassador to Oman. She’s been the tutor to two minor Saudi princes for the last nine months.”
Another slide came up, and a dazzling blond woman appeared on screen. She could easily have been a super model or movie star.
“This is Chantelle Briggs, she has been the mistress of Prince Khalid bin Al Halabi for the last two years. He’s in charge of the Greater Dammam Investment Bank,” Wyatt explained.
“Define ‘in charge’,” Dex demanded.
Gray was interested to see how Wyatt would handle this question considering Dex was normally in charge of gathering all the intelligence for Black Dawn. With Wyatt’s injury on one of the last missions, Dex had been training him on intel and communications. Gray knew Dex was now putting Wyatt through his paces.
“Khalid bin Al Halabi is a minor prince and a distant cousin to the ruling Saudi king,” Wyatt said. “Therefore he gets to run the day-to-day operation, but the Saudi royal family owns the bank, and that’s who bin Al Halabi reports to.”
“So break down what happened,” Gray requested.
“Three days ago, bin Al Halabi and his two sons who are fourteen and sixteen years old, and two bodyguards were rushed to a private hospital of the royal family in Al Khobar. The fourteen-year-old, Mohammed, was close to death. His older brother wasn’t doing much better. Khalid was in and out of consciousness.” Wyatt projected a picture of an Arab man with his arm around two teenage boys who looked remarkably like him.
“The five males, Ms. Hoag and Ms. Briggs were all staying at the royal villa at the Al Khobar Beach Resort. We know this because one of the doctors at the private hospital is Australian, and he has been secretly providing the United States Saudi Ambassador with information. All five of the Saudis were suffering from what looked like late stages of meningitis. In the notes that the Australian doctor provided, it said that Ms. Hoag told the emergency crew the symptoms came on suddenly. Poisoning was suspected. All of the food in the suite was inspected.”
“The women weren’t affected?” Aiden O’Malley asked the obvious question. He was Gray’s second-in-command.
“Not according to what our source was told.” Wyatt answered. “The women haven’t been seen or heard from since the bin Al Halabis and his men were hospitalized. Emily’s father hasn’t brought in the media at this point. He knows the drill.”
“So the Saudis are just assuming that the women were responsible?” Hunter Diaz asked Wyatt.
Gray watched as Wyatt hesitated. He also saw Dex stop himself from jumping in to answer.
Good.
He wanted to see Wyatt stand up on his own in the communication’s role. It was important that he prove to himself that he could bring something of value to the team until his leg healed. Gray was in no doubt that Wyatt would eventually make a full recovery, but in the meantime the young SEAL needed to pull his weight in other ways.
“Hunter, I was informed that the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia has talked to the Saudi king, but as far as I know, the Saudis haven’t come out and s
aid that they think the women are responsible.”
“But they’ve got the women locked up,” Hunter pressed.
“I was briefed by the CIA. They told me that right now we’re being stonewalled. The Saudi Kingdom is saying the women are being detained for their safety. Our people think that the women are being held by Khalid bin Al Halabi’s people and awaiting instruction from him when he recovers.”
“Bullshit, they’re being ‘questioned’,” Aiden O’Malley said with air quotes.
“That was my CIA liaison’s take as well,” Wyatt agreed. “We’ve got to get them the hell out of there. ASAP.” Wyatt was pressing down on the top of his leg. Gray wondered if it was real pain, or if it was a way for him to cope with anxiety.
“So these women have had three days of special attention. Is it likely that either one of them is responsible for the poisoning?” Aiden asked.
“Langley has been through their backgrounds with a fine-toothed comb and came up empty. There’s nothing,” Wyatt answered.
“I’m not saying it matters, we’ll deal with it when we get them out of there,” Aiden continued.
“Now I’m up,” Gray said. He began to man the projector. A map of the Middle East appeared. “We’re heading to Bahrain,” he said.
“NSA Bahrain? The Fifth Fleet? I’m taking extra MRE’s with me,” Dalton Sullivan grumbled. Gray knew Dalton was trying to lighten the mood a little after thinking about the women being tortured.
Dex laughed. “Considering we’ve eaten rats, snakes and bugs to stay alive, it amazes me you’re still freaked out that they served you camel.”
“We’ve had to ride camels. It’d be like eating a horse. No thank you.” Dalton shook his head. “I’m sticking to the MRE’s.”
“You’ve turned into a pansy ass. If you were married to Evie that wouldn’t have happened,” Aiden said, shaking his head sadly.
“Ah hell, Mr. Health Food was like that even before Aurora fell at his feet,” Dex laughed.
“Listen up,” Gray pointed to the map projected up on the wall. “We’re not going to have time for a meal at the air base, so problem solved. We’re getting our asses over to Um Al Nasan as soon as we touch down. We’ve got lots of opportunities for things to go sideways, if you catch my meaning.” He looked around the room and his men nodded. They all knew that this was not going to be an easy mission.
Her Captivated Hero: A Black Dawn Novel Book 6 Page 6
