Wraith (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Kendra Mei Chailyn

  “What was that?” Liam asked, his voice cold.

  “What?”

  “I’m not stupid, Amelia. I heard the way you said those words.”

  “That’s what I am to you, right? The Blackbird?”

  Liam eyed her. “I’m trying to save your life. If you want to act like a petulant child, tell me now so I can leave you here and be on my way. Don’t waste my time.”

  Amelia shrugged from his grasp and stormed up the steps and into the house. It was small, but warm. She removed her boots out of respect just as she heard Liam’s footsteps behind her.

  Lili brought them coffee and some food and the three sat to eat.

  “Okay,” Lili said. “What do you want me to do?”

  “We need a place to lay low for three days,” Liam said. “And take care of Doc until I come back.”

  “You know I have the space,” Lili said. “But you two will have to share a room.”

  “I don’t think…” Amelia started.

  “…I’ll take the sofa,” Liam interrupted.

  “Um…” Lili looked from Amelia to Liam before tilting her head. “You two—.”

  “—No!” Liam said gruffly. “And Doc?”

  “You are coming back, right?” Lili asked.

  Amelia didn’t have to be a telepath to know what Lili’s question meant. There was a chance Liam could die—she realized that now, but she remained silent.

  “I plan to,” Liam said. “I have Tex in my ear. You know he’d never let anything happen to me.”

  “You’re talking like Tex is God.” Lili sounded irritated. “What if you need back up? I can’t come to you and Wolf and his gang could be in big trouble for rushing to help.”

  “Lil…” Liam’s voice was soft as he reached over and tapped her nose with a finger. “I’ll be careful—I promise.”

  Lili didn’t seem convinced. She exhaled loudly. “Doc has a home here, you know this. You packing?”

  “Always.”

  “What about when you get there?”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah. Tex is hooking me up. I have a care package in Kurgan.”

  “What about the Blackbird?”

  “I’m sitting right here people,” Amelia said, lifting both hands above her head. “Right here.”

  “Coming with me.” Liam went on as if she hadn’t said anything. “It’s safer for everyone. The last thing I need is for them to come knocking after I’m gone. I had to leave the cabin in a hurry, if you know what I mean.”

  “Let them try.” Lili pressed her lips into a thin line. “You know I can handle myself.”

  “I know.” Liam’s voice cracked. “But I don’t want to take any chances. I never want to bring that kind of heat to your doorstep.”

  “What’s this all about anyway? Why come after her now?”

  “The Lala.”

  “That’s what this is about?” Lili asked, anger evident in her voice. “A stupid painting of some non-existing moons?”

  Liam nodded.

  “Listen, if they come through,” Lili said. “I don’t know you.”

  “Thanks Lili. You’re an angel amongst women.”

  Lili laughed and flipped her red hair from her face. “I try.”

  Yep. Definitely going to throw up.

  Amelia offered Lili a smile when the woman looked over at her even though all Amelia wanted was for the floor to open up and swallow her. The two of them were going back and forth as if Amelia didn’t exist.

  It took a while, but Doc finally came scratching at the door. While Liam let him in, Lili walked Amelia down the hall to a small room at the back of the house. It wasn’t much but it was nice, clean and warm.

  “Thank you for doing this,” Amelia said. “I know it’s more for Liam than me.”

  “Yeah. Liam’s a good kind,” Lili said. “I’d do anything for him.”

  “I see.”

  “Get some sleep. I have a feeling that’s a commodity you’re not going to have much of after this.”

  Amelia offered her a smile in reply and Lili exited the room and closed the door.

  Finally alone, Amelia cocked a hip, flipped imaginary hair over her shoulder and giggled. “I try.” She mouthed.

  Whipping another set of imaginary hair over her other shoulder, she giggled again. “I’d do anything for him.”

  She rolled her eyes and flopped to her butt on the bed. “I guess he’s not gay.” She muttered softly. “Just used to having better women—women who weren’t walking around dead on their feet.”

  Sadness filled her then and Amelia crawled into the bed, rolled over to face the wall and curled her body into a ball.

  Chapter 5

  Working out logistics with Lili was just like old times. But Liam took no pleasure in it. He focused on the trip. Tex’s plan would leave Liam and Amelia in Chelyabinsk with twelve hours to go before they got to Omsk. He wouldn’t chance getting on a commercial flight since cameras were everywhere. The less they were filmed the harder it would be for Storogenko’s goons to track them.

  “I don’t know, man,” Lili said, leaning back in her chair. “You’re going to have to hoof it or drive.”

  “Walking is out of the question.” Liam rubbed his eyes. “I still have some contacts around those parts. I’m going to have to call on a few of them for a car.”

  “Which one can you trust, though?” Lili asked. “Let’s face it, these days loyalty is a dinosaur. Your best friend is liable to sell you out for a cheeseburger.”

  “I know. But I’ll have to take the chance.”

  “Makes sense.” Lili rested her elbows on the table. Tell me about her.”

  “Her? Who?”

  “I know you don’t pay attention, Wraith. But you do know Amelia is a woman, right?”

  Wraith twisted his mouth to the left. “Of course, I—and no. Not interested.”

  “Really? Well, she is.”

  “Trust me, Lili.” Wraith closed the file he’d been going through with his friend. “Amelia isn’t interested in me. We just met. If there’s anything there, it’s because I’m helping her”

  “Blind as usual.”

  Wraith frowned at her.

  “Look, just because of crap that happened a million years ago, you had no control over, doesn’t mean you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life alone. Blue balls can kill, you know?”

  “Seriously?”

  Lili chuckled. “Seriously. You’ve been wandering this world alone for about ten years now. No man’s an island, you know?”

  “Have they met all men? How do they know none of them is an island?”

  “Remember a long time ago I promised I’d always tell you when you’re being an ass?”

  Liam nodded.

  “You’re being an ass.” Lili stood and stretched her body. “I’m going to bed. Where’s the wolf?”

  “In bed with Amelia.” Wraith muttered irritably. “It seems he has a thing for her even though he scared the living crap out of her last night.”

  Lili laughed. “That’s good. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Okay.”

  “Any chance I can score some of your blueberry pancakes? I have blueberries in the freezer.”

  Wraith nodded. “Sure.”

  With a hug, Lili headed off down the hall. She returned a few minutes later, arms piled high with blankets, a duvet and a couple of pillows. Wraith wanted to tell her she didn’t have to, but knew Lili would only worry. There was no way he’d get any sleep for the second night in a row.

  After checking around the home one last time, Wraith crawled onto the sofa, bunched the pillows up behind his neck and stared at the ceiling. The house was so quiet. Wraith wanted to start banging on a metal pot with a wooden spoon. He usually liked silence but with danger lurking, the stillness unnerved him.

  He managed to doze off. The moment the darkness came, it brought with it nightmares.

  You’re unworthy, Wraith. The things you’ve done makes you unlovable. No one c
an be forgiven for doing the things you’ve done.

  He jerked awake, his body covered in cold sweat. The only sound in the room was his breathing—harsh and fast as he glanced around while reaching for the gun sitting on the floor beneath the sofa.

  When he saw he was alone, Wraith covered his face and flopped back to the damp pillows. But suddenly he couldn’t get comfortable. He found himself by the front window, arms folded across his chest, staring out at the darkness.

  Doc still hadn’t left the room with Amelia either, which was a bit weird for the wolf. Usually, Doc would sleep by his feet on the bed at the cabin.

  You’re unworthy, Wraith.

  It’d been so long since he’d heard those words. He thought they had been spoken on anger but as the days rolled into one, he realized his heart had been broken. Love was such a waste of time—such a killer of the humanity in people.

  Wraith swore under his breath and went back to the sofa. He turned the pillows over, scrunched them up and tried once more for sleep.

  At about four in the morning, Wraith gave up on getting any rest and repacked his go bag. Once done, he started in on making pancakes.

  “Hey.”

  He looked over one shoulder. Amelia was still wearing the clothes she’d been when they arrived. “Hey.”

  “Need help?”

  Wraith stared at her a moment longer before rinsing his hands and walking toward her. “You should be sleeping.”

  “I can’t sleep,” Amelia admitted.

  “Um—okay. Come here.”

  Amelia hesitated. He saw it in her eyes. But then her gaze changed and she leaned from the doorframe and approached him. He gripped her hips and positioned her by the stove then handed her the spatula.

  “I’m assuming you know how to make pancakes.”

  Amelia cleared her throat and stepped away from him. It seemed as if she was moving as close to the stove as humanly possible, so she wouldn’t have to touch him. Wraith hovered his chin over her right shoulder and trapped her body by placing his hand on the counter by her left side.

  “Yes.” Her voice cracked.

  She had the faintest scent of cherry blossoms—he hadn’t noticed before. “Good. I can go to the little boy’s room and these won’t be burnt when I come back?”

  “Of course! Don’t be an idiot!”

  Wraith smiled. When he backed away, she exhaled long and hard.

  No.

  Lili was not right. There was no way Amelia Hemmingway was attracted to him. He scuttled off down the hall toward the only bathroom in the house. She was high class, smart, wealthy—all the things he was not. And even if there was something there, out of respect for her father, he just couldn’t go there. In the bathroom, he closed the door and turned on the cold water faucet to splash some on his face. Wraith was hoping the shock would quell the heat surging through him at feeling Amelia’s skin, warm and soft under his hand.

  When he had himself under some control, he went back to find she’d made the rest of the batter and had started making some scrambled eggs. He rummaged around under the sink and found a bag of dog food. He was pretty sure Doc wouldn’t be too pleased with it but that was all they had until Lili could get the good stuff for him.

  After dumping some in a bowl, and adding water to a second, he carried them and set them by the door. Doc would know where to find them when he got hungry. Wraith went back to the kitchen, and helped Amelia finished breakfast.

  “So, tell me about you,” Amelia said.

  “There’s nothing to tell.” Wraith shrugged.

  “Okay. How’d you meet my father?”

  “I met him through a group of friends—SEALs.”

  Amelia turned and cocked a hip—a sexy, rounded hip.

  Wraith trembled.

  “Aren’t they Americans?”

  Wraith nodded. “Yes. We worked together from time to time.”

  “I would think you’d want to live close to them. Yet you live in God’s Nowhere, Canada?”

  “I went through some stuff and I just wanted to get away from everything and everyone,” Wraith told her.

  “Well.” Amelia dumped some eggs on a plate, added some pancakes and placed it on the table in front of Wraith. “Kirkland is the place to get lost if you don’t want to be found, I guess.” She sat across from him. “What’re we going to do here for three days?”

  He knew what she meant but Wraith had no answers for her. After pushing a piece of egg around on his plate, Wraith met her gaze. “We have to make the best of a bad situation.

  Amelia spent the next couple of days staying out of the way. She helped out as much as she could with cooking, cleaning up and keeping Doc entertained. Each time she sat back and watched Wraith with Lili, Amelia felt like the biggest third wheel on the face of the planet. They whispered, spoke in their little language Amelia didn’t understand. They shared things in a past life she was curious about all of it.

  The mall around them buzzed with noise and was a welcomed change from what she had to deal with at the house. Wraith didn’t walk beside her like a companion would, but wandered along behind her. From time to time she’d glance back and he’d be casing the place—eyes darting around as if taking snap shots of everything. Then he slipped on his dark glasses and she wasn’t sure where he was looking.

  Amelia stopped in a clothing store and used some of the cash her father had sent. She picked up only the bare necessities—underwear, bra, face cloth, a few pairs of jeans and a couple tops. Wraith offered to carry the bag so she let him. In another place she grabbed toothbrush, toothpaste, a couple bars of soap, allergy meds and gum. Again, Wraith extended his hand for the bags.

  They continued like this for a while, her buying small things, cheap things, things that wouldn’t draw much attention or cause her to use too much cash. The only thing she really splurged on was a Guess bag to carry it all in. When they were finally standing close to the food court, Amelia took a chance and stood in front of him.

  “Did you want to get anything?” she asked him.

  Wraith looked up from his cell and shook his head. “No. I have everything I need.”

  “Okay…”

  They made their way back through the crowd and Amelia wondered if no one worked for a living anymore. It was barely eleven in the morning and already the place was crawling with bodies. When they exited, Amelia slipped her glasses on. As she was about to step off the curb to head in the direction they’d parked, Wraith grabbed her arm.

  “What…” She didn’t finish her question. There were a couple of guys, walking around the Jeep, peering in through the back windows and then glancing over their shoulders. Wraith pulled Amelia behind a wall and she noticed the way his shoulders rose and fell. “How’d they know we were here?”

  “When we get a chance, we’ll ask them,” Wraith said, irritation evident in his voice. He handed her the bags then peeked out from their hiding spot.

  Amelia wanted to kick him in the throat.

  “Hold on to the keys,” he said to her. “If I don’t come back you get in and you drive.”

  “But…”

  Wraith turned to look at her and Amelia nodded.

  Without saying a word, Wraith dipped out the other side. Amelia took a few breaths, trying to build up the courage to look out and see what he was doing. It wasn’t like she could remain there forever. Wraith expected her to look. How else would she know if she should run or not?

  Chewing on her bottom lip, Amelia slowly poked her head out. It was in time to see Wraith send a high kick to one of the guy’s head. His action stunned her—how could a man his size kick so high?

  The two kept fighting as the other man was slowly picking himself up off the ground. Amelia ran from where she was to smack the punk in the back with her bags before shoving him as hard as she could. He hit the ground face-first and she stepped back to brace herself. When he didn’t move, she kicked him repeatedly in the ribs. The anger she’d been feeling came rushing forward again, rep
lacing her fear and she kept sending her foot into the unconscious man’s ribs until someone grabbed her from behind.

  “Lemme go!” She shouted, still trying to get to the thug. “Put me down!”

  “Amelia, you’re causing a scene,” Wraith’s voice was gruff in her ears, his body hard against her. “We have to go before someone calls the cops.”

  But he didn’t put her down. He carried her to the Rubicon and all but tossed her into the back seat. She dropped the bags on the floor just as he closed the door. Instead of arguing, she put on her seatbelt and Wraith drove from the parking lot and turned in the wrong direction away from Lili’s place.

  “Where are you going? The house is back the other way.”

  “We can’t go back right now. If they found us at the mall, it’s only a matter of time before they get to the house. I can’t put her in danger.”

  “Of course not.” Amelia picked at her index finger. She could feel Wraith’s gaze on her through the mirror.

  “What the hell is your issue?” Wraith snarled.

  Amelia didn’t speak. She hadn’t meant to say anything. She hadn’t meant to be bitter about it. But her damn mouth didn’t seem to want to do what she wanted.

  Wraith said nothing else, he merely sped up on the snow slicked road.

  “I never asked for this, you know?” Amelia spoke. “I was perfectly happy with my life. But my father is who he is, he did what he did and now I’m supposed to suffer for it. I can’t even go to the mall without it turning into an episode of the Blindspot.”

  Wraith didn’t speak. He simply pulled over and eased from the front seat with the motor still running.

  Amelia eyed him. It was as if he hadn’t heard her. Sure, she didn’t expect any grand wisdom from the bone-head but a grunt of acknowledgement would have been nice. She watched him as he inspected the vehicle intently. He then slid to his stomach and peered underneath. He rooted about there before standing and stared with a frown at a silver button in his hand. Then, he glanced both ways, hurried across the street and attached it to a parked car. When he returned, he resumed on as if nothing had happened.

  It wasn’t a life Amelia wanted. She didn’t want to have to stop every time she was going into her car to see if there was a tracking device on it, or worse, a bomb.