Navy SEAL Surrender Page 12

  It was time to leave the protection of his strong arms wrapped securely around her and determine what they needed to do next.

  “You okay now?” he asked. The phone vibrated on the console.

  “No. But I’ll function.” She tapped his shoulders, hoping he’d release her before she lost it again. “It’s probably Devlin with news. You need to answer it.”

  “We have a lot of work ahead of us, you know.” He stood, sweeping the phone into his hand at the same time. “Yeah?”

  John walked to the front of the car and finished his conversation. The serious look on his face didn’t really indicate whether the news was good or bad. The look was almost always there. She couldn’t remember anything he’d asked Devlin or Brian to do before they’d gotten to the kidnappers’ house. She’d been focused on following Patrick, on getting Lauren away from the monsters who had stolen her. She hadn’t been listening to John’s plans or if she’d been included.

  Since this debacle had begun, he’d been multitasking, thinking ahead, planning the next move. Totally unlike the young recruit who had graduated from high school and left for boot camp without any plans to return. She’d admitted he’d changed.

  So had she.

  She’d become an adult, so it was logical that John had done the same. Gone were the boyish grin and the never-grow-up attitude. Replaced by a complete and focused concentration, along with a speak-when-spoken-to response.

  She could handle that. Maybe. She wasn’t as completely immune to the attraction between them as he seemed to be. Lying under him, even in a dangerous situation like minutes before, she’d found it hard not to remember the lean, sinewy muscles his body had developed. If he had any response to her, he hid it well.

  Even when being in his arms gave her comfort, he seemed to pull back the passion. With one exception—their kiss in front of Joe. Both times she’d kissed him had jump-started her heart in a way she hadn’t thought would ever be possible again after Dwayne died.

  But she wasn’t ready. There was too much chaos in her life, too many problems with no foreseeable solutions.

  No matter what happened with her, John would leave anyway. He was here to help save his brother and Lauren. And when J.W. was better, he’d return to his mysterious assignments protecting the world. He’d never be satisfied pinned down with a family in their little country corner.

  No, she was far from ready to fall for anyone. Especially him.

  Don’t read anything into those hugs other than their intent to keep you from falling completely apart. She was a soldier to him. Someone who needed to accomplish his goal. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  John got back in the car in silence, turned it around and headed northeast—the opposite direction from the lake where Devlin was staying. She didn’t mind a change in plans, but being included in the discussion every once in a while would be nice.

  Who was she kidding? She had no experience and would follow his instructions and advice. She understood her limited role. And at the back of her mind there was the question of whether he’d dump her someplace safe to get her out of his hair. She needed to be mature, gain control of her emotions and be helpful. A faithful sidekick, not a hindering fool who screwed things up.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Dev checked the scanners. We’re avoiding the police. Looks like the cops received a call from the Webers earlier, saying they’d been contacted by the kidnappers and had chosen to deliver the ransom themselves. By the time the police got to the ransom-exchange address, Patrick supposedly would have Lauren back.”

  “So they staged the entire event to make themselves look like heroes. But we interrupted and reinforced their claim that I was behind the abduction. I’m sorry I messed everything up.”

  “How do you figure that?” he asked, his voice deep and quiet.

  “I couldn’t sit in the car and wait. I thought you should know there was a second car. I thought Patrick had an accomplice who would get the jump on you or something. So I tried to warn you.”

  “I get that.”

  “Did Patrick plan to kill Tory before we showed up? Or was she killed because of me?” she asked, full of guilt that her presence may have caused the young woman’s death.

  John rubbed his free hand across his mouth and jaw stubble. Contemplating something. “Tell me about Patrick and Shauna.”

  “Like what?” He’d avoided her question, but she wouldn’t forget to ask it again. She wanted to know the truth and take responsibility. Had Patrick hired Tory and her boyfriend to handle the kidnapping? If he had, then why had he brought a gun to pick up her daughter? It didn’t make sense.

  “For starters, did you think Weber was capable of shooting anyone?” John draped his wrist over the top of the wheel. Casual. Relaxed. Yet there was a tension in the way he sat and the way he constantly searched the mirrors.

  “No. I’m still having a hard time absorbing it. You don’t think it was an accident or that he was aiming at you? I mean, he knew Tory from Lauren’s day care.”

  They were in the middle of nowhere. Illuminated only by the dashboard lights, John’s face was all sharp angles and serious glare. Either deep in thought or terribly irritated. She couldn’t tell. Either way she had a strange feeling she wouldn’t like what he was about to say.

  “Alicia.” He pulled to a stop sign and faced her. “Weber didn’t hesitate to shoot that woman, and he did it with Lauren on his hip.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I think he’s done it before and had gone there with the intention of killing the two witnesses to the actual kidnapping. Then there’d only be Lauren, who would sound confused since she knew Tory from her school.”

  “Oh, my gosh. Who do you think he’s killed before today?” Fear clogged her throat, but she swallowed the lump and pushed it away. She could be scared later, when she was alone. Not now. Now she had to help get her little girl back. Who could it have been? A slow realization filled her. “You think he killed Roy Adams.”

  “It’s a logical assumption. Dwayne was...gone. If Roy was dead, Shauna would inherit. Did she know about Lauren’s trust fund receiving the bulk of the money?”

  “No. I mean, I don’t think so. I didn’t know about it either, honestly. Roy probably changed his will after Dwayne died.”

  “Where was his body found, again?” His free hand rubbed his chin in thought. It softened his chiseled features.

  “At the old barn Joe told us about.”

  “Why was he out there when the stables are nowhere nearby?”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, John, but I really don’t know. I was sort of in a daze after Dwayne’s accident. Lauren was six months old. I had to put Dad in a full-care facility. And Roy convinced me to move back to his house. Shauna hated that, of course. I moved to Denton a couple of months later when I went back to work full-time. It made more sense to live closer to the hospital.”

  “You didn’t see any signs?”

  “As in signs of depression? No. I didn’t see him as often after we moved. Roy seemed preoccupied. But Shauna made the town aware she’d been hiding his depression from everyone, especially me.”

  “But you don’t think he committed suicide?”

  “At the time? I didn’t want to believe it could happen to someone so close to me, but it’s what the authorities concluded. I didn’t know to question their decision.”

  More than anything, she’d felt betrayed by the last person who’d given her emotional support. A very selfish thought to have. And then the guilt had hit her. She was a health-care professional, and several people had asked how she’d missed his depression. They’d almost accused her of being responsible.

  “And what about now?” John asked.

  “After Shauna and Patrick have kidnapped Lauren and killed Tory? I think Roy’s
suicide was very convenient.” She wanted to confront them both and demand the truth. “It also makes me wonder if Dwayne actually had an accident. Roy questioned it all the time.”

  John shoved the car in gear, putting on a little too much gas, fishtailing a bit as the tires left gravel and connected with pavement. He hit the dashboard and then searched for the cell he’d tossed on the console.

  “What’s wrong?” She placed the phone in his hand so he could keep his eyes on the road. “I can help, if you let me.”

  “You should have said something.” He tapped the breaks to slow down.

  “Told you what, John? I don’t understand.”

  “People are dropping around you like flies, woman. Haven’t you noticed?”

  “Noticed?” The shaky breath she managed to pull in barely stayed the tears of hurt from cascading down her cheeks. Hurt or fright? “I’ve done more than notice the ones I’ve loved leaving me. I’ve lived it. You can’t possibly think Patrick and Shauna killed them both?”

  John stared at her so long, she thought he might have forgotten he was driving the car. He got that look on his face. Troubled. Hurting. Haunted. The same things she felt deep down, especially when she was alone.

  “I think there’s something in that barn. Or there was. Something to make your father-in-law become preoccupied and stop seeing you and his grandchild. There’s no other reason for Roy to hang out there like you said he was doing.”

  “Will knowing help get Lauren back?”

  “We have to do more than get your daughter back, Alicia. Only the truth will get your and Brian’s lives back. It’s all connected. We just have to determine how and prove it.”

  “I can’t believe I missed all this. You’ve been home less than a week and have uncovered so much. If I hadn’t been caught up in my own little world of problems, I would have—”

  “Stop beating yourself up. No one else noticed, either. No one had a reason to notice or suspect foul play. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during twelve years of deployment around the world—” John paused, visibly swallowed hard “—evil has a habit of disguising itself to get whatever it wants.”

  The cold authority in his voice sent a chill down Alicia’s spine.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was a clear night, and the moon provided enough light to see through the open field and the overgrown path to Roy’s barn. John cut the car’s lights when he left the road. Each bumpy lurch of the small car felt like crossing a gully—lots of bumps as a result of nonuse. He wouldn’t have cared if he hadn’t spent the past two hours driving in circles, waiting for Alicia to fall into an exhausted slumber.

  He pulled the rental slowly through the forgotten alfalfa and weeds on the far side of the run-down barn. Run-down, but he noticed a fairly new air-conditioning unit added crookedly in the middle of the wall. Odd, since units like that normally fit into windows. Whatever Roy had been doing out here either had been moved somewhere else, or no one felt it important, since it was obvious no one had kept this property maintained since his death.

  The phone vibrated in his lap. He ignored it as he had the three times before. He hadn’t answered it, fearing even his voice would wake Alicia. She’d been pushed to her limit. Everything had been taken from her and if she didn’t get some rest, he wasn’t sure how she’d react the next time something happened.

  And the way his luck had been running, it—whatever it was—would definitely go wrong and happen. Military ops coordinated from halfway around the world seemed a lot easier than dealing with the unpredictable rationale of civilians.

  Leaving the military would be a huge change. An idea that he was getting more comfortable accepting.

  He parked the car and got out without jarring the vehicle too much. The inside bulb was still taped over, so no light shone on his sleeping beauty. He jogged out of earshot and answered the vibrating cell. “Yeah?”

  “Where the hell have you been?” His brother sounded loud without raising his voice. Somehow he’d always been able to do that.

  Then again, Brian’s voice hadn’t only come through the cell. He spun around and was face-to-face with his short-haired twin.

  “When I texted where we were going, I didn’t expect you to meet us here. You weren’t followed?” Inadequacy reared its ugly head as John searched for the car he’d missed or additional cars on the horizon.

  “I came on horseback.” Brian threw a thumb toward the south end of the barn, indicating where he’d left the animal. “The deputy assigned to me is parked on the road, probably sound asleep by now. It’s not my first time avoiding a tail.”

  Brian shoved saddlebags into his chest with an extra push that forced John back a step. His twin wasn’t elaborating on “avoiding a tail,” and as much as he wanted to ask about the past twelve years, he couldn’t. He had other things to worry about.

  “There was no way I was going to let Mabel get any more involved by bringing you food.” Brian continued moving. He was always moving, never seeming to relax around him at all. “Which she insisted you’d need by now.”

  “Thanks. She was right, but you shouldn’t be here.” His words sounded as forced as they felt. Maybe he was as unrelaxed around Brian as it seemed his big brother was around him.

  “Grow up.” Brian threw his hands above his head and turned to walk to his tethered horse. “Did you expect Mabel to come?”

  “I didn’t ask for any food and I didn’t ask for your help.”

  “But you got it anyway, didn’t you?” He spun on his booted toe. “You’re back three days and you manage to drag Dad and Mabel into a dangerous situation right along with you. We’re all supposed to just chip in, follow your orders and lie through our teeth so you can play the big badass navy SEAL coming to the rescue.”

  “What does that mean?” He hadn’t asked to become involved in the kidnapping. There wasn’t any way to explain that to free his brother he’d had no choice but to get involved.

  Brian threw his hands lamely in the air. “Forget it. We’re all in this up to our necks now. You’ve got no right to keep us in the dark.”

  “Us? Meaning you. Why? How did you plan to rescue Alicia? I seem to remember you were in jail and she was headed there.” The old Brian would never believe the deciding factor to leave Dad and jump into this fray was to clear Brian’s name. It hadn’t happened twelve years ago, so why would the selfish brother do it now? Right? At this exact moment he didn’t really know the answer to that question, either.

  “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t have put Dad and Mabel at risk of landing there, too.” Brian scratched his freshly shorn head and pressed his lips together as if he wanted to say something, but he wouldn’t. “Dammit, I probably would’ve done the same thing. It’s not like you had much choice.”

  “I can tell it hurt to admit that.” It had always been hard for him to admit Brian was right, and he hadn’t enjoyed the experience. He should confess, too. One more minute to enjoy this moment. Involving them had been a tough on-the-spot decision. It had been his only choice, but that didn’t make it the right one.

  Brian paced liked a caged animal. The area was six square feet. The same size as a jail cell. Something more was bothering his brother. Bothered him, too. They needed to talk. It just wasn’t the right time.

  Would it ever be? Not really.

  “I didn’t pick this fight,” he admitted. It was the best he could do.

  “You’re saying you aren’t responsible for dragging us into this mess?” Brian asked through clenched teeth, his hands balled into fists.

  “I couldn’t let Alicia go to jail.” And can’t admit that wasn’t the only reason you became involved.

  “But letting me go there was just fine. Of course, I should be used to that by now. Right?”

  “So we’re back to the fire? Well, going to
jail while they investigated was your choice back then, since I didn’t need defending. I didn’t do anything.”

  “Forget it. That subject is dead. Buried.” Brian looked around him, through him, but not at him. He didn’t meet his eyes, but he didn’t walk away.

  “Not quite buried. More like a zombie that rises at every occasion. Sure doesn’t seem dead.”

  “There’s nothing left to talk about.”

  “How about the truth?” Maybe now was the right time to talk about it after all? “I fought with Alicia. She caught a ride before I could catch her. The party broke up. I looked around and our truck was gone. I put the fire out and walked to the old clubhouse.”

  “You must have done a half-ass job putting it out, since the barn burned to the ground. I knew you were drunk, and shouldn’t have let Dwayne talk me out of dragging you home.”

  His brother spoke with such venom and resentment. Had he been feeling that way the entire twelve years or had the hatred been gaining ground with each year they’d been separated? Was it anger that had kept him from coming home to face Brian? Not recently. But a long time ago, he’d been pretty mad.

  “That’s the thing, Brian. I wasn’t drunk. I saw you with Alicia. You were the one completely wasted that night. We argued after you made a play for my girl and I didn’t believe Alicia when she said nothing happened.”

  “You’re crazy. I wouldn’t do that. Besides, Dwayne took me home.” The pacing stopped. Brian stood, grinding a fist into his palm. Ready to fight. Maybe even subconsciously inviting a fight.

  John’s fist twitched, responding, until he forced his fingers open. He just shook his head. “That story’s full of holes. I’m telling you, the truck was gone. I walked and wasn’t drunk.”

  “If you didn’t leave the fire going, then who went back? They had a witness who saw our truck there. Why lie about what happened, Johnny? You trying to convince Alicia you’re worthy of her? Better wait until she’s actually around.”