After Midnight: (A Penguin Special from Signet Eclipse) (Killer Instincts) (6 page)

Kane had never been to the Egyptian countryside, and he could honestly say he preferred the rural landscape to the brown, dusty city they’d spend the past week in. In Cairo, there was barely a speck of green in sight, but here, lush greenery was in abundance. Even in the darkness, he could make out the flat fields of the neighboring farms, dotted by palm trees that seemed out of place among the crops. The air was fresher too, without smog or car exhaust to pollute it. The wind carried the scent of olives and watermelons, two of the crops grown on the farm they were currently staking out.

The short chopper ride had taken them south, following the Nile then veering west to the small village where Nazara’s mother and Eshe Salib had grown up. Like most of the other houses in the area, Salib’s mud-brick farmhouse had a flat roof and outer walls trimmed with blue plaster; Morgan had informed Kane during the trek through the fields that the Egyptians believed the color blue warded off the evil eye. Whatever that meant. And how Morgan knew that was an even bigger mystery. The boss wasn’t one to spew out trivia or be all chatty, so Kane suspected the man was trying to help keep his mind off the bomb Abby had dropped.

But it wasn’t working, because his brain had been chanting the same two syllables ever since he’d found out. Preg-nant. Preg-nant. Preg-nant. It was like a frickin’ meditation mantra, except the words didn’t bring peace or serenity. Only conflicting emotions that had tangled into a knot in his gut.

He couldn’t believe she was even considering not keeping the baby.
Their
baby.

Yes, they hadn’t planned it, but it was here, it was
real
, and she couldn’t just sweep it under the rug or get rid of the baby and expect him to forget about it.

“Kane? Status?”

Morgan’s voice barked in his ear, alerting him to the fact that he hadn’t checked in after he’d gotten into position. Hell. He
really
needed to concentrate on the task at hand. They were already one man short thanks to Abby’s absence. He couldn’t drop the ball when a little boy’s life was at stake.

“Staring at the front door as we speak,” he reported. “Two lights on, one small window on the left—looks like the kitchen.” He swept his field glasses to the other side of the house. “Larger window on the right—living room.” He zoomed in closer. “Visual on female tango. Late-fifties, yellow housedress, asleep in a rocking chair. No one else in the room.”

He shifted his focus to the dirt driveway, where the rusted brown Volvo they’d glimpsed from the road remained parked. Could belong to Salib. Or it could mean she had a visitor.

“Noelle?” Morgan prompted. As usual, he sounded like he’d rather be addressing a sadistic dictator than speak to the woman.

Noelle, who was stationed at the rear of the house, reported back in an indifferent tone. “One window with a light on—bathroom, I think. The glass is frosted, so I can’t see much, but there is some movement. Dark-haired figure, maybe male.”

Kane’s shoulders tensed. “Apollo?” he asked, using the code name they’d assigned their target. The comm was secure, but you couldn’t be too careful in their line of work.

“I already told you, I can’t see shit,” Noelle said irritably. She paused. “One second. I’ll try to get closer.”

Kane kept his binoculars trained on the sleeping brown-skinned woman in the rocking chair as he waited for the next report. Morgan was positioned at the side of the house, but hadn’t found anything worthwhile yet, and Abby was parked a mile down the road, ready to tail Nazara if he tried to escape in that Volvo.

At the thought of his wife, Kane’s palms grew damp. He’d always trusted her ability to handle herself, but . . . she was pregnant now. Carrying his
child
.

His concern promptly turned to gnawing fear. Christ, maybe he should have insisted she stay in Cairo. What if she got hurt? What if—

Noelle’s brusque words jerked him back to the task. “Shower’s on. Still can’t get a clear visual. Might be Apollo, might not.” A beat followed. “Open window on the east side.”

Morgan voiced a sharp command. “Don’t enter the house until we assess the tango situation.”

“No, really?” came Noelle’s silky taunt. “Relax, Jim. I’m just taking a peek.”

Kane waited patiently. He verified that the female target was still asleep then did a sweep of the surrounding farmland. Some lights shone from the windows in the neighboring houses, but not many. It wasn’t out of the ordinary, though, since it was past ten o’clock. Folks around these parts woke up at the crack of dawn and spent their days working hard in the fields.

“Visual on the kid,” Noelle suddenly hissed.

Kane’s fingers tightened around the binoculars. “You sure?”

“He’s in the back bedroom, sleeping on a cot. Approximately two years old, Caucasian, curly blond hair. Can’t see his face, but from what I can tell, the description matches the photos.” Another pause. “I can extract him right now, boys. Shower’s still on. They won’t even know I’m there.”

Kane didn’t doubt it. According to Abby, her former boss was a ghost, fully capable of moving in and out of places unseen.

“I’m coming to you,” Morgan snapped at Noelle. “Don’t move until I give the word. If you go in, I’ll be covering you.”

Another two minutes passed. Kane kept his eye on the woman, ready to alert the others if she so much as twitched in her sleep. According to their sources, Eshe Salib was practically family to Nazara, and she’d had a hand in raising the guy. Not exactly something to be proud of, though, considering Khalid Nazara grew up to be a drug dealer. He’d been involved in other abductions before, usually snatching a local kid for a meager ransom. Going after the ambassador’s son had been a ballsy move on his part.

Too
ballsy, because there was no damn way he’d get away with it.

“Kane, be on alert. If Nazara makes a run for it, radio Abby.”

“Copy.”

Silence again, broken only by the soft whistle of the wind. The area was too quiet, and the lack of activity worried him. As a SEAL he’d gotten used to covert missions, in and out before anyone knew the team had even been there. But lately all of his assignments for Morgan seemed to end in gunfire or explosions. The memory of those last few ops was accompanied by the words Abby had said to him earlier.

We’re mercenaries
.

Hell, she was right. How could they ever raise a child in such a dangerous environment? Their compound in Costa Rica seemed secure, but that’s what Kane had thought about their place in Tijuana—before it was blown to bits when a group of hired guns had ambushed it.

If they wanted their kid to live a safe, explosion-free life, they would definitely have to reassess their living situation. Maybe even leave the team.

It hadn’t occurred to him to
not
to keep the baby, though. And it dismayed him that his wife saw it as an option.

“The rug rat is secure.”

His head snapped up. Hell, Noelle was
good
. Kane checked the living room window, but Eshe Salib was still sound asleep, and not a single sound came out of the house.

“You got him?” Kane said urgently.

“Yep. Matches the picture. It’s him.”

“I’ve got you covered,” Morgan spoke up. “Get him back to Abby. Now.”

Kane couldn’t believe how smoothly the extraction had gone. Noelle had literally climbed through an open window and rescued the ambassador’s son without a single goddamn hitch.

He touched his earpiece. “What now, boss?”

“Now we apprehend Apollo. Riggs wants him alive. I bet they’ll drag out his trial for years.” After a quiet chuckle, Morgan’s tone sharpened. “We move on my count. I’ll take the back, you’ve got the front.”

“Copy.”

Kane slipped his binoculars into his pocket, palmed his nine-millimeter, and waited for the order.

*   *   *

Abby was prepared for Noelle’s arrival—Morgan had radioed to say she was on her way—but she hadn’t expected the woman to appear out of nowhere and thrust a sobbing toddler in her arms.

“Would you shut this thing up?” Noelle grumbled. “We’ve gotta go.”

Abby blinked a few times, caught off guard as the little boy in her arms clutched her neck with chubby hands and held on for dear life. His high-pitched wails reverberated in the night, his hot tears soaking the front of her tank top.

“Slide over.”

Noelle’s sharp address snapped her to action. She quickly slid into the passenger side of the truck they’d borrowed from the airfield, while Noelle hopped in the driver’s seat and yanked on the gearshift, her foot working the clutch.

“What about Kane and Morgan?” Abby demanded, nearly shouting over the toddler’s shrieks. “Shouldn’t we wait for them?”

“They’re taking care of Nazara. They’ll meet us there.”

Since they’d stashed a secondary vehicle nearby, she wasn’t concerned about Kane and Morgan finding their way back, but she did worry about the possibility of Nazara hurting one or both of them.

She swallowed her fear, reminding herself that Kane was a pro. She
had
to trust him to take care of himself.

She just wished she could be there to watch his back.

“Mama!”

The anguished sob drew her gaze to the toddler in her arms. After a beat of hesitation, she reached down and stroked his damp blond curls. She didn’t have much experience with crying children, but the soothing caress seemed to calm him.

“It’s okay,” she said awkwardly. “You’re okay now.”

The sound of her voice penetrated his distressed state. His sobs quieted abruptly, and then a pair of enormous blue eyes peeked up at her.

Abby’s heart squeezed when she noticed the tears clinging to his lashes and streaming down his cherub cheeks. She tightened her grip around him, breathing in his baby-powder scent. He still wore the blue T-shirt and brown shorts he’d had on when he was abducted, but he looked healthy and clean despite five days of captivity, which told her that Eshe Salib must have been taking good care of him.

“Mama,” he whispered. “Want mama.”

“You’re going home to your mommy and daddy now.” Abby gently stroked his back, then smoothed silky-soft curls off his forehead. “You’ll see them soon.” She glanced at Noelle, whose attention was focused on the road. “Everything went smoothly?”

The blonde nodded. “The bedroom window was open. I snuck in, grabbed the kid, snuck out.”

She sank her teeth into the side of her cheek. “Hopefully they won’t have any trouble with Nazara.”

Once again, the notion of Kane getting hurt burned her throat like battery acid. God, she couldn’t lose him. He was the only man she’d ever loved, the only one she’d ever opened herself up to, and she wasn’t sure she could survive losing him.

“He wants me to be a different person.” The words shuddered out before she could stop them.

Noelle slowly shifted her head. Since her pale blue eyes were veiled, the disagreement she voiced was unexpected. “Nah. Kane knows who he married.”

“Does he?” Desperation clawed up Abby’s throat. “He’s talking about leaving the team and moving to Michigan.
Michigan
. I can’t do that. I can’t be a soccer mom who lives in the suburbs and drives carpool and bakes cookies while I wait for my kid to come home from school. It’s not me.”

“He doesn’t want that, either.” Noelle chuckled. “He might think so now, but trust me, he’ll wise up. Kane’s a soldier, wired for action. He wouldn’t last a day in the burbs.”

“The work we do is too dangerous,” she said, fighting a burst of panic.

“Sure, it’s dangerous. People get hurt, people die. But if you want to pop out this kid, you can find ways to make it work.” Noelle shrugged. “You and Kane can alternate missions so one of you will always be home with the rug rat.”

Surprise widened Abby’s eyes. The nonchalant—and perfectly logical—suggestion was unexpected. It also made a hell of a lot more sense than Kane’s implausible idea to move to frickin’ Michigan. It hadn’t even occurred to Noelle that Abby would have to change her entire personality and cram herself into a cookie-cutter life that would never, ever suit her.

So why did her own husband think it could?

The depressing thought unleashed the flood of emotion she’d been trying to keep at bay. The tears finally spilled over, streaming down her cheeks in hot, salty waves. When a soft sob choked out of her mouth, Noelle cursed under her breath.

“Goddamn pregnancy hormones.” The blonde shook her head in dismay. “Quit crying, Sinclair. You’re upsetting the rug rat.”

Sure enough, Tommy Aberdeen had started whimpering again, and she instinctively murmured encouragements. “It’s okay, sweetie,” she said hoarsely. “Go to sleep. When you wake up, you’ll see your mama. I promise.”

As she rubbed his back, the little boy quieted down, one chubby hand sliding up to touch her face. He wrinkled his nose when he felt the wetness there, then pursed his lips, rose up on her lap, and smacked a kiss right on her cheek.

Abby’s heart cracked in two, though she wasn’t entirely sure what caused it. The sweet, simple gesture, or the pure, earnest trust shining in the boy’s eyes. Nobody had ever looked at her like that.

Nobody but Kane.

Would their child look at her like that?

Her throat closed up when she realized she hadn’t even told Kane she loved him before they’d left for this mission. What if something happened to him? What if he got hurt? Or, God forbid, what if he died thinking she was angry with him?

The radio on the center console crackled to life, putting an end to her terrified thoughts.

“Apollo secure.” Morgan’s voice.

Relief crashed into Abby’s chest in one fell swoop. She hurriedly clicked on the radio and addressed Morgan. “Any trouble?”

“Negative.” He sounded annoyed. “Except Salib won’t stop screaming. I just checked in with Riggs—he asked us to stay put until they send a team. But you two head to the airfield as scheduled.”

She faltered. “You don’t want us to wait for you?”

“Negative. Aberdeen and her people are meeting you at the airport in Cairo. She wants her kid back ASAP.”

Abby’s hand ran through Tommy Aberdeen’s hair in an involuntary motion. “Got it. We’ll see you later then.”