Authors: Ribbon of Rain
“As a bell,” Jude replied, keeping his cool.
“Kat’s a big girl who can take care of herself.
Don’t you agree?”
“Depends.”
Cody leaned against one of the big birch trees on the lawn.
“She’s fearless when it comes to protecting other people.
Never gives a thought to her own safety.
She’s saved my sorry ass a few times…”
“But?”
Jude prompted.
“When it comes to emotions, she’s vulnerable as a sixteen-year-old.”
Jude considered Cody’s words.
“Her self-esteem could use a boost.
I’ve wondered if it’s because of her sister.”
Cody hesitated as if weighing his words.
Jude admired his reluctance to divulge information about Kat’s life.
“We spent a lot of hours talking in
I don’t think anyone, including her family, ever accepted her for who she is.
Her parents tolerated her being a tomboy when she was a kid, but as she grew older, they expected her to change…to be more like her sister.”
Cody reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a stick of gum, took off the wrapper and popped it in his mouth.
“Somewhere along the line, Kat decided men weren’t interested in her because she wasn’t feminine enough.
Had her grandmother lived longer, I think things would have been different.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed.
“Hurt her, and I’ll track you down.
Got it?”
“I hear you.”
Jude straightened to his full height, feeling foolish, considering Cody’s size.
“For the record, I care about her.”
“How long have you known her?
Where the hell did you two meet?”
A trickle of sweat trickled between Jude’s shoulder blades and continued down his spine.
“Yesterday morning.”
“What?”
The words exploded from Cody’s mouth.
“You’ve only known her for twenty-four hours, and you slept with her?
Why you…”
With expertise, Jude sidestepped Cody’s punch.
“Hold on, now.”
Jude lifted his hands.
“It’s a long story.
Best told in Kat’s presence.
Let’s just say we’ve formed a strong bond in a short time.”
The aroma of bacon drifted from the kitchen, making Jude’s mouth water.
“Let’s go eat.
Kat can explain.”
*****
“Did you boys work out your differences?”
Kat asked as they came through the door.
Several times she’d beat down the temptation to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“You two set the table.”
“Where are the plates?”
Cody moved into the kitchen.
Positioning himself behind Kat, he leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“You’ve only known this guy for a day?
What the hell is wrong with you, Half-Pint?”
“Plates are in the second cupboard to the right of the sink.
And it’s none of your damn business,” she whispered back at him.
“I’ll get the glasses,” Jude offered.
“Where’s the silverware?”
“In the drawer to the right of me.”
Kat moved over.
A thrill jolted her when his hand brushed her hip.
One look at his face told her the touch hadn’t been accidental.
She’d never met anyone with eyes that changed color with their mood.
Right now they were dark amber.
“Is it a habit of yours not to wear underwear?”
His fingers gently pinched her left buttock.
“What?” she squeaked.
The twinkle in his eyes took her breath away.
“You heard me.”
“I thought breakfast was ready,” Cody growled from the table, breaking the electric connection between them.
“I’m hungry.
And I’m anxious to hear the story about how you two met.”
Kat placed the food on the table and while they ate she filled Cody in on the recent happenings.
“Holy shit!”
Cody was shocked.
“And I came here for some R&R.
Looks as if I should have stuck to my original plan to go to
“What changed your mind?”
Kat flashed him an inquiring look.
Cody shook his head.
“Damned if I know.
Woke up in the morning and felt compelled to come see you.”
“Interesting,” Kat murmured.
“How’s Davey?”
At nineteen, Davey was the youngest soldier in her unit.
A sandy-haired kid from
They swarmed around him, looking for gum or candy.
Cody’s gaze lowered to his plate, and she knew.
No.
Please God no.
Not Davey
.
Tears gathered in her eyes, blurring her vision.
“Sorry, Half Pint.
I know you loved him.”
His large hand reached over and covered hers.
She drew a large amount of air into her lungs and wiped away the tears with the back of her hand.
“What happened?”
“Our convoy was ambushed.
We had the situation under control, but a toddler spied Davey and came running toward our Humvee.
Davey jumped out of the vehicle and the enemy opened fire again.
He threw himself on the child.”
“And the child?”
She couldn’t bear Davey dying for nothing.
“He’s fine.”
“That’s good.”
Kat withdrew into herself.
Cody broke the silence.
“Let me know if I’ve got this straight, Half-Pint.
Your parents were murdered.
Someone in a plane shot at you with an automatic weapon.
Two men crept out of the woods and disappeared into a helicopter.
Lover boy here, who happens to be an FBI agent, shows up the next day and informs you that your father and a
Right so far?”
Hearing Cody relate the facts, Kat realized how bizarre the entire story sounded.
“That’s right.”
“And yesterday, Willie Card showed up, demanding you to tell him where the rocks are hidden, and you broke his arm with a poker.
Now that I don’t have a problem believing.”
“It’s all true,” Jude interjected.
“The question is where we go from here?”
“You’re the FBI agent, you tell us.”
Cody sat forward, resting his elbows on the table.
Kat directed a heated gaze at Cody.
“Look.
We’ve told you the truth.
We either work together, or we don’t.
You’re free to leave.
Your choice.
No one’s forcing you to stay and help.
“Sorry, Kat,” Cody replied, looking sheepish.
“Of course, I want to help.
It’s just…”
“You can’t get past Jude and I sleeping together as soon as we met.”
Kat finished the sentence for him, pinning him down with her eyes.
“Something like that,” Cody muttered, looking away from her.
“Get over it, Cody and focus on what’s important here.
Life is fragile.
You of all people should know that.
Especially, after Davey–” Kat stood, pushed her chair back and began gathering the dirty dishes.
“Kat, we’ll clean up.
You want to wash or wipe?”
Jude asked Cody.
Kat sat on the porch, sipping her coffee, while the men did the dishes.
The news about Davey had hit her hard.
Now she understood about the nightmares.
Her subconscious must have known.
As an officer, she knew better than to get attached to her soldiers.
Her friendship with Davey and Cody had been her saving grace in
The three of them were best of friends.
She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes.
She needed to push the thoughts of death away.
There’d been too much of it in her life.
Instead, she’d concentrate on Jude Callahan.
Since he’d entered her life, she’d discovered a part of herself she wasn’t aware existed.
His smiles made her weak in the knees.
His touch turned her to mush.
A week ago, she would’ve been as shocked as Cody that she’d slept with a stranger.
She needed to come to terms with the many internal changes going on, but it would have to wait while she dealt with solving the mystery of her parent’s death and the missing gem stones.
The deep ‘croak’ of a raven interrupted her thoughts.
She watched the single raven flying overhead and wondered if it was the same one she’d seen yesterday.
Remember how ravens love to steal bright shiny objects, Marunga?
Kat jerked upright.
“I remember, Grandmother.
What are you telling me?
The ravens carried the gems away?”
She received no answer, but hadn’t really expected one.
“Talking to yourself?”
Jude inquired as he and Cody came out the door.
“Yeah, it’s a bad habit of mine.”
“Cody agrees with our military theory.”
Kat nodded toward some chairs.
“Sit down.
Let’s talk about it.”
Cody lowered his body into a chair.
“There’re plenty of jobs for recently discharged military personnel.
Unfortunately, many are illegal, but it’s good money and flavored with danger.
Pick up a Soldier of Fortune magazine, or go to SoldiersforHire.com., and you’ll see what I mean.”
He took a sip of his coffee.
“Simply put, they’re modern day mercenaries.
From what you’ve both said, it sounds as if that could be what we’re dealing with here.”
“Makes sense to me,” Jude joined the conversation.
“What could they be up to?
My gut tells me it has nothing to do with the gems.”
“I think you’re right.”
Kat reached down to pat Red, sitting at her feet waiting for attention.
“What’s our next move?”
Cody shrugged.
“Rather than sit here like ducks on the water, I suggest we take the offense and do some scouting.”
“Kat, how close is the Canadian border?”
Jude asked.
“A mile or so to the northwest.
When the lodge was operating, a decent trail led straight to the border, but I imagine it’s grown in over the years.
Not to mention the havoc probably wreaked by beavers.”
Oh yes.
He knew all about what beavers could do.
“I’m sure someone’s smuggling something into the
Question is, what?
Canadian pot is smuggled over the border.
Ninety percent of pot grown in
Those, in turn, are smuggled back into
Canadian pot contains an extreme high level of TCH.
That could be what’s happening.”
“Might be,” Cody said, “Or, they might be smuggling humans.”
Kat caught her breath at Cody’s comment.
“You mean terrorists?”
Cody shrugged.
“Why not?
What better way to bring them in?
These wilderness areas aren’t patrolled on a regular basis.
Planes fly over periodically.
Once a terrorist gets into
Once in
Terrorists are like weeds.
For each one you take out, three more show up.”
Kat glanced at Jude.
His eyes were troubled.
“I should let
“It’s a good day for a paddle.”
Kat smiled.
“I’ll go with you.
Cody can mind the fort.
Did you bring a weapon, Cody?”