Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (19 page)

There were all sorts of different officers, enlisted and other specialized personnel that could make up the teams, including Combat Service Support, Administrative support, Operations, Intelligence, Communications and so on, but Beck’s particular team were tightly configured and very specialized in their area of expertise - rescue land ops, assault craft boarding and rescue. 

Beck’s kind of work didn’t have a lot of prep time because it was usually, with rare exception, something  that had less than a twelve hour notice.  His team was a true first response team to hostage or hostile situations, usually going in hot and heavy, usually with massive resistance.  Some teams had the luxury of weeks or months of planning; Beck’s team did not.

  Which was why the luxury of the dispatch Beck was reading was something unusual.  They had advance notice of an enemy operative on a Navy frigate heading for the Panama Canal who, according to Intelligence, was planning on detonating explosives in the canal.  It sounded cheesy and like something out of a bad James Bond movie, but it happened to be extremely serious.  Disabling the Panama Canal could be catastrophic for Naval vessels deployed from San Diego en route to the Atlantic and all points east.  It was a very big deal.  Intel suggested it was an Al-Qaida operative, which made matters worse.  Worse still, evidence pointed to a dirty bomb, which would be devastating.

Beck opted to tell Butch and Anthony all of what the dispatch said.  The subject of Blakesley was forgotten as they shifted to work-related issues.  Captain David joined them about a half hour later and the entire team was briefed on the situation with the frigate.  An NCIS team would be joining them for the op, basically Navy cops, and it would be Beck’s team’s responsibility to board the frigate, locate the operative, and disarm any explosives that might be on the ship.  They still weren’t entirely sure there was anything actually on the ship, but they couldn’t take the chance that somehow, someway, Al-Qaida had actually infiltrated the Navy.

Speculation was that this had been in the works for years with a mole and wasn’t because some enlisted swabby had been bribed or coerced to participate.  It was further speculated that San Diego had been targeted because bases like Norfolk on the east coast were so heavily watched.  The terrorists were focusing from the east coast to the west.

The frigate had sailed two days before and would be at the Panama Canal in another two. That gave the S.E.A.L. team twenty-four hours to meet the ship and board it before it entered the canal.  They would be departing at nine o’clock that night for a flight down to Panama where they would meet the ship at sea. After that, it was anybody’s guess as to how dicey this mission would become.  It threatened to be a big one.

Beck was all business as they went about making preparations for the trip down to Panama, but the truth was that he was aching inside.  He didn’t want to leave Blakesley again, not so soon, but he had no choice.  They had known about this for a couple of weeks now, whispers on the rumor mill, and now it had become fact. This was what they trained for and what they got paid for.

Still, his heart sank. Come hell or high water, however, he was going to see Blakesley before he left. He had things he wanted to discuss with her. But before he did anything, he had a phone call to make.

***

The day had turned out surprisingly hot, the third day in a heat wave that only seemed to be getting worse. It was a perfect beach day, with hot white sands and pounding blue surf. Blakesley, Nikki and the girls had returned to the beach on Coronado Island near the Hotel de Coronado, mostly because the girls liked the beach and Blakesley liked the fact that it was near the Naval base.

Blakesley sat in a beach chair beneath a bright blue and pink umbrella.  She was spread out on a big blanket, with colorful towels strewn about and the sea breeze lifting the tassels on the umbrella.   She was reading an Elliot Jentry novel, a great romance set in the bayous of Louisiana, as Nikki and the girls played a few feet away building a sand castle for the Barbies that Charlotte had brought.  Cadee was reluctant to get near the waves, so Crosby and Nikki kept running down to the water’s edge, scooping up water and sand and bringing it back for the girls to build with.

At noon, Blakesley took the girls over to the B & S Bar inside the hotel and ordered a couple of club sandwiches to take away.  All Charlotte wanted was strawberries and French fries, so she got that, too, a smoothie for Nikki and cookies for Cadee.  She ended up with quite a feast and took it back out to the beach where the wind blew and the sea gulls screamed over head.  The moment she unpacked the sandwiches and the girls began to eat, the gulls landed nearby and kept moving in closer waiting for the chance to steal some food. 

When lunch was over, Charlotte fell asleep on the shaded blanket but Nikki, Cadee and Crosby went back to castle building.  Blakesley covered up her sleeping daughter with a towel and sat back on her chair, relaxing as Cadee and Crosby decided that they needed to build a new castle and razed the old one.  They kicked it down as Nikki tried to talk them out of it. Just as Blakesley was getting back into the book, a shadow fell over her legs and warm lips gently kissed her cheek.

Startled, she looked up to see Beck smiling at her.  He threw his big body onto the blanket beside the chair, stretching out and getting comfortable.

“Hi, baby,” he greeted. “I’ve been up and down this beach looking for you.”

Blakesley put the book down, very happy to see him. “Are you finished?”

“For the time being.”

“Do we get to have you for the rest of the day?”

His smile faded.  “For the rest of the afternoon, at any rate,” he replied. “Did you girls eat yet?”

She nodded. “We did,” she pointed up to the hotel. “But we can go inside and get you some lunch if you’re hungry.”

“I hate to be a pain, but I’m starving.”

Blakesley smiled at him and called over to Nikki to tell her she would be gone for a few moments. Beck pulled her up off the chair and began to walk with her over to the hotel, her hand tucked tightly in his.  Blakesley was in the pink bikini he’d first seen her in with a sexy flowing sarong around her waist , and Beck kept glancing over at her, distracted and aroused by all of the flesh she was showing.   In her sunglasses and big hat, she looked divine and he was swept away with the vision.  He’d never been so proud in his life to be with someone, which made the prospect of leaving her all that more heartbreaking.

They made it in to the same bar where Blakesley had gotten the sandwiches earlier and she talked him into sitting down and eating in peace.  They sat on the patio, she with a diet drink and him with a big, fat burger.  They sat close to each other as he ate, discussing the call she had placed to the City of San Diego earlier in the day about the mysterious pit and tunnel at the house and also the calls she had made to the renovation contractor telling him to seal off the room until the City got up there to check it out.  

Beck heard all about the engineers that were heading up there later in the afternoon to assess the hole and the archaeologists from the State of California that were flying down from Sacramento. Blakesley seemed excited about it.  He was sorry he was going to have to miss it.  Just as he was finishing his burger, he heard a familiar voice come from behind.

“Hey, Beck,” Butch walked up behind him, slapping him on the shoulder. “Funny seeing you here. I swear I can’t get away from you.”

Beck wiped his mouth and looked up, rolling his eyes when he saw Butch and Gina standing next to their table.  Obviously, they couldn’t wait to meet Blakesley, and Butch and his wife had done some recon of their own.  Beck cocked an eyebrow at his friend, thinking he should have never told the man where he would be spending the afternoon.

“Hey,” Beck replied, although by his tone it was evident he wasn’t happy to see Butch.  Beck indicated Blakesley. “Blakesley, this is Butch Aguirre and his wife Gina.  Butch and I work together.”

Blakesley smiled happily at the pair, shaking their hands in succession. “It’s really nice to meet you,” she said. “Have you guys eaten? Do you want to sit down?”

Butch was sitting before she even got the words out of her mouth, pulling out a chair for his petite, round and dark-haired wife. “Thanks,” he said. “We just came down here for lunch and I saw Beck sitting out here.   Now that I get a close look at you, I can see why he wants you all to himself.  She’s too gorgeous and young for you, Beck,”

Beck wriggled his eyebrows. “I told you she was.”

Blakesley looked between them, seeing that she had been the topic of conversation at some point. “I’m not too young,” she insisted. “Thirty-five isn’t too young.”

Butch threw a thumb in Beck’s direction. “He’s seven years older than you are,” he said. “You can do better than this old man.”

Blakesley sensed the humor so she wasn’t offended. “I kind of like old men.”

Butch chuckled, seeing that Beck didn’t seem too pleased at his appearance in general so he changed the subject. “So,” he said to Blakesley. “I hear your daughter is doing okay after her little adventure last week.”

Blakesley nodded. “She’s fine,” she replied. “Thanks to you guys. I told Beck I don’t know what I would have done had you not been there to save us both. I owe you.”

Butch waved her off. “No need,” he said, slapping Beck on the shoulder as the man took a last bite of his burger. “All in a day’s work, eh? Normally, we’re beatin’ the crap out of people or blowing shit up, so it’s a nice change to be able to save a life once in a while instead of take it.”

Blakesley’s smile faded somewhat. Whereas Beck was much more discreet about his job, Butch apparently didn’t have that same tactful mechanism.  It was a little disturbing.

 “Well, I appreciate it,” she said after a moment. “Do you two have any kids?”

Gina nodded, speaking before her big-mouthed husband could. “A boy,” she said. “He’s three.  We just dropped him off at preschool.”

Blakesley’s smile returned. “Sweet,” she said. “I love that age. What’s his name?”

“Robert William Aguirre the Second,” Gina replied. “But we call him Spike.  Dad is Butch and his boy is Spike.”

Blakesley laughed softly. “I love it,” she said. “I have a three year old daughter. Maybe you can recommend a good nursery school for her.”

As the women warmed up to each other, Beck swallowed the bite in his mouth and grabbed Butch discreetly by the neck, pulling his ear to Beck’s mouth.

“I’m going to kill you,” he whispered. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

Butch saw that Blakesley happened to be looking at him at that moment and he smiled broadly, slapping  Beck on the chest with the back of his hand.

“I just wanted to spend some time with the wife before we deploy,” he said loudly, waving down the waiter. “We’ve only got the afternoon so I wanted to make the little woman happy by spending some quality time with her and she wanted to come to the Del.”

Blakesley’s smile vanished and she looked at Beck. “You’re deploying?”

Before Beck could reply, Butch spoke up. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, taking a menu being extended to him by the waiter. “I’m sure Beck has told you that this kind of turn-around isn’t unusual with us.  We’ll be gone weeks at a time, be home for a couple of days, and then ship out again.  That’s normal.  Our schedule doesn’t run like anyone else’s; we’re called out when we’re needed at the spur of the moment. We’re flying out of here again tonight at twenty hundred hours.”

Blakesley was sitting back in her chair, all of the warmth and humor gone from her expression. “Oh,” she said, sounding rather depressed. “That… that must be tough on the family.”

Gina was looking at her own menu. “It is,” she admitted. “Butch has been gone so much the past three years that Spike barely recognizes him when he comes home. It’s tough on the kids.”

Blakesley was focused on her. “It must be hard on you, too.”

Gina nodded and closed her menu. “It is,” she replied. “But you get used to it.  All of the wives of the men on the team hang together and support each other. We’re like our own little family when the men are away.  You’re going to have to get used to it, too, if you’re hanging out with Beck.  He’s always the first man out and the last man to return.  His bitchy ex-wife gave him hell for it.”

Blakesley just nodded her head.  She felt like bursting in to tears at the moment for reasons she didn’t quite understand.   All she knew was that she felt lonely and abandoned already.

“That’s too bad,” she murmured, suddenly standing up and putting her napkin on the table. “I’m sorry, but I really need to go check on my girls. They’re down on the beach and I should make sure they’re okay.  It was really nice meeting you both.  I hope we get to have lunch or dinner again soon. “

Beck tried to grab her but she pushed away from the table, out of his reach, as she made her way very quickly across the patio to the gate that led out to the walkway and the beach beyond.  Before she could get to the gate, Beck was on her, putting his hand up and preventing her from opening the gate.

“Hey,” he said softly, full of concern. “Where are you going?”

“Please,” she whispered tightly, refusing to look at him. “Please don’t make a scene. Just let me go.”

He managed to wedge his body in between her and the gate. “I’m not making a scene,” he murmured. “Where are you going?”

Blakesley was verging on tears. “To check on the girls.”

“The girls are fine.  Nikki is with them.”

“Please, Beck,” she broke down into soft tears. “Please just let me go.”

He put his big hands on her arms, feeling the warm velvety texture in his grip. “Baby, tell me why you’re crying,” he begged softly. “Is it because I didn’t tell you I was deploying tonight? I was going to, I swear, when the time was right. I just didn’t want that to be the first thing you heard from me so it was hanging over our heads all afternoon. I swear I was going to tell you.”

She sobbed softly, her hand on her face, and he pulled her against his big chest, holding her tightly.  But she resisted.