SEALs of Honor: Markus (18 page)

It had been a great lesson in human nature. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Not everyone had been so self-absorbed. Several of the women – not climbers – had tried to help her. Volunteering to shuffle her to appointments, food shopping, and home again. She’d appreciated it but quickly realized that although they came from the heart and were willing to help out, the whole dying process made them uncomfortable.

And she’d let them off the hook.

They were good people in a tough situation. Just like she was.

Her old neighbor had been wonderful. He was retired and loved to spend time gaming. But when he found out, he had quickly taken over chauffeuring her around town, helping her to take care of the necessities so she could take care of herself.

She needed to remember to contact him when she got home. Let him know she was okay. It was the least she could do.

The house was silent as they walked up to the front door.

“How do we get in?” she whispered, the eerie emptiness affecting her. She moved closer to him.

He pushed the front door and it opened easily.

She gasped. “It shouldn’t be unlocked.” Then again, she’d bolted out and never thought to close the door behind her. The men had been in searching for the gunman – had they shut and locked it? Not likely.

“Not normally.” He slipped inside the front door and with a finger to his lips for her to be quiet, he motioned for her to follow him. Good thing. She had no intention of staying outside at this point.

Inside he did a quick sweep of the main floor with her in his wake, then led her upstairs. The original assessment appeared to be correct. The house was empty. At her room, she quickly collected the few items she had. She glanced at the new shirts then dashed into the bathroom and changed into one. She still didn’t have new jeans, but this would do for now. She washed her face then returned to the bedroom to find that Markus had done a quick sweep of the room and had found a hair clip on the floor and hairbrush that had been missed on the top of the dresser. She grinned in delight and quickly packed up the rest of her belongings. There were less than a dozen pieces that she’d just picked up, but hey, they were her dozen pieces.

Afterwards, they walked down the main floor and to the front door.

“I wonder where Doris went?” she asked.

“She could be anywhere.” Markus opened the door to the downstairs office, but it was empty. He gave the interior a quick search, then went to the next and continued on.

“Is there a basement?”

He shot her a look and opened the door beside him. She peered around behind him. Stairs. He flicked on the light and slowly walked down. She hated to stay and she hated to follow. This was too much like a horror movie. Ugh. She let him get several steps down as she decided whether to follow. Then realized she’d be all alone upstairs if she didn’t. She glanced down the dark hallway and bolted behind him.

He held up a hand to warn her to be quiet. Then disappeared down and around the last bend.

She waited, indecisions and fear eating at her. She could hardly breathe.

“Bree, come here.”

Relived, she raced the rest of the way down and found him crouched beside Doris’s body lying on the far side of an old desk. “Oh my God.” She ran to his side. “Is she alive?”

“Yes, but she’s been knocked unconscious. I don’t see any external injuries or breaks.”

She looked at the woman’s position to the stairs. “Could she have fallen?”

“Not likely. She’d had to have crawled a good ten feet before collapsing for her to be here.” He gently stroked his fingers along her skull line. “No, the blow hit her from behind.” He glanced at the stairs. “I suspect she was either carried or dragged down here then dumped out of sight.”

“But wouldn’t her attacker have locked the basement door?”

“It had no lock on it,” he replied. His phone buzzed, and she realized he’d likely already called for help. The poor police department – already strapped was seriously overwhelmed at this point. She was damn glad Markus and his team were here. The police needed them. This was a dark night for the town.

He glanced over at her, studying, assessing.

“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “There’s nothing like finding someone worse off to remind you of how you really are doing.”

His gaze warmed and he gave her a clipped nod. He was such a damn good man. She blurted out something that completely shocked her. The words flew out of her mouth, over the body of the injured woman and into the house of horrors. “If I move back to California, would you be interested in seeing me again?”

His eyebrows shot up and his gaze widened in shock.

Shit.

“Yeah, apparently I have no social graces or flirting skills anymore,” she whispered, mortified. “I don’t even know where that came from,” she cried out, her hands slapping over her cheeks.

“Does that mean you are interested or aren’t then?” he asked, his voice laced with humor.

She groaned and closed her eyes. “I’m not usually this raw.”

A rough sound emerged from his direction. She peeked through her eyelashes, knowing her face had to be scarlet at this point. The heat was burning through her insides in embarrassment as it was.

He was chuckling and trying not to. But failing. She sighed and dropped her hands. “I really suck at this, don’t I?”

His eyes twinkled and a crooked grin appeared. Then in a move she didn’t see coming and definitely couldn’t have anticipated, he leaned over and kissed her. A kiss of promise. A kiss of hope. A kiss of
hell yeah he’d like to see her if and when she got back to California.

So much heat. So much passion – all leashed. Like her own. Oh Lord. She shouldn’t have opened this can of worms. It had been a long time since she’d been held in a lover’s embrace.

He slowly withdrew, leaving her shivering in place, her gaze locked on his, now dark with passion. Oh thank God. She wasn’t alone in this. “Does that mean yes?” she whispered.

“Why do you think I was pushing for you to go to your father’s place,” he murmured. “Alaska is a hell of a long way to visit.”

*

Her smile was
slow coming but when it bloomed it shook him to his core. There was so much sweetness and light inside. She’d been alone for a long time. And like him, she hadn’t thought there’d be another loving relationship in her future.

They were both lost and working their way back to found. But were they walking in the same direction and getting closer to each other? His mind said it was too early to tell. His heart said it already knew the answer, and he needed to get up to speed.

But what about her?

She studied him carefully, looking for something. He didn’t know what but figured any assurances would be good. He started to speak when his phone went off. He snatched it up. “Mason?”

“Yeah, Evan and Chase are on their way to you.”

“We need an ambulance here too. I’ve called for one but it’s going to be awhile.”

“Explain.”

Markus quickly brought him up to speed. “Bree is with me.”

“Stay there. The intruder might come back.”

Markus nodded but kept silent. He didn’t want Bree worrying about that aspect. “Update?”

“No word. Hawk and Shadow are hunting.” Mason hesitated. “Markus…”

“What?”

“Keep in mind that someone appears to be burning up his evidence.”

“I was considering the options but you just helped make that decision.”

“Right. Go easy. The guys should be there in minutes.”

“They’d better make that seconds.” Markus hung up. He put his phone away and hopped to his feet. “Come on, we’ll take her outside and lay her down on the back of the truck.”

“No, we shouldn’t move her,” Bree cried. “What if she has a neck injury?”

He hoped not but…glancing around the basement, he found kindling stacked up beside an old heater stove. “Grab me a couple of the towels over on the dryer.”

Within seconds he had a rough splint wrapped around the woman’s neck and shoulders. With Bree’s help he had her loaded into his arms and was carefully moving up the stairs. The reminder of the arsonist had been enough to raise his blood pressure. Until these women were out safe, he wasn’t going to rest. At the top of the stairs, he let her go first to open doors. At the front door, he said, “Wait. Turn the handle and let the door stand open for a moment.”

She looked at him. Her face thinned as she realized someone could be waiting for them outside. “Should we go out the back door?”

He considered the idea then shook his head. “They will already know we’re here. If someone is going to shoot us, they’ll do it when we’re out far enough to not rush inside the house again and before we can make cover of the truck.”

Her face paled.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said calmly. “Two of my team are on the way. With the door open a crack I can see them when they arrive.”

She took a deep breath and opened the door then ran back to the hallway.

S
he couldn’t imagine
her life being this way. Dear God, she wanted this over. She waited, her breath caught in the back of her throat as she watched Markus peer into the night. There was only silence from the darkness outside. Why did shit like this happen at nighttime?

Why never in broad daylight with the birds singing? The only thing moving outside were the damn predators.

She watched his face, but it had locked down, the angles sharper in the off light. They’d left the light to the basement on and it threw a small halo, but at the front door the effect had dimmed to almost nothing.

“They are almost here. They’ve just turned onto this street.”

And then she heard a vehicle slowly drive up to the house. Her breath rushed out. “Did you warn them? They might get shot?”

“They know,” he murmured. “They are ready.”

How did anyone get ready to be shot? Never mind, she really didn’t want to know. Markus used his boot to open the door wider. He stopped again and listened. Her muscles tensed for the race to the truck.

With a nod to her, he stepped out onto the front porch and waited for her to join him. He was always looking out for her. At his side, they quickly walked to the truck and the two men waiting for them. She recognized both men from the crowd of faces she’d seen earlier at Markus’s side. Evan and Chase both looked hard, dangerous and pissed.

“Bad night,” the tall blond said quietly when they reached him. He opened the back door of the new vehicle that held a bench seat. With the other man’s help, Markus laid Doris carefully on the seat. Bree clambered up to sit beside her. The doors were shut, closing them in. And for the first time, she could take a breath and relax slightly.

She reached a hand down and stroked Doris’s arm. “Easy girl. You’re going to be fine now.”

At least she hoped she would be. So much pain and destruction. For what? What the hell was going on? And why?

She stared down at her hands. She should have gotten a cellphone after the bank, but she hadn’t the energy for more shopping. It would go on the top of tomorrow’s list of things to do. She considered her meager bank account. A phone might have to wait until she was home.

Funny how home was sounding appealing to her more and more. Still, she had a lot of logistics to work out.

No, really she didn’t. She just had to commit to that path and the rest would come. She could stay with her father until she found a job. Or create one for herself. She knew her industry. Several people in the business to talk to. Maybe even to discuss options with. Just the thought of going back to that world made her tired.

There had to be a solution.

She’d been doing fine with money before she’d been diagnosed. She knew that her medical history would make several companies pause before they’d hire her.

Setting up her own business, and doing what she could when she could, would be the best. She didn’t need much. And it wouldn’t be long before she could make decent money again. But she didn’t want to do so at the cost of her health. Like before.

“Bree?”

She spun around to see Markus holding out a takeout cup. “Coffee?”