Shadowed (25 page)

Kaylan tugged at the curly blonde wig on her head, already regretting the accessory.
Her hair felt sweaty beneath the getup, but she was proud of their outfits for the
character-themed Halloween party as they knocked on the door to Titus and Liza's
place. The door opened with a burst of noise and light, and Kaylan, Nick, and Micah
entered the fray amidst hugs, back pats, laughter, and wolf whistles. Carved pumpkins
sat on each stair going to the second floor. Candy bowls sat out on every surface.
Kaylan gave Liza a hug and followed her to the kitchen to make the punch she had
brought from home. The atmosphere overwhelmed her.

“It's a lot, isn't it?” Liza leaned in to shout. Her plastic gold Cleopatra headdress
brushed Kaylan's cheek as they pulled ginger ale and sherbet out of the grocery sacks.
“Girl, this is nothing.
Last year it was at Logan and Kim's. Titus and I were just
dating then. Talk about pranks and dangerous activity.” She rolled her eyes. “I swore
Titus to good behavior tonight. But”—she winked in Kaylan's direction as they watched
Jay do a backflip off the couch through the living room door—“
behave
is a relative
term to SEALs.” She patted Kaylan's arm as they set about making the punch. “Don't
worry, honey. You'll get used to it and come to love it.”

Liza sauntered off, her caramel skin and sleek black hair enhanced by her floor-length
cream gown. Normally a shy woman, Liza blossomed in her own home as she met Titus
and walked into his waiting arms. Kaylan leaned against the door frame and smiled,
taking in the action. Nick and Micah battled Jay and Colt in a vicious Ping-Pong
battle in the corner of the living room. Nick's red wig and hat sat cockeyed on his
head, his white face paint running a bit with his sweat. Despite her protests and
Kaylan's coaxing her to be Micah's date, Megan had come with Jay to the party dressed
as a mesmerizing evil pixy. Micah had agreed to keep an eye on the two of them. He
and Kaylan both agreed that Jay and Megan would make a very pretty but highly volatile
couple, which would be a bad idea.

The door opened with a loud bang and the sound of a goblin cackle as a very pregnant
Kim wheeled Logan into the room. Other SEALs from SEAL teams 3 and 5 filtered in
behind them with wives and girlfriends.

“Hey, hey. Let's get this party started!” Logan shouted into the room as Kim met
Kaylan in the kitchen with a plate of cookies. The guys halted Ping-Pong as Logan
rolled his wheelchair into the kitchen to help his wife unload.

“Party already started, Pops.” Micah pounded Logan on the back, and Kaylan winced,
her own body aching as she eyed Logan's limb, his bandage wrapped in crackly brown
paper.

Nick tossed his arm around Kaylan while grinning at Logan. “What are you supposed
to be?”

“Peg-Leg Jack, son.” He coughed and looked between Nick and Kaylan. “Are you Raggedy
Ann and Barbie?”

“C'mon, Logan. Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland.” Kaylan giggled, trying to pull
away from Nick's responding poke to her rib cage. “What's Kim supposed to be?”

Kim winced. “Please don't ask. Please . . . ”

Logan winked at Kaylan and rubbed Kim's extended belly beneath her cotton shirt and
black vintage-looking vest that didn't quite contain her stomach. “Kim's my wench.”

Micah whistled and rolled his eyes. “So basically, the couples failed in the costume
department this year, and it's ninja turtles for the win.”

“You forgot the teenage part of that.”

Jay grinned at Kaylan over his cup. “Nah. That was intentional. No one would mistake
us for teenagers. I'm all man.” He flexed his tan arm, his muscles popping.

“Hey, save the gun show for another time and not in front of my girlfriend.”

Jay's smile turned wicked, and Kaylan wondered how many hearts he'd broken. “Scared
you won't measure up, Hawk?” He dropped his arm around Megan as she rolled her eyes,
unable to hide a grin.

Micah strode in between them, showing off his muscles. “Please. She grew up with
the ultimate gun show. Ain't nothing better than this.”

Kaylan chuckled, used to testosterone-driven performances, having grown up with three
brothers. Leave it to Micah to diffuse a situation with humor and the proper perspective.
She leaned into Nick, his red wig tickling her face.

“Oh.” Kim bent near the cabinet with a hand on her stomach.
The room quieted as Kaylan
moved to her side, placing a hand on Logan's shoulder to reassure him as she passed.

Kim's smile came out as more of a grimace. “Just baby making noise. I'm not so sure
Molly is going to get her little sister. This feels like a little boy soccer player.”

She leaned over a little more as she sagged against the counter. “That was a big
one.”

Kaylan noticed the sweat beading on Kim's brow, the way her body curled in around
her baby bump, the strain creating tiny lines near her eyes.

“Kim, are you in labor?” she whispered.

“I'm sure it's just Braxton Hicks.”

“You're due in two weeks, right?”

Kim nodded.

Logan wheeled his chair closer, careful to avoid hitting his leg. “Honey, do we need
to go to the hospital?”

Kim put a hand on his shoulder and stood to her full height, all five foot two inches.
“I don't think so. Go have fun with the guys.” She smiled and Kaylan saw the strength
in her stance, the courage that lay just beneath the surface, and the care she had
for Logan. She envied their relationship and their home.

Her gaze drifted to Nick, where he stood watching her by the door. His smile warmed,
and despite the face paint, his eyes spoke directly to her heart as he nodded. They
could have that someday. The more she thought about it, the harder the wait became.

Chapter 30

T
HEIR SMALL CROWD
had grown to over forty in one small house. Kaylan could barely
move, but that wasn't what bothered her. A figure wandered in and out of the house,
a figure in a black hooded robe, with a black half-mask, wielding a scythe. Hopefully
plastic. But that still wasn't the problem. As she drifted in and out of the groups,
sipping from a plastic cup, Kaylan had the odd feeling that the figure watched her.
She shook her head, sure she was paranoid from all of Nick's gun and safety chats
since he had returned. But she still couldn't shake her anxiety. Kaylan moved to
a corner, searching for the flash of black garments in the crowd.

Every few minutes she saw the figure again, a slight frame just over five foot. But
the angel of death never stayed in one place and never let Kaylan catch up with her,
though she stopped occasionally to talk to others. Kaylan began to weave through
the crowds, her eyes peeled. As the clock ticked toward midnight, Kaylan's dread
grew.

Something felt wrong. Her nerves were on edge from all the notes and threats. That
had to be it. She was in a home full of SEALs. Surely the terrorist they chased wouldn't
be so dumb as to show up here.

She jumped as a hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Whoa, easy there, Jumpy. Where've you been?” Nick's fingers slipped through hers,
slowing her heart rate.

She scanned the crowd again, her gaze colliding with the angel of death lurking near
a window by the Ping-Pong table. She tightened her grip on his hand.

“Kaylan.” He whirled her around to face him, but she twisted in his arms trying to
find the figure. Gone again. She shook her head.

“Kaylan Richards, talk to me now. What's wrong?”

“Nothing. It's just . . . nothing. My imagination is playing tricks on me. It's Halloween,
after all. I've always hated the creepy, scary parts of this day.” She offered a
small smile.

“Uh-huh.” Nick saw right through the charade and immediately tugged her into the
kitchen where the noise dialed down and only a few people lingered, drinking punch
and eating snacks. Kim and Liza stood laughing by the sink as Liza washed dishes.
“All right, spill it.”

Kaylan took in his wig cocked the wrong way and his tan skin peeking through the
white face paint. She bit her lip. “I'm sorry. I can't take you seriously right now.”

“That's it. You are never choosing our costumes again.” He grabbed the wig and top
hat off his head and set it on the counter.

She laughed, the anxiety easing a bit. “We'll talk about it next year.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, his sandy blond hair sticking out at odd angles
on his head. “We'll talk about what we are dressing as together next year, but right
now you are going to tell me why your face matches the color of the walls.” He smirked.
“Well, even more than usual.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” She glanced around again. “There's this person here, and I
keep catching her staring at me. Only it's someone I don't know.”

“Okay. You don't know about half of the people here. Care to explain that a bit more?”

Something black flashed out of the corner of her eye. She swiveled, catching a glimpse
of the black-robed figure with a group outside on the patio. Kaylan's grip tightened
on the cabinet as she strained to see where she had gone.

Nick's hand cupped her chin and brought her eyes to meet his. “I need you to slow
down, focus, and talk to me.”

“It's dumb.”

“Kaylan, your instincts are not dumb. Talk to me.” She could feel the energy he controlled
in his touch, the frustration and desire to fix that he held at bay.

“There's someone creeping me out. Someone dressed as an angel of death. I keep finding
her staring at me across the room but then she's gone before I can get close.”

His grip on her chin tightened, and she pulled away. “Nick, you're hurting me.”

“Sorry, babe.” But now he scanned the crowd, setting her nerves on edge again. Normally
calm, his now attentive demeanor scared her.

“Nick, I'm probably imagining things. Please don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy
the party.”

Nick caught Micah's eye across the room, and her brother immediately headed their
direction. “What's up?”

“Kayles, describe this person to me.”

Micah stiffened at her side. Something was happening she wasn't aware of, something
they couldn't or wouldn't tell her. Was the person threatening her not a man, but
a woman?

“She's in costume, Nick. Black hooded gown or cloak. Short. Probably just over five
foot, maybe a little taller. Black half-mask, Phantom of the Opera style. Long black
wig. Carrying a plastic silver scythe. And I keep feeling like she's watching me,
but I can't get close. Last I saw she was outside on the patio.”

A groan sounded from the sink. Kaylan's head snapped toward the sound. Kim's expression
radiated pain. She darted to her friend's side.

“Kim?”

“I thought it was just indigestion or Braxton Hicks.”

“After three babies you didn't recognize contractions? How far apart are they?”

Kim chuckled wearily. “I was in denial.”

Liza put her hand on her hip. “Girl, I've been timing it every time you wince. They
are about seven minutes apart now.”

Titus entered the room in time to overhear his wife. “That's my girl.” He kissed
her on the lips before grabbing the keys from the counter. “I'll get the car. Bulldog,
round up Logan, and Liza and I'll drive them to the hospital. You two”—he pointed
to Kaylan and Nick—“are on house patrol along with Bulldog.” He glanced at his watch.
“It's midnight. Give 'em another hour, then kick 'em all out. We'll call you from
the hospital. And maybe keep an eye on Jay. I think he had too much to drink.”

Kaylan leaned past Titus to see Jay flirting with Megan in the corner, his laugh
a little too wild and his motions a little too uncoordinated.

“We've got it. Call us, please.” Nick pounded Logan on the back, and Kaylan kissed
Kim's cheek. She remembered the night with Sarah Beth and Rhonda in the slums, watching
a beautiful Haitian baby enter the world. Hope. He had signified hope and new life
in the midst of destruction. And the new Carpenter baby? He or she spelled hope after
loss too. She couldn't wait to meet the new addition. She put her hand on Kim's belly.
“See you soon, baby.” She hugged Kim and walked them to the door. Nick and Micah
helped Kim and Logan into the car.

Within minutes Nick and Micah were back at her side as they rejoined the party. “Now
about this angel of death character, sis. What'd she look like?”

Kaylan's head whipped around. She'd forgotten. She scanned the crowd, looking for
a flash of all black. The party had thinned out some. “She's in a black robe, Micah.
I don't know what else to tell you.”