Shadowed (30 page)

“I hope you know we're here for you too. Anything you need, just call.”

“You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Kaylan.”

Kaylan smiled. “I'm getting there. I better find Megan and get home. Congratulations
again on Nadia. She's beautiful. I can't wait to baby-sit.”

“Believe me, we'll take you up on it.”

“How did you choose her name anyway?”

Kim bowed her head. When she once again met Kaylan's eyes, tears glistened. “Nadia
means hope. She came at a time when we needed to remember that gift the most. Kaylan,
that's a major component to strength—hope when all else seems hopeless. Don't lose
that.”

Kaylan nodded. She'd experienced the strength of that hope already, a hope in something
eternal, something Janus and the earthquake could never take away.

Chapter 36

T
HE CAR RIDE
home seemed quiet, broken only by the country music playing on the radio.
Kaylan knew her roommate had a lot to think about.

“How'd it happen?”

“How did what happen?

“Logan's leg. I didn't want to ask.”

Kaylan turned the car into their driveway and cut the engine. “It's one of those
things I'll never know, Meg. But whatever happened, it really shook the guys.”

“And they still went back out there.”

Kaylan nodded, resting her head on the headrest. “It's their job.”

“I don't know how they do that. It's so thankless. I mean, people like me mock them
or bash war all the time, but I've never heard them complain, even though it affects
them the most. They just go to work, and leave for God knows where, and come home
and don't say anything, live life, and do it all over again. No one will ever know
about Logan's leg”—she sniffed—“or that he's a hero.”

Kaylan risked getting slapped and put her hand on her roommate's leg. “We know.
His family knows. His kids know. That's enough for him.”

“I just don't get it. My family fell apart when my mom left, but Logan and Kim? What
have they got that we didn't?”

Kaylan knew the simplified answer. Jesus. They had faith and hope in something much
bigger than themselves. “What do you think they have that your family didn't?”

Megan grew quiet, so quiet they could hear the road traffic a block over. She sniffed
again. “Peace,” she whispered. “They have peace.” She shifted in her seat to face
Kaylan. “Thanks for letting me into your world. For sharing your friends. I've never
had girlfriends, not like Kim anyway.”

Kaylan reached for her hand and squeezed, holding on when Megan flinched. “My friends
are your friends. If you think they're great, you should have met Sarah Beth.”

“How come you never talk about her?”

Kaylan shook her head. “I guess sometimes the memories are just too hard. She would
have been my maid of honor at my wedding. I can't imagine that day without her,
but I have to. She was my sister in every sense of the word.”

“But she wasn't blood?”

“The ties that bind don't always include blood, Megan. My family adopted Nick long
before he and I started dating, purely because of what he meant to Micah.”

“Your family sounds pretty great.”

“Why don't you come home with me next time? You can spend a weekend at my parents'
lake house and meet all of them.”

“That I might be able to do as long as you promise me one thing.”

They climbed from the car and slammed the doors shut. “And what's that?”

“Do not try to convert me to your Southern ways. I refuse to say ‘y'all,' eat fried
animals and roadkill, and watch football all day.”

Kaylan threw her arm around Megan's shoulder as she unlocked the door. “We may not
convert you, but we at least need to educate
you. And for the record, my gran makes
the best fried chicken in the state of Alabama.”

“I don't eat meat.”

“You might change your mind if you . . . ”

A scream tore through the air and Kaylan whirled to the sound, her gaze sweeping
the street. Nina stood at her front door shouting, “Kaylan, Megan, a man just ran
from the back of your house. He had a knife in his hand.”

Kaylan bolted from the porch, pulling Megan with her. They sprinted across the yard
to Nina. “Get inside now, girls.” She shooed them indoors. Through the window Kaylan
saw two men running around the side of their house having exited a car she now knew
housed the FBI. Nina grabbed her phone, and Kaylan stopped her.

“Nina, don't call the police. It's under control.” No one else needed to get involved.

“Don't be silly. We have to call the police.”

Kaylan covered Nina's phone with her hand and lowered her voice. “Nina, because of
Nick's job, the FBI have been hanging around lately, keeping an eye on things. They'll
take care of this, I promise.”

Nina's look bore a hole in Kaylan, the look that demanded the truth from lying children.
Kaylan met it head-on. “I promise.”

Nina tossed her hands up in the air, her floral robe gaping to reveal silky pajamas.
“Good grief. I'll make some tea. You aren't leaving here until I say so.”

Head spinning, Kaylan gripped her own phone, knowing she needed to talk to someone.
Who could she call? Not Logan and Kim. Nick and Micah were out of town.

“Kaylan, what is going on?” Megan muttered as Nina fussed over the kettle on the
stove.

“I have no idea.”

“Can we call someone?”

“All the guys are out of town.”

“Call Logan.”

“I can't. They've got too much going on in their lives.”

“Kaylan, quit being independent and call the family that just told you to call if
you needed anything,” Megan gritted under her breath.

“Pot meet kettle.” Kaylan stepped into the living room and dialed Logan.

“Carpenter residence.”

“Logan, it's Kaylan.”

“Kaylan, what's wrong? Did y'all make it home okay?” His voice went stiff, and Kaylan
remembered that it would take more than losing a leg to slow down this Navy SEAL.

“Someone was at our house. Our neighbor saw him. She said he was holding a knife.
What do I do? All the guys are out of town.”

“What am I, chopped liver? Hang tight and don't tell your neighbor any details. I'll
check in with the Feds. But I would expect they will tighten their leash with you.
And, Kaylan, you did the right thing calling me. It may be totally unrelated, but
I don't believe in coincidence.”

“Logan, I can't . . . ”

“Yes, you can. Take a deep breath and do what you need to. And make sure Megan stays
quiet.”

Kaylan took a deep breath, reaching for reserves she didn't feel like she could muster.
But it wasn't about what she felt. She could and would do this.

“Let me know what you find out.”

“Hang in there. We got your back.” He hung up as a knock sounded on Nina's front
door. Time to talk to the FBI.

Home. Even for a loner like Janus the thought of being back on Ukrainian soil, hearing
her own language, seeing familiar sights, brought a hint of nostalgia. But she usually
drowned that out with vodka. She stared out over the Sevastopol city center from
her roost in a luxury suite. Her contacts back in Coronado didn't know if the SEALs
had left or not. They vacated the house a little earlier than the usual time.

The eyes on Kaylan said she went about business as usual. No word if the SEAL team
had caught her scent. If they had, well, a lot more was at stake besides this deal.
If her boss were caught before she made her getaway . . . she didn't even want to
think about the ramifications. They all ended with her six feet under in an unmarked
location.

She took a long drag on a cigarette, and coughing seized her. No one would miss her
anyway. She glanced at her watch. Her boss and the Iranian would knock on her door
only hours from now. And if her contacts in California didn't hear from her after
that, they had orders to take the girls, both of them. She'd given Nick every opportunity.
A girl with hair like Kaylan's would get a good price on the international market.
It was her last resort. The only option. The men were on standby. The SEALs should
have left her alone.

Despite the expansive windows, she felt like a hamster trapped in a cage. Even gilded
rooms made prisoners of their occupants when subject to the whims of greedy men.
She would not be taken alive. Orange would not look good on her, and a cell wouldn't
suit. She took another drag on her cigarette before pouring a drink. Yes, it was
a good day to die.

Chapter 37

W
HAT WAS IT
with these people and boats? Nick shuddered in his wet suit, hunched
down in a shipping yard after his swim to shore. The workers had long since gone
home for the day. The scent of fish and trash wafted his way in the still night.
From what he understood, the meeting had taken place, and the takedown was only minutes
away. Or at least he hoped so. Something didn't feel right.

Janus and her boss were supposed to rendezvous back on his yacht after the meeting.
But first they would show proof of weapons to the Iranian liaison, proof that remained
hidden in the warehouse where Nick, Micah, Titus, and Colt crouched. Nick's job was
to secure the weapons, but so far they weren't sure which set of crates contained
the right shipment.

Row upon row of crates filled with machine parts and delivery items sat in the dank,
dark warehouse. Nick shuffled from station to station, checking the arrival date
and location. At this rate he might as well wait for Janus to point him to the right
shipment, something that was highly unlikely.

A rusty door slid open, and voices sounded in Arabic. The team stilled, fading into
the shadows with barely a sound. Nick
hunkered behind boxes, readying his gun in
case an “imminent threat” arose—the two words that always stood out in their briefs.

Titus breathed over his microphone. “They're discussing the weather. This isn't helpful.
Sure we have the right rendezvous?”

Nick gazed through his scope, his eyes stilling on a slight woman, blonde hair, icy
blue eyes, immaculate clothes, and gloved hands. His pulse accelerated. He recognized
her. Only now her hair was shorter, her eyes icier, her expression determined, hostile.
No longer sweet and inviting. No longer matronly. Cathryn.

“That's Kaylan's neighbor,” he breathed. No time to process that. At least now they
knew where she had been getting her information.

“I've got eyes on the Kahuna,” Bulldog whispered over the radio. They would finally
have a picture to help with a name.

Nick analyzed the man approaching his hiding place—tall with a pudgy belly, glasses
on his nose, and graying brown hair. His angular facial features were classic Eastern
European. Nick froze.

“We've got a problem. That's Sasha Baryshev, one of the biggest oil moguls in Russia
and nearly untouchable because of his influence in government. Taking him would
be a political nightmare. We may need to stick to intel here.”

“Stick to the plan, Hawk. Capture only. We'll let the guys back in DC deal with the
political red tape. At least we have a name and identification,” X whispered over
the intercom. Nick knew Jay would radio it back to HQ from his overwatch position
nearby.

The three targets stopped near Nick's hiding place. He could hear the Arabic cadence
and watched as Sasha gestured to a large crate in front of them.

“Seven males incoming. Look to be European. All armed,” Titus warned, his voice remaining
as bland as if he were commenting on the weather. Nick smirked. Sometimes he wondered
if they were trained too well.

“They're blocking the entrances,” Micah muttered.

Nick's finger hovered near the trigger, ready to respond if things
escalated. Two
of the goonies walked forward with crowbars and attacked the crate with gusto. Built
like tanks, the men tore the top off with ease, revealing a layer of multicolored
silk scarves resting on straw.

Sasha leaned forward and brushed aside the layers, and Nick caught a glimpse of AK-47s
and RPGs.

Titus swore over his intercom, and Nick tensed. “Sasha is telling the Iranian he
can get him uranium for a nuclear warhead if the price is right. They are negotiating
a meeting next month. This shipment is chump change. They met to discuss a bomb.”

Colt's deep voice hissed in Nick's ear. “Trouble on my six. Might have to step this
up.”

Nick heard shouting in Russian and shots fired just as all hell broke loose. “Grenade!”
Colt shouted as an explosion rocked the air a hundred feet from where Nick crouched,
shattering crates and boxes in its wake. Nick ducked, trying to keep his eyes on
their three targets, but they'd slipped away in the chaos.