“She’s telepathic. Same as your son. They talk back and forth. She doesn’t like that you haven’t given her a name. In fact, she thinks you don’t want her. Apparently, you don’t hold her. Only Cayenne does.”
Trap stood very still, a deer caught in the headlights. He raked one hand through his hair, making it stand on end so that he looked like the mad scientist most everyone called him. Then he quickly dropped the hand back to his son so that he clutched the boy as if he might fall at any moment.
“Look at her,” he finally burst out. It sounded like an accusation.
For the first time, Cayenne reacted, pulling the baby in closer to her and hunching her body protectively, her eyes on her husband. “I’ll name her, Malichai.” She looked down at the tiny face and smiled. “I want you, beautiful. I had no idea you were there, lurking in the background. You’re like me, aren’t you? Axel is like your father, but you’re like me. You don’t mind being quiet while they stand in front.”
“I want her too, Cayenne,” Trap said. “You’re misunderstanding me. I can’t hold her because she’s so tiny. I’m afraid I’ll crush her. That’s what I mean when I tell you to look at her. It’s about her being so little. So tiny. Look at my hands and look at her.”
Malichai knew Trap. He heard the ring of sincerity in his voice. He loved his little girl and was panicked at the thought of hurting her. Just as he was terrified of losing Cayenne, he was fearful of losing his tiny daughter. That was most likely the real reason he didn’t want to name her.
“I’ve already picked out her name,” Trap added gruffly. “I had the name picked out before she was born. Drusilla. I want to call her Drusilla. We talked about this once, Cayenne, and you said it was all right with you.” He sounded choked up, which was very unusual for Trap. He wasn’t, as a rule, emotional.
“I know I did,” Cayenne hedged. “She’s like me, Trap. She’s quiet, but she’s a fighter.”
Trap took the seat beside Cayenne and handed Axel to Malichai. He held out his arms for his daughter. “Share, sweetheart. You’re not supposed to be holding anything too heavy. In fact, you shouldn’t be up yet.”
“She’s under the weight. Axel is just the weight.” Reluctantly, she transferred the baby very carefully into Trap’s arms.
Immediately, the little girl’s eyes opened. Malichai wanted to point out the intelligence there, but he was certain he didn’t have to. Trap would see it. How could he not? He watched Trap swallow hard and then his eyes misted over. He smiled down at his daughter.
“There you are, sweetheart. You are like your mother. Quiet and lethal, and very strong. That’s the highest compliment I can pay you.” He leaned toward Cayenne. “Kiss me, baby. I know you’re upset with good reason, but I’m not being this way because I don’t love this little one. She’s tiny, and I’m afraid of crushing her. Kiss me, Cayenne.”
Cayenne, always, always, gave Trap anything he wanted when he wanted it. She shocked Malichai by hesitating. She really was upset with her man. There were beautiful lacy webs hanging around their bed, giving them privacy, but the ones she’d woven around the portable units had been taken down by a nurse and Trap hadn’t protested.
She glanced at Malichai and he put Axel into her arms, lifted a hand and made his way upstairs to the lounge to wait for Amaryllis to finish up in the kitchen. Life was complex with another human being. Trap and Cayenne were made for each other, were perfect for each other and yet there were still complications and misunderstandings. Where did that leave him with Amaryllis? He didn’t know the first thing about relationships, and neither did she.
As he took a seat in the lounge, Billy Leven came in, looked around and took the chair closest to him. Billy had definitely bugged the room where the representative for Ideas for Peace from Egypt was going to stay. Marie had made a sudden room change, due to the fact that the GhostWalkers needed the room. She’d placed Draden and Shylah there, stating she’d messed up the bookings, that the couple were supposed to get the larger suite. The suite had been thoroughly cleaned again and the bug was swept away. Most likely Billy had been the source of the bug that had been found in Malichai’s room as well.
Marie had acted agitated and then let it slip that Jacy needed more medical attention and she was going to have to leave. Everyone understood. She’d hired more help so Amaryllis wouldn’t be the only one working long hours with the bed-and-breakfast completely full.
“Your leg hurting again?” Billy asked, sounding mournful.
Malichai had noticed he often sounded as if the world were coming to an end. “A little. I overdid the physical therapy. I’m used to training hard and pushing myself. I guess it’s not the best thing for me.”
“Now that I’ve got you alone”—Billy lowered his voice to a conspirator’s level—“what the hell happened? One minute everything was fine, then you came home in a Navy ambulance and then your friend’s wife went into labor . . .”
Malichai shrugged casually. “That’s about it. That’s what happened. I was shot multiple times and the bone was shattered in multiple places. For some reason it just doesn’t want to heal. The bone fragmented and I went down. The Navy guys had a van, not an ambulance, and they got me. They were friends of my friend, the one visiting me. His wife was pregnant but not due for another month. While everyone was trying to figure out what to do with my problem, she suddenly not only went into labor but skyrocketed to delivery. There was no moving her to a hospital and Trap has enough money to buy and sell several planets, so he just set up a hospital right here.”
“That’s why he has all those guards downstairs,” Billy said. “He’s rich.”
Malichai had to hide his smile. It was clear he’d tried to go down to the basement to spy. He was a very curious man and wanted to know what was going on throughout the inn. “They mean business too. Trap takes the security of his wife and children very seriously. As soon as they can, he’ll get them out of here.”
“He didn’t come for that peace conference?”
“No, he came to see me. I don’t get away that often and he thought he’d take the opportunity. I didn’t come for it either. I came to see Amaryllis.”
“How did you get your leg all shot up?” Billy asked.
Malichai almost dismissed him out of hand, the way he did anyone asking, but something in Billy’s voice stopped him. It was more than mere morbid curiosity. It was important to the man to know. Malichai was very certain Billy was mixed up with Callendine, and for some reason knowing what happened was critical to the man.
“I can’t give you specifics because it’s classified, but I was on a rescue mission. Two of us went in and patched up the real heroes as best we could, but our mission was to take out the heavy guns that were preventing our helicopters from making the pickup. There were a lot of guns. We went in at night and took out a slew of them. Thought we got them all. We didn’t realize they had a replacement crew coming in that morning.”
He rubbed his thigh. It hurt like a bitch. Before it had taken days and a lot of activity before the pain reached this level. He would bet his last dollar that when Amaryllis went in to look, there would be more hairline fractures.
“They pinned us down when we tried to take the boys up to the rendezvous point. Something had to be done, so I charged the guns and hurtled a few grenades. Shockingly, I survived my idiot charge and started back. The helicopters were already landing, and my partner was helping the wounded to the site. A machine gun opened fire and took me down, by painting a permanent zipper right up the side of my leg.”
Just talking about it made his leg hurt even worse. He smelled the gunpowder. The stench of blood and death. Heard the beat of the helicopter rotors. The bark of Rubin’s gun. So precise. So deadly. The pain of his shattered bone. It felt shattered all over again.
“You’re still in the service,” Billy said, respect in his voice.
“I’ll al
ways be a soldier,” Malichai said.
“Someone called you ‘doc.’ Said you were a doctor when I asked.”
Malichai shrugged. “I’m a soldier and, yes, I’m a doctor because when I go out into the field to see to a wounded soldier, I want to be able to send him home to his wife and family, not his body in a bag, so yeah, I went to school.”
“I was in the service as well. Army. Lot of years ago, but Recon. Best years. Good men. A few friends stayed in and they’ve made great careers for themselves. I should have done that, but my wife was sick, and she needed me at home.”
“I’m sorry, Billy, that’s tough. I would have gotten out too. Is it okay if I ask—”
“She didn’t make it. She had cancer. She lingered for a long time. Three years, and I spent every day with her and am grateful for each of them. But she died and I’ve been alone since. I spend a lot of time with my online buddies, and my cousins, Tania and Tommy.” He scratched his head. “With all this medical crap going on, you probably missed the hit man story going around.”
Malichai lifted an eyebrow. “Hit man?” He sounded skeptical. Inside he was triumphant.
“Yeah, it was in all the papers. Apparently, a local businessman, a stand-up guy by all accounts, churchgoing, had a wife and kids, was a hit man. But someone offed him. The cops arrested another man, accusing him of being a hit man—”
“Wait.” Malichai held up his hand. “So, two hit men.”
“Yeah, one local. He’s dead. The second one, name’s Rubin Edon. He’s staying right here in this establishment. If Marie were here, I’m sure she’d kick him out, but Amaryllis, poor girl, doesn’t have that authority. The cops couldn’t hold him. They didn’t have enough on him.”
“That’s crazy,” Malichai said, trying to sound noncommittal.
“There’s another guy in the hotel, calls himself Gino. Now, he really looks like a hit man. Italian. I’m sure he’s Mafia.”
“Billy, that’s a jump, just because he might be of Italian descent.”
“You have to see him, then you tell me what you think.” Billy wasn’t backing down.
Malichai shrugged. “Are you here for that peace conference?”
“Fuck no!” Billy nearly leapt out of his chair. “Do you think I’m crazy? A bunch of idiot, hippie-dippie people meditating and smoking their weed and talking all night about how cool it would be if the world would just come together in love? Hell no. They can do their drugs and have their orgies and talk until they’re blue in the face. You ever been to Burning Man? They say it’s all about art. Making a city of art. It’s all about women walking around mostly naked and men’s asses hanging out of their britches. It’s free fucks, free drugs, dirty people doing dirty things. Talk about worthless people. Those are the people you fight for? You almost died for? Makes me want to puke.”
Malichai’s gut knotted tight, setting off his radar. “I doubt most of them are like that, Billy. A lot of people want to find a way to talk to one another, to find a common ground and maybe some understanding of one another’s cultures. You can’t put thousands of people from all those countries together and have all of them be dipshits. A few, yes. Those few are probably the camera grabbers, but the majority are really trying to make a difference in the way soldiers do.”
Billy shrugged. “Maybe, but they shouldn’t associate with drug-addicted hippies.”
“You’ve got a point,” Malichai agreed, switching gears. “You still in touch with your buddies in the Army?” Discreetly he rubbed his leg. “If I get booted for medical reasons, it would be nice to think my friends would still stick by me.”
“The brothers you make in the military are brothers for life,” Billy said staunchly. “You should know that by now.”
Malichai rubbed his leg again, this time openly. “Yeah.” He flashed Billy a smile. “I guess I was just looking for a little reassurance.”
“One of my brothers that goes way back, all the way to boot camp and we served together for several years, is an advisor to the VP. He’s climbed that ladder through service and I’m so damned proud of him. He was best man at my wedding. Came looking for me when I went on a bender and stayed drunk for three months after I lost my woman. Got me sobered up and straightened me out. He’s never forgotten my anniversary. Calls or comes by to see me. If he can’t make it, he sends me a ticket to fly and has me come to him.” He grinned at Malichai. “Been to the White House a few times. Who would have thought?”
“That’s nice to hear, Billy. Makes me feel better. I don’t know what I’d do if I’m not in the military. I suppose being a full-time doctor working on soldiers will have to do, but that doesn’t feel the same to me. I haven’t even lost my leg yet and I’m whining about it.” He pressed his fingers to his eyes briefly. “I worry about what Amaryllis is really going to feel like. I’ve seen so many good men lose everything when they lose a limb.”
“She leaves you, then she’s not worth having,” Billy said staunchly. “What are you going to be doing when everyone goes to the opening of the ideas on peace or whatever they’re calling that nonsense? This place will be deserted.”
“My friend is actually a service buddy as well. He’s highly decorated, although no one will ever know it. I don’t know if he’s even shown his wife his medals. He’s still in the service. He just got back from saving the world from a virus similar to Ebola. The chances he takes to keep other soldiers and our citizens from harm’s way are just plain scary. I told you his wife gave birth prematurely to twins. One is doing well, and they could move him, but the other not so good. I’ve been helping them. I’ll most likely continue with that.”
Billy opened his mouth twice and then snapped it closed abruptly. He shook his head. Finally he heaved a sigh. “I don’t understand. Why don’t they take those kids to the hospital?”
Deliberately, Malichai lowered his voice and looked around. He leaned closer to Billy. “There’s a price on his head as well as his wife’s. That’s why he came here in the dead of night. He wasn’t planning on staying, then everything went to hell. If certain factions knew he was here, they would move heaven and earth to assassinate him and his family. He’ll leave the moment the babies can fly.”
Billy cursed under his breath. “That sucks. He sounds like a good man. A decent man. You’ve got thousands of useless people sucking down weed and any other drug to make themselves think they’re tremendous thinkers, but what they’re really doing is partying, and then you have a great man who knows the meaning of hard work and sacrifice and he’s stuck in a basement with a price on his head.”
“The irony of it all is that he’s a true genius. If there is one mind in the world that could solve a few problems if anyone would listen, it would be his.”
“You don’t see him wasting his time,” Billy said. “He chooses to spend it with his wife and family or in service to his country. Few men like that left.” He stood up. “I’ve got an appointment, Malichai. I hope your leg stops hurting and you get to feeling better.”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Malichai watched Billy go out the front door. Immediately he sent to all GhostWalkers the information, using their telepathic connection.
Billy is involved. Says friend is advisor to VP. Rubin’s cover is bought. I said Trap was a very decorated friend in service with price on head as well as on his family. His wife went into labor when they came to visit me at night. Can’t leave yet. Billy was visibly upset. Whatever is going to take place I’m afraid will happen on opening day.
Ezekiel answered. We have been unable to find Callendine or Salsberry. They are legitimately officers in the Army, and they are on assignment. Major General is trying to uncover where they are. This is a Navy town. They’re coordinating with us, doing most of the hunt for Callendine and Salsberry. Word is, several Army men in town. That’s not unusual, but they don’t appear to be here for fun. W
e’ve got eyes on them.
Joe added to the information. We got one good print off of Salsberry and it comes back legitimate, so I’m going to make that leap and say they were actually ordered here. I don’t know who ordered them or why. Major General is demanding answers. The fact that a decorated GhostWalker may lose his leg is helping peel back layers but it’s taking too much time. He says the delays appear to be deliberate.
Malichai had to do some heavy deep breathing at the casual way Joe mentioned that he might lose his leg. If Joe said it, and he would know more than any other, it was closer to the truth than Malichai wanted to know. He forced air through his lungs and with it, brought in the scent of Amaryllis. The moment he took her in, his world changed. Lightened. She could do that, without doing more than existing.
He looked up. She stood there, her blond hair falling around her face and down her back like a waterfall, and her blue eyes like two beautiful jewels glowing at him. She was so beautiful, she seemed to shine from the inside out. She stood in front of him, palm curving around the nape of his neck so gently. She leaned down and then she was kissing him. Taking his breath. Taking away the worst thoughts, forcing them out of his head to make room for her. She tasted sweet—so sweet. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down onto his lap. He took over kissing her, letting the fire consume him, knowing it was dangerous to both of them when they were in public, but he needed her. She gave him everything.
The front door was just to the left of the lobby and it opened, the breeze from outside slipping in to ease the heat rising so fast between them. Or maybe it fanned the flames further. Malichai deepened the kiss, his tongue dueling with hers, a tango of fire—
Amaryllis cried out, the sound pouring down his throat, a scream of fear, of pain, of despair. Her body jerked backward, off of him, onto the floor. A huge man stood over her, his face a mask of pure anger, twisted into something evil as he pulled her backward toward the door by her hair. She had both hands up around her hair to try to ease the terrible pressure on her scalp as she scrambled to try to get her feet under her. Her assailant was dragging her too fast.