Gone (14 page)

But she had Eric also, and it really was all the difference in the world. Without him she would be…lost.

She got up and went over to sit next to the colonel’s wife. “This is hardly his fault.”

“Depending on your point of view. He chose to do this. He was gone all the time, still will be, and maybe I was just a fool to marry him in the first place. I didn’t realize how uncertain I would be, or how alone at times.”

“I think the job chose him.” Nicole reached over and squeezed her hand. “Trust me, I’ve been trying to understand Jack for quite some time, but when I thought I’d lost him—”

Her voice broke.

This was a repetition of how she’d reacted when he’d been called away and she had heard nothing—literally
nothing
—for months.

“At least I never received that call. Yet.” Mrs. Hanes shook her head. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears. “I sometimes think the problem is me. That I don’t know how to do this, that I’ve somehow failed him because I cannot reconcile myself to the inherent danger in his job.”

“We all go through that.”

“I believe I am supposed to be comforting you. I’m older.”

“I am not over seven months pregnant. You get a free pass.”

They both laughed, but nothing about the predicament they were in was funny and the strained sound definitely caught Eric’s attention, drawing him away from the window.

“Can I get you anything?” Eric asked it sincerely, because he was…well, Eric. “Either of you? This place has room service and though I won’t leave you alone, we could have food delivered from other places as well if you’re hungry.”

“I think I’ll just get ready for bed.” Mrs. Hanes got up, albeit a little awkwardly. “I’m going to apologize in advance for getting up pretty often in the middle of night. This far along it is inevitable. I hope I don’t disturb you too much.”

Nicole was personally exhausted, both from the strain of the afternoon at the cookout, and then the discussion and interlude afterward. Jack had given her five minutes tops to take a shower once he received that call and she’d only grabbed a change of clothes before he almost dragged her and Eric out the door.

“It won’t bother us,” Eric assured her. “I really don’t intend on sleeping anyway.”

Kathy Hanes murmured, “As I am a little bewildered over how I am ending up spending the night with two people I don’t know, I am sure you both are just as off balance. But I think I am glad not to be alone, so thank you for that.” Her smile was wan. “Do you mind if I take a quick bath?”

“Of course not.”

Once the door shut and the water began to run, Eric sat down on the bed next to Nicole and his arm slipped around her waist. “I can honestly tell you I echo the colonel’s wife’s sentiment. I’m finding it a little hard to believe we’re here.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “This might just be the strangest day of my life in more ways than one.”

He laughed ruefully. “I can see why that might be the case.”

“I’m glad you’re with me.”

“If there is any danger to you, I refuse to be anywhere else.”

She believed him. One hundred percent, which made everything better, and yet no less strange. “I’m worried about Jack.”

“I’m worried about Jack too. Will you marry me?”

Eric wasn’t at all sure his timing was spot-on, but the spontaneous proposal just happened. Her head was on his shoulder and fit there perfectly, and it wasn’t as if he’d never thought about asking before. He’d bought the ring, braced himself for the moment, but this was not quite the romantic scenario he’d imagined.

Hotel room instead of an intimate setting.
Check
. Sharing it with someone they didn’t know
. Check again
. The ring he should slide on her finger still at his condo
. Check
.

Not exactly according to plan, but then again he was guarding two women when his expertise more involved spreadsheets and boardrooms.

He was an idiot.

No roses. No champagne. Actually he was carrying a weapon he did not know to use particularly well and it was starting to get pretty late and they were all tired.

Nicole stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “What?”

He took a moment and shut his eyes, and then opened them. “I want to marry you. I know you love Jack and I’ve known that since the moment I met you. You love me too…I also know that. Jack will slide in and out of your daily life, but I won’t. I’m fine with an unconventional arrangement if you are. Keep it in mind.”

Could be the most unusual proposal ever.

Or at least a contender.

But this night had brought home how much loved her.

“Please tell me you don’t need me to answer now—”

“I don’t.” Eric lightly touched her mouth as he interrupted. “I don’t. But think about it. Tonight has opened my eyes in a million ways.”

“Such as? I could use a little insight.”

“We squander too much time in this life.” He wanted to kiss her, but they were hardly alone, and he’d seen how she’d parted with Jack, and moreover, so had Colonel Hanes’s wife. “It’s the only one we have. You make me happy.”

“That’s so nice.”

Story of his life. He was the
nice
one. “Hardly the persona I was going for.”

“Compared to Jack?”

Now that was a point that needed attention. “I don’t actually compare myself to him very often. He’s the
dangerous
one, I guess.”

“Don’t fool yourself, Janssen, you’re dangerous in your own way.”

“I am?” He nuzzled her throat.
To hell with what anyone thinks
.

“I can’t possibly see how it would work.”

He had to admit she felt fragile against him. Slender and feminine, and he could only imagine the faith it had taken for the colonel to walk away from his pregnant wife and leave her with a virtual stranger. Recklessly, he urged, “Let’s have babies. If I haven’t mentioned this before, I really want a family.”

“Eric!”

He stifled the protest with that kiss he wanted so badly. Her lips were soft and sweet and he’d actually just shocked himself but was sincere anyway. “Nikki.”

“We…no. I can’t agree to
marry
you.”

“Why?” The more he thought about it, the more he was sure this would work.

“What about Jack?”

“He will be with us. Next time we see him, let’s ask him. He can be the dad who shows up now and then and teaches them to shoot a rifle, or something like that. I’ll be the one who makes sure they don’t ride their tricycle into the street, the lawn is mowed and enough money is saved for college. I’m the boring one. He and I have a somewhat different skill set.”

“You are hardly boring.” Her arms slid around his neck. She looked into his eyes. “I feel so selfish.”

Uhm, me too.” He kissed her again and lowered her to the bed, running his hands through her silky hair. “I’d show you how selfish, but I’ve been appointed to guard duty and intend to fulfill that responsibility. Just think about my suggestion and get some sleep.”

A half an hour later both women were in bed and he was at the window again, watching the well-lit lot when his phone vibrated. He answered it swiftly, “Yes?”

“Everything good?”

“So far.”

Jack said, “We don’t know how sophisticated their tech skills are, so this call will be brief and don’t say where you are, got it? How’s Nikki?”

“Fine. Worried but finally asleep. They both are. So how does this work? A little heads-up wouldn’t hurt.”

“They’ll never find us.”

That sounded unlike Jack, and from Eric’s impression of the colonel, probably him too. “So that means what?”

“We don’t know quite yet how many or how they’ll handle it so we’re in hiding until we get more information.”

That was an outright lie, and he had to wonder why. Jack wasn’t going to hide, and Eric doubted the colonel was the type to do so either.

“How many who and handle what?”

“You know I won’t tell you.”

“How the hell
you
guys handle this talking-in-circles crap—”

“Eric, you’re an expert in this very crap. How often in financial circles do you ever say anything flat-out?”

Okay, a point he had to concede. “I’ll be watching,” he said with a reluctant laugh. “The door is locked and I ordered room service for seven thirty. Otherwise, I suppose I’ll stay at my post. You’ve told me often enough sleep is a luxury I have not appreciated enough in my adult life.”

“As we get intel I’ll call.”

Oh he might call, but the information released was probably going to be either misleading or purposely to get the enemy in the wrong place at the right time. There was an obvious worry about the integrity of the privacy of their conversation.

Fine. Eric caught on.
Make it seem like this isn’t a guarded call
. “Where are you?”

“Now? Almost to the old Lutheran church just outside of Greenfield.”

It was abandoned. It did make sense to go where there were no people who could get hurt if there was going to be a firestorm, but still…

Eric sank down in the chair by the table, his voice low. “Be careful.”

“Now you sound like Nikki.”

“Yeah, well, she’s pretty smart except for how she feels about you.”

Jack laughed in a low sound. “This happens to be my home turf. After more than a few experiences, you know, I kind of feel like I’ve got this one hammered down. They’ll never find us.”

Eric sucked in a breath. “Look, Templeton, I don’t want to hold her as she sobs at your graveside again.”

“We are
really
on the same page.”

The phone went dead and Eric said a silent curse.

Chapter Fourteen

The corn was good and high this year.

Perfect.

Peter got out of the car, which they left parked in plain sight in the decaying parking lot. In the background insects hummed and the air smelled like damp earth and vegetation. It was nostalgic, and as he popped the trunk and took out the case containing his high-powered automatic rifle he had to think about the ironies of life.

If all went well, in this place of faith there was going to be death, but hopefully not his.

As if to complete the picture, the graveyard by the side of brick church was still kept mowed, but most of the headstones were tilted and some even toppled over, and though the moon helped a little—it was only a crescent—the setting was a little on the creepy side.

“You know what you should do, Major, when you leave the military?” Peter said it with a wry intonation. “Maybe consider directing horror flicks. Just a thought. This might be a good place to set one.”

Templeton grinned, his teeth a white flash in the darkness as he pulled his pack from the vehicle. “I’ll take that into consideration. In high school, this was a great place to bring girls and park. Small town, I know, but pretty private and they tended to love the atmosphere to the extent they…uhm…well, how do I put this?”

“You don’t have to, I get the picture.” Peter surveyed the situation with a sweeping glance. There was great cover, there wasn’t even a light in sight, and the civilian risk was very low. “Good choice. This needs to be a private party.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Any publicity over this event will put our families in more danger.”

“Quiet and fast—I get it, Colonel.”

“I know you do.”

Peter glanced out over the fields. “More lightning bugs than usual this year.”

“My father says the same thing. Shall we set up an anti-personnel perimeter?”

Peter lifted his brows. “What would make you think, Major, that I might be in possession of claymores or the equipment to put them in place?”

He liked Jack Templeton. Good man, perfect for the job, ice-cold calm under pressure, his nerve never in question. Not an administrator…smart enough but it would bore him, and he was young yet, but Peter was fairly sure he liked the action too much to ever settle behind a desk. Templeton said with a swift, cheeky grin, “Just a thought. We don’t really need official equipment. There are ways of improvising, as we both know. On our way to the hotel, I stopped and picked up a couple of sensor lights.”

“Sounds like a promising start.”

“And a battery-powered lantern.”

“Always thinking. I like that, Major.”

The other man laughed softly. “You can’t make me believe you didn’t come prepared as well. What was a highly regarded colonel able to muster at last minute?”

Okay, he trusted this soldier a great deal already. “A Blackhawk helicopter at the ready if your friend runs into trouble and needs to evacuate the women or if we need support. I would just as soon not make that call, by the way, because it will draw press here on US soil. Military backup also for the locals if they are called in, and in the worst case, which would mean we are dead, safe haven and relocation for our families.”

Without missing a beat, Templeton said off-handedly, “Glad you didn’t come empty-handed, but let’s handle this operation ourselves, shall we? I’ll get the wire. There’s an old trick a buddy showed me in high school. He wasn’t defending himself from terrorists but he did think it was hilarious.”