The Soldier's Mission (12 page)

Paco looked at Kissie, hoping she'd let him stay with Laura longer than just a few minutes.

She nodded toward him. “I'll take you to her.”

Devon followed them. “I'm going to check on Lydia.”

Devon and Lydia had fallen in love a few years ago in spite of his secret identity and his cover as a mild-mannered minister. Now they were expecting their first child.

Paco shut his mind to the thought of bringing children into the world and concentrated instead on his work. “What next?”

Brice, Shane and Eli stood like a solid wall over the long conference table. “We'll be here,” Brice said. “Hey, Dev, can you check on our ladies, too?”

Eli's wife—Devon's sister, Gena Malone Trudeau—was here with their son, Scotty. Eli had come back from the brink just to save the son he never knew he had. And he'd fallen in love with the woman raising that son.

Just one big happy family.

And that cool, calm Brit Shane Warwick had fallen for Gerald and Sally Mae's daughter, Katherine Atkins. They'd gotten married in England but planned a second service in the spring here in Texas.

Devon smiled at Brice's request. “Of course. I'm sure they're not happy about this lockdown we're under now.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Eli said, his tone grim.

Paco gave them all one last look, his heart twisted with feelings he didn't want to explore right now, then followed Kissie to another wing of the house.

As they snaked through hallways and doors that required scanners and key cards in order to unlock, he asked, “Is she being guarded?”

“She is,” Kissie replied. “Andre volunteered for the first shift.”

“I'll take a shift, too,” Paco replied.

Because he wasn't going anywhere until he knew Laura was going to pull out of this. And once he was sure she was safe and well, he was going to find Lawrence Henner and have a long talk with the man.

If talking didn't work, Paco would go into action mode and get the truth, no matter what.

He had a new mission now.

And if God had brought him to this mission then Paco aimed to finish it to the bitter end. For Laura's sake.

P
aco entered the sterile room hidden in the back of the big, rambling complex, nodding to Andre as he opened the door. Lydia Malone smiled up at him. She sat next to Laura's bed, reading what looked like a devotional book.

“Luke,” she said, struggling to get up. Pregnancy agreed with the pretty blond-haired woman. In spite of her rounded stomach, she was glowing, her soft smile full of understanding and compassion.

“Hello, Lydia.” He didn't waste time with the niceties. He went straight to the bed and took Laura's hand. She was as pale as the crisp white sheet and blanket covering her. “How is she?”

Lydia came to stand beside him. “I think she's gonna be just fine. She's sleeping now. The doctor gave her something to help her relax and the antibiotics are probably making her drowsy, too.” Then she glanced at him. “How're you doing?”

Paco found it hard to look into Lydia's vivid, all-knowing eyes. The woman had a direct link to the Almighty and she used it with all the precision of a hunter with a bow. “I've been better.”

Lydia nodded then touched a hand to her stomach. “I've prayed for both of you.”

“I have no doubt of that,” he replied. “Thank you.”

Lydia looked down at Laura. “She was asking for you earlier.”

His heart did a funny little thing that made him think of a tank roaring across rocks. “She was?”

Lydia looked from Laura's pale face back to him, a silent stealth message passing between them. “Talk to her. It might help her.”

He nodded, the knot in his throat choking him with misery. “I'm not good at talking.”

“You don't have to be good at it,” Lydia replied. “Just speak with honesty. Laura, like most women, probably values honesty above all else.”

Paco stood silent as Lydia discreetly left the room. How could he be honest with this sweet woman? How could he tell her that he wasn't worth her trouble? That he
was
trouble.

He went to the door. “Andre, you can go now. I'll take the next shift.”

“Yes, sir.” Andre's big brown eyes held a thousand questions. None of which Paco wanted to answer right now. He wasn't a hero and he didn't want the kid staring at him with admiration or anticipation. But he didn't want to discourage the kid either. Andre was about to become a man and life was hard. That was all Paco could really tell him.

But he couldn't talk to the kid right now. He only wanted to sit here with Laura and will her to wake up and fuss at him. It was pretty amazing that he'd only known her for a few days and yet, she'd come bursting into his life full of fire and determination and just like
that, she'd changed him. He wished they could have met under different circumstances but then he probably would have pushed her away. Even on a good day, he was so good at alienating anyone who cared about him.

But just knowing that she'd cared enough to find him based on a desperate midnight call, touched Paco deep inside his burned, battered, scarred heart.

And scared him more than anything he'd ever encountered.

So he sat down in the middle of the night and he talked in soft tones to the woman sleeping in the bed. He took her hand and he told her all about the horrors of being trapped on that mountain, the agony of watching his men die, and the relief that he hated each time he took another breath. He told her about the dreams and how they'd come all during the night. About how, in the dreams, he was left standing in a white-hot desert, the silence so telling it made him want to scream out in agony, the intense loneliness he experienced so bitter and cutting, he felt as if he truly was the last man left on earth.

He told her about when he was young and how his family had struggled, so Paco decided to follow in the family tradition and join the military to see the world and learn more about life. Then after his first tour, he was asked to join CHAIM. And even though he reupped with the military, he did join CHAIM because he wanted to fight the good fight and be a good man like his own father—the father he'd never really known. He also wanted to honor God, both on and off the battlefield.

But he'd done so many things that didn't honor God. And he's seen so much that didn't honor God. He'd felt
thoughts that didn't honor God. So why would God honor any of his prayers now?

“I shouldn't be here, Laura. I don't have any right to be here.”

When he tired of talking, he stopped to pray, leaning forward so that his forehead touched her hand, his prayers asking for some of her softness, for some of her strength and integrity and faith. She has such soft, pretty hands. So soft and so pretty that he yanked his calloused, scarred fingers away for fear he'd damage her in some way.

By the time he was finished, the sun was rising toward the east and he could hear birds chirping just outside the high, secure windows.

The room became flooded with a brilliant creamy yellow glow that hurt Paco's tired eyes. The silence of that light sent shivers down his spine but he could still hear the birds fussing and playing in the courtyard. How he wished he could see God's touch in that brilliant light, hear the Lord's words in the song of the birds.

Then he heard
her
. He heard Laura's gentle voice.

“
I'm
glad you're here, Paco. You're not on that mountain alone now. You have God and you have me.”

And right then and there, Luke Paco Martinez knew God had brought him to this very moment, the moment when he'd accepted God back into his heart and the moment when he'd finally fallen in love.

 

Laura tried to smile but the effort hurt too much. Paco reached for her hand, his gaze holding her in a tender way that seemed different from his usual cynical, abrupt nature. She'd heard his confession, her mind drifting between sleep and being awake. She'd wondered
at times if she was just in a long dream where he trusted her and wanted to talk to her. At other times, she knew she was fully coherent and this troubled, honorable man was pouring his heart out to her because he thought she was asleep. So she didn't speak and she didn't dare move and she ignored the creeping pain in her body to listen to his quiet voice.

That voice had carried her through till morning.

That and her silent prayers to God each time Paco let go of another nightmare memory.

“Hi,” she said, remembering his hands covering hers, his head bowed near her. Did he know she'd prayed right along with him?

“Hi.” He didn't say anything else. He didn't have to. And she didn't have to tell him that she'd heard him off and on during the long night, his words blurring out the pain ebbing and flowing with each heartbeat. Laura had focused on his monotone words, her heart aching in a different way than her bones and tissue.

So now, she stared up at him while she thanked God for allowing her to find Paco Martinez.
Lord, this good man is hurting. He needs Your love now more than ever. I don't know why he lived when others died, but I do know You hold all the answers. I'm willing to trust all of that to You, if You'll trust me with him
.

“I'm okay,” she told Paco. “You don't need to worry about me.”

He nodded, his hand tight over hers. “I have to finish what we started, sweetheart.”

“I know. I don't want you to and I don't understand why these people are coming after me, but I understand why you need to do this.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but the
door swung open and Eli Trudeau stepped in. “Sorry, Paco, but we need you in the war room.”

Laura didn't miss the urgency in his words or the hesitation his expression held when he glanced toward her.

Paco reluctantly let go of her hand then nodded. Looking down at her, he said “I'll be back soon. Rest.”

Laura gave him a weak thumbs-up.

Then Sally Mae and Selena entered the room and started fussing over her, so she didn't get a chance to tell him goodbye.

 

“What is it?” Paco asked as he hurried up the long hallway with Eli, both waiting as the scanners and ID cards gave them access to the next wing.

“Bad stuff, man,” Eli said, glancing around. “A report of a dead body out near where you ran off the road.”

“And?”

“And the body was identified by some of the locals. Kissie got a hit on the report just minutes ago. It's the same MO, Paco. Shooter was Kevin Booker from Flagstaff, Arizona. Worked for CHAIM for a year as an officer manager who mainly served as a liaison between field agents and supervisors. Was fired three months ago for giving out highly sensitive information to certain factions.”

Paco let out a tired sigh. “Was he a former patient of Laura's?”

Eli shot him a hard stare. “Bingo. Saw her right after he lost his job.”

They'd reached the door to the conference room.

Eli stepped aside and let Paco go ahead of him.

The big room was full to the brim with CHAIM people.

Starting with the team and ending with the founding members—Gerald Barton, John Simpson and Alfred Anderson. And the father of Brice's wife Selena, Delton Carter.

They were all staring at Paco.

 

“I'm Selena,” the golden-haired nurse told Laura as she checked her vitals and readjusted the drip bag. “I helped Dr. Haines clean and treat your wound last night.”

“You're Brice's wife, right?” Laura asked, her voice sounding hollow and raw to her ears.

Selena nodded then smiled. “Yes, for about six months now.”

“You went through your own ordeal.”

Selena nodded. “I sure did. I have an idea how you might feel, being chased by people you tried to help. The doctor I worked for was corrupt and I almost let him get away with it out of respect and fear. Won't make that mistake again.”

Laura took a breath then grimaced as pain shot through her. “Sometimes we do things for all the wrong reasons, thinking we're doing them for the right reasons.”

“Exactly.” Selena finished her work then patted Laura's arm. “You didn't cause this, Laura. Someone somewhere wants to come after all of us. And he would have done it, with or without you.”

“But why me?” Laura asked, sick with frustration. “Why me and why now?”

“He was probably waiting for the perfect time to
strike,” Selena said. “My father thinks this person wants a lot of power and he's trying to obtain it through CHAIM.”

“But we're all here now,” Laura said. “How can he hurt anyone else?”

Selena didn't answer. But Laura saw the apprehension moving through Selena's blue eyes. And felt that same apprehension building inside her booming heart.

“You don't think…”

Selena shook her head. “The entire team is working on this, including my father and the other founding members. You need to rest right now. Try not to think about all of this.”

After asking if she needed anything else, Selena left the room. But Laura couldn't rest. Not when it seemed as if she'd be putting everyone here in danger just by being at Eagle Rock. Paco had believed this to be the safest place for her right now.

But what if it wasn't?

 

Paco held his stance, his expression never changing. He knew all about Eagle Rock. Agents were brought here for training, for fellowship and workshops, and for reprimands. He figured he was about to get the latter, big time.

“Talk to me, gentlemen,” he said. “Let me have it. All of it.”

Shane stepped forward. “We have a theory, Paco.”

“I'm listening.”

Gerald Barton motioned to the conference table. “Let's sit down. We might be here a while.”

“What about Laura?” Paco asked, looking at the door.

“Selena is with her and Andre's back guarding her door,” Gerald replied.

Paco didn't miss the look passing amongst the men. He needed to get his head back on straight and focus on this mission. He sat down and waited.

Delton Carter nodded toward Shane. “Go ahead, Warwick.”

Shane went to the big board on one wall. “We've established a connection to Laura Walton with each of the three men who've come after her—Howard Barrow at the café, John Rutherford in the desert and Kevin Booker out on the road last night. They were all former patients of Laura's and they all currently worked for CSN—Central Security Network, which happens to be owned by one Lawrence Henner. They each also either tried to work for CHAIM or have worked for CHAIM briefly at various times.

“Lawrence Henner's son Kyle was also a patient of Laura Walton's. Sixteen years old. He committed suicide a few months ago. Meantime, Laura dated Alex Whitmyer but when things became uncomfortable for her, she broke it off and had to get a restraining order when Whitmyer started stalking her. And Whitmyer also works for Lawrence Henner.

“So we have this connection between Laura Walton and Lawrence Henner…and CHAIM.”

Shane stopped, letting that statement soak in.

Brice got up and took over.

“Three of the above mentioned men are dead now— Barrows shot by Laura at the café, Rutherford killed by Paco in the desert and the third one—Booker—killed by someone else out on the road last night.”

“Which means whoever is doing this means business,” Brice said. “He killed his own man last night—”

“Because that man failed,” Paco finished. “Shane, that's what happened this summer with you and Katherine. They killed their own people to keep 'em silent.”

“We've noted that similarity,” Shane replied. “But the people responsible for that are accounted for and serving jail time now. We can't trace anything back to that incident.”

Devon leaned forward. “We don't know yet who killed Kevin Booker, Paco. But we'll find out. The point is—it's all connected to Henner and it's all connected to Laura.”

“Which brings us to our theory—because they're all also connected to CHAIM. We believe you're right— Henner is coming after CHAIM and he used Laura to do it. And you brought her here to protect her, thus exposing all of us to this danger.”