Code Name: Nina's Choice (Warrior's Challenge) (12 page)

They took their
positions. He’d won th
is event in high school over
and over again. If the gods were good to him, his injury could take the
punishment. Three and three-quarter laps. Legs
bent,
body ready, the gun fired, and the
cheers from the crowd went up.

All seven men paced
themselves, no o
ne gaining ground. The first lap felt
damn good. His breathing was steady, his exertion just enough to keep stride.
Second lap, the tension built when one of the runners tried to gain some
distance, but all the men expelled their reserves and kept pace. Th
ird lap, his legs began to feel a burn, but it was his
right leg near the groin that began to exert its distress.

He’d trained thousands
of hours to ignore pain. This was nothing, but with each step the persistent
throb grew.
Ignore it
. At three-quarters o
f a lap to go, the men threw off the gloves with strides
long, pumping muscles, hearts thundering. Cockroach gained ground and ran
beside him. Pounding down the track, the shout from his groin raged. He and
Cockroach ran out front stride for stride. At a q
uarter
lap
to go, his eyes picked out Nina and
Gabbs jumping up and down shouting their fool heads off for him. For them,
everything he had for them, the finish line feet away.

Cockroach lost ground,
but not enough to believe he couldn’t apply the afterbur
ners at the last second. He thrust his mind into SEAL mode. No pain.
Never quit. His cells fired every ounce of power to his legs. Cockroach made
his play, but seconds too late. Mace crossed the finish line ahead of him.
Holy crap.
He slowed and then walke
d, and hoped to hell he hadn’t set himself back three weeks
of healing.

“You won. You won. You
won,” Gabbs chanted and jumped around on one foot, keeping the injured one
pointed.

“Mace?”
Nina’s expression wrinkled with
concern.

“It’s okay, babe,” he
said b
reathing deeply, hands clipped to his hips.

“You stupid-ass SEAL,
you pushed it too hard,” she whispered in his ear. “Get your ass in the truck
we’re going home, and you’re taking a long soak in the tub.”

A wide grin eclipsed
his mouth and he
peeked
a look
at
her. “Gonna join me?”

“Achhh.”
She swatted his backside and grabbed
his wrist, pulling him behind her.

“It’s for the good of
the team, babe,” he teased.

“What team, Mace?”
Gabbs asked, and grabbed two of his fingers in her hand.

“Team Callahan, Little
Red.” He grinned down at her.

“That’s me and Mom
too, right?” She beamed up at him, freckled nose and eyes
glinting
an emerald green under the sun.

“That’s the one.”

“Your fa…” Nina
stopped. “Mace needs to get home.”

He stopped and gazed
at Nina. She looke
d just as shocked as him. “You were
gonna say father, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t,” she
retorted.

“Yes, you were.” And
he suddenly didn’t give a shit about his groin or the race or anything but his
potential new position. The one he wanted to come in first
place every time. “I want that too, Nina,” he said as
their gazes locked.

“Aww,” Gabbs crowed.
“Are you guys gonna kiss again?”

They both barked out a
laugh.

Chapter Eight

Nina tossed a pound of
ground hamburger into the shopping cart at the same
time
swinging a look behind her. Yup, she was definitely back in San Diego, her
shadow was ten feet away, not looking at all obvious standing beside a rack of
celery. With a quick scan her guard made sure the area was free of killers.
“Ross, why don’t you
just walk with me instead of
back there? I feel like Michael Jackson.”

Ross’ teddy-bear
friendly face bloomed with a huge smile. There were some places a SEAL escort
could not fade into the background; the vegetable aisle was one of them.
Although a member
of Team Three, he was good friends
with Mace and Tinman. Ross wanted a transfer to Team One, Alpha Squad, but it
hadn’t been approved yet, mainly because Captain Austen had disappeared as well
as Kayla. She prayed they were together, somewhere, battling o
ut their demons and healing each other at the same time.

She maneuvered her
cart around a little old lady, who thought it was her age-given right to park
it in the middle of the walkway, while Ross took up floor space like Smokey the
Bear with big brown ey
es and a sexy impish smile.
“Got my orders, Nina.”

Orders.
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think the
Blood Shark is hanging out at the grocery store, SEAL.”

Her phone gave a small
shout out and she looked down to see the text.
“Oh, my God.”
She shoved the ca
rt away from her and ran toward Ross, scaring the shit out
of him because he took on a stance like he was about to tackle her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Take me to Lieutenant
Cobbs. Now! Kayla’s back.”

“Holy
shit!
We’re gone.”

She and Ross rolled up
Cobbs’ driveway
. Undoing the seatbelt, she bolted for
Mace as he got out of his car. The others from Alpha Squad had already arrived,
their cars jammed bumper to bumper in the driveway and on the sidewalk.

“I’m gonna kill her,”
she said, reaching Mace as his arm curled a
round her
shoulder.

“Take it easy, babe,
we don’t know what’s going on, but once you’re done with her, it’s my turn.”

They headed into the
house, and were greeted with a blast of loud voices. They ran up the stairs to
the dining room. Ghost looked like a m
ummy with a
bandage wrapped around his head and Kayla sat reserved with her hands crossed
on the table, staring calmly back at the team as they all ranted at the same
time. Nina pushed through the crowd, and threw her hands on her hips. “Where
the
fuck hav
e
you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Kayla’s large eyes
settled on her, and they stared at each other for a good long second.

“Breakfast?” she
asked.

“What the hell!” Nina
crowed.

A roar went up from
the table as everyone gave Kayla a piece
of their
minds, but she could shout louder than anyone, and she did. Heads turned and
the room settled down when Captain Redding and his wife Lydia walked in. Their
expressions morphed with relief as Kayla walked into their arms for a hug. She
took her ge
ntle reprimand for running away
gracefully. Everyone in the room could see the love Redding and Lydia had for
Kayla. Nina’s attention was drawn to the rare smile that bloomed on Ghost’s
face as he watched the reunion. Something was definitely different wit
h Kayla and Ghost.
 
Nina couldn’t wait to get Kayla back to the apartment. They had a shit
ton to talk about.

* * * *

Mace kissed Nina on
the cheek and laid one on Kayla. “You girls behave, and if you try to make a
break for it, both of you are gonna be
in a load of
trouble.”

Ghost stood quietly at
the door, and for a change, the Captain had zilch to say. He and Kayla just
stared at each other,
then
she turned her attention on Mace and
gave him a pat on the arm.

“Later, babe,” Mace
said, giving Nina a win
k.

“See ya, hotstuff.”

She and Kayla sat
silent as a sniper waiting for his target until the door closed.

“We need to talk,”
they both said at the very same time.

“You first,” Kayla
said calmly.

“Fine, where the fuck
have you been and why? Why did you run
away? You
never run away. You’re as tough as nuts, but this pregnancy is making you
psycho.”

Kayla breathed out a
deep breath. “Yes, it is.”

“That’s all I get?”
She hammered her fists on the table. “I’ve needed you, woman.”

Kayla grinned. “Looks
like Mace
has
everything in hand. I’m so glad he’s
back at the base and healing up.”

Nina pointed a sharp
finger at her. “Don’t change the subject, boss. Where have you been?”

She shrugged.

“Nuuu,
no shrugs.
What happened while you were gone, and what happened to Gh
ost? Why is he walking like a mummy and wearing a bandage
on his head? Where have you been for almost three months? When I saw Ghost last
he was emaciated with worry.”

“The abbreviated
version is when I left Berlin and landed here, I slipped away to Lieute
nant Cobbs’ ranch. Thane found me, and refused to leave. He
told me what he had been forced to do with Zara.”

“That Egyptian
diplomat, yeah, Mace told me. Regardless of the fact he’d been forced, it must
have hurt like hell to hear it.”

Kayla nodded. “It d
id, and on top of that Daniel showed up.”

Nina’s eyes rounded.
“As in your ex?
Holy shit.
Did Ghost kill him?”

“No, but he wanted to.
Daniel kept taunting Thane and I had to admit we weren’t divorced.”

Nina covered her face
with her hands. “Oh God, well th
at’s one point for
each of you.”

“Daniel wanted me to
go home with him. Then to add to the rising bullshit, Zara’s guard showed up to
deliver Thane a message.”

“Which was?” This
didn’t sound good at all.

“That she was pregnant
with Thane’s child.”

Nina sho
t out of her chair. “Oh God, Kayla, I’m so sorry.”

“Sit. Not over yet.
Thane left to prove otherwise and he
did, but when he returned he was escorted by Immigration Services and Men at
Arms. He made Daniel sign the divorce papers.”

“Well, that’s not all
ba
d, is it?”

Kayla’s expression
twisted with sadness. “He also brought Greg.”

Nina blew out her
breath.
“To do what?”

“He took Daniel away
and said we needed distance. To start over, Greg said he wasn’t going to be in
my life anymore.”

“Kayla, I’m sorry. I
know how much he means to you.” She paused with a thought.
“You didn’t tell Ghost you’d been lovers, did you?”

She nodded. “Thane
left me, but I wasn’t alone for long, the Shark found me and chased me through
the forest. Thane got back in the nick of time,
but
the Shark got away.”

Nina scrubbed her
face. “Holy heck, are you crazy? Thane must be wondering if that baby is his.
Why in God’s name would you tell him about Greg? He didn’t need to know.”

“Because
it all had to be on the table.”

“So how did Ghost e
nd up all battered and bruised?”

Kayla rubbed her
blooming stomach and cleared her throat. “Because when Zara found out her baby
wasn’t Thane’s she sent her assassin to kill me. Cobbs and Marg came up to the
ranch at the same time this was going down, and
the
guys sent us back to San Diego. It ended up in a high-speed chase with one cop
dead, and Thane nearly killing himself taking the assassin out.”

Nina started to
chuckle and then laugh.

“Not funny,” Kayla
drawled.

“Holy shit, woman.
Well, maybe this will
teach you to stick around and
let Ghost love you.”

“One
other thing.”

“More?” Her eyes
rounded.

“He asked me to marry
him.”

Nina’s jaw dropped
open. “That’s great, isn’t it?”

“I said no. Now tell
me about Mace?”

Nina shook her head in
disgust. “Why would
you do that, Kayla? Captain
Austen is your soul mate. Not Greg. Not that dirtbag who tortured you for ten
years. Ghost is—” She stopped seeing Kayla tear up. They stared in silence at
each other. Then it hit her. “You think he’s going to change, don’t you?
You’re so messed up.”

Kayla wiped her tears
and put a determined stare on the wall.

“Do you love him or
don’t you? If you do, then there is nothing standing in the way of you
celebrating your fiftieth wedding anniversary. I want you to listen to me for a
change.” Kayla’s gaze settled on her. “You’ve been
giving me advice for years. It’s your turn. Ghost was gutted when you
disappeared. He drove himself day and night to find you because you are
cemented in that man’s heart, and he will never, ever stop lovi
ng you. Do you know how rare that is?” Kayla’s expression
crumpled and her lids clamped shut. She nodded slowly. “Then stop being an ass,
and marry your baby’s father.”

Kayla leaned against
the counter, resting crossed arms over her huge belly. She smiled.
“I hear you, Nina. I hear you, my friend.”

“Good.” Nina hoped she
did. Compared to Kayla’s experience, hers had been as boring as slug bait.
It wasn’t often—okay, never
—when she gave Kayla advice, so she waited, not blinking an
eye so the message would s
ink in.

Kayla grinned at her.
Her transmission had been received. “Tell me about you and Mace. I want to hear
it all.”

“Mace doesn’t mind
working with the recruits, but that’s all he can do until he passes his
physicals, which he’s going to do soon. I’m w
orried.
If he fails
,
he’ll take it too hard.”

“He’ll pass.”

“What if I don’t want
him to?” The thought kept doing donuts in her mind and Kayla was the only
person on earth she could tell. Kayla pulled the coffeemaker from under the
cabinet and placed a new
filter inside without making
a comment. “Is that wrong?”

“Of course it isn’t,
but you and I will have to be strong because once a SEAL always a SEAL.”

Kayla was right, but
it didn’t stop her innermost wish that Mace wouldn’t be able to engage in
combat du
ty again. “Man, that kid is big. He’s gonna
hurt like shit coming out.”

Kayla chuckled. “Tell
me about it. You should feel him kick.”

“I can see him kick.
That SEAL pup is gonna be a monster.”

Kayla broke out
laughing. “Considering the size of his father,
I’m
not surprised.”

“What the hell
happened to us?” She rose and crossed the kitchen, taking Kayla’s hands in
hers. “We come all the way to San Diego to start new, and it’s been nothing but
a four-ring circus. Serial killers, Egyptian whack jobs.” She twin
ed her hands together and swallowed. “I love him, Kayla.”

“I kind of figured
that out before I left.
Looks to me
like Mace has found his forever girl.”

“It looks that way,
but he hasn’t asked me anything. I mean, he’s hinted. We’ve talked, but he
hasn’t
asked me, and I don’t know why.”