SEAL The Deal (22 page)

Nick’s stomach lurched. He squeezed the steering wheel and braced himself. Things were adding up to be anything but a coincidence. The fire put everything squarely in the criminal category.

“When I got there the office was in flames, but I saw two men running away from the back of the house, over the fence and into the vineyard. I told the police about them. If I hadn’t come when I did, perhaps they would have torched Sophie’s house, with her unconscious in there.”

He reached for and clutched her left hand. “Just glad you came home when you did, Devon.” He kissed her fingers. “And glad you weren’t hurt as well.”

The assault had all the look and feel of something orchestrated, but the perpetrators were long gone. His mind was strategizing and prioritizing what came first, what second. He began to develop a plan.

“First, we go check on Sophie. Then we go back to her house, unless you don’t feel comfortable there.”

Devon took a minute to answer as Nick pulled into the Memorial Hospital parking lot.

“I’m okay if you’re there. But I refuse to stay there alone. I suspect this has to do with the sale of the property to that awful neighbor. That’s all Sophie would talk about when she was conscious. She’s convinced he’s behind this.”

Knowing his sister, she was probably right.

They could see Sophie through the glass doors. A large nurse came up to them, opened the doors and barred their way.

“My sister is Sophie Dunn. Can I see her?” Nick asked.

“Let me check. I think she’s stable, but I have orders to check before visitors.”

The nurse came back and gave Nick a hospital gown to put over his clothes, eyeing Devon suspiciously.

“She’s her best friend. She’d want to see Devon,” Nick said as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her inside next to him. She was given a gown as well.

Sophie was hooked up to an oxygen mask with tubes and electric patches coming out from underneath her light blue flowered gown. Her face was indeed ashen and the shiner on her cheek and brow was going deep purple. Someone had struck her with a blunt object and Nick saw she was lucky not to have lost her eye.

He gripped her hand, which was also bruised, and immediately Sophie smiled.

“My big little brother. My hero.” She opened her lids slowly and Nick saw the red blood clot invading all of the white of her left eye. Otherwise, she didn’t appear to have sustained damage.

“Bet that hurts,” he said as he touched his own eye.

“Not as much as the cancer. I’d let them bugger up my other eye if it would take away the cancer pain.” She saw Devon. “Sweetie, thanks for coming.”

Devon leaned over and gave Sophie a careful hug.

“I think they’re moving me tomorrow to a regular room.” She brushed her hand in the air, rattling several of the plastic tubes hooked up to her. “Got a screamer over here, but they gave him something to shut him up. I still can’t fall asleep for very long.”

“Probably the adrenaline pumping through you,” Nick said as he observed the number of purple bruises on Sophie’s other forearm. “Sophie, you put up a fight, I see,” he said pointing to her bruising.

“I’ve had those for weeks now. They just never heal. I think it’s the cancer, or the drugs they had given me. Should clear up now that I’m off all that stuff.”

Nick observed some of the bruising looked to be fresh.

He brought a chair for Devon to sit while he sat on the bed next to her. “I think you have a good team. I’ve spoken to your doctor. He’s Navy-trained. You got a good one.”

“Thanks, Nick. He’s also kinda cute, too.”

“That didn’t come up in the conversation,” Nick answered, glad she could focus on something other than the pain. “But it does mean I won’t be leaving Devon alone with you here.” He winked at Devon who was shaking her head.

“No, you don’t want to let her get away, Nick. She’s a keeper,” Sophie hoarsely whispered.

“I have no intention of letting her get away,” he said as he grabbed Devon’s hand and kissed it.

“Atta boy.” Sophie winced as she tried to move, and began a series of hacking coughs.

“How can I help?” Nick asked.

“My legs are stiff, and my lower back. I must have landed wrong when I fell. Just bend my knees a bit, maybe get a pillow.”

Nick found an extra pillow on top of a shelf above the headboard, placing it underneath her knees. “You don’t get to elevate your legs above the level of your heart, not yet.”

“Thanks. That’s much better.”

“You want something to eat?” Devon asked.

“Hell, no. Just the mere thought of food turns my toes yellow.”

“So you must be the SEAL.” A very handsome, tall African-American in a white lab coat entered the room and held out his hand.

“Dr. Harris? Nice to meet you,” Nick replied and frowned at Sophie, who shrugged her shoulders in response.

“She couldn’t stop talking about you. All the daring things you’ve done for this country,” Dr. Harris continued.

Nick could feel embarrassment and a little anger creep into his demeanor. “Sophie, we talked about this. You’re not supposed—“

“Oh, chill, Nick. Dr. Harris, show him your forearm. You know the one.”

Harris rolled back his coat with a huge grin. As he did so, Nick saw the frog-tracks tat on his right arm extending from his wrist to inside his elbow.

“Son of a bitch. You didn’t tell me you were a Frog. And Team 3, too? You knew my LPO, Kyle Lansdowne?”

“Hell no. He was waving flags and learning how to march in the color guard at Great Lakes when I left the teams. But I have to say, some days I still miss it.”

“I understand.” Nick couldn’t envision leaving the teams, and up until meeting Devon, had nothing on the outside that could pull him away from it. “But there does come a day.”

Harris slapped Nick on the shoulder. “And then you pass the torch. But I still got your back, brother.” The doctor was easily three inches taller. “An honor to be able to care for your sister.”

“Thanks, man. Honor to meet you, too. So when do we get to take Sophie home?” Nick asked.

Harris frowned, and looked at his feet.

“We all know the eventual outcome, sir,” Nick added. “We have no illusions about a miraculous recovery. But she wants to be home, and that’s what we’d like to do. Unless something else can be done for her.”

“Just checking a couple of other tests that won’t be back until tomorrow. She might get lucky tomorrow.”

“Hell, I’ve given up on getting lucky. I just want to go home to die,” Sophie said as she struggled to sit more upright. Nick helped her reposition the pillows while Devon and Dr. Harris were silent.

“Hey, Doc,” Nick held Sophie’s hand up. “I’m not liking those bruises on this hand and her forearms. I don’t remember seeing them before, and she says she’s had them for weeks. A couple of them look new.”

“I told you, Nick, I got those from the treatments,” Sophie blurted.

“One of the things we’re checking. She’s a little anemic,” Dr. Harris said. “How’s your appetite?” he asked Sophie.

“What appetite, do you see an appetite laying around here?” Sophie answered.

“I’ll order some broth,” Harris added softly, patting her knee.

“Don’t bother. I’d like a Margarita, though. Maybe some chips.”

“Sorry, dear. No can do. But if everything checks out later in the morning, we’ll get you on some real food and get you somewhere with less drama.”

“Thank you. Getting used to the buzzing, the running and the carts crashing into doors and walls, and I’ve only been here, what, two hours now?”

“Get some rest, and try to sleep in.” Harris turned to Nick and Devon, “All of you. I’m going to do the same, but I’ll be here, not far away, so relax and get your strength back up.”

It gnawed on Nick like a shrapnel wound that wouldn’t heal that Sophie appeared so matter-of-fact about staring death in the face. She wasn’t nearly as strong as she pretended to be. He knew when the time came, even tough SEALs would cry out for their mamas. He’d witnessed it in the field a few times. Not often, but he’d told a man or two to just let go, “deploy upward, soldier. The man upstairs has new orders for you now.” He wondered if Devon would be the one to be with her on her last day, and made a note to himself to prepare her for his sister’s end, in case he wasn’t there.

Dr. Harris assured them the staff had instructions were to wake him if anything important came up. He also told them the police were to be informed of any unwelcome visitors. Sophie had allowed detectives to interview her just before Devon and Nick arrived. Nick knew that was a good sign. He kissed her on the cheek, controlling the signs of worry, said his good-byes, and allowed himself to focus on his long-awaited reunion with Devon.

There was enough sexual energy in Devon’s car on the ride back to Sophie’s to power it if the thing hadn’t been a gas model. He wouldn’t let her drive. He preferred his Hummer, but if he’d had it they would have never made it home, since it had such a roomy second seat. The Lexis felt like a toy car from Disneyland.

He stole glances at her and found her smiling, and he didn’t let on he knew she was doing the same to him. He needed to feel her soft flesh beneath him. He’d imagined it every night before he went to bed.

But his mood changed completely when they got to the end of Sophie’s driveway and found one large red fire truck blocking the area where the office used to be, now reduced to a smoldering pile of ash with occasional plumes of smoke rising. In the distance, Sophie’s house could be seen beyond the rubble.

“They said someone would check on the fire throughout the night,” Devon said in answer to the question he never uttered.

Nick pulled around to the side and parked. After letting Devon out, he walked over to talk to a young fireman in jeans and a dark slicker who came up to check them out.

“I’m Nick Dunn, the owner’s brother,” he said as he showed his military ID. The fireman whistled and raised his eyebrows.

“Sweet. I’d say you’re cleared. There will be an investigator back again tomorrow to try to determine the cause of the fire, so don’t get freaked if you see someone poking around early tomorrow.”

“I understand. So they haven’t determined the cause of the blaze?” Nick asked.

“He’s pretty sure it’s arson, but we’re not allowed to make that official. We should know in the morning, though.”

“Any reason why we can’t stay here tonight?” he asked. “In the house, of course.”

“As long as you don’t mess with the scene.”

Devon spoke up, “There wasn’t any power in the house when I got here.”

“Luckily there were three meters, one for the office, one for the house, and one for the well. We found the house main breaker turned off. When we flipped it back on, we checked it out inside and everything looks good. Water’s shut off to office, but house looks fine.”

“Okay, good.”

“We had to use some of the water tank contents, and still might have to use more if hot spots develop, so not sure how much reserve you’ll have. I’d go light on usage until it can recover,” the fireman said.

They heard the fire truck pull out of the driveway as they were closing the door behind them. It felt eerie inside the house, as if the ghost of something evil had invaded this once-happy home. Maybe it was because Sophie nearly lost her life here, but something was off. The hairs at the back of his neck began to stand up.

“Devon, I’m not getting a very good feeling about this place right now. I don’t think we should be spending the night here.”

 “My place is feeling rather lonesome. And so am I.”

He was grateful she agreed.

“Works for me.”

Devon’s condo was in the old part of town in a mixed-use rustic building that predated the 1906 earthquake. Fashionable lofts had been created over trendy restaurants and boutiques. Everything was closed except for a few bars that were sparsely populated. Nick hadn’t realized this part of the city had cleaned up so nicely.

The parking garage was gated with a private elevator to her third floor unit. Her oversized door was made of beautiful, rich-grained mahogany. The spacious, open interior was starkly modern, which surprised Nick. The ceilings were over ten feet tall, since they were on the top floor. Her cherry cabinets matched the rich color of the  mahogany front door, and light tan, tumbled marble countertops completed the contemporary look.

He followed her down a short hallway, past a guest bathroom on one side, an opened door to what looked like her home office across the hall, and to her bedroom door at the end. She touched a switch and simultaneously a fireplace lit up and low lighting dotted the room, including a faint spotlight on a painting over her bed. Nick walked up and examined the unusual painting, which was abstract, but in very warm colors.

“Nice,” he said, turning around looking at the room. He felt a little like when he’d visited his grandmother’s house as a child and his mother chided him about not touching anything. This was far from the bachelor apartment he and Marc shared in San Diego. Although it was clean, theirs was about as sparse as it could be. They’d even lived in it for nearly six months before they had any furniture, and the big screen TV, their first purchase, still stood on the cardboard box it came in. They used to eat on the floor against the opposite wall. Suddenly he was afraid Devon would never approve of his lifestyle, which meant he wasn’t so sure she would approve of him.

Until he saw her leaning against the doorframe. She’d dropped her purse and jacket on the floor and was slipping off her shoes.

“I’m glad you like it,” she whispered.

He perused her body, from ankles to the shadow below her chin, then met her eyes and smiled. “I like it a lot. Every part of it.”

She shrugged her shoulders and gazed down to her feet, wiggling her toes. She was blushing. When her eyes found his again, there was no mistaking their smoldering heat, just like the fireplace switch she’d just turned on. He could almost hear her sizzling as well.

He’d missed her so much, it took all the control he had to hold himself back. They felt like a couple. She wasn’t in any way distant to him, but he wanted to be careful with her.