Chapter Twenty-Two
“Sky?” The deep, gravelly voice that heated her blood came from Kane, and she set down the bottle and sank back against the kitchen wall.
She glanced at the ceiling and exhaled the anxiety she’d been holding in her lungs.
He leaned against the doorjamb. “You okay? You look pale.”
Only pale? She’d been petrified. “I thought you were someone else.”
He edged toward her, acting as if she were some feral animal ready to attack. When he reached her, he slowly raised his hands, cupped her face, and kissed her forehead. “You’re safe now.”
My God, he acted like he really cared for her and that did wonders for her heart. “Thank goodness it was you.” No lie there. Even with the new locks Kane had installed, a sense of danger lurked behind every closed door.
“You thought it was the boogie man, huh? Or maybe an alien?” His smile made her chuckle.
She punched him in the arm. “Maybe.” She didn’t say which one.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I just spoke to Harriet, and I can’t believe your boss tossed you in jail.” Before she had a chance to respond, he enveloped her in his strong grasp, and his hug was way better than any bath or glass of wine, though she wasn’t sure why he’d had a sudden change of heart. It didn’t matter though. She was in his strong, protective arms now, and she was going to enjoy it.
He smelled like sunshine and clean wind, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, loving what that muscular torso did to her body. She’d never been given the chance to get this close without danger pounding at them.
With her face against his chest, she remembered why she’d been so scared and worked hard not to let the flood of tears flow. She sniffled and stepped out of his grasp, wanting nothing more than to drag him to bed. Too bad, he wasn’t ready for that type of commitment. “I guess I should tell you what happened.”
She clasped his warm, palm-calloused hand and led him over to the living room sofa. She dropped down at one end and he scooted next to her then wrapped both her hands in his.
“Tell me everything and leave nothing out,” he said.
“I thought you were mad at me.”
“I am.”
“Why are you being nice then?”
“Sky, hon, it scares the crap out of me whenever you’re in danger. I’m nice now because I can only imagine how scared you were sitting all alone in jail.”
How sweet was that? “I was scared.” She told him about the harsh way Chief Lapahe treated her, about Earl’s beating, and the depressingly dingy holding cell.
He squeezed her hand tight. “Why didn’t you tell them you were with me?”
Because I’m falling in love with you and I didn’t want to see you in jail. “We’re a team, remember? Black face paint and all. Oo-rah?” The instant flashback of him picking her up by the waist when she’d stumbled in front of the Senator’s RV caused her to nearly lose it. She withdrew her hands from his grasp, since touching him messed with her train of thought. “The military wants you for something—something that could get you locked up for a long time, or worse, killed.”
He dragged a finger down her cheek and shot her a puppy dog look. “Don’t tell me you’re turning soft about me?”
She jerked back, almost as if he’d gently pushed her. Yes, dammit, she was crazy about him, but she wasn’t ready to reveal her feelings. If she spoke the words out loud, he’d feel more responsible for her—or just plain guilty because he couldn’t return the sentiment in the truest sense.
Sky straightened her shoulders, refusing to jeopardize their mission. When this case was closed, she’d reevaluate her decision.
“Me, getting soft? Not Sky Nash.” She threaded her fingers together, not sure what to do with her hands that wouldn’t give away her feelings. “Listen, I didn’t tell them because there’s no logic to their demand. They tried to frame me for that metal sculpture, but then backed down when I showed them I’d found the cone days before. They should have just said they found some secret documents at my house, or else planted an alien artifact or a lab report on my desk and said I’d stolen that.”
“They’d have to doctor their logs to say you’d snuck inside their Base.”
“They’d have to do that with the cone too. I can’t see them admitting they broke into Earl’s house.”
He frowned. “I wish I had all the answers to your questions, but I don’t.” He glanced at the ceiling for a moment. “If their surveillance is so good that they saw you with me, why didn’t they stop us before we made it to the shed?”
“Perhaps the guard saw me waving the white key card.”
“Maybe. At first, I thought the military might have had facial recognition for every employee so they didn’t need to ask for our ID. I guess it took them a while to realize our pictures weren’t in their system.”
She dragged a hand through her tangled hair. “How sure are you of the General’s honesty?”
He cocked a brow, looking like she’d asked if the Pope was Catholic. “General Stentfield is on the up and up. He’d never betray me if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Just thinking out loud.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cushion, feeling truly safe next to Kane.
He snapped his fingers. “We need to beat them at their own game by finding out what they’re up to and telling the world before they succeed in silencing us.” Kane’s voice came out hard.
She sat up straighter. “How do you propose we do that? We can’t go back there without getting into deep trouble.” She held up a finger. “Didn’t Harriet tell you I’m on suspension until further notice?”
“Yes. That’s why you need to tell them I was with you.”
She was impressed he was willing to sacrifice himself for her, but she wouldn’t do it. “They’ll arrest you. You can’t find anything out from jail.” And you can’t protect me from there either.
“True.” He placed his hand on her thigh, and her leg tingled. “I guess one good thing about being on suspension is that you won’t have to spend time at the office.” There was a gleam in his eye.
“Meaning what?”
“You won’t have to lie about your whereabouts, and I’m betting they won’t be checking up on you.” He lifted a lock of her hair and twirled it around his fingers, and the sensation ignited her body.
“Good point,” she said, trying to keep her breathing under control.
“What if we contact Whistleblower2 and find out what he knows about getting inside the Base undetected?”
Her pulse shot up. “Are you kidding? You must not be well versed in conspiracy theories. From what I’ve read, the government kills whistleblowers or harms their families. The real whistleblower wouldn’t chance coming out of the cold for us. Even if he were willing, how do you propose we find him? If the military can’t find him, I doubt we can.”
Kane leaned in closer, his face having a predatory look. “Ah, my pretty. You underestimate the power of the computer.”
“Don’t tell me you’re a hacker?” Kane was bright and strong, but she didn’t picture him as the computer geek type.
He laughed, and the sound lightened her mood, almost to the point of excitement. “No, but the General has the best talent in the world at his fingertips.”
“Wow. You’re going to use the military to fight the military.” She kissed his cheek. “You truly are a superhero.”
* * *
After Kane’s bright idea of trying to find the whistleblower, she’d spent most of the day contacting more than ten people who she considered diehard conspiracy theorists, but they had no idea about how to reach him despite the fact he was well known in the alien believer community.
Exhausted, Sky and Kane headed over to EBE’s for a mental break and some food. Cathy, the waitress, glanced over at her and sent her an, I’m sorry smile. Either she was still remembering what happened to Sky when she was in the bathroom, or she’d somehow found out about the jail time. It didn’t seem to matter that both she and Harriet had agreed not to mention anything to anyone about Sky’s suspension or her arrest. The notoriety would have made asking questions about secret underground facilities difficult.
Sky polished off her now cold coffee just as Kane’s cell rang.
“It’s the General.” Kane answered but didn’t say much. “Thanks.”
She leaned close to him. “So?”
“Nothing. He’s completely frustrated. All of a sudden, the well of information seems to have dried up.”
Typical government stonewalling or else the General was lying. “What about hacking into the whistleblower’s IP address?” Though, if it had been that easy, the Base would have done it by now.
“It didn’t work. They thought they had a lead, but the guy’s smart. Apparently, he uploaded his information to a cloud computer whose IP address isn’t static.”
“Too bad.” She finished her last French fry. “I’m at a dead end too. While everyone I’ve spoken to has heard of him, they have no idea how to contact him either.”
“That sucks. We need him.” Kane bit into his hamburger. How eating a hamburger could be sexy, she didn’t know, but Kane pulled it off.
Cathy came over. “More coffee?”
Sky held her hand over her cup. “I’m about to float away as it is, but thanks.”
Cathy set the white carafe on the table and leaned over. “I stopped by Earl’s this afternoon with some food. I’d heard he was under the weather.”
“That was nice of you.” She hoped his under the weather referred to the beating and not from some bug he’d caught. He was prone to infections due to a weak immune system. Maybe he hadn’t contacted Sky because he felt she was dangerous to his health, or else he was angry because he lost his prized fuel cell because of her.
Nothing she could do about it now. She hoped Pearl had stopped by Earl’s to give him some loving.
Kane pushed his plate to the side indicating he was finished with his meal. “Thanks, Cathy.” He turned to Sky. “Speaking of Earl, when was the last time you spoke with him?” Cathy picked up the coffee and went over to another table.
She shrugged. “Why?”
“I bet if anyone knows about the whistleblower, it would be him.”
“If he knows, he won’t tell me. I seem to cause him problems.” She pushed back her chair.
“You sure?”
“Not a hundred percent.”
“Do you think it’s too late to visit?”
Sky stood. “Maybe, but it’s not too late to call. I don’t want to talk in here though.”
Kane stood and dropped a twenty on the table, enough to cover their meals and a large tip. “Let’s go.”
Outside, dark clouds obscured the moon, and the chill in the air had intensified, forcing her to draw her jacket close around her shoulders. Once in Kane’s Jeep, she pulled out her phone. Earl answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Sky. I heard you ran into some bad luck.” His voice sounded strong.
So much for anyone in this town keeping quiet. Harriet just couldn’t keep from spreading gossip, or in this case, the truth. Good thing the whistleblower didn’t live in Savory, or he’d have been found in an instant.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m okay. The headache’s still bouncing around in my head from that pounding those guys gave me.”
“You aren’t really sick then?”
“Nothing the medics need to come for.”
Good. “Remember I told you about an article that detailed the existence of a deep underground military base on 89?”
“Sure do.”
“You ever hear of someone called Whistleblower2 or know about his claim?” Other than some heavy breathing, Earl didn’t respond. “Earl? You okay?”
“You know how I hate to break a promise.”
She pumped her free hand. Earl knew this person. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. You contact this guy and tell him about the theft, about me missing for a day, and how the men stole your stuff. Confess anything you want then ask if he’d be willing to meet with me, or rather Kane and me.” She held her breath. When he didn’t answer, she gave one last plea. “We’re on the same side here, you know. I was arrested for entering the Base.”
“Oh, Sky. I didn’t know that. You should have told me.”
She thought the fact he knew she’d run into bad luck implied he’d learned she’d been arrested. “It’s not something I’m proud of. Will you help me out here, Earl?”
“For you, I’ll ask, but no promises. This whistleblower can be slipperier than a greased pig. But since they took you and tried to frame you, not to mention arrest you, I’m thinking he might be willing to cooperate.”
She smiled at Kane. “Tell him I won’t tell anyone about him. I don’t even need to know his name. I want to expose what the government is doing as much as he does. I think whoever is behind this wants me dead too.”
“If I find him, I’ll give you a holler.”
“Sweet. You are a true treasure.” She disconnected, leaned back against the Jeep’s passenger door, and smiled. “Now, we wait.”
* * *
Sunlight streamed through Sky’s kitchen window and bounced off her long, dark hair. She looked extra pretty today despite the circles under her eyes. Kane inhaled, and the rich aroma of bacon, eggs, and strong coffee made his stomach yearn for food. He barely remembered the hamburger from last night, and he certainly needed more nutrients than that piece of meat provided.
The eggs crackled, and she maneuvered from one part of the kitchen to the other. Sky had to be the bravest woman he’d ever met. If they could meet with the whistleblower, Kane might be able to learn how to get into and out of the Base—alone—and without being caught on any surveillance camera.
He leaned back in his chair and had to remind himself why he was still in this Podunk town. He’d be lucky if he even got paid for his protection detail since the Senator had returned home, safe and sound. Overton had asked that Kane keep trying to find out who’d abducted him, so maybe a paycheck would be forthcoming. Regardless, it was his sense of Marine honor to see this through to completion.
Who was he kidding? His protective instinct was strong, but with Sky it was, no pun intended, sky high. Another reason he was around was because he wanted to see if he and Sky could have a meaningful relationship—assuming she’d give him half a chance.
The scrape of a pan on the kitchen stove returned his attention to her. Kane rose from the table and walked behind her. Watching her cook and swinging her hips back and forth while she hummed a little tune, turned him on. He spun her around. With one hand holding a spatula and the other a fork, he leaned around her, turned off the stove, and removed the utensils from her hands.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “The food’s still cooking.”
“This.” He drew her close and kissed her. Sure, he was still pissed that she’d run to the factory after he’d ordered her not to, and she never seemed to be able to stay out of trouble, but, dammit, she meant something to him. If he didn’t taste her, his body would go crazy.
She broke the kiss, her eyes wide, from either the surprise of him kissing her, or because she felt his erection pressed against her. He wanted to make love to her. Now. It didn’t matter that it was barely daybreak. Last night, he’d had erotic dreams of them together, convincing him they’d make a great pair. She was all fire and passion and strong enough to match his needs. Kane wanted her all right and should have made love with her last night, but even though Harriet told him Sky had dumped Chris, he wanted to hear her say the words.
“What was that about?” she asked.
He wasn’t ready to explain his erratic behavior. “Just felt like it.”
She studied him for a moment. “Well, I liked it.”
Her cell rang, but she didn’t move. “You going to answer it?” Part of him wished, she’d say no because she wanted to continue what he’d started.
Sky huffed out a breath. “Yes.” She grabbed her cell. “It’s Earl. Uh-huh. Sure. We’ll be right there.” She faced him. “Earl has something for us.”
* * *
Once in the bedroom, she closed the door and plastered her back against the wall. Why did Earl have to call at that exact moment—just when things were getting good? That kiss had shot spears of lust straight through her. What that man did to her.
After splashing some water on her face and brushing her teeth, she rushed out. Kane drove and they arrived at Earl’s half an hour later.
As they pulled in front of his house, a car she didn’t recognize sat in the drive and Sky reached for her gun only to realize her spare was in her car. Crap. Being on suspension sucked. She hoped those two men hadn’t come back demanding Earl give them that stupid card.
“Let me go first,” Kane said.
She nodded for him to lead the way. As soon as they stepped from the Jeep, Earl wheeled out the door, and when no men in masks followed him out, she blew out a breath. He was safe. Thankfully, the bruising on his cheek and around his eyes had receded.
“Did the Chief return my cone or maybe your fuel cell?” she asked.
“Better than that.”
The door behind him opened, and someone she thought she’d never see again stepped out.