Greg was in the lead down the stairs and through the hallway when Mattie heard the Admiral’s voice, not yelling, but definitely terse. As Greg stepped aside, she didn’t expect a baby in the Admiral’s arms and a toddler on his lap.
A petite woman with a long cascade of dark curls pivoted on her heel. “Greg!”
“Kayla, god damnit, woman.”
“That’s what I said,” the Admiral added, his expression a knot of concern.
Kayla gave her a dismissive glance and then she and Greg hugged each other for a really, really long time. Enough that Mattie began to see red. She had no reason to, but she looked to the Admiral, who gave her an understanding glance.
“Uncle Greg?” The young toddler slipped from the Admiral’s lap and ran to Greg, who lifted him up high over his head. He spoke French to the little boy, and the boy giggled and nodded.
Greg turned to address her. “Mattie, I’d like to introduce you to Kayla Austen, the Admiral’s wife.”
A part of her sighed with relief that he didn’t introduce Kayla as his family. Petty, she knew it, but couldn’t help the bite of jealousy.
“This,” Greg continued, “is Adam. And that beautiful little girl over there is my goddaughter, Sloane.”
Kayla turned her full attention on Mattie. She was very small in stature, but a huge aura loomed around her. Maybe in her late thirties, it was hard to tell with her aboriginal genes that made people of the Haida nation look youthful. Greg’s ex sister-in-law bored a look of dislike into her. During their only communication, she expected Mattie to throw her career into the fire. Now, she was obviously holding it against her because she didn’t.
Mattie had to at least try to be cordial even if the woman was ten times as beautiful as she was and held Greg’s heart in the palm of her hand. “Kayla, I never expected to see you here.”
“Then you don’t know my wife,” the Admiral spoke up.
Kayla rolled her eyes. “I’m part of this family. I can help. Plus, I need to renew my passport.”
The Admiral shook his head and chuckled. “Your passport, eh? Nothing to do with you missing the action or the chase. Nothing to do with your retirement. You’re so full of sh—”
Kayla whirled around, hands on her hips.
The Admiral stopped mid-sentence and finished with, “doo-doo.”
Greg barked out a laugh and Adam copied him.
“Shut the fu…frig up, LaPierre,” the Admiral gruffed.
Greg cast an arm around Mattie’s shoulders. “I know you can’t appreciate this, but you have to know the Admiral’s reputation to get the full joke outta this.” His handsome features brightened as he laughed again.
“I ordered pizza,” the Admiral said holding Sloane, who had her head tucked under his chin and looked positively happy to be in her father’s arms.
“Kayla, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Mattie Bidault, New Times…Colonist.” That sounded lame.
She nodded, but turned her gaze on Greg. “I’m glad you’re free but by the sounds of it, things are starting to get a little hectic around here.”
“You’re going home,” the Admiral spouted. “You can stay tonight, and then you’re on a plane back to San Diego tomorrow.”
“Thane, it’s not like the city has been taken over by zombies.”
“No, but it may be under the power of some dirty cops and this is ground zero,” Greg argued. “Austen might be right. You shouldn’t be here.”
“You need my help,” she said without blinking a big brown eye.
Both men threw a hand up in the air.
“How do you think you can help?” Mattie gave Adam a smile as he reached over to play with her hair while Greg held him in one arm.
“We’re going to put the children to bed, eat the pizza, and you’re going to tell me everything, and I’m going to tell you what will happen next.”
Mattie’s eyes bugged out, and although impolite, she laughed. “Okay, so you’re some kind of psychic. Is that it?”
“Of sorts,” Kayla said, not seemingly insulted by her response. The short-assed, little self-assured harpy really believed her own words.
“Well, I’m a seasoned investigative reporter and I know what I’m doing. Think we can handle it without you.”
She noted both men looked a little uncomfortable. Greg had moved over to the dining table and settled himself with Adam attached to his neck.
Was this supposed to be some kind of hazing where she had to pass a test with this woman? Mattie wasn’t interested in that. “I will solve the case.”
Kayla’s unemotional, soul-sucking eyes beat a gaze through her. “Is Greg safe yet? Is he totally removed from police suspicion? Can he leave the country?”
Mattie shrugged. “No, but he will be once the RCMP begin their investigation, and I continue with mine.”
“What about the knife? Have you solved that yet?”
Mattie hated being in the spotlight, answering this woman. She didn’t have to. Greg watched, and for some stupid reason she played along. “No.”
“You say there are at least two killers.”
Although there was no spotlight in the room, she felt the burn of one with Kayla’s rapid fire questions. “At least! Isn’t two enough?”
“Sweetheart?” The Admiral’s pet name for his wife turned into a question as he cocked his head for her to follow him.
“Greg, I’m going to put the kids to bed and I’ll be back downstairs to explain. Thane.”
He rose from the table with a crease on his forehead. “Coming.”
Mattie waited until they’d left the room before glaring at Greg. “Was that an inquisition or what?”
He gave her a raised brow. “Nope. That’s just Kayla on the trail of something. She gets a little edgy when that happens.”
“Edgy? Edgy? How about bitch.” She raised her hand. “Sorry, I know you love her. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He reached out to hook her hand and draw her to him, squeezing his knees around her legs while sitting in the chair. “I think once you get to know each other, you’ll get along really well.”
“She doesn’t like me.”
His glorious green eyes gazed at her from under his black bangs. “No, but she will.”
“Doubt that. I wouldn’t blow off my job before checking out all the facts.” She hadn’t had a chance to come forward with her eye witness report before he was released. “She hates me. I can feel it.”
“Because for the first time since her, she can see something in my eyes, and she’s jealous. She’s just going to have to get used to it.”
“She just got here, what could she possibly see in your eyes? I thought—”
“Not jealous as in ‘I don’t want anyone near you because I want you for myself’, but in an ‘I don’t know you yet, and I can see Greg feels something very strong for you.”
Her anger deflated a little with his words. And she had to admit, he’d snuck his feelings in pretty damn nicely. “Did she like Diana?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
She sputtered. “Well, what the heck!”
“Kayla has a few unique gifts, one of them is looking into the soul of someone and knowing exactly what they think. She’s looking into mine right now and she’s protective. That’s all it is. Give her a chance to know you.”
The doorbell rang and Greg got up. “Patience.”
He answered the door and paid the pizza guy.
Mattie felt like a bit of an outsider listening to the three of them talk about people in the States she didn’t know. SEALs with funny names like Fox and Tinman, Stitch and Ditz. They spoke a little about a woman named Marg, and the Admiral became sullen. Her husband must have been a close friend of his, and by the sounds of it, had died not that long ago. Greg had a lot of stories to catch her up on.
After finishing their beers and pizza, Kayla removed the boxes and cleared the table of plates and used napkins. Another round of beers was handed out, it was time to talk business. Both men seemed to defer to the admiral’s wife, which was really odd since both of them were serious cases of alpha male. Maybe she had judged Kayla too quickly, but the self-assured harpy had done the same to her.
The Admiral watched his wife. “I can see your mind is in high gear. What’s the retired,” he placed emphasis on the word retired, “tactical analyst surmising?”
Kayla turned a cold stare on Mattie. “From the start, si vous plait.”
Mattie had forgotten she had been in the Navy like Greg. For the second time today, she relayed the details of her investigation.
Kayla played with a plastic straw, twisting it around her finger as Mattie finished describing the details of the Ripper investigation.
Silence hung in the kitchen for a few seconds until Kayla spoke. “How long have you been working on this story?”
“Since the first murder.”
“And how long do you think the cops have been steering your investigation?”
Mattie opened her mouth, then closed it again. Steering her story? No way.
Kayla waited for an answer.
“Kayla, gentlemen, excuse me but I’m heading to bed. Been a long day.”
* * * *
Greg watched Mattie retreat, and he couldn’t blame her. Kayla was far past abrasive and that wasn’t like her.
“I’m heading to bed too,” Austen said. He leaned over and kissed his wife. “Stop being so hard on her.”
Kayla’s eyes rounded. “I’m not,” she argued.
Austen’s massive presence departed the kitchen, leaving Greg and Kayla staring at each other.
This was not going to be an easy conversation. Greg considered another beer, but refrained. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you.” She stretched an arm across the table, but he retracted his hand.
“I’m not the one in trouble here. Mattie is in danger. If it wasn’t for your husband, she’d be dead. They’re not targeting me, they’re targeting her.” He paused to think. “I’ve never seen you act like this before.”
She pushed herself back from the table and crossed her arms and legs.
He almost laughed, but if he wanted the truth he knew he’d have to go about this a different way. He rolled his chair around the table and turned hers so they were knee to knee. “Kayla. You’ve been nothing but rude to Mattie. Explain.”
She shook her head. “That’s not true, and why the possessive stance? You barely know her.”
“She doesn’t speak French, and you constantly spoke en francais to Austen and I, leaving her out of the conversation.”
Kayla leaned forward and took one of his hands in hers. “Don’t you see what she’s doing? She’s embedding herself in you to keep herself close to the story. I think you need to show her the door. You’re not the Ripper. Let her find him.”
Holy shit. What the hell was going on here?
He shook his head. “No, it’s more than that. Far more than that. You liked Diana. You never acted this way with her.”
“I did like Diana. So what?” Kayla laughed tightly and gave him a frigid, caustic glare. “It’s not like Mattie means anything to you. Screw her and send her on her way.”
Greg turned a couple options over in his head before speaking. “You never thought Diana and I would make it as a couple. You and I have been together for a long time. We know each other’s thoughts. Mattie is not a threat, Kayla. I will always love you, but you’ve moved on. I have to do that too. For real this time.”
Kayla’s stiff expression that she’d worn all night caved, and her fear scripted a tale all over her face. “I want you to be happy.”
“You don’t get to pick who that woman will be.”
She swallowed and looked down at their entwined hands.
“You had a choice, Kayla. You made it, and I don’t think you regret it. We’ve never talked about that night.” He was going to be open with her. The time had come. “The night at the cabin. The night I took Daniel away.”
Tears rose in her eyes and spilled onto her cheek. It was barely a whisper. “You left me.”
“I left you in good hands with a man who loved and protected you. I didn’t want to walk away, but you knew as well as I did, it ended the way it had to end. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, because I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you.”
She nodded, and more tears spilled from her eyes. She was trying so hard not to cry, it tore a hole in his heart.
“I miss you too,” he whispered.
Kayla threw herself into his arms and let the tears come, and he couldn’t stop the tears either. This would be the end, and tomorrow they would start again as new people. Two people who loved each other, but fated to be with someone else. It wasn’t wrong. In this lifetime, it was the right thing.
He cuddled her in his arms and held her, rocking her, like he’d done so many times over the years when she was confused and scared after his brother had beat her in his fits of anger.
From the corner of his eye he saw a flicker of light and knew Austen was around the corner. The last speck of uncertainty had to be gone from all their hearts.
“Kayla,” he said raising her face. “You love your husband, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I do. I just…I can’t be weak around Thane. He hates weak. Sometimes I just feel like I want to cry, but I can’t. Not in front of him.”
Greg chuckled. “He might hate weak in his warriors, but you’re not one of them. You’re his wife.”
She snuffled and choked on her tears. “There’s been days I’ve felt so tired, but I can’t stop. He’d lose respect, then he’d hate me, and…” Her tears gushed again.
“Oh, Kayla.” He rocked her in his arms. “Thane would never hurt you. Listen to your heart. You know this.”
She shook her head. “He wouldn’t understand. Every time I’ve felt myself slipping, I make an excuse and leave for a short walk or to get groceries. I hate Hawaii. I want to be in San Diego with Nina, Marg and Lumin. We need each other. Thane is always flying off for days at a time for his meetings. I know it’s nothing compared to deployment, but…I used to be strong. I’m not anymore.”
“Tell him, Kayla.”
“I can’t.”
“I think you can.” He swept a tear from her cheek. “You haven’t tried because you’ve committed your whole heart and trust in him, just like you did Daniel, and my brother broke that trust. He made you strong, but in the wrong way. Thane’s commitment to you means far more than my brother’s ever did. It scares you, but you’re doing exactly what you did with Daniel, not being the true woman that you are because you’re afraid he won’t love that person. These are shadows from your childhood. All the abuse as a little girl, and then as a wife. Thane is the one man you should trust with the real Kayla.” He paused and kissed her forehead. “He loves you, Angel.”
Thane took a step from the hallway, and then another until he stood over them. He looked hurt. Seriously hurt.
Kayla hadn’t seen him yet. She brushed her tears aside. “I’m blubbering. I’m sorry. It’s the hormones.”
Greg shrugged. “Are you…?”
She nodded. “I’m pregnant again. The doctor doesn’t think it’s safe, but I won’t give up this baby.”
“Does he know?” But the answer was written on Thane’s face.
“No. I told the girls. They don’t think I should risk my life, but Thane wants a big family. I don’t want to disappoint him.”
Thane slammed his eyes closed and shook his head. He squatted down and touched her arm. She startled.
“Sweetheart.” He sucked in a deep breath as if in pain. “You don’t have to be strong for me. I need to be strong for you.” He thumbed a tear from her cheek. “You can cry in my arms any time you want.”
Greg smiled as he released Kayla into Thane’s arms. She was so little compared to her husband. She almost disappeared in his muscled embrace.
“Think I’ll leave you two to talk,” Greg said standing up.
Austen offered a nod.
As Greg rounded the corner and heard the Admiral comforting his wife, he smiled. They’d endured so much. All of them, but they would all have a happy ending. He headed upstairs and when he opened the door to his bedroom he stopped, seeing the empty bed.
Turning on his heel, he pushed open the spare room door. Mattie slept soundly, curled under the sheets. He stepped inside and quietly sat in the lounge chair. Doubt, perhaps even fear, wound its way into his soul. Austen mentioned this afternoon while Mattie was out of the room what the medium had told them in Market Square.
Greg was a believer. His mother believed you didn’t walk under a ladder. She always threw spilled salt over her shoulder, and his father never knew that every once in a while she visited her great aunt who she said was gifted. Austen scoffed at the medium’s words, but to Greg they were a warning.
No matter who the murderer was, they knew Mattie was looking for them. He vowed they would never touch the sweet and spicy woman sleeping before him.
“What?” Mattie started and rubbed her eyes. “What are you doing?”
He carried her around the corner and shoved his bedroom door closed with his foot, then placed her gently on the bed.
“I want you here. With me,” he whispered and kissed her.
He undressed where he stood and climbed between the sheets. Holding her close and loving how good her skin felt against his.
He had loved Kayla once like this, but maybe he’d been given another chance and another beautiful strong woman who he could protect. That special connection was already there between Mattie and him. A small spark. One that held a universal truth when a man and woman instantly felt the current of attraction.
Mattie and he had that spark. Now, he just had to keep her alive.