Strategic Engagement

He shook his head against her neck. "Don't know them."



"But you do know Darcy and Spike." She sank to the edge of the bottom bunk amid rumpled sailboat sheets, ducking her head to accommodate the upper bed. And you'll get to play with Darcy's big sister and brother and her dad. I'll bet they even take you to McDonald's, and Danny's going to give them money to buy two new cartridges for your Game Boy Advance."



Chiming bells from the video signified a leap to the next level. Trey's fingers flew. "You might as well give it up," he confided without pausing. "He doesn't want to leave you and go with them."



"Trey," Mary Elise warned low.



"He's just a big baby."



Mary Elise gasped, reached to clap her hand over Trey's mouth. Just what they needed. An all out battle on their hands.



Austin's head popped up from Mary Elise's neck. "Am not a baby."



"Are so."



"Am not."



"Then why are you hanging on her like one?"



Realization clicked. The kid was maneuvering his brother with tactics reminiscent of his big brother scamming an extra helping of ice cream out of a neighbor. She stifled the urge to give Trey a tight hug and blow the whole gig.



Trey flipped the off switch on his game. "Danny and Mary Elise need some time by themselves, you big bozo. Like Mom and Dad did."



"So they don't get a di-borce."



Divorce? Franklin Baker had been heading to divorce court again? She'd known they were having trouble, but apparently not how much.



Trey nodded. "Yeah, dweeb. Come on, I want that new Zelda: Ruler of the Universe game really bad." He rolled his eyes. "But it would probably scare you, anyway."



Mary Elise held her breath. Had Trey overplayed his hand with that one?



Austin squirmed, working his way down and out of Mary Elise's arms. Apparently sibling rivalry was a mighty strong motivator. She mouthed over Austin's head to Trey, "Thank you."



A grin creased his face.



Well, hell. He did look a little like his big brother after all.



Austin tugged her shirttail until she leaned forward.



"Love you. Have fun with Danny." He planted a wet kiss on her cheek along with a final hug.



Footsteps sounded down the hall just before Darcy poked her head into the room, looking rested from her power nap after her night flight. "Hey, kids, let's go raid your brother's junk-food cabinet and find some snacks for the road."



"Treats? Oo-rah!" Austin launched into Darcy's arms. Mary Elise forced her feet to stay still while Darcy led the boys away. Austin was settled and she would only make it worse by following Darcy and pointing out what Austin and Trey preferred.



Relief and jealousy duked it out inside her. Thank God Austin would be okay for now. But damn it, she wanted to stop making lists and start living life. She wanted to be the one packing snacks for those two boys who'd first tugged her heart because of Daniel and then stolen her heart by being themselves.



No way would she let Trey and Austin lose their big brother. Captain Commando would have to learn to accept her help whether he wanted it or not.



Chapter 12



In the home stretch.



Tucked in a corner of the living room, Daniel memorized security codes from Max, for the fishing cabin, for joint computer access. Only a few more minutes and he could hit the road, hide Mary Elise safely away, then forge ahead with his plans to neutralize Kent McRae. Ensuring that ex of hers stayed locked up for life offered the only guarantee of safety.With a little luck, he and Spike could dig deep enough into intelligence files for some kind of connection between Kent and a too-damned-cold trail for a hired gun. And pray the police landed a lead, as well. If the dusting for prints turned up anything.



According to the cops, Daniel's positive ID of Kent McRae outside the condo wasn't enough to place him inside. Meanwhile a restraining order was in the works. Apparently, it was the third Mary Elise had taken out on the bastard.



For all the good the others had done her.



Max clapped a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Anything else you need?"



Answers? "Nah, we're set. I can't thank you enough for this. I already owed you for helping me get the boys out of Rubistan, and now this, too."



"You don't owe me a thing. Just keep your eyes peeled whenever you're flying wingman for Darcy."



"Don't let Wren hear you say that or she'll deck you." Darcy poked her head through the kitchen bar opening and waggled a fruit roll-up at them. "I heard, anyhow. Wrestling match later, Max. Me and you, mano a mano."



"Looking forward to it." Max winked, then thumped Daniel's back. "We'll take good care of them. You just take care of the two of you, and we'll be ready to throw another party by the end of next week."



"I hope so."



"I'll be in touch with you via the secure line 24/7 with updates about the boys and … anything else that comes through."



Daniel nodded.



"Hey, Darce," Max called, hitching his Technicolor swim trunks higher on his h*ps as he strode toward the kitchenette, "don't forget to pack some of those juice box things, grape-blaster flavor. Baker here has gotten me hooked on them."



Max rounded the corner, dodging Trey ducking back into the living room. Trey clutched a fistful of red licorice in his hands, eyes broadcasting more questions with each step toward the sofa. Damn, but he owed Trey a boatload of eggplant for keeping his little brother occupied today.



Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face, prepping himself for Trey's next round of questions. He wanted to be upfront with him. But as much as Trey put on that hoo-ya brave face, he was still just a kid.



A persistent kid. Interrogations in the Air Force training mock POW camp were a cakewalk compared to the inquisition of two little boys.



Plunking down on the leather couch, Trey waited, his eyes demanding answers with the same imperious right-to-know their old man had mastered well.



Daniel dropped to sit beside him. "Trey, I'm sorry about all of this."



"It's okay."



"No, big guy. It's not. But I'm going to do my best to make it okay again."



Trey peeled a strand of licorice off. "Is Mary Elise in trouble?"



"She didn't do anything wrong, if that's what you're asking." Other than not come to him in the first place, but then that was as much his fault for closing the door between them years ago. "But yes, things are a mess for her right now, and she needs a friend."



Trey unraveled another strand, slowly, then another. "My dad was trying to help her, wasn't he?"



My dad? Daniel wondered why the kid had the power to rile him with one little freaking pronoun. "Yeah, Trey," Franklin Baker the third, "your dad was trying to help her."



"Help her with what?"



His brother couldn't be bought off with a video-game promise. Honesty worked for a reason. He just hoped the kid could understand something that damn well bemused him. "Her ex-husband isn't a nice guy. He wants to hurt her, and I can't let that happen."



"Kind of like how you kept me and Austin away from Uncle Ammar back in Rubistan."



And to think he'd worried about the boy understanding. Life had given Trey a crash course in life's injustices. "Exactly like that."



One day, when he'd ensured the boys' safety, he looked forward to making sure they saw the beauty of their mother's heritage, as well. Man this parenting gig was a complex bag. But he didn't want his brothers' view of a part of themselves to be tainted by experiences with their uncle.



Trey nibbled the end off a strand of licorice. "Well then, I think it's probably a good idea for me and Austin to go to North Carolina."



Daniel let the pride build inside him. Yeah, the kid had to make it seem like his own decision, but no problem. He could live with that. He clapped Trey on the shoulder. "Thank you. I'm trusting you to take care of Austin. It'll hurt Mary Elise to think he's popping out those tears."



Trey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, two of those big fat leaky ones and Mary Elise was crawling inside the crate with us."



The enormity of her sacrifice nailed him dead center like an on-target missile, no warning. He'd respected her bravery before, but he'd been clueless on how difficult it must have been for her to risk a return to the States, to expose her sanctuary with the call for help in the first place. Anonymous or no, the trail was there.



Her call. His father's call. His father's death.



Pieces of information jostled in Daniel's head, searching for edges to make a clean fit. Except connector pieces were missing.



"Danny?"



He startled back out of his pensive trance. "Yeah, kid?"



"Who were you named for?" A simple question with a weight of importance reflected in the boy's eyes.



"For Great-grandpa Baker."



"Our father's grandfather?"



Our. "Yes."



"Cool."



Silence descended. Trey peeled the last strands of licorice apart, sorting them into two piles on the leather sofa. He clutched one stack, leaving the other beside Daniel.



And then his little brother was hugging him. So quick Daniel almost missed the chance to hug those bony shoulders back.



Trey stepped away, stubborn chin jutting just like their father. Like his older brother. "I still hate peanut butter."



"Oo-rah."



"Hoo-ya."



Daniel scooped up the pile of licorice Trey had left behind. Love you, too, bro.



Who knew red licorice had such a distinctive scent?



Of course, after an hour alone in the car with Danny, Mary Elise feared she would soon keel over from sensory overload from the different facets of him bombarding her.Daniel's aftershave drifting with each gust of the vent.



Danny's licorice disappearing strand by strand.



The captain's military paraphernalia wafting an odd hydraulic fluid scent she'd come to realize permeated Air Force gear. Even a well-washed flight suit carried the air.



She lowered the window on the SUV, Daniel's truck having been traded for Bronco's vehicle on base after her doctor visit. After a quick trip to the BX, where Daniel bought the most bizarre assortment of supplies, they'd hit the road. Two dozen plastic buckets rattled around in the back with a bag of twenty-penny nails and heaven only knew what else.



Moss-draped oaks arched over the narrow road, the marshy coastline peeking through on her right out the open window. Reeds bowed a welcome in the breeze.



Mary Elise wriggled in the seat to get comfortable. At least her medicines would be kicking in soon, throwing her body chemistry back in sync, hopefully lightening her mood. This was worse than that day by the pool years ago. At least then Danny had been her friend. She vowed if he offered her boatloads of chocolate, she'd deck him.



Or hug him.



It was a close contest.



She adjusted the angle of the seat.



Daniel tore off another bite of licorice. "Why the hell didn't you let me know you're in pain this week?"



"What did Kathleen Bennett tell you?"



"Nothing." And he didn't look too happy about it.



"But you asked her."



"Hell, yeah, I asked her. And she got her flight suit all in a twist over rules."



Three cheers for patient confidentiality. "Danny, I'm fine, and feeling better by the minute thanks to Kathleen. By tomorrow I'll be a hundred percent, and your chocolate will be safe from me."



"Funny. Not. Why the hell are you so sensitive over a flipping trip to the doctor?"



Boggy wind whipped between them while she searched for a simple answer that would bring the fewest questions. "I didn't want to draw any undue attention to myself that might tip off Kent."



For all the good that had done her. If that False Unicorn plant had been intentionally placed, which she firmly believed, Kent had known about her return within hours of her landing. She shuddered.