NICK POUNDED THE sand, running in and out of the surf three days after returning home. Lecrae blared in his ears, and water danced around his ankles. It felt good to be home. He had a date with a gorgeous girl that night, one whose heart rivaled her good looks—pure gold.
There was still no word on Logan’s leg. The whole team rotated in and out of the house, helping Kim take care of the kids. Kaylan, Nick, and Micah planned to take them to the beach the next day—get them out of the house and hospital, away from talk of their dad losing his leg.
The phone rang, breaking through his music. He slowed to a stop and put his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath before answering.
“Yeah, Bulldog.”
“Dude, you need to hit the gym more if you are breathing that hard after a little run.”
“Did you call for a purpose while you lounge around the house before work?”
“Yep. Have you been through the mail since we’ve been home?”
“Um, don’t think so. I’ve been kinda busy. Why?”
“Nikolai Sebastian . . . that name mean anything to you?”
Nick nearly stopped breathing.
“Hawk. Did you hear me? Do you know who that is, or . . . or is this you?”
Nick cleared his throat, his heart still racing. No one knew that name. “It was on my birth certificate and my service records, but that’s it. I never use it. No one knows. My mom always called me Nick Anthony after my dad. Is there a return address?”
“Nah, man. Whoever it was didn’t even put your last name on the envelope. Want me to open it?”
“No! No. I’ll be home in a few.”
Nick practically sprinted the last half mile to his Jeep, curiosity pushing past his burning muscles and aching chest.
He threw the keys in the ignition, slammed the car into gear, and peeled out of the parking lot, his wheels threatening to fishtail on the thin layer of sand covering the concrete. Within minutes he made it to the house he shared with Micah, close to the base and close to the beach.
Throwing the door open, he immediately went for the table where a nondescript white envelope lay waiting for him. Micah walked in from the living room as Nick examined the writing. The style and formation of the letter seemed familiar, like he’d seen it before but didn’t know it well enough to identify immediately. He flipped the envelope in his hand, the back as blank as a chalkboard on the first day of school.
He tore into the envelope and pulled a thin sheet of paper from inside. No. He froze, his heart settling like a stone.
Micah picked up the envelope and shook out a picture. Lifting it off the table, he turned it toward Nick.
Nick wanted to swear but bit his tongue, immediately tasting blood.
“Hawk, why is a picture of you and my sister in this envelope?” Micah snatched the note sheet out of Nick’s hands. Nick reached for the picture, a shot of him and Kaylan at the beach, covered in sand from a game of volleyball. Kaylan had this picture up somewhere in her house.
His heart sank all the way to his toes. Kaylan.
“Hawk, what does this say?”
Nick licked his lips, his voice shaky as he responded. “It’s Russian. It says, ‘It’s me or her. Take your pick.’” He met Micah’s eyes, his fear full blown. “It’s the same handwriting as the note we found on The Jupiter.”
“Janus,” Micah spat. “How did she get this picture, Hawk?” Micah met him nose to nose. “How the heck did she get this picture of you and my sister?”
“I don’t know. But here’s another question: How does she know my full name? And why didn’t she use my last name? No one has ever called me Nikolai. And no one spells it like that. Who is this woman?”
Micah tossed the paper on the table. “I’m calling Kaylan. Get that stuff in a Ziploc bag and let’s take it to base now. First Logan and now a picture of Kaylan. This chick just messed with the wrong Frogmen. Time to call in my buddy in the FBI.”
Janus’s gaze drifted to the calendar. Nick would have her letter right now. She’d sent it to Victor, then had him send it from Moscow. No way the envelope could be traced back to her exactly. No fingerprints. No DNA. Nothing. She’d even selected the paper from the stash she’d purchased in a Ukrainian market. Let him wonder how much she knew and where she stalked him.
He would not ruin her life. Not again.
She poured vodka in a tumbler and gazed around her new home. She’d furnished the rooms exactly as she liked them. She’d purchased new furniture, a new coverlet, and pillows for the bed. Money was no object.
Men always wanted weapons, and her boss knew where to find them. She offered her clients an endless supply, terrorists or politicians. Sometimes the line blurred. If she pocketed some of the profit now and then, the big man remained oblivious. His bank accounts overflowed.
She’d alerted her boss. The team had returned. From what she’d gathered, one appeared injured and might possibly lose a leg. She had a man on it, a rather handsome one at that. It amazed her how talkative nurses could be over coffee with a handsome stranger after a long night on shift.
She took a swig of the vodka, thankful for the taste of home. She really did prefer the bourbon, though. Or maybe a nice glass of wine charged to the boss’s account.
Her chest tightened. They were too close, and he breathed down her neck like a dragon, one step away from writing her death sentence. How to take care of both problems?
She wouldn’t live the rest of her life behind bars, and the SEAL team knew too much, would chase her to the ends of the earth until they ended their mission. Maybe it was time to look into real estate on a remote beach somewhere.
But if she couldn’t run, one option remained. She could run right to the thing the team wanted most. Her boss.
Her hands began to shake. If only she were as noble as Andrei, as kind, as self-sacrificing.
A car jerked to a stop down the street, startling her. The glass slipped from her hands, shattering into prismatic shards. Her heart raced and she gripped her chest.
Enough.
Nothing could change the past. And nothing could save her now. But she’d vowed long ago that no man would ever control or manipulate her again. If she couldn’t scare Nick away, then she would do whatever necessary to ruin his life and her boss’s in the process.
It was the only way.