Code Name: Nanny (SEAL and Code Name #5)(41)

“Top-notch, compadre. No pain anywhere.” The lie flowed easily, but neither man believed it for a second. “I need an update on the clinic blueprints. I don’t want any surprises down in Mexico, so I need to know all renovations or structural changes that have been completed. And while you’re doing that hacker-magic of yours, see if you can scout out the placement of any security cameras and alarm systems. I should be able to spot most of them, but I’m taking nothing for granted.”

Izzy chuckled. “You don’t want to be a guest of the Mexican Federales for the next ten years?”

“Sorry, I’ve got better plans. As soon as I wrap up this mission for Senator Winslow, I’ve got two weeks’ leave and I’m chartering a boat in Tortola. Are you up for some sun, sangria, and a few adventurous ladies in search of a clothing-optional escape?”

“Name the place and the time. Just get that leg of yours in shape first,” Izzy said quietly. “And you’ll have your blueprints in an hour or so.”

“Show-off.” Still smiling, Gabe hung up. Ishmael Teague was a genius at finding things most people considered invisible. If any plans were available, he would find them.

Focusing, Gabe sank into another deep knee bend. Remaining crouched, he ticked off the seconds on his watch.

The burn grew to an angry throb as he approached two minutes, but Gabe gutted out the pain, blocking the memories of the high-altitude, low-opening jump that had gone wrong months before, landing him on a rocky slope rather than a deepwater lagoon off the coast of Australia. He’d nearly bought it on that jump, thanks to an inexperienced pilot.

But Gabe Morgan was an expert at knowing his own limits. He took everything right to the edge, and was pale and sweating when he extended his bad leg into a lunge position.

Experience had taught him that pain could be your friend if you let it, and his pain was going to get him strong again, back into the action where he belonged. With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and kept right on counting.



“Cara?”

Pacing the room, Cara cradled her phone. She was too distracted to read and too worried to sleep. “I’m still here, Tate.”

“Are the girls asleep?”

“For an hour.” Cara stopped at a big glass table covered with photographs. She smiled at the picture of Audra tying her first fishing lure and Sophy riding her first bike. Memories washed over her in waves as she realized how soon her precious girls would be grown up, waving her good-bye.

“Honey?”

“Sorry, Tate. I’ve just been thinking that I may take some time off. The girls need me now and I’m always missing some event or other. San Francisco can get along without me for a few years.”

“You love your job, Cara. It’s not something you can walk back into easily.”

“I know that.” She cradled a photo of Audra and Sophy riding horses on Tate’s ranch in Wyoming. “But it’s a possibility.”

“You know I want you and the girls with me. But if I run, there will be impossible hours, endless stress, and more impossible hours.”

Cara closed her eyes tightly. “You have to run, Tate. You’ll be our best president.”

“You and my mother keep telling me that, but I’m not so sure.” Tate sighed. “I should probably go. I have a six A.M. conference call.”

“Get some rest.” Cara’s voice was husky. “Think of me, wrapped around you.”

“If I think of that, I’ll never sleep. By the way, I called Amanda and apologized abjectly for cutting her off. She suggests that you take the girls up to the ranch for a few days. I didn’t tell her that we’ll be there this weekend.”

Cara smiled. Amanda Winslow’s charm was as legendary as her stubbornness. No mother had done more to further her son’s career or welcome a new woman into his life. “I’ll call her tomorrow and say we’ll set a day. The girls will love seeing her.” Cara smiled. “Did she ask you about my dress again?”

“Only a thousand times.” Tate’s voice fell. “Forget about the dress and think about how much I love you. I wish I didn’t have to wait for breakfast to see you, so I’m going to turn off the light and think about when we finally stop this charade and sleep in the same bed.”

The line went dead, and Cara put down the phone, listening to the silence of the house. For some reason the stillness left her uneasy, filled with fears too vague for names.

Instead of sleeping, she decided to check on Audra and Sophy, then make sure that all the doors and windows were closed. FBI agents were trained, tough professionals, but no one could be as paranoid as a mother.





[page]chapter 15

The next morning, clouds piled in from the west as Summer turned up the front drive. Audra dumped her backpack on the seat and slid in, making room for Sophy, who carried Liberace in a cage. She’d pleaded with her mother for permission to take the pet to class for show-and-tell, but Cara had explained that ferrets were currently illegal in California. Though the regulations were based on misinformation, it wouldn’t do to flaunt them, and Sophy had finally agreed to take a stuffed corduroy ferret. It wasn’t half as much fun—but at least it wasn’t illegal.

She still insisted that Liberace go along for the ride, safe in his cage.