Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(26)
He closed his eyes against his own tears. “Me, too. We all miss him, honey.”
She gulped. “Besides, he might... he might be looking for me, and I don’t want to miss him. Just in case he comes back, I mean.”
So that’s what this is about. Kelsey still believes. That damned anonymous tipster needed to come forward and admit to saving her. Only that would put Alex to rest, once and for all.
Smart or not, Mark bowed to her command. “Then why wait? Let’s get you released and on your way home right now. Are you ready to go?”
As quickly as they could get her physician to agree, Mark and Libby took Kelsey home. He sent Zack and Gabe on ahead to ensure sufficient security was in place prior to her arrival. Libby contacted Shelby so she’d be ready and waiting.
Kelsey walked as if she were a much older woman to her front door. Mark followed with her overnight bag, and another full of prescriptions and all the medical supplies the hospital sent with her.
Zack and Gabe stood in the carport, waiting. They’d driven their own vehicles and had completed a thorough security sweep of the neighborhood by then.
“Are you two ready for twenty-four-seven duty?” Mark asked on his way into the house.
“No different than the Corps,” Zack answered.
“I’m just about to walk the perimeter. It won’t take long. You want to come with and see for yourself?” Gabe asked.
“No. Go on ahead. I trust you guys. You’ve done enough deployments.”
By the looks of the place, Nurse Sullivan had taken charge inside. She’d cleaned the house, placed boot trays at the front door and cleaned the windows, judging the way they gleamed. Nice touch.
The moment Kelsey crossed her threshold Shelby took her arm and assisted her to the couch. “Welcome home.”
“Ah, it’s good to be here.”
Mark nodded for Libby to follow him into the kitchen. “Is this in any way a good idea?” he asked once they were out of earshot. “One good breeze and she’ll blow away, and did you see the way she looked down the hall? She expected Alex to be here waiting for her. She’s so broken. God, she looks like she’s been in a featherweight brawl and lost in the first round.”
“It takes time,” Libby answered gently. “She’s still in the denial phase. She’s not thinking clearly right now.”
“She reminds me of Harley. Neither of them is thinking right.””
Libby slid her arm around Mark’s waist while they commiserated together. “Maybe now that the babies are born, he’ll settle down.”
“He did sound more like himself when I talked with him this morning.” Mark pulled his wife close as he stared at the frail woman in the next room. Her splinted fingers sat like crossed pencil sticks on her lap, but at least she’d stopped peering down the hall.
How sad. Once again she had to deal with the disappointment of coming home to an empty house. Mark couldn’t begin to imagine the depth of losing his wife to natural causes, but there sat Kelsey, dealing with the murder of her beloved.
Never in a million years would he have used that word to describe Alex, but that’s exactly what he had been to Kelsey. Her knight in shining armor. Damn it to hell. Fairy tales aren’t supposed to end like this.
Mark placed a kiss on Libby’s cheek. “She does look happier.”
“You’ve got two of your best men on the job. Zack and Gabe will take good care of her. Shelby, too.”
“Then let’s go. I’ve got to get back to work.”
Libby gave Kelsey one last hug on her way out the door. “Shelby’s here to help with your morning shower and meds, but call me if you need anything, okay? I’m only a minute away.”
“I will,” Kelsey promised. “It’s nice to be home, Mark. I feel better already. Thank you.”
He gave her one last look from the front door. Shelby had taken Kelsey’s overnight bag to her bedroom while Zack studied the newly installed video camera feeds on his laptop.
Gabe had already returned from one of many perimeter walks he’d no doubt be making. He sat with Kelsey, chatting up the benefits of Whisper and Smoke, her two EOD dogs now turned into fierce watchdogs. Between them and all the other safety precaution Zack and Gabe had taken, Kelsey was in damned good hands.
And paws.
Kelsey might live in a dinky house, but her bedroom and adjoining bath were opulent. It might not explain why Kelsey still lived there, but it helped knowing she wasn’t simply content to live in a low-income neighborhood, squalor by any other name.
Whoever had done the remodeling work had enlarged the master bedroom and added an oversized and very lavish bathroom, complete with sunken tub and a glassed-in shower stall. The black tile walls and floor accented the white porcelain tub, sink, and commode. Seashells and candles lined the edge of the tub. Rolled plush black towels rested in a peach-colored wicker basket beneath the frosted window. The room was an elegant mix of feminine and masculine tastes.
A cherry wood sleigh bed situated beneath the window dominated the bedroom. Sheer drapes completed the romantic ensemble. The walk-in closet offered the same balance of masculine and feminine, lined with two bars, both filled with clothes.
Shelby ran a fingertip along the row of expensive men’s suits. Instant appreciation rose within. The suit jackets lined the ‘his’ side in order by color, coordinating slacks on sturdy hangars alongside. A variety of colored dress shirts hung inside the closet door, a cedar shoe rack beneath.