“Point taken,” Kenton responded.
“How are you managing with the insta-family?” Patrick asked. He had been a father longer than Anderson, with a daughter going into third grade, so he saw things from a different angle.
“It’s not like that,” Kenton was quick to say. “They aren’t my family. But I have learned that there’s no downtime with kids. I’m behind on my home improvement projects and the other things I’d hoped to accomplish while on leave.” Earlier in the day, he’d taken the girls onto the front porch with him, thinking that he’d be able to replace some boards while they played. He’d managed to remove two pieces of rotten wood, but that had been the end of it.
“Kids upset any schedule you put in place,” Anderson said. Discovering he was a dad a year or so ago had definitely changed his life. Now he was married, with a second baby on the way.
Kenton considered telling his buddies about the routines he was trying to establish but stopped himself. He’d wait until he could claim success with those things before saying anything. Today he’d had some triumphs, but he wasn’t ready to declare victory.
“Any chance we’ll meet Mia and the twins?” Patrick asked. “We’d like to.”
Did Kenton want to introduce his friends and their families to his temporary houseguests? He wasn’t sure. They weren’t his family, even if he was watching out for them. He’d had a moment, though, when Mia had walked through his front door a few minutes ago, that had seemed right, like she belonged. And for as much as he complained about the unruly dog, he’d been damned glad when Eliot had scared the delivery driver into next week. Knowing the animal would protect the kids made Kenton feel better.
“Maybe,” he said and was saved from adding to that when Colonel Schaffer and two other officers joined the call. After quick greetings, they got down to business.
“We’re still digging,” Colonel Schaffer explained, “but our best bet at the moment is the resurgence of a drug syndicate operating about fifty miles to your west. When you disrupted their pipeline on your South America mission last year, the syndicate all but disappeared. Now we have credible intel that they are back in business.”
Kenton thought about that mission. They’d spent weeks crawling through the jungle, gathering data until they were ready to strike the central command of the drug syndicate. At the time, his team had thought they had cut the head off the hydra, but maybe they hadn’t.
“And attacking SEALs personally?” Anderson asked. It happened, but it sure wasn’t common.
“Our hypothesis is that they’re trying to establish a safe perimeter. Fitzpatrick was the lead on that mission. If they found out he was in their neighborhood, it seems likely they would strike. It’s an intimidation game. We’ve got the state police and the DEA watching them.”
“Pardon me, sir, but the thwarted attack on Fitzpatrick’s guests seems out of character for a drug cartel.” Anderson, the analyst of the bunch, was always willing to question assumptions. “Those guys usually take out their enemy directly. They don’t go after kids.”
“What are you thinking?” Colonel Shaffer asked.
“Just this: Our last mission wasn’t the success it should have been. The head of the child-trafficking ring got away from us, and he’s still out there. An attack on the twin girls living in Fitzpatrick’s house seems more his style. Harming the family, particularly the children, of those who have wronged him is kind of his calling card.”
“We’ve thought of that, but our sources in northern Africa believe they have his location pinpointed. We have a team moving in on him, so he’s got other problems. Besides, he has plenty of enemies. Fitzpatrick would be low on his list for retribution.”
“The data on him shows that he’s a spiteful bastard, if you’ll pardon my language,” Anderson persisted. “I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“We’ll take that under advisement,” the colonel said. “In the meantime…”
Kenton listened as his CO assigned specific tasks to Patrick, Anderson, and the other two officers on the call.
“What’s my assignment, sir?” Kenton asked. His CO couldn’t expect him to twiddle his thumbs.
“Keep yourself and the people in your house safe. I don’t want anything to distract you from that. Civilians don’t die because of our missions. Am I making myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Kenton said since he had no choice but to agree. He didn’t like not being more involved, though.
“If you notice anything out of the ordinary, contact the team immediately. We’re counting on you to protect what’s yours.”
He wanted to argue that Mia and the girls were not his. He had no connection to them… but he did feel an obligation. Nothing could happen to them on his watch. They’d had enough trauma in their lives without him and his problems adding to it.
“We’ll talk again in forty-eight hours, unless someone has something specific to report sooner.” With that, everyone signed off.
Kenton put down the pen that he’d held during the conversation. He hadn’t taken notes, but he had clicked the pen several times, almost without realizing it. One of his few nervous habits. A harmless one, even if it annoyed others.
He let the conversation play back through his head, especially Anderson’s objections to the idea of the drug syndicate as the perpetrator. While he thought, he organized the surface of his desk, carefully aligning the writing pad and the tray that held paper clips and such. His space was tidy, but his mind wasn’t.
He was getting nowhere sitting there, though. As he stood, he heard one of the twins cry. Duty called. It was a different kind of duty, but one that tugged at him nevertheless.
9
Kenton didn’t like the feel of the air. All day, dark clouds had threatened, and the wind had steadily increased. Maybe the change in weather is what had the twins so cranky. Any progress he’d felt he’d made the day before had disappeared. Even Ava, who was usually a sweetheart, wouldn’t cooperate on basic things like putting on her shoes when they took Eliot out in the backyard. Kenton had finally given up and let the girls go barefoot on the deck while he chucked a ball for Eliot to chase. Apparently, the dog knew how to do one thing. He could play fetch with the best of them.
Afternoon naps were the only part of the day that went well. The kids were out when Mia arrived home from work, giving both adults a little free time. Mia looked relieved when she got in the front door. With a smile that nearly knocked him backward, she went up the stairs, and he heard the shower running a few minutes later.
A gust of wind hit the house as they finished dinner, bringing with it the first of the rain. He dashed around the house closing windows against the cool, damp air brought by the storm. He was in the twins’ room when thunder shook the house and lightning flashed outside. A high-pitched squeal from below had him sprinting back to the kitchen.
Mia had both girls out of their high chairs and was hugging them to her as she knelt on the floor.
“Everybody okay?” he asked, coming to a stop.
“Just scared. That was close.” Just as she finished speaking, another bolt of lightning hit nearby, and the power went out.