Bravo, Tango, Cowboy

Chapter Two

Alonsa pulled away from Hawk and walked to the kitchen window, staring out into the darkness but seeing nothing. She felt as if someone were scraping away the lining of her heart. The phone calls always had that effect on her.

The sound of breathing behind her was the only sign that Hawk was still in the room. She gathered her resolve slowly, giving her mind a chance to crawl out of the black abyss into which the call had sucked her. When she turned around, Hawk was only a few steps away, staring at her with concern etched into the lines of his face.

He leaned against the counter. “What’s with the phone call?”

“A cruel hoax. It sounds like Lucy’s voice, but it’s not her.”

His brows arched. “You sound sure of that.”

“If it is her, it’s a recording made right after she was abducted. She sounds exactly the same every time.”

“How often do you get these calls?”

“It varies. In the beginning they came every week or two. Then they slowed down to every few months, but they’ve picked up again over the last two months.”

“Do you have a tracer on your phone?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t help. The calls last only a few seconds and the ones they have been able to trace only match prepaid cell phones from locations all the way from Florida to California.”

“Strange. Where did the abduction take place?”

“In Houston.” Alonsa seldom talked to anyone about the abduction anymore, though it had been all she could talk about for the first year. But tonight the memories were razor sharp and the need to put them into words was suddenly all-consuming.

“Give me a minute to check on Brandon,” she said, “and I’ll tell you about it.” She paused. “But I should warn you. I still can’t talk about it without getting upset.”

“I have a broad shoulder, great for collecting tears.”

“I’ll try not to drench you.”

Brandon was curled up in a soft knit throw, laughing at the DVD he’d seen dozens of times, apparently with no repercussions from his fall. She watched him for a moment, letting the reassurance of his safety sink into her troubled soul. She knew she was overprotective with him, but how could she not be under the circumstances?

Hawk was sitting at the table when she returned. She refilled both their coffee cups and joined him. It was more caffeine than she normally drank this late at night, but there was little chance she’d sleep anyway.

“Are you sure you want to hear this, Hawk? It’s not as if talking about it changes anything.”

“It could, if talk leads to the right action.”

He only thought that because he didn’t know the whole story. For that matter, neither did she. She thought back, trying to find a place to begin.

“It was five weeks to the day after my husband had been killed in New York. I buried him here in Dobbin and decided to stay on with the kids through the winter. I thought a change of scenery might help us all handle things better.”

“Makes sense.”

“I thought so at the time. My mistake. Everyone here was friendly and went out of their way to welcome us, but the only one I’d really connected with was Cutter’s Aunt Merlee. She’d taken me under her wing. Have you met her yet?”

“No, but I’ve heard about her. Linney adores her.”

“Everyone adores her. Anyway, that weekend she’d invited me and the children to visit her in her Houston townhouse so that I could take Lucy to some of the museums and child-oriented activities without having to make the long drive back to Dobbin at the end of the day. Brandon was only a year old and fussy that day, so Merlee had offered to watch him while Lucy and I took in the zoo.”

“So it was just the two of you?”

“Yes, mother-and-daughter time and Lucy was thrilled that she wouldn’t have to share me. Between the trauma of Todd’s death, the move and taking care of Brandon, I’d given her far too little of myself.”

“It must have been a hard time for all of you.”

It was still a hard time, all but unbearable on nights like this, with the sound of that voice on the phone echoing through her senses.

Keep talking, Alonsa. Get through this. You should be able to talk of it without falling completely apart. It’s been two years.

Her mind fixated on the events of that heartbreaking day, and she found small solace in remembering her daughter’s enthusiasm and laughter. “Lucy loved all the animals, but the sea lions were her favorite. It was nearing two when I told her we needed to go back to Merlee’s. She begged to see the sea lions one more time. I gave in, of course.”

If she hadn’t…No. Going over the ifs didn’t help. The counselor had worked for months to get her to move beyond that and the personal recriminations. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“While we were watching the sea lion antics, a large school group arrived and we were inundated by first and second graders. Someone pushed someone and a fight broke out. A little girl was shoved to the ground and started wailing. I went to help her up while the teachers stopped the fight. When I looked for Lucy, she wasn’t there.

“I wasn’t worried when I first lost sight of her, but then after minutes passed and I couldn’t locate her among the children, I started to panic.” Alonsa’s voice grew shaky.

Hawk stood and rounded the table, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Maybe tonight’s not the best time for this. Why don’t you get some rest, and I’ll come back tomorrow morning?”

“I’m okay.” His touch and sympathy were disconcerting in the quiet kitchen. “Do you have children, Hawk?”

“No. I was married for a while once, but no kids. I’m sure I can’t begin to understand what you’re going though.”

Yet he was here and a good listener. Or else the pain was just so overwhelming tonight she had to have the release of talking about it.

“I haven’t seen my daughter since that day at the zoo. All I get is the phone calls, the torment of her voice asking for me when I can’t go to her.”

“Surely the investigation uncovered some leads.”

“None that produced results.”

“Exactly what does the recorded voice say when you get the phone calls?”

“It’s a young girl’s voice. All she says is ‘Mommy’ and then there’s a click and the call disconnects. Craig doubts that it’s Lucy’s voice. He thinks it’s more likely some sick pervert who heard about the case at the time and gets his kicks torturing me.”

“Who’s Craig?”

“Craig Dalliers, the FBI agent who’s heading up the kidnapping investigation. He’s been on the case almost since the beginning.”

“Who conducted the initial search for Lucy, the local police or the FBI?”

“Both. The police started the process, but the FBI took over as soon as they got clearance. My husband Todd was an FBI agent killed in the line of duty.”

“I didn’t realize that.”

“How could you know?” Alonsa asked. “We’ve barely met.”

Yet here she was pouring out her soul to him in her kitchen. She was still wearing the blue cocktail dress she’d pulled from the back of her closet. He was in his tux. The bizarreness of the situation struck her and she wondered what she’d been thinking to invite him in when he’d driven her home. Still, she gave him the details of the search as succinctly as possible.

Hawk stepped away and started to pace. “What’s going on with the search now?”

“The FBI has assured me the case is still active.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t had an update in over three months.”

“Do they think the kidnapping was a revenge crime related to someone your husband arrested?”

“They did at first. Now Craig believes it was probably random.”

“What do you think?”

“I trust Craig’s judgment. I have no reason not to. He worked with Todd on a daily basis. Only…”

Only Craig, and the agents he’d assigned to help with the case, hadn’t found Lucy. The growing doubts she’d tried to deny crowded her mind. Craig had his faults, especially in the personal morals department, but he was a capable agent. Even Todd admitted that.

Hawk stopped pacing and straddled a chair next to hers. “I’d like to talk to the agent heading up the investigation.”

“Why?”

“Sometimes a fresh mind and viewpoint can help.”

“I wish I believed that, but there’s nothing to view.”

“No one disappears without a trace, Alonsa.”

But Lucy had. If there was a lead, the FBI would have found it. Having Hawk talk to Craig wouldn’t change anything and would likely just aggravate Craig and stop him from assigning the case to a top agent.

“I’m sorry, but the FBI is handling the case and I don’t see how your talking to them can possibly help.”

“It can’t hurt. A new person can spot mistakes a lot faster than the guy who’s made them.”

The comment provoked her. Hawk only knew the little she’d told him. He hadn’t been here through the months of anguish, hadn’t gone through the agony of building up hope with every minuscule lead only to have it blow up in her face. He didn’t have a clue how deeply involved Craig and his team had been in the case.

She tapped her fingers on the table’s edge. “Why would you assume they’ve made mistakes?”

“They haven’t found your daughter.”

“And you think you can?”

“Yeah. I do.”

This discussion had crossed a dozen lines she hadn’t seen coming. Did this man she barely knew really expect her to hire him to search for Lucy? A dull throb started at the back of her skull. Her stomach rolled.

The whole idea was ludicrous. Then again, what did she have to lose, other than her sanity, if she gathered hope again only to have it dissolve into emptiness? Or if she failed to give Brandon any kind of normal life because she was caught up in a revived investigation that would tear her apart on a daily basis.

And then there were the financial considerations. Hawk worked for Cutter and she was certain their services didn’t come cheap. A private investigation would require money she didn’t have because she’d already spent a large portion of Todd’s insurance on traveling the country that first year, putting up flyers and appearing on every TV station and talk-radio program that would let her plead for information about her missing child.

Yet if there was even a ghost of a chance…

She raised her eyes and met Hawk’s dark penetrating gaze. Something seemed to give way, as if the cords holding her together were beginning to fray.

“Exactly what are you suggesting, Hawk?”

“That I conduct my own investigation into Lucy’s disappearance. That you give me full access to any and all information you have or can get from the FBI. That you work with me and answer every question honestly. That you have a little faith in my ability.”

“And if you don’t find her?”

“You’ll be no worse off than you are now.”

And if he succeeded, she’d have Lucy home again. Unless…The possibilities swelled inside her and her breath burned as if she were inhaling pure acid. They’d found no trace of Lucy, but that had let her maintain the hope that Lucy was alive. What if she wasn’t? What if she’d died at the hands of some pervert? Could Alonsa bear knowing the certainty of that?

Hawk reached across the space between them and took her hands in his. “I realize you know nothing about me, Alonsa, that you have no reason to trust me, but you can talk to Cutter. He’ll vouch that I have a talent for smoking out facts where none seem to exist. I’m not bragging. It’s just how it is.”

Not bragging. Not arrogant. Just sure of himself. It went with the Special Ops territory, she suspected. It was his reason for being so quick to want to jump into this that she couldn’t decipher. And there was still the cost.

“Even if I want to hire you, I’m not sure I can afford you.”

“You won’t have to pay anything except reasonable expenses. An economy flight from time to time. A cheap hotel when the need arises. Frogmen aren’t used to first class.”

“You can’t work for nothing.”

“I can do what I want for now. Once I start the new assignment with Cutter my time for this will be limited, but I can move on this full speed until then. So the sooner we rev the engines, the better.”

He had answered all her questions but one. “Why, Hawk? Why would you do this for a virtual stranger?”

“I like the way you dance. And it’s the right thing to do.”

HAWK TOOK THE LONG way back to the Double M. Scenes from the past pummeled his mind as he drove the dark meandering roads through lonesome strands of pine. Flying over enemy territory searching for a fellow frogman who hadn’t returned from a mission. Swimming beneath the current with the body of a fallen buddy strapped to him like a second skin.

No man left behind.

He’d lived by that vow in the ragged mountains of Afghanistan and in Middle Eastern deserts so hot he’d felt as if his blood were boiling. Now he was back in America and out of uniform, but the vow seemed no less important. A little girl torn from her mother and dragged into who knew what. Didn’t Alonsa deserve to find her daughter or at least get some kind of closure?

A major concern right now was just how much of this was about him and what he needed. He’d been out of the service for months now and still he hadn’t found any kind of groove. That’s why he’d joined up with Cutter.

Becoming a SEAL had made him part of a team that tackled everything that was thrown at them with never a thought of failure. No one had been more surprised than he was to discover how much he missed being a part of that team and of something bigger than himself.

The only real drawback to taking on this case was the sizzling attraction that had hit the first moment he’d laid eyes on Alonsa. The way she’d moved on the dance floor. The way she’d felt in his arms when they two-stepped their way through the sultry country-western ballad. The way she’d looked in that chair, with her legs curled up under her. Even the way she’d poured him a cup of coffee.

Hell, everything about her turned him on.

But seducing her was not in the rules of engagement. It would make him less effective, might even complicate their relationship to the point where working together would become impossible. Worse, it would be taking advantage of her weakest vulnerability.

He’d just have to keep his libido under control, at least until the job was done. That would require seeing her without touching her on a regular basis and going home to cold showers and an empty bed every night.

And he’d thought the war zone was tough.

ALONSA RINSED BRANDON’S empty cereal bowl, placed it in the dishwasher and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She’d lain awake for most of the night, tossing, turning and vacillating between enthusiasm for Hawk’s offer and a dread that was pitted deep in her soul. A dread that made no sense.

She wanted her daughter back with every fiber of her being, prayed for it perpetually, had spent an entire year so consumed with finding her that she’d sinfully neglected her son. The belief that Lucy was still alive and that someday they’d be reunited was the glue that held her together.

But what if Lucy wasn’t?

“Mom, come see what I built.”

“Okay, sweetie. I’ll be right there.” She took her juice and ambled to the family room where Brandon had arranged his wooden blocks in a tower that reached his chin.

“It’s a skyscraped.”

“Skyscraper,” she corrected him. “A super-duper one.”

He laughed and knocked it over, scattering the blocks in every direction.

“All that work just to watch it fall?”

“Yeah. It’s fun.”

The hum of an engine in her drive sent a new wave of apprehension slithering along her nerve endings. She went to the front window and watched as Hawk climbed from behind the wheel and started for the house.

Amazingly he looked even more virile than he had last night. His jeans were worn, his shirt a black, collarless knit that hugged his hard frame, not the Western type so many of the local ranchers wore. But the boots and black Stetson insured that genuine, rugged cowboy look.

Yet something set him apart from the other men in the area. Maybe it was the cocky swagger or the determined set of his chin. And suddenly she knew why the apprehension had taken such hold of her.

Hawk was battlefield-hardened and success-proven. If he set out to do something, it wasn’t likely he’d stop until he succeeded. This time that determination would be directed full force at investigating her daughter’s disappearance. She’d finally get answers. She’d find out what happened to Lucy.

But what if the truth was more than her heart could bear?

Her fingers were clammy and her heart was in her throat when she opened the door and ushered him inside.

Chapter Three

Hawk had slept little last night. Nothing unusual for him. When his mind was in gear, his body seemed to refuel on adrenaline. It was that way for most of the frogmen he knew. Maybe that was what set them apart, a trait that had helped them make it through the initial BUD/S training and later take dangerous missions in stride.

In the early hours of the morning, his surge of energy had pushed him through an extensive online search for information on Todd Salatoya. The basic facts were easy enough to locate for someone who knew how to maneuver the intricate maze of informational sites. What Hawk hadn’t been able to find on his own, Cutter’s tech guy Eduardo had sniffed out for him. Actually, he’d waited until seven to call Eduardo. He figured some men slept.

Todd had had an exemplary record as an FBI agent, highly acclaimed. He’d been killed in the line of duty just as Alonsa had said, shot repeatedly by a drug dealer manning an AK-47. It had apparently been a brutal clash in a sting that Todd had masterminded. This time he’d made a few fatal misjudgments and the cartel had been waiting for him.

So Todd Salatoya went down on a bitterly cold winter night and never went home to his beautiful wife and two kids. Merely weeks later his daughter had been abducted from the Houston Zoo.

In spite of Craig’s insistence to the contrary, it was highly possible that the two were related—a payback against Todd’s family or a warning to other agents not to mess with the cartel. If so, Hawk might be about to open a load of trouble for himself and, worse, for Alonsa.

His insides tightened as he took the short walk from his truck to Alonsa’s front door. This definitely wasn’t what he’d expected when he’d driven Alonsa home last night. Then he’d been a man following his libido. Not that he’d be able to just turn off his sexual urges where she was concerned. Some men claimed they could. Hawk figured they lied.

What went on in the hormonal realm was beyond his control. What he did about that attraction was what mattered here. Hawk was a champion in the behavioral control game, which was why he wouldn’t try to jump Alonsa’s bones.

In the meantime, he had plenty to focus on. If there was even a chance that little girl was still alive, she needed to be returned to her mother. He’d play this as if she were alive and that any wrong move could work against finding her.

Alonsa opened the door before he knocked. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater the color of the Caribbean Sea. Her long dark hair was pulled into a knot at the back of her head with long silky strands left to hang loose and dance about her shoulders. She wore no apparent makeup but her full lips were soft and glossy. Her dark lashes curved above her bewitching eyes.

Reel it in, Hawk. This is strictly business.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME in a year that Alonsa had been forced to go over the details of her husband’s death, though it had never stopped haunting her. Still, she described the events to Hawk as precisely as possible.

Hawk listened without interruption until she’d run out of emotional steam and sank back in the big overstuffed chair by the window. She kicked off her leather slides and curled her left foot up in the chair with her.

“What I know about that night came from Craig. Before Todd’s death, I never knew much about what he actually did,” she admitted reluctantly.

“Is that because it was classified?”

“Partly, but we had decided early in the marriage that the less I knew about the danger he dealt with the better.”

“Makes sense.”

Actually they’d quit communicating about much of anything except the children those last few months, but no reason to go into that with Hawk.

“Were most of his assignments in the New York area?”

“No. He was frequently gone for months at a time.”

“That must have been hard on the marriage.”

“I stayed busy,” she said, avoiding a direct answer. Busy with her children. They’d spent hours at the park. Lucy had loved the park. She maneuvered the climbing apparatus better than the older kids and almost never fell. Once she…

Alonsa reined in the thoughts as pain threaded itself through the membranes of her heart.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Hawk said, obviously recognizing the signs of a woman about to crater on him.

She nodded her agreement. “I need to check on Brandon. I worry when he’s too quiet. There’s no end to what a curious three-year-old can get into.”

She stretched to her feet, but didn’t bother to slip back into her shoes. Her bright teal socks mocked her gray mood as she padded to the small play alcove just off the kitchen.