The SEAL’s Surprise Baby by Leslie North

12

Anderson waved to Jeff next door as they approached the driveway of the safe house. He’d had Violet circle their current street in loops, checking for the black SUV, before he determined it was safe to return.

“Out for a drive?” Jeff called when they got out of the car. “Beautiful day for it.”

Anderson had been so focused on their mission that he’d hardly noticed the sun had come out after a cloudy morning.

“The baby had a doctor’s appointment,” Violet said, “and then we enjoyed some time at the park.” She gave Jeff an easy smile. No one who heard or saw her would believe her words were false. She was a good operative.

“Is he okay?” Jeff’s face held legitimate concern.

“Oh, yes,” Violet responded. “He had a fussy night, and I was a little worried. New parents, you know how it is.”

“I’m glad he’s all right,” Jeff said. “Take care.”

Violet held Nate’s hand up as if he was waving at Jeff before going into the house ahead of Anderson.

“Spare me nosy neighbors,” Anderson commented after closing the door. “Nice cover, though.”

“Seemed appropriate.” She dropped her shoulder bag, where she’d stuffed the intel, on the dining room table.

As she reached into it, the doorbell rang. She froze, shooting Anderson a questioning look. He stepped to the front window and edged the drape back to see who was there.

“It’s Kelly,” he announced in an overly pleasant voice. “Hi, Kelly.” Anderson opened the door and smiled at one of the women who had brought cinnamon rolls on their first morning in the neighborhood.

“Hi, I don’t mean to be nosy, but did I hear you say the baby was sick?” Kelly poked her head in the door and spotted Violet.

Violet came from the dining room with Nate on her hip. “Not sick. Just a checkup. It’s so kind of you to inquire.”

Anderson was glad that Violet had it together. He was ready to yell at their neighbors to get off his lawn, then never open his door to anyone again. Couldn’t people mind their own damn business?

“So glad to hear it,” Kelly said. “And I wanted to let you know that we’re having a potluck in the park on Saturday at five. We do it once a month during the summer. I hope you can come.”

“We’d love to,” Violet said, her expression showing enthusiasm for the idea. “Anything in particular we should bring?”

“A side dish or a dessert,” Kelly said as she reached out to tickle Nate’s bare feet. “The neighborhood association supplies burgers and hot dogs.”

It was more information than Anderson needed or wanted. He could see good things about living in the suburbs—for most people, at least. It was a caring, family-oriented atmosphere. But, Christ, people were watching you all the time and forming judgments.

Anderson almost missed the rough-and-tumble trailer park of his youth. There, he’d known where he stood and when to expect trouble, which was often. People might have watched what you were doing, but they didn’t feel the need to comment and interfere.

Until things reached a boiling point. He grimaced, remembering days when even riding the school bus had its dangers. He’d destroyed more than one metal lunch box using it as a weapon. Living in that environment had kept him on his guard. Living in a place like this had made him lower his defenses. He’d gone soft, and he was pissed about it.

And that had cost him earlier. The beautiful neighborhood where the IDs were hidden was idyllic, but danger had lurked there as it could anyplace. Trusting appearances was always a mistake. They’d almost gotten caught, and that was his fault. He couldn’t let anything dull his senses again.

“Thanks. We’ll be there,” Violet said to Kelly as she closed the door on their company.

Anderson waited until he saw the woman cross the street to her house. “I hate living in a fishbowl. They probably know what we eat for dinner.”

“She was being nice. And maybe a little nosy, but there was no harm in it.” Violet handed Nate to him when the child reached out his arms.

“That may be true, but we’re on a mission.” He settled Nate against him, something that had become second nature. “We need to act like it.” If they’d been anywhere else in the world, he’d have drawn his gun before answering the door.

“Have I been a security threat in some way?” she challenged. “Or broken protocol?”

“No,” he had to admit. She’d been cautious, but he was rattled by their situation.

“We’ll get through this,” she said, relaxing. “Can you keep an eye on Nate until nap time? I want to look at this data more closely.”

“I’ve got him.” Anderson walked into the living room with Nate and used Wiffy to contact Allen Zimmerman again. He kept his voice low, so he didn’t disturb Violet where she sat at the dining room table.

“How’d it go?” Allen asked without bothering with a greeting. “You made it to all three locations.” Through the app on Wiffy, Rogers’s team had been able to track their movements.

“We were unable to retrieve at the last one. We had company.” He gave Allen a description of the vehicle and the man who’d been driving it. He’d wished he’d gotten closer, but he thought the man had a scar on his left cheek. That might help identify him.

“So you still need IDs,” Allen said, cutting to the point. “I’ll get some guys working on that and a new safe house for you. That one’s compromised.”

“No kidding,” Anderson said, then moderated his tone. “I’m sorry. Thanks. I appreciate all your team is doing for us.”

“Not a problem. Stay safe,” Allen said and hung up.

“Stay safe, huh?” Anderson said to Nate, who was snuggled on his lap with his thumb in his mouth. “Like I was planning to put you in jeopardy.”

Stay safeas a command always irritated Anderson. There were times in his life when he’d been reckless, but not since he’d been a wild kid from a dysfunctional family. As a SEAL, he’d learned that staying safe depended on his training and his faith in his teammates. Since neither of those had ever let him down, being told to stay safe was a waste of breath.

He'd almost screwed that up today, though. So maybe the words were a good reminder of what his duty was on this mission.

Throughout the rest of the day, Violet and Anderson traded Nate back and forth. Anderson took advantage of his kid-free time to run diagnostics on the security system and cameras. Then he spent time outside doing security checks. He had to make those trips around the perimeter of the property look as though he were doing yard work, but that was easily accomplished. He watered the shrubs in front of the house while keeping an eye on the street. He patrolled the backyard with a bottle of weed killer in his hand. No one questioned him, because he looked just like any other suburban dad.

After his final check of the property that evening, which he disguised as drinking a beer on his back deck, he went into the house and set the security system.

“Nate went out fast tonight,” Violet said when Anderson walked into the dining room. “I think he’s still tired from yesterday, but I’ll take it.”

Anderson looked at the table. She’d pushed the intel aside and had a jigsaw puzzle started. He picked up the box lid to look at the image. It was an ocean scene with a stingray swimming through the center. The puzzle was almost entirely shades of blue, which would make it challenging.

“Care to join me?” she asked, pushing out the chair next to her.

“Sure,” he said and took the offered seat. Working on the puzzle would help keep his hands and mind engaged.

“I’ve separated the edge pieces from the center ones.” She gestured to a small pile in front of her. “I like to put the edge together first.”

“I didn’t know there was a method to this.” The few times in his life he’d done a puzzle, he’d just dumped the pieces on the table and had at it.

“You bet there is,” she said, snapping together a corner. “Why don’t you flip all the other pieces over so they’re face up?”

“Okay.” He started on the task assigned to him. “Learn anything new from the intel?”

“Thinking about it,” she said, not looking up. “It’s got to percolate.” She’d used that expression when they were in Moscow, and he thought it a peculiar one… but letting ideas brew in her head worked for her. “I’m pretty sure we’re not any more unsafe here than elsewhere.”

“Not sure that’s comforting,” he commented.

She shrugged. “The truth is someone’s looking for us. We can run and hide, but it won’t last forever.”

He nodded. “We’ll have to make a stand.” He’d been thinking throughout the day about how that might work. He didn’t want it to be there—or anywhere she and Nate might be in the crossfire.

“I’m hoping to avoid that. Making a stand with…” She didn’t need to finish the sentence. Worry about Nate’s welfare had prevented any of Anderson’s plans from developing fully.

They worked in silence for a while, both of them putting pieces into place. First, they formed the stingray. After the main image was complete, that left the more challenging ocean pieces. Anderson watched Violet’s concentration as she selected pieces from the box.

“You don’t go by color,” he said, suddenly realizing that she was only using the shapes of the pieces to determine where they went.

“It’s all about patterns.” She reached for another piece. “There are only so many different shapes.”

Leave it to her to treat a jigsaw puzzle like analysis work. “So why did you have me turn the pieces right side up?” he asked.

“That was for you. I didn’t want you to feel bad when I put in the majority of the pieces. I thought seeing the colors might help even the score.”

“Competitive puzzle making?” He chuckled. “Never heard of it.”

“Anything can be a competition if one has a worthy opponent.” She lifted his hand from the table and put a piece where it had been. Before dropping his hand, she gave it a squeeze.

“I’m glad you see me as worthy.” His tone was joking, but he did like the way she perceived him.

She looked up, her eyes warm. “You’re one of the fiercest competitors I know, but you better show some hustle or I’m going to win.”

“Are you counting how many pieces you’ve put in?”

“Four-oh… make that 407,” she said as she added another piece, “which means I’m closing in on half of them.”

The way he saw it, he had two choices. He could rush to put in a few pieces, or he could use a more strategic approach, such as distraction. One definitely had more appeal than the other. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, making her laugh.

“I know what you’re up to,” she said, but she didn’t try to move away.

“Will it work?” He didn’t much care if it did, since he was enjoying the feel of her so close to him. Wanting to touch her in this way had come as a surprise. The attraction between them simmered undeniably, but there was a softness to their interactions now he’d never known before.

“It might,” she conceded, her fingers curled into his shirt, “but there’s a flaw in your plan. While I’m here, you can’t put any pieces in the puzzle.”

“Neither can you,” he pointed out.

“Really?” She half turned in his arms and snapped a piece in with a flourish. “What do you say to that?”

He pulled her tighter to him, taking her lips in a kiss that made him forget about the puzzle entirely. She looped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. He could have stayed like that forever, but eventually she leaned back.

“Maybe we should go to bed,” she suggested in a husky voice.

He’d love nothing better than to take her to bed, but worries about their safety stopped him from agreeing. “I think I’ll stay down here on the couch tonight.”

Her face was instantly serious. “Why?”

“I need to be ready if anyone tries to get in.” He’d run through what he would do to prevent a breach of the home, and he’d concluded his best line of defense was to be downstairs.

“I think we’re safe for now,” she said, repeating her assessment from earlier.

He shook his head. “You know as well as I do that we’re vulnerable. As you said, only constant movement would keep us safe, and we can’t do that.” Not with a baby in tow, he didn’t bother to add.

She dropped her head onto his shoulder. “You’re probably right. I was just… hopeful.”

“I’m not willing to risk either of you on hope.” He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her or Nate on his watch.

She stayed with him for a few minutes more, just resting against him. And it felt… nice. Finally, she lifted her head and gave him a small smile. “No putting in puzzle pieces while I’m sleeping.”

“I promise,” he said and stood, gently putting her on her feet. He gave her one more kiss and waited until she went upstairs before doing a last security sweep of the house. It was his duty to make sure Violet and Nate came out of this unharmed. He’d never forgive himself otherwise.