The Listener. Kay David
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set everything up and be ready by lunchtime. Each hot dog they sold meant more money for Angel’s Attic.
The event had originally been planned to raise community awareness about the local police force and the Emerald Coast SWAT team, but Lena had persuaded her guys—in no uncertain terms—that the gathering also presented the perfect venue to help the shelter. They hadn’t argued.
Maria put away the vacuum cleaner and called up the stairs, one more time, for Christopher. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave in five minutes. Come on down, honey!”
She disappeared into her bedroom to run a brush through her hair and change into a sundress, then she came back out, purse in hand. Christopher was waiting by the stairs, a churlish frown on his face, which Maria ignored. “Ready to roll?”
“I don’t wanna go to this dumb thing.” Under the backward brim of his black baseball cap, his brown eyes were full of sullen anger. Not that many years ago, he’d stared at her in adoration. She found herself wishing he was four again, instead of fourteen.
“Then why don’t you stay home?” Maria spoke calmly as she walked toward the front door. “I told you last night you didn’t have to go.” She turned as she reached the entry. “But if you stay here, you cannot have friends over and you cannot use the phone.”
“I don’t wanna stay here if I can’t talk to anybody.”
She waited by the door and looked at him. “Well, I’m sorry, but those are the rules. You decide.”
Instead of answering her, he glared a bit more, then he crossed the room and pushed past her to walk through the door. With a sigh, Maria followed.
Twenty minutes later they arrived at the camp. Located just outside of town, the setting provided the local police force and, more importantly, the SWAT team with everything they needed to keep in shape, including a work-out facility, a running track and a mock setting where they practiced hard tactic entries. In the rear, there was also a well-equipped shooting range. Lena had brought Maria out once and given her a tour. As she pulled into the gate and began to look for a parking spot, Maria could see they’d added several more buildings since she’d been there. Two enormous white tents had been set up as well, obviously for the rally.
Angling the car under the shade of a nearby oak tree, Maria stepped out of the Toyota and opened the trunk. She’d brought boxes of buns and paper plates along with several cases of chili that she’d purchased the night before. Christopher’s door slammed just as she bent down to lift out the first carton. She called out to him. “Would you come back here and get one of these, please! You can wander off as soon as I get this stuff out.”
He didn’t answer, and yelling his name again, louder than was necessary, Maria leaned over the side of the car. “Christopher! Come back here and—”
Her demand broke off in midsentence. Christopher was nowhere to be seen, but the towering shape of Ryan Lukas stood beside the fender of her car. He was dressed in his SWAT uniform—a tight black T-shirt and black pants—and he looked every inch the intimidating man that he was. Tall, powerful…scary.
“Lieutenant Lukas!” Maria straightened and met his eyes, feeling her face go warm as she did so. Had he heard her yelling for her son? He’d probably grab the opportunity to ask if she did counseling for children. “I’m sorry,” she said stiffly. “I didn’t see you standing there—”
“Lena sent me out here to look for you,” he said. “She said you had some boxes to carry over to the booth. I can get them.”
It wasn’t a very gracious offer, but under the circumstances, Maria understood. “Yes,” she said, “I do. This is all the food for the hot dog concession…”
He didn’t wait for her to finish but reached into the trunk. Lifting out the largest and the heaviest of the cartons, he tucked it under one arm then reached in and got a second. “I’ll be back for the rest.”
Standing by the car, Maria watched him walk away. Like some kind of dark ghost, he moved without making a sound then disappeared into the sparse crowd. It was uncanny. One minute he was there and the next he was simply gone.
Deciding she’d just as soon carry the rest by herself, Maria pulled out the remaining paper plates and napkins then closed the trunk. Juggling the bags, she started toward the back of the area, one eye looking for Christopher and the other searching for the booth. She found the latter first.
Ryan was talking to Lena as Maria walked up.
“I told you I’d come get those.”
Her gaze met his over the awkward bundles. “It wasn’t a problem,” she answered. “I didn’t want to put you out.”
Ryan’s eyes sparked, then he turned abruptly to stalk away from the booth. The two women watched him blend into the crowd.
“Does he always do that?”
“Act obnoxious?” Lena shook her head. “No, actually, he’s a very nice guy. Or at least he used to be before—”
“That’s not what I meant.” Maria tilted her head in the direction he’d taken. “I mean how he disappears like that. I see him walk away then all at once, he’s gone…. Poof!”
Lena laughed, then raised one eyebrow. “It’s a SWAT trick,” she said. “We have special ploys, you know.”
Maria added her own laughter to Lena’s and they began to set up the booth. As she worked, Maria thought about Lena’s words. In a lot of ways, the SWAT team was special. The stress they faced every day would have killed some men, but time and time again, as Maria had counseled various members, she’d come to realize they actually thrived on the intensity. They were a breed apart. As the sniper of the team, Ryan Lukas was at the top of that chain. He had to be. No other kind of man could have done what he did and survive.
The question was…would he survive?
RYAN STRODE to the other side of the facility, past the training building and through the crowd. He was in charge of a lecture about weapons later on and he had to make sure everything was ready. His mind wasn’t on the guns or targets, though. It was back in the hot dog booth with Maria. When Lena had told him she was coming and asked if he’d go help her, he’d wanted to scream, “Hell, no!”
But he hadn’t, of course. Lena was his boss and she was already very unhappy with him. She’d made it a point to come by his desk the afternoon following Maria’s appearance at the station to tell him so.
He took the well-worn path toward the range and the unexpected image of Maria Worley’s shoulders came to him. She’d been wearing a sundress, a white, backless thing that tied around her neck, leaving her shoulders exposed. Without even knowing why, he thought of Ginny. Maria Worley was dark and petite with deep-brown eyes. Ginny had been a blonde, blue-eyed, and plump—she’d always battled her weight, bemoaning every inch. But he’d loved her curves and softness.
Without any warning, a searing pain shot through his chest. It wasn’t physical, he knew at once, but it was real all the same. He gasped and stopped abruptly, reaching out blindly toward the nearest tree. It was a pine, and the rough sticky bark bit into the skin of his palms. He could see Ginny perfectly. Every inch of her, every little detail, even the mole she’d had in the center of her left calf. He tried to shut off the memory but the harder he tried, the more real it became.
Finally, he did the only thing he could—he relaxed and concentrated on the image instead of fighting it. Like a wisp of smoke, it disappeared. He took a deep breath and then another, lifting his head once more.
A kid stood on the path in front of him.
About thirteen, maybe fourteen, he had on a black T-shirt, baggy jeans and a baseball cap. His hands were stuffed into his pockets as he stared at Ryan with a scared expression. “Hey, man, you okay?”
The youngster seemed familiar, but Ryan couldn’t place him. Did he belong to one of the team members? Ryan tried to