Homeland Security (Defenders of Love Book 2)

  Homeland Security

  Carolyn LaRoche

  This is a work of fiction. All people, places and

  events are products of the author's imagination

  and are used in a story of fiction.

  None of the contents should be

  construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events,

  locations, organizations or persons,

  alive or deceased, is completely coincidental.

  Homeland Security

  Copyright 2015 Carolyn LaRoche

  Edited by: Allie Kincheloe

  Cover by: Allie Kincheloe

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may

  be used or reproduced in any method, electronic

  or print without written permission,

  with exception of brief quotations for the purpose of reviews

  Chapter One

  Katie glanced up at her rearview mirror and tried to ignore yet another burst of panic. The same dark sedan that had been following her since she left the hospital still tailed her.

  "It's probably just one of Nathan's goons playing a little cat and mouse game."

  Her ex-fiancé couldn't seem to leave her alone despite the fact that he had left her. After nearly two months, he shouldn't care what she did, no matter how powerful his political family ties. Yet the same car that had followed her yesterday had returned.

  Following a zigzag route through the beach rental neighborhood, she made a quick turn on Seventeenth Street at the surf shop. The dark car stayed behind her. She hit Pacific and drove down to Second Street, twenty nine blocks in the wrong direction and still the car remained. Making a U-turn at the playground, she headed back the way she had come. Right before she turned down Atlantic Avenue the car finally disappeared from view.

  "Give it a rest Nathan, will you?" she yelled into the mirror. "You got what you wanted! Mandy is all yours now."

  After picking up her whole life and moving from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains all in the name of love, a diamond ring she would never look at again and a damaged heart were all that remained of her relationship. The only friend she had made in Virginia Beach would soon be the new Mrs. Nathan Marks. If not for the job that she had truly grown to love—and a hefty lease break fee on her condo—Katie would have tucked her tail between her legs and headed home to Staunton weeks ago.

  She pulled into the underground garage and found her favorite parking spot right by the elevator. Grabbing her purse off the seat, Katie locked the vehicle and stepped into the elevator. Things were quiet when she reached her floor yet something felt... wrong.

  "It sure would be nice to have something to come home to." Katie turned the key in the lock. "Maybe I should get a cat." The dead bolt didn't slide. Had she forgotten to lock it when she left? Mornings didn't work for her—it wouldn't have been the first time she forgot to lock her apartment properly. The door swung open. Katie half expected to see... well, she had no idea what she expected but only her empty condo greeted her.

  Stepping inside, she quickly locked the door and dropped her bag on the table with her keys. The promise of a hot shower and some cozy flannel pajama pants drew her to the bedroom where she stripped and turned on the hot water, letting the bathroom fill with steam. Ten minutes later she stood in her kitchen opening a frozen pizza, hair wrapped in a towel, when a noise in the hall outside the door caught her attention. All the little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and gooseflesh ran up and down her arms.

  "It's probably just Mrs. Ranier." Not really believing herself, Katie slipped over to her front door where she peered out through the peep hole. The hall looked deserted. "I need to stop watching so much Law and Order."

  To be on the safe side she reached to flip the dead bolt. The door slammed open with a crash, knocking Katie to the floor. The towel fell over her eyes. When she finally got it off her head, she found herself surrounded by masked men carrying rifles.

  "Who the hell are you?" Her voice lacked the confidence she wanted it to have.

  "Get up!" one of the commandos ordered, shoving his gun toward her.

  "I'm not doing anything you say!" She scrambled toward an opening in the circle of legs but the men moved in closer, the barrels of several rifles now inches from her face.

  "You are under arrest for suspicion of aiding in domestic terrorism. Put your hands behind your back and roll over on your stomach," the man closest to her commanded.

  "Domestic terrorism? Are you out of your minds? I'm a nurse. The Hippocratic Oath and all that. Why would I want to hurt anyone?"

  "We know who you are, Katherine McCoy. Now do as I said or I'll be forced to treat you as a hostile prisoner."

  Prisoner?

  "You can't just barge into someone's house and take them prisoner!"

  "We can and we are. Now are you going to roll over or not?" The third man's voice held a warning.

  She was completely out of options. Rolling to her stomach, she allowed herself to be handcuffed and pulled to her feet. "Could someone at least close the door to my apartment?" she called over her shoulder as the men practically carried her out of the condo and into the elevator.

  No one replied. In fact, no one spoke as the elevator travelled to the underground parking garage. When the doors opened, commando one and commando two took her by the arms and led her to a dark sedan parked next to her little compact car. The same sedan that had followed her on the way home from work.

  "You guys have been stalking me!"

  A third commando opened a car door and the fourth said, "Shut up and get in the car."

  Katie let out a loud scream. The sound echoed throughout the garage, filling the space with her terror.

  "Shut up!" one of the men bellowed, shoving her in the back seat before jumping in beside her.

  Why didn't anyone hear her? At eight thirty on a Friday night, the ocean front exploded with happy hour goers. The one time she needed someone to be there, the parking garage echoed its emptiness. She kept yelling as the other two men jumped into the front seat.

  "If you don't stop screaming I will have to make you stop," one of the guys in the back seat growled in her ear.

  "Yeah? How?" she demanded without thinking.

  "Don't make me show you, little girl."

  Little girl?

  She stopped yelling and looked at the four men surrounding her. "Where are you taking me?"

  "Not important," the guy on her left said.

  "I want to know." Katie's bravado surprised even her.

  "We all want to know something." The man to her right chuckled without humor. They reached the exit from the garage. The driver eased out onto Atlantic Boulevard, headed toward Shore Drive. If she could keep track of where they went, she could definitely take the police there later when she pressed charges.

  "Don't bother trying to figure it out," the driver called back to her. She saw his eyes meet those of the man on her right. They seemed to pass a silent message between them. Whatever they were not saying, it made Katie really uncomfortable.

  "Figure out what?" Katie demanded, still hoping they would tell her something. Anything.

  "Where we are going."

  Suddenly her world went black. "Why did you do that?"

  "Relax, it's only a hood. We will remove it when we get there."

  "I don't know who you freaks are but I know some very influential people. I will see to it that you all lose your badges or whatever it is you have that makes you think you can do this to me."

  The guy in the passenger seat laughed. "Yeah, we know all about your influential people. Nathan Marks is a dog. You seem like a nice lady, hard to believe you let your
self get taken in by the Marks family problem child."

  "How do you know about my relationship with Nathan?"

  "Honey, we know everything about you. Now if I were you, I would shut up and enjoy the ride. You'll get a chance to tell your story soon enough to one of our agents."

  "Agents? Who are you guys?"

  "We are just the repo crew. Easy in, easy out." The men all laughed. Terror seized her. Somehow Nathan had to be behind all of this. Things kept getting better and better. She never should have left Staunton.

  ***

  "You do realize I'm on vacation, right?" Kaiden James paced the small entry area outside the hotel's ballroom where his cousin had said his "I do's" moments before.

  "I know, James. But you are the closest available agent. I need you to go now."

  "My cousin just got married. I'm wearing a tuxedo and I am on vacation. None of those things really make me available, now do they?" Kaiden glanced at his watch, flinching a little at the tightness in his shoulder. "The reception has barely begun. I have to give my best man speech."

  "Right." His boss snickered. "Because toasting a doomed relationship with a glass of bad champagne is far more important than domestic terrorism."

  "You're a real piece of work, Hunter," Kaiden scoffed.

  "I'm only being realistic. You know guys in our line of work don't stay married long."

  "Logan and Angie are different. They work together. They understand each other."

  Why did he feel the need to defend his cousin's marriage anyway? Kaiden knew first hand that no matter how well matched a couple were, when they did the kind of things law enforcement required there was no way the relationship could last. He loved his cousin and adored Logan's new wife Angelina but there was no guarantee that their marriage would work out for them in the long run.

  Nope, no guarantee at all.

  "Look, James, you knew when you signed on for this job there would be sacrifices."

  That was putting it mildly. Didn't he know better than John Hunter could have ever guessed? "I am well aware of the sacrifices, Hunter. Thank you very much."

  "Coast Guard would've been a helluva lot easier. You missing it yet?"

  It had been four years since Kaiden left his job as rescue swimmer with the Coast Guard. Making the change had been the right thing for him and his career. Just not so right for his young marriage as he soon found out. Despite the hefty raise in salary, his ex-wife had dreamed of being married to an officer in the Coast Guard, not an absentee agent of Homeland Security.

  Hunter had hit the nail on the head. His job was his life. Still, this was Logan's wedding. Logan and Kaiden were more brothers than cousins as Logan had been raised by his mother after Logan's mother died during his middle school years. There had to be another option.

  Sighing heavily, he tried one last tactic. "I'm two hours away at best. Probably more like three. D.C. is almost closer. Get one of the guys there to fly into Norfolk."

  "It's not like we have helicopters parked all over town, James." Hunter huffed indignantly. "Besides, even if we did, there's no budget anymore. I'm not the damned President you know."

  "Come on, Hunter. There has to be someone else."

  "Have you had anything to drink today?"

  "No, of course not." Too late he realized he had given the wrong answer. He should have told John he was smashed, way too drunk to stumble to the rest room let alone drive three hours across the state.

  "Then wish the newlyweds well and get your ass on the road to Virginia Beach. Consider your vacation over."

  The line went dead.

  "Damn it all to hell," Kaiden muttered to himself, dropping his cell phone back in his jacket pocket. The boss had all but given him an ultimatum. Get to Virginia Beach and handle the situation or say good-bye to his hard-won career in Homeland Security.

  Logan and his new bride would understand. Duty calls. That's what Cara would have said.

  Duty.

  He used to swear by his duty to protect the citizens of his country. So seriously did Kaiden take his responsibility to the job that he lost everything that ever meant anything to him.

  Well, not everything. Just one really important thing.

  Cara never truly understood exactly what duty meant to him.

  Kaiden sighed heavily, pushing thoughts of his ex-wife from his mind, and made his way back into the reception hall. Logan and Angie were sharing their first dance, lost in each other's eyes. He hated to interrupt such a deeply personal moment with such impersonal news but he had no choice.

  Squaring his shoulders, he made his way to the newlyweds and offered up a wan smile as he tapped Logan lightly on the arm. They stopped dancing. Angie gave him a hug and quick peck on the cheek. Logan clapped him on the shoulder. Kaiden couldn't remember a time where his usually somber cousin looked so happy or so at peace. Love had obviously been good for him.

  Give it time.

  Soon enough he would be nursing a broken heart with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Kaiden knew the routine all too well.

  "Oh, Kaiden! I am so happy you are here with us tonight." Angie's wide smile shone with admiration as she eyed him. "How is your arm these days? You know how sorry I am."

  Kaiden leaned in and kissed her. "Not another word, Mrs. James. I will be perfectly fine. It comes with the job."

  A couple of months earlier Angelina had been Lucy Taylor, former New York City cop and a member of the witness protection program on the run from a hit man. She had stumbled into Logan's life accidentally and despite several missed attempts on her life and a whirlwind fire fight at Kaiden's mother's mountain hideout, Angie had been real good for Logan. Unfortunately Kaiden had been injured in the shootout by a through and through to the shoulder. The bullet put him out of commission for a few months but he considered it all in the line of duty.

  Family duty.

  Someone really should outlaw that word.

  "It was more than your job and you know it. If not for you, I might not be here right now." Angie looked at him with sisterly love shining from her green eyes.

  Kaiden smiled back warmly. Angie filled the gap of the sister he never had. It would be nice if one James man had a happy ending.

  "Speaking of my job—" Kaiden began, then hesitated. Angie eyed him knowingly.

  "You have to leave, don't you?" she asked, a hint of sadness darkening the understanding in her eyes.

  "I'm really sorry. I …"

  "It's okay cousin. I understand. Is it a matter of national security?" Logan teased.

  "Yeah, I guess so. Isn't it always?"

  "National security?" Kaiden turned to greet his twin brother Keegan.

  "Unfortunately. Boss just called and terminated my vacation as of now."

  Keegan nodded in understanding. "Part of the job, brother. Part of the job."

  The music stopped and the DJ announced the serving of dinner. Maybe he could stick around long enough to get a little prime rib. As if on cue to his errant thought, Kaiden's cell phone began jumping around in his pocket. A quick glance at the screen announced a text message from John Hunter inquiring if he were on the road yet.

  "Could I relinquish my duties as best man to you, brother?"

  Keegan nodded, smiling. "Well, I suppose someone has to wish these two well. I think I can manage a few nice words."

  "Thanks. I really appreciate it." Kaiden shook Logan's hand and offered up a kiss on the cheek to his new cousin-in-law before turning on his heel and all but fleeing the dance floor. He almost made it to the door of the reception hall before an all too familiar voice sounded behind him.

  "And where are you off to, young man?"

  Kaiden groaned internally. He had really hoped to avoid his mother. He knew she wouldn't take his leaving the wedding for work without at least one reminder of the way his career had driven a wedge in his marriage. Of course, his mother didn't know the whole story of the demise of his relationship.

  "Ma." He turned to face the woman who had raised
him. "I'm sorry. When I didn't see you I thought you and Sam had left."

  Clara James blushed as her eyes started to sparkle. He couldn't help but notice how young and vibrant his mother seemed since meeting Sam "Sully" Sullivan at one of her "prepper" meetings.

  His mother could only be described as one of a kind. Widowed at a young age with twin toddlers, Clara had long ago decided to be ready for whatever the world tossed at her. Between her self-sufficient mountain compound and network of other "preppers", Clara could survive a nuclear bomb, an asteroid attack, or even a zombie apocalypse.

  She watched him with a grim expression. "Don't be making excuses, young man! You were trying to sneak on outta here so I wouldn't know that you were leaving Logan's wedding to go off to work."

  "Keegan told you?" Kaiden stuffed his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo.

  "Of course he did." Clara smiled at him knowingly. "But I knew it was only a matter of time. When was the last time you actually took a vacation?"

  "I'm on vacation now. Or, at least I was." Kaiden scowled. His mother's point had made been made loud and clear.

  "I don't know how I am ever going to get any grandchildren if my sons are only married to their careers."

  Kaiden shifted uncomfortably on his feet, checking his watch. The grandchildren speech always made him break out in a cold sweat. "Come on, Ma. I really have to go. Don't you worry, Logan and Angie will be on that grandchildren thing as soon as they can get away from this place."

  Clara reached up and touched her son's face with her fingertips, a mother's love shining in her eyes. "I only worry for you, Kaiden. I don't want you to be alone."

  "I'm not alone. I have you and Keegan and Logan. And now I have Angie too."

  Clara regarded her son sadly. "Not every woman is like Cara, you know."

  Kaiden avoided his mother's eyes by studying the highly shined toe of his dress shoes. If only his mother knew the truth. A truth that hurt him so much he wasn't even able to think about it let alone share it with his mother. He didn't need her pity. He didn't need anyone's pity he needed to get on the road. His phone buzzed and jumped around in his jacket again. It had to be Hunter.