Her Baby’s Bodyguard Read online

  A blur of movement to his left caught his eye. He turned and focused on the ruins that were partway down the slope. A rabbit crept from behind a crumbled wall, poked around nervously for a few minutes and disappeared beneath a bush.

  Eva had been scared, too. Not timid like that rabbit, but just as conscious of the danger she’d been in. He’d realized that when they’d met. He’d seen proof of it again in her paranoid reaction when he’d found that disk.

  But instead of making allowances for her less-than-rational state of mind, he’d kissed her.

  He banged his head against the wall again. What had happened to his self-control? His honor? He’d known kissing her was wrong, but he’d enjoyed every second of it. To make matters worse, so had Eva. She sure didn’t kiss like a scientist. There had been nothing cool or intellectual about her response. It was just as he’d suspected; she had plenty of passion. Too much passion for a man like Burian.

  Jack thought of the photo he’d seen during the mission briefing. Burian Ryazan was white-haired, only a few inches taller than Eva and was lean to the point of gauntness. His features were honed sharp, his mouth a carved line, his eyes dark and calculating. He did look as if he would consider his child a possession. He’d likely regarded Eva that way, too. Jack couldn’t picture the two of them together. Correction, he didn’t want to picture them together. She deserved someone closer to her age, someone more physically compatible who could match her passion….

  But it wasn’t going to be Jack. No, sir. He knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t a nesting woman with a readymade family. Once this mission was over, he’d never see her again. Which was good. For both of them.

  The rabbit bounded out from the concealment of the bush and streaked across the hillside. Jack froze, his senses going on full alert.

  A new shadow had appeared halfway between the pine grove and the tower. Jack regarded it for a full minute, trying to determine if it was the result of the setting moon lengthening the shadow of one of the boulders. It remained motionless, but something about the shape wasn’t right.

  He crouched to make himself less of a target and brought his rifle to his shoulder. A thorough scan of the hillside revealed nothing else out of place. There was still no sound of an engine or anything mechanical. To be on the safe side, Jack took aim at a spot just behind the boulder.

  An animal howled from the shadow Jack was targeting. Precisely five seconds later it howled again. And there was something familiar about it….

  Jack blew out a relieved breath and eased his finger away from the trigger. “That’s one lovesick coyote, junior,” he called softly.

  Tyler moved from behind the boulder and stepped into the moonlight. “It was a wolf.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Should have known a city boy like you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.” He climbed the hill and stopped a few feet from the base of the tower. “Any problems?”

  “No, the area’s clear.”

  He turned to look behind him. “I saw the glint of your rifle. I wanted to make sure whose it was before I showed myself.”

  Jack took another look around, but he could see no one else. “Where are the others?”

  “Lang is ditching the truck. Dunk and Gonzo are doing a sweep of the vicinity. They should be here in a few minutes.”

  “How’d you manage to lose the pretty blue chopper?”

  “We found a spot just past a bridge on the side of a gorge and faked engine trouble. They came in close enough to shoot our roof off, so I was able to take out their tail rotor.”

  “That would have done it.”

  “Yeah. They spun right into the side of a cliff. Judging by the size of the fireball on impact, they didn’t have that much fuel left.”

  “You said they targeted the roof?”

  “It might have been accidental. There was some bad wind sheer over the gorge that made the chopper pitch. That old canvas shredded so fast. The wind did most of the damage.”

  “With the roof gone, they would have seen that Eva and the kid weren’t on board.”

  “Maybe. Duncan couldn’t tell whether or not they got a transmission off before they crashed. He was busy with damage control.”

  “What happened?”

  “His computer took a couple of rounds right through the hard drive. Good thing he saved the radio.”

  “Damn, that’s too close. It’s lucky we bailed.”

  “Yeah. When Dunk saw what they’d done to his toy, he used some language no lady should hear.” He paused. “Where is our lady, anyway?”

  Jack tipped his head toward the doorway. “Inside.”

  “Can’t stand your company already, huh?”

  “She’s breast-feeding the kid.”

  “Whoa.”

  Jack snorted. He’d said the same thing the first time. “Hey, Eva,” he said, turning his head toward the doorway. “We’ve got company.”

  There was no reply.

  Jack moved to the threshold and spoke again. “Eva? It’s okay. They’re the good guys.”

  Instead of Eva’s voice, he heard a faint whimper from Katya. He slung the strap of his rifle on his shoulder and pulled his penlight from his pants pocket. “Stay here and keep watch, junior,” he said, ducking his head as he stepped over the threshold.

  He allowed his eyes a few moments to adjust, and then he moved toward the pallet in the corner. Katya continued to whimper, with still no sound from Eva. He switched on his light, directing the narrow beam toward the dark shape that lay on the blanket.

  Eva was on her side, her eyes closed, her head pillowed on her bent arm while her other arm was curled around the baby.

  Jack knelt beside her and pressed the underside of his wrist to her forehead to make sure she didn’t have a fever. He hadn’t found any hint of infection when he’d examined her wound, but that had been several hours ago. Thankfully, her skin felt cool. Her breathing was normal, too. By all appearances, this was a healthy sleep.

  She stirred at his touch, her eyelids fluttering. “Jack?”

  “Shh, it’s okay,” he said. He stroked a lock of hair off her cheek before he withdrew his hand. “I just wanted to tell you the guys are here.”

  “They made it? Are they all right?”

  “Uh-huh. Go back to sleep.”

  “Katya…”

  He placed his hand over Katya’s stomach. The baby immediately quieted. “Don’t worry. She’s fine.”

  Eva’s mouth moved into a smile that lasted only a moment before her lips parted on a delicate snore.

  Jack played the light over her more closely. She must have fallen asleep as soon as she’d finished feeding the baby. She’d fastened her blouse, but her sweater was still pulled up. He set the flashlight on the blanket and carefully tugged down her sweater. He clenched his jaw, ordering himself not to linger, as his knuckles grazed the side of her breast. Moving quickly, he drew the sides of her coat closed and then pushed himself back to his feet.

  As soon as he’d stood, Katya began fussing again.

  “Something wrong, doc?” Tyler asked, ducking his head as he stepped through the doorway.

  “Shh. Don’t wake her up.”

  “Sounds like she’s already awake.”

  “I mean Eva,” Jack whispered. “She’s exhausted.”

  “No wonder, having to put up with that kid. What a set of lungs on her.”

  Eva began to stir again. Before she could open her eyes, Jack leaned over to set down his gun and scooped the baby off the blanket. Katya switched from whimpering to gurgling. He waited until Eva’s breathing had steadied once more. Then he moved toward Tyler. “All babies cry,” he said, unconsciously repeating what Eva had told him the day before. “It’s one of the ways they communicate.”

  Katya squirmed, drawing up her knees.

  He hooked his hands beneath her armpits and held her away from him so he could look at her. Moments later, she emitted a loud belch.

  Tyler snickered. “So, what�
��s she saying now?”

  Jack grimaced. Katya’s belch had been accompanied by a mouthful of milk. It splatted down her stomach to drip on the toes of his boots. “Geez, do you think she’s sick?”

  “You’re the medic. You tell me.”

  “For some reason, none of my field manuals included any chapters on barfing babies.”

  “At least she’s quiet.”

  That was true, Jack thought. She actually seemed pleased with herself, so maybe she wasn’t sick. “Why aren’t you on watch?”

  “Duncan and Gonzo are out there now. Lang was working his way up the hill when I came inside.”

  “Okay, then make yourself useful by holding the kid for a while,” Jack said, thrusting the baby toward Tyler.

  He backed up fast and held up his palms. “No way. She’s your baggage.”

  “She likes to be held. It keeps her quiet.”

  Katya drew up her knees again. Jack angled her away so whatever came up with the belch wouldn’t hit his boots this time, but it wasn’t a burp that her efforts produced.

  Tyler recoiled. “What’s that smell?”

  “Thought you’d be able to recognize it, junior, seeing as how you were raised on a ranch.”

  He fanned the air with his hand. “That’s even worse than the noise. How can women want those things?”

  Duncan moved through the doorway. “The chopper’s on its way,” he said. “ETA fifty minutes.” He stopped. “Hey, Father Goose. Everything okay?”

  “Keep your voice down,” Jack said. He glanced back at Eva. Though he’d left the flashlight so that its beam wouldn’t shine on her face, it gave enough light for him to see that her eyes were still closed. “Eva needs her sleep.”

  “She sure looks out of it. What’s wrong with her?”

  “Just exhaustion. Producing milk takes a lot of energy.”

  “Whoa,” Duncan muttered. “That’s too much information, even for me.”

  Katya gurgled and kicked her legs, drawing Jack’s attention back to the baby. “You said fifty minutes, Dunk?”

  “Right.” He looked around. “Man, did something die in here?”

  “The kid dropped a full load,” Tyler said.

  “It’s going to be a long chopper ride if no one cleans that up.”

  Jack held Katya toward Duncan. “Nice of you to volunteer.”

  “Forget it.”

  “Don’t look at me,” Tyler said quickly. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  Jack glanced at Eva again. The easiest course of action would be to wake her up so that she could change Katya’s diaper, but he didn’t want to do that. She was going to need all the strength she could manage once they got out of here. He nodded his chin toward the pack where he’d stored the baby’s supplies. “Come on, guys, how hard could it be?”

  The orchard was in bloom. The sight of the blossoms drew Eva forward, through the hay field to the split rail fence. She climbed over the top rail and lifted her face to the breeze. This was how home felt. It must be close.

  Eva tumbled to the ground on the other side of the fence and ran between the rows of trees. Petals drifted past her face like velvet snowflakes. She spread her arms and turned up her palms to catch them. She wanted to show them to Grandma. She’d been away so long and couldn’t wait to get home.

  Voices drifted with the petals. Men’s voices. Her feet slowed. The ground turned soft, pulling her feet deeper with each step until she could no longer run. She fell to her knees and started to crawl, but her hands slipped on the carpet of petals and her face hit the ground. She spread her fingers and stretched forward. Just a bit farther. Only a little bit more. She was so close….

  A baby was crying somewhere among the trees. Eva stopped and looked behind her but saw only blackness. Where was the baby?

  Now she smelled pine needles, not apple blossoms. The ground was scratchy beneath her cheek and cold stone slid beneath her fingertips.

  Stone. The tower floor. Eva came awake with a start, her heart pounding. She pulled her hand back on the pallet and spread her fingers over the empty blanket. Katya.

  The baby wasn’t crying. She was making the cooing gurgle that meant she was happy. Eva could hear Jack’s voice, as well as the voices of the other members of the team. They were speaking too quietly for her to make out their words. There didn’t seem to be any urgency in their tone.

  She braced her hand beneath her and sat up. The men were standing in a group just inside the doorway. She blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted and she was able to recognize Jack’s silhouette against the starlit sky. He was holding the baby tucked to his side like a football.

  She raked her hair off her face, not surprised to notice that her hands were shaking. She wasn’t accustomed to waking up without being in reach of her daughter. Why had Jack taken her? The moonlight overhead gave enough illumination for her to see that he’d left his rifle beside the pallet. His coat was spread out on the floor, and his pack was on its side with baby clothes strewn around it, as if he’d been searching for something.

  Of course, she knew he hadn’t been looking for the disk. He knew where it was. She touched the front of her coat and traced the outline of the case. The memory of what she’d said to him earlier washed over her, along with a wave of remorse. Her accusations had been unfair. She should have realized that Jack wasn’t like Burian at all.

  A man doesn’t need an ulterior motive to want to touch you.

  But he’d done more than touch her. He’d kissed her.

  Eva rolled to her feet, impatient with herself. She had to stop thinking about that kiss. It had been wrong, a temporary lapse in judgment that wouldn’t be repeated. There were far more important things to worry about. She moved toward the doorway.

  “She dropped the mitten again,” Matheson said, bending down to pick it up.

  “You need to tie that ribbon tighter,” Jack said.

  “No way this hat’s staying on,” Colbert muttered, leaning over Katya. “There’s no place to tie the ribbon. The kid’s got no chin.”

  “One of those snaps on her slippery thing came open.”

  “It’s called a snowsuit.”

  “Whatever.” Matheson pushed at Jack’s shoulder. “Lift her up so I can reach it.”

  Jack shifted Katya to both hands and held her up so that she dangled in front of him. She obviously liked the change in position because she started kicking her feet.

  Matheson made a grab for her leg and missed. “Don’t let her do that. She’ll wriggle out of another diaper.”

  “Yeah, if that happens you’re on your own, Jack,” Colbert said. “I’m not getting near one of those things again. This was already above and beyond the call of duty.”

  Eva stared, torn between shock and amusement. The coat on the floor, the scattered baby supplies…it didn’t take a genius to add that up. It seemed that for some reason the men must have decided to change Katya’s diaper themselves.

  They were commandos, trained to handle deadly weapons with ease. The more dangerous the situation, the more competent they seemed to become. They were so quintessentially male that it was difficult to picture them undertaking a task that was so, well, tame.

  She wished she’d been awake to see it. “Do you want me to take her now?”

  Jack spun toward her so quickly that Katya’s legs flew sideways. She squealed with pleasure.

  Colbert stretched his arm and put his hand over her mouth. “Keep her quiet, Jack.”

  Any amusement Eva had felt flipped to outrage. She stepped forward and shoved at Colbert. He was too solid for her to budge, but he did lift his hand from Katya. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. “Are you trying to smother her?”

  Jack turned to place himself between her and Colbert. “Eva, we wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “It’s for everyone’s safety, ma’am,” Colbert said. “Your child can get loud when she cries. We can’t let her give away our position.”

  Eva took a few
deep breaths and bit back her protest. Her reaction had been instinctive, not logical. None of these men would deliberately try to harm Katya. In her brain, she knew that. They’d just been taking care of the baby. As Jack kept telling her, they were on her side. And Colbert was right. They couldn’t let Katya cry.

  “I understand,” she said, striving to sound reasonable, “but muffling her like that wouldn’t quiet her. It would probably only upset her more.”

  Jack pulled the baby against his chest and patted her back. “She wasn’t crying, anyway. That’s one of her happy sounds.”

  The other two men exchanged looks. “Sounds as if he knows more than he let on,” Matheson said.

  Colbert nodded. “What did I tell you? It’s those dolls. Effective conditioning tools.”

  “Guys…”

  “Maybe you could sing her a lullaby, Father Goose.”

  “Nah,” Matheson said. “Don’t you remember that karaoke bar in Yokohama?”

  “Right,” Colbert said, ducking his head to step through the doorway. “Hearing Jack sing would make the kid screech for sure.”

  Matheson followed. Gonzales’ and Lang’s voices came from the shadows outside the tower. The men spoke briefly, but as before, they pitched their voices too low for Eva to make out their words.

  Jack cleared his throat. “Good news. Our evac is on its way.”

  He’d spoken so matter-of-factly that it took a second for his words to sink in. When they did, the relief was so strong her knees buckled. She slapped her hand against the wall for support. Thank God, it was almost over. She looked outside, but she could see nothing in the sky except stars. She couldn’t hear anything, either.

  “That’s why we figured we’d better, uh, change the baby.”

  She returned her attention to Jack and smiled. “Thank you. Katya hates being wet. It was really nice of you. I would have done it myself except I must have dozed off.”