“We’ll wait.” Crusty nodded and the Three Musketeers found their seats.
Uh-huh. They were curious about him. He could see it in their eyes. He understood about squadron unity. He’d lived it and he missed it every single day.
Right now more than ever the craving for his old life razored through him.
Everyone sat around, no one speaking and Rick wasn’t ponying up information until he had a handle on what they wanted from him. A TV droned in the background. A phone rang at the nurses’ station. The low buzz of conversations hummed in corners of the industrial chairs.
Finally Bronco leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What’s the deal with this stalker?”
“You really should talk to David Reis at the OSI, or better yet, Nola.”
“She isn’t talking to us. Out of misplaced pride or sheer recklessness, I don’t know, but we’re worried for her.”
Why wouldn’t she tell them? That didn’t make sense. These were obviously her friends. He sorted through the events of the night and he was certain none of them could have planted the scorpions. They’d arrived before he and Nola and they’d been a fixture at a table near Carson and Nikki all evening.
Why then would she depend on a watchdog she barely knew with a broken body over her able-bodied friends? More of the pride?
Misplaced pride. Her life could well be at stake. Sure she would probably be pissed with him if she found out, but he didn’t intend to bypass help that could well keep her safe.
“The guy’s ramping up his threat level. He started out with letters. Then rigged her car to blow. When she got home, she found a box of candy on her bed, opened so that only her favorites were left in the box.”
Crusty’s foot propped on his knee twitched in perpetual itchy motion. “Sounds like this bastard is a master at psychological torture.”
“I’m not even close to finished. Next he rigged all her credit cards and bank account so she had no money. That threw me because I expected his next move to be another attempt on her life. This seemed like a step back. That made me think. Nola is very much a woman of habit. She always does things the same way. So perhaps he knew she would turn on her car by the remote control. Maybe he didn’t mean to kill her then because he knew she would use the remote. He merely wanted to scare her. That made sense, because then taking her money was a step closer because she couldn’t replace her vehicle.”
Crusty’s twitchy foot paused. “What happened after that?”
“He called, using a voice-altering device, but clearly sounded male. He made it doubly clear he’s done playing and is ready to move.”
Bronco cracked his knuckles. “Somehow he knew about the squadron gathering. God, it can’t be one of us.”
Crusty’s foot picked up its nervous energy pace again. Did the guy mainline sugar? “I’ll talk to Reis regardless. We’ve worked together on some…uh… projects before,” he finished vaguely. Apparently there was more to this guy than met the eye.
All that aside, Rick had to focus on today. A lot could happen in the twenty-four hours until Monday morning. “I want this bastard caught. I’m tired of waiting around for the cops to do nothing. And I’m tired of watching for him to make his move when Nola’s at risk every second this guy remains free.”
Bronco finished cracking the knuckles on his other beefy fist. “Dude, I’m with you on that. This sicko sounds like he enjoys the game a little too much.”
An idea came to life in Rick’s mind. His hands clenched in fists in anticipation of leveling the bastard, face-to-face.
Crusty’s foot dropped off his knee. “Whoa, are you thinking what I believe you’re thinking?”
“What would that be?”
“That you want to lure this bastard out and catch him on your own.”
“I wouldn’t kill him.” Rick held up his hands in defense—even though he wanted to throttle the stalker. But he wasn’t a lawless creep like the man who’d made Nola’s life a living hell. “That would be illegal, after all. And I’ve sworn to uphold the beliefs of my country.” As much as he wanted the man dead, he couldn’t turn his back on his honor. But he would protect those he loved.
Loved?
Loved.
Hell yes, he loved her. He loved her grit, her humor, her tender heart, her passion. Most of all he loved the way she challenged him. She was one helluva woman. And he couldn’t let another day go by without doing something to make sure this bastard left her alone.
“No, I won’t kill him unless the bastard guns for Nola first.” He thought of the sheer agony this criminal had put Nola through these past weeks. “But I will make his life hell before turning him over to authorities.”
Crusty nodded. “Then you are thinking exactly what I imagined.” He looked at pensive Mako on his left and oversize Bronco on his right. Both nodded. “Want some help?”
The camaraderie kicked right over him in a way he hadn’t felt since his days as a part of a pararescue team. He’d known he missed it. He just hadn’t realized how starved he was until this second.