No Remorse (Manhunters 2)

“Is that why you don’t go back to the States? Because you’re afraid she’ll sue for custody again?”

“No.” This was a hard one. He hated admitting it. “It’s because she currently has custody. She pulled strings, filed a suit, and won custody after she’d discovered she couldn’t use the Hague loophole. Luckily for us, Costa Rica doesn’t go out of their way to enforce the Hague Convention. Especially not against Costa Rican citizens. So even though she had custody, she couldn’t use legal means to reach Bella.”

“Wow, you have this nailed down to the last detail.”

“The alternative is allowing Bella to grow up abused and neglected. Not an option.”

“You think those guys from tonight were hired by Seaver?”

He didn’t answer immediately. He didn’t suspect Everly anymore. It didn’t make sense to go to those extremes against her own people when she could have just taken Bella while Austin was caught up with the guests. But his gut told him something still wasn’t quite right.

“Decker’s searching for a trail from this security team to Seaver. Even if he doesn’t find one, I’m going to have to put travel on hold for a couple of years. The company won’t grow, but I’m not going to risk this again. I’ll just have to hope the competition doesn’t catch up. If it does…” He shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to come up with another idea. Once the primaries are over, win or lose, she won’t be interested in Bella anymore. Life can go on.” He heaved a sigh, surprised how good it felt to get all that out in the open. “Ready to jump ship now?”

“I don’t shrink from opposition.” She twisted a little more to face him but kept one hand on the bed beside Bella. She crossed her ankles, exposing duct tape on her foot. “But I won’t be treated like an enemy from within my own camp either.”

“What in the hell is that?”

She looked down. “I made a few butterfly bandages out of the duct tape, padded it with toilet paper, and wrapped it so I can walk on it.”

“Everly.” He met her gaze. “Will you go to the ER if I take you?”

“I don’t need the ER. I just need a few days to heal.”

He shook his head. “Did you take something for pain?”

“Couldn’t find anything in my bathroom.”

He turned into his bathroom and searched the cabinets. “I’ll have one of the guys go pick something up.”

“No. Don’t. I can get some tomorrow if I need them.”

“Bingo.” He found a bottle of Tylenol and shook out two pills, then filled a glass on the counter with water and brought them to her.

“It’s not that bad.” But she stood and took the pills.

Austin caught sight of a shadow on the left side of her jaw. After she downed the pills and finished the water, Austin turned her head to see her face. “Shit. When did that happen?”

“The first guy caught me off guard.”

He ran his thumb over the bruising. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault. One person can only do so much.”

He sighed and let his fingers slide across her jaw. Then he slid them underneath her hair and cupped her neck. “Your turn. How in the hell did you turn out tough as nails?”

“I spent several years in Israel off and on during the Israel-Gaza conflict. Most of that time, I was in Gaza and Sinai. I spent long days wandering while my mom worked in field hospitals. She was supposed to be homeschooling me, but she was gone from sunup to sundown. And after sundown, there was very little light. Most of the places we stayed didn’t have electricity. I don’t remember dates, but I was in the region for about three years.”

Bella rolled to her side, murmuring something unintelligible. Everly set the water glass on the nightstand and rubbed her back. When she quieted again, Everly continued while she watched Bella sleep.

“I was young and looked more like a boy than a girl until my midteens. Kids are mean everywhere, but I was a lanky, awkward American girl. That made me evil incarnate. I got my share of bullying. I’d had the opportunity to see my share of fighting—among soldiers, among civilians, between soldiers and civilians. One day, I’d gotten a particularly bad beating by some Palestinian kids who learned my mom was a nurse treating Israelis. She’d treated plenty of Palestinians too, but they didn’t care. One of the doctors working with my mom was livid. His brother was with Mossad.” She smiled over her shoulder. “Long story short, I got private lessons in Krav Maga from the very best.”

Austin was riveted to the story, even while wondering how much of it was true. He was exhausted from the stress and tired of resisting the urge to touch her. He took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her, whispering, “Go on,” in her ear.

She rested one hand on his arm at her waist. “I’ve always been athletic. Had great hand-eye coordination, ran really fast. It’s just the way I was made. I caught on quick, and Mossad soldiers thought it was great fun to watch me whip the asses of their teammates.”

The image made him smile.

“Then my body got a dose of hormones. And it didn’t take me long to realize that fighting wasn’t just for fun anymore. It became the only way I could protect myself. Fighting gave me confidence to do things I never would have tried otherwise. Out of everything I learned living overseas in the worst situations, fighting is still the most valuable. One I wouldn’t trade for anything.”