In His Sights (Stealth Series Book 2) Read online

  “Hi, baby girl, are you hungry?” He put his fingers to his mouth in a feeble attempt to sign.

  Anya kicked her feet, sending one of her sandals into the gutter.

  “Hey now,” he said, running after the shoe. “You’re going to need those if you’re going on an adventure with us.” He pointed up at the sky. “We’re going to go on a plane. Have you ever been on a plane?”

  The girl stared at him with her beautiful, round blue eyes and then glanced to Mindy, as though she were looking to her aunt for answers.

  “You can talk to him, sweetie. Mr. Jarrod is a very nice man,” she said, sending him a sweet smile.

  “Mister? Wowzah, Anya, can you believe it? I’m a mister!” he said in mock surprise. “I gotta say, I’ve been called lots of things but never Mr. Jarrod. It has a pretty nice ring to it.” He smiled at the little girl as he gently pushed a stray bit of hair out of her mouth where it had been trapped in a bit of syrup that must have been from this morning’s breakfast.

  “You nice?” Anya frowned.

  “Most of the time. Yep, I’m pretty nice,” he said, but as he spoke his thoughts moved to all of his days spent in war zones and pulling the trigger when the jobs had called for it.

  He couldn’t help but find it just a bit strange that to many, he was the man of their nightmares, and yet here he was getting an opportunity to play the hero. He could get used to this.

  “Do you have puppy?” Anya asked, still very serious.

  He smiled. “Um, nope. But someday, maybe. Do you like puppies?”

  She gave him a vigorous nod. “I wanna puppy.”

  He glanced around, keeping an eye on their surroundings. There was a man standing at the corner who kept looking over at them. As Jarrod watched him, the man turned back to the phone in his hand.

  Jarrod’s phone pinged. It looked as though, thanks to the addition of his new ward, Zoey had gotten them a private plane. Not only would he get to hang out with a beautiful woman and her cute niece, it also looked like they would be flying in style. Things were starting to look up.

  His phone pinged again. The driver had canceled.

  Strike the looking-up thing. He ordered another car, but they were ten minutes out. Hopefully, they wouldn’t get close to arriving and cancel as the last driver had.

  “I no go.” Anya reached down and started to fumble with the buckle that was holding her small frame. “No, no, no.” She repeated over and over.

  “Anya, you can’t get out of the stroller, sweetheart.” Mindy squatted down on the other side. “You need to stay in there while we wait.” She reached under the stroller and took out a bag of fruit snacks from her purse.

  “I don’t go,” Anya said, smacking the crackers out of Mindy’s hand and sending them flying across the concrete sidewalk.

  A dark-haired woman in a long coat looked down at Anya and sneered. She slowed as she stepped over the mess on the sidewalk. “You know, they have genetic testing,” she said, like they had committed some kind of crime by choosing to have Anya.

  The comment pierced his heart in a way he had never experienced. “Who do you think you are, lady?”

  “I’m someone who would never saddle a kid with a life like that.”

  The woman had no right to speak as she had—what did she know?

  “Love doesn’t count chromosomes. So why don’t you just keep walking, you piece of trash,” Mindy said, standing up and lunging toward the woman like she was about to pummel her.

  The woman hurried away, likely returning to the bowels of hell where she had ascended from.

  He was taken aback by Mindy’s sudden shift into mama-bear mode. When she turned back to face him, her cheeks were red and there were tears dotting the corners of her eyes. She dabbed them away with the backs of her hands.

  She came back to Anya, who was still fumbling with her belt. “Anya, baby,” she cooed.

  Anya looked up with a frown on her face. He wasn’t sure if the girl understood what the woman had said, but he hoped that for her own sake she hadn’t. Anya was already going to have a hard enough time without having to face the judgmental and negative attitudes of others who had no business talking.

  “I no go,” she said, seemingly oblivious to the melee that had occurred.

  “Where don’t you want to go?” he asked, trying to give Mindy a moment to collect her rage and blink back her tears, though she had every right to be angry.

  Anya threw her hands down to her sides and huffed, looking up at the sky like the mere question was exasperating. “No. Planes. No.”

  “Are you afraid of flying?” he asked.

  She wiggled back and forth in her seat as though she could get out that way. “I go kinder.”

  He gave Mindy a confused look.

  She sighed. “Honey, we can’t go to Kindermusik today.”

  “I wanna bell. Bell!” Anya screamed at the top of her lungs.

  In case they weren’t already being gawked at, now they had everyone’s attention.

  “Anya, we don’t get to play music today. No.” Mindy shook her head, unflappable against the five-year-old’s will.

  “Anta, I wanna play,” Anya repeated, giving her a pleading look.

  He would have found it impossible to say no to that face, but Mindy just shook her head.

  Anya started to cry, loud and long wails.

  “You know, we have a private plane. I’m sure that we can wait an hour or two before we have to take off,” he said, watching in agony as Anya’s temper tantrum spiraled out of control.

  Mindy tried to comfort her. She whispered softly in the girl’s ear, but instead of calming her, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

  Mindy glanced up at him. “You really don’t mind?”

  “Absolutely not.” He glanced down at his phone. An hour one way or the other wouldn’t pose a problem. Time wasn’t their enemy; rather, it was the unknown. Maybe while they were taking a break he could check into things, talk to his sister and his contacts, and see if he could get a little further in their investigation.

  On the other hand, he wasn’t sure giving in to the girl’s temper tantrum was the right strategy. If they gave in now she would use the same strategy to wear them down anytime she didn’t get her way. But, for right now it seemed like going to the music thing was the only option that would calm her down.

  “Is it within walking distance?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it’s only a couple of blocks. If we hurry, we can still make it on time.” She checked her watch. “Anya doesn’t do well with spontaneity.” She gave him a pinched look.

  He canceled the Uber. “It’s okay, I know plenty of people who take change even worse than her.” On occasion, that someone was him.

  A class where children played kazoos and snare drums sounded like an instant headache, but he wasn’t about to let Anya down. She was already going to go through so much change in her life, thanks to the death of her father....

  His chest ached as he realized how big a role he had inadvertently played in altering this girl’s life forever. He owed her a debt far greater than he could ever repay. Sitting through a developmental class seemed inconsequential in comparison.

  As they walked to the class, passersby continued to stare at their impromptu family.

  “Is this normal?” he asked, motioning in the direction of an older woman who was craning her neck in order to look into their stroller.

  “I know what you mean,” Mindy said, glancing around them at the people who were suddenly no longer staring. “I’m still getting used to it, too. Anya has only been living with Daniel for about six months, and I only get to see her a few days a week.” She paused for a moment. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you back there...you know, with the woman and all. I should have had better control over my emotions. But, seriously, that woman deserved a smack
to the jaw.”

  “I don’t disagree with you in the slightest. Actually, I thought it was sexy as hell.” He gave her a wide, alluring smile.

  She cocked her head, looking at him like she wasn’t sure whether or not he was teasing.

  He raised his hand in testament to his truth. “No, really.”

  She laughed and, reaching over, she took his hand and lowered it. “Only you.” Instead of letting go, she slipped her fingers between his and let their interlaced hands move between them. “It takes a special kind of man to watch his friend nearly take a woman down, and then like her more for it.”

  “First, she was abhorrent; and second, I’m nothing if not special...in everything I do,” he said, chuckling.

  “Oh, you are a cocky one, aren’t you?” She giggled, the sound high and full of perfect happiness, and a little more of his hard shell chipped away.

  Walking hand in hand with her at his side while they pushed the stroller, it struck him how much they appeared to be a family. The thought thrilled him just as much as it terrified him. In a way, it reminded him of everyone waiting for him back in Montana.

  He could still remember the day his parents had brought the twins, Trish and Chad, home. They had been such little things that in his six-year-old mind he had thought they were dolls...that was, until Trish had started crying. A lump rose in his throat.

  His phone pinged. Zoey. Of course, she would text him the moment he had even a tiny thought about his other sister.

  Zoey was checking their status. Letting go of Mindy’s hand, he texted her back, telling her about what had come up. As it was, it would be a quick flight into Missoula compared to commercial flights, which would not have landed until close to midnight.

  He slipped his phone back in his pocket.

  “Everything okay?” Mindy motioned to his phone. “Your girlfriend looking for you?”

  He lost his footing, tripping himself, then quickly correcting with a nervous laugh. “Uh, ha. No. It was my sister.”

  “Sure.”

  “What, are you jealous or something?”

  “Ha.” She maneuvered the stroller over the curb as they crossed the street. “Are you always this full of yourself, or are you being this way just for my benefit?”

  He wasn’t sure of the right answer. “If you play your cards right, everything I do could be for your benefit.”

  She stopped and stared at him, a shocked grin on her face. “Wow. Just...wow.” She gave an amused sigh.

  He was just as surprised as she was that he had said it. He didn’t have room in his life for a full-blown family. Right now he didn’t even have a lifestyle that would work for a pet.

  “You know you don’t mean that,” she said, starting to walk again.

  Though she was right to call him out, he wasn’t sure she wasn’t wrong. He had a habit of saying exactly what he meant, in fact to the point that sometimes people called him callous for his lack of filter between his brain and his mouth. Then, he’d always thought it best to let people know where they stood with him—at least when it came to his private life.

  Again, he reminded himself that this woman and this child were work.

  Yes, she was right. He hadn’t meant it. He couldn’t mean it, no matter how badly a part of him yearned to have a typical America life.

  He was grateful as they rounded the corner and saw a brightly colored sign for Kindermusik. He walked ahead and opened the door for them.

  “You ready for this fun?” Mindy asked with a wink.

  Thanks to their arrival into his life, as far as he was concerned, the fun had already started.

  Chapter Eight

  Though Mindy had taken Anya to her music class twice before, she didn’t remember it being quite so loud. A little boy was sitting over in the corner, waiting with his mother for class to start, slapping two pieces of wood together and screaming at the top of his lungs. Not far from him was a girl with tears streaming down her face, her whining approaching the decibels that only dogs and bats could hear.

  A group of toddlers ran around her legs, brushing against them as she unstrapped a wiggling Anya from her stroller. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Anya toddled after the kids in vain hopes of catching up.

  “Hey,” she called after them, but none of the children paid her any mind. “Anya here. Hey!” she yelled, but as she hurried she tripped and fell to her knees. She crawled for a few feet then, giving up, sat and watched the kids make another lap around the waiting room.

  The boy in the corner stopped screaming just long enough to look at her, then picked up his wailing again.

  “Oh. Wow. No.” Jarrod backed up until he was pressed against the wall. Terror marked his features.

  “Yes, this is happening. Remember, you agreed that we should be here,” she said, raising one eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I clearly lost my freaking mind.” He motioned toward a child who was actively doing something in their diaper. “I am not emotionally prepared for this. No.”

  The distinct aroma of a full diaper wafted over. She tried to ignore it, but she could have sworn that it was growing more pungent by the second. Just as she was about to concede that, like Jarrod, this was the last place she wanted to be, the door to the back opened. A woman in her midfifties with bottle-red hair and a yellow broom skirt stepped out. Her neck was adorned with a variety of macaroni necklaces that were likely made by the throngs of children who passed through her doors every day.

  “Children, children,” she said in a quiet, singsong voice. “One, two, three, eyes on me.”

  The kids quieted down and stopped running.

  The woman clapped, the sound as gentle and reminiscent of Mr. Rogers as her voice. “Well done, my little butterflies.”

  Mindy could feel Jarrod rolling his eyes next to her. She couldn’t blame him. For a man like him, who was clearly more comfortable kicking ass and taking names, standing through this musical, artistic lovefest probably felt just about as comfortable as a colonoscopy.

  She giggled.

  The front door to the shop jingled and a man wearing a red shirt walked in. The little girl in his arms was crying and her face was contorted with rage as she attempted to wiggle free from his grasp. From the look of things the girl was in the throes of a nuclear meltdown.

  The instructor glanced over at them, and as the little girl saw the woman, she quieted down.

  “My name is Lily Lilac Peppercorn,” the baby-whispering instructor said.

  Oh, that name had to be so fake.

  “I’m your instructor today with my little helper...” She pulled her other hand out from behind her back and a sock puppet with blue hair came into view. Together the woman and the puppet made all the colors of the rainbow. Just when Mindy thought things couldn’t get worse.

  “This is Jacques. Jacques, can you say hi?” The woman wiggled her thumb and the puppet jerked violently.

  A few of the kids cheered at the unexpected assistant, but one or two moved into their nanny’s legs. At least, she assumed the women at their sides were their nannies. She glanced around. Jarrod was one of only two men. The rest of the caregivers were women, and most had the look of paid help. A couple were even complete with candy striper–like uniforms. It made sense. Few of the people in her social circles who had kids were ever seen with them. They had staff to take care of their children’s daily needs and requirements.

  Ms. Peppercorn kept talking in her singsong voice as Mindy walked over to Anya and scooped her up into her arms. Though she was five, she was markedly smaller than the rest of those in her age group. Anya clapped her hands on each side of Mindy’s face, joyfully playing a beat to the tune of the woman’s voice.

  Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “Why don’t you all follow me in so we can get started,” the woman said, giving the kids little waves as they
flooded through the doors with their caregivers.

  Mindy walked forward but stopped as she noticed that Jarrod wasn’t behind her. She turned back. “Oh, come on now, there’s no chance that I’m going to leave you out here while I go in.” She took his hand and pulled him forward.

  “I...but...” he protested.

  “Emotionally ready or not, here we go,” she said, smiling at him as Anya continued to play drums on her cheeks.

  There was no way she could do this alone. As they walked into the room, the man in a red shirt elbowed his way through the crowd, almost as though he was trying to get closer to the only other man in the group.

  Her mind turned to Daniel. He was normally the one to bring Anya down here, when he wasn’t traveling for work. It was the one thing they normally did together, but since they had picked up the girl, Anya had yet to mention her father.

  Part of Anya’s personality was that she often wasn’t as emotionally present as other children her age. It was just another of the facets of Anya’s being that had proved to be more of a struggle than either she or Daniel had been prepared for.

  When Mindy had learned about Anya’s diagnosis, she had thought that it wouldn’t be that hard to adapt their lives to meet her needs. If anything, she was bringing extra to their lives. Yes, she would need extra time, extra attention, extra love, but in return she would give them all the extras that they needed in their lives, as well. And though it had been harder than she had first anticipated, all the extras were worth it.

  And yet, wasn’t that what all relationships were based upon—the little extras? She gave Anya a squeeze as she thought about how much she loved her.

  She looked to Jarrod and thought about the things he had done for her just in the short time since they had met. As she watched him, he reached up and scratched at his scruffy goatee. He played with it, almost as though he were using the hair on his face to comfort himself in the same way a child would turn to a beloved teddy bear.