Axel: SEALs of Honor Book 25 Read online

  “Good,” he snapped.

  “He probably won’t want to mess up his new world then, will he?”

  “I’m not intentionally trying to mess up his new world either,” he said. “And maybe he did serve his debt to society,” Axel said, “but he hardly served his debt to you.”

  “The pictures can never be taken down anyway,” she said stiffly.

  “I know,” he said, “but he certainly didn’t do any restitution for you, did he?”

  She shook her head. “What can anybody do?”

  “Maybe I’ll ask him that,” he said thoughtfully.

  She looked at him in alarm.

  “So, besides him,” Axel said, “who else and what else?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “Only if it’s the truth,” he said. “As I find out, most of the time, a lot more is in people’s background than they’re willing to tell me.”

  “Okay, come on now,” she said. “I don’t know this guy.”

  “Maybe not,” he said. And he studied her intently because something remained there. And when she dropped her eyelids, he knew. “You may not know this person,” he said, “but you’re afraid you do.” Her gaze flew open, and she gasped. He nodded. “Yeah, so enough of that crap,” he said. “Let’s hear it. You need to tell me who you think it is.”

  “But I could be wrong,” she said.

  “And you could be right. It’s easy enough for me to check to make sure you’re wrong, if you’ll just give me something to work with.”

  “No, it’s not that easy,” she said. “He went through a lot too.”

  “Spill,” he ordered.

  She frowned, and her gaze turned stubborn.

  “Either that, or I’ll turn it all over to the naval investigation team,” he said. “And they’ll rip apart your life.”

  She paled at that threat.

  At least she understood he had the power to make it happen. And maybe he had another weapon to use too. “You need to understand,” he said, “that, as far as the military is concerned, you’re the only survivor. And, therefore, you’re likely involved with the shooter. And since you’re the one they have, you could find yourself in the position of being held responsible.”

  She gasped, staring at him in shock.

  He nodded. “You had to have seen it coming.”

  But she shook her head. “No. I didn’t,” she said. “I barely survived a horrible event with my life. If you guys hadn’t come when you did, I would have died on board,” she said. “How could the navy possibly think I was involved? And what about Hostettler?”

  “They’re looking into him too. But the fact of the matter is, he died. You didn’t.” She seemed to shrink in on herself at that. He understood. He reached out, grabbed her hands, and said, “Ally, you need to talk to me.”

  But she lay here, almost catatonic as she stared at him.

  “Smarten up,” he ordered. She frowned and blinked. And he was glad that the anger was getting through to her. “This isn’t the time to curl up and die,” he ordered. “This is the time to fight back. To muster your defenses. To get all your information and present it in a clearly laid-out manner, so that you’re completely outside of this investigation.”

  “And how do I do that?” she said.

  “I don’t know,” he said, “but you need to start by being honest with me. And you need to stop wasting time and do it now.”

  Chapter 5

  Ally lay in the hospital bed, staring up at him. She’d never thought it would come to this point.

  “Who was this man who entered your hospital room, who you didn’t know, yet you may know, but you don’t want it to be him?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said dully. She reached up, and, like a child, scrubbed her face with her palms. “Somebody was in my life a while ago,” she said. “Similar build. Every time I see this new guy, on the sub and here in the hospital, I was reminded of … him. But there was no limp back then.”

  “Accidents, surgery, and all kinds of other moments in a person’s life can create a limp like that,” he said. “Even faking it.”

  She frowned, nodded, and said, “And I considered that, but it still made no sense.”

  “And why is that?”

  She stared at him, her eyes glazing over. “You won’t understand, and you won’t believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  Something was implacable about his gaze. And yet the hand that held hers was gentle, strong but soothing. She desperately wanted his help. She desperately wanted to tell him that it was all foolish but to check into it first to make sure. She squeezed his hand, and he held firm.

  “You need a friend right now,” he said. “And I don’t see anybody else here.”

  She winced. “That’s a low blow.”

  “It’s the truth. I don’t sugarcoat things. You’re in trouble right now, with a clock ticking at the shooter’s whim, and I’m here, and I can help.”

  “Or you’re working for the military,” she said. “You are waiting for me to strangle myself with my own lies.”

  “Are you lying?”

  She stared at him. “No, but you’ll think I am.”

  “I can’t help if you don’t tell me,” he said. When she didn’t speak, he let go of her hand.

  Something was just so symbolic about that, as if he were cutting the tie between them, and she knew it was this moment or not at all. “When I last saw him,” she said, “he was dead.”

  He looked up, startled.

  She nodded. “That’s why I know it can’t be him.”

  “Tell me,” he ordered. “Better start at the beginning.”

  “It’s my brother,” she said. She took a slow deep breath. “He was killed by a bullet wound a couple years ago, along with his best friend,” she said sadly. “He and his best friend, they were both of a similar body type. I considered whether it was his friend, but I don’t think it was.”

  “Details, please. And start with, why is your brother’s death not in your file?”

  She glanced at him, startled. “You read my file?”

  “Of course I did,” he said, brushing that off to the side. “It doesn’t mention your boyfriend either.”

  “No,” she said. “I worked hard to keep that out.”

  “And your brother?”

  “I had two brothers,” she said. “This one was from the wrong side of the blanket. My father had an affair quite a few years ago,” she said. “And Rory was the result. We found out just a few years ago. So that’s why he’s not in my file.”

  “And does Rory hate your family?”

  “No, he was getting to know us, and I thought everything was fine. We worked really hard to create some kind of a relationship. My mother was a bit on the standoffish side, but that’s to be expected, since her husband brought home a love child from a time when they had had marital problems,” she said. “But, before Rory’s death, I think we’d all made great progress. And then he died, and it seemed like everything just kind of disappeared.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Rory Granger,” she said. “He died with this friend, Thomas Hardy. They were gunned down on the streets of New York City.”

  “Deliberate?”

  “As far as I know, nobody was ever charged with their murders. So I don’t know anything from the police investigation. I tried to get answers, but nobody would talk to me. Finally I had to walk away because it was destroying me.”

  “So, both of the men, Rory and Thomas, had a similar build, tall, slim?”

  “Both were tall and slim. Both were light-haired, somewhere between dark blond or light brown. Whatever,” she said, “They were more than just friends.”

  “And that could be another motive for the murder too then,” he said. “An awful lot of hate is in this world.”

  “Possibly. I was totally accepting. My father was too. I think Mother was getting there.”

  “What about your
other brother?”

  She shrugged. “He didn’t say much either way. He didn’t seem to care.”

  “What’s his build?”

  “Short and stocky,” she said. “He’s five-ten, two hundred.”

  “Fat?”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all. He works out. He’s a bit of a gym junkie.”

  He nodded. “What else can you tell me?”

  “Not much to tell,” she said. “That’s what I mean. Nothing’s there. I know that build. Just something familiar about the look of him.”

  “Did he have anything to do with your world?”

  “No,” she said. “Not in my work world. Not at all.”

  “Any chance the death was a fake?”

  “I don’t see how it could be. We buried Rory,” she said, bewildered. “Neither do I see a reason for him to fake his death.”

  “Both of them?”

  She shook her head. “No. My brother’s friend Thomas, his family took him and buried him in their hometown.”

  “So you didn’t attend to his funeral?”

  “No. I’m not sure there was one,” she said. “He was cremated and only left behind a sister at the time anyway.” She watched as he jotted down the notes. “It’s way too convoluted to think either of them would be involved in this,” she said. “There is no reason.”

  “There’s always a reason,” he said. “What we don’t know is the reason for killing a submarine crew and downing a sub like this.”

  “That’s got to be the work of another country,” she said. “It can’t be our own people.”

  “And why is that?” he asked, lifting his head to stare at her. “Or is it just you want it not to be our own people? We have friendly fire happening on bases where somebody we’re doing training with turns around and shoots a dozen of our own men,” he said. “How is this any different?”

  “But then it would be another country’s soldiers,” she said, nodding.

  “And again, it doesn’t matter, works either way,” he said. “Somebody just needs a motive. They might make it look as if it was you. They might make it look as if it was Hostettler. But that doesn’t mean it was either of you, particularly if there’s a connection to somebody else on board.”

  She frowned. “To have a connection to somebody else and me would be too big of a coincidence.”

  “Well, I agree with you there,” he said. “So, unfortunately for you, we’re about to turn your life upside down.”

  “Didn’t you say the formal investigation was already doing that?”

  “Yes,” he said. “And they’ll be looking to prove you guilty,” he said quietly. “I, on the other hand, will be looking to prove you innocent.”

  Her eyebrows rose at that. “Seriously?”

  He reached over, grabbed her hand, and said, “As long as you’re honest with me,” he said, “I’ll be honest with you.” He squeezed her hand, hopped off the bed, and said, “Now you need to rest.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll never rest again,” she said, “because I keep seeing him. I keep seeing that physique.”

  He walked to the door and stopped, then turned and said, “Call me if you think of anything else,” he said, “or if you see anybody else.”

  “What if I see him again?” she asked bitterly.

  “I’ll have one of our guys come in to check to see if your visitor left anything.”

  She gasped. “Like a bomb?”

  “No,” Axel was quick to say. “More like a bug or even a tracking device.” He turned back around. “Where are your clothes at?”

  She pointed to the bathroom. “In a cabinet in there.”

  He stepped inside and was gone a few minutes. He exited, his head shaking. “No tracker in your clothes, your shoes.”

  “But a listening device makes sense.”

  Axel nodded, stepping toward her. “He must think you know something.” He held up his finger and pulled out his phone. He stepped outside her room, saying, “I’ll just be a minute.”

  She nodded.

  “Mason, can you see about getting Ally’s hospital room swept for bugs. Her visitor was here for some reason. And he had ample time to kill her but didn’t.”

  “Right. I’ll send Dane. And since her intruder didn’t kill her, he must want her to be the scapegoat.”

  “She already is,” Axel huffed.

  “For the murders, yes. But what if the point was to steal that sub? It’s worth a ton and is the newest technology the navy has to offer.”

  “But it was sunk, wasn’t working. If it takes us two days to lift it, how could the killer do it?”

  “Maybe it wasn’t supposed to sink.” At that, Mason hung up.

  *

  It was hard to understand how Ally had gotten caught up in this. She’d headed out on a job to test the navigation and the computer system on board. Yet somehow she’d ended up as the suspect in a mass murder. She shook her head.

  Axel returned, as promised. “Dane’s coming.” Axel pointed his finger, making a circular motion.

  She nodded. Checking for bugs. “Good.”

  He walked toward her, whispering in her ear, “We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe and to find out who’s behind this.”

  She nodded, remaining quiet, knowing she shouldn’t speak of anything important at this time.

  Axel stood next to her, holding her hand. When Dane entered within minutes, toting a small black box, he immediately got to work.

  Hmm. It looked like a walkie-talkie to her.

  Dane took a minute or so to sweep her room, finding nothing. With a smile and a wave, he was off again.

  “How about you put a guard on this door?”

  “I’d be happy to,” he said, “but I already know that everybody above isn’t on board with that.”

  “Because they don’t believe me, do they?” she said bitterly.

  “Even if you did see somebody with that same build here at the hospital,” he said, “you weren’t attacked here. Nothing happened. Which is odd for him to make this move and not leave behind a bug or a tracker or poisoned food or drink or whatever. Sounds like recon to me, which means he’ll be back. And we’ll watch for that. But the brass will just say that you’re paranoid and trying to deflect attention from the truth.”

  She sagged back in her bed. “Life sucks.”

  “It does,” he said, “but it’s also full of good things. So remember that too.”

  She shook her head. “Says you. Right about now, I don’t see too much good about it.”

  “Stay alive,” he ordered. “That’s your job right now.” And he turned and walked out.

  *

  Axel didn’t tell her that he was camping out here in the hospital for a while. Thought it was for the best right now. The element of surprise, for her and for her limping man. He snagged an empty hospital room nearby, sat back down, and called Mason. He clarified what was happening on her end, despite interruptions caused by Mason repeatedly swearing and interjecting comments. Finally Axel said, “So I’ll start running down the half brother and his friend, while you guys do your official investigation into whoever had access to both the sub and now the hospital. If not a limping navy man, our limping man has contacts to compromised seamen, I’m sad to say.”

  Mason swore again. “Well, they’ve shut me out of the investigation now too,” Mason said, his voice hard.

  “I wonder why?” Axel asked.

  “More protocol than anything, I think.”

  “Well, the navy’s bound to come after her soon, aren’t they?”

  “Certainly they’ll come to her for questioning,” Mason said. “I’m a little surprised they haven’t already.”

  “Oh, and Ally thinks a foreign country could be stealing our sub,” Axel noted.

  “Hmm.”

  “Yeah, well, she was in shock today when I got here after the guy visited her. Legit shock. Absolutely no way she was faking that.”

  “But it could be for a
lot of different reasons,” Mason warned. “You can’t get so sucked in to the scenario that you don’t keep your head about you.”

  “No, that’s not a problem,” he said. “Better to spend the afternoon here doing research.”

  “If you have trouble getting information,” Mason said, “let me know.”

  “Will do.” After he hung up, he settled down and started researching. Not a hell of a lot was accessible. That was the problem. The half brother, Rory, was a pretty open-end deal. Raised by a single mom, he’d gone to a poor school and had lived in a poor neighborhood, yet he appeared to have turned out okay. He’d gone to college to get a degree in IT. Interesting that it was the same field as his sister, though IT was a pretty broad topic these days. They had connected a couple years ago, according to Ally. Axel wanted to contact her folks and get some confirmation on that but figured he could wait until he was done with this kind of research.

  He plowed through as much as he could, then got the NYC coroner’s office on the phone. They were busy, didn’t see his case as a rush—not compared to their other rushes—were happy to rerun the DNA samples of Rory and Thomas and to reconfirm those samples taken from the dead bodies matched up with other medical records gathered on the two men. Axel should expect something in eight to twelve weeks.

  With a sigh, Axel turned his focus on Thomas Hardy. Axel found even less on this guy than had been online on Rory. Axel snorted. Here were two twentysomething males who were not on social media, were not on the dating sites, weren’t even posting reviews on Amazon. But, then again, if these guys were gay, even in the 2020s, some people were not open to this lifestyle.

  Maybe Axel needed to check for police records. Seems Rory and Thomas had moved around a bit. Not so surprising with job transfers and the like, much less for their chosen lifestyle. Axel didn’t want to call some twenty local PDs, checking out where both Rory and Thomas had individually lived over the past decade, before it seemed they finally moved in together, nearby here in California. Unfortunately they died soon thereafter.

  At least they were together, Axel thought.

  Problem was, the individual PDs didn’t share every offense to contribute to the NCIC national database, not unless it had to do with missing persons or felony-level offenses, like serial killers or serial rapists and the like. With that thought, Axel checked the sex offender list. That was national. Still no luck. Rory and Thomas were either under the radar for privacy or just were not criminals, at least at the federal level.