SEALs of Honor: Kanen Read online

  Julian nodded. “That’s the one he sent to me. So now we’re all together on the same page.” His smile was big and bright with a tinge of hardness to it.

  She didn’t need this jockeying around for position. “I get all of this who’s-in-charge stuff is important to you guys, but what’s important to me is that we catch this asshole. I don’t know why he wants this stuff. I don’t know what he’ll do with it. I don’t know who he is or where he came from. I don’t want these photos floating around for anyone to see. And I really don’t want him coming back after me.” She leaned forward and glared at Julian. “Got it?”

  Surprised at her tonal aberration, Julian smiled at her. “Got it.”

  Mason chuckled. “Nice to meet you, Laysa. I’m one of Kanen’s team members.”

  Beside her, Kanen leaned over and said, “Essentially he’s the boss but with lots of bigger bosses above him.”

  She nodded. She had asked Kanen years ago for an explanation of how all that military stuff had worked, and he’d given her a brief outline, but it hadn’t made a whole lot of sense. An awful lot of titles were involved. She wasn’t sure who did all the work. “So then why are you taking us anywhere?” Laysa asked Julian.

  “We need a place to talk obviously,” Julian said, “and inside this vehicle is private.”

  She glanced at Kanen.

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not. It’ll be bugged.”

  Julian looked at him in surprise. “No, it won’t be.”

  Taylor snorted. “Shall I run a test then?”

  Julian looked at him. “If you have something on you, go ahead.”

  Taylor was in the seat behind her. She couldn’t see what he was doing. She heard a weird hum behind her as he turned in the vehicle and slowly shifted around, as if searching for something.

  When he was finally done, he sat back and said, “It’s clean.”

  Julian looked at him. “How could you suspect anything less?”

  “Are you recording this conversation?” Kanen asked.

  “Should we be?”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “We should then,” Taylor stated.

  “Stop,” Laysa snapped. “Keep all your posturing to yourselves. This is not about who has rights, who has ownership of this problem. We’re Americans. And we’re on British soil. And these navy men are here to help protect me as much as anything.”

  “That’s the theory,” Taylor said.

  “Yes, that is the theory,” Julian said helpfully. “But the photo that Charles sent us is of one of our current ambassadors. A man of some prominence. And those photos are not ones we’ve ever seen before. They aren’t for public consumption, and that means somebody’s violated his privacy, and there has to be a reason why.”

  “The only reason we can think of,” she said, “well, based on my assailant’s comment to me about wanting his insurance policy back, as things have changed, … is likely blackmail. Maybe he lost his digital copies and now needs the physical images.”

  Julian blinked at her a couple times, processing her convoluted explanation. Then he smiled. “That’s all too possible. But these photos are quite old. So who is this attacker of yours, where did he get these photos, and what is he planning on doing with them if he gets them back now?”

  “We were hoping you would answer that,” she said. “My apartment building might have cameras. I don’t know. If you could check who came and went, then maybe we’d find out who he is.”

  “The gym also has cameras,” Kanen said. “I can check with the manager about security footage. That’s where we found the bag with the photos. It’s possible Laysa’s assailant tried to get into Blake’s gym locker too.”

  “But now you have the bag, these photos—correct?”

  “We have something,” Kanen said. “But I can’t guarantee it’s what the woman-beating asshole is looking for.”

  “Did you know about his gym locker?” Julian asked Laysa.

  “I knew Blake went to the gym, and it was possible he had a locker there. I guess I just assumed he wouldn’t keep anything valuable there.”

  “Did you need a key to get into it?”

  “That’s where things get a little odd,” Kanen said. He explained about the money and the secret stash of currency that held the locker combination.

  “That’s very cloak-and-dagger stuff,” Julian said. “Why would Blake do something so convoluted?”

  Her laugh was strained to the point of almost hysteria. “Let’s back up to a year ago and ask him,” she snapped. “I have no clue. He was a huge movie buff with dinners afterwards to dissect what we watched. Maybe he saw somebody do something like that in a movie and thought it would work. Maybe he was afraid he’d forget the combination. Maybe this was how he managed to remind himself. I don’t know why he did it. I didn’t even know he had accepted this bag to begin with.”

  Kanen squeezed her fingers. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly. “We’re getting to the bottom of this. We will find this guy.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned back. “I hear what you’re saying,” she said. “I just wish we didn’t have to dance around each other, so we could get on with it already.”

  Just then the vehicle pulled up outside her apartment building. She turned to Julian and asked, “Do you want to come up and take a look?”

  He nodded. “Thank you. I would like that.”

  The vehicle parked, and all seven of them got out, the driver again remaining in the vehicle. She led the way to her apartment in silence. Everybody else followed her. At her door she stopped, her shoulders sagged. She looked over at Kanen. “I really don’t want to do this.”

  He took the key from her and opened it.

  Julian entered ahead of them.

  Kanen said, “Remember that she was held here and beaten by that asshole. Show some sensitivity.”

  Julian nodded but didn’t say a word.

  Inside the apartment, nothing seemed to have changed. The MI6 men spread out and did a search. Julian came to the three of them standing in a half circle around Laysa and said, “Where did you find the money?”

  Kanen led him to the kitchen drawer, pulled it back out and flipped it, so Julian could see where the tape had been. Then Kanen walked over to the coffee table, lifted a large Atlas and underneath it was the money as he had left it.

  Still taped together, still in sequence.

  “Interesting,” Julian said. “Okay, so now let’s get to the basics. Where are the photos?”

  The men looked at each other, then turned and looked at Laysa.

  She sighed. “You might as well show him. We would probably ask for their help anyway. We need to find out who all these people are.”

  Kanen took one of the envelopes of photos from an inside pocket to his jacket and lay them out on the kitchen table. The other two men with him did the same thing. By the time the entire kitchen table was full, they turned all the chairs sideways and filled them too.

  Julian and his men stared.

  “Wow,” Julian said. “An awful lot of photos are here.”

  “Exactly. But we know none of the people in them,” Kanen said. “This blackmailer appears to have a more European focus than American.”

  Julian tapped one of the photos and said, “This is a very prominent British family.” He tapped another one. “This was a prominent British family who was accused of several major white-collar crimes and evaded being charged. They are now living in France.”

  They went through all the photos. Julian failed to recognize only six men.

  “So we agree most of these men are in high positions of some kind, and whoever took these compromising photos thought they might be of monetary interest in some way to the people in these photos, correct?” Laysa asked.

  The men all nodded.

  “That would be a good guess,” Julian said. “But these are old photos. Have these men been paying all this time? Did they pay, and this is just insurance that nob
ody says anything or insurance that the men are forever on the hook for?”

  “That could also mean,” one of Julian’s men said, “what if one of these blackmailed men went after the blackmailer, found his stash and now this new blackmailer is looking to get even?”

  “That’s possible too,” Julian said thoughtfully. “There’re three or four likely scenarios. And I think we’ve touched on them all. None of the photos have dates on the backs.”

  “I wonder …” Taylor said as he picked up a photo. “A smudge is on the back of each of them, as if some sort of acetate or vinegar solution might have erased the date stamp. Maybe a photo was taken, and it was recorded, but this way they’re undated forever.”

  “And the advantage of that is what?” Laysa asked.

  “Because they can be used over and over again.”

  Laysa’s attention was caught by one photo. She stepped closer and squatted down beside the kitchen chair it was on. “She’s very beautiful.”

  The men gathered around behind her.

  One of Julian’s men said, “I don’t know the woman’s name, but she married one of our members of parliament, Carlos … somebody,” he started. “Although I don’t think he serves any longer. Didn’t he retire to Spain?”

  “He did,” Julian confirmed.

  Laysa said thoughtfully, “If he paid, this still could have had a great impact on his career. After all, the blackmailer could take the money and could then order Carlos to rule a certain way in parliament. The threat of the photo becoming public is a continuing one. … What if Carlos wants to make sure this photo is gone forever?”

  “It’s possible. Any and all conjecture is possible,” Kanen said. “But short of traveling to Spain and asking him and returning the photo, we won’t know.”

  She shrugged. “I’d be happy to leave the country for a few days. Spain is only a quick hop away. Let’s go.”

  Kanen turned to look at her.

  “It’s calling for rain in England anyway.”

  Kanen gave a boisterous laugh. “It’s always calling for rain in England.”

  She beamed up at him. “So what better reason to go for a mini holiday then?”

  Kanen chose to look at the MI6 men. “I presume none of you will speak to him?”

  Julian grimaced. “No. And why would Carlos talk to you?”

  “To tell him that his personal life is his own,” Laysa replied, “and I thought maybe he would like this original photo.”

  “And then what? Just ask him if he was really having sex with her?” one of the MI6 men asked in a derisive tone.

  Kanen stiffened and glared at him. “We’re not confirming the veracity of the pictures. We’re in search of an assailant who knows of the existence of these pictures and may have been the original blackmailer.”

  “Maybe Carlos can tell us something about him,” she said thoughtfully. “Obviously you’ll identify the six other men here who haven’t already been ID’d, but then what? If you take away all these photos, I’ll have a very angry captor returning, looking for goods he can’t get back and that I can’t give him.”

  Kanen pulled her toward him, wrapped his arms around her and tucked her close. “You don’t have a lot of choice because MI6 is taking over this case.”

  Julian gave a bark of laughter. “We took it over the minute we heard about it. You guys were just slow to get the memo.”

  She turned to glare at him.

  He held his hands up in mock surrender in front of him. “All in the best interests of keeping you safe, of course.

  She rolled her eyes, making Kanen grin. “Then we’ll be speaking to Carlos. Your agents can flutter around and look at these old photos. But I think the heart of the matter might be found in Spain.”

  “I’m willing and game if you are,” Kanen said.

  She smiled, took one look at Julian and asked, “Do you have any objection to us taking the five photos related to Carlos with us to Spain? I’d like to return those to him.”

  He shook his head. “Not at all. As long as we have a photo of the original pictures, I’m satisfied.” He pointed at one of his men, who pulled out his phone and took a couple snapshots of each photo before handing over the five in question to Kanen. “But do keep in touch. There’s no reason to think you’ll be followed. But it’s pretty easy for somebody to track you from one place to the next.”

  “We’ll keep your advice in mind. But I have three knights of honor here, helping to keep me safe,” she said with a big smile. “And we’ll all enjoy a holiday in Spain.”

  Taylor chuckled as he stood at her side. “I’ve never been, so I’m in.”

  Nelson laughed. “I have been. But I’m all for going again.”

  “Decision made. We’ll be in Spain.” She took the pictures of the parliament member from Kanen. “Giving the originals back to Carlos.”

  “He may not want to talk to you,” Julian warned. “This is a very sensitive issue.”

  “For that reason alone, he will talk to me,” she said confidently. “If just to find out that it’s over with.”

  Chapter 7

  Laysa wanted to dance. How long had she planned to come to Spain? And here they were—10:50 a.m., two and half hours after MI6 had dropped them at the airport instead of their rental car at Kanen’s hotel—the four of them driving along the coast. Even though their reason for being here was grim, it still felt in some ways like a holiday. A holiday that she and Blake had wanted to take but just never seemed to make happen. If ever a lesson was to be learned about losing a loved one, it was to make the most of every day.

  It had taken her a long time to see the joy in any day after losing him, but finally she had turned a corner. It was good. Even in these circumstances, it was good.

  Beside her Kanen asked, “What are you grinning about?”

  “It feels good to be alive. And I owe you thanks for that.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better, but it’s got nothing to do with me.”

  She reached for his hand. “Not true,” she said. “Regardless of the reason, just having you back in my life, even seeing you, has made me realize what a slump I had gotten into and how I’d forgotten to see the joy in everything Blake and I had. Do you realize we had always planned to come to Spain for a holiday? And yet, somehow, even though we were so close, we never did. That’s just wrong.”

  “Quite true. It would have been a quick holiday for you. But we’re here now, even though it’s not a holiday and even though Blake isn’t with us today,” Kanen added. “I’m glad to hear you’re happy about it regardless.”

  She smiled. “Very happy. Even more to realize I’m not caught in the depths of despair anymore,” she said slowly. “I loved Blake with all my heart. Losing him was the most devastating event in my life. The suddenness of it. I guess there’s no good way for somebody to die. I can’t say I wanted him to suffer for five years just so I’d get five more years with him, but, when you wake up one day, and you don’t know it’ll be the last time you’ll see somebody … That was hard, and it reminded me just now how much we had planned to do that we never did. How much we wanted to do that we never made time for. I guess it’s one of those lessons you never really understand until you go through something like this and realize how every day is precious.”

  There was silence in the vehicle as the men absorbed her revelation.

  “I think, sadly, you’re quite right about that,” Nelson said. “Most of us don’t learn these lessons the easy way. I think we get so caught up in everything we’re doing that we forget to plan for things we might want to be doing.”

  “What does this trip to Spain mean to you?” Taylor asked Laysa. “I get that you’re looking for answers about your own home invasion and assault, but is there anything else? A trip down memory lane for you and your husband perhaps?”

  She was silent for a long moment while she thought about it. “I think it’s just wanting to make the most of every day,”
she said quietly. “When we were married, we always thought there was time. We would do it next week, next month, next year, whatever. But it’s amazing how much Blake’s death and this home invasion event have cemented into my brain that I should take advantage of everything right now because there might not be another moment after this. I want answers to what this is all about, yes. Did we need to come to Spain? No, but it certainly wasn’t a hardship. And, if I can make this man’s life a little easier by handing back something he might be worried about, then I will do it.”

  “You realize he’s likely to have the opposite reaction,” Nelson said, waiting for her nod. “He might hold you responsible. He might think you’re involved in some way. He could get ugly about this. He might be old enough that he’s completely confused and has no clue what that photo is.”

  “I know,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I realize my desire to do this is kind of an odd thought, and all those hypothetical responses from him are possible. Still, it got us out of England for a couple days while they track down my captor. I’m more than happy to wander Spain with you guys.”

  “Likewise,” Taylor said. “I’ve wanted to come for a long time.”

  “I’ve never been here,” she said with a laugh. “We should stay for a week or two.”

  “I wish,” Kanen agreed with a smile. “But we have jobs to go back to. These guys came to help me out, and we can’t take advantage of that.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “You’re right. We’ll make it as fast as possible.” She pointed at the road sign up ahead. “And we’re here.”

  They turned, following the GPS instructions per their rental car. Very quickly they pulled up by a small townhome with a Spanish-looking roof meshed between two other very similar-looking buildings. She hopped out and, with Kanen at her side, marched up to the front door and knocked.

  It took a moment before an old man came to the door. and rapid-fire Spanish was shot at them.

  When he stopped, she asked, “Do you speak English?”

  He said, “Yes, I do. But why is it you think everybody should speak your language?”