Operation Endurance

CHAPTER 14

Chris hobbled into the hangar. His knee was killing him. The nightmares were particularly bad last night, so he’d run twice his normal distance this morning. If he was exhausted enough, he would sleep too deeply for dreams, right? Probably not, but at this point he was willing to try just about anything. He had to sleep to be able to fly and it had to happen without pain killers. Mad Rob needed him to get his shit together.

He was surprised to see Mick and one of the other mechanics standing and frowning into the open engine cowling of the De Havilland. He detoured over to them. Mick glanced up and refocused his frown onto Chris’s knee. Obviously, Chris needed to work harder to cover that limp.

Chris nodded toward the engine. “What’s the problem?”

“It’s leaking oil and we’re trying to trace where it’s coming from.”

“Colt and I were planning to take it up this afternoon. Should we reschedule?”

“Probably.” He turned his scowl toward Chris. “Besides it looks to me like you should be elevating that knee today.”

“The knee is fine,” he mumbled. “There’s probably just a change in weather coming so it’s flaring a bit.”

“Hm-mmm.” Mick didn’t sound convinced. “I could have sworn they said on the news this morning we were supposed to stay in the mid-seventies all week and I’m not feeling my arthritis today.”

He didn’t like the knowing look in Mick’s eyes. “Well, maybe the barometer in my knee isn’t that accurate yet. Let us know when you think we’ll be able to take her up, okay?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Chris walked across the hangar floor, concentrating on keeping his pace level because he could feel Mick’s gaze boring into his back.

The flight did end up cancelled. They’d had to order in parts for the broken part on the De Havilland so, for now, they were temporarily grounded. Their other plane was at the service center getting repainted in their red, white, and black paint scheme to match the Mad Rob branding.

Chris managed to stay busy in the office for the rest of the day and was on his way out the door for home when Mick cornered him. The old man’s eyes were kind and understanding as he pressed a business card into Chris’s hand. “These guys understand. It would help to exorcise some of those demons hounding you if you talked about it with others who get it. The shrinks are good, but they can’t do it all. Talking to these guys would help.”

Chris glanced down at the card. It simply said, PTSD SUPPORT, with a listing of places, days, and times. Chris wasn’t so sure about sitting in a circle talking about his feelings. That just sounded like another form of torture for him.

Mick could obviously see the doubt on his face. “Give it a try. Go to one meeting and see if it does anything for you. It certainly can’t hurt and it could actually help.”

Chris gave a sharp nod. “Thanks, I’ll consider it.” He slid the card into his wallet and tried to ignore the roiling in his gut that came with thinking about anything to do with his captivity. He never wanted to go to that place in his mind ever again. Unfortunately, his subconscious wasn’t listening to that demand as it took him there every night through his dreams.



* * *



Chris was coming in from taking the trash out to the dumpster when he ran into a pitiful looking Julie with a wad of tissues stuffed against her face. It was a mild evening, but she wore a heavy sweater, was hauling around several binders, and looked like she’d been crying.

He immediately snagged the books out of her arms and took her keys from her to open her door. “Hey, what’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

She gave him a tired smile as she followed him into the house. “No, I just have this damn cold and my medicine ran out about forty-five minutes ago.”

He examined her as she dropped her purse on the table and heaved a deep breath through her mouth. Her nose was red and the dark circles under her eyes had become even more pronounced now that her complexion was so pale.

“Should you be working when you’re sick like this? Isn’t there some sort of hospital policy against spreading germs like that?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “It’s just a little cold. I’m fine. She walked over and snagged a glass out of the cabinet. She filled her glass with water and held up the package of cold medicine. “This will take effect in a few minutes and then I’ll be almost as good as new.”

He lifted a skeptical eyebrow at her.

“Besides, the wedding is in three days.” She motioned over to the binders he’d set on the table. “I don’t have time to be sick right now.”

“Okay, now that’s just stupid. You’re sick. Some of this,” he waved his hand over the mammoth pile of books, “can wait.” He ignored the dirty look she’d been giving him the moment he began talking.

“Did you just call me stupid?” She put her hands on her hips and glared, her hazel eyes shooting sparks, but that just made him notice how bloodshot they were.

“You need to go to bed. I’ll order some food while you get out of your scrubs and into some warm pj’s.” He waved a negligent hand at her body.

“Chris, I have things to do.” He could hear the exasperation in her voice, but he planned to ignore it. “Just because you live next door doesn’t mean you’re allowed to come in here and run my life. I was doing just fine all by myself before and I can continue to do so now. Go home.” She crossed the room and opened the front door for him.

“Not unless you promise me you’ll go to bed. You’re getting sick because you’re exhausted.” By the mulish set of her face, she wasn’t going to give in, but he could be stubborn too. “I’ll leave you alone, but I’m taking these with me.” He scooped the binders, including Cassie’s wedding binder, off the table.

She squealed, “Chris!” but wasn’t able to finish because a huge coughing fit racked her lungs.

When she finished coughing, he brushed a soft kiss across her forehead. “Go to bed. Get some sleep. I’ll give them back to you in the morning. I promise.”

“Okay.” She looked defeated and exhausted. “But only because I’m too tired to argue with you.” She shuffled down the hall to her bedroom and he let himself out, locking the door as he went.



* * *



Later that night, Chris sat on the phone talking to Cassie while he flipped through her wedding binder. “Honestly, Cassie, have you looked at this thing?”

She laughed low. “No, and I can’t believe you managed to get it away from her. Julie doesn’t let anyone touch her binders.” Her voice took on a concerned tone. “She must really be sick.”

“She says it’s just a cold, but she looks like she feels awful. She’s let herself get too run down. Cass, I don’t think that anything we do is helping. I don’t know what to do for her. She just seems so sad all the time. Even when she’s laughing and having a good time, that joy isn’t reaching her eyes. I hate seeing her like this.”

“I know. We all agree with you, but the grieving process takes time. It doesn’t help that Aaron was killed so brutally and unexpectedly.”

His gut still twisted with jealousy when he heard Aaron’s name. That was wrong on so many levels, but it’s just the way that it was. Aaron had had the girl he wanted and loved and now he was dead. It made Chris feel like the worst kind of guy to feel such writhing jealousy about him.

After a moment, Cassie said, “So, tell me about the binder. I’m tempted to come over there just so I can see it myself.”

“It’s incredible.” He flipped through it for a moment, marveling at her levels of organization. Was it wrong that he kept hoping to see some sort of ‘Chris’ doodle in the margins? Something to give him hope that he might have a chance with her again someday. “There are lists for everything. She even has the drinks broken down by person and how much she predicts they’ll consume off the open bar. By the way, did you realize that Jake’s Aunt Clara has a drinking problem?”

“What? Seriously? How would she even know that?”

“I have no idea, but I’m thinking some federal organization like the CIA or FBI needs Julie on their team. She thinks of and considers absolutely every detail. It’s a little scary about how incredibly thorough it is.”

“I think you may be exaggerating just a little bit.”

“I’m really not. She really should become a private investigator. I think she has a gift in sniffing out everyone’s secrets.” He considered how pale and exhausted she’d appeared earlier. “But she is really sick right now. Honestly, Cass, how much more work does she need to do before the wedding is ready to go?”

“God, I don’t even know, Chris. See, this is where I’m an awful friend. I’ve just let her handle it all, especially with it being the end of the semester at Tech. I’m swamped with my students at work.”

Chris didn’t sleep any more than Julie did. There was no reason he couldn’t help her out. He was capable, right?

“Okay, I’m sure there’s a still-to-do list in here somewhere. Let me see what I can figure out and maybe I can lighten some of her load before the wedding.”

“Thanks, Chris. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything. Just be ready to look gorgeous when you walk down that aisle.”

“I love you, Chris.”

“Love you too, Cass.”



* * *



The next morning, Julie panicked when she discovered Cassie’s wedding binder was missing. She looked frantically around her kitchen before her gaze caught on Chris’s front door. Wait, Chris had been here last night. Her head cold had been so bad when she’d gotten home, she’d completely forgotten. That entire scene with him seemed like it had occurred through a fog.

Exhaustion and weakness pulled at her. Closing her eyes, she steeled herself against the argument she knew was coming. No, she didn’t feel any better, but she had too much to do to give into the illness now. She’d give in to the pull of her bed next week, after the wedding was over. In the meantime, she just needed to keep Chris in the dark as much as possible about how truly dreadful she felt.

She checked the hall mirror to make sure that her concealer was still working and then stepped across their breezeway to knock on his front door.

Chris opened the door and smiled. “You look better this morning. Are you feeling better?”

“I am. Thanks. I told you, I just needed more medicine and for once, I slept well so that helped too.” She glanced around him, into his house, looking for her binder and today’s lists. “Um, I think you may have something of mine.”

He smirked at her. “Are you missing your binders?”

“Yes. Please may I have them back now?”

“Sure, let me grab them. Come on in.” He went and picked up her stack of binders from the coffee table, but when he handed them to her, she frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Something’s missing.”

His mouth dropped open. “You honestly can tell that just from holding those?”

She nodded absentmindedly as she peered down at the books in her arms. “Why is there paper missing out of Cassie’s wedding binder?” She shot him an accusing glare.

“Because you’re going to let me help you with some of the stuff you still have to do.”

“You went through my binder?” she asked through clenched teeth. “What gives you the right to go through my things? These are mine. Mine alone. No one touches them. Do you understand that? There’s an organization to it and you are not allowed to mess with that.” She deepened her glare, but he didn’t seem to care. “Go. Get. The. Missing. Pages. Now.”

She was so furious with him that she could barely stand to look at him. Unfortunately, her point was lost as another coughing fit overtook her. Damn.

When she finished coughing, she looked at him expectantly, but instead of going to get the rest of her belongings, he just smiled at her. “You’re sick.” The condescension in his voice grated on her nerves, which were already strung way too tight. “So I’m going to keep those other pages and help you. We’re not debating this. I already talked to Cassie and she agrees with me.”

“Honestly? You went running to your sister about this? What are you? Five?” She continued to glare at him, as she clutched her books tighter to her chest, like he might snatch them out of her hands.

He scowled right back at her. “You can try to bully me all you want, but you aren’t going to win so save your strength for getting better.” He began to nudge her out the door. “Now go to work. I have your number if I have any questions.”

As the door clicked shut behind her, Julie stood there with her mouth hanging open. What the hell just happened here, and when had she lost control of the situation? This was not acceptable. She stormed home and yanked her front door open, seething the whole time. How dare he try to take control of her life from her?



* * *



Chris met Cassie for a late dinner in a trendy Italian restaurant after running a few of the wedding errands on Julie’s list. A new restaurant in town, it was crowded and the bar in the center of it all was hopping with a mix of college students and executives relaxing with an after-work drink. The vibe of the place was definitely up. It seemed to match his sister’s beaming smile as he sat down to join her.

“Hey, you. You look happy.” He smiled at her, loving that her life was this good.

“What’s not to be happy about? I’m getting married to the man of my dreams in three days.”

“Speaking of which, I have the candles for the reception in my truck. Julie is a powerhouse of organization. Do you know that when she ordered the candles, she also ordered lighters and matches to make sure that little detail isn’t missed? She’s amazing.” He shook his head as he considered how detail-oriented she was.

“She is, but I’m worried about her. How’s she feeling today?”

“I haven’t seen her since this morning, but she didn’t seem too bad then.” Although it was hard to tell for sure since she was barely speaking to him. She was still in a tiff about her binder, but he could deal with her bad mood if it meant that she was able to take it a little bit easier and get healthy again. “Maybe she’s finally on the mend. This cold has really nailed her.”

“I know, and when she already has so much awful stuff going on. I think Julie has earned some better times.”

“She has.” He watched his twin, curious about the mischievous glint in her eye. “Do you have something in mind?”

“We were out last weekend and she had too much to drink so she was a little more loose-lipped than normal. I think it might actually do her some good to go out on a date. I think we should try to set her up with someone.”

“O…kay.” That wasn’t what he expected, but immediately he thought of Carter and his interest in her. “You think she’s ready for that? I don’t know, Cassie. I’m not seeing signs of that.”

“That’s because you don’t know the whole story. I don’t think anyone does. She really doesn’t let anyone in, but I don’t think Aaron and Julie were as serious as we all thought they were.”

“Why do you th—” A blaring fire alarm shrieked out over the restaurant keeping Chris from finishing his question. For a moment, their eyes met in alarm, but as Chris surveyed the restaurant, he couldn’t see signs of a fire or other danger. No reason to panic. So he rose, pulling Cassie up with him and they joined the crowd shuffling shoulder to shoulder toward the exits.

They had been sitting on the backside of the restaurant, so they headed toward the restroom exits. Considering the crowd, it was an orderly evacuation. Sure, there were a few people who were panicked, but those were mainly kids. And on the other side of the coin were the college coeds who seemed to be making a party out of it.

At the doorway, they slowed to fit through the narrower opening. Chris continued to keep Cassie in front of him, trying not to lose her in the momentum of the crowd. As they slid through the door, a sharp, hot pain took his breath as it slammed into his left side. He immediately gasped and reached down to the wounded area.

His first assumption was he’d been elbowed—hard—but that was before he felt the moisture. Glancing down at his hand still holding his side, he realized he was bleeding. He glanced back, but couldn’t see any reason for the gash. There were no visible sharp edges on the doorway, but it was hard to really examine the doorframe as people still poured out.

He examined the faces of the crowd, but no one else seemed to be having a similar issue. What the hell had just happened? As he considered, the ache became sharper and more painful. He looked at it again, but in the darkened night and with the amount of blood on his shirt, he couldn’t tell how bad the cut was. At a minimum, he figured he needed a few stitches.

Mass confusion ruled the parking lot as the crowd mingled around not knowing for sure where to go. Cassie hadn’t realized yet what had happened to him and she was chatting with the lady who’d been sitting at the table next to them about what could have set off the alarm. He could see the flashing lights of incoming police cars. His side hurt more and more and he needed to find a place to sit soon, or else he was going to be on the ground.

His truck was parked in front of the restaurant and there were people all around it. He would never be able to get it out of his parking space until things calmed down here. He looked around, but didn’t spot Cassie’s FJ, so he turned to ask her. “Cass, where’d you park?”

Her eyebrows furrowed as her twin sense kicked in and she realized something was wrong with him. “Why do you feel weird?”

“Because I think I need a few stitches. Think you can get your jeep out of here to take me to the ER?”

“Seriously?” Her eyes immediately focused on his bloody hand holding his side. “Oh my God, what happened?”

“I don’t know. There must have been a nail sticking out of the doorframe, but I’m bleeding like a stuck pig, so how about we go to the hospital to get it taken care of before I pass out here?”

Even in the dark parking lot, he could see her face blanch as she took him by the arm on the other side to lead him toward her car.



* * *



Three hours and seventeen stitches later, Chris found himself chatting once again with Detective Brian Barnes about why someone appeared to be out to get him. Cassie was outside talking to Jake on her cell phone.

“Honestly, Brian, I just thought I caught my side somehow on the door jamb as we left the building. I never would have guessed someone knifed me. I looked around after it happened, but didn’t see anything odder than what was already going on with the fire evacuation. By the way, what was that? Did they have a kitchen fire?”

Brian shook his head. “No, and that’s what has me so concerned. There was absolutely no reason for that alarm to go off and you were the only one to get hurt. The medical personnel assure me that what you have on your side is a knife wound, not a tear, so someone set out on purpose to hurt you. I might think that it was random except someone shot at you on your doorstep the other night, too.”

“Shh, don’t say that so loud. With the wedding this weekend, I don’t want anyone to know about it.” Luckily Cassie hadn’t heard any of this conversation and still thought he’d somehow hurt himself exiting the building.

“What is it with you and your group of friends? Honestly, you seem like you’re really nice, but for some reason, other people keep trying to kill you all.”

Chris gaped at Brian. Was that what this was? Seriously? Someone was trying to kill him or were they just giving him a warning of some sort? The note had said to stay away from her. Who were they referring to? He honestly had no idea.

He’d just come back from Julie’s when he’d been shot at, but he’d only been over there for five minutes. It had to be something else.

Tonight he’d been with Cassie. She’d been the focus of a stalker before because of her fame from the video game she consulted on, but if she was the focus then wouldn’t they go after Jake? As her twin, no one should see him as a threat.

Feeling more than a little stunned, Chris regarded Brian. “I honestly have no idea. As far as I know, I haven’t pissed anyone off lately. Even Colton likes me right now.”

Brian gave a hollow chuckle. He’d spent enough time with them all to know about Chris and Colton’s off and on contention. “Well, I don’t know. We don’t have much to go on. I’m still waiting on the ballistic results from the bullet we pulled out of your wall, but the odds of that leading us to a suspect are slim. Someone seems to have you in their sites. Stay vigilant, let me know if you see anything suspicious, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but you really should let your group of friends know what’s going on. This could affect their safety too.”

“I’ll consider it. Thanks, Brian.” Three more days until the wedding. He didn’t want to freak anyone out that there might be danger lurking around them again. Especially since he didn’t know how serious this was. Didn’t Jake and Cassie deserve a little bit of worry free happiness here?