I stared at myself in the mirror. Why do you suddenly care? Today?
“Because you’re 29.” I answered myself out loud. “I’m old enough to know the truth.”
I leaned closer to the mirror. I didn’t look 29, even after all these years in deserts from here to the middle-east. My raven black hair hung down past my shoulder blades. Sun had baked my cheekbones, making me a bit darker and the sharper angles of my face a bit more pronounced. But in a good way. I needed virtually no makeup. Maybe a little mascara for a night out. I was ‘sun-kissed’. That’s what Casey called it.
Except for the tattoo, I didn’t look like a Marine. I still wore the same Levis as I did in high school, patching them up whenever needed with some bohemian embroidery I learned as a little kid. The Levies fit a lot better now than they did when I was 17, all velvety soft.
The fitted tank top showed off defined arm muscles and shoulders, without looking like I was trying out for some bodybuilder’s magazine. And I had a good cleavage, no implants or pushup bras needed. I didn’t go for the ‘girly’ stuff, but didn’t mind proving I wasn’t a ‘man with boobs’, as some idiots assumed when they heard about a female Marine.
Some people joked that if I was a foot taller, I could be a supermodel, but I was happy at five-four. Not too intimidating, unless I needed to be. Being petite worked out fine interrogating a suspect. They always went for what they believed was my weakness, leaving them almost defenseless when I came back on them. Play to your strengths. A well-learned lesson.
Right now I didn’t want to be intimidating. I wanted to blend in so I could get out of here incognito. You’re just one of the girls. I fluffed my hair again. Casey and Lutz were probably waiting for me. I checked my weapons, zipped up my duffel and stashed it in the locker, making sure it was secured.
Heading back into the bar, I ran into a cluster of the ‘girls’. In uniform I was ‘La Capitana’. Out of uniform I was one of the gang, except I wasn’t looking to marry a military man. Since I wasn’t competition, they elevated me to girlfriend status.
After some girly screams and hugs, we leaned against the bar to scope out the evening’s choices. I was good at screening out the married men and one-nighters, and preached to the younger girls to stay away from the newbies fresh out of boot camp. Those boys were far from home, family and friends. It wasn’t a surprise when they latched onto the first set of boobs pointing their direction. They were easily led down the aisle and it seldom ended well.
Delgado didn’t like me giving man-hunter tips, but I’d rather be a matchmaker than see the fallout of a short marriage, eighteen years of child support and a lifetime of resentment. That the girls listened to me meant they wanted more too.
I pointed out the young man from the tram, putting the nix on him. Scanning the room for better catches, I saw Delgado watching me from a corner table. Thank you, God! Surprisingly, Lutz sat across from him, both leaning their chairs up against the wall. I didn’t have to ask how they met up. Casey, Officer Ricardo Castro Delgado, was still in uniform and wore it so well it got my heart beating for a whole different reason. “You’re on your own, girls.”
“Ohhh, your man’s here.” One of the girls snickered over my shoulder. “And your yummy friend too. Together?” She gave me a raised eyebrow.
“He’s my patrol partner. Don’t make anything of it.” I left them, weaving my way through the tables.
Both men dropped their chairs and got up as I approached. “Beth.” Casey gave me a kiss. Quick and simple. Neither of us were much on PDA.
“Glad to see introductions are done.” The two men looked at each other and shrugged. Good, no macho posturing, though Casey’s arm was around me, his hand stroking my back.
Despite our usual avoidance of being touchy-feely, I wanted his arms around me. Deep down in my guts I knew I was in some kind of trouble I wasn’t prepared for. For the first time ever, I wanted him to protect me, but I couldn’t give in to irrational fear. I needed a clear head. I pointed to Lutz’s phone pocket, wiggling my fingers. “Were you already here?”
“I was on my way.” He frowned, taking his phone out and handing it to me.
I took my own out. There was an ancient large stereo speaker behind our table, the jukebox was already cranking out old 70-80’s music. I put the phones on top the speaker. Delgado volunteered his own. He leaned over my shoulder, but looked at Lutz as he whispered. “What the hell is up?”
CHAPTER
5
He listened as I quickly described what happened in the mountains, only stopping as a fresh round of beers appeared. I told him about the undisturbed drop boxes and the strange men who cornered us, threatened us. That they had been monitoring us enough to know our names. Then the marks under my car.
I left out the weird images that surrounded the Smirker. I wasn’t so sure they were real. Maybe too much heat. If not for Lutz having the same experience, I might have written the entire day off to hallucinations.
Casey looked worried. “I haven’t been getting reports of upped patrols across the border, but we have noticed a drop in numbers too. Our analysts are looking at other parts of the fence to see if we need to reassign assets. It could be that it’s just been hotter this summer.”
“It hasn’t stopped them before.” I stared at Lutz. “Four
