“I was the only survivor,” he croaked. “I was the only survivor!” His big shoulders began to shake, and the sobs left him in violent shudders.
Hannah pressed herself as close as she could, placing kisses across his shoulders and back wherever she could reach. She held him as tight as she could, letting him pour his grief out on her. It was breaking her heart to see this massive, incredible man in such a vulnerable state.
“I’m so sorry, Cody,” she whispered. She laid her forehead between his shoulder blades.
He sat cradled in her embrace until the sobs subsided. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he finally stopped. He moved until he was sitting on his butt, leaning fully back against Hannah.
She moved her hands, placing one over his heart and running her fingers through his hair with the other. They sat together for a while, neither saying anything. Hannah just seemed to know what to do to bring him peace.
“You calm my demons, Hannah,” he said, his voice low and hoarse from the sobbing. He felt her soft lips press against his temple, and he sighed deeply. “I don’t know how you do it, angel, but thank you.”
He turned his face so his forehead touched hers. “What was that song you were singing? I heard it before.”
Smiling tenderly, she stroked his cheek to wipe the tears away. “It’s an old lullaby my granny used to sing to me. After my parents died, I suffered vicious panic attacks. I couldn’t sleep and the nightmares were terrible. She would hold me and rock me, singing that song. She would then cleanse the room and I was able to sleep.”
She looked deep into his gorgeous blue eyes. “Trauma knows trauma, sweetheart. My soul recognizes the pain in yours.”
Cody pulled her around until she was straddled on his lap. “God, Hannah, you’re amazing.” He chuckled. “I think you were sent to me. I’ve never met anyone like you.”
He hugged her close, burying his face in her neck. After a few more minutes of just holding the woman of his dreams in his arms, he couldn’t resist any longer and kissed her tenderly.
“I think we can go back in the house now. I need to hear the rest of this.”
Hannah nodded and got up from his lap with a final stroke down his grizzled jaw. She took his hand, and they walked together back into the kitchen.
“You good, man?” Caide asked, concern in his brown eyes for his friend.
Cody nodded and settled next to Hannah, keeping her hand in his. “Yeah. Let’s finish this.”
Liam nodded and continued where he left off. “Turns out Abernathy was the father of Holly Stratford.”
A gasp sounded from Jess. She clutched her stomach and turned fearful eyes to Caide. The sadistic warmonger was the kids’ grandfather.
“He was convicted on sixteen counts of murder, one count of attempted murder in your case, conspiring with the enemy and treason. He’s not getting out anytime soon. Fucker is locked up tight in San Quentin.”
“This is some real Alice in Wonderland shit,” Cody muttered. “So how does all this fit with your mole theory?”
“That’s where it gets interesting. Holly was responsible for turning her father in, but she didn’t realize her sorry excuse of a husband was in bed with the man. Mark was working with Abernathy to supply the San Francisco underground with military-grade weapons. They stood to make millions and get a name for themselves with the mob as the foremost supplier of top-grade artillery. When Holly turned, that whole deal blew up in smoke.”
“And poor Holly lost her life because of it,” Jess said. “But that still doesn’t explain who the mole is and how all this is connected.”
Liam took a swig from his glass of water. “I’m getting there,” he promised. He turned his laptop toward the group.
Cody’s eyes threatened to pop out of his head. He recognized the mole right away. “It can’t be,” he stuttered. “I saw him die! Took a bullet right between his eyes! He’s the reason I survived!”
“I know, man, I know. I don’t know how either. I saw the autopsy report. He was legit DOA when the medic unit arrived. I’ve read through your file as well, several times going over your account of the incident in detail. There is no way on God’s green earth Clint Emerson survived that attack.”
Cody’s mind was whizzing around in his head like a drunken wasp. “He had a brother, or half-brother, I think. Clint didn’t talk about him much, just said they had different fathers and didn’t get along too well. The brother was a couple years older. I believe his name was Troy, but I have no idea what his last name would be. I tried looking him up when I got back, but I could never find him.”
Sighing, he leaned back into his chair and rubbed his free hand tiredly down his face. “He wasn’t mentioned in the obituary either. Only Clint’s little sister was listed as the only sibling. I didn’t really think anything of it. I was kind of going through my own shit at the time.”
Cody nodded, chewing his bottom lip. “It’s textbook Infiltration 101. I should have seen right through it. I’m sorry, Cody.”
“Not your fault, Liam, so don’t be trying to blame yourself for the actions of others. I learned that lesson a long time ago and it’s made my life a lot easier to live, even through the devastation. So does this Arthur Tobias know you’re onto him?”
“No and we plan to keep it that way.” Abraham’s deep bass voice sounded through the kitchen. “There’s a connection between our mole and this whole situation, right down to the attack in Iraq. We just have to bide our time and make all the pegs fit into round holes.”
“Just so I understand the depth of the situation,” Cody said, his voice stronger and more even. “We got a weapons contractor who’s serving God knows how many life sentences in San Quentin because his daughter turned on him. Said daughter was married to the fuckup who fathered those sweet angels sleeping upstairs and offed his wife because he lost out on millions.
“The mole could pass for a dead man’s doppelganger, and we have no idea where all this connects. Did I sum it up right?”
“Yep, that’s it in a nutshell,” Max answered.
“We need to solve this riddle and get the fucker,” Cody ground out. Now that he’d gone through the grief stage, he was going full-on into the rage stage.
“Sixteen good men and women died because of greed and God only knows how many more besides Holly. It almost cost the lives of Nathaniel and Caileigh. I will warn you. When it comes time, I will not hold back on this bastard. I will tear him limb from limb with my bare hands. The hell was not the attack. It was the after, having to deal with being the only survivor. There will be a reckoning. I guaran-damn-tee you that.”
Hannah just sat with her fingers laced with Cody’s. She didn’t know what to make of the situation, but she could feel the anger rolling off him like lava. She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d gone through and just from the little she’d gleaned tonight it was excruciating.
She worried Cody would sink into the anger and never recover himself. She understood his anger and he had a right to feel it. She just didn’t want him turning away from the wonderful man he’d become in spite of his trauma. That would truly be the tragedy of it all.
“We’ve set up an office in town. Thought it was time to branch out of Bozeman,” Liam said with a grin. “We are bringing our mole to our turf. Easier to flush him out. You in?”
“Hell yeah, I’m in.” Liam grinned wickedly.
