TWO DAYS LATER, LAX INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Litha and Donovan had spent the day before in Los Angeles as Seska Broussard and Donovan Richards. They had cozied up in the luxury penthouse at the hotel and partied the night before with some of Seska's old contacts. They'd pulled it off successfully, a few of Seska's girl friends had commented that her new lover was a dish and it was obvious the two of them were so much in love.
'If they only knew' she thought. The night had been spent in separate beds, in separate rooms. Even with as much as she opened up to Frank a few days ago, she still needed to be on her toes and if she let down her guard, Frank would be right there to catch the opportunity. And worse yet, he'd more than likely spot or even feel the C-section scar from Lina's birth.
As she rode in the limo out to the airport, she thought back over the pregnancy. At first she was horrified. She was pregnant and her field life was over as she knew it. But when it dawned on her that it was Frank's baby, she changed her tune quickly. Frank's baby... Litha propped her chin on her hand and nibbled her fingernail. Her mother had been overjoyed at the prospect, even after she told her that it was 'that man's' baby. Mother for some reason, had taken a dislike to the way her daughter and Frank had parted and put all the blame on him for it. After getting over the initial shock of discovery, she put herself in for a furlough from active duty until further notice. Her mentor, Adam Wallace called her at her mother's and grilled her relentlessly about why and how she was going to explain this to Frank. She made Wallace swear on his honor once more in their friendship, that he would not tell Frank why she was on furlough. Then Wallace pulled a string and got her the teaching position at the FBI Academy. That's where she met Walden. The two of them took to each other instantly and became friends. He was there through the last few months of her pregnancy and even there when she went into labor.
She chuckled softly. She'd managed to scare the old man half to death. Due to deliver any moment, Litha had insisted on being out in the middle of field training. He made her promise to not overdo it and she kept that promise. She stayed at the ops base during the excercise that evening and monitored the two cadet teams as they played their little war game against the each other. But the joy was short lived when one of the other instructors noticed that blood was on the chair as she stood up to go to the bathroom. Immediately she was flat on her back and the ambulance that was constantly on standby during these excercises was carrying her to the hospital. 14 hours of labor and pushing had worn the her out. Finally the doctor had told her that if they didn't operate, then she'd lose the baby. The baby was too big to fit through her petite pelvis and all the pushing wasn't doing anything but harming them both. Through it all, Gerrod was there with her. He walked her down to the operating room and was standing there when they wheeled out little Angelina Sinclair-Donovan. He was the first face she saw when she came out of the anesthesia and was already holding little Lina. The first time she held Lina, Litha cried. She was the spitting image of her father, right down to the fuller lower lip and dark hair. Her ears didn't stand out as much, Litha was happy about that. On Lina's father, it was one thing, damned sexy at times... but on a little girl it just wouldn't do.
The car pulled to a stop out on the tarmac and the chauffuer opened the door. Frank watched as he did and smiled inwardly when Litha stepped out. Her long black hair was left loose and gone was the heavy wintery clothing they'd had in Chicago. It was a balmy 60's here in LA and she'd gone for lighter weight clothing. He watched the high heeled black pump settle on the ground, leg bare all the way up to the hem of her micro mini skirt. The suit itself was jade green and the hem of the skirt hit a good 4 inches above the knee. Damn she still had some of the best legs he knew of. Not even Alex's legs were that good looking. The jacket to the suit was double-breasted and low cut. Only he knew that underneath it was a lace camisole and her beloved twin Desert Eagles holstered in the small of her back. He had watched her dress this morning, making sure that she had the trace pinned somewhere on her body. He'd picked up the belt that held the custom made holsters and looked it over. There were no safety snaps on it and he gave her a questioning look. Litha explained as she put it on and buckled it over her camisole and skirt that since it fits in the small of her back and it's difficult to unsnap the safeties on such a position, there simply were none.
Frank sucked in a breath as she stood up out of the limo. The wind was kicking up with the engines and causing a draft that was strong enough to lift her hair up into a whirlwind. Her long black trenchcoat was sucked up at the same time and as she stepped around the door towards him, he had a sudden vision of her as an avenging angel on wings of black coming down from heaven to set the wrong things right. This was going to get interesting. Litha was no longer trying to catch Callahan at his game - she was trying to stop another killer. She'd finally confided in him that the rules had changed and this wasn't going to be like before.
'It seems that Montcalvez is on the road to getting his big brother out.' She'd told him last night after dinner. 'Geraldo's lawyers are making a case for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. I'm being sent down on this mission not only for arresting the junior Montcalvez, but to make sure that Reymundo isn't sprung. Wallace is working on the details from his end while I'm on this. I have to get Geraldo to trust me enough to give me some details. It won't be easy, but it's what I'm stuck with. Make no mistake, Frank. No matter what happens, my first priority in this game is to get the three of you home safe.'
He stepped forward and took her coat from her as she stopped in front of him, his fingers lingering sensually over her shoulders. She smiled up playfully at him, completely keeping the guise of lovers up as she did.
"Glad you made it. How was the shopping?" He lowered his head to brush a kiss over the curve of her neck as her hands found his derriere and gave it a squeeze.
"Simply delightful" she purred in his ear. "it's all being shipped back to the house for when we come back from our little vacation in Brazil." Litha really HAD been shopping. While Frank was making the arrangements plausible at the airport, she was out doing some last minute shopping on her own time. There was a darling outfit for Lina and some new clothing for her for after this assignment. It wasn't everyday that she got to shop in Beverly Hills. She laced her arm around his waist and led him into the plane.
The jet was piloted by Federal Agents and the one attendant was an old friend of Litha's from their days going through the FBI Academy themselves. So, once the door was closed, the pretense dropped and they all proceeded to get down to the nuts and bolts of the plan. Alex and Jake were flying in later that night to meet with Montcalvez at the same time they were. Once they had the negotiations started, it would only be a matter of time until one of the two pairings was offered the exclusive US connection in his endeavor. While that was going on, Seska would be cozying up to Geraldo in efforts to gain the information that would help keepr Reymundo in federal prison. But failing that, when the trade offer was made is when the arrest would happen. The Justice Department had already coordinated with the Brazilian government and had their own people in place so that everyone involved with Geraldo Montcalvez' business would go down at the same time. All neat, sweet, and simple.
Both of them should have realized that things were never that simple when it came to undercover operations. As their plane was taking off, Director Boone was on the telephone in D.C.
"I don't care. She's on the plane right now headed down towards Sao Paolo. In a matter of days this whole fiasco is going to be over and done with."
"Boone, you are a twisted bastard you know that? I can handle you having a personal vendetta against this chick for laying you up in the hospital for a few weeks with a few broken vertebrae, but come on. The kid?"
"Yes. You heard me right. If by some miracle she doesn't die in Brazil, then I want that little brat removed."
"And the mother? It's gonna be difficult with the mother there watching the kid."
"Whatever. Agent Sinclair is going to find out just what it means to make an enemy out of me."
****
Litha and Donovan had spent the day before in Los Angeles as Seska Broussard and Donovan Richards. They had cozied up in the luxury penthouse at the hotel and partied the night before with some of Seska's old contacts. They'd pulled it off successfully, a few of Seska's girl friends had commented that her new lover was a dish and it was obvious the two of them were so much in love.
'If they only knew' she thought. The night had been spent in separate beds, in separate rooms. Even with as much as she opened up to Frank a few days ago, she still needed to be on her toes and if she let down her guard, Frank would be right there to catch the opportunity. And worse yet, he'd more than likely spot or even feel the C-section scar from Lina's birth.
As she rode in the limo out to the airport, she thought back over the pregnancy. At first she was horrified. She was pregnant and her field life was over as she knew it. But when it dawned on her that it was Frank's baby, she changed her tune quickly. Frank's baby... Litha propped her chin on her hand and nibbled her fingernail. Her mother had been overjoyed at the prospect, even after she told her that it was 'that man's' baby. Mother for some reason, had taken a dislike to the way her daughter and Frank had parted and put all the blame on him for it. After getting over the initial shock of discovery, she put herself in for a furlough from active duty until further notice. Her mentor, Adam Wallace called her at her mother's and grilled her relentlessly about why and how she was going to explain this to Frank. She made Wallace swear on his honor once more in their friendship, that he would not tell Frank why she was on furlough. Then Wallace pulled a string and got her the teaching position at the FBI Academy. That's where she met Walden. The two of them took to each other instantly and became friends. He was there through the last few months of her pregnancy and even there when she went into labor.
She chuckled softly. She'd managed to scare the old man half to death. Due to deliver any moment, Litha had insisted on being out in the middle of field training. He made her promise to not overdo it and she kept that promise. She stayed at the ops base during the excercise that evening and monitored the two cadet teams as they played their little war game against the each other. But the joy was short lived when one of the other instructors noticed that blood was on the chair as she stood up to go to the bathroom. Immediately she was flat on her back and the ambulance that was constantly on standby during these excercises was carrying her to the hospital. 14 hours of labor and pushing had worn the her out. Finally the doctor had told her that if they didn't operate, then she'd lose the baby. The baby was too big to fit through her petite pelvis and all the pushing wasn't doing anything but harming them both. Through it all, Gerrod was there with her. He walked her down to the operating room and was standing there when they wheeled out little Angelina Sinclair-Donovan. He was the first face she saw when she came out of the anesthesia and was already holding little Lina. The first time she held Lina, Litha cried. She was the spitting image of her father, right down to the fuller lower lip and dark hair. Her ears didn't stand out as much, Litha was happy about that. On Lina's father, it was one thing, damned sexy at times... but on a little girl it just wouldn't do.
The car pulled to a stop out on the tarmac and the chauffuer opened the door. Frank watched as he did and smiled inwardly when Litha stepped out. Her long black hair was left loose and gone was the heavy wintery clothing they'd had in Chicago. It was a balmy 60's here in LA and she'd gone for lighter weight clothing. He watched the high heeled black pump settle on the ground, leg bare all the way up to the hem of her micro mini skirt. The suit itself was jade green and the hem of the skirt hit a good 4 inches above the knee. Damn she still had some of the best legs he knew of. Not even Alex's legs were that good looking. The jacket to the suit was double-breasted and low cut. Only he knew that underneath it was a lace camisole and her beloved twin Desert Eagles holstered in the small of her back. He had watched her dress this morning, making sure that she had the trace pinned somewhere on her body. He'd picked up the belt that held the custom made holsters and looked it over. There were no safety snaps on it and he gave her a questioning look. Litha explained as she put it on and buckled it over her camisole and skirt that since it fits in the small of her back and it's difficult to unsnap the safeties on such a position, there simply were none.
Frank sucked in a breath as she stood up out of the limo. The wind was kicking up with the engines and causing a draft that was strong enough to lift her hair up into a whirlwind. Her long black trenchcoat was sucked up at the same time and as she stepped around the door towards him, he had a sudden vision of her as an avenging angel on wings of black coming down from heaven to set the wrong things right. This was going to get interesting. Litha was no longer trying to catch Callahan at his game - she was trying to stop another killer. She'd finally confided in him that the rules had changed and this wasn't going to be like before.
'It seems that Montcalvez is on the road to getting his big brother out.' She'd told him last night after dinner. 'Geraldo's lawyers are making a case for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. I'm being sent down on this mission not only for arresting the junior Montcalvez, but to make sure that Reymundo isn't sprung. Wallace is working on the details from his end while I'm on this. I have to get Geraldo to trust me enough to give me some details. It won't be easy, but it's what I'm stuck with. Make no mistake, Frank. No matter what happens, my first priority in this game is to get the three of you home safe.'
He stepped forward and took her coat from her as she stopped in front of him, his fingers lingering sensually over her shoulders. She smiled up playfully at him, completely keeping the guise of lovers up as she did.
"Glad you made it. How was the shopping?" He lowered his head to brush a kiss over the curve of her neck as her hands found his derriere and gave it a squeeze.
"Simply delightful" she purred in his ear. "it's all being shipped back to the house for when we come back from our little vacation in Brazil." Litha really HAD been shopping. While Frank was making the arrangements plausible at the airport, she was out doing some last minute shopping on her own time. There was a darling outfit for Lina and some new clothing for her for after this assignment. It wasn't everyday that she got to shop in Beverly Hills. She laced her arm around his waist and led him into the plane.
The jet was piloted by Federal Agents and the one attendant was an old friend of Litha's from their days going through the FBI Academy themselves. So, once the door was closed, the pretense dropped and they all proceeded to get down to the nuts and bolts of the plan. Alex and Jake were flying in later that night to meet with Montcalvez at the same time they were. Once they had the negotiations started, it would only be a matter of time until one of the two pairings was offered the exclusive US connection in his endeavor. While that was going on, Seska would be cozying up to Geraldo in efforts to gain the information that would help keepr Reymundo in federal prison. But failing that, when the trade offer was made is when the arrest would happen. The Justice Department had already coordinated with the Brazilian government and had their own people in place so that everyone involved with Geraldo Montcalvez' business would go down at the same time. All neat, sweet, and simple.
Both of them should have realized that things were never that simple when it came to undercover operations. As their plane was taking off, Director Boone was on the telephone in D.C.
"I don't care. She's on the plane right now headed down towards Sao Paolo. In a matter of days this whole fiasco is going to be over and done with."
"Boone, you are a twisted bastard you know that? I can handle you having a personal vendetta against this chick for laying you up in the hospital for a few weeks with a few broken vertebrae, but come on. The kid?"
"Yes. You heard me right. If by some miracle she doesn't die in Brazil, then I want that little brat removed."
"And the mother? It's gonna be difficult with the mother there watching the kid."
"Whatever. Agent Sinclair is going to find out just what it means to make an enemy out of me."
****