Debra & Regan Webb & Black - Her Undercover Defender

“Yes!” she said as her soft green eyes lit up. “Suzette and I caught them when they played one of the beach bars on Isle of Palms this summer.”

“They’re down at Benny’s tonight. I thought we could swing by for a bit after we eat.”

“Sounds great,” she agreed. “Be warned I turn into a pumpkin around midnight this week.”

“No problem. Shift work can be a bear. I did plenty of that in the Coast Guard.”

The waitress came by, and they placed their orders, each of them choosing a different gourmet combination.

“I took every shift I could get my hands on just out of nursing school,” she said when the waitress walked away. “Usually I adapt quickly. Or maybe my body’s resigned to getting fewer hours of sleep.”

He liked that she could laugh at herself. “Must have been hard times starting your career in the midst of losing your parents.”

“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “Trey’s injuries and the survivor guilt issues complicated things.” Her smile was a little sad. “But he’s fine ,” she said, putting air quotes around the word. “Somehow we made it.”

David didn’t want to prod a sore spot, but with the holidays coming up, everyone concerned was hoping Trey would make contact with his sister. Human intel in Arizona had dried up and they really needed to figure out if Rediscover intended to make good on veiled threats against Dr. Palmer’s work. “That’s what counts. These past years couldn’t have been easy. I’m not sure how I’ll cope when we lose our parents.”

“I hope it’s a long ways off for you,” she said, her eyes going misty. “I miss them every day.” She traced the rim of her water glass with her fingertip. “Can we talk about something else? This close to the holidays...” Her voice trailed off and she wrinkled her nose.

“Sure.” His task of keeping an eye on Terri was progressing smoothly. He enjoyed her company, but Casey had alerted him this morning that Dr. Palmer would be moving a trial patient into MUSC for the final adjustments and testing. It would be a prime opportunity for Rediscover to strike. “Do you have your Christmas tree up yet?”

“No. You?”

He shook his head. “I’m trying to decide if I’ll go artificial or real or skip it altogether this year.” He shrugged. “I’ll be going to Georgia, so the tree would be just for me, y’know?”

“Don’t skip it,” she said. “Which were you raised with?”

“Artificial. My mom squeezes out every minute of the holiday season. She puts the tree up bright and early the Friday after Thanksgiving. The high could be eighty and she’ll have Christmas carols cranked up and a vat of hot cocoa going all day.” He leaned forward. “I nearly resigned when my department gave us all a four-day weekend. I had no excuses. Everyone who’s home for more than Thanksgiving Day gets sucked into her decorating vortex.”

As he’d hoped, Terri laughed along with him. “You love it,” she accused.

“I love my mom,” he agreed. “I’ll admit the holiday chaos is more fun now that there’s a few nieces and nephews underfoot.”

“I bet.” Her gaze drifted away and her smile faded.

“Hey.” He waved his hand in front of her face. “Did I bum you out?”

“Not at all. I was just imagining how it must be for you.”

She tried to cover it, but her stiff, stubborn smile was proof the conversation was a downer. The expression was too similar to the one she wore in the photo on her employee badge. The picture had been taken just ten days after her parents died. Though he wanted to know about her traditions and holiday plans, he didn’t want to ruin the entire evening just because he had a job to do. Information collecting was, unfortunately, necessary.

“When will Trey be home for the holidays?”

“Well.” She tilted her head side to side and took too much interest in the placement of her fork. “I’m not exactly sure.”

“He is coming home?”

She cleared her throat and reached for her water, her gaze roaming over the eclectic decor. “He tells me he really likes Arizona and he’s making friends. I think the distance is good for him this year. Maybe for me, too.”

She still didn’t trust him enough to share her concerns about her missing brother. “You should be together,” David said.

“We’ve been almost inseparable thanks to our circumstances. It’s possible he’s trying to help by staying out there.”

“How so?”

“By not expecting me to come up with airfare.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” Except money wasn’t the real issue. David wanted to find Trey and jerk him up by his ears and tell him to treat his sister with more respect. Too bad he couldn’t reveal his protective streak as her newest friend. Even without the background and intel, he’d heard plenty about Terri’s rough time with Trey. The stories of her devotion to his recovery and her never-quit work ethic were common knowledge around the hospital.

David made a decision on the spot. Assuming his assignment didn’t change, he promised himself that whether or not Trey posed a threat to Dr. Palmer’s research project, he wouldn’t let him take advantage of Terri or continue to run roughshod over her feelings. After everything she’d been through, everything she’d overcome, she deserved better.

Like a spy pretending to be her pal? The annoying little voice in his head had been nagging him almost since the beginning. The trouble was, he liked Terri more with every passing conversation. She was a kind person and a damn fine nurse. If anyone needed a break from trouble, it was her. Too bad her brother wasn’t on the same page.

David told himself he and Trey were nothing alike. Neither of them was being completely honest with her, but David wasn’t running around with a bunch of extremists who spouted peace and delivered violence.

“It sounds like you have a great family,” Terri said as their salads were delivered.

“Believe me, there were plenty of days I wished I was an only child,” he said with a wink. He’d told her about his older sisters and the blind date fiasco they’d arranged during his Thanksgiving visit.

She’d laughed long and hard at that one. “You know your sisters mean well.”

He rolled his eyes and groaned. “The matchmaking meddlers need to find a different hobby. Maybe you could give them a course in minding their own business. You never talk about setting up blind dates for your brother.”

Oops. He noticed immediately he’d taken the wrong tack. He gave himself a mental kick as her eyes clouded with worry. She poked at her salad for a few minutes and changed the subject. He didn’t know if he should apologize or just let it go.

She pushed her half-eaten salad aside with a sigh. “The truth is I may never have that chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“My brother dropped out of college.” She bit her lip before continuing. “He hasn’t contacted me at all in months. I don’t have any idea where he is or if he ever plans to come home.”

David didn’t have to fake the surprise. He couldn’t believe she was telling him this. Despite what it meant for the case, he hated that she suffered over it. “Terri, I’m sorry.”

She swallowed. “Me, too. I won’t bore you with all the gory details and I don’t want to dwell on it tonight. I just thought you should know in case... I don’t know.” She sucked in a breath. “In case I seem sad over the next couple of weeks.”

He nodded, wishing he felt as though she’d welcome his touch. She looked like a woman who could use a hug. They’d shared coffee breaks, lunches and various activities around town, but they’d kept it completely platonic. “Come spend Christmas with us.”