Carol Ericson - Point Blank Seal

He strode to the corner and swept up the bag. He crouched beside her at the foot of the bed. “What do we need?”

“Changing pad in the side pocket, fresh diaper, wipes, a little tube of cream in the zipper pouch inside and a plastic grocery bag.”

He pulled out all the items she’d requested and lined them up on the floor, holding the diaper in his hand. “This looks like a complicated operation.”

“Only when he’s squiggly.” She grabbed Mikey’s kicking feet and pressed a kiss on each sole. “I’m going to start potty training him in about six months. Alicia said boys are slower than girls, but Bella was potty trained at twenty-six months.”

“If Bella can do it, Mikey can do it. Right, big guy?” Miguel poked Mikey’s belly with his finger, and his son rewarded him with a giggle.

Jennifer made short work of the task, and let him secure the fresh diaper into place.

He wrapped up the soiled diaper in the plastic bag and put it in the bathroom trash. Then he washed his hands and put everything back in its place in the diaper bag.

Jennifer had returned to the bed with Mikey and curled up beside him. “He’s still a little restless, so I’m going to cuddle with him until he falls asleep. Then we can get back to what we were doing. You got me all hot changing that diaper. Nothing sexier than a man changing a diaper.”

He shook his head. “That’s weird. Is the TV going to bother you?”

“Just keep it low.”

Miguel pulled his T-shirt back on and settled on the couch, clicking on the TV. He scanned through the channels until he found a news program and then glanced at Jennifer, her eyes closed.

Bending forward, he retrieved his phone from the floor and texted Josh, asking if he had any more details about the mole.

Josh responded quickly and Miguel read the text with growing dread. Josh had had some contact with Vlad’s people on Josh’s recent Stateside assignment, protecting the daughter of the drug kingpin Hector De Santos. Vlad’s guys had implied they had someone on the inside, and Josh had no reason to doubt that, at least he hadn’t wanted to bet against it.

Miguel clenched his jaw as he thought about Vlad, their nemesis. They’d been on Vlad’s trail when Miguel had been captured. He’d had a long time to think about a mole then.

Where had the SEAL team gotten the intel about Vlad’s location in those caves in Afghanistan? Through the Vlad task force? Was it just bad information, or was it very, very good information planted for the SEAL team, and him as the sniper, to walk right into an ambush?

Almost eighteen months later and after his escape from his captors, the CIA didn’t seem all that interested in finding out. Could this mole have infiltrated the top echelons? The task force itself?

Josh ended their text exchange with a curt directive. Watch your back.

Miguel tossed his phone on the cushion next to him, his gaze shifting to Jennifer, her body curved around Mikey’s, both of them sound asleep.

Miguel pulled his gun from beneath the cushion of the couch and hunched forward, watching the blue light from the TV flicker over Jennifer and Mikey. Instead of weakening him, his captivity had made him strong, hard—maybe too hard to be a family man.

But not too hard to protect them with every inch of his life.

* * *

A LITTLE HAND grabbed her nose, and Jennifer opened one eye while puffing a strand of hair from her face. “What are you doing, rascal?”

“Wake up, Mommy.”

“I’m awake.” She rolled to her back and raised her head. “Tell me you got some sleep on that couch.”

Miguel, showered and fully dressed down to a pair of scuffed cowboy boots, pushed up from the couch where he’d been perched. “I slept some.”

“How long has this one been awake?” She jerked her thumb at Mikey.

“Not long. Woke up, stared at me for a few minutes and proceeded to tweak your nose.” He stretched. “If I’d known it was that easy to wake you up, I would’ve used that method years ago.”

She ran her tongue along her teeth. “I remember how you used to wake me up...and I distinctly prefer your method.”

He gave her a tight smile. “What time do you have to get to school?”

She swallowed. Except for their desperate kisses last night, Miguel didn’t seem all that interested in picking up where they’d left off. “I have to be there at eight, but I need to drop off Mikey at his day care about fifteen minutes before that.”

“It’s close, the day care?”

“It’s a few blocks from the school.” She lifted Mikey and swung him over her head. “Can you watch him while I take a shower?”

Miguel’s eyes widened as his gaze darted around the hotel room. “This room isn’t babyproofed. Is it safe?”

Hooking Mikey on one hip and placing her hand on the other, she surveyed the room. “Don’t let him rip up the brochures on the credenza, keep the remote out of his picky little paws and, by all means, keep him away from the electrical outlets and the minibar. Otherwise, I think you’re good. I’ll change his diaper before I hit the shower.”

“Let me do that.” He took a step forward, holding out his arms. “I need the practice.”

She cocked her head to one side. “You sure would’ve come in handy these past eighteen months.”

A shade dropped over Miguel’s dark eyes and she bit her bottom lip. Miguel’s captivity had made him even more intense, but she couldn’t contain her own elation. Since his return yesterday, despite the challenges they faced, the heavy, dark cloud that had been following her around for two years had dissipated into fairy dust.

“I’m sorry, Jen.”

She went to him and placed Mikey against his chest, wrapping her arms around both of them. “Dear God, you have nothing to be sorry about, Miguel.”

“I should’ve never volunteered for that assignment.”

“I thought you didn’t have a choice. Besides, you did what you thought was right. You always do.” She brushed her lips across Mikey’s soft hair and then pressed them against the stubble on Miguel’s jaw. “Diaper duty for you.”

She spun around, blindly lurching for the bathroom, tears blurring her vision. When she slammed the door behind her, she hunched over the vanity and peered at her reflection. The woman who gazed back at her had dropped ten years since yesterday.

She knew she couldn’t expect Miguel to be the same person he was when he left her two years ago, but had his feelings for her changed? No. He’d told her she’d been the one keeping him strong, keeping him alive.

Did he really think she cared about the scars on his body? She snorted as she cranked on the water for the shower. Even though he’d lost a little muscle as a prisoner, he still had the hottest body she’d ever had the pleasure of exploring—scars or no scars. And she planned to do more exploration, damn it.

Maybe having Mikey in the same room had scared him off. She tipped her head back and let the warm spray course through her hair. He sure seemed eager to make up for lost time and learn everything he could about toddler care. Alicia’s husband, Troy, had probably changed a grand total of ten diapers in the past two years of Bella’s life.

The bathroom door burst open and Miguel’s voice rose above the water. “I think I need some help out here.”

Grabbing the edge of the shower curtain, Jennifer peeked into the bathroom at Miguel looming in the doorway with a squiggling Mikey tucked under one arm. “What happened?”

“First, he wouldn’t let me put his clothes on after I changed his diaper. Then he started jumping on the bed. When I tried to grab him, he crawled off the edge and fell on the floor.” Miguel took a deep breath. “I think he’s okay.”