Page 21 of Unintended Love

Her mother shot out of the spare room and sat next to Theodora on the couch.

“How soon is my baby girl gonna get her money?” Kimmy asked before her butt was all the way down on the cushion.

The abrupt question threw Clint back for a second. He drew in a long, slow breath. “We are insured through companies in the United States. Settlement usually takes place there.” His eyes darted back and forth between Theodora and her mother. “As I told you when I made the initial Casualty Call, Javier’s body will be shipped out on the next transport to the United States. I’m still not sure when that’s going to be. We haven’t had any flights going there since he was killed last week.”

Clint looked around the home. His father had a full-time recruiter because he was expanding from two to three teams within the next year, if not sooner. He hadn’t contacted Hank to see whether he had someone in the pipeline to replace Javier. Damn it. He needed to make that call as soon as he left the Castillo home.

“I’m sorry, Theodora, but you’re going to need to be ready to leave this home soon. Part of Javier’s monthly pay was taken out for this house, just like base housing back in the U.S. We don’t have a system for you to remain here, even if you could pay the rent. Besides, we have another senior NCO in the pipeline,” Clint lied. Maybe. There very well may be someone being signed up to join their company at that very moment.

“We’ll be shipping his body back to Texas, where he requested that he be buried. Someone from the insurance company will meet you and his body there. A US death certificate will have to be issued, but from what I understand, they expedite that so you can receive the insurance money quickly.”

Her mother looked like she was about to say something when Clint decided to keep talking. “I know nothing about your personal finances, but if you need a little money to get by, we can help you out. Javier was medically retired from the US Army, so I think you are still entitled to part of his retirement pay. I’m not sure about this, but I believe that you are still entitled to Tricare benefits. Again, I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I believe most of the cost for the birth of the baby should be covered. Here again, you’ll have to talk to someone at Tricare when you get back to the United States.”

“She’s going to need extra money,” her mother announced. “She doesn’t have any food in the house.”

Theodora looked a little shocked and embarrassed. “Mama, I have food.” Pleading eyes looked up at him. “I haven’t ordered any groceries since you were here.” She glanced away before her gaze returned to Clint. “I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, so I’ve only been eating little bits here and there. I told the cook not to bother coming until I contacted her.”

“We can just go out and eat. I’d love to try the local food.” Kimmy suggested.

Theodora burst out in laughter. “Mama, there are no restaurants here.”

“That’s why we provide a chef to come in a few days a week,” Clint explained.

“Our chef cooks much better than I do,” Theodora clarified. “She often leaves enough meals until she returns. But like I said, I asked her not to return until I was ready.”

“Well, what are we going to eat?” Her mother asked indignantly.

Clint had the answer. “Why don’t you join us at the big house for supper tonight? You can then ask the chef’s staff to resume their normal rotation.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to put your mother out with two unexpected guests.” Kimmy’s smile was as fake as her overly long eyelashes. Her boobs were probably fake too. He’d be willing to bet a month’s paycheck she had someone on speed dial for Botox. Parts of her face didn’t move.

Clint didn’t like false females. He’d always preferred naturally healthy women who were proud of who and what they were. That was one of the many things that had attracted him to Ashlin. There was nothing fake about her. She didn’t hide her scars. She wore sleeveless blouses in the Nevada desert heat, and her bikini didn’t cover much, especially where a bullet had grazed her bicep and a scar where she’d taken a knife to the back.

He had to glance away from Kimmy, who looked as plastic as an aged Barbie doll. “No worries, Mother isn’t even home, and when she is, she rarely cooks. That’s why we have chefs. My brother and I can’t cook for sh—” He caught himself quickly and corrected, “Crap, and nobody wants my father to cook. His food is passable over a fire in the middle of the desert when you’re starving, but he has no clue what to do in the kitchen. I’ll just notify the staff that we’ll have two more for supper. They’re already cooking for a crowd because Xena’s home.” He couldn’t withhold his smile, excited to see his sister. She had been on back-to-back missions, so it seemed like months since he had seen her. He missed their sibling banter.

Clint stood in an effort to escape. “I’ll see you at the big house for supper.”

Kimmy popped up from the couch and grabbed Clint’s forearm as he passed. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me today.” She squeezed his arm and turned toward Theodora. “And for keeping your promise to take care of my sweet baby girl and her baby boy.”

He had to practically peel her fingers off his arm. “I promised Javier that I would take care of Theodora and the baby. I’m hoping we’ll have a transport to the United States very soon so she can take him back to Texas and settle his estate. Now, Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my home.” He hadn’t had time to put the necklace in his personal safe. It was still in one of his cargo pockets.

He reached for the door handle, and Kimmy asked from right behind him, “Theodora has told me so much about the family home you call the big house. Will you have time to give me a tour?”

Showing people around his family home was not something he’d ever done, nor wanted to do. He made a production of looking at his watch. “If you get there early enough before supper, I’ll see if I have time. Spending the whole day in Addis Ababa has put me behind.” That might’ve been a bit mean, but it was true. He’d make sure he wouldn’t have time.

After returning the truck to the fleet garage, Clint inhaled the warm, dry evening air deeply. On the way back to the family house, he remembered the rumor and called Dell. “Did he find out anything about the motherfucker who killed Javier?”

“A little, but not enough to report to you yet,” the computer genius replied. “His background is too clean. It’s been manufactured. He’s a gun for hire if the price is right. I’m tracing the payment now. I can tell you for sure he was not part of the camp you were there to check out. But I have no idea why he was on the same mountain as you two. I don’t know if he was paid to spy on the same camp and he saw that Javier was in his way or…” There was a long pause.

Clint didn’t know whether Dell was going to propose the unthinkable. “Or what?”

“It’s possible that Javier was his target. I’ll keep digging.”

“Let me know the minute you have any concrete information.” Clint continued toward his Ethiopian home, safely ensconced in Eden’s compound. Was someone hunting his team? If so, they were already too close to home. Who knew about their mission, right down to the exact spot they were going to use for overlook? Was he next? There was a possibility of him getting hurt or killed on every mission, but things had changed since he married Ashlin.

Minutes later, Clint strode down the hall to his suite of rooms but stopped short as he passed the open door to Xena’s rooms.

“Xena Riggs. Whom am I speaking to?”