Read Online Code Name: Kayla's Fire by Natasza Waters - Free Book Online Page A

back, but I know you do, and I know you’re fighting
it.”
    She swallowed, and her
gaze darted across the road, landing on something unexpected. Standing next to
a green Chevy, Paul, their young but overzealous security guard, stood watching
them. Her brows pinned together, and that caused Thane to crank his head. He
nodded, but Paul didn’t nod back.
    “Hmm.” Thane straightened.
    The kid continued to
stare without waving at them. “Hey, Paul. How’s it going?” she said, raising
her voice to reach him. “You don’t think…”
    “No.” Thane barely
moved his lips. “He’s just a young, geeky kid.” Thane grabbed her hand, and
they strode across the street. As they got closer, Paul started to fidget, but
he didn’t take his narrowed attention off them. “Got a day off, Paul?” Thane
asked in a friendly manner, friendly for an intimidating giant.
    “No, sir,” he said, his
gaze shooting to the ground. “Hi, Kayla.”
    “Evening shift?” she
asked. Thane wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her in.
    “Just lunch break.”
Paul sucked on his lower lip, and then darted a glance at Thane. “That’s a nice
bike, sir.”
    “That it is. Do you
ride?” Thane’s words seemed harmless enough, but she knew the interrogation was
underway.
    Paul began to roll on
the balls of his feet. A signature sign he was uncomfortable. “No, but I want
to get a bike. My girlfriend likes them.”
    Thane nodded with a
relaxed grin, but evaluated his every movement. “You’ve got a girl, huh? Nice.”
    “Yeah, kinda. We met
online. We haven’t met in person yet.” Paul shuffled backwards and then
shoulder checked. “I mean, she is my girlfriend. We’re just both busy. I’m
still training every day. I want to be a SEAL like my dad.”
    Thane’s hand meandered
down her arm. “Your father is a good man. He’s on deployment right now, isn’t
he?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “That’s his KA-Bar,
isn’t it?”
    Kayla stiffened.
KA-Bar? That was a knife issued to SEALs among other things. She scoured Paul,
and saw the hint of a knife hilt near his belt.
    Paul shuffled
uncomfortably again. “He gave it to me. It’s the one he got when he completed
his SQTs.”
    “Whose name’s on it?”
Thane asked.
    “Petty Officer Seth
Nolan,” Paul said quietly. “Dad said he died in the eighties.”
    “That’s true. He spent
most of his years in Little Creek. Team Two.”
    Paul seemed to saw-up
enough courage to look Thane in the eyes. Do you carry yours, sir?”
    Thane shook his head.
“No, I don’t. I keep it at the base. I’ve never taken it into combat with me.”
    “How come? Dad always used
to take his. Said it was good luck.”
    “I never wanted blood
to fall on the man’s name engraved on it. Enough was spilled when he lost his
life in the service. Couldn’t think of a good enough reason to spill more on
it.”
    Paul pondered Thane’s
answer while he nibbled his cheek. “Are—” He paused and breathed in heavily.
“Are you and Snow White, um, are you guys…?” His fingers knotted together.
    Thane waited patiently
for him to finish his sentence, his jaw angling with humor watching the kid
wiggle uncomfortably in his skin.
    “I didn’t know….”
    “That Snow White and I
are friends,” he finished for Paul who nodded vigorously, his jowls jiggling at
the same time.
    She could tell Thane
was assessing his response. If he was telling the truth, then he couldn’t be
the Shark, but it was hard to tell with Paul. He always seemed nervous.
    “Snow White is watched
all the time. One of us is always with her.”
    “You’re protecting her
from the Shark.” He visibly relaxed. “That’s good to know.”
    Thane’s head jerked a
little, and a quirk of his brow told her he’d figured something out. “You
haven’t been following Snow White, have you?”
    Paul’s cheeks blushed
on his pale skin. “Maybe, not that I see her out very often,” he admitted. “I
thought she was living with Petty Officer