Page 42 of Her Last Whisper
“Well are you going to ask me inside before you run out of questions?” he asked. “Is that Cisco I hear? I’d recognize that huge bark anywhere.”
Katie suddenly focused on Nick with his dark wavy hair, intense green eyes, and a three-inch scar on his right cheek near his jawline. On so many missions, he had been the soldier that had her back while her attention was on Cisco’s behavior—he was her cover. Their relationship grew with her time in the army. He was known as a lifer—someone who would spend his lifetime in the military until retirement. Her house was the last place she ever thought she’d find him. He would have given his life for her, and she’d have done the same for him.
“Of course, please come inside.” Still with their arms around each other’s waists, Katie guided him around back to enter through the sliding door. He didn’t have a crutch to lean on but managed fairly well. Cisco met them with plenty of yips and happy puppy barks. Katie grabbed a robe and put it on.
“Why didn’t you call?” she said and took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you just knock on the front door?”
The sergeant hobbled slightly toward the kitchen and opted for a seat at the counter. “Well, first I wasn’t sure if I was going to find you. I caught a ride here and it was late, so I was going to knock on the door in the morning.”
Katie was taken aback but happy to see him. He had been her support and friend through so many times. Those familiar feelings, both good and bad, tumbled back into her. She thought about her team every day and especially just before she went to sleep at night. Her body trembled inside, as old memories threatened to surface.
“You know you’re always welcome here,” she said.
“It’s great to see you, Scotty. I didn’t think you could look this good, but you do.”
“You woke me up, I hardly would say that.” She went to brew some coffee. “What can I get for you to drink? Coffee? Tea? Soda?”
“Yeah, actually coffee sounds good.”
Katie quickly set the coffee maker, her mind in a flurry as to why Nick showed up unexpectedly and how he lost his leg. Her gut told her to wait and let him tell her in his own time. She loved him like a brother, like family, all of her team was like family with a special bond that no one outside of the military would totally understand. She knew that he would tell her everything eventually, so she didn’t bombard him with too many initial questions.
“I can see civilian life is agreeing with you,” he said and gazed around. “This was your parents’ house, right?”
“Yep. It’s been mine for a while though. I’ve been asked to sell it, but I love it here too much.”
Cisco ran around, still excited about the late-night guest.
Petting the dog, he said, “You’ve probably figured out that I’ve been honorably discharged.” He patted his leg.
Katie nodded and remained silent.
“One of those damn things you couldn’t plan for—you fear, but don’t plan. It happened when we had some time off, would you believe? Remember when we would have those barbecues?”
“Like it was yesterday,” she said.
“Yeah, well we were all drinking, more than we should have, blowing off steam. When there was a commotion going on—we thought it was just an altercation between a few guys at the restaurant.” He paused for a moment, petting Cisco who sat patiently. It was clear he had relived the incident many times. He caught his breath, and said, “So, Freddy went to see what the problem was and I followed him. The rest…” His voice trailed off.
It stung Katie because by Nick’s tone she instantly knew that Freddy hadn’t made it. He didn’t have to say it. She closed her eyes for a moment as she braced for the worst.
“… I remembered the sound and a huge bright light, then nothing; I woke up five days later at a hospital where they had removed my leg above the knee to save my life. Out of all the damn places to get hit like that… a restaurant, not the battlefield.”
Katie turned to him, tears in her eyes.
“And that’s when I found out that Freddy never had a chance. Bomb took down the whole restaurant. There were seven casualties in total, including Freddy.”
“Nick, there are no words…”
“I’m just glad you weren’t there. I know—we all know—that you would have marched in there to save everybody and it would have been you they buried and sent back to the States.” He paused to keep his grief under control. “I loved Freddy too, but the thought of losing you… well…”
Katie hugged Nick for a couple of minutes, each lost in their own grief, each with their own story that they had to manage and live with every day.
With an upbeat voice, he said, “Now, I bet you’re wondering why the hell such a sorry ass like me is sitting in your kitchen.”
Katie laughed wiping the tears from her face, “I don’t care, I’m just glad you’re here. I just hope I don’t wake up and find out this was a dream.” She poured a cup of coffee and slid it over to Nick.
He drank a couple of sips before he continued, reaching into one of his jacket pockets and pulling out several pieces of paper. Unfolding them, he said, “Apparently, since you’ve been home you have already caught a serial killer. And, it’s not completely clear from the articles, but you were kidnapped and still managed to beat him and save a little girl?”
“It’s not exactly like that, but I did get ambushed and kidnapped.”
