Semper Fi Pt. 04

In his embrace, Barbara expected the heat, the passion but she'd never expected the gentleness, the restrained power that did so much more than simply beckon her to him.

She knew she would hold him but not without consequences... swelling breasts and hardening nipples... heat building between her thighs. She pushed her hips against his until he put a hand to the small of her back and let out a quiet groan. She felt his hardness seeking her out.

"Look what you've done," he whispered.

She raised her head from his shoulder. Their gazes met. He was so hot, so full of promises that both excited and terrified her and she had difficulty breathing. His lips lowered to hers.

His mouth opened and moved another small fraction of an inch toward hers. Her own lips reached for his, already feeling the slick heat of his mouth, though he hadn't really touched her.

Garrett touched his pants pocket again, checking that the ring box was still there. He had done it enough during dinner that Barbara had looked at him inquisitively, wondering just what he was doing with his hand below the table.

"We should sit down..." she said and led him back to the table.

He cleared his throat and was going to say something when the waiter returned with their apple walnut pie and two forks. He started to say something, getting out of his seat, when he spied Frank and Caitlyn approaching. His eyes widened in surprise that they were early and he motioned them back with his hand beneath the table.

He had never known a woman like her before, one that he wanted to be friends with, yet set his blood on fire. Their attraction couldn't be denied and he didn't want to try. The way he acted around her was equal parts of confusion and fear and admiration and lust. Sometimes, he didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't stay away from her and he refused to try.

"Garrett," Barbara started to say. She remembered what had happened with his wife... how she had cheated and left him with a broken heart, a character flaw he never saw through the mist of what love had had for her. He had lost interest in everything, going through the motions... efficiently, correctly, but without the zeal that had marked his career before.

He suspected he was the only one who noticed the faint trembling of her hands before they disappeared beneath the napkin, a bittersweet smile on her lips.

She met his gaze, briefly. "Will you marry me?" they both asked, almost at the same time, she holding his hand, he holding out the ring. She was shocked, having thought she was alone in her hopes for marriage and caught her breath. It was the question... then waiting for the answer that was so killing.

"Oh, God, yes," she said.

"And, it's about time," said Caitlyn, arriving at their table a step ahead of Frank. "It's about time, you two, it's about time."

"Well," Garrett said, "since you're here, you might as well have a seat," now wishing that he had not asked them to come.

Both women starting speaking at once, Barbara holding out her hand with the ring, Caitlyn smiling at her. "See, I told you," Caitlyn said as the waitress brought over two more chairs. "Now, we've got another wedding to plan."

Frank patted Garrett on the shoulder. "I'd say you're a lucky man, but you already know that. Besides, it's about time you made an honest woman out of my partner. I was starting to worry."

Garrett put his head down on his arms. "It's all be a conspiracy, I see."

Frank laughed. "It's time to pay the piper, Garrett. Besides, look at all the money you'll save, only having one place to live. Now, what are we having for dessert?" he asked, as the waitress returned with the champagne.

**********

Barbara left her engagement ring in the top dresser drawer, determined to protect it. Investigating murders was difficult enough without worrying about whether a diamond would be lost at the scene of a crime. To ruin her ring would destroy her, now that she was finally, totally in love.

She slowly closed the drawer, watching the jewelry box disappear and then pulled it out, one more time to open the small box and gaze at the five diamonds sparkling back at her, even in the relative dimness of her bedroom.

A slight smile crept across her lips as she thought back to their dinner two nights before. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when Garrett proposed at the same time as she did. She didn't know whether Caitlyn or Frank had spoken to him and she didn't care. The deed was done and her life would never be the same, again.

Her mind was so obsessed with that night... Garrett had taken her home and spent the night, bringing her to a level of excited arousal she had never felt before, even with him. Oh, love was SO wonderful.

On the ride home, he had reached for her hand and placed it on his thigh, holding it there until he felt her fingers flex and settle there on her own. Her touch made him crazy. He slipped his hand beneath her coat and settled it at the hem of her dress, his fingers sliding back and forth along the silky nylons covering her chocolate skin.

"The car will be warm in a few minutes," he had said.

"I'm not cold," she said.

She was delighted to be with him, a happiness that had been there from the moment they had met and then had come the admiration for his technical skill and inherent ability to discover the hidden secrets they needed. Every time he held her, she felt protected and comfortable and loved and needed and erotically satisfied.

That night, coming back from the restaurant, her new ring on her finger, their lips had met and her heart was soaring as high as a Fourth of July rocket, exploding as it reached for the sky and she began to cry in joy.

"Come here," he said, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her to him.

His hands held her face gently as his mouth touched hers, bringing a new passion to her heart and then his lips pressed carefully on her closed eyelids, the slightly wet sensation had made her sigh and then he tenderly kissed her face until she responded by kissing the warmth of his skin and the roughness of his shadowed beard.

He kissed her... hard. He devoured her. He gave her everything he could with a kiss. God, he thought, the feel of her in my arms... she was almost more than I can bear. With a moan, he broke the kiss, trying to catch his breath. Her breath was just as ragged as his.

Garrett touched Barbara's hair, almost licking the sensitive area behind her ear, making a wet trail across her skin while one hand moved across to touch her breasts through her clothes. His fingers felt her grow taut as her nipples became hard beneath his hand.

Garrett's eyes closed briefly and then he leaned forward, his hands easily unzipping and then silently slipping down the sides of her dress, sliding it seductively down her thighs and she had never felt so exhilarated in her life as his touch met her skin. Before she could even understand, her dress was gone, lying in a small bundle of color on the floor at her feet and in one swift motion she drew his head to her breasts and gave a shudder as his tongue flicked out and closed over one hard nipple and then the other.

"Oh..." she moaned, wishing he would go on and on and on...

Within moments, her soft yellow panties somehow vanished and he was pressing kisses on her now fully exposed body, his lips waiting at that special spot that only he had ever gone to, his tongue teasing her. She ran her fingers through his hair and bowed forward to kiss his head, feeling an urgent need to touch him... to bring him against her... to possess him deep inside and never let him go.

He leisurely stood up as she struggled to undo his belt and was frustrated when it refused to open and then he was tearing at his belt, possessed by a desire he no longer controlled.

Naked against his half-clothed body, she felt an intense abandon, a wantonness that she had never felt before. Her nipples lightly touched his skin and when he shifted his position they dragged across his chest until she felt she would melt from the heat.

Slow... sensual... excruciating... she never wanted it to stop, feeling the rush of fire consuming the last bit of reason lurking in the back of her mind. Her feelings, her weakness grew as his hands tenderly massaged the back of her thighs with a gentle rhythm that soon matched the demands of her body.

Their hearts had beat with the same rapid thunder, their mouths met and parted and sighed as they tumbled onto the bed, their arms and legs wrestling to imprison one another and she knew, then, at that one wonderful moment in time, that she truly did love him.

This man was hers. She had known it forever... and now, they had acknowledged that. Their kisses deepened with a fire and desperate need that nearly overwhelmed her and there was a hunger that did overwhelm her. She whimpered and clung to him. The world had begun to spin and he was the only solid thing she could hold on to.

His warmth and strength surrounded her and she felt... loved... cherished the rapid, heavy beat of his heart. She was drowning in her emotions, knowing she would never be the same and yet would still be her own person and with her lips and hands and body pressed against him, she asked for more and gave it back.

Garrett felt himself tremble with the force of her response. He slid his hands down her back and pulled her hips harder against his. She was, and had been from the beginning, everything he had ever wanted.

He felt the hot rush of blood to his arousal, hard against her thighs. God, it felt so good. She felt so good.

The bed creaked against their movements and when her legs shifted, he came between them. He ran his hand from her waist, up her ribs, to hold the bottom side of her breast. She arched into his hand... perfect, so perfect.

He kissed his way down her jaw to her nipple and when he nipped, she almost flew off the bed. He knew he hadn't hurt her, for her hand on the back of his head kept his mouth firmly in place... right where he wanted... right where he needed to be.

"I like you touch," she almost said. "I like your smell," she almost said.

Blood pounded in his ears and then all that blood rushed between his legs. He thought he couldn't get any harder.

"God," he said, "you make me crazy."

"Garrett, love me... love me."

She could feel how hard he was... gloriously hard. She thrust her hips against him, again. God, had that moan come from her own lips?

She was on fire... she was dying that petite mort, that little death... so consumed was she for her need of him.

His lips met hers, again, even more fiercely than before. She was lost.

He kissed his way down her throat, down around the fullness of her breasts, until his lips hovered once again over the tip. He wanted to take his time, to tease her and watch her nipples harden, but he couldn't. He took the peak into his mouth and savored the sweet, sweet taste and heard her gasp of pleasure and the felt the subtle shift of her hips.

At the touch of his lips on her breasts, she wanted to scream and then his hand slipped down between their bodies and touched the wet heat there.

"Please, please..." she said, not knowing she said it aloud and he shifted his weight between her legs and whispered, "Yes, yes..."

It was a long, smooth, deep thrust joining them together and she thought she was going to die from the pleasure and for the first time in her life, she felt complete, loving the man who was going to be her husband.

He was there, again, filling her, taking her higher, touching her very soul while she dug her fingers into his hips, pulling him closer, wanting more... more.

The scrape of her fingernails drove him hotter, faster, exciting him beyond belief and he was surrounded by her heat, her passion. The rhythm and the pounding took over, stole his breath, cleared his mind of all thought and suddenly they were there, together, shooting over the edge of everything, unable to breathe, holding to one another and it shook her to her very soul, shattering her into a million pieces as he exploded within her.

It wasn't until she got into her car and went through her morning ritual, checklisting off her various necessities that she discovered she had left her gun back in her apartment and made the walk back to retrieve it, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You're late," Frank said, already heading out toward his car. "C'mon."

Oh, shut up, she thought, hurriedly following him out of the building. You're lucky I'm here, at all. "Where are we going?"

"There's been a kidnapping. Little girl... Navy ensign's kid..."

"Ah, Jeez..."

"Yeah..."

**********

Chapter 22 Lost Girls

"Susan Silver, age five, kidnapped seven hours ago, as near as we can figure, from her house... mother was shot... expected to survive... ah, shit, I hate it when it's little girls." Frank closed his laptop. "It's just up ahead, I think."

Barbara took the next corner and was greeted by several police cars blocking the roadway. She pulled out her identification and flashed it to the uniform. "NCIS," she stated, folding it back up and putting it into her blouse pocket.

"The FBI's here. There'll be a pissing match to who has jurisdiction. I hate those guys."

"Damn, Barbara... give 'em a chance, will you?" asked Frank. "We'll probably need them."

"Yeah, I know."

Inside the house, the agents introduced themselves to the others and received a photo of the young girl.

"We think it was a neighbor kid. He was always hanging around the home, kinda creepy-like, and no one's seen him." The FBI agent looked around the room, seeing only police personnel. "He's been expelled from school for inappropriate behavior, as they say. I understand his parents paid off a couple of families to keep things quiet."

"Canvassed the neighbors?" Frank asked.

"Right away. Our only hope is that someone isn't home but knows him or where he goes."

An hour passed. Barbara was in the boy's bedroom, going through his things, hoping for a clue to where he might have gone. She lifted up a soccer trophy, the bronze figure kicking a ball over his head. On the wall shelves was a rock collection, each one labeled, some quite pretty.

"Frank? We really need to get around this kid's head. There's got to be something here."

Frank was down on his knees, looking under the bed. "Ha!" he exclaimed. "Look at this." He slid down onto his stomach and reached up under the bed into the tiny slit in the box mattress. "Here we go."

He pulled out several photographs of a cave. "Just where the hell this is, though, I haven't a clue."

"People... somebody has to. I bet that's where she is."

She grabbed the photos and headed out of the room.

"Hey, wait a minute," Frank called, still on the floor. He stood and took one last look around the room and then at the rocks.

"Where the hell does he go collecting?" he said to the otherwise empty room.

"We found his mother," said the police detective. "She showed up late to work and we're holding her down at the station."

The NCIS and FBI agents headed to the Vista police station. The woman was in an interrogation room, her hands folded in prayer, staring at the wall.

"What's she doing," Barbara asked, watching the woman's lips move silently.

"She's praying. She's crazy."

"Where did you find her?"

"She works at the Vons in Carlsbad. That's why it took so long to find her. She was in the warehouse."

"Flip a coin?" asked the FBI agent.

"Sure, why not?"

"Where's your son, Mrs. Bethal? We know he's got the girl. You're going down as an accomplice if you don't cooperate and if something... anything, happens to her, you'll get the death penalty. Juries don't like kidnappers with little girls."

"I don't know where he went."

"Well, that's too damn bad, then... and when we find her, and we will, you're going to die. I'm personally going to watch you die."

Barbara walked out, bad cop all the way.

Five minutes later, John Smart, the lead FBI agent, walked in, along with the county prosecutor.

"Look, where does your son like to go hiking? We saw his rock collection."

"Boucher Trail, Palomar State Park... please, don't hurt him."

Within moments, Frank was on the phone to Pendleton, arranging for helicopters, even as the sun was setting.

Even with helicopters, it was more than an hour before the infra-red sensors picked up two heat signatures near the entrance to a small cave. The four agents were dropped off almost five hundred feet away and approached cautiously down the faint trail, only travelled by the kidnapper and his victim. It was so faint that even calling it a trail was a misnomer, it was more a dry wash.

Barbara was amazed that their prey was able to drag or carry the girl through such an environment.

They slowly picked their way through the rough, rocky terrain covered with the thick, dry brush of Southern California, finding an old campsite marked by a rusted old stove, abandoned for years. Even with night-vision goggles, it was slow work and they finally came into a quiet clearing, their helicopter far and away distant. To the left was another camp, straight ahead was a rickety ladder made out of tree branches lashed together and farther up the hillside was the small cave opening they were seeking.

Even knowing what they were looking for, it was a good ten minutes before they were in place and were able to see the small cave so cleverly hidden behind tree branches in the side of the hill.

"Harry... we know you're in there... c'mon out, Harry. We won't hurt you."

"Go 'way," he screamed, holding the small girl in front of him..

"Let the girl go, Harry."

"No, she's mine, we're sup...."

The shot rang out and he fell back, dropping the little girl at his feet. Barbara ran forward as fast as she could, grabbing her away from the now lifeless body before she would see the carnage.

"It's OK, Baby, it's OK," was all she could say, over and over, carrying the girl down to the wash and wrapping the girl's pajama clad body in her own jacket before taking her farther up to the now waiting helicopter.

**********

"Spacing's a little wide, Lieutenant. Maybe you need a little more time on the range."

"Yes, sir."

"And, Lieutenant?"

"Sir?"

"Good lookin' out, the other night."

The lieutenant turned back to the range and sighted through his scope as the colonel walked away. He put three through the center of the target, one so close to the other that it just made a slightly larger hole. Saturday was only two days away and he could smell it coming.

He slowly pulled the trigger, living for the moment the bullet left the rifle, speeding toward its inevitable target. He put a face to the target and pulled all the way, at one with the bullet as it split her imaginary face in two. Cheating bitch...

There was a tap on his shoulder. "Huh?"

"Lieutenant, I asked you if you wanted some water. It's getting hot out here."

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost eleven... you've been out here for close to two hours."

"Thanks, Corporal. Yeah, it's time to come in." He rose to his knees and then stood up, cradling his weapon with both arms. His sniper rifle was expensive and his life had depended on it more times than he wished to remember. He tugged his cap down, walked back to the jeep with the corporal and they headed back to the base.

It was time to go hunting, again.

**********

"I'm not sure whether I'm happy or not that kid is dead. He was a piece of work, that's for sure." Barbara signed and put her pen down.

"That was a hell of a shot, that's for sure. Those military guys..." Frank stopped talking for a moment and looked at his partner. "Oh, shit, where's the slug from that shot?"

"We didn't recover it; it was night and getting the girl back... c'mon, you were there."