“Yeah. I did,” Malichai said.
“Looks recent.”
“A few weeks ago. Had a couple of operations.” Make that several. Lots of blood transfusions. He’d nearly died on the helicopter ride, but he’d been lucky that Rubin had been with him. If not, no one could have saved him. Then Ezekiel and the rest of the team refused to give up on him once he was taken off the helicopter and brought to their makeshift hospital before being transferred to Germany. It was a long road back and he was still traveling it.
“So, they think swimming will strengthen the leg? It’s pretty weak?” Craig persisted. He took out his cell phone. “Do you mind if I take a picture for my friends to see? They aren’t going to believe this.”
“Yeah, I do mind,” Malichai said. He didn’t care if anyone thought he was rude. Craig might not have any idea how to interact with real human beings, but it was time he learned. “I would prefer that we don’t talk about it again. In fact, I would prefer that you don’t mention it at the B and B.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course not.” Craig hastily put his phone away. “I’m sorry. I just got carried away. That’s just cool. Well. I’m sorry.” He turned toward the street, still muttering apologies as he hurried away.
You okay, bro? Mordichai asked.
Malichai took a deep breath and let it out. Was he? He hadn’t expected to have such a visceral reaction. He should have found the entire thing humorous. He knew there were a lot of men like Craig who rarely left their homes. They lived virtual lives, playing games, having online friends, working on their computers and really living on them. They seemed to lose touch with reality. He really should give the man kudos for actually taking the step to leave his house and meet a few of the people he had talked to, probably for years, face-to-face.
Malichai had been shot more than once. This wasn’t his first time. He’d gone on countless missions. None of them had been easy or pretty. This time the wounds had been different. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t want to look too closely at it. He was alive. His leg was intact. He’d found Amaryllis. That was all in the plus column. He wasn’t going to look at the negative side.
He tossed his track pants on the lounge chair and made his way to the water’s edge. The water was cool, maybe mid to high sixties. It didn’t matter to him, but he wondered if it would be unusual for a man to go swimming in deeper water without a wet suit. None of the surfers wore them.
Going in now, Mordichai.
We’re on you. Take your time heading out, Malichai. It was Ezekiel who answered him.
Ezekiel had been hovering ever since that first notice he got from Rubin that Malichai had been shot and was slipping away. Zeke had been fierce in his fight to save his brother. Once Malichai had been brought out of Afghanistan, Ezekiel hadn’t left his brother’s side for days. Then operation after operation, he had insisted on being in the operating room, double-checking everything, making the surgeons and anesthesiologists crazy. He pretty much could make Malichai crazy as well, but he was used to his older brother hovering when they were sick. He’d been doing it all their lives.
Thought you were staying at the B and B looking after Amaryllis. Malichai didn’t know how to feel about having his woman with only Rubin there. Anna and Bryon Cooper were murdered, Zeke.
I agree, Malichai. But Amaryllis has assured me that she is perfectly capable of looking after the women, and she personally asked me to look after you.
That was a bullshit excuse if he ever heard one. Ezekiel would never leave a primary target unless he wanted to—and he wanted to. He wanted to hover some more, forever acting like the big brother. What would be the point of calling him on it?
I can handle myself in the water, Zeke. I don’t have to depend on my leg.
Just so you know, dipshit, I’m not fucking losing my brother to whatever bullshit is happening here.
Three swear words in one sentence. That had to be a record. He wasn’t about to touch that. Roger that.
Amaryllis’s cover is solid. The cops can dig away to their heart’s content and they’ll find her complete history. She’s engaged to you, by the way. Mordichai changed the subject for both of his brothers. I thought that was a particularly nice touch. You won’t even have to ask her. She already said yes.
Malichai struck out for the waves, cutting smoothly through the water. Nice. Now I just have to find the perfect ring and get it on her finger. I already introduced her as my fiancée to Craig and she didn’t object.
That’s the way it should be, Mordichai said. Just tell the woman how it is and no arguments. Marital bliss.
I can’t say it’s always bliss, Ezekiel chimed in. But it’s worth it. You do actually have to put a little work into it, Mordichai.
Mordichai gave a little snort of derision. You’re whipped. Bellisia has you totally whipped, and everyone knows it. I’m beginning to think I’m the last hope for the Fortunes brothers. I’ve seen how Malichai gives his woman those goofy-assed drowned-calf adoring looks. He’s going to be just like you, Zeke. You gave him such a poor example. Now that woman’s going to walk on him, and it will be all your fault.
Malichai enjoyed the feeling of his body cutting through the water. He swam slowly at first, warming up his muscles, but his body needed the workout. Every muscle stretched, began to respond more quickly as he loosened up. He dove under a wave and swam even faster, cutting through the water like a rocket and then easing up as he surfaced.
Slow it down, Ezekiel advised. You don’t want anyone watching to get suspicious that you’re more than you seem in the water. You’re supposed to be injured.
Did you get names of those three at the magic shop? Malichai had gone to inquire after Miss Crystal at the first opportunity, afraid if he waited, the detectives, Duncan and Brady, would get there before him. They seemed to be very methodical cops, the type that didn’t miss even a small detail. That had been why he’d been apprehensive about Amaryllis not having her identity in place.
Not yet. We’re working on it. Your girl seems very competent. Is she real competent at . . . um . . . everything?
Mordichai, I’m not talking to you about Amaryllis. You’re such a fucking perv. The water felt amazing now, his body almost humming every time he dove beneath the surface and let himself actually work his muscles. He felt warm. Alive. Whole again.
I have to live vicariously.
Malichai nearly choked. I’m underwater, you moron. Don’t make me laugh.
He surfaced some distance from the few surfers who had gone out that morning. The waves weren’t high at all. Mostly those out were the younger and inexperienced. He angled farther away from them, heading toward a long, sweeping bend. At the same time, he swam farther out to sea. Each time that he could, he dove under a wave and swam a little faster and held his breath a little longer. He often swam in Louisiana. The entire team did to stay in practice, so his lungs responded to his demands.
His leg did begin to ache a little when he pushed himself to really hit the speeds he wanted to go in open water. He was certain if anyone was going to attack him, it would be around the same place that Dozer had been grabbed. Malichai didn’t have a surfboard, but when he returned after swimming awhile, he would swim deliberately slow right through that exact spot. Most of the surfers would be gone.