Her thought, as strange as it was? Maybe there were other less conventional ways to communicate.
“What am I supposed to do?” she softly wailed. “I’m so confused. I don’t know why he went away like he did.” She put a hand over her heart. “In here, I want to believe he has an explanation.” Then she shrugged and touched her forehead to indicate her mind had a different view. “It’s not like I can call him, so this discussion is moot.”
“You could try reaching out to him at work.”
“No can do,” Summer said. “The business card is blank, and an internet search comes back with zilch.”
“Oh, Summer. Don’t be naïve. There’s always a number.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it, dear. That little piece of stationery is a calling card. Yes, it’s blank, but a blank card is an invitation.”
She ran what Lynda was saying through her churning thoughts. Everything about Arnie Templeton screamed normal. He didn’t come off as furtive or sneaky. But there was a different side of the man. Was NIGHTWIND the key?
Pinning Lynda with a look, she asked point-blank, “What is it I don’t know? I can tell there’s something, so don’t blow sunshine up my skirt.”
“Ask the Sergeant Major.”
“Cyrus? Are you serious? He knows something and hasn’t told me?”
“Men,” Lynda snidely drawled.
“Where’s my phone?” Summer barked.
Lynda smirked. She stood, patted Summer on the cheek, and said, “He’s expecting your call. I gave him a courtesy heads-up.”
Before the door closed on Lynda’s retreat, Summer initiated a call to Cy. She was going to give him a piece of her mind if he’d been keeping anything from her. Didn’t everyone realize the emotional toll this whole thing was taking on her and the baby? She’d had enough of threats, secrets, and lies and let ’er rip the second Cy answered.
“Goddammit, Cy! If I weren’t pregnant, I’d kick your ass.”
“Now, slow down, missy. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, stop it. Lynda told me she gave you a heads-up. What do you know, Sergeant Major? Spill your guts, or I’m telling Joanne you’re smoking cigarettes again.”
He sputtered and made all sorts of noises. “How the hell do you even know that?”
She had no idea how she knew. The words came out of nowhere.
“Cy, I’m warning you. Tell me what you know.”
“All right, all right. Calm down, though. Getting all riled up isn’t good for you or the baby.”
She stood as quickly as her big belly would allow. “Do not tell me to calm down.”
Were all men just stupid? Didn’t they know those words should never ever come out of their brain-dead mouths?
“My bad, my bad,” Cy muttered. “Is it okay to suggest a deep breath?”
Summer counted to five and reset the scene. She wanted answers, not overprotective bullshit.
“From the top, if you don’t mind,” she said as reasonably as possible.
“Well, okay,” Cy mumbled. “Um, let’s see. Where to begin? I guess the best way to start is with the good news.”
There was good news? Relief flooded her body.
“This NIGHTWIND place is a real thing, Summer. So real that they have zero social media presence and operate in layers of secrecy, leaving no doubt they aren’t to be fucked with.”
She smiled. How messed up was that?
“As for the man, your Arnie Templeton is real. I’m pretty sure that’s his cloak and dagger name. Hit the classified wall when I tried to dig further, but this much I’m sure of. He has deep roots inside national security and a top secret government designation.”
So he hadn’t lied or deliberately misled her about his name. Goose bumps of happiness prickled her skin. “Anything else?” she asked quietly.
“No. I had to stop when I hit the security wall. The last thing I need is to trip a warning light and attract the attention of the feds.”
Summer’s brows went up at the sound of something new and unexpected in Cy’s voice. She knew respect when she heard it. For whatever reason, he’d come down from the angry ledge where he threatened to neuter the guy who knocked her up. Was Sergeant Major Cyrus Westmoreland on Team Magnum?
At the local branch of the public library, Summer logged in to her student profile account, found her official grades from the last semester, and sent a screenshot of it to her flash drive. To make it hard to track her, the laptop she used for school was locked away for safekeeping. She’d sent all her final assignments to