AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. Not, really. I just want to be honest and upfront. I’m not prepared to have a sexual relationship, Leif. I don’t mind kissing, holding hands, that sort of thing, but I’m just not ready for anything else right now.”
“Me either,” he blushed. “We have our whole lives ahead of us. Besides, like I said, I’m going into the military. You’re going off to college. We’ll be a long-distance relationship for a while.”
“Well, we have a few weeks before the semester ends. We can spend some time together for sure.”
“I think that sounds great.” He stood, bending over her, and kissed her cheek. He heard someone clear their throat at the door and turned to see her father and Cruz standing there.
“Hello,” he smiled.
“Sir. My name is Leif Frode.”
“I know who you are, son.” He gripped Leif by the shoulders and hugged him. “You’re the very brave young man that helped to save my daughter. I’ll never, ever forget your name.” Leif could only blush and smile.
“She’s all ready to go home,” said Cruz. “You’re a very brave, very smart young lady, Christina. I sure hope we can see you around here again soon.” Cruz nudged Leif, giving him a wink as the younger man shook his head, chuckling. He turned to Christina, giving a small nod.
“See you soon, Leif.”
“Count on it. See you soon.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“Cao will be landing in New Orleans in about twenty minutes,” said Code. “Homeland and the NSA will be following him. It seems he’s been having some interesting conversations with the Chinese. He’d like to create a hydrogen bomb, among other things.”
“What other things?” frowned Gaspar, crossing his arms.
“Well, take over the world to start with.”
“He doesn’t want much, does he?” asked Ghost. “You know, I thought Gray Wolf was going to be helping little old ladies. Fighting for the little guys. I didn’t know we were stopping World War III.”
“You never know what will land in your lap,” smirked Ian.
As they busied themselves, changing the tires on Shaw’s car and straightening the mess inside the home, Max stood up straight as if smelling the winds. He turned several times, looking over his shoulder, then down by the lake.
“Max, what’s up, brother?” asked Ghost.
“I don’t know. I’m hearing something strange.”
“Kids?”
“No, it’s not kids. I don’t think so, anyway. Does this place have a basement?” he asked.
“No basement,” said Code. “It’s too close to the lake and too far below sea level. We are near another fort. Fort Proctor is an abandoned Civil War fort. It’s crumbling, but it’s just around the curve of the lake.”
“Fuck. I wonder if they have more kids there,” said Max.
“Go. Find out what the hell is making the sound you’re hearing,” said Gaspar. “We’ll wait here in case anything happens.”
The old fort was surrounded by a square gravel jetty with an inner moat of water. Although it didn’t really matter. It was filled a third of the way up its walls on the inside as well. There were two small kayaks tied to a steel girder that had fallen from the crumbling bridge that once led horses into the stronghold.
Max, Trak, Antoine, and Luc stopped, listening to the strange sound in the wind. He turned, staring at the other men.
“Am I losing my shit? Do you hear it?” asked Max.
Trak nodded, holding his finger to his lips. The men split up in the kayaks, paddling their way inside the old fort. She must have been beautiful at one time. The massive walls with their ramparts high, looking for anyone attempting to come up through the Gulf.
The problem was no one thought about how the rising flood waters and hurricanes would affect the steel, brick, and mortar. Over time, it couldn’t hold any longer, crumbling from the inside out. It didn’t help that it had been abandoned after the Civil War, no one caring to preserve the history inside.
Slowly paddling their way inside the fort, they could hear the sounds more clearly now, frowning at one another.
