"You wouldn't," Alan said. He shifted painfully. Even Natasha's slight weight was too much for his injured knee, and he moved her so that she was sitting on his good leg. "When we first met, you were still inside your mom's belly. You decided that you wanted to be born, and you didn't want to wait. You decided you wanted to come into the world in the front seat of my truck."

"Really?" Natasha was fascinated.

Alan nodded. "Really. You came out before the ambulance could get there. You were in such a hurry, I had to catch you and hold on to you to keep you from running a lap around the block."

"Babies can't run," the little girl scoffed.

"Maybe not regular babies," Alan said. "But you came out doing the tango, smoking a cigar and hollering at everybody. Oh, baby, were you loud."

Natasha giggled. "Really?"

"Really," Alan said. "Not the tango and the cigar, but the loud. Come on," he added, lifting her off his lap. "Grab your suitcase and I'll give you the nickel tour of my condo. You can do...something...while I take a shower. Man, do I need a shower."

Natasha tried to pick up her suitcase, but it was too heavy for her. She tried dragging it after her uncle, but she was never going to get it up the stairs. When Alan turned back to see her struggle, he stopped.

"I better get that," he said. But even as he spoke, a change came over his face. The anger was back. Anger and frustration.

Mia was only one thought behind him, and she realized almost instantly that Alan Francisco was not going to be able to carry Natasha's suitcase up the stairs. With one hand on his cane, and the other pulling himself up on the cast-iron railing, it wasn't going to happen.

She stood up, brushing the dirt from her hands. However she did this, it was going to be humiliating for him. And, as in all painful things, it was probably best to do it quickly--to get it over with.

"I'll get that," she said cheerfully, taking the suitcase out of Natasha's hand. Mia didn't wait for Alan to speak or react. She swept up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and set the suitcase down outside the door to 2C.

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" she called out as she went into her own apartment and grabbed her watering can.

She was outside again in an instant, and as she started down the stairs, she saw that Alan hadn't moved. Only the expression on his face had changed. His eyes were even darker and angrier and his face was positively stormy. His mouth was tight. All signs of his earlier smile were gone.

"I didn't ask for your help," he said in a low, dangerous voice, "I know," Mia said honestly, stopping several steps from the bottom so she could look at him, eye to eye. "I figured you wouldn't ask. And if I asked, I knew you would get all mad and you wouldn't let me help. This way, you can get as mad as you want, but the suitcase is already upstairs." She smiled at him. "So go on. Get mad. Knock yourself out."

As Mia turned and headed back to her garden, she could feel Alan's eyes boring into her back. His expression hadn't changed--he was mad. Mad at her, mad at the world.

She knew she shouldn't have helped him. She should have simply let him deal with his problems, let him work things out. She knew she shouldn't get entangled with someone who was obviously in need.

But Mia couldn't forget the smile that had transformed Alan into a real human being instead of this rocky pillar of anger that he seemed to be most of the time. She couldn't forget the gentle way he'd talked to the little girl, trying his best to set her at ease. And she couldn't forget the look on his face when little Natasha had given him a hug.

Mia couldn't forget--even though she knew that she'd be better off if she could.

Chapter 4.

Frisco started to open the bathroom door, but on second thought stopped and wrapped his towel around his waist first.

He could hear the sound of the television in the living room as he leaned heavily on his cane and went into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

A kid. What the h.e.l.l was he going to do with a kid for the next six weeks?

He tossed his cane on the unmade bed and rubbed his wet hair with his towel. Of course, it wasn't as if his work schedule were overcrowded. He'd surely be able to squeeze Natasha in somewhere between "Good Morning, America" and the "Late Show with David Letterman."

Still, little kids required certain specific attention-like food at regular intervals, baths every now and then, a good night's sleep that didn't start at four in the morning and stretch all the way out past noon. Frisco could barely even provide those things for himself, let alone someone else.

Hopping on his good leg, he dug through his still-packed duffel bag, searching for clean underwear. Nothing.

It had been years since he'd had to cook for himself. His kitchen skills were more geared toward knowing which cleaning solutions made the best flammable substances when combined with other household products.

He moved to his dresser, and found only a pair of silk boxers that a lady friend had bought him a lifetime ago. He pulled on his bathing suit instead.

There was nothing to eat in his refrigerator besides a lemon and a six-pack of Mexican beer. His kitchen cabinets contained only shakers of moisture-solidified salt and pepper and an ancient bottle of tabasco sauce.

The second bedroom in his condo was nearly as bare as his cabinets. It had no furniture, only several rows of boxes neatly stacked along one wall. Tasha was going to have to crash on the couch until Frisco could get her a bed and whatever other kind of furniture a five-year-old girl needed.

Frisco pulled on a fresh T-shirt, throwing the clothes he'd been wearing onto the enormous and ever-expanding pile of dirty laundry in the corner of the room... some of it dating from the last time he'd been here, over five years ago. Even the cleaning lady who'd come in yesterday afternoon hadn't dared to touch it.

They'd kicked him out of the physical therapy centre before laundry day. He'd arrived here yesterday with two bags of gear and an enormous duffel bag filled with dirty laundry. Somehow he was going to have to figure out a way to get his dirty clothes down to the laundry room on the first floor--and his clean clothes back up again.

But the first thing he had to do was make sure the collection of weapons he usually carried were all safely locked up. Frisco didn't know much about five-year-olds, but he was certain of one thing--they didn't mix well with guns.

He quickly combed his hair and, reaching for the smooth wood of his cane, he headed toward the sound of the TV. After he secured his private a.r.s.enal, he and Tasha would hobble on down to the grocery store on the corner and pick up some chow for lunch and...

On the television screen, a row of topless dancers gyrated. Frisco lunged for the off switch. h.e.l.l! His cable must've come with some kind of men's channel--the Playboy Channel or something similar. He honestly hadn't known.

"Whoa, Tash. I've got to program that off the remote control," he said, turning to the couch to face her.

Except she wasn't sitting on the couch.

His living room was small, and one quick look a.s.sured him that she wasn't even in the room. h.e.l.l, that was a relief. He limped toward the kitchen. She wasn't there, either, and his relief turned to apprehension.

"Natasha...?" Frisco moved as quickly as he could down the tiny hallway toward the bedrooms and bathroom. He looked, and then he looked again, even glancing underneath his bed and in both closets.

The kid was gone.

His knee twinged as he used a skittering sort of hop and skip to propel himself back into the living room and out the screen door.

She wasn't on the second-floor landing, or anywhere in immediate view in the condo courtyard. Frisco could see Mia Summerton still working, crouched down among the explosion of flowers that were her garden, a rather silly-looking floppy straw hat covering the top of her head.

"Hey!"

She looked up, startled and uncertain as to where his voice had come from.

"Up here."

She was too far away for him to see exactly which shade of green or brown her eyes were right now. They were wide though. Her surprise quickly changed to wariness.

He could see a dark V of perspiration along the collar and down the front of her T-shirt. Her face glistened in the morning heat, and she reached up and wiped her forehead with the back of one arm. It left a smudge of dirt behind.

"Have you seen Natasha--you know, the little girl with red hair? Did she come down this way?"

Mia rinsed her hands in a bucket of water and stood up. "No--and I've been out here since you went upstairs."

Frisco swore and started down past his condo door, toward the stairs at the other side of the complex.

"What happened?" Mia came up the stairs and caught up with him easily.

"I got out of the shower and she was gone," he told her curtly, trying to move as quickly as he could. d.a.m.n, he didn't want to deal with this. The morning sun had moved high into the sky and the brightness still made his head throb--as did every jarring step he took. It was true that living with him wasn't going to be any kind of party, but the kid didn't have to run away, for G.o.d's sake.

But then he saw it.

Sparkling and deceptively pure looking, the alluring blue Pacific Ocean glimmered and danced, beckoning in the distance. The beach was several blocks away. Maybe the kid was like him and had salt water running through her veins. Maybe she caught one look at the water and headed for the beach. Maybe she wasn't running away. Maybe she was just exploring. Or maybe she was pushing the edge of the obedience envelope, testing him to see just what she could get away with.

"Do you think she went far? Do you want me to get my car?" Mia asked.

Frisco turned to look at her and realized she was keeping pace with him. He didn't want her help, but dammit, he needed it. If he was going to find Tasha quickly, four eyes were definitely better than two. And a car was far better than a b.u.m knee and a cane when it came to getting someplace fast.

"Yeah, get your car," he said gruffly. "I want to check down at the beach."

Mia nodded once then ran ahead. She'd pulled her car up at the stairs that led to the parking lot before he'd even arrived at the bottom of them. She reached across the seat, unlocking the pa.s.senger's side door of her little subcompact.

Frisco knew he wasn't going to fit inside. He got in anyway, forcing his right knee to bend more than it comfortably could. Pain and its accompanying nausea washed over him, and he swore sharply--a repet.i.tive, staccato chant, a profane mantra designed to bring him back from the edge.

He looked up to find Mia watching him, her face carefully expressionless.

"Drive," he told her, his voice sounding harsh to his own ears. "Come on--I don't even know if this kid can swim."

She put the car into first gear and it lurched forward. She took the route the child might well have taken if she was, indeed, heading for the beach. Frisco scanned the crowded sidewalks. What exactly had the kid been wearing? Some kind of white shirt with a pattern on it... balloons? Or maybe flowers? And a bright-coloured pair of shorts. Or was she wearing a skirt? Was it green or blue? He couldn't remember, so he watched for her flaming red hair instead.

"Any sign of her?" Mia asked. "Do you want me to slow down?"

"No," Frisco said. "Let's get down to the water and make sure she's not there first. We can work our way back more slowly."

"Aye, aye, sir." Mia stepped on the gas, risking a glance at Alan Francisco. He didn't seem to notice her military-style affirmative. He was gripping the handle up above the pa.s.senger window so tightly that his knuckles were white. The muscles in his jaw were just as tight, and he kept watching out the window, searching for any sign of his tiny niece in the summertime crowd.

He'd shaved, she noticed, glancing at him again. He looked slightly less dangerous without the stubble--but only slightly.

He'd hurt his knee getting into her car, and Mia knew from the paleness of his face underneath his tan that it hurt him still. But he didn't complain. Other than his initial explosion of profanity, he hadn't said a word about it. Finding his niece took priority over his pain. Obviously it took priority, since finding Natasha was important enough for him to call a temporary truce with Mia and accept her offer of help.

She was signalling to make the left into the beach parking lot when the man finally spoke.

"There she is! With some kid. At two o'clock--"

"Where?" Mia slowed, uncertain.

"Just stop the car!"

Francisco opened the door, and Mia slammed on the brakes, afraid he would jump out while the car was still moving. And then she saw Natasha. The little girl was at the edge of the parking lot, sitting on the top of a picnic table, paying solemn attention to a tall, African-American teenage boy who was standing in front of her. Something about the way he wore his low-riding, baggy jeans was familiar. The kid turned, and Mia saw his face.

"That's Thomas King," she said. "That boy who's with Natasha--I know him."

But Francisco was already out of the car, moving as fast as he could with his limp and his cane toward the little girl.

There was nowhere to park. Mia watched through the windshield as the former Navy lieutenant descended upon his niece, pulling her none-too-gently from the table and setting her down on the ground behind him. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could tell that it wasn't a friendly greeting. She saw Thomas bristle and turn belligerently toward Francisco, and she threw on her hazard lights and left the car right where it was in the middle of the lot as she jumped out and ran toward them.

She arrived just in time to hear Thomas say, "You raise one hand to that girl and I'll clean the street with your face."

Alan Francisco's blue eyes had looked deadly and cold when Mia first ran up, but now they changed. Something shifted. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to hit her." He sounded incredulous, as if such a thing would never have occurred to him.

"Then why are you shouting at her as if you are?" Thomas King was nearly Francisco's height, but the former SEAL had at least fifty pounds of muscle over him. Still, the teenager stood his ground, his dark eyes flashing and narrowed, his lips tight.

"I'm not--"

"Yes, you are," Thomas persisted. He mimicked the older man. "'What the h.e.l.l are you doing here? Who the h.e.l.l gave you permission to leave...' I thought you were going to slam her--and she did, too."

Frisco turned to look at Natasha. She had scurried underneath the picnic table, and she looked back at him, her eyes wide. "Tash, you didn't think..."

But she had thought that. He could see it in her eyes, in the way she was cowering. Man, he felt sick.

He crouched down next to the table as best he could. "Natasha, did your mom hit you when she was angry?" He couldn't believe softhearted Sharon would hurt a defenceless child, but liquor did funny things to even the gentlest of souls.

The little girl shook her head no. "Mommy didn't," she told him softly, "but Dwayne did once and I got a b.l.o.o.d.y lip. Mommy cried, and then we moved out."

Thank G.o.d Sharon had had that much sense. d.a.m.n Dwayne to h.e.l.l, whoever he was. What kind of monster would strike a five-year-old child?

What kind of monster would scare her to death by shouting at her the way he just had?

Frisco sat down heavily on the picnic table bench, glancing up at Mia. Her eyes were soft, as if she could somehow read his mind.

"Tash, I'm sorry," he said, rubbing his aching, bleary eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"This some kind of friend of yours?" the black kid said to Mia, his tone implying she might want to be more selective in her choice of friends in the future.

"He's in 2C," Mia told the boy. "The mystery neighbour--Lt. Alan Francisco." She directed her next words to Frisco. "This is Thomas King. He's a former student of mine. He lives in 1N with his sister and her kids."

A former... student? That meant that Mia Summerton was a teacher. d.a.m.n, if he had had teachers who looked like her, he might've actually gone to high school.

She was watching him now with wariness in her eyes, as if he were a bomb on a trick timer, ready to blow at any given moment.

"Lieutenant," Thomas repeated. "Are you the badge?"

"No, I'm not a cop," Frisco said, tearing his eyes away from Mia to glance at the kid. "I'm in the Navy... " He caught himself, and shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. "I was in the Navy."

Thomas had purposely crossed his arms and tucked both hands underneath them to make sure Frisco knew he had no intention of shaking hands.

"The lieutenant was a SEAL," Mia told Thomas. "That's a branch of the special forces--"

"I know what a SEAL is," the kid interrupted. He turned to run a bored, cynical eye over Frisco. "One of those crazy freaks that ride the surf and crash their little rubber boats into the rocks down by the hotel in Coronado. Did you ever do that?"