by Susan Stoker
They smiled at each other.
The room was spinning, and Sidney knew she’d definitely drank enough. She leaned forward, ignoring the way Hannah grumbled at being jostled, and put her cup on the coffee table. She grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and covered both her and Hannah.
“You think Decker is gonna be mad I raided his closet?” she asked Caite.
“What else were you supposed to wear?” the other woman asked, shrugging. “If he was here, I bet he’d be totally eye-fucking you. Guys like it when their women wear their clothes.”
“What’s up with that?” Sidney asked. “That’s weird.”
Caite shrugged. “No clue. But I have to admit that I love wearing Blake’s T-shirts. Especially when he’s gone. They smell like him and make me feel less lonely.”
Just like that, the tears were back in Sidney’s eyes. “Yeah,” she agreed.
“You’re staying the night, right?” Caite asked, her words slurring.
“Uh-huh…if that’s okay.”
“Of course it is. No way I’d let you drive anyway. I should probably go back to my apartment tomorrow and let you dog-sit Hannah until the guys get back.”
“No way. Decker asked you.”
“But I got Hannah hurt,” Caite said sadly.
“No, you didn’t. She’s a curious dog. That’s a good thing. It shows she’s getting more brave, and after what happened to her with that jerk, that’s a good thing.”
“She’s lucky you found her.”
Earlier, Sidney had explained the circumstances behind Decker getting Hannah in the first place. “There’re so many other dogs like her out there,” Sidney said with a sniffle. “In fact, the asshole who hurt her probably has more dogs right now.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I looked online and saw that he’s been posting more messages on social media, asking if anyone has any dogs they don’t want anymore.”
“What an asshole!”
“Yup. But I promised Decker I wouldn’t confront him while he was gone on his mission.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“Sidney?”
“Yeah?”
“If I forget anything we talked about tomorrow, you’ll remind me, right?”
Sidney chuckled. “Yeah, Caite. I’ll remind you.”
“You won’t pretend that you don’t know me?” She grinned.
“Nope. We cleaned up a crime scene together. Like you said, that means we’re best friends forever now,” Sidney joked.
“Good. I’m gonna close my eyes now.”
“Night, Caite. Thanks for calling me.”
“Night. Thanks for coming over.”
Sidney closed her eyes, feeling more comfortable than she’d been in a long time. With a heavy, warm dog in her lap, alcohol coursing through her bloodstream, a new awareness of her feelings for Decker, and a new best friend, how could she be anything but?
Chapter Thirteen
Gumby put the key into the lock on his door and held it open for Rocco. He had no idea why Sidney was at his house, but he was more than thrilled she was. When he’d driven down his street, he’d been surprised to see her car in his driveway. He was instantly a little worried, yet happy he’d get to see her sooner than he’d planned.
It was one in the morning, and he’d been traveling and in wrap-up meetings for almost twenty hours. He was exhausted, and his plan had been to get a few hours’ sleep, then text Sidney and let her know he was home.
But suddenly, his exhaustion seemed to disappear as if by magic. He couldn’t wait to see Sidney. To hold her.
The mission had gone off without a hitch. They’d met up with a team of Delta Force operatives stationed out of Texas and had tracked down one of the mostly highly sought-after terrorists in Afghanistan. The intel on where he’d been hiding out had been correct and, after several days of surveillance, the two teams had made their move and taken him out.
One down, way too many to go, Gumby thought to himself as he closed the door behind him and Rocco. There was a light on in the kitchen that was bright enough to illuminate the small living area of the house.
Rocco stood at the end of the couch, silent and not moving. Gumby came up beside him—and blinked in confusion at what he saw.
Sidney was on the floor with her head resting on Hannah’s dog bed. She was curled into a little ball and had one arm around his dog, as if she was snuggling her. Hannah’s tail was wagging furiously, but she didn’t get up to come greet him…probably because Sidney was wrapped around her so tightly.
Caite was asleep on the sofa. She was on her back, one arm thrown over her head, mouth open and breathing very deeply. The coffee table had a mostly empty bottle of rum and two empty glasses with red stuff on the bottom. A roll of paper towels and a washcloth concluded the odd scene.
“What in the world?” Gumby said softly as Rocco went to sit beside his girlfriend. Gumby stood over Sidney, not sure how to go about moving her. He hated to wake her, but he was going to have to. There was no way he could loosen her grip on his dog without disturbing her.
“Oh my God!” Caite said loudly after Rocco had woken her up. “You’re back!”
“I’m back,” he agreed.
Gumby ignored the lovers’ reunion and turned his attention back to Sidney. He squatted down and put one hand on her shoulder, giving Hannah a pet with the other.
“Sidney?” he called gently. When she didn’t move, he jostled her a bit harder. “Wake up, Sid. I’m home.”
Her eyes popped open as if she’d been awake the whole time—and immediately filled with tears.
Alarmed, he put his hand on her face. “Sid?”
“You came back,” she said softly.
“Of course I came back. I’m happy to see you and glad you’re here, but why are you on the floor?”
Instead of answering, Sidney sat up and threw her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. Gumby’s eyes met Rocco’s, and they shared a look of amused confusion. He picked Sidney up off the floor and carried her over to the big chair next to the sofa. He sat on the edge and simply waited her out.
Hannah stood, stretched, then limped over to where he was sitting with Sidney. Frowning, Gumby tilted his head and tried to assess the dog.
“You okay?” Rocco asked Caite.
“Yeah. I’m good,” she said, sounding very awake for having been practically passed out a minute earlier.
“Why was Sidney sleeping on the floor?” Rocco asked.
“I called her. Hannah was hurt, and she came over and helped. We had some drinks, cleaned up the crime scene, raided Gumby’s drawers, and now we’re best friends.”
“She’s trashed,” Rocco said, turning to smirk at Gumby.
“Crime scene?” he questioned.
But Caite had buried her face into Rocco’s chest, and Rocco merely shrugged, as much in the dark as to what the women had been up to as Gumby.
“Sid?” he asked, leaning back to look at her face. She gave him a watery smile. “Everything good here?”
“Uh-huh.”
He needed more. “You came over because Hannah was hurt?” he prompted.
Sidney nodded and put her head on his shoulder. She was cuddled into him as if he were the world’s best pillow. He couldn’t deny it made him feel ten feet tall, but he still needed answers.
“She cut the pad of her foot. Decker?”
“Yeah?”
“I hope you don’t ever have the CSI people come over and inspect the place.”
The comment was so out of left field, Gumby could only think to ask, “Why?”
“Because if they use that luminal stuff, this place is gonna light up like a Christmas tree.”
“What?”
“There was blood everywhere. I mean, everywhere. Hannah managed to cover almost every inch of the floor with her blood, and it was on the cabinets and stuff too. I took some pictures because I knew you wouldn’t believe how bad it was.
Anyway, if you’re ever investigated, they’re gonna find you guilty because it’ll look like a massacre took place in here. Trust me…I know how that stuff works. Since me and Caite cleaned it up, it’ll look like a bunch of smears and stuff when they look at it under the special light.”
That explained the crime scene comment from Caite. But that had been a lot of info, and Gumby didn’t like what Sidney was inferring. Not that he would ever be investigated…but that she knew what smeared blood looked like under the chemicals in luminal.
He looked around the room and saw what he’d missed earlier, because he’d had eyes only for Sidney. There were paw prints in what he assumed was blood on his couch, and he saw a few small spots on the tile floor that also looked like blood. There was a mop propped up in the corner over by the kitchen, and a bucket sat on the counter by the sink.
He could only imagine what the place had looked like before the women had cleaned.
“Deck?” Sidney mumbled.
“Yeah?”
“You’re much more comfortable than the couch. I fell asleep there, but Hannah got restless, so we moved to the floor. I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”
“How drunk are you?” Gumby heard Rocco asking Caite.
She giggled. “On a scale of one to ten, I’d say probably around a seven and a half.”
“You want to stay?” Gumby asked his friend.
Rocco looked like he was considering it, then finally shook his head. “Nah, I’m gonna get Caite home. She might be hurting tomorrow, and I know she’d prefer to be in her own bed.”
Gumby nodded. He didn’t blame him—and was secretly a little relieved. He loved Rocco and adored Caite, but having Sidney to himself in the morning definitely appealed. “I’ll come out and move Sidney’s car so you can drive Caite’s back.”
“’Preciate it,” Rocco said. “I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon and grab her stuff…if it’s okay to leave it in the guest room overnight.”
“Of course,” Gumby told his friend. Then he stood, keeping his arms around Sidney until he was sure she could stand on her own. “Why don’t you go upstairs and climb into bed?”
“Your bed?” she asked.
His stomach clenched with how right those words sounded on her lips. “Yeah.”
Sidney nodded, but instead of walking over to the stairs, she headed for Caite. The men stood by, bemused, watching as the two women embraced.
“Thanks for coming when I called,” Caite said.
“I would’ve been pissed if you’d called anyone else,” Sidney returned.
“You’ll let me know how Hannah’s doing?”
“Of course. We should go to lunch sometime.” Sidney pulled back and looked Caite in the eyes, keeping her arms around her waist.
“I’d like that. I want to hear more about the animals you’ve rescued.”
“And I want to know more about Bahrain and NCIS.”
“I also want to introduce you to the other SEAL wives,” Caite said.
“The ones you said you didn’t feel like you fit in with?” Sidney questioned.
“Well, yeah. But they’re still awesome. Super nice. I just don’t fit in because they’re already a family. But now we’re going to make our own family. So we can hang with them because they have each other and we have us.”
Gumby raised an eyebrow at Rocco at their women’s conversation. He shrugged his shoulders, but smiled in return.
“That’s right. We have us. I’d invite you over, but I just have a trailer,” Sidney told her new best friend.
“What’s wrong with a trailer?” Caite asked. “A home is a home is a home.”
“True. It’s cozy. I like it. Oh! And I have to introduce you to Nora. She’s addicted to sex, so her conversations are a bit off-the-wall, but she’s nice.”
“And I want to introduce you to Brenae. She’s the rear admiral’s wife. Remember? I told you all about how that crazy bitch held us hostage in the mail room in our building.”
“Isn’t a rear admiral, like, crazy high? Should I even be talking to her?” Sidney asked.
“Of course you should!” Caite exclaimed. “A rear admiral is pretty high-ranking, but you’d never know it by talking to her. She’s so normal—”
“Okay, you two,” Gumby interrupted. “It’s time to go. You can talk to each other later.”
“I’m gonna miss you,” Sidney said, slurring slightly and hugging Caite once more.
Gumby could only stand there, surprised. He’d never seen Sidney so…touchy-feely with anyone before. She’d definitely let her guard down. Whatever had happened to Hannah—and the alcohol—had obviously allowed Caite and Sidney to bond. He couldn’t say he wasn’t happy about it. He just hoped they’d both feel the same way tomorrow when they didn’t have the rum coursing through their veins.
“Go on upstairs, Sid,” Gumby said, and watched as she slowly made her way toward the stairs, weaving and stumbling as she went.
Grinning, he turned to Rocco to see the same indulgent smile on his friend’s face as he said, “Come on, Caite. Time to go home.”
“I like this house,” Caite informed Rocco. “Did you know the beach is like…right there?” She threw out her hand, indicating the back of the house.
“Yeah, knew that, babe,” he told her.
“Blake?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. I’m so glad you’re home.”
“Love you too. And me too.”
Five minutes later, Gumby had locked the front door and wandered over to where Hannah was lying in front of the couch. He spent a bit of time looking her over and giving her the attention he hadn’t lavished on her earlier. He saw the cut on her paw and was thankful Caite had the idea to call Sidney.
He wasn’t surprised Sidney had come over to help. It wasn’t in her nature to ignore any hurt animal, but especially not Hannah, who he knew she’d come to love as much as he did.
“Thank you for looking out for our girl,” Gumby told the dog. He still didn’t know how she’d gotten hurt, but he’d find out sooner or later.
Giving Hannah one last pat on the head, he headed up the stairs. He held his breath as he headed down the hall, hoping like hell Sidney had gone into his room and not the second bedroom. If she wasn’t comfortable sleeping with him, he’d leave her alone…
But he breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the lump in the middle of his queen-size bed.
He’d showered back at the base after they’d arrived, so he didn’t waste any time in stripping off his shirt and pants and climbing into his bed next to Sidney.
She immediately cuddled into him, and Gumby swore he felt the tension ooze out of him the second her head landed on his shoulder and her arm snaked around his stomach. Her legs tangled with his, and he had to take a deep breath because they were as bare as his own. She was still wearing one of his shirts, but she’d obviously taken off the jeans she’d been wearing downstairs.
She sighed, and her warm breath wafted across his chest, making his nipples tighten…along with his cock. Knowing nothing was going to happen right now didn’t help calm his body. Gumby wasn’t going to make a move on Sidney when she was drunk. Not their first time, at least. He hoped there might be a time in the future when he could make love to her after she’d had too much to drink, but for now, he was content to simply hold her.
“What happened to Hannah, Sidney?”
“She cut her paw. I guess Rocco sent Caite some flowers and they were in a vase next to the couch. Hannah must’ve got curious and knocked them over, breaking the vase. She got a piece of glass stuck in her paw, and those things bleed like crazy.”
Gumby hated to think about poor Hannah hurt and bleeding, but he was more relieved than he could say that Sidney had taken care of her. “Thank you for fixing her up.” He paused. “How do you know what blood smears look like under luminal?”
Just as he suspected, she was too relaxed and tipsy to think about
her answer. “Saw the pictures of my brother’s apartment. And the shed.”
His mind spun. He had so many questions, but wasn’t sure how many he could get away with right now. “Will you tell me about Brian?” he asked after a moment.
Sidney’s head pressed harder into his shoulder, and he tightened his hold around her, trying to make her feel safe.
“You could google him,” Sidney said after a minute. “I’m sure the transcripts from the trial are online.”
“I want to hear it from you. Anything you want to tell me, I’m here to listen,” he said softly.
“It was awful,” Sidney whispered. “All of it.”
“All of what, sweetheart?”
“My life,” was her heartbreaking response.
“Tell me,” Gumby coaxed.
“I’m three years older than Brian. And things were pretty good when we were little. I was around eight when I realized I was actually scared of him.” She huffed out a breath. “He was five. Five. And I hated being left alone with him.”
“What’d he do?”
She shrugged awkwardly against him. “He was just…off. He had this toy gun he got for Christmas one year and he liked to sneak up on me, hold it against my head, and pull the trigger. He’d just laugh at how scared I was. He’d hide anywhere he could around the house and jump out at me, thought it was hilarious when I freaked out.
“When I was twelve, he came into my room in the middle of the night and sat on my bed. He had one of the knives from the kitchen…and he held it against my throat. I pushed him off me, screaming for my parents. When they came in, he started crying, telling them I hurt him.”
“What’d he do with the knife?” Gumby asked, doing his best to stay relaxed under her. With every word she spoke, he got more and more pissed, but being upset wasn’t going to help her right now. She needed to get it all out, and he needed to hear it.
“I guess he hid it under my bed. I got in trouble because my parents didn’t believe me when I’d told them what he’d done. The next day, he told me he was gonna kill me for the first time. He thought it was funny I was punished and he wasn’t, but he was also pissed that I tried to get him in trouble.”