by Jaime Lewis
The Trident Series
FROST
Jaime Lewis
Copyright © 2020 Jaime Lewis
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The Trident Series - FROST
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
ISBN: 978-1-952734-06-9
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
Book List
About the Author
Prologue
Autumn Kauffman stood beside her car, staring at her good friend, Nathan Coates.
“Autumn, I really wish you would reconsider this move.”
Autumn wanted to roll her eyes at him but thought better of it. “Nathan, I’ve thought long and hard about this decision, and moving is what I feel is best for both Cody and I. It’s a fresh start that we both need. Plus, I’m already committed to the Naval Hospital in Norfolk. I can’t renege on my contract.”
Nathan, her late husband’s best friend, wasn’t thrilled with her decision to leave town, but it was something she had to do. Saying goodbye to the life that she’d known for the last eleven years was going to be tough.
Having to bury her husband ten months ago had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to endure. The toll it had taken on her emotionally was enough to warrant a clean break from her past, even if it upset her friend.
Knowing Kevin would never walk through their front door again had pushed her into a deep depression for several months after the funeral. She’d been stuck in a fog while she let everyone around her dictate her life. She wasn’t usually a needy person or one who relied on others to take care of her, but that was exactly what had been happening. Her son, Cody, had suffered as a result of her manic meltdown. In her opinion, her parenting had sucked, and that was not how she wanted her son to remember her. She had always been strong, and she believed that she would regain that strength by starting a new chapter.
Out of everyone who had graciously offered to help after the funeral, Nathan had been the most supportive, helping her cope with the loss while encouraging her to move on.
Nathan had been assigned to the same unit as her husband and had been with Kevin that fateful day. What had started as a normal routine patrol quickly escalated into an ambush. As Kevin lay dying in his best friend’s arms, he made Nathan promise he to ensure that she and Cody were taken care of. Nathan had honored that promise and then some. For the past ten months, Nathan had unselfishly put his life on hold for her and Cody. She’d never be able to repay him for everything he’d provided, whether it was as simple as helping her fill out paperwork, helping Cody with homework, or just lending a shoulder for her to cry on. He had also opened his home to her and Cody while she contemplated what her next move would be.
Then one day, she’d been searching the internet, and a job board website popped up. Something inside her told her to click on it. The second job listed was an ad for a position in her field at the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. Not expecting to hear anything back, she took the chance and applied for it. To her surprise, she received a call back the following week, and the rest was history. Even with everyone saying she was making a mistake by moving, she put her foot down and decided the new start was the best thing for her and her son. The two of them would begin the next chapter of their lives in Virginia Beach.
She walked over to Nathan, standing by the driver’s side door with his arms crossed in front of his chest as if he would block her from getting in. He was tall, just over six-feet, dark crewcut hair and dark brown eyes. She hugged him and tried to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. This was a difficult decision, and one she did not take lightly, but it had to be done; she was suffocating here.
“Nathan, please don’t be angry with me. You have to understand; Cody and I need this. I promise to keep in touch. You can even come out and visit. Actually, I’d be upset with you if you didn’t.” She grinned, hoping to get him to smile. She didn’t want to leave with him angry.
Hugging her shoulders, he gave her a good squeeze, then kissed the top of her head. “I’m not upset with you, Autumn. I’m just worried. I mean, what happens if you need something?”
“Nathan, I’m thirty-years-old. I’ll be okay.” Dammit. This was why she had decided to leave. She hated being treated with kid gloves.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant being in a new town and all, driving across the country in your deathtrap of a car, not having anybody to call if you need something.”
Knowing Nathan meant well brought a smile to her face. Ever since he had accompanied Kevin’s body home from Iraq, he’d been her rock, but it was time for her to move on and time for Nathan to have his life back. “I know, Nathan. I appreciate your caring and being worried about us, but we’ll be fine. We’ll make new friends. Besides, I don’t want to cramp your bachelor status by being here longer than we have to.” She gave him a wink.
He gave her a stern look. “Hey, I’ve been on dates since you and Cody moved in, so don’t go trying to find excuses.”
She looked down at her watch. Dang, it was already after seven. She had wanted to be on the road by now. Giving Nathan one last hug, she assured him they would be okay and promised she would call him every couple of hours to check-in. She had their entire route planned out, making sure the journey would be an adventure for Cody by stopping in specific cities for a little sightseeing.
She got into her 2005 Nissan Altima; truth be told, it had seen better days, and with a sigh, she buckled her seatbelt. As the car’s engine sputtered then roared to life, she took one last look at Nathan and waved. He waved back. As she started to drive down the main road and off the base for the last time, she kept telling herself that this was what Kevin would’ve wanted. He would want her and Cody to move on and live their lives instead of grieving over him.
She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Cody staring right back at her from his seat. His shaggy brown hair, just like his dad, was sticking up in all directions. She winked and smiled at him, and her heart melted as he grinned back at her with the sweetest little smile. “Are you ready for this, buddy?” She asked, trying to put on a brave face, even though she was a nervous wreck.
He smiled wide. “I’m ready if you are, Mom.”
Chapter One
“Oh, good! You’re still here.”
Autumn turned from her locker, where she was gathering her purse and gym bag to leave for the day, to see her manager Nancy rush into the employee lounge.
Nancy was a v
ery eclectic woman. In her late fifties, she stood probably just shy of six feet. Her blonde hair with pink streaks throughout was cut into a bob. She was fun and easy to work for as long as you did your job.
“I am still here.”
Nancy smiled. “Sorry, I know you’re trying to get out of here for the day, but I need to speak with you about a patient.”
Autumn wondered if there was an issue with one of her patients. She loved her job and took it seriously. As a physical therapist, she got to meet many people of all ages, although the majority of her patients were current and former military personnel. When she first started, she had taken on some of the more elderly patients. But lately, they’d been assigning more active-duty personnel to her. According to Nancy, she had apparently made a name for herself, and now patients were requesting her.
Her thoughts must have shown in her expression because Nancy touched her arm and started to explain.
“I’m sorry, Autumn. I didn’t mean to make it sound like something is wrong. I received a new patient file from Dr. Ingram. I know you already have a full plate, but is there any possible way you could add this patient to your workload? You would be doing me a huge favor. This one is kind of special, and you’re the best therapist I’ve got. He’ll be here for a few days, then transfer to an outpatient facility closer to his home once he’s discharged. Since he was only going to be here for a few days, I had suggested that they wait and start his physical therapy at the facility, but Dr. Ingram insisted he wanted him to start working his leg as soon as possible.”
Autumn thought about it, and Nancy was right; she was already loaded down with more patients than most could handle. But from the desperate look that she was getting from Nancy, if this particular patient were important, then she’d make some adjustments in her schedule. Plus, staying later would mean overtime, which meant more money in her bank account—money that she desperately needed. Whoever this person was must really be special to have the doctors pushing his recovery. If the doctor said to do it, then she would. She gave Nancy one of her bright smiles. “Sure. What’s his story?”
Nancy thanked her and handed her a folder containing all of the patient’s information. She scanned the information. Even though she had been getting ready to leave, she wanted to go and introduce herself to the patient before she left and see about setting up an appointment first thing tomorrow morning.
She grimaced when she read he was recovering from a gunshot wound. Even though it was clean through and through, Autumn knew it still had to hurt like hell.
She scanned further down the page, and her eyes widened at the doctor’s sense of urgency. The patient was no other than one of American’s finest elite warriors. A Navy SEAL. The government invests a lot of money in these guys, so, of course, she understood why they would want him back to active duty as quickly as possible. She’d heard all about the SEAL teams who were based out of Little Creek, which wasn’t that far from where she lived. In fact, she always saw men from the base at the local Stop-n-Shop down the street from her house. She had treated a couple of them here at the hospital in the last few months. Those guys were a handful. Most were hard men, full of muscles and intimidation, who could snap her in half in a blink of an eye. Just the thought sent a slight shiver through her body. The sound of Nancy’s voice shook her from her thoughts.
“If it helps any, I hear this one is pretty easy on the eyes,” Nancy said, waggling her eyebrows up and down, and Autumn couldn’t help but roll her eyes, making Nancy laugh. Nancy had a habit of checking out the prospects and trying to set Autumn up on dates. She had enough offers from men working at the hospital alone. Thankfully, her schedule between work and taking care of Cody didn’t give her any time to even think about dating. She wasn’t even sure if she was ready to venture down that road yet.
Autumn snorted. “Good looking or not, these types of guys are difficult to work with. They never listen, then try to act all macho and tell you they’re fine when they’re not so that they can get back to active duty. Just because they are full of muscles and carry the title of SEAL, they think their shit don’t stink.” She set the folder down while she put her purse and bag back into her locker.
“I hear ya, honey. I’ve been around here for a long time. But in their defense, those men are trained to be that way. It’s ingrained into them. But I know you can handle it, or I wouldn’t have asked.” She tossed Autumn a smile and winked as she gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze.
Autumn shook her head as she prepared to go meet the SEAL. Chief Petty Officer Rhoades was his name. Brushing her red hair from her face, she started down the hall toward his room. Nancy was right; she could handle this. It was just another day at the office. But then why was she so nervous?
◆◆◆
“So, Frost, how long are they keeping you here?” Dino, Frost’s teammate, asked as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Frost looked up at him and the rest of the team. They had come by to visit before they headed home. He was pissed that his ass was stuck in a fucking hospital bed and not with them. He’d had injuries before, knife wounds, pulled muscles, bruises, and sprains, but he’d never been shot before. However, there were plenty of near misses in his career as a SEAL. Either his enemies were just bad shots, or he was just lucky.
He didn’t understand why he couldn’t sit at home in his own damn bed and take the damn antibiotics they were giving him intravenously. Stitch, his best friend, teammate, and roommate, is a combat medic. He surely could handle playing doctor for a few days.
Since the day he had been admitted to the hospital, he’d been a cranky son of a bitch. Most of the nurses were understanding in dealing with his ornery behavior, while some nurses stepped over the line of professionalism and were just trying to vie for his attention in hopes he would ask them out. Hell, some even left their phone numbers on a piece of paper. At least, he’d have some peace and quiet at his apartment.
He was tired of how women were always throwing themselves at him when they found out he was a SEAL. When he was younger and new to the teams, he loved the attention, especially when he was looking for an easy lay. Now that he was older and wiser, he was tired of that scene. In fact, he hadn’t been with a woman in over a year. Hell, maybe that was his problem. Maybe he just needed to get laid.
He looked at Dino and gave a half shrug. “A few more days. The doctor wants me to start physical therapy tomorrow.”
“So soon?” Ace asked, giving Frost a once over. Frost knew his team leader was probably making sure he wasn’t pushing it too fast. He was surprised as well when the doc told him he wanted him to start tomorrow, stressing it would be very light exercises to begin with. Again, probably shit he could do from the comfort of his own home.
“That’s what the doc said. They are going to start with some light exercises. Once they release me, I’ll continue PT three days a week at the outpatient facility by the apartment.”
“Just don’t over-do it. We want you back as soon as possible, but we want you healthy with no setbacks,” Ace told him in a stern tone, which meant he’d better listen, or there would be hell to pay.
“Yes, sir.” He gave Ace a salute. He wanted to be back on active duty as soon as possible. He just hoped he got a decent physical therapist who knew what they were doing. He’d heard stories from friends who had to endure some sort of therapy, and most of them sounded like nightmares. From his experience and the rumor mill, most hospital personnel and employees at VA facilities don’t really give a flying shit about a soldier’s recovery. All they were interested in was collecting a paycheck.
That was a big proponent of why one of his best friends, Alex, started her 501c3 organization. The Jacob Hardesty Foundation was created in memory of her father, Jacob Hardesty, a SEAL who was killed in action. The Foundation serves veterans and their families and includes a medical clinic that caters to patients in a timely manner. They don’t make them wait for months to see a doctor like they would have to i
f they went to the VA. It always upset Frost when he’d hear the horror stories of how veterans were being denied medical treatment because of backlogs or because the VA said their treatment wasn’t covered and the patient couldn’t afford it. Hopefully, the new incoming elected President could untangle the web of destruction left by the former administration.
Alex’s Foundation was run strictly off donations and grants. The only overhead costs were the utilities. The doctors and other staff are volunteers donating their time and service. The Foundation was so well received amongst the medical community that Alex had a waiting list for doctors, nurses, and other specialists wanting to volunteer. The grand opening is scheduled for October, and Frost couldn’t wait to see it open and succeed. The community was anxiously awaiting as well.
Frost looked at Ace. “How’s Tenley doing? Since I’m stuck here, I haven’t been able to talk with her. She called last night, but we only had about a minute because the doc was here.”
“She seems to be taking things in stride. Alex knows an attorney that agreed to help Tenley sort through all the paperwork her dad left her. Potter is with her right now at their first official baby appointment.”
Frost grinned, something he hadn’t done since he’d been shot. “I can’t believe they’re pregnant.” He was happy for Potter, his teammate and friend. Potter and Tenley had a rough go around for a couple of months, but in the end, they got their happily ever after. They were married, had adopted a seven-year-old girl from Ecuador, and now had a baby on the way.
Tenley had her life upended over the last few months. She was one of his three best friends. The other two are Alex, who is engaged to Ace, his team leader, and Stitch, who was also a team member. All four of them grew up together in Virginia Beach.
Tenley’s recent situation was why he was laid up in a hospital bed with a bullet wound to his thigh. Not that it was her fault. That blame belonged to a drug and arms dealer named Esteban Sanchez.