by Dale Mayer
His phone buzzed. Mason.
All clear. ETA five minutes.
Right. So where was Markus then? The others were returning, or at least some of them. Now if he could find Markus and make sure he wasn’t running into any bullets, he’d be good. Markus was a hell of a man. Hell, they all were. But he was closer to Markus than some of the others. Seasoned warriors filled the SEAL ranks. The teams were called on to handle some of the worst shit imaginable.
And they did on a regular basis.
Evan had come on board at the same time as Markus. Maybe that’s why they’d clicked. It wasn’t the easiest breaking into the old guard, but they’d both managed it. Now Evan couldn’t imagine anything different.
The older ones stepped down, allowing room for the young blood to step up.
And sometimes they were forced to step down. Like Stone was going to be.
He could be reassigned but that wouldn’t sit well.
Evan would rather eat a bullet than sit at a desk grounded for life while the rest of his friends carried on wild and free. But there was a time when your reflexes weren’t the sharpest and your eyes weren’t the brightest. There were no ex SEALs. Once a SEAL always a SEAL, but maybe not always on active duty.
And there were many careers available to no longer active SEALs. He knew two that had gone into private security. Who knew what lay in his future? As long as he had one he was good.
Stone’s situation had been a hell of a reminder. Merk was in bad shape too. The muscles on his calves had been shot to shit. Multiple rounds of surgery lay ahead for him and at the end of it, a different occupation of some kind. Evan looked at Megan.
A helicopter pilot. Another dangerous ass job. But if she could handle his job then he sure as hell could handle hers.
Not that she’d said anything positive in that direction, but he’d take it as a good sign that she’d come to his house. Sure, he was close and all, but so were many other houses.
She knew him and she’d come to him. Like a homing pigeon.
And that’s the way he liked it.
Chapter 11
She woke to a house full of men.
And pain. So much damn pain.
While she’d been resting, her muscles had stiffened and her side now screamed at her. She couldn’t imagine trying to move, but the bathroom was not going to come to her. Besides, she didn’t know most of the people here.
And she was not a social butterfly. That was Evan. Maybe that’s why she worried they had nothing in common. He had dozens of friends and always had events planned day in and day out.
She liked her own space. Time to herself.
Yet, she’d loved being part of a special twosome. Loved knowing she was in a bubble with someone else who wanted to be in there with her. Being wanted was seductive.
She needed more than that though and had broken off the relationship with Peter. He’d kept pushing her to set a date, and finally she’d taken a good look at why she’d been avoiding doing just that. She didn’t want to set a date. She didn’t want to get married. And that had been a shock – to both of them.
They’d broken up soon after.
She’d felt terrible. She felt like she’d led him on. But she’d been comfortable and had not wanted to change the status quo and go against popular opinion. It had been he who had wanted the commitment. Not her.
At least not with him.
Now she didn’t know what she wanted.
But she had no intention of leading someone else in the wrong direction. She had to be there herself or she wasn’t going down that path. And that could mean she’d be alone for a long time.
Her heart ached every time Peter’s face slipped into her mind. It hurt to see the pain and betrayal, the shock on his face. He’d loved her deeply. She’d loved him – but not deeply enough to go through with a marriage. And that was on her.
Now months later she was wary.
Of relationships, of men, but more than that, wary of herself.
What if she couldn’t love to the depths that others could? What if there was something wrong with her? She had loved being with Peter. He was easy going, good looking and a great lover. He put his socks into his laundry and did the dishes, so why couldn’t she do what he wanted?
Because he was too easy. There’d been no fire. No spirit. No arguments. It was like eating bland pudding every day. She wanted steak sometimes. And that made her sound like a two-year-old.
Damn it.
Her parents had been devastated when she’d broken her engagement off. Her mother had berated her for letting such a good man go. Peter was still a good man – just not for her.
Her father had warned her that the type of job she did made her a not so good marriage prospect and wasn’t the excitement of her job enough? Didn’t she want to come home to the calm and peaceful environment that Peter could give her?
All valid arguments.
And didn’t change the facts one bit. She couldn’t force herself to marry him.
Hearing that one helicopter unit was being transferred to North Island, CA soon after, she quickly requested to be on it. She hadn’t heard for months but had stepped up her game. When the good news came in she quietly started to give away the remnants of her life back East. She didn’t tell her parents for a long time – until she got a date for the move.
By the time it was time to go, she felt like she’d gone through a marathon. She’d had to shift her life, her belongings, and deal with the emotions of releasing that part of her world.
It hadn’t been easy. But by the time she boarded the flight to come West, she’d been feeling very much like she was stepping out of an old skin and jumping into a new one.
And she hadn’t been able to contain her excitement.
She just hadn’t planned on being accosted in her own bedroom a month later.
Making her way back to the dining room table after washing up, she sat back down carefully and waited. They’d get to her, she was sure. But the military had a process and good luck making it go faster.
“There you are,” Evan said with a smile. “We left you to nap a little longer, figured you’d be fresher for it.”
“Thanks,” she said, not sure she appreciated it. The thought yes, but to sleep while a half dozen men came through and watched her. Ugh.
“It was only for a couple minutes,” he said. “So not to worry.”
She shook her head. How did he do that? “Did you read my mind?”
“Nope. If I could do that, I wouldn’t be sitting here.” He waggled his eyebrows with a leer that made her laugh.
Several men sat down at the table. Not one of them was smiling. She stifled her own humor and prepared to be interviewed.
And she was. Not in a bad way but there was an edge to their voices as if Evan had held them off from waking her. Or maybe that was her imagination. There was enough going on to piss anyone here off.
With a gentle smile she answered their questions and gave as much information as she could, finishing with, “I’m sorry, I can’t be more help,” she said. “It happened so fast. I just bolted and never saw him again.”
The men asked her a dozen different questions in different ways, but she still had nothing new to offer. Then they asked about what she’d seen at the hangar. She looked over at Mason, a question in her eyes.
He nodded. “We’re cleared.”
“Good, then you explain it all,” she said. She leaned back, feeling the fatigue and pain pull at her. She didn’t want to go to the doctor, but right now it was better than being here. Evan filled in the men. When he finished she was peppered with questions again.
Still, the direction shifted away from her as more men joined in the discussion. The noise was tough to deal with.
A hot cup of coffee was placed in front of her. She smiled at Evan gratefully. “Thank you.”
“How are you holding up?”
“Fine.” She bolstered her smile to convince him but knew she’d failed immed
iately. “Hey, I’m okay. The shock is wearing off and the wound is starting to really complain. And I’m not much for pain killers but…”
His phone buzzed. He read it and stood up. “I’m taking her to the hospital. She’s going to get checked over then go up with Levi and Stone for the rest of the night.
“Actually, I was hoping to sleep in my own bed.”
Evan immediately shook his head. “Not happening. Here…” and he motioned around the full room, “I do have a spare room, but the best scenario for a few hours is the hospital.”
“Those rooms were jammed. There wasn’t place for another bed.”
“And yet they got you the next room where Ice is standing guard.”
Ice? Megan smiled. “Okay, maybe just long enough to grab some shuteye.”
“By the time the wound is treated there won’t be much of the night left.”
*
He knew she didn’t want to go, but it was too easy to have a minor injury take over and become something major. They didn’t need that. She was going to be off duty until she was back on track as it was. No way she wasn’t with the bum ankle. Still, he didn’t want his pilot anything but one hundred percent while on duty.
And she wasn’t fully mobile.
Ignoring her glare, he cleared it to take her to the hospital. Summarily he picked her up, and ignoring all the squawking, carried her out to his truck.
“I can walk, you know that right?”
“You’re hurt, in shock and have an injured ankle. You could also still be in danger,” he said quietly. “And if I wanted a chance to hold you in my arms, to know that you’re actually still alive after a few near misses, maybe you could indulge me that moment.”
She froze. He could feel her gaze on his face.
“I wasn’t in that much danger,” she muttered.
His gaze slid her way, one eyebrow raised almost to his hairline. “You could have died both times,” he said brusquely. “I know all too well how this shit can go wrong fast.”
She opened the truck door for him, before awkwardly sliding onto the front seat. He closed the door then raced to his side and got in.
Within seconds they were on the road.
“How did you know I was in your yard?” she asked. “I never made a sound.”
“Back to that radar with you thing,” he said with a laugh. But inside he wasn’t laughing.
This was serious. Two attempts was two too many. Time to turn this around.
He drove the rest of the way in silence. At the hospital, he pulled into the parking lot and hopped out. She was standing on her own two feet determined to be prickly and independent. He understood that. He just didn’t want her to be so independent that she hurt herself. If that meant hovering and nagging to make sure she looked after herself – so be it. He wanted to look after her.
That was the last thing she wanted.
Too bad.
They’d work this out eventually.
Chapter 12
The hospital was busy. She took a seat and leaned back to close her eyes. Her ribs were killing her. Her foot throbbed. She so didn’t need this.
“You okay?”
She nodded, mustering up a tired smile “Yeah, I am.”
“The wait won’t be long.” He reached over a hand and gently clasped hers.
“Megan Hemmingway?”
She hopped to her feet and immediately fell to the side. Or would have except Evan was holding her up.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
“Let’s just get you in.”
He assisted her into the cubicle and took a seat on the chair. She waved him away. “You don’t have to wait here. Go and take care of your shit.”
“You are my shit,” he said calmly. “I’m here until I pass you over to Ice and her group.”
She glared at him. But inside, God help her, she was relieved. She didn’t want to be alone.
The doctor walked in just then. “So what’s the issue?”
She pointed to her ankle.
Evan piped up and said, “She was shot at. Her ribs were grazed.”
Maybe she did want to be alone. “It’s just a scratch.”
“And one that needs to be stitched.”
The doctor was all business, choosing to look at the gunshot first. With her shirt off and sitting with only her bra on, she glared at Evan. But he wasn’t being polite and looking elsewhere. She wasn’t in anything more revealing than a bathing suit and he’d seen everything she had to offer already so it hardly mattered. But it did. She closed her eyes thinking about that. If it was one of the men she worked with would she care? Not really, they’d just be doing their job. And there wouldn’t be the intimacy there was with Evan. Because of course, she didn’t think of any other men like that. Only Evan, which said a lot.
She was nervous to go in that direction. He wanted more than a quick lay. And how was she supposed to deal with the whole relationship bullshit when she’d messed up so badly already. Evan was a good guy. She didn’t want to hurt him. Like she’d hurt Peter.
And maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe it would be different this time.
Could she take that chance?
But neither did she want to be alone for the rest of her life. The doctor moved on to her ankle. After a close examination he straightened. “Stitches, and an X-ray of the ankle just to be sure. I’ll get the nurse to arrange that.”
He walked out.
She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, but a nurse came in a few minutes later. “This is a needle to freeze the area so the doctor can put in the stitches.”
Megan hurriedly looked away and swallowed hard.
Megan stared blank faced at the wall while the nurse froze the area. She could get through this. She clasped her hands together and counted slowly to one hundred. Evan reached over to cover her hands with his. The nurse did a little cleaning of the wound before the doctor came back in and put in fourteen stitches. Fourteen. Like who knew the graze was that long. Next thing she knew there was a piece of paper in her hand. “Take these painkillers as needed.”
He walked to the door. “The nurse has you scheduled for an X-ray. At that point you can leave if it’s only a sprain. If it’s broken we’ll have to cast.”
As soon as the nurse put a clean bandage over the stitches, Megan, with her help, put her shirt back on.
Evan never said a word. But he only released her hand when she needed it back.
The nurse disappeared for a few minutes then returned with a wheelchair. “Let’s keep you off that ankle.”
Protesting was useless and the freezing hadn’t been enough to keep the pain at bay. She was starting to feel pretty shitty.
Evan grabbed the paperwork and then wheeled her over to the X-ray department. Only one person ahead of her. Good.
She was in and out within ten minutes. She’d hoped that would be it, but then they had to wait to make sure the images were clear and didn’t need to be redone and then for the radiologist to examine them.
When the X-ray technician came back out and said, “No breaks, you’re good to go,” she managed her first real smile in a long time.
“I wouldn’t be so happy about that,” Evan said. “Sprains often take much longer to heal than actual breaks.”
“Maybe, but it feels like it’s better already.”
“Upstairs now,” he said pushing her toward the elevator.
“That makes no sense,” she said. “They are all booked into the hospital. I’m not injured. I don’t need to be admitted so I shouldn’t be there.” A yawn caught her sideways.
“And you won’t be for long. Just long enough to grab some sleep. You can’t go into your house. I can’t go into mine yet. You’re injured, immobile, and in danger. This is the best place for you at the moment.”
She had to admit the freezing was wearing off, her body was aching from the jump out of the second story window, and her ankle… Well she had just learned what throbbing actually meant.
&
nbsp; By the time he wheeled her to the fourth floor the same men she’d met earlier waited at the elevator for her.
Those flat gazes studied her.
She smiled as naturally as she could. “Just a sprain and a few stitches.”
Their tension eased back, but they looked at Evan for confirmation. She could almost see his nod. They turned and led the way to the rooms she’d been in earlier. She wanted to say something but didn’t have enough energy to care if they believed her or not.
“I wasn’t confirming that those were your injuries,” Evan said as if reading her mind. “They were actually asking if you were still in danger.”
She gasped, twisting to look up at him and cried out in pain.
“Don’t move,” he warned. “Those stitches are going to hurt for a while.”
“Hell, they already are,” she muttered without heat. It was nice to know she had people looking out for her, but as a woman in the military she worked hard at being one who didn’t need help. She was supposed to help others.
One of the men opened the door to a third room and Evan wheeled her in. There were two beds and both empty. Evan helped her onto the closest and then covered her up with a blanket that had been placed folded on the bed.
“Sleep,” he ordered.
“Go away then if you want that to happen. You’re too distracting.” She yawned, making a lie of her words. She sank into her pillow and gave a heavy sigh, letting this day disappear.
*
He waited until her breathing was steady and deep. The drugs the doctor gave her should keep her under for a few hours and with the painkiller prescription he held in his hand, she should be okay. It was tough but she was young, healthy, and strong. The ankle was a concern though. He lifted it to rest on a second pillow, propping it up. She never moved. Depending on how restless a sleeper she was, her leg might stay there. He’d seen plenty of men sleep with injured limbs elevated while sleeping.