by L. A. Witt
“I don’t care about that when he’s mistreating and threatening my son.”
Troy kept his gaze down.
“Troy.” Dalton touched his shoulder. “You’re my top priority. You always have been.”
When Troy lifted his head, there were tears in his eyes. “I know. That’s why I couldn’t let something stupid of mine fuck up your career.”
“And I couldn’t imagine letting him fuck up my son.” Dalton gestured for him to stand, and when he did, he hugged him tight. “My God, Troy. I am so glad you’re okay. The Navy’s my career, but…you’re all I have.”
“You too,” Troy whispered.
Over his son’s head, Dalton met my eyes. There was no hostility in his expression, no stay the fuck away from my kid. Just fierce protectiveness and bone-deep relief that Troy was alive and well.
After a moment, Troy pulled back. His smeared eye makeup only got worse when he wiped his eyes as he sank into the chair beside me again. He slipped his hand into mine, and no one spoke for a moment.
Dalton regarded us silently, eyes occasionally flicking toward Troy. Taking a deep breath, he stood a little straighter. “Am I to understand that this”—he gestured at our joined hands—“is back on?”
We both nodded.
Troy moistened his lips. “We were on our way over to tell you what was going on. With Ben, and with…us.”
Dalton stared straight at me. “This is true?”
“Yeah. I know it was unprofessional, sir. But I…” I glanced down at Troy’s hand in mine. “No excuses. I love him.”
The admiral stiffened. “I see. Well.” He cleared his throat. “Of course, Troy’s a grown man. My approval isn’t needed.” Then he extended his hand. “But if it was up to me, I couldn’t imagine a man I’d approve of more than you, Iskander.”
I released Troy’s hand and shook Dalton’s. “Thank you, sir.”
“And you heard me,” he said, giving me a pointed look. “My son is all I have. Take care of him.”
“You know I will.”
“Yeah. I do.” He smiled, then patted Troy’s shoulder. “Well, I’ll let you get some rest, MA1. Troy, I assume you’re staying here for now?”
Troy nodded.
“The doctor said you won’t be released for some time.” Dalton took out his car keys and handed them to Troy. “I’ll leave my car here. It’s in the patient lot, just outside. When he’s released, bring him to our house to rest.”
Troy blinked, then took the keys. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
“You’re welcome. Take it easy, MA1.” He gestured at the door. “There are some officers waiting in the lobby. I’ll go speak to them.”
He left us alone, and Troy released a breath as he sat back and pocket his father’s keys. “That went better than I expected.”
“Under the circumstances, I think your dad’s just glad you’re okay. Just like I am.”
He smiled thinly. “He probably is. I’m just glad it was Ben who really got fucked up, not you.”
“Physically, yeah. But…” But you shot someone. My God, Troy, you saved my life. “Are you sure you’re okay? After what happened?”
He nodded, exhaling as he laced his fingers between mine. “Yeah. I just can’t believe it’s over. I was afraid it was going to go on forever.”
“It had to end eventually. I’m just glad it ended without you getting hurt.”
He pursed his lips. “I could’ve done without you getting hurt in the process.”
“I’ll be okay.” I squeezed his hand. “And you’re all right? After, um…what happened?”
He swallowed hard and shuddered. “I’ll probably need to spend a little more time in my therapist’s office, but, yeah, I think I’m all right.” He brought my hand up and took it between both of his. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Me too.”
He kissed my fingers, then let out a long breath, and some tension melted out of him. “You know, I’ve been so freaked out about him for so long, it’s kind of weird to think about him being gone. Like, what do I do now?”
“What do you want to do now?” I smiled. “You’re free.”
He returned the smile, but there was a hint of caution as he held my gaze. “I don’t know yet, but I want to keep seeing you. I meant everything I said before…before what happened.”
“So did I. You sure you want to be with a salty old Sailor with a few chips on his shoulder?”
Troy laughed. Really, truly laughed like I’d never seen him do. “Well, can this salty old Sailor keep up with a college kid who thinks studying is best broken up by frequent sex breaks?”
I laughed too, as much as I could with the eye-watering pain in my side. “I can try, right?”
He brought my hand up and kissed it. “You’ve done just fine so far.”
“Just give me a little time to heal.” I smiled up at him. “Then we’ll make up for lost time.”
“Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Well, except to classes. You don’t really need me for that anymore.”
“I don’t?” He held my gaze, and then he smiled as he released a breath. “Damn. You’re right. I don’t.” He sank into the chair beside my bed, wiping his eyes with his free hand. “Fuck. I’d forgotten what it’s like to be able to go to class without a bodyguard.”
“I’m sure it’ll come back to you.”
Troy laughed, dabbing at his eyes again. “But you’re… I mean, you’re still enrolled for credit. So you’re still going to go, right?”
“Of course.” I gingerly reached up and touched his face. “You mind if I use your notes for a week or two until I can sit through class, though?”
Troy laughed and kissed my palm. “Yeah. Definitely. You can stay home and keep Talos company while I go to class.”
I blinked, then chuckled. “Long as he doesn’t expect me to throw a toy for him.”
“Nah. He’s more of a sit-next-to-you-and-gnaw-on-a-bone type dog.”
“A toy bone, right? As opposed to—”
“Not your bones.”
“Thank God.” I shifted a little and winced. “My bones have been through enough.”
“I’m sure. But as far as Talos goes, you two had better make friends.” He grinned. “We’re kind of a package deal, you know.”
I laughed, even though it made me wince. “I guess I’ll be making friends with him, then.”
He smiled and leaned down to kiss me.
I wrapped my good arm around him again and just held him.
In spite of every reason we never should’ve even looked at each other, never mind fallen in love, this felt right. It felt like it was the way it should have been, maybe even right down to the busted ribs and the traumatic night. Like everything that had happened had led us to this, and there was no way we could even think of moving on separately.
He wasn’t even old enough to have a drink, while I was old enough to be thinking about retiring from the military, but nothing in my life had ever felt right the way holding him did. Maybe the danger had matured him, and maybe it had given us both an appreciation for how much we had to lose, how much we couldn’t stand the thought of losing, but we could make this work. We had a lot of years between us, and not a lot of time together yet, but I was in love with him. We’d take it a day at a time. See how things went. See if we could really pull this off.
But in the end, I had no trouble believing we would.
Even if it meant making friends with a Rottweiler.
Epilogue
About Two Years Later
The turnout in the giant auditorium was incredible—there must have been two thousand people here for commencement. I sat near the middle with Troy’s family and applauded with everyone else as the graduates filed i
n, decked out in black caps and gowns.
Troy came in, and my heart fluttered. I couldn’t help grinning, and when he met my eyes from across the room, I caught a glimpse of the man I’d been tangled up with until three o’clock this morning. Loaded grin, tired eyes—yeah, he’d enjoyed it as much as I had.
Even with last night still lingering in every ache, twinge, and shared glance, my stomach was a ball of nerves. I was thrilled for Troy, and sitting up here in the stands with the Dalton family, I was as proud of him as they were.
But…this morning’s phone call still echoed in my ears, and I couldn’t ignore it.
Did that call have to come in today?
Damn it. It had only been a matter of time, but I’d hoped it could wait at least until after we had a chance to celebrate Troy’s graduation. He’d worked his ass off for this. He deserved some time to bask in it.
As the graduates took their seats and the music faded, everyone sat back down. The speeches began, but I didn’t hear much. I thumbed the edge of my program and let my mind wander.
Since Troy no longer needed a bodyguard, Admiral Dalton had pulled some strings and had me transferred over to the security department at Naval Station Norfolk. It was back to the detail I’d wanted to get away from—supervising a bunch of cops who were bored stupid checking IDs at the gates and pier-side—but at least I was doing something. I could always take another protective-service billet in the future.
The only downside to my new job was it had left me with less time to take classes, so I still had another year to go before I finished my degree. I’d made rank and put on chief, though, so I couldn’t complain.
That was its own double-edged sword, though. Making chief meant I didn’t have to retire at twenty years—I could stay in until twenty-four. If I put on senior chief or master chief, I could retire at the thirty-year mark like Admiral Dalton planned to next year.
But…Troy.
He’d spent his entire life as a military dependent. Moving every few years to parts unknown—sometimes overseas, sometimes within the States—had always been reality for him. And he was over it. Six months and quite a bit of intensive therapy after Ben was killed, Troy had moved into his own apartment and finally had a place he could call his own and keep as long as he wanted. No one was going to come home and tell him there was a set of orders, a pack-out date, and a new home thousands of miles away. For the first time in his life, he had a home he didn’t have to give up unless he damn well wanted to.
My stomach twisted into knots. We hadn’t talked about it much, but even though he’d finally gotten out from under the demands of his father’s career, mine still existed. And sooner or later, I’d leave Norfolk.
As it turned out, “sooner or later” was a lot sooner than either of us had anticipated. A lot sooner.
After several long speeches and the announcement of all the graduates, the commencement ceremony ended, and the family and I searched the thick crowd for Troy. At least I didn’t have to worry about Troy freaking out in a crowd like this. Even that first year after Ben’s death, he could break out in a sweat in a crowd, but a therapist had been helping him work through a lot of the PTSD. Flashbacks still happened, and maybe they always would, but he was better. Enough that I wasn’t frantically searching for him in hopes I’d get to him before his demons did.
One of the graduates turned around, and my heart skipped.
I still wasn’t used to seeing him like this. His hair had gone back to its natural color—light brown—and he didn’t keep it quite so spiky. Most of the earrings were gone, as were all but one of the eyebrow piercings. With his ex’s bullshit behind him, he no longer had the need to present the antisocial exterior, and he’d toned his appearance down. Sometimes he still spiked his hair and put in the piercings, but not so much anymore.
And although his father would have preferred he didn’t, Troy still wore a little bit of eyeliner. I hadn’t liked it in the beginning, but damn, I’d learned to love it. Especially when it was just dark enough to really bring out those spectacular blue eyes.
Which was exactly the way it was now.
“There you are.” I threw my arms around him and held him tight.
He hugged me back. “Sorry you had to sit through those speeches.” As he let me go, he added, “Talk about boring.”
I shrugged. “I’ve sat through military briefings. I’m used to it.” I drew him back in and kissed him lightly. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” He met my eyes and smiled, and we had time for one more kiss before his family descended on us.
Everyone hugged him or shook his hand, congratulating him and handing over cards and small gifts. There’d be more gifts when he got home too. I wondered if his dad could wait that long, or if he’d just give Troy the keys now and let him squirm.
“Group photo!” Troy’s aunt gestured for everyone to get in close as she held up her camera.
I stepped aside to get out of the way.
“Come on, Iskander.” Admiral Dalton beckoned to me. “You should be in this too.” He winked and gave me a reassuring nod, and my stomach twisted.
“I, uh…” I gulped. “That’s more of a family picture, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is.” He raised his eyebrows. “Get in here.”
I hesitated but then joined in, sliding an arm around Troy’s waist as everyone posed for the photo. After a few other shots, I stepped out of the frame, and while Troy’s aunt took more photos of him with various friends and family members, Admiral Dalton appeared beside me.
He elbowed me. “You all right?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Nervous?”
“Just a bit.”
He patted my shoulder and smiled. “Relax, Iskander.”
“Easy for you to say,” I muttered.
He just shook his head and laughed but didn’t push.
Eventually, Troy’s aunt had taken enough photos, and the group started migrating toward the door. With so many people crammed into the auditorium, progress was slow, but the party at the admiral’s house wouldn’t start until we got there anyway, so we all patiently waited for the bottleneck to thin out.
I checked my messages on my phone. I tried to ignore the e-mail sitting at the top of my inbox. I really, really didn’t want to think about that. Not today.
Fat chance of that.
Sighing, I closed my browser and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
Movement beside me turned my head, and I looked just as Troy put his hand on my waist. “Hey.” His forehead creased. “What’s wrong? You don’t seem like yourself today.”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I pasted on a smile and mirrored him, resting a hand just above his hip. “This is your day, so—”
“Iskander, don’t try to bullshit me. If there’s—” His eyes widened. “Did…did you get orders?”
My heart dropped. I hadn’t wanted to bring this up here. Not now. “I…”
“Oh fuck.” He grimaced. “Where? And, uh, when?”
I swallowed. No point in pretending he hadn’t hit the nail on the head—he’d only be pissed at me later when I fessed up.
I moistened my parched lips. “The orders came through this morning. I didn’t want to say anything yet, but…”
Troy’s lips parted, and his shoulders slumped a little beneath the black gown. “Damn it.” He cleared his throat. “Where are you going?”
I took a deep breath. “Sigonella.”
He winced, and I felt it from here. We’d had this conversation dozens of times. Sooner or later, I’d get transferred. Sooner or later, there’d be an ocean between us. Sooner or later, we’d have to decide if we could cope with that, because God knew it was easier said than done.
“Troy, I…” I took his hand in both of mine. “I want you to come with me.”
He blinked. “What?”
“I know we’ve talked about doing the long-distance thing when I transfer, but I want to take you to Sicily with me.” I pulled in a deep breath. “And I want you to come back with me when I retire at the end of my tour.” My heart was beating so fast, I was sure I was going to pass out. Which meant it was the perfect time to…
Stomach in knots, hands sweating as I held his, I went to one knee.
Troy sucked in a breath.
Conversations around us halted.
Heads turned.
And though I could barely muster a whisper, I was sure my voice was echoing off the walls around us: “Troy, will you marry me?”
His eyes widened.
My heart pounded. “I know you’re good with doing the long-distance thing, but I don’t want to be away from you. Not for that long. And I know how much you want to get away from the Navy life, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while anyway, and once I got the orders—” My voice cracked, and I quickly cleared my throat. “Damn it, I—”
“Iskander.”
My teeth snapped shut. Please, Troy…
His lips pulled into a grin. “Shut up so I can say yes.”
I laughed, and as I stood, he threw his arms around me, nearly bowling me over, and kissed me. All around us, people applauded, and I was sure I heard someone comment “This is so going on YouTube.”
“Bet we go viral,” Troy murmured against my lips.
I laughed as much as his kiss would allow, and held him a little tighter. Maybe we would go viral. Maybe we’d see ourselves in everybody else’s Facebook feeds. And even two years after Ben went down, I still savored the fact that we could go public and go viral and not worry about anyone hurting Troy over it.
I drew back, and my heart swelled when our eyes met. God, we really had made it, hadn’t we?
He grinned up at me. “I wasn’t expecting this, that’s for sure.”
“Surprise.” I kissed him lightly. “I was going to wait, but then the orders came up, so now seemed as good a time as any. I know you’re tired of the Navy—”
He cut me off with another tender kiss. “Don’t. I hated the Navy life because it meant moving away every time I got attached to someone.” He cupped my cheek. “But I want to be with you. Even if you decide to stay in until thirty years.”