by Dale Mayer
“You okay?”
She nodded but didn’t open her eyes. “Yeah.”
“Liar. The leg is killing you, isn’t it?”
Her lips twisted and she stared up at him. He was seriously gorgeous. Friendly. An all–around nice guy. So why couldn’t she be hooked on him instead of Shadow. Shadow’s darkness called to her. Reached into the deepest part of her and wrapped her heart up in caring and warmth. If only she could do the same for him and wrap his heart up in a loving hug.
Cooper shook out two pills from a bottle and handed them to her, along with a sealed bottle of water. He popped the top as she sat up. She stared at the pills. “I really hate that these help.”
“No point in being in pain if you don’t have to be. Your body needs rest. It can’t heal if it’s fighting the pain. We got to do what we got to do. And healing that leg is important. I wish we had antibiotics for it.”
Shadow appeared at the truck. “We’ve got an antibiotic cream from the store for those scratches of yours though.” He held it up, adding, “It’s not much but it’s something and we need to change that dressing too.”
He disappeared then reappeared with a small medical kit. Cooper shifted back out of the front of the cab. “Let me know if you need any help.”
She stared at Shadow and then the kit and realized what he meant, and her whole body cringed at the thought. “Oh no, Shadow, please not.”
That stare of his didn’t change. Her lower lip trembled. She took a deep breath, feeling the shudder of fear ripple throughout her whole body and regardless of the pain killers she’d just taken her leg started to boom in earnest.
“Sorry, Arianna,” he said. “It’s got to be done.”
She sniffled back the pleas under her tongue. She knew it did. But she didn’t want it to happen at all, didn’t want them to think less of her.
She rolled onto her back, wincing as her leg was jarred, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, I’m ready.”
His regretful sigh filled the truck. At least he wasn’t looking forward to this process either.
In fact, he was so gentle…it surprised her. Her pants were lowered to her ankles, like how embarrassing, and the bandage cut away from her leg. When he lifted the dressing off her skin, she was watching his face, trying to gauge his reaction to her wound.
When he didn’t say anything, she whispered, “How bad is it?”
“Surprisingly good,” he said and glanced up at her. “Are you going to look at it?”
That’s when she realized she’d squeezed her eyes closed. She shook her head. “Nope. It’s going to hurt more if I do.”
“So if you ignore things they don’t hurt you?”
She heard the humor in his voice and realized how silly that sounded. Right. Along with so much else of her attitude and outlook in the world. “It might be silly to you, but if it helps me get through this, then it’s working fine.”
Silence. Not that she cared. She was so focused on not blubbering like a baby this time she barely noticed. Besides, it was getting harder to sense that silence through the rest of the noise. The rest? Damn. She winced inside as she realized the other noise was her blubbering like an idiot. Tears pouring down her cheeks and she sniffed like a two-year-old. She’d always been a baby to pain. And here he most likely hadn’t even started cleaning her leg. How totally unheroic of her. So much for wanting to make a good impression. She was acting the same as ever.
Well, it was for the better. Guys like Shadow didn’t want watering pots like herself. She swiped at her eyes and tried to turn off the waterworks. It took a long moment before she mustered up the courage to peek out from under her lashes. He was likely disgusted with her.
Instead, he stood outside the truck and stared at her with such an odd look on his face. A look that said he didn’t know what to do with her. Well, she didn’t know what to do with him either.
But what if that look was about her leg? Maybe he’d lied earlier.
“Is it bad?” she whispered struggling to sit up. “Tell me the truth.”
Immediately he shook his head. “No, your wounds are doing quite well.” Then he shrugged and added, “At least as well as can be expected.”
She frowned. “That means it’s doing terrible.”
He gave her a long look. “I said it was doing well, didn’t I?”
“Sure.” She struggled to sit, bracing herself for fresh tears when the pain hit, but was surprised to find that although it was aching and sore, it wasn’t screaming at her. “But then you couched in terms that meant it would do better under different circumstances?”
“Sure, if you were in a bed and not trying to walk and had maybe a dose of antibiotics in you so as to not be in danger of getting an infection, you know…ideal circumstances. But you aren’t, so given that you aren’t, you’re doing fine.”
She blinked as she tried to process what he was saying. Then gave it up. It sounded reassuring and she was willing to trust him.
Besides, she needed something else from him. And he wasn’t going to give it to her unless he knew she needed it. And he, big oaf that he was, wasn’t going to know unless she told him. Only she didn’t want to have to. “I’d be a lot better if I had one more thing,” she announced expectantly.
“What’s that?”
She gave him a big smile. Surely he’d be able to guess. “I’m sure you can figure it out if you put your mind to it.”
There was that so very predictable frown. With a quick shake of his head, he said, “No, what do you need.”
She sighed and wiggled to the open passenger door so her leg could hang down. Then she opened her arms. Immediately, he stepped forward to help her out of the truck.
Idiot. Sure enough he stepped back as soon as she was standing.
She shook her head. “No. That’s not what I needed.”
At his confused look, she motioned for him to lean down. When he promptly did so, she whispered. “I need a hug, please.”
Instantly, he cuddled her close. Oh happy sigh. It’s not that he didn’t want to, or that he wasn’t willing, he just wasn’t much of a toucher and that was too bad, he was so, so good at it. She let out a big sigh and smiled up at him. He stared down at her, an unreadable look on his face. She smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll keep your secret.”
His eyebrows shot up and a worried look crossed his face. “And what secret is that?”
“You’re an awesome hugger.” She reached up and kissed his cheek.
He shook his head, once again not sure what to do with her easy affection “What was that for?”
“As a thank you.” Her grin deepened, her irrepressible good humor surfacing. “For letting me cry like a baby.”
That brought a grin to his face. “You did much better this time.”
“Right, sure I did.” She rolled her eyes at his nice comment. “At least you’re allowing me to save face. And the others?” She looked around and at not seeing anyone she added only half joking, “Did I scare them away with my bawling.”
“You didn’t bawl,” he said seriously. “You were quiet and tears are allowed. You’re hurt and hurting and sometimes tears are the only answer. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
His words surprised her but so did the warm caring way he delivered them. Much happier, she leaned against his chest just happy to be held. She wasn’t clingy usually but she did love being close to him.
“Besides, most of the men have gone to find someone to talk to from the town.”
“Hopefully, they found lots of people.” She glanced around. “I can’t imagine something like this being ignored.” And that was another reminder. She tilted her head back. “Still no word on my family?”
He shook his head. She sighed. “How am I getting home at this point?”
“Waiting on orders to answer that.”
Her lips curled. “If they are as good at making decisions as the rest of the government it will be Christmas before we get a solid answer.”
/> He grinned. “True enough. But we’re heading back to California and you’re supposed to go to…where, Oregon?”
She shook her head. “We live in Newport Beach, CA.”
“Really?” His tone held more than surprise in it.
She nodded. “Why?”
He was silent for a long moment then said, “I live at the base. Coronado.”
She gave him a fat grin. They didn’t live that far apart. She’d love to see him after this mess was over. But he had a life there. “I guess you’ll be happy to go home.”
“Always, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ll likely be called out in another day or week or month.”
“Always something needing your attention. My father would say the same for him.”
The two smiled.
“What do you do for a living,” he asked her. “Our files didn’t include much about you.”
“What, not my education, favorite foods, past lovers, or the color of my underwear?” she asked in a mocking voice. “Who knew?”
“Pink.”
She stared up at him in confusion.
“The color of your underwear is pink. You went to UCLA but I don’t think the program you started in is the one you completed and you’ve had past lovers but not the right ones.”
Oh boy. She tried to close her gaping mouth but it was damn hard. She was wearing pink panties, and he had no choice but to see them considering he’d removed her pants to clean her leg wound—twice. That he noticed brought a flush to her cheeks. But as for the rest… Oddly enough her mind latched onto the one thing he’d missed and the easier topic to carry forward. “And my favorite food?” she challenged, still trying to figure out what his comment about not having the right lovers meant.
He slanted her a devastatingly cute sideways grin that had her heart racing instantly and said, “Chocolate of course.”
“Damn.”
He laughed. “So what field of study did you complete?”
With a resentful look his way she said, “I’m a teacher. My father wanted me to be a lawyer and follow his footsteps but…” She looked away. “I just couldn’t.”
“Of course not. You’d want to give the victim everything and be devastated when the victim turned out to not be a victim,” he said promptly.
“Well, something like that.” She wrinkled up her nose at him. “I just couldn’t do that type of work. It wasn’t me,” she said, staring back at the long years of fighting with her father. “Father never understood.”
“Of course not. First you were female and second you’re a bleeding heart,” he said, but the words were so full of warm laughter it took the sting out.
“Not in all things,” she protested. “I also don’t get along well with my father or my stepmother.”
“Why would you? They are the opposite of you, aren’t they? They give money because it’s expected of them, a requirement of their social status and to make sure that they attend the most public of functions so that everyone knows they did their duty. You on the other hand probably give money to the local animal shelter and hand over money to the single moms and old folks in the area.”
“Food. I take food to the old folks in my building. And shop for them sometimes,” she said. “My father threatened to cut off my allowance when he found out I was doing that as a teen.” She sighed at the memories.
“And what did you do then?” he asked.
“I told him to go ahead and I’d be sure to contact the local newspaper about the senator who cut off the support for those less fortunate,” she confessed.
He nudged her chin up and searched her eyes.
“See,” she whispered, needing him to see her as she really was. “I’m not a very nice person.”
His lips twitched. “Sweetie, the world I live in – you’re a pink puff ball full of niceness.”
She blinked then narrowed her gaze at him. Was he mocking her? Hadn’t he understood what she’d said? “I don’t think you understand,” she said earnestly. “I took advantage of the situation.”
He snickered. “No, you did what you had to do.”
Now she was getting mad. “No I didn’t. I could have walked away and not said anything to him. But I was upset and angry.”
But he wasn’t listening. “You were not a bad person for what you did.”
“I blackmailed him,” she snapped. “Weren’t you listening?”
Mason’s cold voice cut through the conversation. “Who did you blackmail and does it relate to this case.”
That did it, Shadow burst out laughing.
Arianna reached out and plowed her fist into his belly. The rest of the men crowded around. She couldn’t figure out if they were stunned that she’d hit him or the fact that Shadow was damn near rolling on the ground in hysterics.
“You…you…” And words failed her.
The men were helpful though.
“Meanie,” Dane suggested.
“Arrogant SOB,” said Hawk helpfully.
“Asshole,” said Cooper with a huge grin.
“No, I couldn’t call him that,” she said with a gasp. “But he is a meanie. And hurtful. And not very accepting of my faults.”
That did it. The others started to snigger and Shadow fell on his butt to the ground, holding his head in his hands as he tried to stop the laughter rolling through him.
She stared at them and then at him. “Why won’t he believe me?”
Mason, his voice desperately trying to quell the humor, said, “Then explain and we’ll pass judgment.”
She blinked at him suspiciously. The others were trying to calm down so they could hear. She sighed and quickly explained. She finished with, “So I blackmailed my father into continuing my allowance. See… I told Shadow here I was a terrible person, and he should find someone much better than me.”
The men, huge grins on their faces all nodded. She wailed. “You all think I’m terrible too.”
And damn if her lower lip didn’t tremble.
Mason, once again the voice of reason said, “And after you blackmailed your father, what did he do?”
“He doubled the amount,” she said with a small grin.
“And just for the record,” Shadow said from the ground where Swede was offering a helping hand. “You never said I should find someone better than you.”
“Oh, so you want to repeat that in front of all your friends? Just to humiliate me more.”
He sighed.
“Look, they are laughing at me,” she lamented.
He groaned. “They aren’t laughing at you, they’re laughing at me.”
“What?” she turned to face all the men who were grinning or trying to hide grins but still nodding their heads. “You wouldn’t…”
She spun so she was standing in front of Shadow, defending him, her feistiness rising to the surface. “You can’t laugh at him, he’s your friend. He’s a good man.”
“Oh for the love of Go–”
“Now what?” she cried out, turning to face him. “I can’t have them making fun of you. That’s not nice. Everyone thinks you’re cold and mean. They don’t know you like I do. You’re a marshmallow inside.”
“Marshmallow?” Swede asked in a barely controlled voice.
“Softie is probably good,” Hawk suggested helpfully.
“I like the pussycat term she used before,” Dane said. “Yeah, that’s really a good description of Shadow.”
“Exactly,” she said earnestly, spinning to beam at the men. “Inside he’s really a lovable person, even if he often shows a cold, detached exterior.”
“Jesus,” Shadow said and jerked her around and into his arms. “Enough already. You’re killing my hard earned reputation.”
She opened her mouth again to blast him, but he calmly picked her up. “Remember how I shut you up last time?”
And he kissed her. Again.
*
He had to stop doing that.
The rest of his team were cheering him on and
he felt like a heel. Pulling back he studied the slumberous look she gave him. His lips tilted. She didn’t appear to be bothered by the crowd around them. He’d hate for her to feel they didn’t respect her because they did – if for no other reason than for taking him on.
Crack.
Shadow hit the ground, pulling Arianna over with him. He heard her cry of pain and hoped to hell it was because of her original injury and not a second bullet. He’d deliberately pulled her on top of him as he fell, but now he rolled, tucking her under the vehicle and came up, gun out and ready. His team had scattered, Cooper crouched beside him swearing in low tones but the language he used, yeah the air had turned ripe. There was blood on his shoulder, but it was only a scratch. Thank heavens, Cooper had just gotten back to Active Duty, he’d be pissed to be sidelined so quickly.
He peered around the grill of the truck. Mason had managed to get to the far side of the gas pumps, not the ideal location but he could maneuver around behind the neighbor’s house if he got cover.
And Shadow could give him that. Catching his eye, they set up the timing and on the count of three, Shadow jumped up and started firing. When Mason was safe, Shadow popped back down and looked at Arianna. She lay quietly where he’d placed her, her gaze locked on him and huge.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay.”
But her look said she didn’t believe him. And considering more firepower was being exchanged she had good reason.
“Shadow…”
The hiss came from the store behind him. Dane was there, motioning at him to join him.
“Cooper,” he said in an urgent whisper. “I’m taking her inside the store.”
“Got it.”
With a warning glance at Arianna, Shadow scooped her up in his arm and raced to the store and inside as Cooper covered them.
“Do we have any idea who or how many?” he asked when he came to a stop inside. Arianna had looped her arms around his head.
“No. Two for sure.”
“Same group?” Shadow asked. He looked at the back door, in his mind he could see the layout of the other houses. And the distance he’d have to travel to reach safety.
“That amount of shooting I’m going to say yes.” Dane motioned to the back. “Swede took off and went to the left, Hawk went to the right.”