by Susan Stoker
“I could,” she argued stubbornly. “If Tracy had turned that knife on you, I so would’ve done whatever it took to take her down.”
“Speaking of which…where did you learn to take someone down like that?” Bubba asked, his thumb continuing its rhythmic movements on her skin, doing his best to soothe her.
“Colin had a security specialist come to the factory and give self-defense lessons to anyone who wanted them. He let me tag along.” Talking about his dad made her expression turn somber. “I can’t believe he was poisoned.”
Bubba sighed and tightened his arms around her. “Me either.”
“I’m sorry, Mark.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m sorry too,” Phantom said.
Bubba nodded. “In some ways, I’m glad Malcom killed himself,” he admitted. “I know I couldn’t have done it.”
“You could’ve,” Phantom told him in no uncertain terms.
Bubba looked at his teammate in surprise.
“Just because you’re related to someone by blood doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to love you and want what’s best for you. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.”
“You have firsthand experience with this?” Bubba asked, because it sure sounded that way.
Phantom shrugged. “Families suck,” he said, then stood up. “Not everyone has a loving parent to look after them. Evil is as evil does, and sometimes the innocent simply get stuck with the world’s worst parents. I’m going to head to bed. You guys need anything?”
Bubba wanted to tell his friend to sit. To talk to him. To help him understand how and why Malcom had turned against him, because it sure sounded like he had some experience with relatives being assholes, but instead he just shook his head. “We’re good.”
“Zoey?” Phantom asked.
“I’m okay. Thanks.”
After Phantom had closed the door to the other room in the suite, Zoey looked up at Bubba. “Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. Phantom doesn’t talk about his life. At all. But from things he’s said here and there, it’s been obvious he didn’t have a good childhood. I’m thinking the two of us will have more to talk about now.”
Zoey turned and straddled his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his own. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Bubba told her.
“What can I do to help?”
“This. Hold me. Be there to listen when I need to talk. Tell me stories about my pop. And just be you, Zo. That’s what I need.”
“Deal.” Then she draped herself over him, her nose nuzzling the skin of his neck as she did her best to burrow into him.
Surprisingly, having her in his arms did help. It made him feel not quite so alone. He’d lost his brother and father, but he’d gained a partner. It was funny how life turned out.
Chapter Twenty
Zoey smiled as she watched Mark light a fire in the fire pit outside their accommodations. It had been a tough month for both of them, but especially for Mark. He’d had to go back to Anchorage twice to talk to prosecutors who were preparing for Tracy’s pre-trial hearing.
He’d dealt with putting his dad’s house up for sale and going through both Colin’s and his brother’s belongings. Each time he got off the phone with someone from Juneau, or came back from Alaska, it took him a while to get back to being himself.
Zoey hated it, and wanted to see him happy and smiling again. So she’d arranged for this glamping trip in the hopes it would bring a little joy to his life. She remembered them having a conversation about glamping when they’d been in the Alaska wilderness and figured this would be a way to hopefully put their past behind them once and for all, and look forward to the future.
So far, her plan had worked. They flew up to Sacramento then drove the forty-five minutes to Colfax, California. A small, quaint town. She’d rented the Mongolian-themed yurt because it seemed almost ridiculous in the northern California setting. From the outside it just looked like a regular white tent, but inside, it was over-the-top colorful and ostentatious, and the first time Mark had seen it, the smile that spread from ear to ear had been worth every penny she’d spent on the place.
There was also a hot tub, outdoor shower, sauna, swimming pool, and hammock that they could take advantage of. But thus far they’d been content to laze around and hibernate away from the world. Inside the lavishly decorated tent, they could pretend they were the only people in the world.
Now, they’d ventured outside to sit around the fire and enjoy the night air. After Mark had gotten the fire going, he’d gone inside the yurt, grabbed a blanket from the bed, and sat behind her, wrapping it around them both. Zoey knew Mark wasn’t cold, he was never cold, but she loved him all the more for going out of his way to make sure she was warm enough.
Looking up at the stars, Zoey relaxed against Mark and sighed.
“Happy?” he asked.
“Very. But I should be asking you that.”
“Any time I get to spend with you makes me happy,” he responded.
Zoey wrapped her hands around his forearms, which were across her chest. “I’m worried about you.”
He rested his cheek against hers then said, “I know. And I wish we were starting our lives together without all this drama hanging over our heads.”
“Everyone has drama,” Zoey retorted. “Lives aren’t all puppies and flowers like on social media. I just wish I could do more to help you.”
Mark snorted.
Zoey frowned and turned her head to look at him. “What?”
“Zo, I’m not sure I could’ve gotten through any of this without you by my side. Knowing you’re there for me is the best thing that could’ve ever happened in my life. And this trip has gotten me to thinking.”
“About what?”
“Us. How everything in our lives is interconnected. How one little decision can change the trajectory of our lives for good or bad. If I’d refused the charter flight that Kenneth put together for us…that his wife arranged…I’m not sure we would be here right now. You might’ve died out there in the wilderness. Malcom and Tracy might’ve gotten away with killing Pop. There’s a hundred little decisions we’ve made that have led us right here. And while I wish my pop was still here, and my brother hadn’t been a complete idiot, I can’t regret finding you through it all.”
Zoey’s eyes filled with tears. His words meant the world to her. For him to go through all the hurt he’d experienced, to lose his only family, and still be happy to have her in his life…it was almost too much.
“I love you,” she said, squeezing his arms. “When I was in high school, I liked you because of the way you looked. As I got older, I admired you because of the stories Colin told me and what you were doing for our country. But now that I’ve gotten to know you, I love you because of the man you are.”
“That means everything to me,” Mark said. “I won’t always have my muscles. My hair’ll probably fall out and I’ll gain a hundred pounds. The things I’ve done will be nothing but a memory and a footnote in some top-secret drawer buried in the Pentagon somewhere, but I’ll always be exactly who I am. And who I am is a man who will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and happy.”
That was it. Zoey was done sitting around the fire. Even though they’d just ventured out there, it had lost its appeal. She struggled to stand, needing Mark’s help to get herself untangled from the blanket. She stood in front of him and held out a hand. “Take me to bed or lose me forever.”
Since Mark had said he’d never seen the movie Top Gun, she’d made him sit down and watch it with her one night.
Without hesitation, he replied with Goose’s iconic line from the movie, “Show me the way home, honey.”
Then he grabbed her hand, yanked her forward so she fell over his shoulder, and he stood with her, heading for the opulent tent they were calling home for another couple of nights.
Giggling, Zoey propped herself up by putting
her hands on his ass, and she gasped when he dumped her on the mattress inside the tent.
Looking up at the intense expression on her man’s face, Zoey had a feeling they wouldn’t be emerging from the yurt until morning. “Do we need to worry about the fire?” she asked, not wanting to kill the mood but concerned about leaving it unattended.
“I’ll get up and take care of it…later.”
“Okay.”
Mark leaned over her, caging her in with his arms and practically touching his nose to hers. “I love you, Zoey Knight.”
“And I love you back.”
He shut his eyes for a moment as if in pain, but when they opened again, all Zoey could see was lust. For her.
Several hours later, Zoey lay boneless and exhausted in Mark’s arms. He’d fallen on her like a man dying of thirst and the only way to quench it was by drinking the nectar from her body. He’d eaten her out for at least an hour before he’d allowed her to take a breather. But even then, he’d played with and fondled every inch of her body while she did her best to recover.
She knew some men enjoyed eating pussy, but Mark took it to a whole new level. He was insatiable when it came to her, and Zoey had never felt more cherished than she did when Mark was making love to her.
After she’d finally stopped shaking, Mark had entered her slowly and reverently. He’d stared into her eyes the entire time he made love to her, whispering words of adoration. Finally, when neither of them could take it anymore, he’d turned her over on her hands and knees and fucked her to within an inch of her life.
Zoey couldn’t say what she enjoyed more. The oral sex, the slow, sweet lovemaking, or the hard and fast fucking.
She knew Mark wasn’t asleep, as his thumb was making small circles on the small of her back as he held her to him. Out of the blue, remembering something Jess had said to them, she blurted, “So, I guess Jess was right? The key to a good relationship is cunnilingus.”
He chuckled. “Actually, what she said was, the key to a good marriage is cunnilingus. And I’d have to agree with her.” Mark leaned over and grabbed something from the small table next to the bed. She hadn’t noticed it before, but now she could only stare at the small black velvet bag in his hands with wide eyes.
He opened it and pulled out a beautiful emerald-cut solitaire diamond ring.
Zoey gasped.
“I know this is fast, but fuck it. Our entire relationship has been unconventional. Will you marry me? I can’t imagine going through the rest of my life without you by my side. I might be a tough Navy SEAL, but without you, I’m nothing. I don’t care how long our engagement is. A week, a month, five fucking years, as long as you’ll eventually be mine, I’ll be happy.”
“I’m already yours,” Zoey told him quietly. “A marriage certificate won’t change that.” When she saw the uncertainty enter his eyes, she quickly went on. “But of course I’ll marry you, Mark. I love you.”
He smiled then and hugged her. Hard.
When he pulled back and slid the beautiful ring down her finger, Zoey couldn’t help teasing, “But only if you promise to keep up that cunnilingus thing.”
“As if you could keep me away from your beautiful body,” Mark said with a grin. “In fact, I think I’m hungry again.”
Zoey shrieked as Mark grabbed her around the waist and helped her kneel, then slid under her in a quick movement. She was on her knees above him, and he continued sliding down until he was between her legs. He stuffed a pillow under his head, and when Zoey looked down her body, all she could see was his eyes looking up from between her legs with an intensity that was almost scary.
“I love you, Zoey. With everything I am. I promise to do everything in my power to make you happy. I’ll put you first in my life when I can, and I’ll fucking kill anyone who tries to hurt you.”
“I’m not sure about the killing part, but okay on the rest.”
Then he smiled and pushed her thighs apart until she had no choice but to grab ahold of the headboard to stay upright.
“Hold on, sweetheart. I’m starving.”
Zoey threw her head back at the first touch of his lips to her sensitive clit and did as he asked, hanging on for dear life.
After he’d rocked her world, again, and she was lying on her side cuddled up next to him, she stared at the ring on her finger. She was going to marry Mark Wright. The man she’d wanted for most of her life.
Life sure worked in mysterious ways.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rocco asked Phantom. They’d just gotten done with PT, and Phantom had pulled his friend aside to ask a favor.
“Yeah. I know the therapists on base have clearance, but I’d like you there to listen to whatever I say when the hypnotist puts me under.”
“You’re that sure you’re missing something that happened back in Timor-Leste?” Rocco asked.
“Yes. I saw something, but in all the chaos when we had to get out of the orphanage because the rebels were closing in, I’ve forgotten what it was,” Phantom told him.
Rocco frowned. “What is it you’re hoping to find out from this?”
“That’s the thing, I don’t know.”
“Phantom…Kalee’s dead. We all saw her body. She’s not coming back,” Rocco said gently.
Phantom ground his teeth together. “I know,” he lied.
The thing was, he’d had this nagging feeling that the woman they’d been sent in to rescue wasn’t dead. But he knew if he said it out loud with no proof, his friends would think he was just as crazy as Kalee’s dad.
Mr. Solberg had been released from the mental hospital and was back on his medications. Phantom wanted to go see him. To ask him about his daughter. To hear stories about what she was like. But he was too chicken. The last thing he wanted was to either give him false hope that Kalee was alive or to make the man have a relapse and end up back in the hospital.
But that niggling feeling inside him wouldn’t subside. Wouldn’t shut up. He’d second-guessed himself time and time again, and he’d done everything possible to remember the moment he’d found the pit with the bodies of the murdered children, but no matter how hard he tried, there was a tiny moment of time that was a blank.
One second he’d discovered the mass grave, and the next, he and his teammates were fleeing the area with Piper and the three orphaned girls.
“If you really want me to go, I will,” Rocco said.
Phantom nodded. “I appreciate it.”
“Just let me know the time and place.”
“Will do.”
The two men shook hands, and Phantom headed for his car to go home and shower before heading back to the base. They were gearing up for another mission. They hadn’t been on one in a while, and he was more than ready to get back to what it was he did best. As soon as Bubba got back home from his short vacation, they’d hit the intel hard and most likely be shipped out within the week.
Unlike his teammates, who now had families and women of their own, Phantom still looked forward to their missions. It would take his mind off the hole in his memory…and the undeniable fear that he’d somehow fucked up. Huge.
He’d asked Tex for his help and didn’t know what “rumblings about something interesting” meant, but he knew Tex would tell him once he had something concrete. In the meantime, he needed to stay busy, meet with the hypnotist, and try to fucking move on with his life.
Rex had just gotten out of the shower and was eating his four-egg omelet standing up while watching the morning news when his cell phone rang. He and his teammates had gotten back from a short mission the day before, and he had the day off. He was looking forward to sitting around and decompressing.
“It’s Rocco,” his teammate said as soon as Rex answered. “You need to get back to base ASAP.”
Rex was moving before Rocco had finished talking. He scraped his remaining eggs into the trash and asked, “What’s up?”
“We’re leaving as soon as everyone gets here.”
“Shit,
” Rex said. There had been times they’d been called out to a mission without a lot of prep work, but their commander liked to have as much information as possible before sending them into danger. “What’s up?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Rex’s stomach clenched in concern. Rocco didn’t usually beat around the bush. It had to be something bad.
“It’s Avery,” Rocco said quietly.
For a second, Rex wasn’t sure who his friend was talking about.
Then it hit him. “My Avery?”
It was a silly thing to say. Avery Nelson wasn’t his. They weren’t even dating. He’d flirted with her, and she’d flirted back. Rex had made extra trips to the hospital to see her, and he was working up the courage to ask her out. But she’d been gone for about a month and a half. She’d been assigned to a special detail that had gone to Afghanistan for a humanitarian mission…to help teach nursing skills to women.
But she was the only Avery he knew, and if Rocco was being extra careful in telling him what was going on, it had to be her.
“Yeah. She’s MIA. Ten days ago, a small arms convoy was attacked near the clinic she was assigned to assist.”
Rex’s blood ran cold. “What’s our mission?” he asked.
He was breaking protocol. Both he and Rocco knew they weren’t supposed to talk over the phone about where they were going or what they were being sent to do, but he couldn’t stop the question from popping out.
“Rescue,” Rocco said briefly. “Friendlies in the area said she and a couple of others from the convoy were taken up into the caves in the mountains nearby.”
“So she’s alive?” Rex asked as he threw some necessities into a duffle bag.
“As far as we know, yes,” Rocco said.
Taking a deep breath, Rex said, “I’ll be there in thirty minutes or less.”