by Alix Labelle
Hunter started, “It’s about Charlotte.”
The Commander looked at him and started walking towards him until they were almost touching. “What about her?” he asked gruffly.
Hunter started out shaky, then found his courage about halfway through the story. He explained how he had met Charlotte, leaving out the details of their night together. He told him that they had seen each other a few times after. And finally, he told him that he was in love with her.
***
The Commander just stared at him for a full three minutes, which felt like an eternity to Hunter. “Smith, I am going to pretend like you never told me any of this. If you walk away now and never bring it up again, I won’t have you discharged from the SEALs. I won’t kick your sorry ass. If you want to keep your life, you will walk away now without saying another word.”
Hunter knew he should tell him about the baby. He didn’t want to leave it up to Charlotte. But, he also knew that he would be lucky to leave that building alive if he told the Commander that his fiancé was carrying Hunter’s baby. So, as cowardly as it was, Hunter walked out with his head down.
He knew he should call Charlotte and tell her what he had done, but her words kept playing through his head. She wanted him to leave her alone. And as much as he didn’t want to leave her alone, he wanted to respect her wishes. So, he left her alone. He hoped he was doing the right thing. He was worried that Commander Munster might confront Charlotte about the affair, but then realized that it was easier for him to just forget the whole thing happened. Or maybe he would hold it over her head. Hunter hoped not.
Somehow, Hunter made it through the next week without breaking down or being punched by Commander Munster. In fact, they barely saw each other. Every single day Hunter would spend most of his time thinking about Charlotte, while he tried to concentrate on his training. He wondered how she was feeling. He wondered if the Commander had told her about their conversation. He missed her so much and just wanted to hear her voice at the very least. His love for her never wavered.
That Saturday evening, just as Hunter was getting ready to hit the sack, his phone rang. He rarely got phone calls, so it was pretty unusual to hear it ringing. He jumped up to get answer it, trying not to get his hopes up. It was Charlotte! “Hello?”
“Hunter?” she asked. He barely recognized her voice. She sounded terribly upset and was speaking barely above a whisper.
He answered, “Yes, Charlotte. It’s me. What’s wrong? Are you ok?” Panic crept into his voice.
“I’m so sorry, Hunter. I am so sorry for getting you into this mess. I can’t even get myself out of it. He was here. He told me that you told him about us. He was angry. I was afraid he was going to hurt me. And I told him about the baby…..” She started to cry.
“Are you ok? Did he hit you?” Hunter demanded. “Damn it, Charlotte! Tell me what happened! I can help you if you talk to me. Please, just tell me what happened!”
When she finally stopped crying long enough to speak, she answered him calmly, “No he didn’t hurt me, but he broke it off. He called me a whore and told me no one would want me now. He said that I was going to be a single mom with a bastard baby and that I would be alone for the rest of my life. He told me that I ruined my life and he wasn’t going to let me ruin his, too.” She got quiet for a moment and before Hunter could speak, she spoke again, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you. This is my problem, not yours. I am just going to do what he told me I should have done weeks ago when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Please, Charlotte. Don’t abort our baby! I will help you get through this. I helped get us into this situation. It is my responsibility, too! Please, let me help!” shouted Hunter.
“I’m not going to have an abortion. I wouldn’t be able to handle that. But, I can’t do this. I can’t raise a baby all by myself. I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life, Hunter. I would rather die!”
“Don’t say that! You don’t have to be alone! I will be there with you,” Hunter tried to reassure her.
“I don’t believe you. You will be leaving soon and you’ll forget all about me and the baby. I know he is right. No one is ever going to want me now. You are just saying these things to make me feel better. He has told me time and time again that I wasn’t good enough, and I guess he was right. I don’t belong in this world anymore,” Charlotte said with a whimper.
“What are you saying, Charlotte? What do you mean you don’t belong in this world anymore?! Are you at your apartment? I’m coming over right now. Just stay where you are. And Charlotte? Please don’t do anything to hurt yourself or the baby.”
He borrowed a buddy’s car and broke the speed limit getting to Charlotte’s as fast as he could. He was trying not to let the panic come out in his voice as he spoke to her, “Charlotte, I am almost there, ok? I promise you, everything is going to be alright. I want to be with you. I want to help you with our baby. I will be with you every single step of the way.”
But she argued with him, “No you’re not. You will be deployed soon and I will never hear from you again. I will be left alone. You will forget all about me and our baby. How am I supposed to do this alone? I can’t!”
It felt like an eternity, but finally he was at her door. He started knocking and yelling, “Let me in, Charlotte. Unlock the door. I’m here and I’m going to help you.”
It took a few minutes of persuasion, but she finally opened the door and let him come in. She was a mess. Her beautiful face was smeared with make-up. Her hair was pulled tightly into a bun. And her clothes we too big for her perfect frame. But to him, she looked absolutely perfect. Before she could protest, he took her into his arms and held her tightly making sure she couldn’t pull away.
And he whispered to her, “I’m here now, baby. We will get through this together. Everything is going to be ok. I promise you.”
She was crying again and reached into the pocket of her oversized pants. She pulled out a pill vial and handed it to him. As he read the name of the pills, he started to cry, too. She was planning on taking them to kill herself. It probably would have only taken about five to six pills and she would have fallen asleep and never woken up. Hunter could barely handle the thought of never seeing her again.
He put his arm firmly around her shoulder and led her to the couch. He took her face in his hands, looked into her sad, beautiful eyes and said to her, “Charlotte, you have to promise me that you will never think about doing anything like this again. Please, just promise me.”
“Why do you care so much, Hunter?” she asked sounding completely defeated.
“Why do I care so much? Because I love, you Charlotte. I have loved you from the moment I met you. I can’t explain it. It doesn’t make sense. But it just is! I love you so much and I love our baby, too. I don’t want a life without the two of you in it. So you see, if something happens to you, there will be no reason for me to even care about living.”
Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes again. But, this time they were happy tears. Hunter was never so happy to see someone smile. And she finally said, “I love you too, Hunter. I have loved you since the first night. Oh, I am so sorry that I have put you through all of this! I don’t want to die. I promise I will never try to hurt myself or our baby. But, what do we do now?”
It only took Hunter a second to realize what he wanted. He got down on one knee and took both of Charlotte’s hands in his. “Charlotte Marie Sandusky, I love you more than I ever knew was possible. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you. Will you marry me?”
Charlotte gasped and then grabbed Hunter and pulled him to her while yelling, “Yes, yes, yes! I will marry you! I love you so much, Hunter!” He picked her up and gave her a hug and kiss. Neither of them could stop smiling, nor could they keep their hands off of each other.
When their excitement started to wear down a bit, they both remembered at the same time that Hunter was still going to be deployed. Charlotte spoke about it first, “How long will you be gone?
Will you even be here when the baby is born? I’m scared, Hunter. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“Well considering what the Commander knows now, I don’t even know if I will make it to deployment. He is either going to kill me or get me dishonorably discharged. Either way, it won’t be pretty. And honestly? I don’t even know if I want to go now. I know I made a promise and a commitment to my country. But, now I have made a commitment to you. I don’t know how I am going to be able to keep both promises. But I do know one thing- I am not willing to lose you. Just let me think about it for a little while. I will figure something out.”
And just then Charlotte’s eyes got wide like she had just remembered something. “I think I just figured out a way to keep him off your back……. So, I am assuming that participating in drug activity is frowned upon when you are a Commander of the Navy SEALs, right?”
“Of course,” Hunter replied. “Why in the world are you asking me that? Unless…….Wait! What do you know?”
“It’s not just what I know. It’s what I have pictures of! Your high ranked Commander likes his white powder, if you know what I mean! One night when I was seriously considering breaking it off, I decided to take a few pictures of him taking it up his nose, just in case I needed it for blackmail. I did it carefully so he never knew. Do you think you can use this somehow?”
Hunter though carefully before he spoke, “Well, I’m not usually the kind of person who blackmails people…..But under the circumstances, I don’t see any other way. Can I borrow the pictures?”
“What are you going to do, Hunter?” Charlotte asked.
“Don’t worry, Charlotte. I am going to do the right thing. I’m going to go back to base and in the morning, I’m going to have a little chat with the Commander. I will call you as soon as I’m done so I can come over and tell you all about it. No worries, my love. Everything is going to be ok.”
Charlotte believed him because she trusted him and loved him so much. “Ok. I will wait for your call.”
They said goodbye, hugging and kissing like they would never see each other again. They said “I love you”, and then Hunter was out the door. His mind was still spinning from everything that had happened tonight. He knew what he had to do in the morning, and he knew it was the right thing. He got little sleep as he mentally prepared for the meeting with Commander Munster.
Hunter met up with Commander Munster early that morning and everything went exactly as planned. He spoke his part as the Commander listened with wide eyes. He couldn’t wait to see Charlotte and tell her everything. But, he had a stop to make first on his way to her apartment.
She was watching for him so her door was open when he arrived. He gave her a big hug and kiss, then she ushered him onto the couch. “I’m dying here, Hunter! Tell me what happened!” she blurted out.
“How badly do you want to know?” he teased.
Charlotte squealed and hit him playfully on the arm. “Come on! Just tell me. I’m assuming it’s good news since you are in such a delightful mood. Don’t make me wait and guess any longer! Tell me what happened!”
“Well, it worked. I showed him the pictures and I told him what I wanted in exchange for our silence. He didn’t even argue. He had no choice but to agree. He will be signing my discharge papers tomorrow. My honorable discharge papers!”
Even as Hunter sat smiling, Charlotte felt guilty, “But, Hunter I feel so terrible about you giving up your dream. I don’t want you to resent me in the future because of this.”
Hunter explained to her, “You see, I wanted to be a Navy SEAL from the time I was young. At first, it was going to be a way for me to escape my alcoholic mother as soon as I was out of high school. And then it turned into more. I imagined it would be a place where I could belong. I never felt right in my own home growing up. I love my sisters, but I was the black sheep in my family. I though by joining the Navy, I would find my family and finally fit in somewhere. I thought I would finally find happiness. But that’s not what happened. I met a few good friends, and I still love the crazy training we go through, but I never found a place to fit in. Now, I am going to have my very own family. I am in love with an amazing woman, and we are going to learn how to be parents together. This is my idea of fitting in somewhere. Maybe I was never meant to be a SEAL for very long. Maybe I was meant to be a loving husband and father. I love you, Charlotte. I will never resent you for this decision I made. I know it was the right one.”
By the time he was done speaking, there were tears streaming down Charlotte’s face. “You don’t know how happy you make me, Hunter Smith! I am the luckiest woman in the world! I love you. And I love our baby. You’re right- we are going to be a family. Now you will always fit in. That is a promise I vow to keep to you. You will always be loved.”
And before she could reach over to hug him, he was down on his knees again. He couldn’t help but laugh at her confused expression, wondering why he was down there again. Hadn’t he already proposed?
Before she could question him, he spoke, “I know this looks like a repeat of last night, but this time I am going to do it right.” He reached into his pocket and produced a small jewelry box. When he opened it up, a gorgeous diamond ring sparkled up at her. “Charlotte Marie Sandusky, will you marry me?”
As she got on the floor with him to give him a kiss, she said, “Yes! A thousand times, yes!”
They were both laughing with pure joy when they tumbled flat onto the ground, which made them laugh even more. Hunter rolled over and sweetly kissed his beautiful, future bride thinking that he was the luckiest man alive!
THE END
Loved by the Mercenary
Mysteries and Revenge
A Military Romance
Loved by the Mercenary:
Mysteries and Revenge
Chapter 1
Chayla woke up suddenly. It was not from a dream or from something she heard. It was like something inside of her screamed to awaken. Her almond-shaped brown eyes flashed open and she instantly knew something was wrong. The light filtering in from the pulled back shade showed smoke and then her nostrils took in the smell. Panicked, she sat up and looked around. Her apartment was dark, but she knew that there was a fire somewhere. She was on the second floor and Chayla knew that she had to get downstairs as quickly as she could.
It was not a house fire made from a sleeping tenant that forgot to blow out a candle. The fire was started from a rash of protest that had taken over the city. What started from one slight, turned into a city upending itself and she caught a glimpse of an apartment building across the street also on fire. Her heart pounded in her chest and she made her way to the door. She didn’t think to grab her purse or anything really. Chayla just had to get out quickly.
Covering her mouth with the top of her tanktop, Chayla opened the door and thicker smoke billowed in from the hallway. She started to race down the stairs, her knees weak and close to buckling as she went down the first of two sets of stairs. There was a bump from behind and Chayla was sent sprawling down the last six steps, hitting the landing hard. She saw feet continuing down, the person not even stopping to see if she was okay.
She wasn’t. Chayla had a shooting pain going up her arm, but she got up and continued down the last flight. The smoke was getting thicker, burning her eyes. Chayla couldn’t see her own hand in front of her and she walked slower, not wanting to fall again with the numbing pain to remind her of the consequences.
Holding her breath, Chayla was feeling desperate. Her brain was screaming for oxygen and she couldn’t seem to maneuver the last hundred yards out of the building. She ran into a wall twice and finally when she was giving up hope and starting to see spots behind her eyes, a hand gripped her and pulled her from the building.
It was the sweetest breath that she had ever tasted and she turned to the tall, handsome soldier that had pulled her out. She threw her arms around him and then grimaced when she felt her arm again, reminding her that she was hurt. “Miss? Are you okay?”
Chayla looked down at the gash in her arm. She wasn’t okay, but when she looked back up into his piercing slate eyes, it suddenly didn’t seem so bad. Her heart skipped a beat and everything stood still in that moment. It was fleeting though and he was looking at her like she may have had a concussion.
“Miss?”
“Sorry, yeah I think. Thank you Sir.” Her eyes went to the rectangular piece of cloth that had his name sewed into it. ‘Sampson.’
“Why don’t you come over here and see a medic. It looks like you may need some stitches. Did you see anybody else in there?”
She shrugged that she didn’t know and looked at the pale hand on her arm from his light touch. The tall, man walked her to the back of an Army truck and handed her off to another soldier with a medic’s badge. He helped cleaned the wound, but told her that she was going to have to go to the hospital for stitches. In a daze, Chayla used his phone to call a friend to take her so she didn’t have to go in one of the ambulances that had pulled up to help people. Most of the crowds were gone, leaving destruction in their wake.
Shivering in the cold waiting, she watched the neighborhood she had lived in for many years, burn around her. It seemed like as soon as one fire was put out, another started. Her eyes searched for the man that had helped her, but she didn’t see him again. Getting into Anya’s car, they went down to the hospital and a few hours later, Chayla was released.
“Why don’t you come stay over at my house tonight?”
“I can’t. I got to go see what is left, if anything. I don’t even know if I will be able to get up there. I didn’t even grab my pictures, nothing. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Calm down, it is just stuff. I am just glad you are safe.”
Chayla wanted to agree, but the pictures of her parents that had passed where in that apartment, her whole life was there and she had to see if she could salvage any of it. Anya agreed reluctantly to take her back, though she made Chayla promise that she would call her if she needed anything. She didn’t want to leave, but Chayla was determined to get back in and see what was left of her twenty-two years of life. She had learned to let things go and accept things, but she didn’t want to let the picture go. It was just something she was not willing to do.