When Love Comes Back (When the Mission Ends Book 5)

by Christi Snow

  She shook her head. “Absolutely not. I never want to see you again.” She stormed down the steps and stopped. She had no way to leave. Her taxi was long gone.

  The girl who’d been in Gage’s bed had just started up her car, looked at the two of them for a moment, and then rolled down her window. “Do you need a ride?”

  This was absolutely the worst moment in her life, so she could only nod as she climbed into the passenger seat. Her last image of Gage was as he dove into the bushes to puke as they drove away.

  The stranger quietly asked where she needed to go. Not knowing what else to do, Felicia told her the airport.

  The drive to the airport was completely silent. What could she say to the girl who had just fucked the love of her life? Felicia wanted to hate her, but she doubted Gage had told her that he had a girlfriend. That’s not the way guys worked. Felicia knew it from watching way too many of her girlfriends’ hearts get crushed. Now, it was her turn.

  She swallowed the sob that tried to well up her throat. She never thought she’d be the girl who got duped, but that didn’t mean she had to like the girl who’d aided in the duping.

  “Thank you,” Felicia muttered when they pulled up to the drop-off zone of the airport.

  The girl placed a hand on Felicia’s arm, stopping her from getting out of the car. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

  Just as Felicia had guessed.

  “I know it doesn’t make a difference when it all comes down to it,” the girl said, “but he was really drunk last night. I’m assuming you’re ‘Doc’?”

  Felicia nodded, not able to talk around the lump in her throat.

  The girl looked miserable. “He called me that several times.” She shook her head with a bitter laugh. “I should have known that a guy like that had a girlfriend.”

  “Yeah,” Felicia finally managed to get words out. “A girlfriend that he screwed over last night. We’re obviously both better off without him.”

  She left the girl in the fancy Mercedes and went to change her flight home.

  PRESENT DAY

  Billy’s jaw clenched in anger. “And you never saw him again?”

  Felicia shook her head as she willed the tears not to come. She had cried over Gage enough to last a lifetime. She wasn’t going there again. Not for him.

  “He called for a few weeks, but I just couldn’t talk to him. I couldn’t get past what he’d done. Then the calls stopped. A week later, Whitney died, and you know the rest of it.”

  Billy pulled her into his lap and tucked her under his chin. “I’ve changed my mind. That man may be pretty but obviously just on the surface. You’re much better off with Steven. He’s gorgeous, and that’s a man who knows how to treat his woman.”

  Sure, that sounded easy.

  But until that New Year’s Day long ago, she’d thought Gage was one of those good guys, too.

  THE NEXT DAY, FELICIA was feeling much better physically. Her side still hurt, but it wasn’t the throbbing pain she’d had the day before. It would probably feel even better if she’d managed to get any sleep the night before. But after her talk with Billy, her dreams had been filled with haunting images of her time with Gage combined with nightmares of the other women he’d loved over the years.

  She shrugged on her lab coat before heading out of her house. She needed the distraction of work today. She refused to get sucked down the rabbit hole of obsessing about where Gage’s life had taken him after the two of them had broken up.

  But as she exited her house, she ran smack dab into Steven.

  “Whoa.” He grabbed her by her upper arms to keep her from bouncing off his broad chest. “What’s the rush?”

  “Steven, what are you doing here?” It was before six o’clock in the morning.

  He kissed her on her nose. “And good morning to you, too. I couldn’t sleep after the debacle yesterday, and I’m also not exactly comfortable with your security here. So, I came to do something about it.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “The debacle or the security?”

  “Both.”

  He pulled her into his arms, which felt so strong and sure around her. It was nice.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I acted like a testosterone-laden jackass yesterday. I love you, Felicia. It kills me that he has this deep history with you.”

  His hazel eyes turned golden as he gazed so earnestly at her in the morning light. She cupped his blond, stubble-covered cheek. He hadn’t even taken the time to shave this morning before he’d come over. That was very unlike him.

  “But that’s the key, Steven. It’s history. He hurt me deeply.” Telling the story to Billy last night had brought back just how profoundly Gage’s betrayal had devastated her. “I would be stupid to ever trust him again. Believe me, there’s no competition here.”

  Steven blew out a deep breath. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

  She hated that she’d done anything to make him doubt the depth of her feelings for him. No, they didn’t have the great sexual passion that she’d shared with Gage, but that passion had burned her in the end. Destroyed her. And she was older now, it only made sense that things weren’t quite so hot and emotionally charged all the time. That’s what came with maturity, right?

  Things with Steven felt stable. She knew he would never hurt her.

  She linked her hand with his. “Walk with me over to the clinic, and you can tell me what you were talking about with the security. I really can’t afford to upgrade right now.” She’d needed to upgrade her system ever since she bought the clinic. She’d known that, but in a private practice like this, there was always a more urgent expense that came up and took priority. She could raise her clinic rates, but that could make the difference between some of her patients getting care and some of their owners not being able to afford their needed care and medicine. She hadn’t been willing to do that to them.

  Steven shook his head. “The upgrade isn’t negotiable. I won’t lose you to some drugged-up thief. I’ll pay for the system if that’s what it takes.” He brushed his hand lightly and carefully over the side where she’d been stabbed. “Your life isn’t worth the cost of the few dollars it will take to keep you safe. I’m willing to pay for that.”

  Felicia really wasn’t comfortable with this. The clinic got by financially, but there just wasn’t enough money for all the extras she needed to invest in. But to let Steven pay for it didn’t seem right.

  “Please, let me.” He pulled her to a stop just outside the clinic door to gaze earnestly into her eyes. “It’s either this or you can move in with me on base so I can sleep at night.”

  She gave him a soft smile with a tiny shake of her head. “I don’t deserve you, but okay. I’ll agree to this, but only if we consider it a loan. I can probably pay for half the system now.” She’d just put off buying tires for her truck for another couple of months and pray that one wouldn’t blow out when she was towing the horse trailer. “And you can pay for the other half, but it will be a loan that I will pay back with interest.” She’d just turn off her cable. It’s not like she had time to watch TV anyway. And in her downtime, she could read more.

  He kissed her softly on her forehead. “Thank you. I’d rather just pay for it all myself, but if this is what it takes to get you to agree, then I can compromise.”

  An old car that looked like it ran on rust and leaded fuel instead of unleaded pulled into the parking lot. “Who’s that I wonder?” she mused.

  “I think that’s probably Geoff. He’s a security expert I know from the base. He’s here to help me figure out how to shore up your system.”

  The guy who stepped out of the junky old car had to be half the age of his vehicle. He looked barely legal, much less like someone who could be considered an expert on anything, except maybe which bars would serve underage. He wore holey jeans and a short-sleeved, white T-shirt that did nothing to hide the plethora of tattoos covering almost every inch o
f his exposed skin. His long, dark hair dusted over the tops of his shoulders, and he wore a trucker cap turned backward.

  “He works out at the base?” she asked, not even trying to hide her incredulity.

  Steven laughed. “Yeah, he’s a contractor. Don’t let his appearance fool you. He’s damn smart—brilliant even—and he will be able to spot the holes in both your building and computer security. Trust me. He’s good.” He squeezed her hand. “And don’t worry...he’s older than he looks, too. He plays up his young appearance because it helps him get overlooked, which is very useful when searching for weaknesses in security.”

  She nodded. That made sense.

  The kid walked over to them. He sent a nod to Steven but focused on Felicia. “Hi, you must be Dr. Parks.” He reached out to shake her hand. “Major Hardesty mentioned that you had a break-in the other night.”

  She nodded as she shook his surprisingly calloused hand. This was a guy who worked with his hands a lot.

  Geoff glanced around the parking lot and the surrounding buildings. Felicia got the idea that he probably didn’t miss much. He pointed to her home. “Who lives in the house?”

  “I do. It helps to be close to the clinic when we have more critical patients.”

  He nodded. “So, you come and go between the two buildings at all times.”

  “Yes.” She fought the urge to defend her ability to do that. “I have to admit, I’m not sure what’s planned here.” She sent Steven a desperate look. “How does this work?”

  Geoff nodded and straightened his shoulders.

  Suddenly she could see what Steven had been saying. When Geoff walked up, he’d been slouched and had a certain, devil-may-care posture about him, but now, he was all business. He was older than she had thought...probably in his late twenties. The transformation was remarkable.

  “What I’ll do is take a look at your system, which include things like your parking lot lighting.” He nodded at the lone light pole between her house and the clinic. “But this is a full security consult, so I’ll go as deep as your computer systems and see where there are holes in your processes. That includes your personnel, building security, computer security...everything.”

  With every word, her stomach sank more and more. “That sounds expensive.”

  “The consultation is free, and I’ll outline several plans and options. If there’s something that’s beyond your price range, but we both you agree you need, we can work out an upgrade step system. We’ll integrate the most vital pieces at first and then add more a bit at a time as you can afford it. I’m not here to fleece you or make a fortune off selling you upgrades you don’t need. I’ve worked with the major on other projects. This is a favor to him.”

  “And I really appreciate you coming out to do it, Geoff,” Steven said.

  Geoff quirked a half-smile. “No worries. You know I’ll call in the marker eventually. Shall we head inside and get to work?”

  “Um, sure.” Felicia led them over to the back door of the clinic and unlocked the door. She stepped back to let them enter the clinic before her, but Steven stayed outside.

  “I have to get back to the base,” he said. “Are you going to be okay here?”

  “Oh, yeah, of course.” She hadn’t even been thinking, she’d been so surprised when Steven showed up. It was a weekday. Of course, he had to go to work. “Thank you so much for setting this up, Steven.” She leaned up to brush a kiss across his lips. “Go to work. I’ll be fine.”

  She hadn’t mentioned it, but coming into the clinic yesterday had been scarier and harder to do than it should have been...and it had been the middle of the day. Never before had she feared walking into her own clinic. That wasn’t something that would work, not when she had to come into the building in the middle of the night all the time.

  Hopefully, whatever Geoff presented would be affordable and fix her mild case of PTSD.

  Later after Steven had gone and Felicia had settled into the clinic routine while trying to ignore Geoff prowling around the property, she realized she still didn’t know exactly how the break-in tied into the base. She had to find out what the connection was.

  Chapter Ten

  Gage clenched his jaw as he glared at Major Hardesty, who was doing a pretty damn good job of glaring right back. With a conference room filled with several members of his wing leadership watching, he didn’t need to get into another dick-measuring contest with Steven.

  Gage took a calming breath, but that didn’t stop the growl of unhappiness from infiltrating his words. “What do you mean we need to cut our flying hours by half this month?”

  Major Hardesty blew out a hard sigh. “We have to do these upgrades on the planes. If we don’t, we’re putting your pilots and each one hundred million dollar airplane in jeopardy. I know you have to fly so many hours a month, but I can guarantee you that whatever operator asshole who will ream your ass over your pilot training will be a whole lot easier to deal with than the publicity and mess when Congress demands to know why we’re ditching planes into the dirt.”

  “The upgrade is that serious?”

  “Yes. Why do you think they’ve upped the timeline this hard? It’s not rocket science...” Steven stopped talking, closed his eyes for a moment in a grimace, and shook his head with a good-natured, small smile. “Okay, yeah, it is rocket science.”

  Snickers filled the room, and some of the tension that had been building between the two of them released.

  “Colonel, this is something we have to do.”

  Gage could feel the waves of displeasure coming off the ops group commander. “Can we go to twelve-hour shifts until the upgrades get completed?”

  Steven shook his head. “About two-thirds of the guys in the shops are already doing that. It’s summer, and the guys have vacation leave scheduled.”

  And this is where it really sucked to be the one in charge. “Our first priority has to be the mission. Until the upgrades are finished, all leave for the maintenance troops who are needed for the work is cancelled.”

  Steven sputtered. “You can’t do that. My guys are already working ’round the clock and have been dealing with crazy upgrade and TDY deployments schedules this year. You’re going to kill morale. They can’t continue like this.”

  “Then get the upgrades completed faster.” Gage stood, ignoring Steven’s growl of frustration as he strode out of the room.

  AN HOUR LATER, GAGE strode into his office suite at the wing headquarters. Col. Carter waited for him with an unhappy expression on his face.

  “What is it?” Gage asked. “Has something happened?”

  “Well,” Carter drawled slowly. “It probably depends on who you ask. Anyone over on the maintenance side of the fence probably thinks that yeah, something has happened. Their new wing commander just fucked them up the ass.”

  “Oh, good god. It didn’t take long for Major Hardesty to run tattling, did it? You can tell him and the entire maintenance group to sack up. This is the life they signed up for. The Air Force owns them, and the Air Force says the mission comes before personnel.” It sucked, but that was the way it was. Gage had to ride the fine line between doing exactly that and protecting his people. He hoped that this little ultimatum would give them the needed fire under their asses to get the upgrades done faster than they might have otherwise.

  And if it meant that he got to dig a little at Major Hardesty, well, that was just a bonus.

  Carter frowned. “Is there something else going on between you and Major Hardesty?”

  Gage froze. Dammit, he hadn’t realized he’d revealed his dislike for the man. “Why?”

  “It sounds like you came down on him pretty hard.”

  Gage rolled his eyes. He didn’t realize Steven was so far into the pocket of his group commander. Interesting.

  “And before you jump to the wrong conclusion,” Carter continued, “Major Hardesty didn’t say anything about it. This was coming from his flight chief who happened to be there during your discu
ssion.”

  Gage blew out a frustrated breath and turned back toward Carter. “Yes, I came down on him hard. Yes, I made a unilateral decision that will probably come back to bite me.” His troops would hate him. “But I got a call from General McNeely this morning.”

  Carter’s eyes widened.

  Exactly. It wasn’t often that the numbered Air Force commander called to discuss the flying schedule. And it sure as hell wasn’t a good thing. There was nothing like starting the day with a two-star general screaming his head off and blaming Gage for things he hardly even knew about yet. It didn’t matter that Gage had been on the job less than a week. He’d been given his orders.

  “We have to get this flying schedule working again, or else.” Or else, all of the commanders—himself, Carter, and Major Hardesty included—would be looking for new careers.

  “Okay,” Carter agreed on a deep sigh. “I understand.”

  He began to walk off, but Gage stopped him. “Carter, let the commanders know, subtly, that if we see some improvement, we can slacken the leave restrictions, but until then...our hands are tied.”

  Carter pressed his lips tightly together, obviously unhappy with the decision.

  But that just made him no different than Gage, who hated what he’d had to threaten this morning. And he was man enough to admit that he probably should call Major Hardesty and apologize for coming down so hard on him. It wasn’t Hardesty’s fault that he happened to be dating the woman that Gage had never gotten over.

  AFTER SPENDING THE morning chatting on and off with Geoff, Felicia felt more than a little paranoid that she had the worst security ever and that she was a prime target for any thug wanting drugs, animals, or free cat food. So instead of spending her afternoon catching up on paperwork like she should be doing, she found herself pushing through the door of the Terravista police station.