“She was upset? What’d she say?” Kodiak asked, his face drawn.
“What? Dude, I’m not going to go into a ‘tell me how you feel’ session here so give it a rest. She loves you both. It’s not rocket science. Grow the fuck up before it’s too late. Women like her don’t come along often.” Coming from Romeo, it was hard to believe but he meant it. Violet was one of a kind and in being a friend to her, she had showed him that there was more to life than sleeping your way across the continent. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about tonight, but the truth still hung in the back of his mind.
“Thanks for keeping her safe.” Kodiak left without another word. Hulk still hung back, watching to see that they left. Romeo and Juju glanced at each other and shook their heads in unison.
“Yep. Night.”
Hulk wanted to stay, but given her current state, he knew it wasn’t possible. All day he had waited, hoping to get a chance to apologize. After seeing that she had drunk her sorrows away, he felt even worse. Guys were supposed to make a woman feel special, not drive them to drinking. He needed to step up his game and make it up to her. He glanced back at her door, realizing that he’d have to wait. Tomorrow. If she’d give him a chance, he’d make up the past few days and then some. His mind twirled with ideas and with a new plan in motion, he headed for bed.
Chapter Six
The next morning, Kodiak and Hulk both tripped over each other trying to get the jump on seeing Violet first. “What’s your hurry?” Hulk asked, trying to find his left shoe.
“Nothin’. Just hungry. I’m looking forward to breakfast. You?”
“Same.” Hulk mumbled something under his breath as he crawled on his knees to look under the beds.
“So, you still gonna ignore everything and pretend Violet will rush into your arms and confess her love or are you going to accept that she wants us both?” Kodiak skipped the bullshit and went straight for the point. There was no use trying until he was on board and they worked as a team.
Hulk sat up and rubbed his hand across his face. “Fuck. I don’t know. I mean, I know she cares for you but I guess I wanted to be enough for her, ya know? But I’ve got some issues…” He didn’t want to say the words and didn’t know how even if he did, but he didn’t have to. Kodiak knew exactly what he was implying. His anger was consuming him. The night terrors. The way he jumped at loud noises. His everyday hell was taking over and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was getting jealous for shit’s sake. Never had Hulk been a jealous person—ever. And now, he felt unworthy of her. Sharing her only amplified those notions.
“Dude, don’t. Yeah, so you’re having a fucked up time lately, I get it. But we can fix it. We all will. That’s what family does. You think you’re the first soldier to have a few minor malfunctions? It’s only a big deal if you don’t get it treated. We have a family doctor that can take care of it all without the Army finding out. No one needs to know but us.” Kodiak sat down on the couch, leaning his head back. “And her wanting a kinky threesome romance has nothing to do with your ‘issues’ as you put it. It has to do with her being one hell of a woman and wanting two hunky guys for her own. If you ask me, it’ll take the both of us to give her all she deserves.” He didn’t want to press too hard and make Hulk shut down, but needed him to know they were there for support and weren’t going to shut him out. He was family, and whether he liked it or not, family stood by no matter what. Even if that meant forcing him to see doc when they got home, one way or another they would get it under control.
Hulk hated the weight of the conversation, but in a way it lifted the world off his shoulders. He didn’t want to come off weak, especially in front of one of his comrades. The way Kodiak had phrased it made sense. He wasn’t the only soldier to be mind fucked after going to war. So why did he feel so ashamed? He wasn’t weak in any stretch of the imagination. The only weakness he had was Violet, and unless he pulled his shit together, he’d never get a chance with her…or at happiness. “Thanks. I guess it’s just something programmed into us. I don’t want to go on like this. I can’t sleep. I can’t think. Hell, I’m acting like a jealous asshole. This isn’t me…which is why I think I should just back off Violet. But…knowing what is right and doing it...”
“So, we do what’s right together. Let’s go start our groveling now. Tonight, we show her how well our team skills are.” Kodiak grinned.
Hulk hated hearing it, but he was right. It was stupid to make a complicated situation when there was a simple solution to their problem. The more he thought about it, the more clarity he saw. Damn she had been so responsive to them during their dance. As much as he hated to admit it, it turned him on to watch Kodiak touch her. “Let’s do it. But one thing we need to clear up if I’m gonna commit to something like this. I’ve never got the details on Rock and Maverick’s arrangement and don’t really want to know the logistics of it, but keep your junk to yourself, get my drift?” Hulk pointed, his nose wrinkling up.
Kodiak laughed. “Agreed. You’re not my type.” He snickered, “Come on, let’s go wake sleeping beauty. You get breakfast, I’ll go hunt down some Tylenol and Gatorade. Meet you there in ten?”
“On it.” Hulk all but ran out the door excited. For the first time, he didn’t have anything holding him back. With a new bounce in his step and a brighter future just over the horizon, Hulk couldn’t help but smile.
Ten minutes later, he walked up to Violet’s room toting breakfast to find Kodiak sitting outside. “Chow time. I got a little bit of everything just to be safe. Let’s go eat.” He pushed open the door and set the food on the table, looking around. “Violet?” He listened for the shower, assuming she’d gotten a late start after the night of drinking but the bathroom door was open. He walked through the room only to find her not there. “Hey, where’d she take off to?” He noticed Kodiak’s drawn expression and concern arose. “What happened?”
“She went home,” Kodiak sighed.
Hulk looked through the door again, still not registering what he meant. “What do you mean she went home? She’s not here.”
“Not here home, home-home. Left on a plane first thing this morning.”
Hulk sat down beside him, not believing his ears. “Why?”
“Because of us. Mrs. Sanders read me the riot act when I went to get the pain relievers. Said Violet wanted to go home and forget this trip ever happened.” Kodiak stood, walking inside. He mindlessly began to shovel food in his face, not tasting anything but cardboard.
“Here.” He tossed a plastic fork at Kodiak, motioning for him to sit. The two sat silent, mindlessly eating in silence. It wasn’t until most of the food had been picked through that the silence broke.
“We need to strategize.” Kodiak rested his elbows on the table, his expression somber.
“I don’t even know where to start. Hell, Violet’s the first woman I’ve been serious about.”
“Humph. Yeah, me too.” Kodiak thought about it all for a minute, his eyes widening with an idea. “So we treat it like a mission. Divide troops and conquer. If we take her from both sides, there’s nowhere for her to run.”
Hulk nodded. “I like it. So what’s the plan?”
“Come on, let’s get out of here before housekeeping shows up.” Over the next two hours, the two men discussed how to take their target from both sides in an ambush while sitting in the warm sun. With their disposition taking on more of a positive light, some of the others had come out to join them. Bella took it upon herself to get drinks and snacks for everyone, setting bowls of chips and dip in the middle of the table and two pitchers of frozen lemonade.
“Brain food. Nothing beats the salsa here. Fill up on lemonade though, that stuff is hot.” She smiled, handing glasses out as people arrived. Vince seated himself next to Hulk, eyeing the two with a smirk.
“Please tell me you two have a plan other than sitting and feeling sorry for yourself,” Vince asked with one hand planted on his hip, his finger wagging at them.
Hulk and Kodiak chuckled. “Yeah we do. We’re leaving this afternoon so we can grovel in private before everyone else heads back.” Kodiak admired Vince. After all the man had been through and the segregation from his family and friends when he finally drew up the courage to come out, he still saw good in everything. His love and attention to other’s feelings were like none other. Why some lucky man hadn’t snatched him up already was a mystery.
“Good. If you two need some pointers, let me know. Oh look…Dom and Vice are finally out of their room,” he snorted.
“Hey you two… glad to see you came up for air,” Hulk laughed. Dom smiled weekly, his features serious. “What’s up? You two look like someone died or something.”
“No…nothing like that. Our vacation’s getting cut short. The general is sending a plane for us at 1300 hours.” Dom took a seat, motioning for the rest of the family and troop to join them.
“What? Where to?” Hulk asked, their mood all-changing.
“No specifics yet,” Vice answered for him while he greeted everyone else.
“What’s going on?” Michael said as he picked up on the tension that surrounded them before he approached.
“Have a seat. Where’s Pop?” Dom glanced around, finding everyone present but the bickering couple.
“He’s back at their room. The little misses is on another rampage and won’t stop yelling long enough for him to get out the door. He’s been blowing up my phone begging us to save him.” Juju no longer got the words out and his phone vibrated—again.
“Well, good. Tell him we are in a meeting and he needs to get here now.”
“And not to bring Cassandra,” Bella added, dramatics falling over her name.
“Yeah, please don’t let him bring her. All the woman does is bitch, moan, and stick her nose up at us. Yesterday while they were at the beach, the woman threw a hissy because there was sand, then proceeded to spit her opinion on how it wasn’t appropriate for Alaina to be wearing a swimsuit in her ‘condition’…like pregnancy is some sort of disease or something. Michael had to hold me back from choking the bitch.” Mrs. Sanders waved her hands as she spoke, her anger from thinking about it resurfacing. All eyes turned to her, shocked at her foul language. Mrs. Sanders didn’t use profanity casually, so when she did you knew she was peeved.
“Please don’t ever get angry at me,” Joker teased.
Mrs. Sanders smiled but her eyes were still something fierce. “Please. If any you get out of line I’ll just smack some sense into you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, fighting back a chuckle. He had no doubt she wouldn’t either. The group kept up their normal bickering and teasing until Pop arrived, thankfully without the ball and chain.
“Glad you made it. I guess I should’ve had meetings a few times a day so we could get you out of your room,” Romeo directed to Pop as he approached.
“I wish you would have. I’ve been held prisoner in hell with the devil herself.” His features eased, but the stress and fatigue still showed around his eyes. “So, what’s up? Or was this your way of saving me?”
“I have some bad news. Our mission’s being cut short. The general phoned a half hour ago and we are on 30-minute stand by. He is sending a plane to pick us up at 1300 hours, complete with gear and supplies,” Dom paused, allowing for any questions he was sure to come.
“What about us? Do we just stay here for the rest of the stay or are we flying with you?” Alaina said between bites of an apple.
“If it weren’t for our little surprise guests that showed up the other night, I’d say stay and enjoy yourselves. But somehow, someone knew we were here. It just doesn’t sit right with me and I think it would be better and safer for you all to return home. I’ve called the airport and had your return dates moved up to this afternoon. One of us will stay behind and help Vince and Michael escort you to the ranch. At least there, you can see someone trying to sneak up.” Dom felt like shit for disappointing them, but their lives were more important than a few extra days of paradise.
“Well hell. There goes my tan,” Vince said.
“Oh, honey, you can lay out in the field when we get back. The sun works there the same way it does here.” Mrs. Sanders patted his hand.
“Yeah, but there isn’t that on the ranch.” They followed to where Vince pointed, laughing at the steroid-induced body builder group of muscles that walked by.
“Vince, darlin’, by the looks of those speedos, you’d be better off at home.” Alaina laughed while Rock and Maverick both turned, their eyebrows arched.
“Watch it, little lady,” Rock laughed.
“Oh don’t look at me like that. I can’t get you two off me long enough to take a nap since we’ve arrived.”
“Okay, now that we know way too much information, let’s get packed. We leave for the airport in an hour.” Dom waited for the family to leave and addressed the team. “Hulk, you stay behind and escort them home. I need you to be on guard… Something hasn’t been sitting right with me for a while and I need Hulk's strength to smash anyone who shows uninvited.”
“Roger that.” Hulk grinned at Kodiak, gloating with the fact that he’ll get to go home and patch things up with Violet before Kodiak would have a chance to.
Kodiak rolled his eyes in response, but was glad that one of them would have a chance to do some damage control. In a way, he was lucky. A lot of the groveling would be done and over with by the time they returned and he’d have a smooth sail back into her good graces.
“Second, I want you all to be extra cautious of your surroundings and who is nearby at all times. Not just for the obvious reasons, but my gut tells me we are missing something. All right, go pack, chug a few drinks, and meet me at the lobby at 1200 hours.”
“Like what?” Pop asked.
“I’m not sure yet. There’s just a few things that don’t add up. Just keep your guard up, guys. Oh, and be sure to grab the robe and towels in your room if you want a souvenir. The Army is fitting the bill, and since we're having to cut out short, might as well have a memento.” Dom smiled when everyone voiced their approval. A loud ‘hooah’ sounded from all the soldiers before they split to tend to their luggage.
Chapter Seven
The group parted ways at the airport, the normal anxiety from the women and kids radiating around them. It was never easy to say goodbye, but although it didn’t get easier, the family had learned to hide it better. Even Alaina who was on the hormonal roller coaster from hell did her best at keeping her tears at bay in front of the weeping children. The team made sure to see them on to their plane safely before they went out to the private hanger at the opposite end of the airport to load up. With nothing besides civis with them, they’d opted to send their bags home and travel with only the clothing they wore.
General Ashburn was there to greet them, only giving them the location of their assignment. “Sorry to rip you from paradise, troops, but sunny Afghanistan awaits.”
“What part, sir?” Joker asked.
“Southern. I’ll brief you on the plane, but our sources have located another compound of both drugs and weapons this time. The insurgents have wiped out two villages and taken men ranging in age from nine years and up. Most of the women and daughters were massacred.”
“Shit. Is it a capture and seize, or a seek and destroy mission?” Kodiak asked, hoping for the latter.
“We want the compound and its inhabitants neutralized except for those who are being held there against their will. That being said, if they are a threat, take them out.” General Ashburn took his seat with the others as the plane began to take off.
“Are you accompanying us, sir?” Pop asked.
“I’m going as far as Kandahar. I’m not taking any chances this time. If you get in a bind, I’m on call with our boys from the Cav if you need back up. You’ll be flown by Chinook to south of Kabul.”
“Get a nap while you can, guys. We’re gonna hit the ground running.” Dom leaned back in his seat, lacing h
is fingers with Vice’s. Normally, he kept their relationship at bay while they worked, but there was only the tight knit family aboard. Plus, he hated flying in the windowless sardine can for eighteen hours and needed a bit of discrete reassurance to maintain his hardass reputation.
“Who needs Ambien?” The General pulled out a bottle of pills, distributing them to those who opted to sleep through the first leg of their trip. Flights this long seemed to never end, and they all needed to rest up while they could. Who knew the next time they’d have an opportunity to sleep.
Hulk was overly anxious to get home. Sitting on a damn plane for six hours wasn’t helping. An overly obnoxious group of teens in front of him made for a hell of a long ride home. By the time the plane landed, they were tired, hungry, and ready to get home. Hulk drove the van, allowing the others to rest and hold the sleeping children who had passed out the second they hit the seats. It wasn’t but a short drive thankfully, but it was well after two in the morning when they pulled up at the farm.
“We’re here. Ladies, go on in and get to bed. We’ll bring in the rug rats and the luggage,” Hulk offered.
“Thanks, Hulk. You’re a lifesaver.” Alaina was dragging on her feet. Between the hormones, being separated from Rock and Maverick, and the trip home, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and escape.
“I’ve got sleeping beauty.” Michael climbed down the stairs of the bus toting Lizzy.
“I’ve got little man if you could grab Heather for me, Hulk.” Vince emerged with Skyler’s legs wrapped around his waist and his head plopped on his shoulder.
“I can get her.” Bella reached for her daughter but Hulk stopped her.
“No, go on to bed. I’ll get them all tucked in.” Hulk picked up a half awake Heather and laid her head on his chest, easing out of the van so he didn’t knock his head on the celling—again. He followed Bella and Vince to her cabin, helping to get Skyler’s shoes off and left Vince to tuck him in. He flipped on the nightlight and kissed his forehead, leaving the door cracked as he went into the front room. Once Hulk had done the same for Heather, he wanted to make sure Bella was okay. “Is there anything else you need, Bella?”
Enlisting Her Heart Page 8