by Susan Stoker
“Jonathan could’ve done that with you,” Chase said, not addressing what she’d said. “If things turned out differently, he could’ve used you as a bargaining chip because he knew without a doubt that we wouldn’t do anything that would potentially get you hurt. So, if you had to do that day you were kidnapped all over again? I have absolutely no idea what you could’ve done differently. I hate that you were in danger, and it makes me insane to think of you strapped to that bed, at his mercy. The outcome of that day could’ve been different if you hadn’t done what you did. If you hadn’t been there to distract Jonathan while Jeremiah was dealing with Milena and JT. But fuck if I ever want you to have to do something like that again.”
“I don’t want to be in that kind of situation again, either, Chase, but again, if Jonathan took you hostage, I wouldn’t have done anything that would get you hurt either. It’s not a matter of gender. It’s a matter of being smart and using learned skills to get out of the situation.”
Chase didn’t agree, but he didn’t disagree either. “At least think about it,” she said.
“You’re pretty good at this debate thing,” Chase said with a smile.
“Did a semester on the debate team in college,” she told him. Deciding to call a truce of sorts, Sadie didn’t push the issue. She wasn’t going to drop it, but she’d give him some time to think about what she’d said. She didn’t like when they disagreed. As much as she had no problem sticking up for her beliefs, she preferred when she and Chase got along. He was funny, smart, and when he turned on the charm, she could forget she was basically living with him because she was in danger.
She liked Chase Jackson. He was honorable and he reminded her a lot of her uncles…but not in the familial sense. Chase could cook, he wasn’t a slob, had a great work ethic, and was close to his sister. All good things in her book.
The bottom line was that if she wasn’t hiding from Jonathan and whatever crazy thing he wanted to do to her, she’d be thrilled to be spending time with Chase and his friends. Maybe she would even try to find a way to act on her crazy attraction to the Army captain. He obviously felt the same. It wasn’t exactly the time or the place, but if nothing else, her family had taught her to go for what she wanted. And what she wanted was to see if the sexual attraction between her and Chase was as explosive as it seemed.
She opened her mouth to change the subject to something less tense, and more flirtatious, when there was a knock at the door.
Chapter Four
When Sadie went to stand up, Chase stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Stay put. I’ll get it.”
He waited until she nodded, then headed for the door. Chase couldn’t believe he’d told her about the incident overseas. He still hadn’t recovered from it; knew he was a different man as a result. He also knew a lot of competent female soldiers who would kick his ass if they suspected he didn’t want them anywhere near a combat zone, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how easily they could be tortured and abused if they were captured, and the lengths to which men like the dead Delta Force team would go to rescue them.
But he also heard what Sadie was saying. He knew the reputation of the operatives at McKay-Taggart. The women were just as impressive as the men and he knew they would, and had, gone to the same lengths as the Delta Force teams he’d been imbedded with to rescue fellow soldiers and civilians alike.
Running a hand through his hair, he knew at some point he was going to have to tell Sadie she was right. Women were more than capable of kicking ass, and just as likely to go out of their way to protect the men they were serving with. It was a new way of thinking for him, but Chase was willing to be open minded if it meant getting closer to Sadie.
He looked through the peephole and blinked at who he saw on the other side of the door. He’d expected Fletch, or maybe even his sister, but he should’ve known he’d be seeing this visitor sooner or later.
Chase straightened and instead of immediately opening the door, gestured to Sadie. “You need to experience this for yourself.”
Perplexed, she stood up and practically ran to his side. Chase opened the door with a flourish and smirked when Sadie’s mouth fell open.
“Hi!” Fletch’s little girl said brightly when she saw them. “I’m Annie. I live next door. Fletch is my daddy. I wanted to come over and see if you were using your TV.”
“Uh…” Sadie looked at Chase.
He took pity on her and kneeled down so he was at eye level with Annie. “You remember me, right, squirt? Rayne is my sister.”
Her eyes got huge. “Oh yeah! Are you younger or older?”
“Younger.”
“Did you like having an older sister?”
“Yup.”
“I want a little brother. Like, bad, but Mommy says I have to have paycents. But I want him now so I can play with him. Mommy’s got a baby in her belly, but we don’t know if I’m having a brother or a sister.”
Chase swallowed his laughter. Annie was so earnest. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that by the time Emily had the baby, when he or she was old enough to want to play, she’d probably want nothing to do with him, as she’d be in her teens. “It’ll be a nice surprise either way,” he told the little girl.
“I guess. Now…are you using your TV?”
Chase looked up at Sadie. “Are we using the TV?”
“Uh…no. We were just finishing up lunch.”
“Cool.” And with that, Annie walked by Chase and went straight to the little living room. She picked up the remote control from the coffee table, clicked on the TV, and surfed through a few channels before settling on an episode of the Power Rangers. She climbed onto the couch, pulled her knees up to her chest, and lost herself in the cartoon.
“Well, all right then,” Sadie said, staring after the little girl. “Should we call her parents and let them know she’s over here?”
Chase shut the door then turned to face her. “No need. They’re aware she’s here.”
“How do you know?”
“Because if that was my little girl, I’d know every step she took outside my house. There’s no way I’d let her wander around otherwise. Besides, Fletch has cameras all over this property.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember you saying that.”
“Right. I was going to suggest earlier that we call my sister and see if she wants to join us on a short shopping trip. I know your aunt packed more stuff for you, but I’m thinking you wouldn’t mind going shopping anyway. And I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t like shopping with me, because I don’t shop, not in person. I buy everything I need online. But since Annie is here for who knows how long—and I’m not about to interrupt Fletch to ask him, because I’m guessing he’s taking advantage of his daughter being out of the house and is otherwise preoccupied, which is exactly what I’d do in his shoes—how about we hang out, watch the Power Rangers, and when Annie leaves, I call my sister?”
Sadie looked up at him in shock. “You want to go shopping? With me? I thought we had to stay under the radar so Jonathan couldn’t find me?”
“When I said we’re going shopping, I didn’t mean we’re gonna skip around Temple, opening ourselves up to whatever Jonathan might want to lob our way. I know you hate to be confined, and the last month hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone here…let you get out of the house for a bit while at the same time making sure I have your back. Unless you want to talk, that is. We can talk about whatever you left out of your recounting of what happened between you and Jonathan…” He let his words trail off.
“Shopping sounds great,” Sadie exclaimed in a fake cheerful tone.
At her reaction, he had his confirmation that she really had left something out. He hated that, but wasn’t going to pressure her…yet. “That’s what I thought.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t mind if you don’t want to talk about it…but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying to find out. And you should know, I was serious earlier, Sp
arky. You’re mine.”
At the shocked look on her face, Chase hoped she understood what he meant. He didn’t want or need a Dominant/submissive relationship, but he did want to care for Sadie. To make sure she had everything she needed and wanted, both in and out of the bedroom. That was what her being “his” meant to him. And part of that also meant finding out what she’d hidden from him earlier.
He could tell from her facial expressions and nonverbal cues that she’d left something out in her recounting of her time spent with Jonathan. He hadn’t pushed, hoping the greater the time since the events in San Antonio, and the longer she was around him, the safer she’d feel. But it was obvious that whatever had happened between her and Jonathan Jones was still haunting her. And he wanted to know what it was, but he wanted her to want to tell him. To trust him with it.
“Have you ever seen a Power Rangers cartoon before?” Sadie asked, looking back at the television. “It’s super violent, but there’s always a good message in there too.”
“Mmmm,” Chase murmured, letting her change the subject.
Chase took her hand and marveled anew at the feel of it in his own. He pulled her over to the couch and sat her down. “I’ll put the plates away. Stay,” he ordered when she went to stand back up.
Forty-five minutes later, there was another knock on the door.
“I got it,” Chase said softly, motioning for Sadie to continue sitting. Even though he was fairly sure it was one of Annie’s parents on the other side, he still wouldn’t let Sadie get up. One, she was still in danger, but two, it just wasn’t gentlemanly.
His dad had drilled it into him that there were just some things that men did, and one of those things was, when your woman was half asleep on the couch with a seven-year-old child snuggled in her lap, you do not make her get up to get the door, fetch you a beer, or make you supper.
He missed his parents. They’d died too early in a freak plane accident while on a cruise to Alaska, but he hadn’t realized until right this second the deeper implications of what their absence meant. They’d never meet the woman he married. They’d never meet his children, their grandchildren. And he’d never get to tell his father that he’d been absolutely right when he’d told him all those years ago that when he met the woman he wanted to make his own, he’d know it immediately.
Chase silently stalked to the door of the apartment and looked through the peephole. Fletch. He opened the door with a smile.
“Hey.”
“Jackson,” Fletch said with a slight grin. “You don’t happen to have my little sprite over here, do you?”
“You know I do,” Chase said, stepping away from the door.
Fletch lowered his voice. “Sorry, man. Couldn’t resist the chance to have my wife to myself for a while.”
“Figured as much. She’s watching Power Rangers with Sadie.” Chase turned to head back into the small living area, but Fletch stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
He motioned to the living room. “How’s she doing?”
Chase shook his head and lowered his voice. “On the outside, fine. But I think there’s something she’s still not talking about that happened when she and Jonathan were alone in that school. We know he wanted to get her pregnant. But other than the five minutes or so before her rescue, when he tried to handcuff her to a bed—which is part of the official report—she’s really skittish about discussing the rest of the time she spent alone with him. Says he knocked her out a second time.”
Fletch opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, then shut it again.
“What?”
“I was just going to say, whatever it is, go easy, man. She acts like she can take on the world single-handedly, but underneath that bluster and strength is one scared-as-hell woman.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Chase asked.
“I’m gonna say something else here, and I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. I don’t know you that well, but I know you’re Rayne’s brother, and she’d do absolutely anything for you. Anything. Rayne’s smart in a lot of ways, but she’s also not experienced enough to see what me and the others see. Somethin’s eatin’ at you. Same as it’s eatin’ at Sadie. Not sure what it is or when it happened, but just like you know that Sadie needs to get something off her chest, you need to do the same.”
“I’m fine,” Chase said immediately.
Fletch held up a hand. “Yeah, that’s what we all say, but it’s complete and utter bullshit. I’m not sayin’ you need to tell me. Or your sister. But you need to find someone you can unload that crap on. All of it. Not just the superficial stuff. One thing I’ve learned over the years being on the team is that if you don’t lance the wound, it continues to fester.”
The two men stared at each other without saying a word. Chase knew Fletch was right, but he wasn’t quite ready to talk to anyone else about the Delta Force team that had been murdered yet. He wasn’t sure why he’d told Sadie, except that it had felt right. The good men who were blown up right in front of his eyes. They had families…children. Why he’d survived when they hadn’t… It hadn’t made sense to him then and it didn’t make sense to him even today.
He nodded once at Fletch. A brief movement of his head.
Fletch returned the nod and clapped Chase on the back. “Right, so…my monkey cause any problems?”
“Of course not. You have your hands full though,” Chase told the other man.
“Yup. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“She informed us that she wants her little brother…like pronto.”
Fletch chuckled. “Yeah, she tells us that every other day too. We keep telling her she has to be patient. That the baby inside Mommy’s belly isn’t done growing yet, but she doesn’t seem to care much.”
“Everything okay with Em?” Chase tried to ask delicately.
“She’s good. The baby is progressing normally. And in the meantime, we’re enjoying the hell out of her increased libido.”
Chase chuckled. “I bet you are. But word of warning…”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want to ever know anything about my sister and Ghost’s love life. That’s just TMI, you know?”
Fletch outright laughed. When he got himself under control, he said, “I’ll let him know.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Daddddddy!”
Fletch had just enough time to turn and open his arms before a little bundle of messy hair and childlike exuberance threw herself into his arms. “Hey, sprite. Have a good time?”
She nodded against his shoulder. “Yeah! The Maze monster captured the Power Rangers, but Ryan was able to use his smarts instead of his guns and they gotted free. But then Fury was all like, pew pew pew, and the ranger shot back, pew pew pew, and the bad guys were all dead!”
Fletch shook his head. “We need to find you a new show, squirt.”
Annie scrunched up her forehead and frowned up at him. “Why?”
“Pew, pew, pew?”
The little girl giggled.
Chase was grinning at the big bad Delta Force soldier snuggling with his little girl—until he turned his head and looked at Sadie.
Sadie was standing by the couch, arms crossed over her chest and a faraway look in her eyes. Chase’s feet were moving before his brain gave them the command to do so.
He stood in front of her and asked in a soft tone, “Sadie?”
She jerked and her eyes swung up to his. “Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“What were you thinking just now?”
She shrugged, but said in a quiet voice, “Just about some of the kids at the school down in San Antonio.”
Chase’s eyes gentled, and he put a hand up and stroked the apple of her cheek with his thumb.
Her head bobbed a fraction of an inch. “They were so innocent. Jeremiah and Jonathan really screwed them up. They brainwashed them into thinking what they were doing to them was normal. That
sex between adults and kids was fine. I worry about where they are now, who they’ve living with, what they’re thinking. They have to be so confused.”
Chase wasn’t sure what to say to make her feel better.
Fletch’s voice sounded from behind Chase. “With counseling, hopefully they’ll be okay, Sadie.”
She nodded but didn’t look convinced.
“Put me down, Daddy,” Annie said softly.
Fletch leaned over and placed Annie on her feet. The little girl immediately went over to where Sadie was standing and wrapped her arms around her waist. She laid her head on Sadie’s belly and simply held her.
Chase watched as Sadie’s surprised gaze went from him, to Fletch, and finally down to Annie. He saw the moment she lost the iron control she’d been holding on to. Her arms went around Annie and her head drooped. Chase took a step toward the two and put one hand on Annie’s head and the other on the side of Sadie’s neck. They stood like that for several moments before Annie lifted her head and looked up to the woman she had her arms around.
“Feel better?”
Sadie gave her a wobbly smile. “Yeah, thanks, Annie. Your hug is amazing.”
“I know,” Annie said, as if she knew her arms held magical powers and it was no big thing. “Wanna see my Army man? I used to have two, but my boyfriend has the other one. He lives out in California and we’re gonna get married someday.”
“What?”
Fletch broke in before Annie could explain. “Not now, squirt. Sadie and Jackson have stuff they need to do.”
“What stuff?” Annie asked, looking up at Sadie.
Sadie had no idea, so she turned her gaze to Chase in question.
“We’re meeting with Rayne later.”
“Oooooh, I haven’t seen Rayne in forever!” Annie gushed. “Can I come too? Please, please, please, please?”
“You saw her two days ago, Annie. And no, you can’t go with Chase and Sadie. We’re going to go to Fort Hood and check out that new obstacle course…remember?”