Her Invisible Soldier: A Military Romance with a Twist

by Grace Risata

  “No. We’re going. I made brownies just for the occasion! Now get your ass in the car, Mr. Wade. The clock is ticking.”

  I sighed in resignation and followed her out to the Mustang. It’s not my fault that I walked a little slower and admired her perfect body. She captivated me. Long, lean legs that ended in red strappy high heeled sandals begged for my touch. The tightest little ass called out for me to squeeze it. That silky smooth skin on her neck that tasted like heaven.

  “Why do you keep staring at me, weirdo?” she asked, noticing my strange behavior. Yes, I looked at her all the time, but this was different. It’s not like I could admit my fear to Alyce and let her know that I was memorizing every single inch of her in case today went so poorly that she never wanted to see me again.

  “You’re incredible,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss her passionately, desperate to convey what she meant to me with actions instead of words. I had ulterior motives when I made love to her on Sunday. I needed her to understand the depth of my feelings, and to care about me so strongly that she wouldn’t leave after she met my family.

  “Quit stalling and get in the car,” she demanded, although I couldn’t help but notice the satisfied smile on her face or the way her breathing sped up.

  “Are you sure? We could stay here and watch movies like we did last night.”

  Alyce had struggled to come up with a movie that wouldn’t have any triggers or upset me. She ended up with ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and actually made me cover my eyes during the parts with the witch going up in flames and the flying monkeys. I had to ask what was frightening about a flying monkey and she explained they gave her nightmares as a kid. She was so adorable it was ridiculous.

  “I will pick you up and put you in the car,” she threatened, hands on her hips.

  “You really are a disobedient schoolgirl, aren’t you?” I asked seductively, swatting her rear end while I opened the door and put on my seatbelt. She walked around to her side of the car, got situated, and we were on our way.

  “I thought of a way to pass the time while we make the hour drive to your parent’s house,” she explained with a devious grin. “We can play the questions game. You get a question and then I get a question. The topic is your family because I don’t know anything about them.”

  “There’s nothing to know,” I insisted, looking out the window and already hating this game before it even began.

  “You knew a lot about my grandpa before you met him. I gave you conversation pointers and mentioned his likes and dislikes. I expect the same courtesy.”

  “They like to be assholes. They dislike anything that doesn’t adhere to their impossible standards. Game over.”

  She frowned and I could tell that I better change my attitude. There was no sense in pissing her off before we got there. Alyce would eventually freak out, why make it sooner than necessary?

  “What kind of brownies did you make?”

  “Double chocolate. The very same recipe as the ones you spit on. Why do you ask?”

  “I was letting you earn a question. You messed up already. Would you like to ask a question now?”

  Alyce turned onto a street that would eventually take us to the highway, and I contemplated jumping out of the moving car.

  “Why are you dressed so formally? Are you trying to prove something or impress them by acting like someone you’re not?”

  “Not at all,” I insisted. “I’m trying to make this as easy as possible for you by giving them one less thing to bitch about. Had I shown up on their front door wearing jeans and sneakers instead of custom made Oxford shoes and matching trousers, it would have caused an uproar.”

  “Your shoes are custom made?”

  Fuck. That’s the one thing she focuses on? Under normal circumstances, I would have been upset about the slip-up, but she was going to find out soon enough what kind of an upbringing I had. No use trying to hide it now.

  “My point is that certain attire is expected. I want to start off on the right foot to give them less ammunition to use against me. It’s a lot easier to hide the tattoos.”

  “Do you always have to hide your true self from them?” she asked with concern.

  “You’re out of questions, Alyce.”

  I turned up the radio and hoped she would let it go. Of course, she didn’t. The stubborn woman pointed to something on the side of the road and mumbled so quietly I couldn’t hear her.

  “What did you say?”

  “It was made up gibberish. I needed to get you to ask me what I said so I could earn another question.”

  Damn. She’s good.

  “Ask it then.”

  “Which of your siblings do you like the best?”

  I knew right away that this was a trick question. I hadn’t told her a damn thing about my brother or sister. She was fishing around to find out if I even had any siblings at all. Might as well reward her clever tactic.

  “Desiree is six years younger than me, making her twenty-seven years old. Drew is the baby of the family at twenty-five. They’re both spoiled, selfish, and entitled. We have nothing in common and I don’t talk to them. The age difference between us never helped matters either. In all honesty, they make Kassie look sweet and innocent.”

  Also causing tension was the fact that I was my grandma’s favorite and she doted on me while virtually ignoring them after seeing what little monsters they’d turned into.

  “Okay…”

  Clearly she was not expecting that answer. We drove in silence with the radio as our mediator, breaking up the awkwardness of a strange situation.

  “Can I tell you what question you should be asking me?” I figured I might as well try and give her a small warning before we arrived at the compound and all hell broke loose.

  “Yes,” she replied apprehensively.

  “Ask me why I didn’t want to go today.”

  “Why didn’t you want to go today?” Alyce whispered, hands gripping the steering wheel too tightly, eyes on the road and unable to look in my direction.

  “My biggest fear is that you’ll judge me based on what you see today, and that everything we’ve built together will be forgotten. You know who I am, Alyce. I’ve treated you as an equal. Remember how you feel about me right now, and don’t let my family jeopardize our relationship. Promise me.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re being so vague and paranoid. What could possibly go wrong? Unless your family is butchering people on their front porch while you cheer them on, I really don’t see how anything could make me run for the hills.”

  “Promise me.”

  She put her hand over her heart and recited a made-up pledge.

  “I, Alyce Wendt, do solemnly swear not to let anything I see today change my feelings for Dixon Wade.”

  If only she meant that, I could finally start to relax. Well, I’m sure she means it now, but her feelings will change once she meets the assholes that brought me into the world.

  Sure enough, I pointed to a gated community and informed her that we’d reached our destination.

  “This looks fancy,” she mumbled, having no clue about what she was getting into. Looks can be deceiving, sweet cheeks. Evil lurks right around the corner.

  “Approach the guard post slowly, let me flash my identification, and then you’re going to take a winding road until you reach the last house on the left.”

  She did as I instructed and we were greeted by a young man with the physique of a body builder. I could take him with one hand tied behind my back, but that’s not what we were here for today.

  “Hello, folks,” the douchebag greeted us, giving Alyce’s mustang a disapproving glare. “Are you lost?”

  “My name is Dixon Wade and I’m here for the Fourth of July party. Are you going to let us in or do I have to call my father?” I snarled threateningly, not appreciating the way he assumed we didn’t belong there.

  I handed over my license to prove my identity, and the sniveling little prick began to apologize
up and down.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Wade. Please, go right in. It’s entirely my mistake. There’s no need to bother your father about this at all, sir.”

  Mmhmm. In the space of thirty seconds, I went from being a party crasher to ‘Mr. Wade, sir.’ Fucking ass-kissing idiot.

  I snatched my license out of his hand and urged Alyce to move it along. If I had to spend any more time with this guy, I was going to teach him a lesson about respect.

  This had to be a new record. Normally I held my rage in check until I at least laid eyes on my family. Now I was ready to erupt after merely pulling onto their street. Lovely.

  “Are you okay?” Alyce asked, shooting me a look out of the corner of her eye. “I sense a full blown temper tantrum is imminent.”

  Yes, my girl knew me all too well.

  Trying to change the subject and divert her attention, I pointed to a sprawling compound safely hidden behind an expansive rock wall.

  “Welcome home, sweet cheeks. Ready to meet mom and dad?”

  “Holy shit,” she murmured, no doubt surprised at the seven foot tall entry gate designed to keep out the riff raff.

  I told her the key code and then waited for her reaction after she pulled into the driveway and feasted her eyes on my house.

  No. House is the wrong word. It was a mansion built to rival the finest of Southern Plantations. Complete with massive white columns, elegant wrought iron railings, and the most opulent of landscaping, the place was impressive to say the least.

  “What does your family do for a living, Dixon? Rob banks?”

  And here it was. The moment I’d been waiting for. Or dreading. Her reaction to my answer would either make or break our relationship.

  “Have you ever heard of Wade Construction?”

  “Holy Hell,” she stammered as realization flickered across her face. “Your father is Arthur Wade?”

  Fuck.

  I was a goner.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Are you fucking kidding me? Dixon is not only a member of the Wade family, but Arthur is his dad? No wonder he wanted to keep me as far away from them as possible.

  I tried not to hyperventilate while several concrete facts streamed through my head.

  Number one…Wade Construction was a highly successful real estate developer due to Arthur Wade’s ability to get lucrative contracts by using deceptive bidding practices. He started out as a small fish in a big pond and soon grew in size until he ate up all the little guys and created a monopoly by scaring off his competitors.

  Number two…the only reason I knew all this, is because Arthur Wade was prominently featured on our local Michigan news for a solid three months after a scandal involving his discriminatory hiring practices. The man was fond of supporting his own race and primarily hired young white men while spurning any applicants that were of color…except for the illegal immigrants. Those he loved. It turns out that Arthur got off on exploiting foreigners. Rumor had it that the evil prick offered them a choice: work for less than minimum wage or he’d have them deported. An undercover police officer set up a sting operation in order to catch the crook. Arthur was arrested after being exposed and we hadn’t really heard anything in the two years since.

  Number three…Dixon was Arthur Wade’s son.

  What the fuck had I gotten myself into?

  “Judging by the look on your face right now, I’d have to guess that you’ve heard of my father, Alyce.”

  Duh. I didn’t live under a rock. Everyone in the entire state had heard of his father.

  “Luke Skywalker,” I mumbled. Yes. That was it. Luke Skywalker had Darth Vader for a father, yet he turned out fine and saved the galactic empire. Ooh. Does that make me Princess Leia? I’m sure as fuck not being Jabba the Hut.

  Damn it. Focus, Alyce. You’re about to walk into the lion’s den.

  I took a deep breath and stared deeply into Dixon’s eyes.

  “This doesn’t change anything,” I insisted. “Have you ever watched Star Wars? We’ll be fine. Just don’t go to the dark side.”

  My words of wisdom did nothing to ease Dixon’s anxiety.

  “Come on, man. Let’s go make our grand entrance and see if they have any fancy food. Maybe I should leave my brownies in the car? I don’t think my aluminum pan of homemade crap will fit into the high society china that’s probably adorning a flower-covered table full of petit fours.”

  “Have you ever eaten a petit four?” he asked, mouth turned up in amusement and a little bit of relief.

  “No,” I admitted. I had a feeling that Dixon experienced a lot of the finer things in life that I had only imagined thus far. “And don’t think I didn’t just figure out that your Rolex is actually real!”

  “It was a twenty-first birthday present from my grandma. She was the only decent member of the entire family. If she were here today, I would take pride in introducing you to her. Grandma Sophie would have loved you, Alyce. The two of you shared a similar ‘don’t fuck with me’ attitude. Anything worth knowing I learned from her.”

  Thank goodness he actually had a positive role model in his life.

  “She’s deceased?”

  “Yes,” he replied sadly. “I know she’s in a better place. The tough old bird is probably looking down from Heaven right now and yelling, ‘why in the hell did you drag her into this shitstorm, boy? Take her for a fast food burger and get your ass home!’ She wasn’t afraid of throwing out a curse word every now and then.”

  “Grandma Sophie sounds like my kind of girl.”

  Dixon nodded his head, reached into the backseat, and grabbed my brownies.

  “Let’s go, sweet cheeks. If anyone dares tell you that these brownies don’t belong at the table, they’ll have to deal with me.”

  He used his free hand to guide me by the small of my back, and we made the long walk up his driveway to an ominous fate.

  “Remember your promise, Alyce. Please. I’m still me. Don’t forget that.”

  Dixon rang the doorbell as though he were a guest instead of someone who had lived inside those very walls. It seemed strange to me. I suppose I also knocked before using my key to grandpa’s house, but that was only because he was hard of hearing and I didn’t want a gun shoved in my face.

  On second thought, the term ‘strange’ definitely applies to me too.

  “Welcome to the Wade Fourth of July Extravaganza,” a polite maid spoke in greeting as she opened the door. “Ooh, Mr. Dixon! I never expected to see you here today. It’s good to have you home, sir. Are you well?”

  The woman appeared to be in her early sixties and seemed genuinely glad to see the man. The feeling must have been mutual, because he gave her a quick hug.

  “Don’t let your father see you being nice to the help,” she chastised while looking around fearfully. “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

  “Look at me, Anita! Do you think I’m scared? Only one person tells me what to do and she’s actually someone I’d like you to meet.”

  Dixon stepped aside and introduced me.

  “Alyce, I’d like you to meet Anita. She kept me in line and made sure I didn’t get caught when I was being a stupid teenager. Anita, this is my girlfriend, Alyce. She comes in a tiny package, but don’t let that fool you. The woman is lethal.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at his introduction as I graciously reached out in an attempt to shake her hand. Instead of returning my gesture, Anita simply shook her head and slowly backed up as if she were looking at a ghost.

  “Oh, Mr. Dixon. What have you gotten yourself into? This isn’t going to go over very well with the family,” she tsk tsked. “Not…at…all.”

  I let my hand fall limply to my side. Just wonderful. If the maid didn’t accept me, how the hell did I expect to fare with the actual family? Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one affected by Anita’s cold demeanor.

  “Thank you for your opinion, Anita,” Dixon spat through gritted teeth. “Good day.”

  And that w
as the end of that.

  I was quickly dragged through the house before I even had a chance to ogle my lavish surroundings. It’s not like I would have known what the decorations really were anyway. If you’ve seen one elaborate hand painted picture with a gold frame, you’ve seen them all.

  “Stop,” I insisted, squeezing Dixon’s hand and freezing in front of a portrait of a man and a tree. “Is that a Renoir?”

  I was only fucking with him to break the ice and loosen things up a little bit. I expected him to laugh and tell me it cost a couple hundred bucks at a local furniture store. He did no such thing.

  “No, they aren’t fans of the impressionist style. Most of the art you’ll see around here is Italian, not French.”

  Whoa. The man who watches porn is a connoisseur of fine art now? I’ve entered the twilight zone.

  We had almost made it to the patio, when a man suddenly stepped out from behind a door and blocked our way. I recognized him instantly.

  Arthur fucking Wade. In the flesh. Standing in front of me and breaking into a large smile as he nearly ran into his son.

  “Dixon!” he exclaimed with joy. “It’s about time you arrived!”

  The father enveloped his son in a masculine squeeze, clapping the man on the back as only guys do, and then pulled away. I stood off to the side in order to let them have their moment, yet I was still close enough to hear the words exchanged.

  “You’re damn lucky you came today,” Arthur growled. “This is the event of the season and it would have reflected badly upon the family had you chosen to ignore the invitation.”

  Ooh. Father Dearest likes to threaten his son? Asshole.

  Before Dixon had a chance to react, our little group was joined by another brave newcomer who also looked familiar from the evening news. The woman was a sharp visual contrast from her husband.

  While Arthur Wade was tall, charismatic, and struck a very imposing posture, his wife was short, meek, and had the aura of someone not accustomed to speaking her mind. I suppose they made a good team due to the fact that one of them gave all the orders and the other obeyed without question.