by Gemma Hart
“Yeah. Will you teach something tomorrow as well?”
“Are you coming back?”
“Will you talk more about home tourism?”
It slowly dawned on me that they had enjoyed the lecture. I hadn’t done a terrible job.
Before I could answer, Jeannie stepped in. As overseer of the event, she had been on hand throughout my class. “Of course!” she answered with a reassuring smile. “Sofia will be available for both days of the Retreat so please come back tomorrow for her next lecture!”
The people smiled, relieved, and murmured about their intent to go home and research all the information I had just given them.
I stepped off the makeshift podium and sighed as Jeannie enveloped me into a tight embrace.
“You were wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” she cried. “I completely underestimated you, my dear! You are most certainly more than just a pretty face!”
“She definitely is,” a deep voice said from behind us.
Jeannie and I whirled around and saw Xander standing there, his expression indiscernible. He seemed wryly surprised. He gave Jeannie a peck on the cheek.
“Are the boys all done?” she asked.
“Yup,” he said. “And only three scraped knees and a sprained wrist at the end of the day.”
“A miracle, indeed!” Jeannie said with a laugh, clearly understanding the mischief of little boys. “Let me see them off then!”
She left in a whirl of brightly colored fabrics and enthusiasm, leaving me and Xander alone in the empty tent.
A beat of silence fell between us before Xander asked, “How did you know all that?” he asked, making a gesture towards the podium.
I leaned my butt on top of a desk, my arms crossed. “I went to school for it,” I said simply.
“You went to school for business?” he asked, clearly surprised.
I shrugged. “Well, sort of. I originally went to college to learn more about politics. International relations and all that. But I changed to business about halfway through my sophomore year.”
“Why?” Xander asked.
“Because my country was going bankrupt,” I replied baldly, making Xander raise a brow in surprise at my frankness. “Being kept away, I had no means to influence policy or regulations and couldn’t properly oversee trade agreements. Pryto had control and he ran the country into the ground. His specialty is defense and perhaps in a war, he’d be useful, but in economics, he is terrible. Inflation rose and the economy tanked once he gained majority power. But he hides it all under the cover of bad foreign trade agreements or regulations that I had somehow signed my name to.” My lips tightened. “Despite the fact that I hadn’t stepped foot inside Parliament in over a decade.”
“So you learned about business so that once you got a chance, you’d fix your country,” Xander finished. He spoke slowly, as if the realization was dawning on him as he spoke.
I nodded.
“I know that sounds dumb and naïve. One person can’t fix a whole country. But I thought it’d be irresponsible of me to not at least educate myself on the issues.”
Xander stared at me before crossing his arms. He furrowed his brows. I could tell he was trying to figure me out. “I’m confused,” he said. “Not to be disrespectful but frankly, you never looked like a student. There were photos of you always out in the city or at some party. When did you have time for a degree?”
I pursed my lips in consideration before nodding. I gave him a fair look. “I probably went a touch too wild once I finished school in Switzerland and became a legal adult. It was addicting to have people say and do nice things for me for once. And I’ll be the first to admit I might’ve let it get a little too far into my head. But that doesn’t mean I stopped caring for Loranza.”
Xander stood there, his arms still crossed, as he looked me over. His eyes took on a new light as if he was seeing a different side of me. I wondered if I had looked so bad to him before that just the mere idea of a degree raised me into a higher light.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked nervously.
Xander paused a moment before a slow grin swept across his face. His eyes warmed and I almost felt like I was glowing as I melted under his gaze.
“I’m thinking, you were probably better off not learning how to knit after all,” he said. His eyes took me in, seeing me more completely. “Being too perfect is obnoxious.” He winked at me playfully.
And my heart burst.
Chapter Ten
Xander
“What’s wrong, Tyler? What’s with the long face?” I asked the boy sitting grouchily on a stump. His face was scrunched up into a grimace and he hadn’t participated in any of the activities I had led the kids in.
While most of the other boys were busy setting up a survival lean-to, Tyler had been kicking his shoe into the dirt, quiet and grumpy.
When Tyler didn’t answer me, a smaller boy next to me piped up, “He’s just mad that his girlfriend ignored him yesterday.”
At this Tyler whipped his head up, his eyes blazing. “She didn’t ignore me!” he roared. “And she’s not my girlfriend!”
The smaller boy smirked smugly and said, “Oh yeah? Then how come you were making those googly eyes at her the other day?” he demanded with a confident smile that far outstripped his seven year old body.
Tyler stood up, ready to pummel the kid for the jokes when I put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. I knuckled the instigator’s head and pushed him off towards the rest of the group so he couldn’t stir up more trouble.
Then I turned towards Tyler, squatting down to his height.
“So what’s the deal here, Tyler?” I asked conversationally. ”You want to spend the whole day as a literal bump on a log?”
Tyler crossed his arms in a stubborn gesture as he sat back down on the stump, his chin tucked in towards his chest as he glared out on the world. I rubbed a hand against my mouth to stop myself from laughing at the little angry tyrant.
Tyler didn’t say anything and I waited him out. I knew if he wanted to talk, he’d talk.
I kept a careful watch over the other boys as they gathered branches and weaved some leaves to make their lean-tos. The committee had only come up with a loose schedule of activities for the kids and for the boys they had ideas like rope knotting and hiking. But these are kids who had grown up in these parts. Most of them knew the lands like the back of their own hands. Hikes would be pointless.
So instead, I took advantage of my Special Forces training and decided to do a mini survival course. And first thing was learning to build a shelter.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Tyler suddenly grumbled by me.
I looked over in surprise as the boy finally opened up.
“Oh no?” I said casually. “Who’s not your girlfriend?”
Tyler pouted a little before answering, “Angelica.”
This time, I rubbed my fist even harder against my mouth. Tyler was ten years old and Angelica was sixteen. No wonder Tyler was grumpy. Angelica was knee deep in boy chasing but unfortunately for Tyler, they were all boys sixteen or older. Tyler stood no chance.
“Well, you know,” I said slowly, keeping my voice casual and even which was hard since I was dying to wheeze with laughter, “there’s more than one girl in town.”
Tyler glared at me, clearly frustrated I wasn’t even trying to understand his feelings.
“I like her,” he said stubbornly, and I respected his loyalty.
I nodded. “I understand,” I said gravely. “You know, I’ve liked girls who didn’t always notice me as well.”
Tyler looked over at me suspiciously, clearly wondering if I was just pandering. “Like who?”
“Oh lots,” I answered breezily. “Either they didn’t take notice or sometimes, we just weren’t right for each other.”
“Because she’s ‘a grown woman who likes men’?” Tyler asked, clearly mimicking words that Angelica must’ve said to him.
I hid my smile.
“Yeah, something like that,” I said.
Actually, a lot of times, the women I met in the past never worked out with me because they never really understood my life. They couldn’t understand Easy Team. All they saw was the blood and danger and grime and they couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t give it up for them.
But what they didn’t see were the starving children held captive by cruel warlords. They didn’t see the abused and raped women who had no choice but to submit quietly to drug cartels and gangs. They didn’t see the families torn asunder with fathers having to sell daughters or mother abandoning sons because of dangerous revolutions, coups, or gangs.
And once you see all those things, how could you ever turn your back?
Every bullet I had taken, every cut, every break—none of it ever came close to stopping me from doing what I do. Too many people needed me and I couldn’t ignore their pleas.
In a lot of ways, I was beginning to see those very qualities in Sofia. She had been beaten and abused by her own people. She had been exiled growing up and now they were calling for her head after being impoverished by a usurper. And yet, she was determined to stay loyal to her people. She had a responsibility as their princess and future queen and she refused to abandon them.
Despite the abuse, she remained strong. Despite the exile, she got her education. And despite the danger, she still fought for her crown.
She was more than just a spoiled princess.
That much was becoming clearer each day.
I had never been so impressed than when I had caught the end of Sofia’s lecture. The woman clearly knew her shit.
Standing there, wearing jeans and a blue flannel that made her skin look like milk and her hair look like a golden copper penny, my heart pounded like a schoolboy’s. No matter how she dressed, she always seemed to stand out in a crowd. The way the jeans hugged her ass and thighs, the way her soft hair fell in loose waves across her slim shoulders…she was always different, unique.
And also fucking smart as hell, apparently.
Even today, on the second day of the Retreat, I had heard people still talking about Sofia’s class from yesterday. People were praising her, marveling at her creative advice and solutions, and I felt my chest swell with pride in hearing it.
“How’d you make them change their mind?” Tyler asked, interrupting my own thoughts.
I looked over at the boy and smiled, tousling his hair.
“I didn’t,” I said honestly. “If someone isn’t interested in you, then that’s their choice. That’s their feelings. You have to respect that. Instead, you find a woman who likes you for you. It’s more rewarding finding the right woman who fits you like a puzzle piece than to try and twist yourself like a pretzel to fit the wrong woman.”
Tyler’s pout was still there but diminished a little. He looked up at me with a look of genuine confusion and despair. “But there’s no one else besides Angelica,” he whined.
This time, I did laugh. “Whaddya talk! Are you kidding? What about Daisy Hook? Or Jane Allen?” I said, naming more age appropriate girls. “I saw Paula Tennant giving you a wink yesterday as you walked home.”
Tyler’s expression changed to astonishment. “She did?” he asked, a tiny glimmer of hope in his voice.
I grinned. “Yes she did. So why don’t you—”
“Xander! Xander!”
I turned around and saw little Jane Allen running towards me, her face red with exertion. I rose in surprise, seeing the little girl right after naming her. Tyler rose next to me, clearly surprised as well.
“Xander!” she cried out as she ran.
“What is it?” I asked as the girl stopped in front of me, out of breath and wincing at the stitch in her side. I put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. “What is it, Jane?”
The girl pointed behind her. “The…the river!” she breathed in gasps. “Teacher fell in the river!”
I immediately straightened hearing this. There was a river that was just on the eastern edge of town. It was normally a picturesque river to walk by or swim in but some years it flooded.
And this was one of those years.
I had heard about the flooded river and knew to keep away from it till the water receded to a safer level.
My body tightened in preparation. I told Tyler to mind the boys till I returned.
“Let me come with you! I can help!” Tyler whined.
“No,” I said firmly. “It’s too dangerous. We don’t need more people falling in. Stay here and watch the boys. Once I get into town, I’ll send someone out here. But until then, be the big man and watch the kids.”
Tyler’s chest swelled with pride at my words and he gave me a firm nod.
To save time, I picked Jane up into my arms and started towards town. “Who?” I asked her. “Which teacher fell into the river? Was it just one?”
Jane shook her head, her brown pigtails flying. “We made boats in crafts and we wanted to sail them,” Jane explained. “Monica and Heda fell in so teacher swam after them. But the water was so strong!”
“The river’s flooded. You shouldn’t have been near it in the first place,” I said a little sternly. What foolheaded teacher would take the kids to the river when it was flooded? “Which teacher was it? Holly? Tory?”
Jane shook her head. “The new one,” she said. “Miss Sofia.”
My heart stopped.
My pulse froze.
I nearly jerked to a stop at the girl’s words.
But Sofia wasn’t teaching until later today. Her class was for the adults anyway. What was she doing with the kids?
But even as I wondered, I had a good idea. We had arrived to town early and I could just imagine Sofia offering her services to the town till the time for her classes came.
“You’re sure?” I said, my heart about to break out of my ribs. “You’re sure it’s Miss Sofia?”
The little girl nodded. “She went in after Monica and Heda to save them.”
Immediately I broke out into a run. Jane gasped as she gripped onto my neck, surprised by my sudden burst of speed.
Oh you stupid brat. You better not be hurt! I swear to god, you just better not be hurt. Because if you’re dead, I swear I’m going to kill you!
I swallowed. I gripped Jane closer as I ran as fast as I could, my feet barely touching the ground.
Just don’t be hurt.
Sofia.
Just don’t be hurt.
***
“Dan! Try to tie off the rope onto that branch! Tie it there in the middle!”
“Can anyone find a way to cross to the other side? Maybe we can pull her in from the other side!”
I heard the voices shouting as I approached the swollen river.
The water nearly flew over rocks and branches as the current pulsed with a lively beat that was fast and ferocious.
I had left Jane back in town as I had hurried in. By the river, I saw Jeannie frantically trying to organize rescuers and some men trying to find a way to rope a swimmer to dive in.
“Oh Xander!” Jeannie cried, immediately spotting me. Her face was pale and her eyes wide and frantic. “I’m so glad Janey got to you! I knew you were our strongest swimmer. I feel so awful!” She twisted her hands. “I should’ve told her not to go to the river. That poor girl wouldn’t know about how much the river’s swelled. I should’ve told her!”
“Never mind that now,” I said, putting a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Where is she? Where are the kids?”
I scanned the rushing waters but couldn’t see any sign of Sofia and that made my pulse run that much faster.
“The girls are fine,” Jeannie said, pointing distantly towards town. “Sofia had swam in after them and managed to rescue the two girls somehow. But I think she was so exhausted after doing that that she didn’t have the energy to swim against the current back to land.”
Tears began to well up in the older woman’s eyes. “I should’ve told her!” she chastised herself again, her voice
hoarse with emotion.
I gave Jeannie a quick squeeze on her shoulder before rushing towards the men at the bank.
“Where is she?” I demanded. “Where is Sofia?”
Dan, one of the men from town, pointed to two large broken tree trunks that X-ed the far bank of the river. They were huge trunks but with enough gaps through them that the river pulsed rapidly beneath them.
“She’s clinging to one of the trunks there. She’s just too winded to swim in this current. It’s amazing she was able to rescue those kids. We’re trying to find a good place to dive in and get her but at the angle she’s in, it’s a direct cross against the current. There’s no guarantee we won’t get swept away, even with the rope.”
Dan shook his head. “It’s a strong one this year,” he said with grim resignation.
I looked at the rope he held in his hands. I reached for it.
“Give it to me,” I said as I already began tying the rope to my waist.
Dan balked at me. “I know you’re a strong swimmer, Xan,” he started. “But this is one bad flood. There are some broken trunks that the river broke this year. If you get pushed out too far or the river hits you wrong, you could get stabbed underwater by a tree or crushed by a boulder.”
I tugged on the rope silently to make sure it was securely anchored. “Pull in when you see me with her,” I said. I looked over and saw that Tucker and Craig were by the bank as well. I gave them a nod. “Pull and pull hard.”
Dan looked like he wanted to try and say something to stop me but we both knew there was no other option here. In a small town like this, we had nothing like a fire department or ambulance. We needed to rely on ourselves.
I took off my jacket to reduce drag and kicked off my shoes. And taking in a deep breath, I dove into the frigid waters.
FUCK!
That was cold. It was like being smacked with a thousand icy needles. But more than the cold, my body froze from the idea that Sofia had been in this water for nearly an hour. If I didn’t get her out soon, she was at serious risk of hypothermia.
I immediately moved my arms, cutting through the pounding river as best I could. My muscles were frozen stiff and it felt like I was swimming with glass bones but ignored it all and kept swimming towards the fallen tree trunks, praying that Sofia was still hidden behind them.