She looked at Wayde. “You don’t have to if you’re not ready,” he said.
“No, I’ll try, plus I can tell you would like to see Smith and Wesson in action,” she said to Wayde.
Wayde placed his hand over her shoulder and Warren felt that jealous feeling he had when they first approached the lake to see Wayde with Cali. He knew nothing was going on romantically and that Wayde was married, but still, he was jealous. He thought this could be an opportunity to get to know Cali better. Seemed to him that she was scared of dogs and guns, two things that wouldn’t be a fit for him and his brothers, but he wondered why.
“Don’t do this for me, do it for you, Cali,” he whispered to her but Warren and Culhane heard. Warren wondered what that meant.
“We’ll follow you and watch the dogs,” she said.
Warren gave her a nod. “Okay, then, let’s head out.”
* * * *
Cali was shaking. Under normal circumstances she had shaky hands, and it wasn’t something she had control over. From the time Culhane and Warren showed up with the two, huge German shepherds, she was worse than ever. They were large men in both physical display as well as personality. Add in the guns, the camo attire, and the military dogs, and holy shit was she having a difficult time trying to act tough and unaffected.
The truth was, she shouldn’t be here. She should not expose herself to things, actions, characteristics that reminded her of the abduction, being a prisoner, and being forced to succumb to the demands, abuse, and power of her captors. Wayde kept looking at her, and she knew that he knew this was a bad idea, yet he wouldn’t make a scene and excuses. She said she was fine with it and she was trying to be tough. She didn’t know why this feeling, this need to be strong and brave in front of Culhane and Warren, was so intense. She got through facing the dogs. What could go wrong now with Wayde right by her side?
She watched and listened as Culhane and Warren gave commands to the dogs. They were truly beautiful and amazing animals. She couldn’t help but feel badly for the ones that couldn’t get placed with soldiers in their civilian homes. They should all be so lucky to receive love, compassion, and positive attention in a safe environment after sacrificing so much.
“I’m going to head up there on the ridge to set some of these targets up. I’ll add a bunch lower for you, Cali, to practice,” Warren said and then grabbed the duffel bag and gave a whistle. Smith followed him up. Wesson sat beside Cali and nudged her shaking hand. She saw Culhane squint his eyes and watch what happened. She straightened her shoulders, again needing to be tough, but petted Wesson.
“We’ll set up over here,” Culhane said and Wayde started helping him with the guns. She started to get anxious. Her palms were sweating and shaking a little harder. She was staring at the back of Culhane as Smith and Warren came back down the hill. She tried to focus on where the targets were.
She jerked when the first shot rang out. It was loud, and being this close kind of changed her attitude to being tough.
She took in the sight of Culhane’s jacket and the swirl of camouflage pattern along every bit of it. She knew he was covered with tattoos, and a glance at Warren had her wondering if he had any, too.
“You okay with this?” Wayde asked her but it barely registered. Warren bent down and shot four in a row.
“Nice,” Culhane stated and then looked at Wayde.
“Go for it,” he said to Wayde. Wayde stepped over, took out his rifle, and lined his sights on the targets. She was staring at Culhane’s back when the shots rang out. One, two, three.
She hadn’t expected Warren to follow and shoot another four times. Something clicked. Her mind went black and she remembered the one night in the darkness of the cage and only having her senses of hearing and smell to know what was happening. It was pitch black. The guards had been drinking and poked her while she was in the cage. They used the barrels of their guns. Long, semi-automatic, she believed, for when they fired them, the number of bullets released couldn’t be counted. She had begged them to stop and one shoved the barrel hard against her head.
She jerked a moment. She heard more shots, but her mind went to the sound that night. She couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face, but she heard the cries of torture. She thought she heard a woman screaming, then bullets going off and silence. She shivered and recalled being so scared because she couldn’t see, and that’s when she heard the footsteps coming across the dirty flooring, and then she heard the deep male voice. The foreign accent before the sound of his hands on the cage, shaking it.
Dogs barked and she cried out, scared they could get to her and bite her as they rattled against the cage and he laughed at her, taunting her inability to defend herself or to even see where the attack dogs were coming from.
She heard the bark and simultaneously felt the hand on her shoulder.
“Cali?”
She blinked her eyes. There was the sound of a low growl, then Wayde caressing her cheek.
“Easy, sweetheart. Come on now, you’re safe here. You’re not alone,” he whispered.
She looked at him and actually saw Wayde staring down at her, bringing her mind back to the present. She heard the low whimper, looked down as Smith licked her hand and Wesson pressed against her side. What the hell just happened? She realized she’d zoned out so deeply she’d lost focus of time, her location…of everything except the memory, one of many that haunted her dreams. As she panicked she locked gazes with Culhane, who looked surprised and maybe a bit turned off. She’d made a fool of herself. She’d let down her guard.
“Are you okay?” Warren asked her and holding her gaze, then looking at her cheeks. She felt the dampness and reached up to feel the wetness against her cheeks. She covered her mouth and looked at Wayde.
“You’re fine and you’re safe. We don’t have to stay here if this is uncomfortable.”
“What’s going on?” Culhane asked and stepped closer to her. She looked up at him and that hard, commanding expression.
“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought. My head really started hurting and I was hoping it would subside, but it isn’t.”
“Do you want to stay and just watch? You don’t need to shoot,” Wayde told her.
She looked at Culhane, who was in a dead stare at her, and then at Warren, who appeared concerned, too, by the way he squinted at her as if trying to read her mind. If she stayed here something else could happen. Hell, she’d embarrassed herself already by losing focus and then crying. They’d have a bunch of questions for her now.
She took an unsteady breath and placed her fingers against her temple on her right side.
“I want to go home. I need to go now.”
Wayde nodded.
He stepped back and she felt the dogs nudging her for attention. It was like they picked up on her anxiety and upset. It gave her an excuse to not look at Warren or Culhane. She bent down and patted the dogs.
“I’m okay. You guys have fun,” she said and Wesson pressed over her shoulder like he wanted a hug. She hugged him and felt like he understood what she was going through. It was the strangest sensation ever. She chuckled and pulled back.
“We need to go, enjoy the day,” Wayde said.
“Wait, don’t leave. Tell us what’s going on. What happened?” Warren asked him.
Wayde looked at Cali. “She’ll be fine. We need to head out.”
“Cali, are you sure that you’re okay?” Culhane asked her, looking at her like she was a loony.
“Yes, thank you. I just have a bad headache coming on and they go into migraines quickly. Sorry.”
Warren stepped closer. She stepped back and he squinted at her in surprise at her retreat.
“I… Take care of the headache.”
She nodded. “I will. Thank you,” she said and gave a pleading look to Wayde. He shook their hands and she and Wayde headed away from them. She knew she shouldn’t look back but she did anyway, and caught sight of them watching her leave with Smith and Wesson standing
in front of them, just watching her go. There was something about those dogs and men that affected her. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but since they reminded her of that bad experience and the pain she suffered, she was better off if she kept her distance.
* * * *
“What was that all about?” Warren said to Culhane, who turned around to pack up their stuff.
“Doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure it out.”
“What?” Warren said.
“Seriously, you don’t know, even with Smith and Wesson’s reactions to her?” Culhane asked.
“No, I get that part. She had something happen to her, but what, is what I want to know. It was like an episode, like the ones Shimmy used to have when he first returned. What the hell could she have experienced to make her have a reaction like she did?”
“I don’t know, but from what we gathered, it involved dogs that attack, and men with guns shooting.”
“Jesus. She wasn’t a soldier, right?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. She definitely has anxiety toward guns.”
“Shit, this just leads to more questions now, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know, Warren, maybe it leads to a dead end.”
“What do you mean, Culhane?”
“I mean the last thing we need is a woman with problems, especially around Shimmy.”
“Hey, we don’t know why she acted like that. Something triggered a memory.”
“We were shooting the guns at targets,” Culhane stated.
“We were shooting at the same time and the bullets went in sets of fours. Maybe it was the sound of multiple gunfire?”
“Whatever. I’m not going to sit here and try to analyze it. Maybe she’s mentally unstable?” Culhane asked.
Warren exhaled. “Seriously, Culhane? Give me a break. Why the hell do you need to think the worst? Plus, what about Shimmy? We wouldn’t want anyone treating him differently because he has PTSD.”
“We don’t know what Cali has.”
“Well, let’s make it our plan to find out.”
Culhane shook his head and exhaled. “Damn. Figures we find a woman we’re all interested in and she’s got problems.”
“Hey, we all have problems, it’s just figuring out how to work through them and function. She’s a beautiful young woman, and I don’t even want to think about what pain she may have suffered. I just know I want to get to know her.”
Just then they heard two shots fire from somewhere in the direction Cali and Wayde had just headed. An area off limits to gunfire.
“Shit,” Culhane stated. He and Warren grabbed their gear and started running toward the direction Cali and Wayde had gone.
* * * *
“Oh, God, I feel so stupid. This is frustrating, Wayde. Why now? Why when I was trying to be so strong?”
“You mean to impress Warren and Culhane?” Wayde teased and she shook her head as he winked. He had a feeling she liked them.
“You know they’re good men. A bit older, but trustworthy, and maybe a little hard around the edges.”
“A little?” she asked and smirked, but she still appeared sad.
They both heard the first shot and it sounded super close. So much so that they ducked, heard the second shot, and then the bark from the tree to the right of them, maybe five feet away, splintered and flew.
Wayde covered her and drew his weapon.
“What the fuck was that?”
“We’re wearing the orange vests,” she said and held on to him.
Another shot rang out, coming closer to them. He covered Cali and then pulled her up. “Behind the fucking trees. Shit, we’re sitting ducks out here,” he said and went to pull her behind the tree. A shot hit the tree above them. Cali screamed and he tackled her to the ground and covered her. She grunted.
“Sorry, but that was too fucking close for comfort. Someone is shooting at us,” he said to her.
“Oh, God, is it them? Did they find me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, and if they wanted to, they could have picked us off right here. Whoever is shooting is fucking with us,” he said firmly, his gun drawn.
They heard yelling and the dogs barking.
“You okay?” Culhane yelled to him.
“Yes. Did you see where it came from?” he called back.
“Up on the other side of the ridge,” Warren said and both men hurried over. Cali’s jeans were ripped at the knee and she was bleeding.
“You’re hit?” Warren asked and fell to his knees next to her.
“No. No, Wayde tackled me. Who is it? What do they want? We’re wearing orange,” she rambled on, and Warren caressed her hair from her cheek. She was shaking.
“Fuck, I don’t have signal this far in. When I get my hands on the person who did this…” Wayde said and then looked down at Warren caring for Cali.
“I need to go see if I can find out who did this,” he said to them.
“I’ll go with you. Smith can come with us and track them,” Culhane said, then glanced at Cali.
“I’ll stay with her. Wesson will remain with me to protect Cali,” Warren told him.
“Honey, you’re super safe with Warren, okay, I promise,” Wayde said to her. She didn’t look pleased. She looked terrified.
“Hey, I’ll take care of you. I promise,” Warren said and Wayde and Culhane, along with Smith, headed toward the direction the shots came from.
* * * *
Warren bent down and touched her calf. She tightened up and stared at him with tears in her great big brown eyes.
“Let me see how bad it is and whether you can walk,” he said and Wesson whined as he lowered down to his belly next to her.
“I’m okay,” she told him. Warren gave an order and Wesson sat up and took position as guard so he could look at her knee.
“It looks bad. You may need stitches.”
“I don’t think so. I’m fine, Warren. I just want to get the hell out of these woods. We’re wearing the orange jackets. Someone can’t say they didn’t see us.”
“I know that. Whoever it was, they’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”
“They’re probably long gone by now,” she said and when he caressed her calf, he looked up and locked gazes with her. She stared at him, her lips parted and he knew she had to have felt the attraction, too.
“You’re even more beautiful up close,” he said without even thinking first. Her eyes widened and she looked away.
“We should go,” she said and seemed scared.
He gave her jean-covered thigh a caress. “Are you sure you can walk, baby?” he asked and her cheeks turned a nice shade of red.
“I’m fine to walk. It isn’t a bad cut at all.”
“It’s bleeding pretty good. Let me wrap it up so it’s not so exposed.”
He pulled something from his bag—a T-shirt—and he ripped it. He had started wrapping her knee when they heard another shot. He was shocked when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“Oh, God, please. Please,” she said and whimpered against his neck.
He held her close. Breathed in her perfume and the sweet, fresh smell of her shampoo mixed with woods and trees. He caressed her back and felt how feminine and thin she was. He felt massive in comparison, like he could crush her if he returned her hug or lay over her in an embrace. The thought made him think of her underneath him in his bed with his cock buried deep in her tight, wet cunt. Holy shit, his cock hardened immediately.
He caressed her back.
“It’s okay. It came from far away, not anywhere near as close as those other shots,” he whispered to her.
He felt her hands squeeze his shoulders as if needing that reassurance and last bit of his embrace before she pulled back, looking embarrassed. He cupped her cheek and pushed a strand of loose hair from her cheek.
“You’re safe with me. Okay?” he said to her and she just stared at him like she didn’t know if that were true or false, and did
n’t really trust him.
“We should get out of here,” she said.
He looked at her knee and gave her thigh a tap.
“You’re sure you can walk?”
She rolled her eyes at him and he hid his chuckle.
“It’s a cut. I’ve had worse,” she said and stood up without wincing.
He grabbed his stuff and Wesson led the way, looking and staying on guard.
“He’s really good at that,” she whispered.
“He’s saved a bunch of lives, including mine a time or two,” he told her without thinking.
She looked at Warren. “Really? Is that why you fought to adopt him and Smith?”
“They both saved our lives.”
“Culhane too?”
He nodded and kept his gun cocked and ready to shoot. He was looking around despite the desire to just look at Cali. She was kind of short, maybe five feet four. He was six feet three so he of course towered over her. Wesson growled low and slowed down. Warren held on to Cali’s waist and pressed against her. He looked around them and she turned into his chest.
“Warren?”
Wesson barked as a deer ran across the way.
“Good boy, Wesson,” he said and she realized that was what stirred the dog and she exhaled.
“I’m never going hiking in the woods again,” she said as they continued to walk.
“Don’t say that. It can be fun. Just every once in a while, someone does something stupid.”
“They could have shot us.”
“Smith will sniff them out, and Culhane and Wayde will find something to go on to catch them.”
“You’re so sure of them.”
“Culhane is a master at tracking. We all are.”
“All?” she asked.
“Me, Dominick, and Shimmy, too,” he said and she looked back at him.
He placed his hand at her waist while they climbed over an area of rocks and then down a deeper incline. He gripped her hip bone and held her close.
The Battlefield Series 5: Breaking Through the Pain (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 6