by Susan Stoker
Everyone laughed, and Beatle appreciated his friend’s attempt at lightening the tense atmosphere. He gave Hollywood a slight chin lift and got one in return.
“Where is that bitch now?” Coach asked, referring again to Marie.
“Cops took her downtown, but she was so out of it, rambling on and on about her research, that they ended up having to take her to mental,” Beatle said.
“But she’s going to be charged, right?” Fletch asked.
“Yeah. I’m not sure with what yet, but I have a feeling the DA is going to do what he can to pile on as much as possible.”
“Anyone call the university to give them a head’s up?” Chase asked. He’d been included in the meeting since he’d been there when everything had gone down.
“I called this morning, right when they opened,” Ghost said. “I told the dean what happened, that one of her instructors is bat-shit crazy. Told her that she essentially kidnapped two students, drugged another professor, and all of this after arranging the kidnapping and attempted murder down in Costa Rica. She was so shocked, she didn’t even try to keep anything from me, informing me that Maria’s latest request for research had been denied, but she didn’t say what she had proposed.”
“Yeah, because she wanted to fucking kidnap people and observe their reactions,” Blade groused, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed on his chest. “I’d deny that fucking research request too.”
“I also talked to the officials down in Costa Rica,” Ghost continued. “They confirmed that Marie Santos entered the country two days after Casey and her students. Then she left the day after we did. They’re going to interview some of the people in Guacalito and see if they remember Marie hanging around, and I have a feeling they will.”
“So, it’s over?” Blade asked.
Beatle tensed. He sure as hell hoped so.
“I’m thinking, yes. As long as the officials down in Central America don’t come back with any information saying otherwise, it’s over. I’m guessing the villagers probably left after the Huntsmen rescued the other women because they were afraid of more retaliation. I’m not sure though. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Costa Rican government never finds out what exactly happened to that village or why they just up and left. The important thing is that Maria hired locals who don’t have the resources, or any real reason, to come to the States to try to find Casey. She’s safe and can go back to her normal life,” Ghost reassured the team.
The words were a relief, but at the same time, they created more stress in Beatle. He didn’t want Casey to go back to Florida. He wanted her to stay in Texas with him. She said she would, but she might change her mind now that she was safe. She was a grown woman with a career and a life. The last thing he wanted to do was hold her back. She’d told him she’d been working toward tenure. That was a big deal. If she quit and changed universities, she’d have to start from scratch, working her way back up with a new administration. It wasn’t a decision either of them could take lightly.
“How are Emily and Annie?” Beatle asked Fletch, not wanting to think about Casey leaving.
“They’re good. I’m so proud of Annie. She did exactly what we taught her. When Emily said the code word, red, she did just as we’d trained her and didn’t ask any questions. They went to the safe room and locked themselves in. They watched what was going on via the cameras, but didn’t come out until I went and got them.”
“No residual bad memories from the wedding reception?” It was Chase who asked that time.
Fletch smiled. “Em is planning on redecorating the garage apartment, says that it’s seen too much sadness. And Annie has been driving that tank all over the place, chasing away the bad guys. I’m going to have to replace the motor sooner rather than later, I think.”
“So, they’re doing okay,” Coach concluded.
“They’re absolutely fine,” Fletch reassured everyone.
“Anyone talked to Jaylyn or Kristina?” Hollywood asked.
“I did,” Ghost said. “I called their parents, and they arrived home this morning. Both girls are fine. Doctor Martin was amazing with them. Beatle, you were already gone with Casey, but he was able to talk to them while they were still under, and was able to ascertain that Marie hadn’t put any weird triggers on them. They were confused when the doctor brought them out of their hypnotic state, but not panicked. He actually thinks they’ll heal much faster now that Marie isn’t constantly harping on the way they fell apart when Casey was separated from them.”
Everyone nodded in relief. The last thing the college students needed was more trauma after what they’d already been though.
“Anyone else have anything they need or want to add?” Ghost asked, looking at each of the men in turn.
Everyone shook their heads, but Blade spoke up. “Thank you all for having my sister’s back. I know I don’t need to say it, but I’m saying it all the same.”
“You’re right,” Coach said quietly. “You don’t need to say it. We’ve all been there. I don’t know what it is about us and finding women who seem to get into extreme situations, but I’m glad we’ve been there for them.”
“Definitely,” Ghost said.
“Agreed,” Hollywood piped in.
Blade turned to Beatle then. “I told you once, but I’ll say it again, I couldn’t imagine a better man with my sister. You’ve shown time and time again that you’ll do whatever is necessary to keep her safe. She deserves a man like you, one who will always have her back and put her first in your life. We all know being married to a Delta isn’t easy, but I have absolutely no concerns when it comes to the two of you. I just have one request…”
When he paused, Beatle raised an eyebrow at his friend.
“Just don’t run off and get married in some bullshit secret ceremony. My mom would have a heart attack. And I really want to see her dad walk her down the aisle.”
“I’m not sure we’ll ever get there, man,” Beatle said honestly. “We have a lot of hurdles to jump.”
“Fuck jumping them,” Truck said. “Knock those fuckers down and plow right through them. Life is short. Really fucking short. Don’t wait. If you love her, and she loves you, it’s stupid to wait.”
Beatle eyed his friend for a long moment, having the feeling Truck wasn’t talking about him and Casey. When Truck didn’t elaborate, Beatle nodded at him then turned back to Blake. “I promise not to run off to Vegas to get married.”
“Make him promise not to do a quickie civil ceremony downtown either,” Coach added.
“Only assholes like you would do something like that,” Beatle shot back.
Everyone chuckled.
“If we’re done here, I need to go and get some real work done.” The commander spoke up for the first time. By his grin, it was obvious he was kidding. He’d been just as concerned and relieved that Casey was all right as the rest of the team. “Beatle, you have the next two weeks off. Get Casey settled. Figure your shit out so you can come back ready to work. I expect you not to have your head up your ass on the next mission. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir,” Beatle responded immediately.
Everyone stood and shook hands with the commander before he left.
Fletch slapped Beatle on the back. “Ready to go get your woman?”
“Hell yeah. Ghost?” The other man turned on his way out of the room. “You’ll let me know when you hear from the officers in Costa Rica?”
“Of course. But I honestly think this is done and over, Beatle. Take Casey home and help her heal. Don’t worry about anything unless you have a reason to. Okay?”
“Sounds good.” He then turned to Chase and held out his hand. When the other man took it and they shook, Beatle said, “Thank you for being there.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Chase said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Hell, I was sitting across the yard and had no idea anything was wrong.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Beatle told the officer. “You didn’t know. None of
us did. If Casey hadn’t clued me in by using my real name, I would’ve still been sitting here on post when she was tripping. You might not be a Delta, but you’re just as important to all of us. You need us, we’re there, and not just because you’re Rayne’s brother. Got it?”
Beatle wasn’t sure what was going through the other man’s head, but after a beat, he nodded. “Got it. But I’ll leave the wooing to you guys. I’m not in the market for a woman.”
Everyone chuckled.
“That’s what we all said too,” Hollywood replied.
“You never know when love’ll hit. You’ll be going about your business, then bam, there she’ll be,” Fletch told his friend.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Coach murmured.
Chase shrugged. “Whatever. Now, if you pansies are done here, like the commander, I’ve got real work to do.”
No one took offense, they just laughed as the man shook his head at them and left the room.
“You need help getting Casey home?” Truck asked.
“Nah, I think we’re good,” Beatle said.
“Think she’d be up for company later? I’d love to see her if you think it wouldn’t freak her out,” Truck said.
“She’d love that. I’ll give you a yell when we’re settled.”
“You going back to Fletch’s?”
Beatle shook his head. “No, I don’t want to risk any bad memories from being there yet. I’ll take her to my place.”
“You clean since the last time I saw it?” Truck asked with one brow raised skeptically.
Beatle leaned over and picked up a pen off the table and threw it at his friend. “Shut it.”
They smiled at each other. “Let me know when she’s ready, and I’ll come over,” Truck said.
“Will do. Later.”
“Later.”
Beatle barely heard his friend. He was on his way out the door to get back to Casey. She was going to be fine. If she could get through her ordeal in the jungle, this would be a piece of cake. It wasn’t her recovery he was worried about. It was the decisions they had in front of them about their relationship that scared the shit out of him.
Epilogue
Casey couldn’t wait to get home. She’d just completed her first day back teaching and it had gone really well. She’d been nervous—who wasn’t for the first day?—and she wanted to talk to Beatle.
But then again, she always wanted to talk to him. It wasn’t the same talking on the phone, but it was something.
When her phone rang, Casey saw it was Jaylyn.
“Hey, Jaylyn. How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“How were your classes today?”
“They were okay. It’s not the same without you here, you know?”
Casey smiled and wiped her sweaty forehead as she walked to her car. She’d been in Texas for a couple months and didn’t think she’d ever get used to the heat. Florida had been hot, but Texas was hot on a whole new level. “You get your paper finished?”
Casey had insisted that all three students finish their research papers they’d been working on in Costa Rica. It had been a tough road for all four of them. No one really had enthusiasm any longer for the ant species they’d been researching before the kidnapping, but the university had been really good about granting an extension, and Casey had worked with each of the women to help them get their papers done.
“Yeah. I should know my grade next week,” Jaylyn said. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I don’t really care anymore. I could fail the stupid thing and it wouldn’t matter. We went through something awful, but I learned a lot about myself in the process. And my new counselor says that as long as I’m growing and learning, it doesn’t matter how others grade me.”
“She sounds very smart,” Casey said with a smile, twisting the key in the ignition. The air that blasted out of the vents was hot, but she knew it would cool off soon. “But be that as it may, don’t throw away your education because of what happened.”
“I’m not,” Jaylyn assured her. “But I might be changing my major.”
“As long as it’s not to psychology, I’m okay with that,” Casey said dryly.
The young woman on the other end of the line laughed. “Hell no. I was thinking education. I’d like to teach elementary school, I think.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Casey told her former student, and meant it. “How are my babies doing?”
She didn’t remember a lot of the bad trip she’d had as a result of the LSD Marie had forced on her, but one thing she had remembered were the flying cockroaches she thought were trying to eat her eyeballs. As a result, when she and Beatle had gone to Florida to empty out her apartment and pack up her stuff to send to Texas, she’d taken one look at her pets, and had immediately rushed to the bathroom to puke. She’d had to rehome them—much to Beatle’s relief, since he wouldn’t be living with the cockroaches—and luckily, Jaylyn said she’d love to have them.
“They’re good. You know they’re going to outlive us both.”
“True. I appreciate you taking them. Beatle was super happy he wasn’t going to have to share his space with my babies.”
“But he would’ve,” Jaylyn said with confidence.
“Yeah, he would’ve,” Casey said with a smile. She still thought it was hilarious that a woman with a PhD in entomology ended up with a man who couldn’t stand bugs, but she’d gladly overlook that flaw in him because everything else was amazing.
“Anyway, I just wanted to call and say thank you for all you’ve done for me. I know things weren’t easy for you either,” Jaylyn told her.
“You’re welcome,” Casey said softly. “I wish you all the best. Call anytime.”
“I will. I gotta go. Later, Doctor Shea.”
“Later, Jaylyn.”
Casey hung up and looked at her phone, lost in her own thoughts. When she felt the air cool down enough to make her more comfortable, she shook her head and put down the phone. She had shit to do. Namely, get home to her boyfriend, so they could talk about their workdays together.
It was one of her favorite things about living with Beatle. Regardless of how late it was, they always talked about how their days had gone.
* * *
Beatle checked the app on his phone to see where Casey was. They both had the locator apps installed on their phones so they could keep track of each other. Since Casey was driving back and forth to Baylor University every day, he wanted to make sure she was safe.
He’d rented a nice townhouse in northern Temple, to cut down on her commute a little. His old apartment in Killeen had been small, and he’d wanted to do whatever he could to make sure Casey never regretted her decision to give up her job and move to Texas.
He still couldn’t believe she’d done it. She’d told him that he was way more important than a job, but he was still in awe that she’d changed her entire life for an Army guy like him. He didn’t deserve her, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to be a martyr and give her up.
The university dean in Florida hadn’t been surprised when Casey told her she was quitting. She’d admitted that after the kidnapping, she had a hunch Casey wouldn’t be back. But she’d gone a step further and called a colleague at Baylor, and told him that Casey would be moving to the area and would make an excellent addition to his team.
Beatle’d had no doubt she’d get the job, and after a couple interviews, he’d been proven right. The transition had been fairly easy, and she’d managed to be ready to go for the fall semester. Everything had fallen into place so easily, it was as if it was meant to be.
Seeing that Casey was almost home, Beatle hurried to put the finishing touches on the special dinner he had planned. Not only were they celebrating her first day at her new job, but he’d gotten good news from the commander that day. He couldn’t wait to share it with Casey.
Within five minutes, Beatle heard Casey’s key in the lock. He waited in the kitchen for her, and
the first thing he saw when she came around the corner was her bright smile.
He relaxed. He’d been nervous for her. He wanted her to like Baylor and her new job. Apparently, she did.
She came right to him, dropping her bag on the floor as she did so. Throwing her arms around him, she stood on her tiptoes and tilted her head back.
Beatle gave her what she wanted. He kissed her long and hard, only pulling back when he felt his control slipping. It didn’t matter how much time went by and how often they made love. Every time he was around her, he wanted her as badly as he had the first time.
“Have a good day?” he asked.
“Yup. I didn’t think I’d like teaching that freshman biology resource seminar, but surprisingly, the kids all seemed really interested in finding out what they could do with a degree in biology.”
“And your entomology class? How’d that go?”
“You know I loved it. Even though I have no desire to travel outside the US to study bugs again, it was really nice to informally chat with my students about my experience in Costa Rica…the experience of studying bugs, that is.” She grinned. “Although I’m sure the students will become less enamored of their seemingly down-to-earth teacher when they have their first test. Back in Florida, the students knew I was tough. This new batch of kids will have to learn that the hard way.”
Beatle smiled down at Casey. He loved listening to her talk about teaching. It was obvious she loved it, and that she was good at what she did. Maybe if he’d had a few more teachers like her, he would’ve made it further along in his education than he had. But then he might not be here with her now. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too. What’d you make for dinner?”
Beatle suppressed the chuckle. He loved how nonchalant she was about telling him she loved him. It wasn’t a big deal for her. It just was.
“Steak. They’re resting now and should be done in a minute or two.”