“I can’t ask you to do that. I umm... I have arrangements to make. I have to report his death, call his attorney back in the States. All kinds of things I’ve shoved aside to take care of him. I’m not even sure if I can leave him here. He’s the one on their payroll, not me.”
“Something tells me your father handled more of that than you think, Grace. Besides, you’re not asking; I’m telling you that’s what I’m doing. I know you have a few things to finish up here with your father and all, but I’ll be back for you as soon as I get Ace stabilized at a hospital.” He's bossy. On any other given day, I'd put him in his place for telling me what to do; I just don’t have the energy to fight him today.
“I have to bury him next to my mother before I leave.” My voice cracks and I bow my head as it all hits me again. Steele surprises me by moving toward me and pulling me against his chest for a hug. I’ve never felt so alone in my life. Yet, with his arms around me, I feel comforted and embraced in a warmth that I’ve never experienced. A sense of security ripples through me the longer he holds me. And somehow I begin to feel like it’s okay to break down in the arms of this stranger.
So, I do. I cry, my shoulders shaking in the arms of this big, strong man who swallows me up in his embrace. His hands rub up and down my back, but he never says a word. He doesn’t have to. I’m not sure I’d hear him if he did.
“Thank you for everything, Mr. Steele. I'll be okay. I’ll give him a little more pain medication before you go. I can be ready to leave in a couple of days.” I step back from his hold, wipe the tears from my face with the back of my hand, and begin looking over the supplies once again. They're going to need to take some for the flight, just in case something goes wrong.
“Take all the time you need. It’ll give me time to make sure my friend here is in good hands.” Time, I think to myself. How much time does it take to say good-bye to the only family you’ve ever had, leaving them in a place you may never come back to again?
CHAPTER FOUR
STEELE
“Nah, he’ll be fine. He’s currently complaining like a whiny ass bitch, though,” I tease Ace while updating Kaleb on our current situation. Ace is struggling to walk with a walker. I can’t for the life of me figure out why they have him up and about, but what the hell do I know. One thing I do know is, he’d be pissed the hell off if he knew his bare ass is hanging out of the back of his hospital gown. Either the idiot is so drugged up that he doesn’t care that I see his ass, or he’s still trying to get this nurse to fly back home with him when he’s cleared to go. I hope it’s the former. The guy needs to calm his shit with random women. It’s something a few of the guys on the team need to work on. Although I do get a kick out of watching Ace or Jackson reel one in.
He’s been flirting with her ever since we arrived here two days ago. I can’t count the times I’ve tried to tell him she isn’t going to fly across the country for him. Nor is a piece of ass worth all the trouble he’s going through. Stupid-ass motherfucker. Take some more pain meds, you idiot. I turn my head from having to see his stark white ass walk out the door and instead stare out the window, my mind wandering back to Grace and wondering how she’s coping with her life flipping upside down. Now, she would be a woman to fight for; I have no doubt about it. Doesn’t matter that I haven’t a damn clue what she looks like, either.
“Yeah, I should be back the day after tomorrow. How’s everyone doing back there?” I ask. Things were finally starting to settle down back in our own little world. Everyone went back to their homes. It was nice to be back to normalcy after the shit that went down in Mexico.
Harris and Emmy took off to his ranch for some much-needed alone time. Now he’s finally back in Florida, getting himself back to training, and plans to join our crew again very soon. After everything he’s been through, he seems to have found happiness with Emmy, and I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s been through hell and back; the guy deserves to smile.
And Kaleb, he was riding Jade’s ass about setting a wedding date when we left. I walked out of the office laughing my butt off when she put her hand on her hip, her finger in his chest, and told him she’s not the type of woman to have a princess wedding.
“Everyone’s good. I haven’t spoken to Harris much. He’s determined to get back into the field; he’s so wrapped up in my sister that he doesn’t make much time for anything else. Jackson, though, he isn’t right, man. In fact, he’s been volunteering for every job we’ve got. I’m not sure what’s up with him. I think he’s got it bad for Samantha, and you know as well as I do she wants nothing to do with him.” His voice is full of laughter. Serves Jackson right for being a male whore for all those years. A good woman comes along and stays as far away from him as she can get. I nearly laugh thinking how he acted around her before I left.
“Jackson’s a big boy. He’ll figure his shit out sooner or later,” I respond, still laughing.
“He’s Jackson, so who knows with him. I do have good news, though. Jade and I are getting married on the beach in Florida next month. Fucking finally. I swear to god I was ready to toss her over my shoulder and drive her down to the courthouse. Her dad and brothers would shoot my ass, and her mom would kill me, so I told her to pick a day and get on with it.” He sounds happy. It’s hard for me to believe the man I’ve known for years is finally settling down without being forced into it. That’s something I thought I’d never say until he met Jade.
“Good for you, man. I’m going to head out. The quicker I get Grace out of there, the better for me. I hate that fucking country.” I’ve told him all about her and what she did to save Ace and about her father. He also knows what I’m talking about and what I mean by hating that country. Every time I make this drop, the shit that happened both in Iraq and Afghanistan surface in my memories as if they all happened yesterday. I plow through it, though. I feel close to him when I’m there. Even though that place took him away from me, it’s the one constant fear I have in my life that I’m afraid I’ll forget him. We all feel that way.
“I know, man. I think about him all the time. It wasn’t your fault; it wasn’t any of ours. You know it, and so do I.” Right, I think to myself. It’s easy for him to say when he wasn’t the one who couldn’t save him. I shove that bad memory aside. I can’t think about it now, not when I’m getting ready to fly back in there. We need to get another crew to take over that drop for me for a little while. At least until the anniversary of his death has passed.
“I’ll buzz you when I land. Congrats.” I hang up and shove my phone in my pocket before I turn to Ace, who’s walking back in as if he belongs in the geriatric ward, and Vice, who’s sitting in the chair rolling his eyes. “You two fuckers behave yourselves. I hate leaving your pansy asses here.” I give them the finger as I walk out the door and make my way back to the hotel, grab my bag, and gear up to fly back to hell. Only this time, I’m actually looking forward to the company I’ll be bringing back with me.
I promised the old man I’d get his daughter back to the States safely, which is exactly what I intend to do.
~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve been standing up against the wall of an old, rundown building, watching people gather around her as the funeral for her father ends. I feel like a total asshole because I haven’t said a word to her yet.
From what I can tell, she looks entirely different than she did the other day. At least her stature does, because she’s still wearing one of those damn dresses. This one is black. I hope for her sake she’s beginning to come to peace with saying good-bye to her father. She seems determined to hold her head high and at least appear like she’s doing fine in the presence of others.
I watch her smile with a grace that fits her name as she says good-bye to the people here. She has to be scared to death to leave this life behind her. Damn, she’s a lot stronger than most people would be to venture into the unknown by herself. I’ll give her props for sticking with her dreams and taking care of her responsibilities here before she leave
s.
“You're here a few hours early.” Her face pinches up in disappointment. God, I wish I could see her completely. She gave me her dad’s cell number before I left the other day. I called her briefly to tell her I would be here tonight; turns out I made it through customs a lot faster than I normally do, so I flew to the base, fueled up my plane, and took right off.
“I know. Take your time,” I tell her, then back away giving her space to say her last good-bye. Her eyes fall to the grave, where a couple of men are already shoveling dirt over the casket. Christ, this isn’t a way to bury someone. Out in the middle of a fucking desert.
I’ve studied up on her father and mother while I sat in the hospital and my motel room. These people were saints; they deserve better than this. I suppose this is where they want to be, though, so who am I to judge?
I stand behind her for several minutes once everyone leaves, watching her shoulders rise and fall. She’s crying. My hands itch to bring her into my arms again. This time telling her she’s stronger than she thinks she is, that her parents made sure of it. Except, I don’t. I stand here and let her grieve on her own. I’m not good at all this emotional stuff, and to be honest, I feel awkward standing here.
Memories of standing over the empty grave of one of my brothers in combat floods my mind and begins to torment me all over again. We left him behind and never found his body. We lost his tracking signal the second the explosions went off below my chopper. I’ll never forget how my gut wrenched as I fought back the vomit from the orders I received to get the fuck out of there with the soldiers who made it back before I was forced to take off.
Grace turns to face me once again, pulling me out of a tortured recollection of one of the terrible times in my life. She wipes the tears from her eyes as she approaches me. “I just need to get the last of my things gathered, and I’ll be ready.” She moves past me without saying another word, so I follow her out the door. We walk for a few minutes before I interrupt the silence.
“Did you get everything set up with the clinic?”
“Yes. The new doctor made it here yesterday.” We continue to walk in an awkward peace until we arrive at what I can only assume is her home. It’s a small house with very simple living arrangements. A few pieces of furniture, a small kitchen table. No television. The only form of communication to the outside world that I can see is a laptop on the table.
I turn my back to the her, while she gathers a few last-minute things, and take in the view even more. It’s tragic that people live like this, yet to most of the people who live here, I can imagine they don’t know any better. She’s an American who obviously has given up the things most of us take for granted.
“I’m all set.” She walks past me to the door with one bag on her shoulder. “Is that all you’re taking?”
“Yes, I don’t need much. I want to leave the rest of my things here for the women at the clinic.” She closes the door, and I reach to pull the strap of the bag off her shoulder. “No, thank you. I can carry it.”
“I never said you couldn’t, but if you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to walk around empty-handed while you carry everything you own.” She pauses mid-step and hides her smile behind the material covering her face by turning away just before she allows herself to show too much emotion.
“Thank you, Mr. Steele.” The way she says my name sounds absurd coming out of her mouth.
“Just call me Steele. Or Trevor. Mr. Steele makes me sound like some kind of saint, and I assure you I’m not one.” I lead the way through the quiet little town to my plane and immediately get us secured in the two pilot seats. “I’ll let you sit up here. The view is amazing from these seats.” Her face lights up just slightly as I set all the controls and get ready for takeoff. I lean over and make sure she’s secure in her seat. “Put these on; it’s the best way for us to communicate. It gets loud in here,” I tell her over the sound of the engine. I could do all of this in my sleep, so I move with ease even with her eyeing me with admiration before she looks down, changing her demeanor quickly.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve flown. You’ll have to excuse my nervousness.”
“No reason to be nervous. I’ll make sure to get you back to your home in the States just like I promised your father.” That seems to settle her just enough for her to sit back in her seat. Fuck. I want to reach over and yank that thing off her head so I can see her when she speaks to me.
“Thank you for keeping your word, Steele. My father was big on loyalty, so it means a lot that you came back for me.” I double check my gauges and fuel before I take to the runway to prepare us for takeoff.
“I keep my word. If a person doesn’t follow through on his word, how can he be trusted in anything?” That’s the god’s honest truth.
“I agree,” she replies softly. Grace sits quietly for the remainder of the trip back to Germany. I catch the expression of awe from the angle of her face that I can see a few times as she takes in the scenery below us. It’s obvious she hasn’t seen anything this adventurous in a very long time.
“Alright, we have to move to a larger plane from here,” I tell her the minute we land. “First, I need to check on my guys. It would be nice if I could get us all on a flight out of here soon.” She releases her seatbelt, and I quickly climb to open the door. She keeps her head down and slides out of her seat without saying a word and follows me closely as we walk across the tarmac and through the check-in at the base. It takes a while to get clearance this time, and I’m sure part of that has to do with the way she’s dressed as she walks next to me. The guys know me here. However, this is the first time I’ve walked through with a woman who not only speaks English and holds an American passport, but is dressed in a loose-fitting dress that shields her from head to toe.
“She’s good to go,” the guard says, stamps our passports, and lifts his brows in confusion. I simply nod and lead her through the gates and out to the main street, where I work to get us a ride to the military hospital.
“How is your friend doing?” she asks politely, her hands resting in her lap.
“He’s doing better. They talked like they’d let him go soon.”
“We have to stay with him until they clear him.” She speaks very sternly. I chuckle under my breath at her bluntness. No, really, we don’t. I’m not about to tell her that, though. I hear the sincerity in her voice. She’s worried about him, and I appreciate that, but he’s in good hands with Vice. I have to return for another assignment in the States, not to mention Maverick isn’t exactly keen on me allowing a civilian to remain with us while we’re forced to be stagnant, waiting for Ace to be released.
“Let’s just see how long they want him to stay.” I’d feel better taking him with me, but if I can’t, then I can’t. Either way, once the plane is gassed up, inspected, and meets code, we’re out of here. I love Germany, but my ass wants to get home.
It takes ten minutes to make the drive as we travel to the hospital to check on Ace. She’s silent the remainder of the way, her eyes checking out her surroundings as she stares out the window.
“Wow, this place is amazing,” she says as she steps out of the cab, lifting her dress just enough to step onto the curb.
“Thank you,” I tell the driver, lean over the seat, and pay him before exiting behind her.
“Yeah. They do amazing work here.” My mind travels back to when Kaleb was in the hospital; seems like forever ago when we were all freaking the fuck out over his capture and the shit he went through.
“I can’t wait to be able to work in a real hospital. Not that I didn’t enjoy what we did, it’s just time for me to move on and create my own footsteps.” The sound of her voice pulls me out of my nightmare memory. I shift my gaze her way. She tilts her head up, her entire face lighting up as she stares at the building in awe. Holy hell. Her profile is stunning.
“You’ll do great,” I tell her honestly. My mind needs to get off her, or I’ll find myself in some serious trouble with this wo
man.
“I hope you’re right.”
I know I’m right.
CHAPTER FIVE
GRACE
I remember more than I thought I would as I walk beside Steele through the brightly lit hallway of the military hospital. The sights, sounds, and busy people as they shuffle their feet in a fast-paced manner are all coming back to me in waves that have me trying to remain steady on my feet. Memories of my father at his practice before we moved and the many times my mother and I would come to visit him are bubbling to the surface.
I fight back the tears, keeping my head down while I remain as quiet as a woman dressed the way I am should act. I’m righteous in the clothes I wear, yet if I'm honest with myself, I can’t wait to exchange them for a pair of well-worn jeans and tennis shoes. My boots will have to work until I find the time to go shopping when I get home. At least they’ll be better than these flats.
Thinking about all the changes coming my way sends an honest smile to my face. It heats my heart remembering a bright pair of pink sparkly Converse I had as a child. So much so that I let out a laugh.
“What has you laughing over there?” Steele stops mid-stride as he looks at me with curiosity written all over his face. He brushes the material from my face to look at me closer. I feel this crazy source of electricity zing through my body when his skin comes in direct contact with mine. He may have only touched my cheek, but that spot is tingling.
“Remembering some things about my father,” I say, not the least bit embarrassed to admit. I lift my chin and look into his eyes. I see eyes dancing and smiling back at me.
“That’s good. He was a good man. You can tell me all about him and your mother on our long flight back.”
Steele (The Elite Forces Book 4) Page 3