by Susan Stoker
Fletch scooted closer to Emily, his knees touching hers, and put one hand on the back of her neck, forcing her to meet his eyes. “I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told another woman before in my life. In fact, the only people who know this are the men you met today, and a couple others—the rest of my team, who you’ll meet later. That asshole who was lying to you definitely doesn’t know this, and if he did, he wouldn’t be bothering you right now.” Fletch paused, letting the seriousness of the moment sink in.
Finally, he told her, “Me and my friends are Delta Force.”
Emily’s eyebrows came down in a frown.
“You ever heard of Delta?”
“In the movies.”
Fletch snorted. “Fucking actors. What it means to you is that we’re the best of the best. Nothing gets past us. Nothing. There is no one who can protect you and Annie better than me and my team.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would you?”
“Because you need it. Because the asshole who has been threatening you is doing it because he’s jealous of us. Also, because Annie is the sweetest, cutest, most wonderful child I’ve ever met, and she should live a life full of new toys and as much food as her belly can hold. But mostly because when I look at you, I see a woman who has put her daughter first, no matter if that hurt her. A woman who would try and protect a man she thought had done her wrong. And if you aren’t freaked out enough already, you should know that I’m also doing this because I want to get to know you better. You have no idea how destroyed I was when I thought that asshole was your boyfriend. I thought I’d lost my chance.”
“Your chance?” Emily was confused. She liked what he’d said about Annie, but she didn’t understand the look in his eyes. It was…interest. She wasn’t so clueless as to not be able to recognize when a man found her attractive, but she was currently wearing a T-shirt three sizes too big and a pair of baggy shorts. She needed a shower, like yesterday, and she hadn’t even been very nice to this man since she’d met him.
“My chance to win you.”
“Is it a contest?
“I don’t know. I hope not. I have no idea where Annie’s father is, but it’s obvious he’s not a part of her life, or yours. But wherever he is…he’s an idiot for letting you both go. I like you, Emily. I like that you’d bend over backwards to give your daughter everything she needs in her life, even if it means you go without. I like that you’ve taught her to be careful. And I love watching you two interact. It’s obvious she loves you very much and she’s flourished in her short six years…and I know that’s all because of you.
“You probably don’t remember this, and I’m not bringing it up now to embarrass you, but last night you told me that you’d fantasized about me. Well, the feeling’s mutual. You’ve been driving me crazy since the day you moved in. I have made love to you in my mind more than I’m comfortable admitting. But it’s not just about sex. I want to take you out. I want to tuck Annie into her bed at night and read her a bedtime story. I want to sit across from you at the table and watch you smile at something I’ve said. In case I’m not making myself clear, I want to date you, Miracle Emily Grant. You and your daughter.”
“Oh.” Emily blushed a fiery red, but didn’t comment further.
Fletch pulled back and gave her a little bit of room. “Oh? That’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“One more thing.”
“Oh God.”
“Nothing bad, promise. But please, when I say me and my team will take care of this for you, believe me.”
“I want to.”
“Good. So you believe that I had nothing to do with this asshole?”
Emily nodded. She didn’t really have a choice but to believe him. He’d made his case very clear. When she’d thought he’d been talking about the man who was blackmailing her, he’d been talking about his Delta Force teammates all along.
The relief she felt must’ve shown in her eyes because Fletch nodded and remarked, “Yeah, you see it now. He won’t come near you again. I can’t wait to get to know both of you better.”
“It’s ready!” Annie’s little voice rang out from the kitchen, breaking the intense connection they had going on.
The little girl ran into the room, sliding on the laminate floor. “Come on! Truck says everyone has to serve themselves…like a boo-fey.”
“A buffet?” Fletch asked, catching Annie up in his arms.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. Come on, Mommy! We even put cimamin on yours!”
“Cinnamon? Oooh, that sounds yummy, but I already ate, baby.”
At the crestfallen look on her daughter’s face, Emily quickly added, “But I’m sure I can eat at least one.”
“Yay! Come on!”
Fletch stood with Annie and held out his hand to Emily. “Ready for your second breakfast?”
“I guess I am.” Emily put her hand in Fletch’s and marveled at how much lighter she felt, knowing she wouldn’t have to come up with two hundred dollars this week.
Annie was safe…and being fed. The rest she’d figure out later. For now, she had a cinnamon waffle to eat.
Chapter 12
Fletch and his teammates sat around the table with the colonel and waited for his reaction. Fletch had laid out what had been going on for the last few months with Emily. The officer knew about the harassment from the infantry squad after the training exercise, but he was extra pissed with the new information.
“You mean to tell me Sergeant Jacks has been blackmailing this woman? Making her pay him money every week to keep her daughter safe?”
“Yes, Sir,” Fletch responded grimly.
“Give me everything you’ve got. I’ll take this to the division commander this afternoon. But I want to have my ducks in a row. I need proof. Will this woman be willing to testify against him, if it comes to that?”
“I think so, but she’s very concerned about her daughter. She doesn’t want to do anything that could blow back on her,” Fletch told his commanding officer solemnly.
“Rightly so. I think I can safely say his career as an Army soldier is over, but you all need to watch your backs. He’s obviously gone beyond what anyone thought he’d do, so there’s no telling what will happen once he’s chaptered out. We can’t monitor or punish him once he’s discharged.”
“Understood,” Ghost said, nodding. “Truck will pay him a visit and make sure he knows not to go near Ms. Grant or her daughter again, or he’ll have us to deal with.”
The colonel didn’t answer for a moment, just studied the seven deadly men. Finally, he breathed out and cautioned, “You all understand that I respect you and know that you’ll protect those around you—but watch yourselves. As of now, this is all on him, not you. Don’t do anything stupid that will ruin your careers as well. Got me?”
“Yes, Sir,” Fletch agreed immediately reading between the lines loud and clear. His teammates echoed their agreement as well.
“Good. I’ll be in touch later. Don’t go rogue on me here,” he warned again.
The team stood up and shook hands with their commanding officer. Satisfied for now that something was being done, through official channels, about Jacks and his crazy-ass behavior, Fletch left the room and walked down the hall.
“You headed home?” Ghost asked, walking beside his friend.
“Yeah. I want to spend the day with Em. I convinced her to take the day off.”
“And she agreed?” Ghost asked incredulously.
“I know, right?” Fletch laughed. “She’s been really ill, and has enough sick leave to cover another day. Now that she doesn’t have to worry about paying that asshole, she can take the time to get one hundred percent better before pushing it too hard.”
“Annie in school?”
“Yeah, I dropped her off before I came here. Had a talk with the principal about her safety and what was going on. Security has already been increased since the sho
oting incident at the school, so she’s on it. She promised to talk with Annie’s teacher and make sure to keep an eye on her and to take extra precautions.”
Ghost nodded and they stopped after they went through the door into the parking lot. “I’m happy for you, man.”
Fletch looked over at Ghost questioningly.
“Emily. I know you’ve had your eye on her for a while and how much it bugged you when you thought she had a boyfriend. For what it’s worth, she likes you.”
Fletch snorted. “What are you, a mind-reader now?”
Ghost didn’t get upset at his friend’s tone. “No, but it’s obvious to us all, even with the short amount of time that we’ve been around her, that she follows you with her eyes when you walk into a room. Even when she was out of it with fever, you were the one she looked to. Her eyes got all soft and gooey when she heard you took care of her daughter. If I had to guess, she’s been fighting her feelings for you for a while, thinking you were the bad guy. But now that she knows you’re not? That you had nothing to do with Jacks? Things are going to go well for you, my friend. Now go home and woo your girl. We’ll take care of Jacks.”
Fletch couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Keep me updated.”
“Of course. Tell Emily that Rayne would love to come over and get to know her sometime soon. I think having a girlfriend who’s with another Delta would be good for her. Mary is awesome, but we both know it’s different being able to talk with someone who knows firsthand what it means to be dating a Delta.”
“I’m not sure we’re actually dating, Ghost.”
“I give it a week.”
Fletch smiled and shook his head at his friend. He would’ve argued, but if luck was on his side, he’d be officially dating Emily in less than seven days. “I’ll talk to Em about getting together with Rayne. Thanks again for everything.”
“Anytime.”
Fletch smiled all the way home. It was crazy how much he was looking forward to spending time with Emily and getting to know her better.
* * *
“Peanut butter or chocolate?”
“Peanut butter. Cold or hot weather?”
“Cold.” Emily smiled at the look of disgust Fletch gave her at her response. Somehow Fletch had convinced her to call in sick, again, from work. She’d agreed and had taken a nap on his couch while he took Annie to school and went to work for a few hours.
He’d arrived back home around eleven and they’d made a light lunch together. They were now sitting on opposite ends of his couch playing a game he’d called, “Get to know you.” They took turns giving each other a choice of two things and the other person had to say which they liked better with no explanations.
It had seemed silly at first, but it was amazing how much insight she’d gotten into Fletch as a result. She knew he was probably getting just as much information about her in return, and surprisingly enough, it didn’t bother her.
“Coke or Pepsi?” she asked him.
“Neither.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “Will you tell me about Annie’s father?”
Emily sighed and rested her head on the couch behind her. He was breaking the rules of the game, but she was ready to move on to more detailed answers anyway. It was only fair that he ask what he wanted if she was going to get to ask what she was curious about.
“I met him when I was twenty-three. He was in the Army and I thought he was so grown up. He was twenty-seven and seemed into me. He said all the right things and swept me off my feet. We dated for about six months before I slept with him. He seemed as interested in me as I was him. Even though he wore condoms, I somehow still got pregnant and was over-the-moon excited. I dreamed of becoming an Army spouse and PCSing with him all over the country. I couldn’t wait to support him as he moved up the ranks.”
Emily stopped and took a drink of her water, remembering how devastated she’d been when she’d found out about his true nature, and how he told her he didn’t want her following him after he’d made his permanent change of station.
“I take it he didn’t have the same thing in mind.”
“Not hardly,” Emily snorted. She hurried to finish up the story. “I told him I was pregnant and he said he wasn’t ready. I thought he’d come around, but the next thing I knew, he’d requested to move posts, and I haven’t seen him since.”
“He never met Annie?” Fletch asked incredulously.
“Nope. I tried to track him down on my own, albeit not very hard, with no luck.”
“You know the Army would force him to pay child support,” Fletch said, looking relaxed on the outside, but Emily could see his hand clenched in a fist on his lap. He was obviously more upset about the entire situation than she was.
“I know, but I didn’t want that. If I forced him to pay child support, then he’d have rights. If he could so easily turn his back on his own flesh and blood before she was even born, I didn’t want him anywhere near her.” Emily shrugged, trying to dismiss it. “The last few months notwithstanding, I think I’ve done a pretty good job on my own.”
Fletch leaned over and smoothed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “You’ve done a wonderful job, Em.”
She cleared her throat, embarrassed for some reason, and hurried to ask a question of her own. “Why did you rent that apartment to me?”
“You needed it.”
“Did I look that desperate?”
“No. But it was obvious that you were looking for a safe place for you and Annie. I could give that to you. Besides, thinking about someone being a dick because Annie asked questions was more than I could stand.”
Emily looked down at her hands, not meeting Fletch’s eyes. “I’m ashamed of myself for thinking the worst of you.”
“Don’t be,” Fletch reassured her immediately.
“But I am. I can’t just turn it off.”
Fletch put his glass of water down and got up to sit on the coffee table in front of her. He took her own glass away from her and put it safely aside, then took her hands in his.
“Don’t be,” he repeated. “You did what you had to do. You didn’t know me. You saw what that asshole wanted you to see. Don’t feel bad for protecting your daughter.”
“But I let him win.”
“He didn’t win.”
“But—”
“Emily, he didn’t win. He might’ve had the upper hand for a while, but you know what he really did?”
“What?”
“He made me that much more determined to earn your trust. To make you see me as the man you want in your life rather than the asshole landlord who gambled too much.” Fletch winked, taking the sting out of his words. “And to win you.”
“There’s that winning thing again,” Emily teased with a smile.
“I’m serious. It’s been torture for me knowing you were right across the way and you seemed to hate me. I’m a pretty likable guy.” He grinned. “And there was nothing I wanted more than for you to like me.”
“I do like you, Fletch.”
“Good. Go out with me this weekend.”
“What?”
“This weekend. Go out with me.”
“Like on a date?”
Fletch smiled at her and squeezed the hands he hadn’t let go of. “Yeah, a date.”
“But Annie—”
“Rayne and Mary will come over and babysit her.”
“I don’t know…” Emily was torn. She was attracted to Fletch. That was a part of why she’d been so disappointed in him. He was sexy and buff, and she knew he’d be able to take on the world for her, so when she’d thought he was a “bad guy” it had nearly broken her. “I’m a package deal, Fletch.”
“I absolutely know that, and I’m thrilled about it. I adore Annie. She’s a mini you. I can see you sometimes looking out through her eyes. She’s smart and funny and caring. I love that you’ve taught her to be that way. There will be lots of times we’ll all go out together. But I would love for our first real date to be
just you and me. I promise I won’t keep you out late. We’ll have dinner, make out a bit, then I’ll bring you home.” He smiled to let her know he was teasing…mostly.
“Maybe I should move back into the apartment. It’s weird that we’re over here.”
“No. Stay. I love having you both in my house, under my protection.”
“Annie’s loud. She’s been on her best behavior since you’re new to her, but you have no idea what it’s like to live with a six-year-old.”
“Stop trying to talk me out of liking you, Em.” Fletch said it with a smile, but she still blushed.
“I just…I’ve only known you to be a good guy for about a day and a half. It’s too fast.”
“I get why you’d think that, but I’ve wanted to be with you since the day you knocked on my door that first time. I thought I’d waited too long and lost my chance. We’ll take it slow. No more sleeping in my bed…until you want to, that is.”
“Annie will become attached.”
“She already is,” Fletch chided gently. “And the feeling is entirely mutual. Emily, I know you’re cautious, and I applaud that, but I’m not her father. I’m not some young prick who is looking to get into your pants and will bail the second something goes wrong. I’m thirty-three years old. While I can’t promise being with me will be all sunshine and roses, I can be a hard-headed son of a bitch sometimes, but I can promise that while I’m home, I’ll put you and Annie first in my life. Before my friends, before the Army, before my job.”
Emily saw the sincerity in Fletch’s eyes. If she was honest with herself, it was a huge turn-on. Most of the men she’d dated in the past, pre-Annie, had been all about themselves and had bragged about their jobs or how important they were. Fletch didn’t do any of that. He was honest and sincere, and stated his flaws up front.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I’ll go on a date with you this weekend.”
Fletch smiled, and Emily’s insides did a little flip at the pleased look on his face.