Securing Caite

by Susan Stoker

She gave him a dubious look. “To whom? Joshua? He’d just tell me if I can’t handle the job, I should go home. In case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t a lot of female contractors here. I guess it’s because we’re in the Middle East. I’ve met some amazing people, but I’ve also had way more side-eyes than I can count. Again, I’m just a secretary and I’m a woman. That’s two strikes against me here.”

  Rocco clenched his teeth. “It doesn’t make it right.”

  “No, you’re exactly right, it doesn’t. But some dude from Iraq refusing to speak to me because of my gender isn’t the end of the world. Neither is a group of men loudly discussing how I might perform in bed when—”

  “No, they fucking did not!” Rocco interrupted, furious on her behalf. “This is the twenty-first century. They can’t talk to you like that!”

  “Calm down,” Caite said, putting her hand on his thigh. “They weren’t talking to me, and they were speaking amongst themselves in French and didn’t think I could understand. And I almost couldn’t, even though I’m fluent, because of their accent.”

  “That doesn’t make it any better.”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t. But you’re not getting my point.”

  “You have a point?” Rocco asked.

  “Yes. I know I don’t belong here. The military has always been a man’s world. I knew that when I accepted the job. But like I said, I needed the money.”

  “You don’t have to put up with this shit for money.”

  “I don’t?” She smiled. “I don’t know anyone else who’s going to pay off my student loans for me. Or who’ll pay the exorbitant rent in the San Diego area. Or who will pay for food, gas, and everything else I need. All I’m saying is that I have thick skin. As a woman in a man’s world, I’ve learned a lot by sitting back and not rocking the boat. Listening. You’d be amazed at the things I’ve found out by fading into the woodwork and not getting up in people’s faces when they’re rude.”

  “Like what?” Rocco asked tightly. He wanted to continue to argue, to tell her that if she’d let him, he’d help her out, but now wasn’t the time or the place.

  Caite smiled again and looked around furtively, as if making sure no one was lurking before imparting some big secret. “Like there are three new guys living in the barracks who are ‘wicked hot.’”

  Rocco blinked. Was she being serious?

  “Word on the street—okay, with the two women sailors I overheard talking in the cafeteria—is that you and your friends haven’t been to the club yet, and they’ve been there every night, just in case. And if you, Ace, or Gumby gave them the slightest sign that you’re interested, they’d be more than willing to,” she cleared her throat and blushed slightly as she continued, “make you breakfast in the morning before you left their apartment.”

  Rocco shouldn’t have been shocked, but he was. “We’re here for work,” he said seriously.

  Caite giggled. “You asked what I’ve overheard. I’m just telling you.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. I also know that there’s a petty officer first class who’s cheating on his wife with an officer in the Australian Navy, and a chief warrant officer 4 who was busted for having child porn on his work computer, and the public relations department had to scramble to cover up the scandal when a rear admiral who was visiting the base was caught in a prostitute sting by the local police.”

  Rocco could only stare at her.

  Caite sat back and looked extremely proud of herself. “Don’t look so shocked, Rocco. You’d be surprised at the things people say when they don’t think anyone is around to hear them. I’ve just learned to stay quiet and listen. It’s crazy what people will say to each other or on the phone when they don’t take the time to look around and see who might be listening. I already blend into the background, and people only tend to notice me when they’re really looking.” She shrugged. “It’s easier, and safer, to lay low and not make a fuss than try to rock the boat.”

  Rocco shook his head. “First, you do not blend into the background. I have no idea why you think that.”

  “Because it’s true,” Caite insisted. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. I wouldn’t know what to do if men hit on me all the time or if women were constantly trying to talk to me.”

  “I saw you the second we walked into that elevator,” Rocco said. “And I don’t just mean because you were the only one in there. You were flushed from the heat and irritated that I’d dare force myself into your elevator.”

  She stared up at him with huge guilty eyes.

  He went on. “You were surprised we’d even bothered to say hello, and when the elevator stopped, you weren’t fazed, you just plunked yourself down on the ground without a word of complaint.”

  “I told you that I hate to complain because it never does any good,” she said, blushing harder.

  “I’m thinking the people you’ve known in your life are blind,” Rocco said. “Either that or they’re so narcissistic, they never take the time to look around and notice anyone else. I’m sorry others are assholes to you, especially my fellow navy peers. I’m sorry that you have to put up with rude behavior. I’m sorry that you haven’t found anyone you feel safe enough with to explore Bahrain. It’s an amazing country, with wonderful people. Yes, their culture is very different from ours, but that’s what makes it so wonderful. If I was going to be here longer, I’d absolutely give you a tour. I’d show you what areas to stay away from and how to navigate the city. I’d show you how delicious falafel and machboos are and take you to Tariq Pastries, so you could try their chocolate-dipped baklava.”

  Caite licked her lips as she stared up at him, and the longing on her face was almost painful to witness.

  Rocco raised a hand slowly and brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. He stared into her dark blue eyes and said, “Don’t sell yourself short, ma petite fée. And don’t think that no one sees you. I do. Those assholes sexually harassing you in French saw you too. And I bet your boss is threatened by you, so he sees you as well. You’re an adult. You can do what you want, all I’m asking is that you’re careful. Staying quiet is often a good idea, except when it’s not.”

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered.

  “There’s a time to be silent, and there’s a time to yell as loud as you can at the top of your lungs. You’ll know the difference when the time comes.”

  Caite took a deep breath and straightened. Rocco forced his hand back to the edge of the bench. Her skin was soft, and he’d wanted nothing more than to shove his fingers in her hair, tilt her head back, and see if her lips were as soft and sweet as the rest of her.

  Clearing his throat, Rocco said, “So…tonight…dinner?”

  Caite nodded.

  “Please tell me you don’t want to go to the Taco Bell here on the base,” he quipped.

  She smiled. “No.”

  “Good. There’s a place in Block 338 that I think you’d like.”

  “Block 338?”

  Rocco looked at her in surprise. “Yeah. Some of neighborhoods around Manama are labeled in blocks. For instance, the naval base is closest to Block 338, and the Ritz-Carlton is north of here on the other side of the island in Block 428. And there are some areas that you just plain shouldn’t go to, no matter what. Like Block 404 and 424. They aren’t safe.”

  She nodded. “I got the briefing when I arrived. The US embassy puts out maps of places that are off limits. I don’t remember anything about blocks, but they gave us a map of the city with some areas marked in red where we shouldn’t go.”

  “Good. Anyway, Block 338 isn’t too far from the base. There’s a restaurant inside a hotel that’s really good. It’s called Kolors, and it’s got just about every kind of international food you could ever want. But if nothing appeals, Miz Natasha will let us special order anything you want, even if it’s not on the menu. I didn’t think you’d be comfortable going way off base, but maybe you could trust me enough
to go just a bit farther than you’ve been so far.”

  Caite nodded immediately, which made him feel good. “I’d like that.”

  “Then it’s a date.” Rocco couldn’t stop smiling when she blushed again. He could see a sheen of sweat on her forehead and knew it was time to get his girl inside.

  He stilled at that thought. His girl. The very idea was irrational, and way too soon, but it didn’t feel wrong.

  He stood and held out his hand. “Come on. Time for you to go inside before you melt.”

  “It’s hot out here,” she said in her defense even as she stood.

  “You don’t know hot until you’ve been in the Iraqi desert, in full uniform, including bulletproof vest and helmet, in one-hundred-and-twenty-degree temps in the glaring sun, tracking down insurgents,” Rocco said without thought. “This feels like a nice spring day in comparison.”

  She stopped him with a hand on his arm. Concern was written all over her face. “Thank you, Rocco.”

  “For what?”

  “For what you do. For your service to our country. For having to trek through the one-hundred-and-twenty-degree heat to keep people like me safe. Our way of life. Just…thank you.”

  His heart melted. “It’s words like yours that make it all worthwhile.”

  And without thought, he did what felt right. He leaned over and gently brushed his lips against hers.

  It was a short, chaste kiss, but the effect on Rocco was as intense as if he’d been hit by lightning.

  He watched as she licked her lips, as if to have the taste of him on her tongue. Rocco himself felt tongue-tied, which he never was. To cover his surprise at the depth of emotion he was feeling, he took hold of Caite’s hand and draped it over his arm. They walked side by side back to the front door of her building.

  “I’ll meet you here at five when you get off work. I’ll walk you to your apartment so you can change, then we’ll catch a taxi to the restaurant. Sound okay?”

  She nodded and stared up at him.

  Rocco took her in for a brief moment. She really was tiny compared to him. At six-three, he was taller than most people, but with Caite, it felt right. He was big enough to stand between her and anyone or anything that might threaten her. It was an odd thought, but he’d been full of those lately.

  “I’ll see you tonight then.”

  “Promise?” she asked with a small grin.

  He returned it. “Nothing would keep me away,” he vowed, doing what he’d wanted to do since the second his lips left hers. He leaned down once more. This time she came up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway.

  The kiss was once again short and sweet, but the promise of it was oh so dirty.

  It was Rocco who licked his lips this time. “Later, ma petite fée.”

  “Later.”

  He turned and somehow resisted the urge to look back one more time, and made his way to the barracks, where Ace and Gumby were waiting for him.

  They were right. Even though he was looking forward to tonight more than he’d looked forward to almost anything in the last year and a half or so, his mind was clearer.

  Caite was fine. She could hold her own. She was smart, and as a woman working in a male-dominated field, especially over here in Bahrain, she’d proven to him in ten short minutes that she was being as safe as possible. She wasn’t making waves, not pissing people off. Even if he wished she’d stand up for herself a bit more and had more self-esteem when it came to her own charms, he was confident that she was in no danger.

  Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for himself.

  Two hours later, Rocco, Ace, and Gumby lay on a damp dirt floor beneath a general goods store in Block 424, one of the most dangerous places in Manama.

  The store should’ve been closed and unoccupied, as Jeo Bitoo and his wife were visiting relatives in Africa, and their sons were supposed to be sitting in a classroom at the conference on the American naval base.

  The SEALs had been looking around the store when the back door flew open and somewhere between ten and fifteen men entered. They all had baseball bats—and while the SEALs were certainly able to hold their own in close combat, they were no match for a literal mob. No one said much, just enough for Rocco to get the impression the Bitoo brothers were among the group, and that they’d been tipped off by someone in the neighborhood that men had entered their father’s business. They’d obviously gathered some help as they made their way to the store—and the result was the SEALs beaten to within an inch of their lives and unceremoniously shoved through a hole in the floor.

  Rocco lay on his back, staring up through his one un-swollen eye as the hatch in the floor was closed, leaving them in complete darkness. They were in a storage cellar at least fifteen feet below the store.

  “Well, shit,” he mumbled to himself, knowing Ace and Gumby were unconscious and wouldn’t respond. It was obvious that getting out of their current predicament wasn’t going to be easy…if they got out at all. “Guess I’m not going to be able to meet Caite for dinner after all.” It was the last thing he managed to say before passing out himself.

  Chapter Four

  Caite looked at her watch for the hundredth time. Five thirty-two.

  At first she just assumed Rocco was running late. Then she thought she’d been stood up…but remembering the look on his face, and how he’d so solemnly told her that nothing would keep him away, slight dread settled in her belly.

  She thought something was wrong, but she had absolutely no way to check on him.

  He didn’t have a cell phone. Most of the employees had already gone home. And Caite had no idea if anyone even knew they were Navy SEALs. Hell, she wasn’t even sure of that fact.

  But as much as she worried about him, the niggling doubt wouldn’t leave the back of her mind. It wasn’t as if she really knew him. He’d promised to be there to take her out, but he could’ve had second thoughts.

  Sighing, Caite got up from the bench she’d been sitting on and started walking toward the front gate of the base. She wasn’t going to waste her time sitting around for hours waiting on someone who would probably never show up.

  “His loss,” she whispered…but she couldn’t keep her lip from quivering.

  Rocco groaned and rolled over. He opened his eyes—well, the one eye that would open—and still couldn’t see a damn thing. It was pitch dark and it smelled like mold and dirt.

  “Ace? Gumby?” he croaked.

  “Yeah,” Gumby replied weakly.

  “I’m here,” Ace said.

  Rocco sighed in relief. They weren’t out of the woods, but at least his buddies were conscious. He lifted his arm, gritting his teeth against the pain the action caused. He touched the button on the side of his watch and swore when he saw it was eight at night. They’d been unconscious for hours.

  “Sit rep?” he asked.

  “We’re in some sort of cellar,” Gumby told him. “While you and Ace were napping, I looked around as best I could. I didn’t notice any ladder or steps, but admit that I didn’t really do a thorough search yet. But do you want to hear the good news?”

  Rocco had no idea what the hell could be good about the situation, but he dutifully said, “Sure.”

  “We won’t starve to death,” Gumby said. “There are boxes of food down here, and I even found a stash of water bottles too.”

  “Goody,” Ace grumbled. “But how are we going to get out?”

  “That’s the tricky part,” Gumby said. “I’m pretty sure my ankle is out of commission. When those assholes shoved us down here, I wasn’t able to land right. You guys?”

  “My wrist is fucked,” Rocco said. “But my legs seem all right. One eye isn’t working too well either.”

  “My head is bleeding, but I’m pretty sure nothing’s broken,” Ace added.

  “Right. So we’re good,” Gumby said.

  Rocco didn’t even crack a smile. His teammate was right. Their injuries might be insurmountable for normal people, but SEALs weren’t n
ormal. As long as they weren’t bleeding out or completely immobile, they could still fight. “I remember looking up at the hatch right before I passed out,” Rocco told the others, “and we’re about fifteen or so feet below.”

  “Easy-peasy,” Gumby said, and Rocco could hear the smile in his voice.

  “As long as they haven’t blocked it or otherwise locked it,” Ace said.

  “Yup,” Gumby agreed.

  With every second that went by, Rocco was more and more lucid. His wrist hurt, yes, and his head, but he was pissed. He’d missed his date with Caite. He’d promised he’d be there, and here he was instead. He couldn’t stand the thought of her waiting outside her building in vain. He didn’t want to even contemplate what she might be thinking about him. Probably that he was a player. With her self-esteem, she probably thought him not showing up was all about her.

  Clenching his teeth, Rocco forced himself to his feet. They had to get out of this hole in the ground. It wasn’t good that the brothers had caught them red-handed in their parents’ shop.

  “Gumby, did you find a flashlight when you were looking around earlier?”

  “No. But I found a box of candles and I’ve got my flint on me.”

  Rocco smiled. “Those clay tablets could be stashed somewhere down here. The commander’s intel could be faulty as well, in thinking the father was the only one in on the smuggling deal. I’m guessing the sons might know a lot more than the commander thinks. And if those tablets are down here, they’ll eventually have to come back and open that hatch.”

  “Which means we’re screwed,” Ace said. “It won’t be hard to take us out from up there.” He motioned to the hatch above their heads.

  Rocco completely agreed. If they found the tablets, they had confirmation that the brothers would be back sooner rather than later—and they’d most likely have more than just baseball bats this time.

  “Looks like it’s hide-and-seek time,” Rocco said. “We don’t know how much time we’ve got, so let’s look through all this shit then figure out a plan. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d like to make it as difficult as possible for those assholes to kill us.”