Fifteen feet away, she noticed the angle of her shadow. She’d have to rush at him so he wouldn’t see her coming.
“Faster,” Clarence yelled. She jerked and caught her breath.
Langley suddenly changed course and cut diagonally across the pool swimming toward Clarence, his arms punching the water like a boxer.
The phone on the table rang. Clarence’s body tensed, his grip on the gun shifting as he tried to divide his attention between Langley in the pool and the phone.
Trish broke into a run, lifting the bat over her shoulder. She planted her feet. One second. Two.
The gun jumped in Clarence’s hand.
Trish swung with all her might.
The crack of the wood striking his head was like a limb breaking off a tree. Clarence’s whole body jerked sideways, and he dropped, his limbs loose. He hit the concrete with a dull thud and lay still. The gun skittered across the concrete and flipped into the pool.
Instant nausea hit Trish and she gripped her knees.
Langley surfaced and climbed out of the pool, blood streaming down his leg, along with the water that ran from his soaked shorts.
“Mom,” Tad was beside her within a second.
At the first close look at his eye, her stomach rolled again. She swallowed against the nausea. She couldn’t fall apart. She had to deal with Langley’s injury first. She handed the bat to Tad and pointed at Clarence. “If that man as much as twitches, hit him again, and don’t hold back.”
The phone continued to ring. She ignored it and turned to Langley. “Where are you hit?”
“Jesus Christ, Trish. He could have killed you,” Langley complained.
“You’re fucking bleeding, Langley. Where are you hit?”
He looked down at the puddle of blood and water at his feet. “I don’t know.”
“Looks like it’s coming from your back. Turn around so I can see.” He did as she asked, and she bit her lip. There was a hole in his pants over his right buttock.
The babysitter, Ashley, rushed forward with the girls. She looked pale, but seemed composed as she handed the phone to her. “It’s an Officer Marshall.”
Trish took the phone, but pointed to the cabinet next to the grill. “Get me some towels from that cabinet over there.” She dragged Anna and Jessica close to her. “Go in the house and wait for me there. I have to help Daddy.”
Suddenly her composure slipped, and her eyes flooded with tears.
Langley laid a hand on her shoulder, “Take it easy, Trish. I think I’m okay. It doesn’t even hurt. It may just be a nick.”
Trish put the phone to her ear. “We need two ambulances. Langley’s been shot, and Clarence is down. I may have killed him. With a baseball bat.” Her voice shook, and she shuddered.
Tad glanced up from his guard duty. “He’s still breathing, Mom.”
She spoke into the phone. “You’d better hurry.”
His team stood around the bed, seven men who had pulled his ass out of the fire too many times to count, just as he’d done a time or two for them. They were all a little bewildered about why they’d been left out of the fight.
“Jesus, man. Why didn’t Trish call us?” Bowie asked, his tone midway between outrage and befuddlement. His dark brows met in a deep V at his straight blade of a nose.
The throb in Langley’s backside was a painful heartbeat, and he was grateful when the nurse appeared. She was about his age, a little thick around the waist, with ash blond hair and a sweet smile. She took a syringe from her pocket, removed the cap, plunged a needle into the IV line plugged into his right arm and emptied the medication into the system. “That ought to make you more comfortable, Senior Chief.”
“Thanks.” It took only a moment for the meds hit his system. The pain eased to a dull twinge.
She nodded. “Five minutes, gentlemen,” she said to the rest of the room. “Senior Chief Marks needs his rest.”
As soon as she left the room, Langley formulated an answer. “There was no way anyone could reach us in time, Bowie. We walked into the house, and the kids weren’t there.
“When I left they were baking a cake to celebrate Trish’s homecoming, so I thought maybe they were setting something up outside on the deck to welcome her home.
“I walked out, and the next thing I knew I had a guy pointing a gun at me from the corner of the house.
“He’d already smacked Tad around, bruised his face and blacked his eye. And he’d terrorized the girls and the babysitter by putting a gun to their heads.
“He wanted Trish. He already tried to kill her once. I couldn’t call her out there and give her to him. I told him they’d kept her at the hospital for a few more last-minute tests before releasing her.
“He wanted to speak to his wife, but he was going to take us all out. He had four rounds left in the gun. One for me, three for the kids, and he could drown the other one in the pool.”
He swallowed as the aftermath of what could have happened threatened to overwhelm him.
“I called Trish, told her what he wanted, then tried talking to him to get him to come closer, but he kept his distance and forced me into the pool. He told me to swim laps, and kept the gun trained on me. But I saw her sneak outside with the bat.”
He shook his head.
“She doesn’t spank the kids. She doesn’t ever raise her voice, not even to me, when she’s mad, but she was going to try and take him out alone. I thought he’d see her coming, thought he’d shoot her before she reached him. The bastard had already nearly taken her from us. She’d just gotten out of the hospital, and I wasn’t sure she’d be strong enough to take him down.”
He started getting emotional again and took a deep breath. “I started swimming toward him as hard and fast as I could, to distract him and draw his fire.” His throat worked. “Tad said she swung the bat like Clarence’s head was a ball and she was aiming for the lights. The bastard went sideways and down.
“Then she went into protective mom and wife mode. I didn’t even know I was hit until she said, ‘You’re fucking bleeding, Langley. Where are you hit?’”
“Jesus!” Hawk breathed. His Native American features had never looked more chiseled. “You never know what you’re capable of until someone is threatening someone you love. Trish did you proud, keeping it together like that, and facing someone who’d damn near killed her. But if that fucker dies, she’ll need to talk to someone, Langley. What we do prepares us, but she’s never raised her hand to harm anyone before. In fact, the total opposite.”
Langley hadn’t thought about that. “We’ll deal with it. I promise. Whatever she and the kids need.”
The nurse popped back in the room.
“It’s time for us to move out, guys,” Hawk said. He offered his hand to Langley. “Trish and you have our number. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks for everything, Hawk.” Langley met his gaze for a moment. “I’ll be back up and running long before we need to go wheels up again.”
Hawk nodded.
The rest of the guys lined up for a fist bump, even the new guys, Sizemore, Tyler, Logan, and Masters. Greenback and Bowie hung back to the last. They slapped his shoulder and gripped his hand.
“Who needs us when you have Trish?” Bowie said. “If I ever find one like her, I might be tempted to settle down.”
“If she was anything like Trish, you’d be lucky if she’d have you,” Langley countered with a grin.
“Selena and I are there for you, Bro,” Greenback said. “You guys or the kids need anything, you have our number.”
The nurse held the door for them, and bustled back in after they left. “They seem like a good group of guys,” she commented as she hooked him up to a blood pressure cup.
His emotions high, he nodded silently, giving himself a chance to settle again. “The very best.”
After the nurse left, he rolled gingerly onto his left side and closed his eyes. The painkillers she’d given him took the edge off his aching ass and made him
drowsy.
How ironic that he had been through so many deployments without a scratch, only to come home and get shot in the ass. As soon as he was feeling better, he knew the team would start giving him crap about it. It would be just too good to pass up.
Fingers brushed his hair back from his forehead, and he opened his eyes to look up at Trish. She was still a little pale, but she smiled.
What was a little nick in the butt if it kept her and the kids safe?
She bent close to rest her check against his. “Are you flying high, sailor?”
“No, but I have a nice buzz going.”
She smiled. “How would you like some company?”
Langley grinned. “Sure.”
She dropped her purse in the chair next to the bed and wiggled up on the mattress. He looped an arm over her hip to pull her in close on the small bed.
He asked about the one thing he’d been worrying about more than himself. “How’s Tad’s eye?”
“The ophthalmologist said it’s going to be okay.”
His breath whooshed out on a sigh of relief.
“Good. I’m relieved. Where are the kids?”
“Believe it or not, Bowie volunteered to take them out for ice cream. He thought doing something normal after all this might help them shrug some of it off. He’s going to drop them off at the house in an hour or so.”
Langley grinned. “You have at least half an hour before you have to leave to get back to the house. Want to mess around?”
“They must have put something more than pain meds in that IV, Langley. You’re wounded.” Worry shadowed her blue eyes.
“Darlin’, I don’t feel a thing.”
“You turned and swam toward him to draw Clarence’s fire, didn’t you?”
Langley grasped her hand and placed it against his cheek. “I was the threat. I’m a man, bigger and stronger than him, and trained to take out terrorists. I had hoped I could get him close enough to take him down. But once I went into the water, it wasn’t an option. When you came out of the house, I knew you were our only chance. So I gave him the target he wanted, and gave you an opportunity to take him down.”
“Oh, God, Langley.” She gripped the hospital gown they’d given him to wear and burrowed her face against his chest. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. After a few minutes, she dragged her composure back around her and wiped her face with a corner of the sheet. Her voice sounded thick with emotion when she said, “You could have been killed.”
“It was a small-caliber weapon, and I was hoping he wouldn’t hit anything important.”
“God, you’re such an idiot. There isn’t a single inch of your body that isn’t important to me—to us.”
“The same goes for you and the kids, honey. I did what I had to do to give us all a chance.”
“Yes, you did.”
“You put your life on the line for us, too. And for Thomas Clarence’s wife and children. Clarence is going to live, and he’ll go to jail for a long, long time—for kidnapping, assault, attempted murder, and half a dozen other things. His wife will never have to worry about him again, and neither will we.”
His arms tightened around her, his fingers gently brushing along the nape of her neck, and she relaxed beneath his touch. “They’re going to kick me out of here in the morning. I don’t think a flesh wound calls for any longer than that. I only have a few stitches.”
“You’ll have a dimple on your butt,” she said with a small laugh.
“Something I’ve always wanted.”
“A badge of courage.”
He refused to allow her to move things in that direction. “Right on my ass.”
“It will be sexy as hell.”
“I’m glad to know you think so, since you’ll be the only woman to see it.”
Her eyes held the shimmer of tears as she brushed the back of her fingers against his jaw. “You’re my hero, Langley Marks. My lover, my husband, my everything.”
Shit, she got him with that one. It was either kiss her or embarrass himself by crying. He moved in for the kiss and her lips were warm and responsive. When he came up for air, he murmured, “And you’re mine, Trish.”
Epilogue
6 MONTHS LATER, 2017
Trish buckled the strap on her sandal and rose to smooth the fabric of her skirt. She turned to take a look at Langley in his dress white uniform. He looked sexy as hell. He didn’t get to wear it nearly enough, in her opinion. There was really something about a man in uniform….
Langley looked up from studying his white shoes and smiled. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, sidling up to her and looping an arm around her waist.
“You know exactly what I’m thinking about.” She ran her fingers over the ribbon bars that covered the left side of his uniform jacket beneath his SEAL Trident. “Think we could talk someone into to taking the kids, so we can come back here and I can peel you out of this uniform.”
A grin stretched across his face. “I’ll ask around as soon as I get there.” He bent his head and kissed her, setting off the familiar chain reaction of galloping heart and tingling heat between her legs.
“If we had time…” There was a promise in his hazel eyes.
“But we don’t, and if we don’t get a move on, you’re going to be late for your own ceremony. But you have a date later, regardless.”
“Sounds good.”
“Hey, Mom,” Tad wandered into the room, breaking the mood.
Trish bit back a sigh.
“Can you tie this for me?” He flipped his tie up and down. “I keep getting it too long in the back.”
She stepped in front of him and realized she was looking him directly in the eye. When had he grown another two inches? She quickly tied his tie and smoothed it down. When he gave her a hug she returned it fiercely.
“We have to get a move on, guys,” Langley said.
Anna and Jessica were in the living room, dressed and ready to go. Jessica grabbed the camera off the coffee table as she stood. “I can take pictures, can’t I, Daddy?”
“Sure, honey. Just don’t post them online, okay?”
“I won’t.”
Langley herded everyone out to the car and took his place behind the wheel.
As they merged onto the 1-5, Trish dwelled on how much better a place they were in now as a family. Though she hadn’t found the perfect job yet, she was still looking. At least she’d had a month’s leave before returning to her old one.
Family counseling had made all the difference to their recovery, and it helped the children put their episode with Thomas Clarence behind them.
Though Langley couldn’t join them there very often because of his training schedule, he seemed to have benefited from it. Or maybe he’d benefited from her being less stressed.
As though reading her mind, he grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. He continued to hold her hand until he had to exit the I-5 to merge onto a different freeway.
Her stomach fluttered with nerves as they crossed the bridge onto Coronado. After fifteen years of hard work, Langley was about to achieve one of his goals. Emotion clogged her throat, and she turned to look over the seat at the kids so he wouldn’t notice.
Tad was listening to his MP3 player and looking out the window, ear buds in his ears. Jessica flipped through some of the pictures she’d taken in the past few days, and Annaliese gazed out the window, her expression distant, a book lying in her lap, something that was as common as breathing. They were growing up, becoming more independent by the day.
Langley swung into the parking lot outside one of the office buildings. He threw the car into park and cut the engine. “All right, team. Admiral Parks will be here to observe the ceremony, so be on your best behavior.”
Annaliese spoke for them all. “We will, Daddy.”
“Thanks, Annabelle.” Langley exited the car.
The team had already arrived, and were clustered on one side of the conference room, close to the food tables. “I’ll be
back in a minute.” Langley wandered off to join them while Trish got the kids settled.
Zoe Weaver and Selena Shaker joined her, and they hugged.
“Are you nervous for Langley?” Zoe asked.
“Yes. It started in the car, and hasn’t let up since.” Trish pressed a hand to her midriff.
“I’ll be the same for Oliver. He’s up for promotion now. Bowie is, too.”
“They’ll make it.” Trish laid a hand on Selena’s shoulder. “This was the best team Langley’s ever been associated with. The guys who have moved on are all excellent leaders. Hawk did an amazing job with everyone.” She left off Derrick Armstrong on purpose.
Trish took a seat next to the kids, with Zoe and Selena on the other side of her. They talked about the kids and the possibility of another deployment looming.
Her attention wandered around the room. An effort had been made to decorate, and make the conference room look more festive. White tablecloths with red, white, and blue streamers twisted together draped the tables. The shallow platform at one end of the room had the flag displayed, and a small table holding the medals and ribbons to be given out.
Trish’s gaze snagged on a tall officer bearing down on them, and automatically stood, along with the other two women. Ribbons covered his chest in an awe-inspiring display. His gray hair and brows looked pale against his skin, and deep crags carved into his cheeks like dimples. As he smiled, they added to his charm.
“Good afternoon, ladies. I’m Admiral Max Parks.” He shook hands with each of them, and waited for them to introduce themselves. “I wonder if I might borrow Mrs. Marks for a moment?”
At Zoe’s and Selena’s, “Sure” and “Certainly,” he guided Trish aside, a short distance away.
Nerves whipped through her system, making her short of breath.
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