by Hill, Teresa
She had to stop this. She had to be stronger, be better, stop letting what Aaron did ruin her life.
* * *
Chapter Six
Mace
He could sleep under any circumstances. It was part of SEAL training. You had to sleep whenever and wherever you could. He could practically sleep and walk, sleep and swim, sleep and carry on a conversation. He could certainly sleep and be alert enough to listen for his phone, in case that creep tried something with Dani that night.
He hadn’t wanted to leave her, but shy of sleeping outside her front door or what might be her bedroom window, he didn’t know how he could stay. And he really didn’t want to try to explain himself to another cop tonight.
So, he went home to his condo on the beach. He and a few of his buddies had picked up units in the same complex when the real estate market crashed. The condo market crashed even harder, which meant he could grab a unit with a side view of the ocean. It wasn’t new, and it wasn’t fancy, but he didn’t care. It was close enough to the base that he could run down the beach to work, if he wanted. It was one helluva commute. He loved it.
But he really wished Dani were here and safe.
He still couldn’t believe she and Aaron weren’t married.
Mace had heard directly from Lt. Carson that he’d just gotten married. Kid seemed thrilled about it. Mace thought he was nuts to get married so young. What did anybody know about life at twenty-five? And to be in the military, with the risks they took …
He wouldn’t put a woman through that, especially not a woman he loved.
He finally got up at five-thirty, feeling and looking like he had a horrible sunburn on his face. Being outside in the sun today was only going to make it worse. He slathered on some aloe vera his little sister had left here. At least felt cool on his still-inflamed skin.
His truck was six or seven miles away, at the bar where Dani worked, an easy distance for a morning run, even before whatever PT he put his platoon through this morning. He pulled the brim of a baseball cap down low to shield his face and took off. A little over an hour later, he left his truck in the parking garage on the first level of his condo building and ran down the beach to work.
None of it stopped him thinking about Dani. Or the reception he was going to get when the guys in his team saw him.
The first week or two back from a deployment were short, easy days. Well, as easy as any days ever got in the teams. Guys took leave. They wrapped up loose ends, wrote reports, took care of equipment, planned their upcoming training sessions and waited for their next assignment.
The laughter and razzing started the minute the first of his teammates spotted him. One pretended to fall out of his chair and onto the floor, because he was laughing so hard. Three guys took photos of Mace’s messed-up face. Two of the newest in the platoon said they’d thought the rumors about the origin of his nickname had to be false, or at least greatly exaggerated, that he couldn’t possibly be this bad with women.
He took it all, didn’t even try to fight back.
“How many times does this make?” one of the guys asked.
“Three,” Mace admitted.
“What did you do?”
“He was trying to help a woman,” said his best friend, Will. “He’s always trying to help. What happened this time?”
“A little misunderstanding about a girl who’d had too much to drink and the two guys who wanted to take her home.”
“A guy Maced you?”
“No. The woman.”
His buddies howled with laughter. When that finally quieted down, one of them asked, “So, this woman really wanted to go home with the two guys and thought you were going to mess that up?”
“No.”
“So, what’s the story?”
“Like I said, a misunderstanding.”
He gave them five full minutes to say what they had to say and get it out of their systems, and then told his squad to get ready for a little swim.
That shut ’em up fast.
It was windy that morning, twenty, maybe twenty-two knots, enough to make the water choppy and angry. Challenging, even for a SEAL team.
He put his squad through a grueling two-hour swim and dared anyone to bitch about it.
They didn’t.
When they came in to hit the showers, Mace found a message from Commander Taylor that said, Come See Me.
Perfect.
He got to stand before the commander, the executive officer and four other support staffers, and listen to them all crack up. After what felt like forever, but was maybe only about sixty seconds, Mace said, “Did you need anything, Sir? Or was it just a look at my face?”
Commander Taylor motioned for everybody else to clear out. “Anything you want to tell me, Chief?”
“Just trying to help a lady out, Sir.”
“I gotta tell you, I worry when I hear one of my guys can’t handle himself against two drunk baby sailors. We could send you to a refresher in close-quarter combat. Or was it a human intelligence issue? You not have your night-vision goggles? Need that advantage? Want to go back to BUD/S one more time?”
The commander barely got all that out before he cracked up again.
Mace shook his head. “The woman was right in the middle of it, Sir. I was trying to keep her from getting hurt while dealing with the two men.”
“Again, not something I’d expect my men to have trouble handling.”
“You’re right, Sir. I didn’t properly assess the situation, didn’t realize she was armed.”
“You can’t be too careful with a woman, son. They’ll surprise you every time.”
“Yes, Sir.” She had.
“So, why did she pepper-spray you?”
“She may have thought I was stalking her, Sir,” Mace admitted.
“This gets better and better. Were you?”
“Not exactly, Sir. She’s the widow of the lieutenant who died in the train shooting in Germany last year. I’ve been trying to track her down.”
“I didn’t know he was married.”
“He may not have been. It’s complicated, Sir.”
“Son, are you in trouble? Do you need my help?”
“No, Sir. Thank you.”
“Okay. The guys working the gate last night stopped the vehicle those two stupid kids were in. They were intoxicated and are being dealt with.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Chief, if the local police are called out to deal with one of my men, I don’t want to hear about it from the police first. I want it straight from my man.”
“Yes, Sir. Sorry. I intended to see you this morning.”
“Hear you guys had a nice, long swim. Feel better?”
“Not yet, Sir.”
“All right. That’s it. Back to work.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you.”
As he was leaving the office, the XO called Mace’s name and snapped a photo. Mace would be seeing that shot for years.
Sucking it up as best he could, he headed back to his platoon, ready to catch some more hell, when his phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but he picked it up anyway.
He’d barely said hello, when a woman started yelling.
“Were you and Aaron in on it together?”
“Dani?”
“Yes. Was it some a bet?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You said Aaron told you that we got married. Why would he do that? Was it a game? Find some stupid girls to play around with? See how far you could take it? Like even faking a ceremony?”
“No! I’m not asshole to women.”
“Then why did Aaron tell you we got married? It wasn’t real. He knew that. It was only hours after that fake ceremony that he died, so he must have made it a priority to tell you so quickly. Why?”
“He was excited and happy,” Mace said.
“About what?”
“Dani, he did not say one word that made me think he was anything but
sincere and happy.”
“No! It makes no sense!”
“I know it doesn’t. Whatever you think he did or his intentions were, I don’t believe it was ever about tricking you.”
“Don’t tell me that!”
“I’m sorry. It’s true. I’m not gonna lie to you.”
“I couldn’t handle one more person lying to me — ”
“I promise, I’m not. Dani, where are you?”
“At my house.”
“Did something happen with your roommate’s boyfriend? Did he hurt you?”
“No! This has nothing to do with him.”
“Is he there?”
“I don’t know. I locked myself in my room last night.”
“Fuck,” Mace muttered. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you there with him.”
“He didn’t do anything to me. He couldn’t. I pushed my dresser in front of the door, and I have a baseball bat by my bed.”
Jesus, this girl. What was he going to do with this girl to make sure she was safe? “Okay. Stay right where you are. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t need you come here. I don’t need you to take care of me. I want to know why Aaron told you he married me when he didn’t.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you when I get there.”
* * *
Mace drove like an idiot, thinking about her roommate’s boyfriend getting to her, grabbing her and not letting her go. He’d seen too many bad things in his life, could picture it all too clearly.
He roared to a stop outside that lousy house where she lived, strode to the door and banged on it.
She answered it, obviously just out of bed. Her hair was all over the place, and she wore a soft cotton t-shirt — pretty sure with no bra beneath it — and a pair of those tiny sleep shorts women wore. No make-up, eyes a little puffy, and a suspicious look on her face.
“Where is he?” Mace demanded.
“I don’t know. Not here, I guess.”
He looked her over one more time, checking for bruises, any signs that she’d been mistreated. He saw none.
It should have made him feel better, but it didn’t.
“Why didn’t you stay in your room, like I told you to?”
“I don’t take orders from you. Who do you think you are?”
“Someone who’d like to know that you’re safe, which you clearly aren’t when that guy is here.”
“I’ve been keeping myself safe for most of my life. I’m not helpless. I’m not stupid … Okay, I was stupid last night, but I’m not normally. It was … a really bad night.”
“So, what happens when you have another bad night? I might not be there, and I doubt you’re going to call me. Anything could happen to you.”
“Yeah, and I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. So could you. Or you could get shot, blown up, fall out of a plane. You take a lot more risks in your job than I do.”
“Fall out of a plane? Sweetheart, I don’t fall out of planes. I jump out of them. I’ve done it hundreds of times. We have checklists for everything, we double-check things, we practice, a lot.”
“You’re still jumping out of a plane. That’s got to be more dangerous than working in a bar.”
“Why are you working there? Why aren’t you teaching? Aaron said you’d just graduated, and you were so excited to finally start your teaching job. What happened?”
“Aaron happened. My job started seven weeks later. I was still a mess. I’d have been better off not starting that job than bombing in it.”
“Did you tell them what happened?”
“That I’d just lost my pretend husband? No. I didn’t want them to know I was an idiot. I was supposed to be teaching kids. I really didn’t want anyone to know how well the man played me. Now, I don’t know if I’ll ever get another chance at teaching.”
“I’ll never believe he played you, Dani. He was crazy about you. Look, there have been times when my life and other people’s lives depended on my ability to read people. I’m good at it.”
“Well, I guess your Spidey sense failed you that time.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Tell me why you care so much. You obviously went to a lot of trouble to find me. Why?”
“It’s what we do. In the military, when someone dies, someone we serve with, we make sure his family — ”
“I told you. I’m not family.”
“Okay, the people he left behind. We make sure they’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” she said.
He glared at her.
“I know it didn’t seem like it, but last night … It was the widow’s group. They’re regulars, in there twice a month on Tuesdays. I keep track because I don’t want to see them. I make sure I’m not there. But they didn’t show up on Tuesday. They showed up on Thursday this time. I don’t know why. They even sat in my section. I haven’t told anyone at the bar that Aaron was in the Navy or how he died or what he did to me. They think I had a bad breakup.”
“Why not?”
“It’s easier for me if no one there knows the whole story. I tried not to listen to what the widows were saying or think about what they’d been through, but it didn’t work. It got to me, and then … Well, you saw what happened. Sometimes, I want so much to not feel anything. I need it. Can you understand that?”
“Yeah. I get it.”
“So, that’s what it was. One bad night. I’m not usually like that. I’m usually … Okay. Mostly.”
“I still want you to know I mean what I said — about us in the military taking care of the people left behind when someone dies. It’s not just pretty words with us. I want you to know you can call me, for any reason, for anything you need.”
“So, you and Aaron were really close?”
“No.” He knew that would only leave her with more questions, but he was afraid that, once he answered them, she wouldn’t talk to him anymore. At the very least, she’d be upset to hear that he’d been there when Aaron died, and Mace needed information from her first. “What did Aaron do to you? You first. Then I’ll tell you how I know him.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re really stubborn?”
“I’m normally easy going, and if I’m not feeling that way, I try to hide it — ”
She gave a short blast of laughter.
“It’s true,” he insisted. “You’ve just been seeing me worried. That’s all. Tell me about you and Aaron.”
She glared at him for so long he thought she was going to refuse. But she finally started talking. “You know about the school where I did my student teaching? The pen pal thing with his unit?”
“Yes.”
“That’s how we met. He wrote to me, called me. We talked on Skype. He made me fall in love with him, made me believe every word he said. When his tour overseas was extended, he begged me to meet him in Greece for his leave, and I did. I did what he asked, no matter what. The day before we had to leave Greece, he told me he loved me and begged me to marry him, right then and there. It was this crazy spur of the moment thing that seemed so important to him. It was so beautiful there. The trip had seemed perfect. He said that would be the perfect ending to it.”
“He showed me photos. It looked beautiful.”
“Yeah, well … I thought it was real, but it wasn’t. And I didn’t even know it until he died. Now I can never ask him why he did that to me.”
“That makes no sense to me.”
“To me, either.”
“No, I mean … The way he talked about you … He photos of the two of you …. He looked so happy, sounded so happy. There was nothing that seemed fake about it. And even if he was lying to you, why would he lie to someone like me about it? We were strangers. Why say anything at all?”
“Wait, you were strangers? You said you knew him — ” She backed away from Mace.
“We met just that once, but it was … It was … not an ordinary day. Not one you forget. It was — ”
“The day he died? It w
ould have to be the day he died, because … There was no time, after the ceremony, when he could have told you about it or shown you photos unless you met him the day he died.”
“Yeah. I met him in Munich, at the station where we were both changed trains.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to tell me?”
He nodded.
“Were you … I mean, was he … Were you on the train with him when the shooting started?”
“Yes.”
“Were you with him when he died?”
“Yes.”
She looked like he’d punched her. He hated this. As much as he had been determined to find her, he’d dreaded coming, and this was why. It had to be so hard to hear this kind of thing, even if people’s loved ones usually said they wanted to know.
Or, at least, they usually wanted some sanitized version of what happened.
He wasn’t alone.
He wasn’t afraid.
It happened so fast.
He didn’t seem to be in any pain.
He said to tell you that he loved you.
The last thoughts he had were about you.
Mace had said all of those things to people’s loved ones over the years. Sometimes they’d been true. Sometimes, they’d been the farthest thing from the truth.
If he could say nothing else, he went with the old, It happened so fast.
Even though moments like that could seem like years.
He didn’t feel bad about offering people little comforting lies about what it had been like. Sometimes it did happen fast. Sometimes, it was an instant, like in an explosion. If it wasn’t, it served no purpose to tell people about their loves ones lingering in pain, in panic, begging everyone not to let them die.
He watched her, looking for some clue about what she needed from him now. She wasn’t giving away much.
Finally, he said, “I’ll tell you whatever you want, whenever you’re ready to hear it.”
She shook her head, an awful look in her eyes.
Mace was afraid she’d bolt on him, and he’d never see her again. She looked that spooked, that sad. “Dani, I just — ”
“No. I can’t … Please, just go.”
