SmokingHot

by Anne Marsh

  He wasn’t a quitter.

  He wasn’t.

  “Nightmare. You don’t want to know,” he said, stalling for time.

  She moved closer and, Jesus, she was almost naked and the word was a prayer.

  “You need to tell someone.” She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and rubbed. “Maybe you can tell me.”

  “Why?” he asked and he really wanted to say why do you care? Of course, the answer was probably because Katie was nice, the kind of person who took a grizzled vet out for coffee and watched out for a feisty five-year-old in her art class because the kid’s mom was too frazzled to think straight and needed the hour to herself. She let people skip paying because otherwise they might not come, forced to choose between an hour of fun and paying the light bill, the insurance bill, or any one of a dozen other bills.

  So, no, her asking didn’t mean anything more than that. She was nice. He was hurting. Sure, they’d had fantastic sex and he was pretty certain they were friends. Good friends. Friends with benefits. It was nothing more than that, although even that was so much more than he deserved.

  “You worry me,” she said.

  That was the last thing he wanted to do.

  “There was a kid on the street.” He was starting the story in the middle, but she’d catch up. Or not. She’d asked and now he was telling, the words coming fast and hard. “We were on patrol, Kade and I. We hit an IED with the Humvee and got out. We were okay, which was a miracle, but there were insurgents laying down heavy fire and it was time to get out of there. A kid came out of the shadows. He was smiling at us and I figured he was just curious.”

  There was no label he could put on that moment the kid fished in the folds of his oversized robe. A wide grin had split his face, making him look like a child playing dress-up, except that then the kid had produced an AK-47 from all that fabric instead of a toy and had pointed it at Tye. And that’s when he’d frozen because, fuck... that kid couldn’t have been twelve. More like ten, even though the kid’s eyes had been going on eighty.

  “He had a gun.”

  “Oh, Tye,” she said. Maybe she didn’t know what to say either, because her hand rubbed faster.

  “I should have shot him right then,” he said fiercely. “I should have raised my weapon. And. I. Didn’t. Kade had to finish the job for me and that’s what got him killed, because he followed that kid and there was an IED and...”

  “Boom,” she said softly.

  Yeah. Some things didn’t need more words than that. Boom, and it had all been over in one terrific flash of heat and light. Nothing left but him, the Humvee, and a big-ass crater he couldn’t possibly fill.

  “Merde,” he whispered against her hair. “That about covers it.”

  ***

  No. It didn’t cover it. She had no idea what the right words were. She pulled Tye closer and wrapped her arms around him, hanging on tight. Not that strangling him would make him feel better, but he was so alone. So sure that Kade’s death was his fault.

  “Bad shit happens,” she said when they were cheek-to-cheek. “In both French and English.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, voice hoarse. “I’m with you there.”

  She ran her hands down his back, rubbing. Pulling him close. Her big tough guy had a soft side. He worried. He believed he’d fucked up big time. She didn’t know if he had. She hadn’t been there, didn’t know what had really happened on that street in Khost.

  And it didn’t matter. She knew who he was now. Kade wouldn’t have wanted his friend to beat himself up over what was either not his fault or was an understandable mistake. Shooting a kid, even if he’d been armed, wasn’t the kind of man she’d fallen in love with. She hurt for him, wanted to fix what was broken, but some things he had to do for himself.

  The man she’d fallen in love with.

  She knew how that had happened, but the when eluded her. Instead of worrying, however, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight.

  “You’re a good man,” she said. “And you have to let it go. Get on with your life.”

  She’d undoubtedly have to get on with her own.

  Because, however she felt, this was a temporary, summertime romance.

  He didn’t say anything, but some of the tension eased from his shoulders. Long minutes later, she felt the moment he relaxed completely, losing himself in sleep again.

  Right now, right this moment, Tye Callahan was hers.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The cell phone on the nightstand buzzed and played a raucous refrain of Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.” Kade had programmed his favorite song and personal barhopping anthem into Tye’s phone on one particularly unforgettable night off in Khost. Tye opened his eyes, fishing for the phone automatically with his left hand, while his right hand wrapped around Katie. Sprawled on his chest, she made a little snorting noise.

  The ring tone pealed out again.

  Which was impossible, now that he was awake to do any kind of clear thinking.

  Bringing the phone up, he squinted at the number he’d never expected to see again. Kade’s number dialing him.

  “Tye” Katie’s sleepy voice was half-muffled as she mumbled into his chest. “Is everything okay? Is Jack calling you in?”

  They didn’t jump at night. Ever. That was a basic safety regulation. If their asses were on the ground, it was fine to work through the night, but the planes didn’t go up after dark. State of California cut the pilots off at dusk. It was—Tye eyed the phone—three a.m.

  “Did you turn off Kade’s cell service?”

  She shook her head, burrowing her face deeper Tye’s chest. “I didn’t. Can’t speak for his parents though.” She yawned. “Why?”

  “Kade’s number is calling me.”

  She sat bolt upright. He’d imagined this moment a hundred times after that last night in Khost. Kade, calling to say that it had all been some kind of horrific mistake and he was coming home. He’d hoped that would happen. Katie, however, had believed it would. What if she’d been right?

  No. It was impossible.

  What was more likely was that someone had got their hands on Kade’s phone.

  “Answer it.” Katie groped for the phone and he sat up.

  Damn it. He didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to dash the hope blossoming on her face. She was probably imagining a dozen different homecoming scenarios right now. Thinking about Kade and what he meant to her.

  Tye wanted her thinking about him like that.

  Double damn.

  Kade couldn’t possibly be on the other end of the line. Kade was dead.

  He punched the talk button on the button. “Yeah?”

  And... the miracle happened.

  “It’s Kade,” said a familiar voice on the other end. The voice was faint and tired-sounding, half-drowned out by background noise.

  Tye didn’t know what to say.

  “Jesus Christ,” he eventually blurted out, not sure if the words were a curse or a prayer.

  “Not quite.” Kade sounded tired. “But apparently I’m back from the dead.”

  Katie froze. Tye threaded a hand through her hair, rubbing the back of her head. How must she feel?

  “What? How?” He didn’t know where to start. He wanted to know the details but relief overwhelmed him. He hadn’t gotten his best friend killed. He looked down at Katie, staring up at him. Hell. But he’d slept with his friend’s girl.

  “It’s a long story.” Kade clearly didn’t want to share the details over the phone.

  “Where are you? Are you okay?”

  “I’m on a plane. I’ll be landing in San Francisco in four hours, then I’m heading up to Strong.”

  Katie’s nails dug into his chest and Tye was almost certain she hadn’t taken a breath since he’d answered the phone. He wanted to reassure her, wanted to hand the phone to her but... yeah. This went beyond awkward.

  “Where
are you at?”

  And there it was. The question Tye had been dreading.

  “I’m in Strong,” he said.

  The silence stretched out long enough that Tye wondered if the connection had dropped.

  “You asked me to look out for Katie if something happened,” he said. Katie shoved away from his chest and, yeah, she was breathing now. A deep, pissed-off, sharp exhalation.

  “Right. Thanks. If you’re there—” Kade hesitated.

  “Give me your flight number and I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

  “Thanks.” Kade rattled off his deets and then there was another pause. “No one else,” he said. “I don’t want a welcoming party.”

  Hell. Tye wanted to ask what kind of injuries Kade had sustained, because Tye had heard that tone from dozens of other veterans calling home to say that they’d be coming home. Most of them. Minus a few pieces others might or might not notice the loss of.

  “Welcome home,” Tye said and he meant it.

  Even if he did feel like the damn cuckoo in the nest.

  ***

  “I knew it.” Katie whispered the words. Then she shrieked them. Kade was coming home, and if that wasn’t cause to bounce around the room like a Mexican jumping bean, she didn’t know what was.

  “Katie.” Tye said her name and there was a note in his voice that almost brought her back down to earth. Almost. Instead, she yelled Kade’s name again because, darn it, she’d been right. Kade was on his way home.

  Someone banged on the door. Her roommate. “I’m opening the door,” Laura bellowed in a voice that had to carry out onto the street. “But I’m not looking. Just tell me no one’s dead.”

  Tye tossed her his T-shirt. “You might want to cover up,” he said dryly.

  Right. She looked down at her very naked self. Some things, a roommate didn’t want to see. Tugging the shirt over her head, she flung the door open.

  Grabbing Laura’s hands, she swung her roomie around in a crazy happy dance. Laura went along with the dance move, craning her head to look over Katie’s shoulder at Tye. “Whatever you’re doing to her, you should stop.”

  He shrugged. “This isn’t my fault.”

  Laura squinted at him. “You’re sure?”

  “Kade’s landing at SFO in four hours.”

  “Wow.” Laura looked at Katie for confirmation. “I did not see that one coming.”

  She hadn’t either. She really, really hadn’t. “It’s true. He just called.”

  “Pinch me,” Laura ordered. “This could be a dream.”

  Tye tossed her the cell phone. “No need for violence. Kade just called. Check the number.”

  “Wow,” Laura repeated, catching the phone one-handed. She checked the screen and chucked the phone onto the bed. “You were right, Kats. One hundred and ten percent right. You’re going to have to give back that flag his CO gave you.”

  “Kade’s not dead. Kade’s coming home.”

  Laura sank down on the edge of the bed, “Holy—wow. That’s great. Overwhelming and completely unbelievable, but great. Are you going to greet him? Is he coming here?”

  Katie wasn’t sure whether Laura meant Strong or their house, but the answer had to be yes and yes. She turned to Tye.

  “I’ll ride with you to the airport.” She’d cancel the afternoon’s art lesson. It wasn’t like Mr. Rickerson would really notice.

  “I’m going alone.” Tye shook his head and glared at Laura. “I’m standing up now, so you’ve been warned.”

  Laura grinned. “Don’t let me stop you. If my roomie’s bringing home hot firefighters, I’m entitled to sneak a peek.”

  But she averted her eyes as Tye swiped his sweatpants from the chair and pulled them on. The casual movement had his thighs flexing in a way that demanded attention. And his spectacular ass... was all red scratch marks where she’d held on good. Heat flooded her face. She was surprised Laura hadn’t banged on the door sooner, because she was fairly certain she’d been loud.

  Tye. Kade. Oh, God. She was sleeping with Tye, but Kade was on his way home.

  And yep... Laura had come to the same conclusion. She made a face.

  “Kade’s my...” What was he?

  “He said no welcoming committee.” Tye grabbed a clean T-shirt from his duffel and pulled it over his head in one swift move.

  “I’m one person.” She would have liked to throw the fiancé business in Tye’s face, but the savage look in his eyes said that wouldn’t fly right now. “He’ll want to see me. Even if we’re not—” She waved a hand, because, really, there just weren’t words to describe her relationship with Kade.

  “He’s been gone for months,” Tye said. He reached for his boots. “Obviously, he had a reason for not coming home. Since Uncle Sam declared him dead, I’m betting he was taken prisoner. And, after the explosion I witnessed, I doubt he was uninjured.”

  “You would know.” And... cue the bitter tone in her voice. Jesus. That wasn’t like her.

  Tye gave her a long look. “Yes. I would. So whatever’s happened to him, whatever state he’s in, he’s not ready to face the world yet.”

  She folded her arms over her chest and inched towards the door. Tye was going to have to go through her to get to his truck. Or out the window. Based on the look on his face, he was considering that option. “He called you.”

  “Yeah.” Tye’s cautious agreement didn’t give an inch.

  She was fairly certain the window exit had just rocketed up his options list. “Not me.” She wouldn’t let that hurt.

  Kade hadn’t called her. He’d called Tye first. Or instead—because she still hadn’t heard her own phone ring.

  Laura stood up. “I’ll be out in the living room if you need me.” She beat a hasty retreat.

  “Why would he do that?” she asked.

  He eyed her calmly. “Ask him that. He’s the only one who has that answer, Katie. Maybe he had my number handy. Maybe he figured it would be easiest to reach out to another SEAL. I’m going,” he said. “I’ll pick him up, bring him back here. Then you can sort out whatever needs sorting.”

  “Running away?” she mocked.

  “Don’t.” He swiped his duffel bag from the chair, the motions all neat and precise like him. He didn’t like messes or loose ends, which was too damned bad for him, because tonight she was both.

  “He wants you, not me,” she said. “This has always been about him.”

  Dark eyes watched her carefully. “Do you really want to go there?”

  “I want the truth.” She was tired of his questions.

  She’d known from the start that their relationship was only temporary, but her mistake had been in believing they could have an actual relationship. Instead, she was a box to tick on Tye’s to do list. Rather like her borrowed bucket list. This had never been about them—it had been about Kade.

  Tye rubbed a hand over his head. “Kade asked me to look out for you, all right? And I was happy to agree. All of us in the unit talked. We all knew that there was a good chance a mission would head south and we wouldn’t make it home. Kade had you waiting for him and he wanted to make sure you’d be okay. Hell, you were all about Kade with that list of yours. I’m not the bad guy here. You wanted help. I gave it. I’m going.”

  “Leave,” she mocked as he headed out. The door shut quietly behind him—Tye wasn’t the kind of guy who slammed things to make his point—and moments later she heard the muted roar of his truck engine.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kade was waiting at the curb when Tye reached San Francisco International after breaking at least half a dozen different traffic laws.

  Shit. Tye hadn’t managed to get there in time for the pickup either.

  He pulled the truck into the passenger loading zone and swung down, grateful for the airport security guards barking orders to move on and shrilling their whistles. By the time he’d tossed Kade’s duffel bag in the back of the truck, his frien
d was already parked in the passenger-side seat.

  After they pulled out, however, the words still didn’t come. The San Francisco freeway was no place for a heart-to-heart, even if Tye had been qualified to lead one. Start one. Hell, whatever it was people did when they had emotions to share and dirty laundry to air.

  “You hungry? Thirsty?” Yeah. Like that wasn’t lame.

  Kade shook his head, fingers tapping on the armrest. “I’m good.”

  There was an opening. “You sure?”

  Tye took his eyes off the road long enough to eyeball Kade. The man sported no visible injuries, but he was fully dressed and Tye had seen enough men, soldiers and sailors, to know that the scars weren’t always on the outside.

  “My leg’s busted up some.” Kade admitted. “A couple of broken ribs, bruises. We’ve done more damage on training missions.”

  Tye doubted it, but calling Kade a liar wouldn’t help either.

  Instead, he focused on getting back to Strong as fast as he could without causing a wreck or getting pulled over. He didn’t know if Strong could fix what was wrong, but it was where Kade had been headed, so Tye would get him there.

  “How’s Katie?” Kade didn’t take his eyes off the highway.

  “She’s good,” Tye said gruffly.

  “You see much of her?”

  Answering that sounded like about as much fun as doing jumping jacks in a minefield.

  “You asked me to look her up,” he stalled. “She was pretty busted up when she thought you were dead. We all were.”

  Kade cursed. “It’s one hell of a mess, isn’t it?”

  “You’re home,” Tye pointed out, guiding the truck into the lane headed for the Bay Bridge. “Things are looking up.”

  “Maybe.” Kade was silent for a bit, staring out the window at the lights flashing by. “She’s stubborn. She wouldn’t give up on you. They handed her a flag and a stack of medals, and she still insisted you were coming back.”