“Cage,” one of the SEALs growled. “We gotta go.”
“I know it,” he snapped. And then he kissed her, a rough, hard, quick kiss before she felt herself being swept up bodily and tossed into another man’s waiting arms.
Christina cried out, but Remy and five of his SEALs were already running back down the pier. The SEAL holding her gripped her tightly as she squirmed. The boat began to speed away from the pier just as a truck rocketed into view between the warehouse they’d just come from and the dock. The men in the truck definitely weren’t American—they wore head scarves and khakis—and they poured from the truck with weapons pointed at the SEALs on the pier.
“No,” Christina yelled. “You have to help them!”
She couldn’t see Remy and his men anymore, but she knew there was nothing they could put between them and the men who’d just arrived except water. They were loaded down with gear and not prepared to swim. How would they escape?
She listened for gunshots, but she heard nothing.
“This is the job, Miz Girard,” a voice said in her ear. “Let him do it.”
She sucked in a breath, fighting to hold in tears. What was happening back there? Where was Remy?
“Put me down, Cody,” she growled, finally realizing who held her tight.
He set her on the deck, steadying her as the boat bobbed across the waves. She slumped onto a bench because she had no choice, because she couldn’t stand in the rocking boat any longer. She searched the dock for some sign of Remy, but he was long out of sight.
When she gazed up at Cody, he was blurry. He smiled anyway.
“You haven’t seen the last of Cage, don’t worry.”
25
Christina held on to that thought for hours. You haven’t seen the last of Cage.
She held on to it as the assault boat that picked her and the others up sped across the water and the coastline of Qu’rim receded. She held on to it as they approached a ship that was so huge it made her heart hammer, and as that tiny assault boat drew up alongside and a door opened in the hull.
She and the others were helped onto a ramp and ushered inside the gray behemoth floating in the Persian Gulf. The last glimpse she had of a SEAL was Viking’s face as he shot her a quick grin before the door shut.
She held on to the thought of seeing Remy while she was shown to a briefing room, and then while she boarded a helicopter and watched the deck of the carrier—stacked with airplanes and the men tending to them—get smaller and smaller as the copter winged its way toward shore again.
Only this time they were taken to a stable ally country where there was a US base. They boarded a military plane and took off again. A few hours later, they were in Germany and being taken by hospital bus up the winding hill to the American military hospital that perched high above the city of Landstuhl.
Christina held on to the thought of Remy while she was checked for injuries, while she showered and slipped into the hospital scrubs they’d provided her, and while she ate her first meal that didn’t come out of a plastic pouch in days.
She plugged her phone in to charge, and then she fell asleep. When she woke, it was dark. Penny was in the room with her, and Christina could hear the other woman whimpering in her sleep.
She checked her phone, found it fully charged, and hesitated only a moment before turning it on. Naturally there were messages from her brother. And several from Ben, which was a surprise since she’d blocked him. He must have gotten a new phone number. She blocked that one too, and she erased the messages without listening to any but the first. It was typical Ben—self-involved, wheedling, and even a bit desperate, which wasn’t typical at all.
Most importantly, however, there was nothing from Remy, and that made her heart sink. She couldn’t get over the thought of him on that dock, his hands on her shoulders, telling her he couldn’t go with her right now, that she had to go alone and he’d see her later.
Twenty-four hours ago she’d lain beneath him in a dusty safe house and felt the power of his body moving inside hers. She wanted that again, and soon. But what if she never got it? What if something had happened to him?
A cold knot of fear congealed in her belly. It didn’t bear thinking about. She couldn’t think about it. To lose Remy now… Oh God.
Trembling, she scrolled to her contacts and hit the button to dial Matt before she could change her mind. He answered on the first ring.
“Chrissy?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Hi, Mattie.”
“Jesus Christ.” He was silent for a long moment, and her heart skipped a beat. “It’s good to hear your voice, ma petite.”
“Yours too.”
“How you holding up?”
She swallowed. “I’m fine.” She wasn’t fine, not really. Her heart hurt. There was a hole in it that didn’t want to close.
“I got the word hours ago that you’d been picked up. But I know it’s not easy out there, honey. I know you’ve seen things…” He cleared his throat. “You can talk to me, Chris. If you need to.”
She felt the corners of her mouth turning up. Yeah, it hadn’t been a picnic out there, and she would never forget the horror of that bomb exploding so near—but the love she heard in his voice warmed her. Thank God for big brothers.
A little piece of her ached hard at the thought of Remy’s twin sister and what had happened to her. Poor Remy.
“I know that,” she said, grateful for him. She couldn’t talk about it right now, but one day she would. And she knew he’d be there for her if she needed him. “But Mattie, the SEALs… they didn’t all board the boat with us. Do you know—?”
She couldn’t finish the question. A knot clogged her throat.
“Can’t talk about operations, Chrissy.”
“I don’t want to know about operations… I just want to know if, um, everyone made it out okay.”
“I’ve not heard differently. Believe me, I would have if we lost someone. I’d say they’re all alive.”
Her heart pounded as she latched on to that single ray of hope. “That’s good. They’re nice guys. I wouldn’t want any of them to get hurt because… because of me,” she finished softly.
“Nobody’s getting hurt because of you, sweetie. The job is dangerous, yes, but it’s not because of you. It’s because there are bad people in this world and they do bad things.”
The lump in her throat ached and her eyes stung. “I’m mad at you, by the way.”
He snorted. “Me? What’d I do?”
“This thing the SEALs did—it’s what you do too. You risk your life, Mattie. And you never told me.”
His voice was soft when he spoke. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“It’s dangerous.” She thought of the mercenaries on horseback, the bombing of the convoy, the way Baq had burned in the night.
“It is. But it’s what I do. What we all do. Someone has to, Chrissy. Why not me?”
She had a million answers for him, but she knew that not one of them would persuade him. Or maybe one would. “Christian and Alex need you.”
“They need a safe and secure world even more, don’t you think?” He sighed, and she could picture him running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Evie and I will meet you at the airport tomorrow, okay? We’ll talk more then.”
“Okay… But Mattie, if you hear anything different about the SEALs, you’ll let me know, right?”
She could almost hear the gears grinding in his head. “If it’s important to you. Care to tell me what this is really about?”
“Nothing. I just need to know.”
She thought he swore softly, but she wasn’t sure. “I know you, Christina Caroline Girard—and I know when you’re hiding something. But yeah, I’ll let you know. Now get some rest before tomorrow comes.”
Evie had just put the twins down and headed to the kitchen to whip up a new cake recipe when Matt walked in, a puzzled frown on his face.
It made her heart skip a beat. �
��Everything okay?”
His piercing gaze met hers. He was so handsome he made her heart flip in her chest and her stomach squeeze tight. How she could love this one man her whole life was a mystery in a way, but she honestly had. Since she was about eleven years old, she’d known he was her everything. It had taken him far too long to realize she was his too, but he finally had.
“Christina just called. She’s fine.”
“Yes, you mentioned she was fine earlier when you got the report from Mendez. But what’s putting that frown on your face, Matt? Does she sound upset? Was Mendez unaware of something that happened?”
He shook his head. “No, she sounds all right—but she’s worried about the SEALs who rescued her. If I had to guess, I’d say one of them in particular.”
Butterflies swirled in Evie’s stomach. She didn’t keep things from Matt, especially if they were important, but some things were still private. Especially when it was something personal that Christina had told her. Matt did not need to know everything his sister did.
“And if it is?” Evie asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Matt’s gaze met hers. And then his brow knitted. “You know something, don’t you?”
Evie flipped her stand mixer upright and started to measure flour. “I might.”
He came over and turned her to face him, tipping her chin up with a finger. His eyes were a mixture of thunderous and curious—and hot. Mmmm.
“Evie.”
He said it sternly, and her insides melted just a little. Not in a bad way but in an oh-my-God-that-sexy-voice-of-his way.
“It’s not my place to tell you these things about your sister, Matt. But yes, there’s one in particular. Though she hasn’t actually been seeing him lately so I don’t know what’s going on. Not really.”
He trapped her with an arm on either side of her body, wedging her against the counter. She tipped her head up and stared at him. His eyes focused on her mouth, his jaw going slack for a second.
“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”
“Not planning on it, no. Unless you mean to torture it out of me?”
His gaze sharpened. “Torture you how?”
She put her hands on his chest. “Oh, you know.” Her fingers walked up his pecs and over his shoulders. “In the best way possible.”
His hands went to her waist, pulled her against a burgeoning erection.
“I’ve got just the thing for you, baby.”
“Yes, you definitely do,” she practically purred.
A look of worry flashed through his eyes again, and she felt a little bad for not telling him about Remy Marchand and Christina.
“Is it serious?” he asked. “This thing with the SEAL?”
“I don’t think so. I think it was a fling, quite honestly. But if she’s worried about him now, well, who knows?”
“Not sure I trust any of those bastards. Not after what she went through with Ben.”
“It’s not up to us, honey. It’s up to her.”
“Yeah, I know. But she deserves the best. I don’t want her tangled up with someone who’s going to hurt her in the end.”
Evie put her hand on his cheek. “Again, it’s not up to us, Matt. Christina is a big girl, and she can make her own decisions.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” He didn’t sound pissed, which was good.
“If I had a brother, and he confided something personal about his life, something which did not affect me at all, would you feel compelled to tell me, especially if he asked you not to?”
“I would tell you if you asked me directly—but no, otherwise I probably wouldn’t.”
She studied him. “You would, wouldn’t you?” She sighed. “Are you asking me who it is?”
“Yes, I’m asking. But if you don’t want to tell me, if it goes against the sister code or something, don’t.”
“The sister code?”
He shrugged. “You know, like the bro code. Bros before hoes, baby.”
Evie snorted. “Did you really just say that? Am I a ho?”
He pushed his hips into hers. “I hope so… but only with me.”
She laughed. “You crack me up sometimes. Are you sure you want to know? Because so far as I know, she’s not seeing him anymore.”
“I still want to know.”
“It’s Remy.”
His jaw tightened for a second. “Remy. He’s a good guy. Nothing against him. Except, shit, we’ve been on missions together, played pool and volleyball, worked out. Hell, he’s been over here countless times for barbecues—and he made moves on my sister.”
“Honey, this isn’t the eighteen hundreds. He didn’t have to ask your permission to court your sister, you know.”
He closed his eyes for a second. “No, he didn’t. You’re right. Still, I thought he’d have said something about it.”
Evie stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Stop right there, big boy. Not your business. Adults, consenting, all that jazz. Get over it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Working on it, okay?”
She slipped her hands down to his belt buckle and started to drag it open. “Why don’t you work on me for a while instead? You’ll feel better, I promise.”
His breath hissed in when she slid inside his fly and pressed her palm to his cock.
“Damn, Evie girl, you sure play dirty.”
“Oh honey, I haven’t even started to play dirty yet…”
26
Christina tried to get back to life as usual. After she arrived in DC, Matt and Evie picked her up and took her to dinner. They’d left the twins with the nanny they’d hired to help, though Evie kept checking her phone throughout dinner. She apologized, but Christina didn’t mind. She got it because she kept checking her phone for word from Remy.
There was nothing, had been nothing since she’d last seen him on the pier. Matt eased her fears somewhat by telling her he’d specifically checked on Viking’s SEALs and all were accounted for. They were no longer in Qu’rim, but beyond that he couldn’t say.
So she breathed easier, but she still wondered where Remy was and why he wasn’t calling her. Maybe he’d decided she wasn’t worth the trouble after all. She couldn’t blame him if he had. She’d pushed him away six months ago, and then she’d pulled him in over the past couple of days as if she couldn’t get enough of him.
Those signals were mixed enough to confuse anyone, though she thought she’d made it clear that she was ready to move forward and see where this thing took them. If he still wanted to. Which, maybe, he did not.
“You’re taking the next week off,” Matt said, and she jerked her head up, meeting his gaze.
“What?”
Her brother looked intense, as he often did when he was determined. “I spoke to the old man. You’re taking a week off. No flying anywhere, no business deals, no Girard Oil.”
“I think I can determine my own schedule, Mattie. I don’t need your help. Or Dad’s either.”
Matt reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “You’ve been through a lot, and you need to process it. Running from what happened out there won’t help, trust me.”
“Nothing much happened. We rode across the desert in vans. And then th-there was a bomb and people died, but you see that on the news every day.” She didn’t mention the horsemen, or the fact that her heart hitched when she thought of the convoy and the bomb. She’d never forget the sound of it, or the smell. Bleach and charred flesh. In fact, if she had any bleach in her laundry room, she wasn’t opening it ever again.
Matt didn’t let her go. Evie wore a soft smile of encouragement.
“It takes time, Chrissy.”
“It does,” Evie said. “There’s so much adrenaline when everything happens, and then it’s over and you feel kind of, well, off a little as you start to process everything you saw. The world continues on as before, but you were in danger and you watched people die. That doesn’t go away overnight.”
Christina stared at her sister-in-law.
She hadn’t forgotten what a crazy time Evie’d had in Rochambeau with Matt when her sister was kidnapped, but it all seemed so ordinary now that Christina never thought of it. And she’d never thought of what Evie must have felt when she found her ex-partner’s body or when the woman driving Christina’s father’s yacht wrecked it and died. There had been a lot of violence in a short amount of time, and Evie had been through it all.
“So what do I do?” Christina asked. “Sit in my house and think about it for the next week?”
“No, of course not,” Evie said. “But you don’t need to jump on a plane and head to Houston either. If you go back to Girard Oil tomorrow, you’ll be on a plane for who knows where, and you’ll say you’re just fine. Give it a few days is all we’re saying.”
Christina shifted her gaze between the two of them. Her heart filled at the love and concern she saw there. She’d been such an introverted child, a loner, and she’d thought at one time she was always destined to be that way. To keep everything to herself, because it was safest. She’d found friends and opened up to them, yet she was always cautious deep down. Always ready to lock the gates and protect herself.
But here she had two people who loved her and always would, no matter what she said or did. It was a comforting thing to know.
She didn’t tell them that she hadn’t planned on flying anywhere for a while because she was waiting for Remy to show up. Of course she’d planned to do some work though. She hadn’t given up on Sheikh Fahd, and she intended to call him and try to close the deal over the phone.
But she could do that from home if it made these two happy. She bowed her head for a moment and worked on containing the emotion welling inside her.
“A few days,” she said. “I can do that.”
Matt squeezed her hand again and let it go. She could tell he was relieved. “Good.”
“Mary is working out so well,” Evie said brightly, referring to the new nanny. “Maybe we can plan shopping and lunch one day?”
“I’d like that,” Christina replied. And she would. But she’d like it even more if Remy showed up on her doorstep as soon as possible.
Five days.
Christina stood at the window in her bedroom and gazed at the street below. She’d heard nothing at all from Remy, even though she knew he wasn’t in Qu’rim anymore. He was safe, but he wasn’t calling her.
HOT SEAL Lover (HOT SEAL Team - Book 2) Page 16
