Stark September (Stark Trilogy Book 1)

by C. D. Bradley

  Stark September

  Print ISBN: 978-1-68222-981-1

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-68222-982-8

  © 2016 C. D. Bradley. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to take a moment to thank those who inspired and encouraged this project :

  My best Friend Abby.

  Aunt Jackie and Daddy Don I love you with all my heart.

  My ER girls who helped start this whole thing.

  My UC Ladies who encouraged and at times demanded the next chapter.

  The Band Qiet for your inspiration, talent, and friendship.

  The Men and Women of our Armed forces the sacrifices you and your families make every day are more than we could ever repay.

  Carissa and George thank you for your inspiration, fact checking, and dedication to this country.

  Editors: Cristina Opdahl, James Maddox, and Erin Griggs.

  Finally I would like to thank my husband, truly my better half. You my darling are my inspiration every day. I love you beyond words.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  Kira looked at herself in the mirror. What the hell have I gotten myself into? She thought, frustrated and a little panicked. The reflection staring back dressed in full fatigues was a soldier who bore an eerie resemblance to the girl of her youth. Hastily she attempted to get her unruly wet hair into some form of a ponytail. Seriously, on the first solo day of clinic I am going to be late. Why on earth did I run so long this morning? Running was her way of coping: she ran for exercise, ran for stress relief, ran away from crazy ex-boyfriends and joined the army. Kira scurried around the cramped bathroom making sure she hadn’t missed anything important like. Oh shit! Deodorant!

  She had always been a bit of a tomboy, preferring climbing trees and playing in the creek, but the army? She thought back through the years of hard work and perfect grades, struggling to pay for her undergrad tuition. Despite all the scholarships, she still had to work. She manned the night desk at campus security for four years. She remembered the elation she’d felt at her excellent MCAT score and at being accepted into medical school, then the harsh reality hitting that there would be no way to pay for it. The army had seemed like such a logical choice. They pay for school, then she would serve during her residency. Perfect plan, right? Well, now it was time to pay the piper. Here she was, waiting to report for duty for her first day in an actual clinic. She tucked the last dark brown strand of hair up into her ponytail and dashed out the door. She had to get to the CO’s office to drop off the last of her paperwork before the clinic opened. How am I ever going to get used to all this paperwork? For a brief moment she considered driving, then the image of her last battle with the aging Honda Prelude flashed in her mind. She was sure a cloud of profanity still hung in the air above it. In silent frustration she hustled across the base.

  Fort Carson was bustling that crisp autumn morning. The lawn was sprinkled with wet leaves despite the efforts of young privates who seemed to work tirelessly to contain them. She was careful to stay out of the way of groups of soldiers running and marching. Their voices blended in unison as their feet hit the ground to the beat of the cadence. The rhythmic sound was nearly drowned out by the howling of chilly gusts sweeping down from the surrounding mountains. The cool wet wind chilled her and she was thankful for the jacket with her army combat uniform, or ACU. As she ran, she pulled it more tightly around her. The heavy canvas was warm and reminded her of her dad. Briefly she wondered what he would have thought of her joining the service.

  The base was surrounded by peaks dotted with evergreens. The mountains in the distance reminded her of home in West Virginia. Kira longed for the beautiful palette of reds, golds, and oranges that signaled the end of September and the beginning of fall. How long had it been since she had sat on her Aunt’s porch peeling apples? The crisp autumn wind carried scents of cobbler, even if only in her imagination, and made her ache for her childhood.

  She climbed the steps to the CO’s office two at a time, lost in her daydream. She reached the top just as the door was flung open. What happened next was a blur. The door slammed into her and a tall dark-haired man burst through the doorway, cursing vehemently to his companion. She briefly glimpsed the sky, the stairs, and sky again as she tumbled down the steps, coming to rest on the concrete.

  “Oh shit…I’m sorry. Ma’am, are you OK”? The man who had knocked her down asked with genuine concern in his husky voice. “I’m really sorry. Can you talk? Hello…?” Slowly his face came into focus. Kira struggled. Wow, those are some eyes. As she stared, Kira realized she was in the arms of the most beautiful, rugged Adonis of a man she had ever seen. He was built like a god, with deep blue-green eyes that you could sail away in.

  “I’m…uh, fine. Good…and fine.” She struggled to remember how to talk. “Wow, guess you really sweep a girl off her feet, huh?” She quavered as her voice and her sense of humor came back to her. He set her upright again and helped to gather her papers. Once she stood up, he held onto her, steadying her for a moment. His hands on her back and shoulders were powerful yet felt so warm, so tender. He kept holding her, looking into her eyes as if he was waiting for her to say something. She felt her cheeks flush hot. Oh, he smells so very good. Even more embarrassed with that thought, she pulled away. “I’m fine, really. I’m OK,” and she rushed back up the stairs and into the building.

  What the hell was that? I’m just shaken from the fall. Once safely inside and out of view, she leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths. She wasn’t sure what was more unnerving—her tumble or those eyes. Oh that voice…deep and rough, yet he spoke so softly to me. Put him out of your mind this second! She remembered she was here to get a job done. Finish her residency and get the hell out of here. Seeing all these soldiers dedicating their lives to their country broke her heart. She saw her father’s face in theirs. From birth she had grown up in a military home. Despite her deep reverence for the army, she also feared what it could do to her, what it had done for him. While she felt so honored now to be a part of it, her father’s death made being here so much harder. She hadn’t thought it would be this difficult until she was actually back in this life. No, she just had to stay focused and on track, get her work done. Under no circumstances was she going to get involved with any man on this base.

  With new resolve, she finished her paperwork and headed over to the clinic. Of course, the clinic was in another area of the base and required a fifteen-minute jog to get there. She was thankful for the opportunity to run off some of the adrenaline from the encounter with the sex-god soldier. She giggled but kept an eye on her surroundings, hoping she wouldn’
t have to face him again. As she reached the clinic, she felt a mix of relief and disappointment. He was gone. No sight of him as she crossed the base.

  Head still spinning from her earlier run-in with the soldier, Kira was thankful to settle into her morning in the clinic. The office was bustling. A whole new group of NUGs were in for their initial physicals. NUGs: New Useless Guys. Yeah, that about sums it up, she thought, looking at the group of loud, freshly crew cut kids filing into her waiting area. Well, it beats death by PowerPoint, she thought, painfully remembering her first month on base. The NUGs filed into the room one by one. Each one had the same nervous, guarded face and loud cocky attitude to cover his anxiety, brown shirt, ACU, and boots. She was assigned to a pod in the clinic where she would perform physicals on new, deploying, and returning soldiers. The duty was bottom of the barrel for assignments but it was good to be in the clinic. She was new and this was her first actual assignment. She wanted to do a good job in everything they gave her, not just to pay back her tuition, but for her dad’s sake. Kira briefly wondered if he would be proud of what she was trying to do.

  She went through her morning processing one soldier after another. Her mind kept returning to the sexy soldier from this morning. Getting lost in those eyes was like drifting away in the Aegean Sea. There was an intensity and fierceness in his face but a gentleness in his strong hands. Oh and that voice, so soft and husky.

  Get a hold of yourself! She snapped back to reality, realizing she had just poured coffee all over the counter.

  “Are you OK?” Abbey, her charge nurse, asked. Abbey was a stout woman of about forty. She was the head nurse of that part of the clinic and she ran a tight command. “You’ve been a little off all morning.” Thankfully Abbey had taken her under her wing when Kira had first arrived on base. Abbey had proven to be not only a valuable guide but also a friend.

  “I’m fine. I took a little tumble this morning. Not a big deal,” Kira said, smiling. She rubbed her still aching head and tried to look confident.

  “Sounds like you should see a doctor,” Abbey joked and added, “Dr. Riley, they added a last minute physical to your schedule this morning. They called from Personnel and wanted it done today. He’s just back in country, something about the medical officer being out….” Abbey was still talking but she suddenly sounded miles away. A semi-hush fell over the waiting area. The NUGs appeared almost reverent as a man walked in.

  Their eyes met. Kira felt at once nauseous and excited. An unfamiliar burning inside her caused her breath to catch in her lungs. He casually walked to the reception desk, never taking his viridian eyes off her. “Sergeant Stark reporting for a post-mission physical,” he said to the clerk. That voice again. She could feel it all over her. Her skin tingled where he had touched her.

  Kira was confused. She hadn’t noticed it this morning but he didn’t look like a regular soldier. All the men she had taken care of today looked exactly alike. Sergeant Stark was strikingly different. His dark hair was longer and unruly. He had unkempt stubble on his tanned face, which made him look more like a swarthy Middle Eastern hit man rather than a U.S. soldier. A flush of embarrassment flooded her cheeks. Quickly she looked away to escape his trance. She noted how his jeans hung from his narrow hips and perfectly taut ass, barely encasing his massive granite thighs and how his T-shirt was stretched perfectly over his incredibly muscular chest.

  The shattering glass, of her coffee cup on the tile floor, brought her back to her senses. “Shit,” she muttered, feeling the flush in her cheeks turn into an inferno. She avoided his gaze and grabbed a towel and began to mop up the mess.

  “Are you alright, ma’am?” He was at her side in a second, his baritone voice tender with concern.

  “She had a bit of a bump on the head this morning,” Abbey said, walking up behind her.

  “Oh, I am so sorry about that, ma’am. I was upset and in a hurry. You’re so small I really sent you flying. You should have let me help you. I could have brought you to the doctor. Here, let me clean this up.” He bent to help her, but Kira had gathered the sopping towel and stood. “I’m fine. I’ve got this.” Kira turned and headed for the break room, leaving Stark standing empty handed in the waiting area.

  “Now I see,” Abbey laughed, following her into the break room. “You really did take a tumble this morning. One might say you were swept right off your feet. Sergeant Sexy out there seems to have fried your brain.”

  “Stop it,” Kira pleaded. “It’s nothing. He is just another soldier and I have a job to do. I’ve told you I have no interest in getting involved with a soldier. Ever. Just put him in Room 3.” Kira took a moment to compose herself. With a trembling hand she pushed a loose strand of hair back into her pony tail.

  She could hear Abbey, in a fake sing-song voice, say, “Right this way, Sergeant. Room 3. Go ahead and undress. The doctor will be right in.” Abbey flashed her a grin as she walked back up front. “Maybe this will turn out to be an interesting day after all.”

  Kira collected herself and walked in to Room 3. As she opened the door her senses were alive with the smell of him: his body wash, his cologne. The smell was intoxicating. Her heart stopped. There, on the exam table in his underwear, was this god of a man, staring at her with those eyes. She could feel herself being pulled into them. A small brown fleck stood out like a cliff in the crystal waters. What she wouldn’t give to…

  Oh, Jesus. I am a professional, I am a professional. I can do this. She crossed the room to her desk, looking anywhere but at him. She did her best to appear calm and in control, although she felt like a befuddled mess on the inside. How is it possible for him to look that good? The room felt much warmer.

  “So you’ve just returned from a mission?” she began. That’s it—calm, collected.

  “Something like that,” he said calmly, a slight grin on his face. He seemed to be enjoying her obvious abashment.

  “Were you out of the country long?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say,” he replied coolly.

  “What sort of environment were you in?” she asked, trying to get an understanding of disease processes about which she should be concerned.

  Smiling, he replied, “Captain, you don’t have clearance for that kind of information.”

  “OK, then. Have you been exposed to malaria, dengue fever, sand fleas, gonorrhea, chlamydia, or HIV?” she snapped, frustrated by the game he seemed to be playing.

  Chuckling, he replied “Yes, yes, no, hope not, hope not, and no. You haven’t been in the military very long, have you?” His eyes sparkled with mischievousness. He was enjoying the game.

  “No,” she answered, somewhat contritely. She tried another line of questioning. “Any new injuries or physical complaints?” Getting back into routine, she slowly regained her professionalism.

  “Not really. Just a small scratch on my left shoulder. ‘Just a flesh wound, really,’” he joked in his best English accent.

  Kira looked up, surprised by his dry humor. He didn’t seem like the joking type. She examined his shoulder. The wound was moderately healed and looked as though he had been burned, cut, or both a few days ago, as it had partially begun to heal. She noted how massive his strong shoulders seemed in comparison to her small hands. The definition of his shoulders and back was unnerving. “How did it happen? Or are you allowed to say?” she asked with genuine concern.

  “Could have been a lug nut, a piece of bumper, who knows. These things tend to happen when a vehicle explodes in front of you. One minute it’s there, then a single flash of light and it’s gone. Happens all the time.” His voice was very nonchalant, but there was a trace of something there…pain…sadness— she couldn’t put her finger on it.

  “You mean an entire Jeep exploded?” she gasped. “What happened to the driver? Or the other people in it?” She made a failed attempt to hide the horror in her voice.

  “Again, for that, Captain, you don’t have clearance, but you’re a smart girl. You can figure that part out. And
for the record we haven’t used JEEP in the army for some time. They’re called Humvees. You really are quite new, aren’t you, ma’am?” His voice was grave now, a little reserved. She recognized his attempt to change the subject and decided not to press any further.

  She gently began to clean the wound. It was starting to show redness and slight induration. While she cleaned, she struggled to think of something to say. His eyes were upon her the entire time, burning into her. After dressing the wound with ointment and sterile gauze, she examined the rest of his back. He had a large tattoo across most of his upper back written in Chinese characters. She noticed several scars across his broad shoulders and lower back. Her fingers gently palpated a jagged scar on the other shoulder. Standing so close to him, feeling the heat off his body, inhaling the intoxicating scent of him, her mind began to wander to dark and sultry places, and she struggled to maintain her professionalism.

  “Your tattoo, what does it mean?” she asked as she studied the large markings.

  “Relentless,” he said, turning to meet her gaze. His voice was so low it reverberated each syllable into her.

  “Is that you? Is that what you are? Relentless?” she whispered, almost afraid of the answer. His quietly intensity both frightened and excited her. She shuddered to think of him angry. She feared for anyone who was his enemy. Yet what could this quiet, gentle man do with that intensity…that relentless spirit? The thought warmed her, kindling a fire she had forgotten she could have.

  “Yes, ma’am, I guess so. When I’m after something, by myself or with my team, nothing stands in the way. We move as a team and with unforgiving force to obtain our objective.” His eyes flashed dark steel. His cool tone chilled her. But his eyes were burning fire, staring deep into her. He leaned in closer and said, “Once I set my sights on something no force in heaven or hell will stand in my way.”

  “That’s your work. That’s your job. How does that affect your family?” she asked, beginning to be concerned for the post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, questioning she would have to cover. The staggering numbers of service men and women suffering from these effects had been a large part of her training since arriving on base. She felt she had a grasp on what this would entail but according to Abbey she hadn’t seen anything yet.