Gray Skies (WeHo Book 8)

by Sherryl Hancock

  “You did?” Natalia asked, looking worried.

  “She came to apologize to me.”

  Natalia blinked a couple of times, looking surprised.

  “What happened?” Natalia asked.

  “I didn’t deck her if that’s what you’re asking,” Raine said.

  “Did you accept her apology?” Natalia asked.

  “Not really,” Raine said, “but I heard her out, which is why I wanted to hear you out too.”

  Natalia nodded, looking sad.

  Raine looked back at Natalia for a long minute, then sighed. “There was something else.”

  “Something else?’ Natalia asked, not understanding what Raine was saying.

  “That was supposed to go with that check,” Raine said, her lips pursed in consternation. “Maybe if I give you that, you’ll take the check and use it for what I worked all that overtime for.”

  “I don’t understand,” Natalia said, shaking her head.

  “I know,” Raine said. She leaned over and opened the nightstand drawer. She pulled out a small box and handed it to Natalia. “I wanted to give you this too.”

  Natalia was sure her heart stopped at the sight of the box.

  “Raine…” she breathed, not wanting to even dare to hope.

  “Open it,” Raine said.

  Natalia did and was stunned.

  Nestled inside was a rose gold ring, with a round diamond in the center. It had a split band that had round baguette diamonds running down both sides, and three round stones in a triangular shape. It was an incredibly beautiful ring and Natalia was once again in tears.

  “Oh Raine… It’s so beautiful.”

  “Then put it on and say you’ll marry me,” Raine said smiling.

  “Yes, yes, of course I will!” Natalia said, as she hugged Raine jubilantly.

  “Let’s go home,” Raine said, getting up off the bed.

  An hour later, they were back in their apartment making love.

  ***

  Jazmine and Dakota got back to Los Angeles on a Thursday night. Dakota dropped Jazmine off at Rayden’s, kissing her on the cheek chastely. Jazmine grinned at the action, but figured Dakota was trying to remind her that nothing had really changed. She didn’t need a reminder, she knew who Dakota was, and was okay with that. It had been a wonderful couple of days and she’d enjoyed herself. It didn’t need to be any more than that.

  As she got out of the car, she winked at Dakota who smiled blithely. Jazmine turned and walked to the front door and went inside. It was around seven in the evening, but it was quiet in the house. Jazmine walked around to the garage and looked inside, Rayden’s car wasn’t there. She pulled out her phone to check to see if she had any messages from Rayden, but she didn’t. She sent Rayden a message, just letting her know that she was home, and asking where she was. She set her phone down on the counter, opened the refrigerator and looked inside, thinking she definitely needed to go grocery shopping. She pulled out a container of yogurt and stood in the kitchen eating it. Her phone buzzed and she checked it, finding a message from Rayden.

  It said simply, “Upstairs.”

  “What?” Jazmine said out loud, confused.

  She walked upstairs and stuck her head in Rayden’s open door. Rayden was lying on her bed in a tank top and shorts. As Jazmine walked in, Rayden turned her head, and that’s when Jazmine saw the cuts on the side of her face.

  “Ray! What happened?” she asked, moving to sit on the side of the bed, reaching out to turn Rayden’s head so she could see the cuts.

  Rayden grinned. “Had a little bit of excitement on the way home from work today,” she said, her tone matter of fact.

  “Why does that sound really ominous?” Jazmine asked.

  “Well, someone took a shot at me tonight,” Rayden said.

  “What!” Jazmine exclaimed. “Who, do you know? What happened?”

  “Well, the ‘who’ is your friend Jeremy,” Rayden said, “and what happened is that fortunately he’s a lousy shot, especially when he’s driving his big black Escalade. Unfortunately, it’s a big black tank of a vehicle that did a pretty good job of forcing me off the road. So…”

  “God, Ray… you could have been killed…” Jazmine breathed. “Is that why the Viper isn’t in the garage?”

  “It’s totaled,” Rayden said bluntly.

  “Ray… I’m so sorry, if I hadn’t come here with you… If—”

  “Jaz, stop,” Rayden interrupted, pulling Jazmine down to hug her. “If you hadn’t come here with me you’d probably be dead by now. It’s not all bad news, okay? Because he’s a dumbass and used his own vehicle and a gun that’s not registered to him, the cops picked him up in short order. He’s going to be sitting in jail with the added charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, and attempted vehicular manslaughter. He won’t get out before the trial, okay?”

  “Okay… but are you alright Rayden?” Jazmine asked, looking worried.

  “I’m okay,” Rayden said.

  “You went to a hospital, right?”

  Rayden grinned. “Yes, I went to a hospital. They said I have a concussion and I’m bruised and cut up, but that’s it.”

  “Thank God!” Jazmine exclaimed, putting her hand to Rayden’s cheek. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  Rayden smiled at her.

  “So did you have fun?” Rayden asked then, her tone teasing.

  Jazmine opened her mouth in surprise, but then saw the amusement in her eyes.

  “Yes, I did,” she said, her tone chiding.

  “Good,” Rayden said, nodding her head, her lips twitching slightly as she did.

  She sighed then and turned over on her side, wincing slightly as did.

  “Is there anything I can do?” Jazmine asked, seeing Ray wince in pain.

  “No, I’m okay,” Rayden said quietly.

  Rayden put her hand on Jazmine’s side and closed her eyes. Jazmine kicked off her shoes, moving to at least try comfort Rayden. When Rayden was asleep Jazmine got up and went to shower and change. She climbed back into bed, careful not to wake Rayden. She was happily surprised when Rayden moved to hold her close.

  The next morning Jazmine got up and made coffee, checking on Rayden to see if she wanted anything. She saw that the doctors had given Rayden pain meds and she asked if she needed one. Rayden agreed to take a painkiller and even agreed to breakfast. Jazmine spent the next couple of days taking care of Rayden. She was surprised and happy that Rayden let her do just that. It felt like Rayden was finally letting her in a bit and she enjoyed the feeling.

  Dakota had texted at one point, just saying, “Hi,” and Jazmine had responded. A light conversation had ensued. Jazmine had told her about Jeremy taking a shot at Rayden. Dakota had responded with asking if she needed anything. It seemed that she and Dakota were actually going to manage to be friends. She was very happy about that.

  For six months after Grayson had returned to the States, she and Rayden had emailed, texted, talked on the phone, and even Skyped a few times. As Rayden’s tour came closer to ending, Grayson nervously anticipated the news that Rayden had been re-upped for combat in the Middle East. Things in the Middle East were always destabilizing, and she was afraid that a recent upswing in violence would definitely mean that Rayden would get held back.

  She also knew that even if Rayden didn’t get held in Iraq, it wasn’t likely that she’d end up on the east coast either since there were no naval bases nearby with SEAL team placements. She got increasingly worried about what would happen next. She missed Rayden desperately; Rayden said she missed her too.

  Then suddenly there was a four day time period when she didn’t hear from Rayden. By the fourth day of calling and texting with no response, Grayson started thinking every possible thing. She thought maybe Rayden had been hurt, or, God forbid, killed. Then she thought that maybe she’d just gone on a mission, but four days was long time for a “sudden” mission. Her mind churned constantly trying to figure out what happened. She re
played in her head the last few conversations and reread emails looking for clues that Rayden had been pulling away. She really couldn’t find anything.

  On the fourth day of not hearing from Rayden, Grayson arrived home to the house she was renting. As she walked in, she was surprised to hear music coming from her room. She figured she’d just forgotten to turn it off when she’d left in the morning. She put down her keys and took off her shoes. She walked into her bedroom, intent on turning off the radio. Walking around the corner she was surprised to see someone sitting on her bed, and then she saw who it was. Rayden was sitting, leaning against the headboard, one jean clad leg extended in front of her, the other bent with one arm thrown over it casually. She wore a black button up shirt and black boots. Her hair was loose and she looked so absolutely amazing that Grayson actually forgot to breath.

  “Rayden!” she cried, practically throwing herself into Rayden’s arms.

  “Whoa!” Rayden exclaimed, laughing as she did.

  “You’re here! How are you here?” Grayson asked, her face pressed against Rayden’s neck and inhaling the scent she wore, a rich ocean scent.

  “There are these things called planes…” Rayden said, grinning.

  “Oh stop…” Grayson said, looking up at Rayden.

  Rayden bent her head moving back so she could capture Grayson’s lips with hers. Touching her cheek, she deepened the kiss until Grayson was grasping at her shirt. Rayden took her time removing Grayson’s uniform, exciting her beyond all reason. Then she removed her own clothes, and made love to her. Both of them reached their release at the same time, crying out and grasping at each other.

  Afterwards they lay facing each other, with Rayden’s arms wrapped around Grayson who had her face pressed against Rayden’s neck.

  “I still can’t believe you’re here,” Grayson said her tone awed.

  “Well, I’m here,” Rayden said, smiling.

  “How long can you stay?” Grayson asked, biting her lip worriedly.

  Rayden shrugged. “Well, that’s going to depend on how quickly I can find a place to live.”

  “Well, when do you report?” Grayson asked.

  “Uh,” Rayden stammered, “what day’s today?”

  “September fifth,” Grayson said.

  Rayden grimaced. “Three days,” she said. Seeing the sad look in Grayson’s eyes she said, “I’m sorry babe, but the damn transport from Iraq took forever, and we had like three stops. I swear I got here as fast as I could… I’m sorry…”

  Grayson clamped down on her disappointment. She had Rayden here with her at that moment, and at least she was back in the States. I hope that her new base wasn’t ridiculously far.

  “What base did you get?” Grayson asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

  Rayden looked back at her for a long moment, her look hesitant. Grayson waited, holding her breath.

  “Annapolis,” Rayden told her.

  Grayson’s mouth dropped open, then she narrowed her eyes. “You got Annapolis and that’s not the first thing you told me?”

  Annapolis, the Naval Academy was literally thirty-three miles from Grayson’s base at Andrews, and about fifteen miles from where they were lying.

  Rayden chuckled, a deep warm sound. “Well, I kinda wanted to surprise you… And there is the matter of a place to live…” she said, her voice trailing off.

  Grayson actually punched her shoulder softly. “You better plan on living here, woman…”

  “Ohhhh…” Rayden said, grinning, “I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to, I might cramp your style or something…” her voice trailed off as Grayson shoved her to her back and moved to lay over her.

  “You will be living here, with me, Rayden Black Wolf, do you understand that? I’m not letting you out of my sight again!”

  “Well, if you insist,” Rayden said, grinning.

  Then her eyes focused on the pendant dangling between them. It was Rayden’s pendant.

  “You wear that all the time?” Rayden asked her look fond.

  “Yes ma’am, all the time,” Grayson said, inclining her head.

  “Even with your uniform?” Rayden asked.

  “Yep,” Grayson said, her eyes shining in the semi-darkness of the room. “It’s my girlfriend’s, you see, and it’s very important to her, so I can’t let it out of my sight.”

  “Hmmm,” Rayden said, nodding slowly, “but you know that’s not regulation, Airman.”

  “And you know I don’t give a shit, SEAL,” Grayson replied with a sweet smile.

  “Well, I’m gonna want that back,” Rayden said, her eye staring up into Grayson’s.

  “I know,” Grayson said, smiling.

  “I did bring you something to trade for it though,” Rayden said, smiling.

  “You did?” Grayson asked, smiling. “Like you aren’t present enough for me? Because believe me you are.”

  “Well, give me my necklace back and I’ll give you what I brought you.”

  Grayson unhooked the necklace and turned it around put on Rayden’s neck. Rayden in turn reached over into her duffel bag, which was leaned up against Grayson’s nightstand, and pulled out a small box. She held it up to Grayson.

  “Rayden…” Grayson said hesitantly.

  “Yes?” Rayden asked her smile serene.

  “What is this?” Grayson asked.

  “Gonna have to open it to find out,” Rayden said, her dark eyes sparkling.

  Grayson opened the box, and inside sat a diamond ring. It had a round diamond in the center, and was surrounded by what looked like petals with smaller round diamonds dotting the petals. The diamonds were set in white gold.

  “Rayden is this…” Grayson began, not wanting to overthink it.

  “Yes it is,” Rayden said, looking up at Grayson. “Marry me, Gray.”

  Grayson stared down at Rayden, completely shocked and overwhelmed. She couldn’t even formulate a response for a couple of long minutes.

  “That isn’t exactly an answer…” Rayden said, looking a bit nervous.

  “No it’s not… I just,” Grayson said, then saw Rayden’s shocked look and shook her head vehemently. “I mean, yes, yes, I’ll marry you, yes!”

  Rayden blew her breath out in relief, and then hugged Grayson to her, smiling.

  After a couple of minutes, Rayden said. “These last four days, when you didn’t hear from me… what were you thinking?”

  Grayson didn’t answer for a few moments.

  “At first I thought that maybe you’d been hurt, or God help me, killed… But then I started thinking…” Her voice trailed off as she shrugged helplessly.

  “You started thinking I’d found someone else,” Rayden said evenly.

  Grayson nodded, her eyes lowered.

  “Hey,” Rayden said, touching Grayson’s chin to get her to look at her. “You should know that wolves mate for life,” she said, smiling. “And you are my soul mate, Gray. No one else has ever been to me what you are. I love you.”

  Grayson smiled brilliantly. “I love you.”

  Three days after Vegas, Dakota drove up to the Falco home. She’d been summoned once again for a “wound check.” She wondered if it was really a welfare check, but she didn’t mind.

  Lyric was out front washing her car, and Dakota approached her, running an admiring eye over the car once again. Lyric glanced over at her.

  “Another wound check?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Dakota said, grinning. “She’s pretty much all doctor on this kind of thing, isn’t she?”

  “You can say that again. Savanna’s very good at taking care of people,” Lyric said, grinning. “After Cody and I were hurt, she’s been a bit more protective.”

  “Was it at the same time?” Dakota asked.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Lyric said.

  “Aw,” Dakota said, nodding. “Still lovin’ this car…” she said, smiling. “Ya know if you have any other spare Ferrari’s hanging around…”

  “Oh, I think something
could be arranged if you wanted to do some work on it,” Lyric said, moving to soap the other side of the car.

  “Why would you want to do that?” Dakota asked looking suspicious.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Lyric asked, her tone reasonable.

  “You don’t really know me.”

  “No, but you seem like you need more in your life. Maybe building something would be a good thing.”

  “What’s wrong with what I have?” Dakota asked, gesturing to the Bugatti.

  “Don’t you want something that belongs to you that can’t just be taken away if the mood strikes?” Lyric asked.

  “Technically my name is on the pink slip of the Bugatti,” Dakota said, with a grin. “But I know what you’re saying. I still don’t get why you’d want to do that for me though.”

  “Jesus, Dakota, do you ever trust anyone?” Lyric asked her tone astounded.

  “Not really, no,” Dakota said.

  “Well, I think you know enough about me to know that you can trust me, don’t you?”

  Dakota thought about it for a long moment, but then nodded slowly.

  “So, trust me when I tell you that if you’ll let us, Dakota, we’d like to be here for you.”

  “Why?” Dakota asked again suspiciously.

  Lyric sighed. “Dakota, you and Cody are so much alike, she was just as suspicious as you at one point in time.” She looked over at Dakota as she rinsed her car off. “The fact of the matter is, Savanna and I wish you would have stuck around when you came to see how Cody was way back when at the group home. We honestly feel like you would have maybe had an easier time of things.”

  “You’re saying you would have adopted two street kids?” Dakota asked sarcastically.

  “That’s what I’m saying, yeah,” Lyric said.

  Dakota just stared back at her for a long moment her look almost hopeful. Then Lyric saw the cynical mask drop over her face again.

  “Who says that’s what I want anyway?” Dakota said.

  “Well, I think if it wasn’t what you wanted, we wouldn’t still be talking about it,” Lyric said, winking at her.

  Just then the door to the garage opened, and Savanna stuck her head out.