Hot Extraction: SEALs, Marines, and Infantry - A Military Romance Boxed Set

by Kathryn Thomas

  Kristina watched as a little boy and girl ran by her, holding bright sparklers in their hands. Their laughter followed them, as they ran across the street. The scene brought her back in time and she couldn’t help but smile at her memories of Independence Day in Humble when she was a child.

  She remembered eating cotton candy and watching the fireworks at the park. She also remembered her time with Danny. They would be excited for days leading up to the Fourth. Each one would talk over the other, wondering what new surprises awaited them in town. When the day finally arrived, they stuck close to each other, exploring new rides and eating treat after treat. Sometimes, they would whisper secrets to each other or chase the ducks in the park, just passing the time while they waited for the fireworks to begin.

  Danny. She would be lying to herself, if she said she didn’t miss him. She regretted letting time and distance separate their relationship. Danny was her best friend. He was the only reason she made it through her childhood, but circumstances outside of their control came between them.

  Kristina looked around her once more. Everyone had smiles on their faces, as they enjoyed the hot summer day. She walked to a cotton candy stand and stood in line.

  “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” a deep voice said from behind her.

  When she heard his voice, something melted in her. She didn’t expect that reaction, but she welcomed it all the same. Turning, she laid eyes on Danny for the first time in years. He had changed and had a maturity about him that wasn’t there the last time she saw him.

  His hair was cut low to his head which made his square jawline stand out more. Muscles peeked out from under his tight, white t-shirt. As her eyes traveled down his body, she appreciated the way his jeans hugged his muscular thighs. Nice, she thought.

  “Thank you,” he said, laughter in his voice.

  She snapped her head up and looked into his piercing blue eyes. “Did I say that out loud?” she asked him.

  “Yes,” he said, looking behind her as he pointed to the concession stand. “I think you’re up.”

  “Oh,” she said, rushing to the window and buying her treat. Oh my god, he’s gorgeous, she thought, again; but, this time she made sure she kept her thoughts to herself. Standing beside him with her cotton candy in hand, she finally spoke to him, “You look good, Marine. How have you been?”

  “I’ve been…okay. It’s different being back home,” he said, looking around.

  “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you. You’re very hard to find,” she said, trying to steady her heart before it beat right out of her chest. At the same time, she thought, Why am I so nervous? It’s just Danny. Suddenly, she realized that while she was trying to pull herself together, he was waiting for her to answer a question. “Excuse me?” she asked.

  “I said I got your message. I was wondering if you wanted to get that lunch you were talking about?”

  “Oh, um, yeah. That would be great,” she said quickly. He nodded and pointed toward a picnic area that was setup in front of a BBQ stand. They walked together and sat down.

  “It’s nice to see you, Tina. You look really good.”

  “Thanks,” she said, as they sat down.

  They settled into awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to say to the other. It was Danny that finally spoke. “Why is it that you feel we’re not friends anymore?”

  She looked at him and studied his face before she answered. “Danny, we haven’t spoken in three years.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea what you’ve been up to and I just assumed you moved on.” Then, she lowered her eyes to the table, suddenly quiet.

  “Tina, it was never supposed to be that way. Life just got in the way.”

  “I tried contacting you. You never responded, not once,” she said to him.

  This time, he was quiet for a while. Then, he finally said, “I don’t have a good reason for that, so I won’t make one up. All I can say is that I’m sorry.”

  “I missed you. I missed talking to you. There were so many times when something happened and I wanted to call you or send a message to you. I felt like my best friend was snatched away from me,” Kristina said, looking at him.

  “So tell me now,” he said simply.

  “What?”

  “Tell me now. It sounds like I have a lot of making up to do,” he said.

  “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “Start where we left off. I want you to tell me everything.”

  The day was spent with Kristina telling Danny about the last three years of her life. He was surprised how good he felt talking to her, simply listening to her talk about her accomplishments and life.

  “It’s almost time for the fireworks. How about it? For old times’ sake?” Danny asked her.

  “What the hell, let’s go.”

  The pair joined the crowd of people walking in the direction of the park. Danny looked to his left where Kristina walked beside him. She was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her hair cascaded down her back in long, brown waves. She had a certain light to her green eyes that made him smile.

  He missed her, but the Marines had become his life. He couldn’t afford distractions on the battlefield. That’s what got men killed. He had to stay focused and when he thought about Kristina, his focus failed him. When he cut contact with her, it was one of the hardest things he had done in his life. He knew that he would never be able to cut contact with her again. Lance Corporal Danny Knight was officially off duty. If being with Kristina, even for a short while, was his reward for his service, then being home was looking better and better.

  The first firework went off and lit the sky bright with colors. Children oohed and ahhed at the flashes of light and loud booms. Everyone’s eyes were pointed to the sky as more fireworks shot into the sky. Everyone was enjoying themselves, but Danny was in hell.

  As the first firework sounded, he was back in in Afghanistan. He was clutching his rifle, listening to the sound of bombs going off around him. Every new pop and boom took him back further and further into the hell hole he barely climbed out of.

  No one, not even Kristina, noticed the drops of sweat that formed at Danny’s brow or his hands clenched at his sides. His heart beat roared in his ears, as he tried to block it all out. He shut his eyes and tried to stop the images from flying at him, but the harder he tried, more sounds, more booms, more fireworks lit the sky and the more he remembered.

  Danny sank to his knees. The memories were too much for him. The images of what he had done, what he had no choice but to do, stood boldly in the front of his mind. His vision was blurred when he opened his eyes a moment later. Everything sounded so far away and he couldn’t focus on any one thing. It was all too much for him. All the people and sounds ran together. He had to get out of there.

  ****

  Kristina now remembered why she loved this part of the night. The colors and wonder always were her favorite part. The display was well under way when Kristina turned to Danny to see how he was enjoying the show.

  “Oh my god, Danny, are you okay?” The sight of the man down on his knees shocked her.

  What the hell happened? she thought to herself. Bending to his level, she saw his shirt was damn near soaked with sweat. “Danny, are you okay?” she asked again.

  It took a second for his eyes to focus on her. “I need to get out of here, now.”

  She didn’t need to be told again. The haunted look in his eyes let her know something was wrong. Kristina helped him up just as the finale began. A couple of people gave them strange looks, but she didn’t care. Danny shook like a leaf and seemed so far away. She didn’t know what the hell was going on, but she knew she had to help him.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Danny, I don’t know where I’m going,” Kristina looked over at him as she drove. “Danny?”

  He still didn’t answer her. He looked at her, as if he was confused. He blinked a couple of times before speaking, “Um…what did you say?”r />
  Kristina didn’t know what was going on, but she was worried about him. When they got into the car, he had been a thousand miles away. “I don’t know where I’m going. You have to tell me where to take you,” she said, concern lacing her voice.

  “I’m staying in the apartments behind the old bakery. You can take me there.” His voice was so quiet, she barely heard him speak.

  “Danny, what’s wrong? Are you sure you’re okay?” He didn’t answer right away, but just sat and stared out the window, as she drove.

  “I’m fine, Tina,” he said after a while. Kristina knew that wasn’t true, but she decided to not press the issue.

  Ten minutes later, she pulled up to his apartment. Danny stared at his hands, but didn’t make a move to get out of the car. “Would you like me to come up?” she asked softly.

  “That won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine,” he said, opening the car door. Hearing him assure her once more that he’d be fine was all it took. She was out of the car in a matter of seconds and followed close behind him, as he headed towards his apartment. “I told you that you didn’t have to come,” he said, without turning to face her.

  “I know that.”

  Danny opened the door and went inside. Kristina watched as he went to his kitchen and straight for the bottle of liquor that sat on the counter. He didn’t spare a thought for a glass, as he pressed the mouth of the bottle straight to his lips. He took a long pull and began walking to the back of the apartment. Kristina didn’t know if she should follow or not, but she decided to go anyway.

  Danny was sitting on the bed with his head bent. The bottle dangled from his fingers and hung between his legs. He looked utterly dejected. “Danny, what happened?” she asked quietly.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that, Tina,” he said. He took another long pull from his drink. “I….didn’t mean,” he paused, as his eyes took on that haunted look again. Then, he cleared his throat and simply said, “I didn’t mean for you to see that.”

  Kristina came and knelt before him on the floor. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not,” he said, as he lowered his head in shame. “None of it’s okay,” he said, as he looked past her. Then, he continued to speak a little louder, “None of them had to die, it didn’t have to be that way.” Tears streamed down his eyes when he looked at her. “I didn’t mean to. I had no choice.”

  The sob that rocked Danny’s chest broke Kristina’s heart. She watched as the best friend she had in the world, the one who was strong for her when she couldn’t be strong for herself, crumbled before her.

  Raw pain came out in choked sobs, releasing so much misery. Kristina put her arms around him, as he cried. He spoke here and there, but not to her, only to some unseen person. He kept asking the phantom in the room, “Why?”

  “What happened to you over there? What the hell happened to you?” she asked, almost to herself.

  She took the bottle from him and sat it on the dresser. Then, she lead him to the bed. Kristina gave him strength, just as he had always given strength to her in their youth. She climbed into bed next to him and held him without judgment or criticism.

  Danny fell into a fitful sleep a little while later. Kristina watched him sleep, unable to make herself leave. Her heart bled for this man. She knew that whatever happened to him overseas followed him home. She didn’t know how she would do it, but she would be there for him. “It’s my turn to take care of you,” she said to his sleeping form. Then, she closed her eyes and found sleep herself.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Kristina barely slept all night long. She was awakened several times when Danny cried out in his sleep. Each time, she held him tighter and waited for the episode to pass. She couldn’t imagine what the man was going through, but whatever it was, it was taking a toll on him.

  Kristina rolled over and looked at the clock Danny had on his bedside. It read seven-thirty. She stretched and turned back to where Danny slept peacefully, now. It was the first time since he fell asleep that his face was relaxed. Despite what happened last night, it felt good to be so close to him after so long.

  Talking to him yesterday gave her the opportunity to tell him a little about how she felt being away from him for so long. Now, she felt like a weight had been lifted and their friendship could move forward. She just needed to get him to talk to her about what was going on in his head. She wanted to be there for him and help him.

  Sitting up slightly, Kristina looked around her. There wasn’t much furniture in the room. A desk sat in the corner, covered with papers and empty alcohol bottles. Besides a chair sitting next to the desk, the bed was the only other object in the room. No art adorned the walls and no curtains covered the windows. Kristina slipped from the bed quietly and walked out of the room. The rest of the apartment had the same sparse decorations. There was no life in the apartment, just basic necessities.

  Danny was usually a neat person from what she could remember, but quick glances around her showed her either he had missed a couple days of cleaning or no longer cared. Either way the place was a mess.

  Opening to the fridge, Kristina wasn’t surprised to find it empty. What she did see was more Kettle One bottles. Whatever he was dealing with, it seemed he was drowning himself in alcohol. She wanted to know what demons Danny faced. What happened to him that affected him this way?

  “If you’re looking for food, you’re gonna be disappointed here.”

  Kristina closed the door to fridge to see Danny standing in the hallway watching her.

  “I see that. Do you eat?” she asked.

  “When I need to. I’m surprised that you’re still here.”

  “Yeah, I just woke up”

  Danny’s eyes avoided hers as he spoke, “Um…I’m sorry you had to see that last night. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  “It’s okay. It’s the least I could do. I mean, how many nights did I intrude on you when we were younger? It’s okay, really,” she said looking at him.

  He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it in total disarray. She smiled at him thinking that he looked adorable with signs of sleep still so apparent.

  “How about you get cleaned up and I’ll take you to breakfast. We sure aren’t gonna get full off of what you have here.”

  Danny hesitated only a moment before he agreed.

  “I need to get my car.”

  “We can swing by the park after breakfast,” she told him.

  A short while later, they were on their way to Lucy’s. It was a restaurant they frequented during their teenage years. Kristina remembered all the afternoons that Danny would watch her bus tables and try to get freebees from her. Pulling up to the diner, Kristina shut the engine off. She turned to Danny who hadn’t said a word the entire ride.

  “Hey, earth to Danny,” she said softly. When he glanced at her, she asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Right as rain,” he said with false enthusiasm.

  She knew the smile on his face was a fake one, but she decided to leave it for now. She didn’t want to spoil the morning by giving him the third degree.

  After breakfast, Kristina took Danny to get his car. She couldn’t help but to think back to last night. What had sent Danny off the edge? They had enjoyed themselves the entire afternoon. She had laughed more in that short time than she had in a while. She was sure he had enjoyed himself, as well. She just didn’t understand any of it. She had more questions about Danny now than she had answers.

  Kristina watched as he got in his car and pulled away. She wondered how she could get him to open up and talk to her. She didn’t know if she would have all the answers if he did, but holding all that in couldn’t be good either. Thinking about it, she drove back to her hotel room, showered, and sat down with her computer.

  She started reading through various websites, ranging from the Department of Veterans Affairs to blogs written by soldiers and their family members. After a few hours, she felt like she had a better grasp on what was going on with Danny, e
ven if she knew none of the specifics. She was fairly certain that he suffered from post-traumatic stress, a problem that was not uncommon in soldiers after they returned from war.

  She learned that the best thing for Danny was professional counseling; but, she also learned that some soldiers refused to meet with a therapist. She learned that many soldiers benefited from something called prolonged exposure therapy, where they talked about their experiences until they were no longer upsetting. She hoped that if Danny didn’t want to have professional help, at the least she could talk with him, as often as he wanted, and maybe, with time, she could help him enough so that his devils would seem less demonic.

  Her phone rang, just as she was finishing up for the moment.