Code Name: Forever & Ever (A Warrior's Challenge series Book 5)

by Natasza Waters

  She held her breath. Please be Patrick. “Hello?”

  “Hey, gorgeous, it’s Bruce,” he paused. “Pepperhill. You know, that awesome guy you’re going mountain biking with this morning.”

  She palmed her forehead. “Bruce, sorry, I didn’t sleep well. I was going to call you, I have to cancel. I should have called last night.”

  “Ah, okay, well. You’re all right?”

  “Yeah, I just don’t feel up to a ride today.”

  “We could do something else.”

  She sighed. “Thanks, but I think I’m going to laze around here, today.”

  “Sure. Talk to you later, Marg.”

  “Bye.”

  Two hours later Marg sat in the car, wondering if she’d completely lost her mind. Somewhere inside the age-beaten garage with sun peeled paint and greasy smears covered by graffiti, held the man that was making her into a crazy woman.

  She twirled a coil of hair around her finger. Patrick said he’d be working today. She hadn’t spotted him yet, only a couple of young men leaning against a freezer on the stoop of the front wall. Two gas pumps dating back to the sixties and a cracked parking lot that had never been recoated since the day it was laid, sat in the edgy mix of residential and small businesses.

  The sounds of tools and air compressors drifted from the interior of a large open bay. The two guys spoke to each other and one nodded in her direction. From the corner of her eye, she saw a leggy blonde in cut-offs strut across the lot. The guys shouted a few comments and one whistled. She ignored them and flicked her long hair across her shoulder. Aiming for the garage, she disappeared inside.

  Marg nearly turned the key to start the car, tucking her tail between her shaking legs and leaving. She let out a deep breath, and reminded herself Patrick was also a friend and she could drop by…her thoughts got tangled in the sight of the blonde coming out of the garage with her arm draped around Patrick’s waist. She had a swaggering step in her high heels and rested her head on his shoulder.

  Marg’s head dropped back to the headrest and she closed her eyes. You idiot! She muttered to herself. Willing herself to vaporize from the parking lot and reappear in front of her condo wouldn’t happen, no matter how hard she tried.

  A tap on her window snapped her head up and her stomach streaked like a falling star into a dark pit. She gazed straight into his Levi’s with a pronounced thickness behind his zipper. Where was the blonde? What should she do?

  With her heart hammering, she lowered the window and fumbled for an excuse. “Umm, hey, I…was, uh—driving around and…”

  Patrick leaned over, his full lips pressed together smothering a smile. “Driving around, huh?”

  “Yes, of course.” She snapped her sunglasses from their holder and put them on. “Anyway, I—”

  The door opened and Patrick squatted on his haunches. His t-shirt fit tightly across his rounded shoulders and muscled arms. Why did he have to look so good in a pair of jeans? With a tilt of his unshaven jaw, her heart also tilted.

  “Did you need gas or something?”

  Was he giving her an out or baiting her to have a little fun?

  “No. Yes.” She squeezed the shit out of the steering wheel. “I got lost.”

  “Lost,” he echoed, but said it as if he didn’t believe her for a second. His silver gaze firmly settled on her.

  “Kind of, just driving around, getting to know San Diego.” She swallowed her lie with one gulp.

  “Do you need help finding your way out?”

  She searched for the blonde and found her standing with the other guys near the tattered front door of the garage. Was she waiting for him?

  “No.” Her heart plunged as her stupidity rose to its highest point ever. “I have a map.” She turned in her seat, ready to get the heck out of there and bury her pounding pulse in the sand along with her head.

  “Why did you come here, Marg? This isn’t a good part of town.” Patrick leaned just a little closer.

  “I—I don’t know, but I can see you’re busy, so I’ll leave.”

  “She’s an old friend.”

  “I bet.” Marg reached for the handle. The heat of her embarrassment had reached her cheeks. When his rough, strong hand covered hers, her body tingled.

  “If you wait a second, I’ll grab my bike and lead you out of here. I don’t want you losing your way. It’s not safe.”

  “It can’t be that bad,” she said, firmly planting her gaze on the front window.

  “It can, and it is. Especially driving around in a car like this.”

  “You’re here,” she muttered, darting a glance at him.

  Patrick nodded. “Yeah, but I grew up here.”

  “Does this garage really belong to the mob? Criminals?”

  Patrick blinked and his shoulders stiffened. “Yes.”

  That’s it! No denial. No defense. Something in his eyes made her pause, slowly she pulled the sunglasses from her face. The truth was there for her to see, and her heart shriveled.

  “You’re hoping I go away and stay away.” She clutched the door handle. Without a word he stood and stepped back, and she yanked the door closed. Gritting her teeth, because for some stupid reason she wanted to cry, she started the car, put it in reverse, executed a perfect two point turn and drove out of the parking lot just as Thane drove in. He waved, but she kept both hands on the steering wheel and hit the accelerator.

  * * * *

  Patrick closed his eyes instead of watching Marg rip down the road as fast as she could get away from him. Why didn’t he tell her how much he’d missed her since last night? How bad he’d tossed and turned in his sleep.

  Thane jumped from his car. “Was that, Marg?”

  He nodded.

  Thane pushed a hand through his lengthening hair. They’d all had it cut short when they started BUD/S.

  “She looked scared and pissed off. What the hell did you do?”

  “It’s what I didn’t do.”

  Thane squinted an eye at him. “Didn’t you guys have dinner last night, not to mention a little one on one time?”

  “You mean, did I take her back to her place and treat her like some whore? Screw her and then escape in the early hours.” Thane winced. Patrick did an about face. “But you did, didn’t you?”

  “Is that why you’ve been stringing her along? You think we got hot and sweaty together. She doesn’t deserve that.”

  “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “No, I didn’t.” He crossed his arms and cocked his head. “Doesn’t deserve an answer.”

  Pat had woken up this morning in a bad mood. His mom wasn’t feeling good again. His dad never came home, and he doubted himself. Every time he spent a minute with Marg, he doubted himself. And that niggling thought that he was missing something, kept putting the blame at Thane’s feet with absolutely no reason to justify it.

  “Why are you here?” he grouched at his friend.

  “You said you’d be working on your bike at the garage. I need to give the ‘stang a tune up.”

  “Then let’s tune up. Bring the car into the right bay,” he said, not wanting to discuss Marg Stines anymore.

  Thane rolled his eyes and turned for his car.

  “I’m doing her a favor,” Patrick piped out.

  Thane stopped and his broad form sagged. “Like fuck you are,” he yelled over his shoulder and got in his car.

  He and Thane changed the oil, filter and spark plugs. Under the car, Pat could concentrate on the machine. Thane sat on the concrete with his back against the door and a soda sitting beside him.

  “Why don’t you just admit you like her,” Thane mumbled, tossing a rag back and forth in his hands.

  “Talk about something else,” Patrick said, screwing a new oil filter into place.

  “’kay, Mom’s having a barbeque tonight to celebrate.”

  “Celebrate what?”

  “Us, getting through BUD/S. You coming or what?”

  Patrick slid ou
t and sat up, tilting a brow. “It’s food. I’m coming.”

  They chuckled and bumped fists. “Good, cause I’ve got the grocery list.”

  An afternoon in the burbs would help, Patrick thought. Maybe. Probably. He sighed. Not likely.

  “So who’s the blonde babe I saw hanging out front?”

  “Friend.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Pat flexed his shoulders. “Old friend.”

  Thane’s right brow rose.

  “What? We had a thing once. Every once in a while she comes around.”

  Thane nodded. “For more ‘thing’?” He raised his hands. “Not judging.”

  “I fucking hope not, you’re a goddamn manwhore.”

  Thane spit out a laugh. He leaned over and swept up his coke can. “Listen, I just noticed she didn’t hang around after Marg left.”

  “Because I told her not to.”

  “Any particular reason why?”

  Pat glared at his friend. “How about you get under the car and I’ll kick the jack out.”

  Thane tilted his head and shrugged. “Not that it’s my business, but Marg came out here, knowing it’s a lousy part of town to see you. I don’t have gorgeous models stalking me, man. Just pointing that out.”

  Pat rubbed the grease from his hands and tossed the rag in a refuse barrel. “There’s no point, is there? We’re gone in a couple weeks. She’s not Tara.”

  “Tara?”

  “The fucking blonde, pay attention.”

  “Right.”

  “Tara wants to see me tonight.”

  This time Thane only watched him.

  “Within ten minutes, we’ll be rolling around until sunrise.”

  Thane finished his coke and crushed the can in his big paw. “Sounds like something you used to do.”

  Sickened by the thought, Pat walked over to the cooler that sat under the workbench and pulled two cold beers. “Didn’t say I don’t want her.”

  “Didn’t say you did either.”

  Pat’s temper bristled. “I need to forget about, Marg. She’s got a future and so do I, but they’re not the same. They’ll never be the same.”

  Thane twisted the top off his beer. “Is this about what you want, or this about what that fucking ass clown, Harper, said last night?”

  “Don’t give a shit about Harper, I care about Marg.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Not what I meant.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  Pat grilled his friend with a look. “You’re a dick sometimes.”

  “Wanna go shopping for rib eyes or call Tara?”

  “Can I reiterate you’re a dick?”

  “Didn’t Marg mention she was going mountain biking with some rich guy today?”

  “Get in the fucking car, you asshole.” Pat opened the door and tossed the keys at Thane’s chest.

  * * * *

  “Marg, it’s Thane,” he said when she picked up the phone.

  She wrapped a towel around her waist before sitting in the lounge chair. She’d been on her patio getting some sun and trying to forget one tall, dark, almost-Navy SEAL by the pool all afternoon. Maybe she should just hang up, but her upbringing didn’t allow her a “Scarlet O’Hara” moment.

  “Hi, Thane.”

  “Got any plans tonight?”

  “No, why?”

  “Feel like coming to a barbeque? My place.”

  She paused. “Depends who’s on the invitation list.”

  “You looked like you could cut nails with your bare eyes this morning when you left the garage.”

  “I got lost.”

  “No you didn’t,” he fired back. “And my buddy isn’t thinking straight.”

  “What’s it to you?”

  “For one thing, we need to tell him about what happened between us. He’s my best friend. I don’t want this sitting like a grenade ready to go off.”

  “If I’m not around you, it doesn’t make a difference, does it? He’s not interested, Thane.”

  “Okay, then I am.”

  “What?” she bolted upright.

  “That’s right, if he’s gonna be too stupid to see you’re fucking amazing, then he can step aside because I’m not going to.”

  Marg ducked into her living room when her creepy neighbor’s patio door opened. “You’re full of it, Austen.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t believe me?”

  “No. Manwhores don’t make good boyfriend material.”

  “If I lose out on you, then the only thing I’ve got is the Navy and random women for the rest of my life.”

  A knock landed on her door. “I’m not feeling sorry for you, Thane. I have to go. Someone’s at my door.”

  “Then you should answer it.”

  When she opened the door, half expecting Percy, her mouth gaped. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Thane stepped inside and shut the door. “Continuing our conversation in person.” His eyes swept down her bikini clad body and she rolled hers. “Thane. Stop.”

  She didn’t expect him to grip her hand and drag her back into the living room, then grasp both her arms and gently thrust her down onto the couch. He perched his behind on the coffee table in front of her.

  “Now, we can talk.”

  “About what? My total and undeniable embarrassment for stalking Patrick? No thanks.”

  Thane grinned, giving Marg his full attention. “To be honest, if I thought I had a shot at you, I just might take it, but I don’t.” He took both her hands and palmed them. “You know why?”

  “Because I don’t make the same mistake twice?”

  “Ouch again. I’m almost feeling sorry for the berating Pat’s gonna endure with you over the years.”

  “He won’t have to endure a thing. I’m done being stupid.” Thane released her, and she shimmied backward on the couch, curling her legs under her bum.

  “Giving up that easy? Where’s the fight in you, girl?”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  The glint was gone and he nodded, seemingly debating his response. “When they were making us roll around in sand, which, by the way, is called a sugar cookie, freeze our asses off, a hazardous effect on a man’s favorite body part, and pushing our limits, they didn’t do it for fun. They did it to see who would give up. Who wasn’t worthy. In the moments between feeling like hell and wanting to die, Pat was there to remind me of what was at stake. I did the same for him, but I also did it to prove to my family that I could succeed. They believed in me, and I wasn’t going to let them down. Pat can’t go back to where he came from. He’ll take care of his mom and sister, but he needs something more. He has people who rely on him, but no one close who can show him a future that’s different from the one he’s seen at home. Every time he sees you, he reminds himself he can’t offer you what you need.”

  “I don’t need a thing. I just want…” She clamped her lips closed and looked away.

  “Him,” Thane finished for her. “I know that. I see it in both your eyes.”

  “Maybe what he sees is that I won’t be able to hack it. The separation. The worry.”

  “My parents are having a party tonight. For Pat and me. I think you should come and bring a bathing suit. The one you’re wearing will do just fine.”

  “What for?”

  “Because we’ve got a pool.”

  “Thane!” A long groan followed. “I’m not going to flaunt myself to change his mind.”

  “All’s fair in love and war. You’re not the only one going to be there.”

  Her nerves twitched. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I’ve invited a lot of people. Friends. You’re coming.”

  She eyed him warily.

  “Unless you want to spend the rest of your life with the white collared tight-ass from Beverly Hills.”

  She swallowed. “I’ll come.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Marg gripped her beach bag and approached the front door of Thane’s parents’ house. Sit
uated in a nice suburban neighborhood with new cars parked in each driveway and lush green lawns, she could tell he’d grown up in a good home. Instead of knocking on the door, she skirted the rose garden and opened the side gate. Water splashing and laughter kept her walking toward the backyard. She peered around the corner into a large, lovely space. The swimming pool with tiled decking sat in the middle of the lawn, and flowerbeds and palm trees surrounded the yard. A covered patio with a barbeque and a large dining table sat under an overhang. Young people lazed by the pool with drinks in hand.

  She spotted Thane talking to Stingray and Paul and a few other men she recognized as team guys from St. George’s the night of the fire. Girls in bikinis lay on lounge chairs, and the pool had at least twenty people enjoying the water on the warm November day. Marg grinned at the couples making out in every corner.

  Her eyes skimmed all the faces until she found Patrick’s, except he wasn’t alone. Her feet had drawn her out from her hiding place. Thane looked toward her, but the girl with long strawberry blonde hair and a beautiful smile didn’t notice Marg. The girl’s hands were halfway down Patrick’s chest and steering for his swim trunks. She couldn’t blame the girl. Patrick lying on the lounger, his abs hard, and his tanned skinned covered in little drops of water made Marg’s body sing, but the wicked, sexy grin covering his features for the girl, broke her heart.

  Could she stay and pretend she didn’t see? Her heart galloped with a saddle of hurt squeezing her ribs. Obviously, he’d moved on.

  Thane put it into a run, but she’d already decided she didn’t need to see anymore. Enough was enough. With a quick turn, she ran down the side of the house.

  “Marg. Stop.”

  She gripped the cedar boards of the gate and thrust it open.

  “Marg!”

  Her feet skipped every second walking stone inlaid in the grass to get away as quick as she could. With her keys still in her hand, she flung her arm out and clicked the fob to unlock the doors of her car, took a quick check no cars were coming, and darted across the road.