And Kyle would remain here. For Christmas. Sure, at some point he’d return to San Diego, for however long SEALs remained in town before their next deployment. But Kyle had made it crystal clear he wasn’t interested in anything more than a casual “friends with benefits” situation. And I respected him for being honest with me. Most guys would say anything to get laid. Not that Kyle seemed to have any problems in that department.
My door flew open. But it wasn’t my director or Kyle. It was Maya, all done up, hair perfectly curled.
“Damn, girl. You look like shit. Put your face on and I’ll do your hair.”
I hopped out of bed and put on my travel clothes as Maya went to work on my hair. She pulled back a lock of my hair to tease it and gasped.
“Is that a hickey? Oh my god. You didn’t! You hooked up with Kyle!”
I cupped my neck. I didn’t remember him giving me a hickey. How could I have been so stupid. I grabbed my compact and dug into my makeup case and slabbed some concealer on it.
“Sara Elizabeth Michaels. Tell me now.”
“Okay. Yes. I did. Please lower your voice. He snuck me out of the room. It was incredible.”
She just shook her head, clearly disgusted with me. “What were you thinking? I don’t care what you do back home—hell you could go fuck an entire SEAL Team and I wouldn’t give you a hard time. But we are on a tour. Why are you risking your dream on this guy?”
I wasn’t going to argue. I dabbed and dabbed makeup on until the hickey was less noticeable. “Don’t tell anyone. Please? It won’t happen again.”
“Damn straight it won’t. I’m sticking with you until we go home. Seriously, Sara. He’s not worth it.”
I rolled my eyes and reminded myself she was just trying to protect me. I agreed with her, anyhow. That was it. Last time. I would not become his fuck buddy.
I counted my blessings. I was on a USO tour, entertaining our troops who risked their lives for our freedom. How many people could say that? I was a member of one of the best dance squads in the league while still keeping a high GPA. And last night I had the most incredible sex of my life with an amazing man, a hero. I was truly fortunate. The pesky other feelings be damned. Kyle made me feel safe, and I knew that as long as he was in my corner, while I was here, he would never let anything happen to me. That was why I cut him a break. He might not be willing to stick around, but for the short time I was near him, I felt wanted. And that was enough.
9
Kyle
I could still taste Sara on my lips when I awoke the next morning. Images of me fucking her from behind were stored in my head for later use. The way I’d impaled her deeply, until she came all over my cock. She was truly breathtakingly beautiful inside and fine as hell outside. She seemed solid. Non crazy. Sweet. Dared I say, loving. But it didn’t matter. I wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend. Could still dream about her though. Replay our conversations. Memorize every image from last night for when I was alone. And use her calendar photo as my spank shot. Remember the time she had been mine, if only briefly.
I rolled out of my cot, put on my clothes, and prepared to say good-bye to Sara and her squad. If I got stuck on watch duty after today, I might not see her again. That bothered me.
I found Pat waiting outside my room. Damn early riser. Then again, he wasn’t the one that slept like a baby because his world was rocked last night. That pleasure went to yours truly. “How was your night, bro?”
“A gentleman never tells,” I joked. “Let’s just say I’m surprised that bunker is still standing.”
His lips twisted. “Fuck you, man. I miss Annie so much. She saw a picture online of the cheerleaders on the tour and now she’s stressing that I’m gonna cheat on her. I know she’s pregnant and hormonal, but nothing I say seems to reassure her.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, man, that’s rough. But Annie’s a strong woman. And I know you’d never cheat. Tell her I’d put a bullet in your brain first.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t cheat on her. I love her, but being married while in the Teams sucks. I miss her and Gabriel. I hope our deployment doesn’t get extended because I’ll miss our baby’s birth.”
My chest tightened. I felt for the dude. It sucked. But I selfishly felt reassured because his words proved my point that being married or involved while on the Teams was nonstop headaches and heartbreak. Seeing Pat miss Annie confirmed my belief a relationship while I was in the Teams wasn’t right for me. The guilt would eat me alive. And then there was the other downer to relationships. Poor Vic’s whore of an ex-wife cheated on him during one of our first deployments. Tore that boy up. No, thank you. I was good. When I settled down, I wanted to be around. Have a family, be there for my kids, coach my son’s football team, take my daughter to ballet lessons. Pat and Vic barely saw their kids. It sucked big time. I didn’t want to live like that. My father was my hero, an excellent role model, a strong man, a great husband, and a loving father. And until I could be that good of a man, I would remain single. The bar was set high, and I wasn’t about to half ass it. I never half assed anything.
Vic emerged from outside and the three of us headed over to the motor T area. The other guys on my Team were used to seeing us three together, well, practically all the time. Didn’t mean I appreciated the other men any less. We had already been briefed before the convoy was due to leave. Safety, plans for if there were any interruptions, who was in the lead vehicle. All the normal things that needed to be discussed between the leaders of the convoy and the soldiers. Which was communicated with my SEAL Team as we were the quick reaction force, in case there were any problems. The convoy crew had done their pre-combat checks. Made sure everyone had weapons, enough ammo, and the vehicles were topped off. The civilians had been briefed as well. If anything were to happen, they were to stay in the vehicles until help had arrived.
We stared ahead. There were ten two-ton vehicles in the convoy to transport the USO performers. Eight up-armored Humvees and two troop carriers. Sara would be in the third vehicle.
The girls were lined up two by two next to the first troop carrier like they were going on an ark, with the chaperone in the back. The cheerleaders would be in one of the troop carriers, and the players in the other. Two soldiers-only Humvees led the pack.
We decided to assist the soldiers in helping the girls climb on board. Sara noticed me and pushed to the front of the line past a few girls and pointedly gave me a somber look. Immediately, my chest constricted. There went the guilt I feared. Feelings I didn’t know what the fuck to do with hit me like a ton of bricks. My hand lingered on her back for far too long as I helped her into the assigned vehicle. She pressed her body into my chest, the stance a bittersweet memory. Her noticeable breaths coming out choppy, and she imprinted her scent on me. Which only caused my own uneven breaths.
What the hell was going on? I’d see her tomorrow night. Why was it so hard to let her go?
She didn’t look back as Vic loaded the last of the girls into the body of the vehicle.
With everyone safely inside, the drivers turned on the ignitions and the vehicles rumbled to life, taking off around the dirt road. Sand flew through the sky, sprinkling on the vehicles as the guys waved them good-bye. My limbs felt heavy, my hands only managing to form clenched fists, almost hanging lifelessly at my sides.
For a moment I had the urge to run after her, my gut uneasy, a haunting fear I would never see her again weighing me down like quicksand.
10
Sara
Our vehicle rumbled down the dirt road for the next hour, every bump and tremor sending sharp pains through my spine. Afghanistan was a mountainous desert. I’d sat quietly throughout the trip, lost in thought. When we’d left the base, at the last moment, I’d sat up, finally staring back at Kyle. He stood still as a statue while his friends waved enthusiastically, the mountains just past the transportation area serving as a serene but lonely backdrop. He was shutting down. Again. A sob had threatened to escape
my lips. I sighed and closed my eyes and tried to compartmentalize the situation, starting with reliving every moment I’d spent last night with Kyle. I’d felt safe. Comfortable. Invincible even. But they weren’t enough. One thing I fought was wallowing in those memories. The more I thought about his behavior after, the more upset I became.
My lust and admiration for him now had been replaced by anger and disappointment. Too overcome with nervousness, I’d waited for him to speak. Silently begged him to say anything. He said nothing as I left. Just like he’d done before. Fuck him. I’d done nothing wrong. Fool me once, shame on me. I should have learned. Yet the fresh scorch of rejection burned like hell. I couldn’t stomach what was happening between us.
The first time around he should’ve called me, told me he was going away, even if he didn’t want to tell me he was a SEAL. And now he probably thought after our second hookup I would be grateful to be his fuck buddy whenever he returned to the States. I dragged in a heavy breath. How was it he made me feel so amazing one minute and like utter shit the next?
Fuck that, Maya was right. I didn’t care how amazing Kyle was, or that he was a humble man dedicated to his country. To him, I was disposable. And I deserved more. I didn’t want to be his jump off. Last night I hadn’t been thinking straight. And I refused to be played. No matter how hot the sex. It was about damned time. I had finally seen the light.
The universe must’ve acknowledged my realization because a blinding flash of light streaked through our vehicle as an echoing boom radiated beneath us. Followed by the overwhelming sounds of shots pelting the vehicle to our front.
The vehicle jostled us back and forth before coming to a stop. My lungs burned. I began to cough, and a sinking feeling dropped to the pit of my stomach.
High wails came from the occupants of the vehicle, and I froze. The uncertainty of what just happened caused my breath to catch. Though I had a pretty good idea.
Maya shrieked next to me. “What was that?”
It sounded like an IED explosion and the use of AK-47s. But I wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know.” I spoke calmly, trying to reassure myself everything was okay more than pacify her. She had always been there for me. We took care of each other. The least I could do was keep her calm. Inside, I was shaking. But I wouldn’t let that show. I took her hand in mine. “We’re going to be fine, Maya,” I whispered as I gripped her hand. She hunched down into my side, and I wrapped my arms around her, looking toward the hard plastic separating us from the driver and officer in the passenger seat. “Stay down.” I lifted a fraction. The scene in front of me was a horror story.
The Humvees before us had exploded, and sand and clouds of smoke surrounded us. Definitely an IED. One big and powerful enough to take out two vehicles, leaving us vulnerable. “We’ve been attacked. I repeat, we’ve been attacked,” the soldier on the passenger side barked into the radio communicating back to the base.
“Everybody stay down!” the driver instructed. His booming voice roared like I’d never heard before. Immediately after, both soldiers jumped out of the truck. And the roar of unmistakable gunshots pierced my ears. They came in a rapid succession.
Pop, pop, pop, pop.
Gunshots drowned out the shrieks of the girls. My breath labored, I couldn’t make myself move. I watched in horror as local men shot at the vehicles from high above. With a white truck rushing down the mountain, weapons appearing from every opening of the vehicle. Maya yanked on my arm, urging me to hunch back down. The shimmer of white smoke and the rancid smell of gunpowder and death wafted in the air.
We were under attack.
The two soldiers shot back. Coming out of my trance, I dropped to the floor. “We’ll be okay if we do as we were told.” I tried to assure the rest of the girls and the director. My words were futile, but complete panicking was pointless. It would serve us no good if we wanted to survive. The incessant gunfire of the AK-47s assured me the massive bomb that had gone off had been the least of our problems.
Our nightmare was just beginning.
Gun power surrounded us. And the truck rocked viciously. The amount of time passing was irrelevant, whether seconds or minutes, it still felt as if years were taken off my life. My forehead throbbed, resembling one of the intense, pounding headaches accompanied by nausea, vision blurs, and debilitating pressure I experienced when I had the misfortune of having a migraine.
Our reality took center stage, the disorientation becoming a second thought as queasiness crawled up my throat. We were supposed to be safe. Kyle had given me his word—why hadn’t he been on this convoy escorting us?
I refused to die scared. Maya held me with a death grip, and I grew defiant. I needed to know what was happening. I repeated my earlier action and peeked through the plastic divider, my gut clenching at what I saw, and I held my hand to my mouth. Blood, and our driver slumped over the shattered, bullet-pierced window. The bile working its way up my throat made a comeback. I was going to be sick.
I hunched back down, dragging in breath after breath. My mind raced, fighting the pain in my head as I got my wits together, attempting to control the nausea. We’d been targeted. Would the shooters kidnap a bunch of Americans and hold them for ransom? The political words “we don’t negotiate with terrorists” ran through my head.
Through the chaos, I heard a haunting grunt and just knew the other solider had been killed. Maya whimpered at my side. It was deafening. She’d heard the grunt. Tears streamed down her face in droves, my own impending tears struggling to break free. She pulled at my arm again. “Sara, please.”
I nodded. We huddled back on the floor of the vehicle. And my body shook anticipating what might happen next. At any second, men could burst in, killing us like they’d killed the soldiers. Perspiration broke out across my brows, cascading down into my eyes. They stung. I wiped at the sweat and momentarily gazed around in slow motion at the scared faces and our skimpy tank tops peeking from underneath our thin, tight jackets. And envisioned our possible outcome. Our apparel could anger some. We could be raped. I braced myself, holding onto Maya, and stared out the back of the truck. Through the fog, I saw the remaining Humvees had veered out, each to opposite sides, the soldiers surrounding the convoy. It almost looked like a tree’s branches. They fired back at the enemies, and I grew wary of how any of the USO personnel could help. But before I could formulate any type of plan, the vehicle started moving.
My eyes watered and chills spread over the entire length of my body. This couldn’t be happening, the transport was still on. I now saw the side profile of a swarthy man with a long beard driving the vehicle, his similar-looking wingman to his right. My heart grew heavy. They’d killed our protection. I couldn’t help but think, were we next?
The rest of the girls were finally clued in on our looming future. Our terrified director no longer held her usual control. Her face had paled and she stared off at nothing in particular. A reluctant hush filled the air, and we all became silent, less the muffled sobs.
I closed my eyes and did something I hadn’t done for years.
I prayed.
I gave a short prayer for the soldiers whose Humvees had exploded. Then the driver and passenger. They’d made the ultimate sacrifice. And I prayed for Kyle to come for me, and rescue us, to tap into his spiritual side and be guided in his path toward me. Not as my lover, or my boyfriend, or even my friend, but as the only man who I trusted and believed could save us now.
11
Kyle
An hour after the convoy left, the first chilling call came through the radio. We’d been tuned into the channels communicating with each vehicle on the convoy. SEALs were considered elite and didn’t do these types of convoys. Instead, we were on the QRF; quick response force.
I lowered the weapon I was cleaning in my compound and listened as a soldier shouted that they were under attack. The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stood on end. I didn’t want to be right. My gut had tried to warn me, and I had ignored
it. God damn it.
The radio grew quiet. Shit. That was a bad sign. When a convoy was attacked, whenever possible soldiers were trained to stop the convoy and move the vehicles out to the sides to remove themselves from the danger zone. Soldiers that weren’t hit were to get out of the vehicles and assume defense fighting positions. It was their way of surrounding the convoy, forming a barrier of people with weapons. Each vehicle had a radio running on the same frequency communicating with the base. The fact that we’d only received one call and it had been dropped told me those soldiers had to vacate the vehicles to eradicate the attackers. Fuck.
I tightened my loud bearing vest and looked over to Pat, Vic, and the rest of my fire Team. “Load ‘em up.” No other words were exchanged, it wasn’t needed. We were expected to be quick-witted, trained to move at a moment’s notice, and that’s what we did just then. We began to collect our weapons when the second call came in.
“The USO convoy was ambushed. A roadside bomb has disabled two vehicles. The medics still on board will assess the damage and provide immediate medical attention to as many as possible. We were under heavy enemy fire. There are casualties. We also have a hostage situation. The first troop carrier containing the USO guests was taken. The driver and officer on board were killed. We need immediate backup.” That was the vehicle Sara was in. The look on my face clued the guys in to my thoughts.
“You don’t know what happened, man,” Pat stated sympathetically. He knew I was thinking about Sara. I nodded, removing the fucked-up thought from my head. My thought process was warped with anguish and I had to be positive. With the help of my Team, we loaded our weapons and sprinted back to our command. A quick briefing was conducted before our forty-man Team took off. My eight-man fire squad, which consisted of myself, Vic, Pat, Grant, Mitch, Shane, Erik, and Joaquín, led the convoy.
TRITON: A Navy SEAL Romance (Heroes Ever After Book 2) Page 35
