Vicky interrupted again, “I’m assuming you’re talking about the CIA, right?”
“Yes. They have all the intel I need to find Sam. I’m talking with them tomorrow.”
Vicky gasped, “So soon?”
“I’m just going to talk with them and see if I can even pull this off, Vick. I promise, I’m not going to do anything without talking to you first. And I won’t go if you don’t want me too.” She held her breath, waiting on Vicky’s answer.
I don’t want you to go! “Aidan, I need some time to sort this whole thing out. I mean, not only do I just find out you were engaged before, but now you want to go get her? And on the very day you proposed to me, you were talking to the President of the United States about her. It doesn’t do a whole lot for my self-esteem, you know.”
“I understand, baby, and I am so sorry I fucked all this up. I never wanted to hurt you, you know that right? I love you so much.”
“Just keep reminding me how much, okay?”
Aidan smiled, greatly relieved, “With pleasure.”
Vicky walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of whisky, straight. She stood by the bar, and gulped it down. Lord give me strength to understand this and wisdom to accept it. Then she poured herself another drink, got out a beer for Aidan, and walked back into the living room. Handing Aidan the beer, she sat back down on the couch and looked at her intently.
“Okay, tell me again, from the beginning,” she patted the cushion, and Aidan sat down beside her, happy for the second chance to tell it the right way.
“The day I was hurt in the attack in Iraq, I was catching a ride to my unit. As you know, I was to be their photographer in the field. It was Sam’s truck convoy that I was riding with. Sam, her full name is Samantha Jane Vincent, anyway she was a Staff Sergeant. She was in charge of the guys driving the transport trucks. So, I was in the Stryker, and she was two trucks behind us. When we got hit, I went crazy looking for her, but then this kid, I’m pretty sure it was Jerry, kept screaming in pain. All hell was breaking lose. Gunfire, explosions from the grenades, people screaming for help. I just sort of went into rescue mode without thinking about it. I pulled Jerry to safety, and then I went to help someone else. That’s when I heard her screaming…,”
Aidan stopped, choking on the words. Moved by her obvious pain, Vicky put her soft hand on Aidan’s arm. “I tried to find her, but, after a few minutes I couldn’t hear her anymore, and then I guess I got hit by shrapnel. The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
Surprised, Aidan looked at her, “You really are, aren’t you.” Squeezing her hand, Aidan continued, “Anyway, I found out from Jerry, that they had captured her, and the truck she was driving. Because I lost my memory, I thought she had died.”
“And now?” Vicky asked, while another question formed in her mind.
“Now I have to help her. I can’t stand the thought of leaving someone behind, while I’m given medals for courage. And…, and I can’t stand the thought of her being at the mercy of those bastards.”
Vicky got up and paced, while Aidan waited. Finally she stopped and turned to her, “What happens after you rescue her?”
She looked at Vicky curiously. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. What will happen, after she comes back? “Well I guess she goes back to her family, or back to the Army, or whatever she wants.”
“And if she wants you, Aidan?”
“That is not an option, Vicky. I love you.”
“Aidan, look at it from my perspective. If the attack had never happened, you would be sitting with Samantha right now, instead of me.”
“I know, baby, but I need you to trust me on this. It’s you I love.”
Vicky shook her head, “I trust you. I have always trusted you, even when you didn’t know who I was, I trusted you. I always knew we’d find each other again, and I trusted in that. All my life, I have trusted in us. It’s not a matter of my trusting you, sweetheart, it’s a matter of you, trusting yourself.”
“What can I do to convince you that I am coming back to you?”
Vicky stood up. Her face drained of all emotion. She crossed her arms, and struck a pose of determination, before she said, “By taking me with you.”
Aidan’s mouth hung open, but as the shock wore off, she realized that Vicky was being serious. “Oh, hell no! It’s war over there, Vicky, people are dying there. No, I can’t risk losing you.”
“And I can risk losing you?”
“Baby, please be reasonable. I’ve been to war. I’ve been shot at, blown up and watched my friends die. It’s not a dinner party, over there.”
Vicky put her small hands on her hips, and angrily responded, “Aidan, for your information, just this past month, I’ve been shot at, blown up, and watched my friends die too. So how is that different? You’re the one who needs to be reasonable!”
Aidan’s logic was quickly being disarmed, and she was desperately trying to think of something to come back with.
But Vicky wouldn’t let it go. “I am a quick learner, and you have to admit we make a great team together. Plus I’m a nurse, and Samantha may need medical attention. Oh, and by the way, that ‘dinner party’ quip, was uncalled for. You should know by now, that I am more than that.”
Aidan did know that, but she was desperate. She stood up also, and began to pace, as she made one last appeal before her resolve evaporated completely. “You’re right, and I apologize for the remark. But, Vicky, have you ever killed anyone before? Are you capable of killing?” Aidan already knew the answer. She knew that Vicky was super sensitive when it came to killing. When they were children, Vicky stopped her from killing a mouse that had gotten into the treehouse. Aidan knew she wouldn’t be able to kill a person, even if they were the enemy. She also knew it wasn’t a fair question, because even though she had killed several insurgents during the attack on her Stryker, she didn’t know for sure, until she faced death, whether she could kill someone or not. Over a year later, when Vicky was held hostage by the terrorist in the hospital, Aidan had no qualms about killing him, with a bullet through his brain.
Vicky had not considered that she might have to kill someone, and she honestly wasn’t sure whether she could or not. As a nurse, she had taken an oath to do no harm, and she lived by that oath. She had never been put into a position of needing to kill, to save herself, or someone else.
Aidan could see her hesitation, and she took advantage of it. “If things get hairy over there, I have to know that you can protect yourself. I have to know that you’ve got my back.”
Of that, Vicky had no doubt, “No one lays a hand on my woman, and lives to tell about it.”
Loving the bravado, Aidan couldn’t hold back a smile, but then she quickly became serious again, “Don’t get me wrong, I know you would jump in front of a bullet to protect me.” With one finger, she gently traced the ridge of the scar on Vicky’s chest. When the terrorist attempted for the second time to take the hospital hostage, it came down to a gun pointing at Aidan’s heart. Vicky jumped in front of the bullet, to save Aidan, and almost lost her own life. A bloody sight that still haunts Aidan’s every thought. “I know you are brave beyond measure, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it, Aidan?”
“Can you shoot someone to protect yourself?”
***
“I’m bored.”
“Bored? How can you be bored, you just got to work.”
“It’s not work I’m bored with.”
“Oh? Do tell?”
Kate Moore, Executive Assistant to the Finance Director, waved her arm at the employees coming through the front door, on their way to start their morning shift. “Let’s see. I’ve had her. Had him. Had her and him together. Would like to have her again. I mean look at them, there’s no new toys to play with in kitty’s sandbox.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re vulgar?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve been compl
imented many, many times.”
Kate’s friend shook her head, and chuckled, “You’re hopeless.”
It was then that the glass doors slide open again, and Kate gasped at the sight of the woman walking in. Medium height, short brown hair with a hint of gray, muscular body, and blue eyes that sparkled all the way across the room at Kate. “Oh! I haven’t had that yet. I think I just found a new toy to play with.” She stood, cuffed her hair up, and walked over to the woman.
“You’re a new employee, right? I don’t think we’ve met? I’d remember a beautiful face like yours.”
Ruth’s eyes dilated. My God. Sally was right…, I walk out of that closet, and mentally announce that I’m a lesbian, and bam. I’m a chick magnet. Ruth didn’t really believe that she was that irresistible, but she did walked in with a new found energy, and her chest swelled with encouragement, at Kate’s approach. “You’re sweet. Do you know a woman named Sally? Oh, um, never mind. I was looking for the administration office.”
“Oh, yes, I know those offices well. Would you like a personal tour?”
“My niece is—”
“That’s not the kind of tour I had in mind.”
“What? Oh, um…”
Kate walked around Ruth, taking inventory. She liked what she saw. “I’ve always wanted to make out in the CEO’s office, haven’t you?”
“I have actually kissed the CEO before, right there in her office.” I know I wanted to test my wings, but this is crazy. I do believe she would bed me right here in the lobby, if she could.
“Oh, my God! Tell me everything!”
Kate grabbed Ruth’s arm, and pulled her towards the cappuccino bar, tucked away in a corner of the front lobby. Her coffee still sat on the table, though her friend had left. They set down, and Kate moved the coffee to the side, and leaned in, her eyes filled with a different kind of lust.
“How was it?”
“Isn’t she your boss? I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
“Well yeah, she’s everyone’s boss here, but I won’t tell her, if you won’t.”
“Okay, but let me grab some coffee first.”
Kate acted dejected, which almost made Ruth laugh. As she waited in line to place her order, Ruth tried to analyze what just happened. After thinking long and hard about what Sally said, and realizing she was completely right, Ruth decided it was time. She always thought of herself as an academy award winning actress, because she could put on quite a show, when a good looking man walked by, or a good looking woman. If it were a man, she pointed out how stacked he was. If it were a woman, she pointed out her shoes. In both cases, that’s not what she was really thinking of at all. With the man, she was thinking of how she would look in a shirt like that, or his suit or boots. With a woman, it was kissing her lips, or touching her breasts.
Sally was right. It’s time to come out of that closet, and throw caution to the wind.
***
Looking out the window once again, Vicky watched as the sun crested the city’s skyline. A view she never tired of, but this morning, she could not appreciate it. They had talked, and not talked, throughout the night, and there was still much that needed to be said, but she was tired of talking
“Okay. You win.”
“I don’t want to win, damn it. I may not be able to protect you over there, and I just need to know if you can look a man in the eye and shoot him dead?”
In a defeatist tone, Vicky confessed, “I can’t answer that, Aidan. I don’t know what I’ll do, in the heat of the moment.”
“And that’s a risk I cannot take, Vicky.”
“Yet again, you ask me to risk you, as if it were that easy. Well it’s not. I can’t risk losing you again, Aidan. Never again.”
Aidan felt she had said all there was to say, and still, they were at an impasse. She slumped to the couch, to weary to continue the fight. Vicky sat beside her on the couch, and patted her leg. Aidan lifted Vicky’s hand in hers, and examined each finger. Moving her focus down to Vicky’s palm, she began rubbing it with her thumb, as if it were her good luck charm, hoping that it would give her the answers she was looking for.
“Aidan, look at me.” Vicky shook Aidan’s hand to get her attention. “You have this idea that I’m some kind of fragile debutante, up on a pedestal, that needs protecting. I’m not that person, Aid. I’m pretty damn tough, when I need to be, and I’m not just talking about in the board room. Honey, you know I’ve been raped, held hostage twice, and shot in the chest. Yet I’m still here, sitting beside you, loving you. Please, sweetheart, take me off that pedestal, and see me for who I really am. I can help you. I want to help you.”
Aidan knew Vicky’s love was absolute, but she feared that stubborn resolve would get her killed. She had to find a way to rationalize it in her head, that Vicky was coming with her, and she could protect her. Another words I’m going to lie to myself. She reluctantly gave in, “Okay baby, I’ll try, but I’ve had you up on that pedestal, since you were six years old. It won’t be easy.”
Vicky smiled. It was true, Aidan had always gone to extraordinary lengths to safeguard her. And while Vicky loved her for it, this was the first time her over protectiveness, had ever been tested. Vicky was fiercely independent. She had to be in order to reach the lofty goals she had set for herself. But when it came to her best friend and lover, there was a connection beyond independence. A need, a yearning to be protected, and a need to protect. It was Dr. Kline, who explained to them, the reasons why each woman aggressively guarded the other from perceived peril, and in both cases, it was because of Aidan’s abusive father.
“Just meet with them tomorrow, they may not even be able to help you. We can figure out the rest after that. It’s going to be okay, Aidan, everything is going to be all right.”
“And what about us, kid, are we okay? Tell me what I can do to fix this?”
“Nothing,” Vicky said, as Aidan drew in a sharp breath, “because we’re better than okay. We’re engaged to be married, it doesn’t get much more okay than that. So you see, there’s nothing to fix. Like my mom always said, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“Uh, kid, is this the same mother who kept my letter’s from you for fifteen years?”
“Oh…, you have a point. Okay, well how about this? You can’t fix perfection.”
“God, I love you so much, kid.”
Chapter 3
Walking back to her table from the cappuccino bar, with a foaming latte in her hands, Ruth sat back down next to Kate, and said sheepishly, “Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll spill the beans on the CEO, if you’ll go out with me. Is it a deal?”
A mixture of curiosity, surprise and intrigue on her face, Kate looked at Ruth questioningly. She rarely let someone beat her to the punch, when it came to asking them out on a date, and this attractive stranger, who’s name she never bothered to ask for, had just beat her at her own game.
Just as Kate said, “It’s a deal.” Vicky rushed in through the front door, and over to the coffee bar.
“Good morning, Ms. Montgomery. Your usual?”
“Yes, thank you Beth. I’m terribly late this morning, could you put a rush on it please?”
“Uh oh, the jig is up. There’s the CEO now, and it looks like her panties are already in a wad.” Kate nodded towards Vicky.
Ruth laughed, “I’m afraid it’s worse than that. I think she saw us.”
“Shit, she’s coming over here. Okay, if you have a caring bone in your body, you won’t say anything.”
“But I haven’t said anything. Yet.”
Kate gave her a quick glance, before standing to greet the CEO. “Ms. Montgomery. Good to see you this morning.”
“Good morning, Kate. I didn’t know you knew my aunt?” Vicky bent over and kissed Ruth on the cheek.
Ruth offered, “We haven’t actually been properly introduced yet.” Seduced, yes, but not introduced.
“Well, allow me. Kate, this is my Aunt Ruth Mason. Aunt Ruth, this is Kat
e Moore. She works in administration for the finance director.”
By the time the introductions were over with, Kate’s mouth was opened wide, but no sound came out of it. Ruth thought she saw a flash of fear in her eyes. It was as comical as it was mean, but Ruth didn’t want to be mean.
“Vicky honey, let me grab another refill and I’ll meet you in your office, all right?”
“Sure, Aunt Ruth.” Vicky looked curiously from Ruth to Kate, “Have a good day, Kate.”
“Um, oh yes, you too, Ms. Montgomery.” Kate finally breathed again, after Vicky walked away.
“Okay, the beans have been spilt, now about that date. I’ll pick you up for an early dinner, you choose the restaurant.”
Kate picked up a napkin, and fanned her flush face, “I think I’ve just been conned.”
Ruth laughed, but then thought to let her off the hook. “Just because I’m a virgin lesbian, doesn’t mean I can’t con a conner.”
In the smoldering back room of Kate’s mind, all she heard was the word virgin, and almost drooled at the anticipation of the challenge. It had been quite a while since she had bed a virgin.
Ruth left Kate contemplating her plan of action, and ran to catch up with Vicky, who had just turned the corner to her office.
“Aunt Ruth, it’s none of my business, but…”
“Go ahead, you can say it.”
Vicky showed her into her office and closed the door. “Her nickname around here is Kitty Kat Kate. The cat who is always on the prowl. I mean, I’m not trying to tell you who to make friends with, but I can promise you, all she wants from you is sex.”
“Good. That’s exactly what I was looking for.”
“Oh, my.”
“Does that shock you?”
“Frankly, yes.”
Ruth went on to explain that it was years in the making, but her best friend, Sally, as much as challenged her to be who she really was. Deep down she had always known it, but fear kept her from her secret desires. Since she was never the type to ignore a challenge, especially when she felt Sally was right, she decided now was the time.
Remember, It’s You I Love: Operation Pink Knight Page 3
