“Is that what the FBI said?” Doc asked.
“No. But—”
“But nothing. If Rick Dobson had approached any of us, we’d have taken on the job,” Brett said. “He was a good guy, a good agent. If Gilbert could snow him, his partner, what makes you think you should have suspected anything? You’re going to have to lay this down and move on,” Brett said. “One foot in front of the other, man.”
The smile that stretched across Flash’s face held a cockiness more natural to him. “You’re right, most wise and powerful sage.” He did a rolling motion with his hand and bent low at the waist.
Brett laughed, then raised his beer to him and took a drink. “We’re both lucky. We’ve both gotten second chances. I wonder how rare that is.”
“Probably nothing short of a miracle. I really didn’t think I’d come back from this. I figured I’d be doing some serious prison time.” Flash’s gaze wandered past him to Samantha. “There was a chance I’d never see Sam or Joy again.” He turned back to them. “Just waking up to them every morning is like hitting the lottery, guys, only better.”
Brett was amazed at the way Flash shared his feelings. He’d been the quietest member of their unit and always kept his own counsel. But apparently a close brush with a court martial and prison time could change a man. Or was it Samantha who’d done that?
For a moment Tess’s question about how they dealt with the danger, the things they witnessed, played through his mind. They turned to each other because there was a bond between them fashioned through shared experiences, beliefs, and trust. A shared brotherhood. He was going to have to extend that to her, be her sounding board and support, unless she opted to see a professional therapist.
Brett changed the subject. “I have a problem, guys. The restaurant we had scheduled for the rehearsal dinner had a fire and we’re SOL on a venue. I called ten restaurants today while Tess was busy at the office and struck out at every one of them. Any suggestions?”
“Antonio’s?” Doc said.
“Already called. No go.”
The two fired more suggestions at him. Brett took out his phone and noted the ones he hadn’t already tried.
“If a better venue doesn’t work out, there’s always the patio at my place on the beach, though the breeze off the water this time of year can be a bitch,” Doc said.
Brett grinned. “So noted. Thanks. But only as a last resort. I’d prefer someplace inside.”
The wind picked up a notch, kicking the plastic tablecloth up and out like a tutu on a ballet dancer. The women rose in force to gather the dishes and plates and take everything inside.
Hawk ducked inside with A.J. Doc followed for a bathroom break.
Flash scanned the area around them and then leaned forward in his chair. “I need to tell you something, Cutter, and after I do, if you want to deck me, I’ll understand.”
An uncomfortable pressure built along Brett’s spine, as if a sudden weight rested on his shoulders. “Jesus, Flash. I can’t imagine what it is, but it can’t be as bad as you’re making it out to be.”
“While you were in a coma in the hospital, I was trying to juggle the team stuff and the crap the FBI guys wanted me to do for them. The whole time I had this bad feeling in my gut, like I might buy it with every meet I did for them. I was feeling the pressure. Big time pressure, and I really needed to talk to someone. But I couldn’t let anyone know what was going on with me.
“So, I snuck into the hospital and into your room. I spilled everything to you, though you couldn’t hear a fucking word I said. Or if you did, you didn’t wake up. I really needed you to know what was going on, Cutter. You were like the fucking father confessor of the unit. I got worked up and I slapped your cheeks, trying to wake you up. I must have hit you harder than I meant to, and I left a mark. Zoe’s probably told you about the mark. Everyone thought it was Derrick for a while, but it wasn’t. It was me.”
Brett remained silent while he processed what Flash was saying.
“I’m not going to make any excuses. I just want to come clean. Coming back from all the crap I got twisted up in, I just have to make amends for everything that went down before I disappeared and while I was gone. I want everything to be squared away with you and the others.”
In the grand scheme of things, what did one little slap matter? The guy had saved his life more times than he could count. “It’s okay, Flash,” Brett said. “I’ve gotten worse bruises just horsing around with you guys. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.” Had Zoe not told him about the incident when he woke up, he’d have never known it had happened. He’d suffered no lasting damage. But it sounded like Flash had been carrying some big-time guilt about it, and he totally understood how that worked. “Lay this down, too, brother.”
“I wish I’d told you everything before our last mission,” Flash said.
Brett laughed.
Flash frowned. “What?”
“I wouldn’t have remembered if you had.”
Flash’s face blanked. “Jesus, Cutter.”
Brett laughed again. “It’s okay. I remember the weeks before.” And he remembered the stock of an AK-47 swooping toward his face, and his attempt to jerk out of the way, but not one thing about the mission itself. He believed Derrick Armstrong had been the man swinging that rifle stock, but he couldn’t be certain.
“So we’re good?” Flash asked.
Brett nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.” He extended his hand and they shook.
Flash got to his feet. “It’s a school night, and Joy has to hit the hay, and Papa Flash is bushed. I’ll see you at the wedding rehearsal if we don’t get together before then. And If I think of any other restaurant suitable for the dinner, I’ll call you.”
“Thanks, Flash.”
Brett walked over and checked the grill, then paused to shake hands and say good night to the rest of the group as they went into the house to gather dishes and other belongings before they left. He made a point of hugging Selena Shaker. Her resent close brush with cancer had been a wake-up call to most of the guys in steady relationships. Including himself.
“So glad you’re doing well, piccola madre.”
Selena smiled and hugged him. “I’m doing great. I’m even getting my hair back.” She swiped at the bangs of her wig, which looked much like her own hair, but short. Though she had always had long, thick hair, the new style suited her. “I won’t have to wear this much longer.”
“Good. I thought about you and Greenback a lot.”
“I appreciate it.” She patted his arm. Lucia, their daughter offered him her fist, and he chuckled as he carefully exchanged a knuckle bump with her.
Greenback gripped the baby carrier cradling his son, Micah, in one hand and shook Brett’s hand with the other. “I’ll see you at the bachelor party.”
“I’m counting on it.”
His mom grabbed him around the waist and hugged hard. “We’re going home. If you need us for anything, just call.”
“Thanks, Mom. Love you.”
She began to tear up again, as she had when they’d first arrived, but fought it off. “Love you, too.”
He shook Russell’s hand and murmured good night.
Bowie grabbed him and pounded him on the back. “I’m cutting out. Glad to see you, Cutter. You are missed.”
Touched by the other man’s sentiment, Brett smiled. “Thanks. Bowie. Homesickness cuts in now and then, but it’s good to be back to work.”
“I never doubted you’d be back. I’ll see you at the bachelor party.” He loped up the stairs.
The sentiment triggered by Bowie’s words brought to mind how far he’d come since being reassigned. It was time to tell Tess about the promotion. He had to warn her before it came through. Would this current situation cancel things or stall them? He didn’t know. But if it happened, it would mean more responsibility, possibly more training, more time out in the field. She was going to love that. Not. Dread struck his stomach.
C
hapter Ten
‡
Tess perched on the top step waiting for Brett. All evening, while she’d been laughing with the other women she’d also been gearing up to tell him about the Washington Post job. She’d made up her mind to do it tonight, then reassure him she was good with turning it down.
When he appeared at the bottom of the steps her heart danced into a heavier beat and nerves tightened her stomach. “You’ve been quiet all night, something wrong?”
Brett shook his head and sat down beside her. “No, it’s been good to see the guys. I’ve just been thinking about how different things could have been and how similar.”
Tess looped an arm around his back. “I know this last year and a half has been tough. I also know you still miss your old team.”
“Yeah, I do. But I’d have had to transfer out once Hawk and Zoe got married anyway.” He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “And again when I’m leader of my own unit.”
She leaned back to look up at him. “Soon?”
“Maybe. Before I left Senior Chief Engle told me I’m up for a promotion. He said the paperwork was in the works. How would you feel about being married to a Lieutenant J.G.?”
A dropping sensation lurched in Tess’s stomach. After gearing up to tell him about her own job offer, the pain—and possibly a little resentment—cut deeper than she wanted to admit. His career was moving on while hers would be stalled here. Or would it? She had to make up her mind. She was going to be married in less than three weeks. “Congratulations. I know how hard you’ve worked for this.”
And at this moment, no way could she ask, and while we’re on the subject, how would you feel about being married to a Washington Post reporter? She’d both steal his thunder and throw him into the same tailspin of guilt and conflict she continued to experience.
Though a lump settled in the pit of her stomach, she cupped his face and brushed her thumb along his cheekbone. “I think you’re going to look fantastic at the wedding in your dress whites with your new insignia. And I’ll love you just as much no matter what your rank.”
Brett’s lips brushed hers, then lingered just long enough to give her that buzz down below that melted her bones and made her want to groan. Tears burned her eyes, and she turned her cheek against his shoulder to hide them.
“It’ll mean more money. And maybe we can rent a house, so we’ll have room for you to have an office, someplace you can work without me underfoot.”
If only he wasn’t always thinking about how he could make up for his absences, how he could take care of her, it would be easier to be mad. “That would be good.” It wasn’t his fault her job offer had come at a time when his career was just getting back on track. But it still hurt.
“The lease will run out on my place in a couple of months. I can put my stuff in storage until we decide what we want to do.”
Her throat ached. “Sounds like a plan. You don’t think you’ll go stir crazy living in my small apartment with me?”
“Babe, I live with seven other guys, sometimes more, in close quarters, for days, sometimes weeks. This will be a cakewalk.”
Though she’d never felt less like doing it, Tess laughed. “I’ll remind you of those words when I’m manic over a story, pacing the room and constantly on the phone doing interviews.”
“It’s going to be fine. We’ll figure it out.”
But would she?
Brett stood and offered her a hand up.
They said their goodnights to Langley Marks and Trish, who were still busy gathering their three children’s paraphernalia. Tess hugged both Hawk and Zoe and thanked them for hosting Brett’s welcome home get-together.
“Any time,” Hawk said with a smile.
“I need to check the car, babe” Brett said, and slipped down the hall with Hawk to watch the evening’s videos to make sure no one had touched the vehicle.
“He’s trying to act cool about all this, but he’s worried about you.” Zoe lifted her heavy hazelnut-streaked hair from her shoulders and pulled it back into a tail with a scrunchy from the pocket of her jeans.
“Did he say something?” Tess asked.
Zoe shook her head. “He wouldn’t say it to me because he knows you’ll ask. He’ll say it to Hawk.”
“And you’ll get it out of Hawk?” Tess guessed.
Zoe flashed her a smile. “If it’s important.”
Tess fought off the urge to tear up. “You’re the best almost-sister-in-law a girl could have.”
Zoe laughed and hugged her. “We’ll soon be sisters. I already feel like we are.”
“Me, too.” She’d been a rock for Tess the whole time Brett had been gone. When the loneliness and worry had gotten to be too much, Zoe and her mom were there. Which added another special twist to the whole job/family thing. She adored Brett’s family.
When they finally walked out the door, the wind had settled down some, but there was a nip in the air. Tess tugged her heavy sweater closer while Brett opened the car door for her, then jogged around.
The silence settled between them for a few blocks.
“How many restaurants did you call while I was at the office today?” Tess asked.
“Ten. I got some more suggestions from Flash and Doc tonight. And Doc volunteered his back patio on the beach.”
Tess smiled. “Zoe volunteered their house. Said we could set it up buffet-style in the dining room and bring in more chairs. Or the back patio like tonight.”
“That’s my sister. But Doc’s holds a special meaning. It was there we first danced together.”
Surprised by his sentimentality, she blurted, “Guys aren’t supposed remember stuff like that.”
“I remember every moment. I wanted you so bad—I felt like I’d done a five-mile run full out and couldn’t catch my breath.”
In the blink of an eye the ache eased and she rested a hand on his thigh. “I thought you were dangerous to my heart.”
Brett grasped her hand and raised it to his lips. “Never dangerous, honey. I’d take better care of yours than I would my own.”
God, how had she ever managed to resist him back then? And she certainly couldn’t now. She laced their fingers and hung on all the way home.
*
Brett tried to keep his mind off sex. Tess was still moving slowly, and she didn’t need any pressure from him in that direction. But the instant she’d rested her hand on his thigh he was ready. To keep his mind off that, he concentrated on scanning the parking lot until they reached the entryway.
Inside, he stood back and waited for her to unlock the apartment door.
“Let me go in first and check the place out, hon” He pulled out his Sig.
She shot him a surprised glance. “Okay.”
He halted inside the living room, every sense alive to movement or scent. Nothing triggered the prickly, hyper-alert feeling he usually got when he sensed danger. Before he allowed himself to relax, though, he did a quick walk-through, then returned to the living room. “It’s clear.”
Tess closed the door and locked it. “Did you really think they might make it inside the apartment complex?”
“I’d rather be safe than sorry.” He laid his Sig on the end table, shucked his jacket, and slouched on the couch.
Tess slipped off her heavy sweater and joined him there. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s later.”
“Later?” he echoed.
“Yes, it’s later.”
Understanding shot his pulse into the stratosphere. “It is?” Jesus, he sounded so hopeful it was embarrassing.
Tess laughed. “Yes.”
“How does your back feel?” he asked. He wanted to make love with her, but he didn’t want it to be painful.
“My back is fine.”
She had that tone in her voice he loved, soft, breathy, and sexy as hell. He could almost get off just listening to her speak. Almost.
She ran her hand beneath his brown T-shirt and caressed his stomach and chest. Blood rushed south and
he hardened.
His need level went from DEFCON 5 to 1 in a heartbeat as she swung her long leg over his and straddled his lap.
“I love you, Tess.”
She framed his face with her hands and looked into his eyes. “Every time you say it I want to tear up. I love you, too. More than words can say.” She kissed him. Her lips parted, and his tongue slipped forward to coax hers into playing. He lifted the hem of her sweater and ran questing hands up to cup her breasts. Her skin felt like silk, her breasts, still covered by the gauze, fit his hand perfectly, and her nipples went taut at his touch. Her hips moved against him in a way that made his body hum with anticipation.
Brett skimmed his lips along her throat, then her collarbone, just above the sweater’s neckline. “I love it when you do that lap dance thing, but I want to be in a nice bed stretched out with you so I can worship at the Tess shrine for a long, long time.”
She laughed and made short work of tugging his T-shirt upward and off. She ran her eyes over his chest and abdomen and focused on the bulge beneath his pants. “Your cammies pants aren’t working. They’re not hiding a thing.”
“You’re not the enemy, honey. As a SEAL I can’t surrender, but you could try to persuade me.”
She grinned. “I’ve missed you so much.” Her arms encircled his neck while she nibbled one of his earlobes.
Her warm breath sent shivers down the back of his neck. His erection strained against his zipper. He raised her sweater higher and pressed his abdomen against hers, relishing the feel of her bare skin against his. “Bed, Tess.” Now it was urgent.
“Okay.” Her grin was mischievous as she slipped off the couch and offered him her hand.
Careful of her back, Brett nestled her against his side as they kissed their way to the bedroom. He lost no time stripping off his clothes, and then stretched out to watch her disrobe. Tess turned on the bedside lamp, she preferred its softer light, and flipped off the overhead switch before wiggling free of her leggings and sweater. Her long legs and torso gave her body a sleek grace he never tired of admiring.
When she hooked her thumbs under the elastic of her panties Brett sat up. “Let me do that.”
Building Ties (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 4) Page 10
