I look up to see Pete walking back over.
“Get off her,” he says.
“C’mon, I’m just having a little fun, Petey boy.”
Pete shrugs and walks away. “It’s your funeral, man.”
The guy squeezes me tighter again. I push back against his chest while I try to move one of his arms. Nothing moves. Then, I jab one of my elbows into his side, and he flies off me. I’m starting to think I’m a little stronger than I thought I was when I see Mason pinning my assailant to the bar with one hand. I turn around to see the entire team now crowded around me.
“Whoa, whoa, guys,” I say, standing up and trying to push them back a bit. “I’ve got this.”
They don’t move. They seriously look like they’re about to rip the guy apart.
“Mason,” I say, tapping him on his arm to try to break the death grip he has on the guy’s throat. “Too much fire power. We’re all good here. I’ve got this.”
He looks at me. The ocean-blue eyes have turned steely, deadly. “No, I’ve got this.”
He looks back at the guy, gives his throat one more squeeze, and shoves him roughly against the bar as he lets him go. “You need to leave.”
The guy has recovered enough to stand upright. He’s obviously had a few too many, though, and is feeling a little liquid courage. “Man, why don’t you mind your own business? I’m just trying to buy the lady a drink.”
“Oh, hell no,” Hawk says, taking a gigantic step toward him, as he pushes him back against the bar. The entire team moves toward him.
“Guys, seriously, way too much for one drunk idiot. Stand down.” I block them about as successfully as a ten-year-old trying to guard an entire NBA team.
Mason puts his hand up and they all back off immediately. I’m going to have to get him to teach me how to do that. He looks back at the drunk idiot and says with a gravelly tone that I haven’t heard before, “She is my business. And, I told you to leave.”
The guy seems to finally be sobering up a little bit, at least enough to calculate his odds of being killed in the next few minutes. He starts to walk away. “Yeah, yeah, fine. She’s not even that hot anyway.”
“I’m not that hot? Seriously? Was that really necessary? Hawk, you can hit him now. Seriously, just go crazy on him.”
Hawk smiles, pats me on the shoulder, and consoles me before he and the team walk back over to their table hidden in the corner. “I still think you’re hot, Mills.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mason
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2019
“You okay?” I pull out a bar stool for her, and then sit down on the one next to her.
“What the hell was that?” She looks at me, her eyes a little wider than usual.
“I just knew the guy had no chance with you, so I thought I’d try to save him the rejection.”
She shakes her head in amazement, eyes still wide.
“You need another drink?” I ignore her look and motion to Pete.
Pete comes back over. “I tried to warn him, Mase.”
“Why didn’t you try to warn him about me, Pete? I’m the real ninja here,” she says.
“It’s true, Pete. I’ve seen her skills.”
Pete is not impressed. “You want another round?”
“Yeah. Whiskey and whatever she’s drinking.”
“It’s called a dirty martini, Mason. Man, get some class,” Pete says, smiling as he walks away.
“Seriously, Mason,” she says, nudging me on the shoulder. The minute she touches me, I have to physically brace myself on the bar to keep from grabbing her and kissing her right here, right now.
“So, are operators required to have anger issues? Or is that just a happy side effect of the job?” She looks down at my hands tightly gripping the bar.
“Not really required, but usually the case,” I say, trying to loosen my grip.
“Well, let me tell you, you get an A-plus in that area. I mean you really excel at it.”
“Well, you know, if you can’t be the best at something.”
It looks like Pete’s a little backed up, so I decide to take matters into my own hands. “Tell me how to make a dirty martini.”
“Well, first, Pete makes it wrong. He uses way too much olive juice for me. So, a couple to three ounces of vodka, half an ounce of vermouth, and just a little splash of olive juice. He made my first one way too salty.”
“So mainly vodka with more sweet than salty?”
“Exactly.”
I walk around the bar and start finding the ingredients.
“So, you just can go back there and make drinks?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” I look over my shoulder. “Pete, I’ve got her drink.”
“Mason, you don’t have to—I can wait.”
“I know I don’t have to, Millie. I want to. That’s why I offered.”
I turn my baseball hat backward, and rub my hands together. I feel like I’m about to disarm a bomb. I pour three healthy shots of vodka, and add the rest.
“Your dirty martini, ma’am,” I say, bowing to her.
She takes a long drink and smiles at me. “You’ve done this before. It’s perfect.”
“Like I said, if you can’t be the best at something.”
“So, did you tell them about my dad being a SEAL?” She gestures over to my team.
“No. I told you I wouldn’t, and I won’t.”
“It’s just the way they reacted when the guy was hitting on me. . . It felt personal.”
“It was personal. I keep telling you that you’re part of the family now. Maybe you’ll believe me one day.”
“That was actually something my dad told me, too. That if anything ever happened to him, his team would take care of me.”
“And did they?”
“Yeah, they tried. I didn’t really let them.”
“You? Resisting someone’s help? Get out of here,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“I always think I can take care of myself. I had this boyfriend in high school. He kind of bothered me after I broke up with him. I told him off, and he never looked at me again. I was feeling like a badass, and then I found out that Dad had come to school and threatened the guy, and literally made him pee in his pants. I never knew that until after Dad died.”
“That’s amazing. If I ever had a daughter, I would do the exact same thing. You know, Mills, I know you’ve felt like a lone wolf since your dad died, but that’s not healthy. You need a team, some backup. It doesn’t matter where you are—you’re part of us now. We have your back.”
“Yeah, I guess. I’m just not used to relying on other people. Except for my dad and, you know, when he died, I just thought I’d be better on my own, calling my own shots.”
“I think you’re looking at having a team the wrong way. The important part is choosing your team members correctly. Everyone of my teammates is as strong as I am. When we’re on a mission, if I get in a tight spot, the next person has my back until I can get right again. Then when he gets in a tight spot, I have his back until he gets right. It’s not that I’m better than him or he’s better than me. We have the exact same skill set—it’s just a timing thing. When I get backwards, he has me, and vice versa. It’s fluid. Like when we enter a target, guys peel off left and right to clear what needs to be cleared, and the next person in line just takes over the lead. It’s not that the person in front of you can’t lead anymore. It’s just that they’ve taken a detour to do what they need to do, so you pick up where they left off. No one can lead a hundred percent of the time. You need other people in your corner who can pick up when you need help. You just have to make sure that they’re as good at it as you are.”
“Yeah, but who’s as good at taking care of me as I am?”
“Your dad was,” I say slowly
, not wanting to spook her too much. “And, if you’ll let me in, I could be, too. Let me fight some of your battles for you.”
“I don’t think you take care of all of your teammates quite like the way you just took care of me,” she says. “For instance, I don’t think you would intervene like that if the guy was hitting on Butch.”
“If that guy was hitting on Butch, the only thing I’d be doing is fitting him for a body bag.”
She laughs, those fucking eyes sparkling at me again. “Maybe you should start thinking of me as one of the guys. Like I’m Butch.”
I sigh. I think I’ve pushed her hard enough for tonight. I put my hand on her thigh as I stand up. “Let’s be honest, Mills. If I thought about Butch the way I’m thinking about you right now, I’m the one who would need a body bag.”
I slam the rest of my whiskey, look at her one last time, and force myself to walk back over to where the guys are playing darts. By the time I look back for her, she’s gone. For the best, I tell myself. She’s still resisting, and I need to stop pushing her. That can only end badly for both of us. But, I already know I’m going to be wide awake all night again thinking of her. Like every night since she first walked into my life.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Outer Banks, North Carolina
2010
Mack listened to Millie’s voicemail as soon as he got back from training. She was mainly crying, but he had been able to make out something about the Rob kid she was dating, and that she had broken up with him. It was the last part of the message that made him head directly to his car to drive down to the Outer Banks. Millie said the boy wouldn’t leave her alone, and that he was stalking her. Mack had learned as Millie got deeper into her teen years that she was getting more dramatic with her language. But the sound of her crying, combined with using the word “stalker,” lit a fire in Mack that he knew couldn’t be subdued until he had a talk with this boy.
“You’re going to North Carolina? You know we only have a couple days before deployment,” Chase said, walking quickly behind Mack through the parking lot.
“Yeah, Millie left me a voicemail. Some boy’s been harassing her. I’m gonna work that out before we leave,” Mack said.
“Work it out? Yeah, how about I come down there with you, and monitor how this gets worked out before I have to pull your ass out of jail,” Chase said, grabbing Mack’s shoulder to stop him.
“No, man, I’m good. I’m good. Just need to have a little talk with him,” Mack said, shrugging off Chase’s hand.
Chase saw the gun outline under Mack’s T-shirt. “Why don’t you leave the weapons here then? I’ll hold on to your gun for you.”
Chase held out his hand. Mack begrudgingly handed him the gun.
“Maybe give me the knife, too,” Chase said, knowing there was at least one knife somewhere on Mack’s body.
“Ah, brother, I’m not going without my knife. You never know when you’re going to need to cut a bagel or something,” Mack said, getting into his truck .
“We need you on this deployment, dumb-ass. Try not to kill anyone,” Chase said, sighing as he turned back toward his own car.
As Mack started the drive down to the Outer Banks, he was thinking about the last couple times he had spent time with Millie. Even grown-ass men were stopping in their tracks to admire her. It made Mack want to have a talk with all of them individually, but for now, a talk with this Rob kid would do. Millie had been dating Rob for about six months, although Mack hadn’t met him yet. Rob was suspiciously unavailable every time Mack was in town. He’d thought for a while that Millie was making the boyfriend up. He was hoping it, actually. He still thought Millie was too young to be dating. But, his friend Carol had confirmed that Rob existed, and that he and Millie were an item. She told Mack that Rob was a nice young man from a good family, but Mack had always had his doubts, and this was confirming it.
Mack drove into town around noon. It was lunch-time at the school. The kids were eating at the tables outside when he arrived. He grabbed a kid who was walking through the parking lot, and gave him twenty dollars to point out which one Rob was. The kid gladly gave up the information. Mack had a feeling no one really liked this Rob kid.
Mack watched Rob from his truck. The kid was pretending to talk to his friends, but his head kept turning around to look at Millie’s table. I see you, kid. Just keep looking at her, and we’ll see what happens, Mack thought. Rob made his way over to Millie’s table. He snuck up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Millie tried to shake his hands off, but Rob kept them firmly planted. Mack knew that Millie could take the kid down, and he wondered why she didn’t.
“Leave me alone!” Millie finally screamed as she stood up, and walked away. Mack hadn’t heard that tone in her voice before. She sounded scared, and that made every hair on his body stand on end.
He watched as Rob smiled at her and walked away. He knew he didn’t have the slightest intention of leaving her alone. Mack snuck in the school through the side entrance, just in time to see Rob entering the bathroom. He followed him in, locked the door, and used the door stop to barricade them in.
As he was standing at the urinal, Rob heard the door lock. He looked over and saw it was closed, but didn’t see anyone. He returned to his business. He was unzipping when he felt something on his neck. He whipped around, still exposed, to see Mack standing in front of him. He gasped at the sight of him. Rob hadn’t heard him approaching, and now this wild-looking man was standing six inches from his face.
“Sorry, man, I didn’t see you,” Rob said quickly, his voice cracking.
Rob tried to step around him. Mack almost imperceptibly moved his leg to block Rob’s exit. Mack didn’t say anything, just staring at Rob, breathing on him. Rob moved quickly backward, almost falling into the urinal. Mack smiled and pulled an apple out of his pocket. He started peeling it with the knife he had pulled out of his waist-band. He peeled the apple so precisely that the thin scraps were slowly floating to the ground like little red kites.
Without looking up from the apple, Mack said quietly, “Millie is off-limits to you from this moment on. You don’t look at her. You don’t talk to her. You don’t get near her. You understand that?”
Mack looked up, his eyes almost searing a hole into Rob’s forehead who stood as still as a statue, stunned in to silence. Rob’s eyes started to water and sweat began to drip from his forehead. He nodded vigorously, still not able to speak. Mack reached over and wiped both sides of his knife clean on Rob’s shirt. As Mack walked slowly away, Rob’s bladder emptied involuntarily on to the bathroom floor.
Mack headed to the school office. The school secretary hesitated when he said he’d like to take Millie out of school for the afternoon. He didn’t blame her. He knew he didn’t look much like the other dads. She hesitantly called for Millie over the PA.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Millie came flying into the office, and jumped into Mack’s arms. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sweetie, I’m fine. I just wanted to see you one more time before I left on deployment,” Mack said. “I have a few hours. Do you want to go down to the beach?”
“Like instead of being in school?” Millie asked. “Umm, of course!”
Mack signed her out with the still-dubious secretary, and they headed down to the beach with Millie jabbering all the way.
“Dad, did you get the message I left you? I broke up with Rob, and he was being an idiot, like following me around, and stuff. But, it’s weird. Like just ten minutes ago, I passed him in the hall when I was coming to the office to see you, and he wouldn’t even look at me. Like, he literally ran into a locker to get away from me. Isn’t that weird?”
“Yeah, that’s weird,” Mack said, smiling. “Maybe he figured out what a badass you are, and he doesn’t want to mess with you anymore.”
“Probably,” Millie said as they pulled in
to the parking lot at the public beach access. They walked hand-in-hand to the sea wall. For a few minutes, they watched silently as the high tide crashed against the wall.
“Hey, Mills, I want to tell you more about your mom,” Mack said slowly.
“More? You’ve barely told me anything.”
“That was a mistake. I should have.”
“Camille told me that I was the result of a one-night stand,” Millie said, looking up at Mack.
“What did I tell you about what Camille says?”
“It’s mainly bullshit.”
“It’s ALL bullshit,” Mack said. “You weren’t the result of a one-night stand. I worked with your mom. We knew each other for months before. . . Well, before we became intimate.”
“What happened? Why did you stop dating?”
“Mills, we weren’t really dating. I liked her. I respected her. But, we only worked together for a few months. You know how my job works. I’m in and out of places so fast.”
“So, she got pregnant, and you just moved on?” Millie asked, not believing that Mack would do that.
“Of course not, Millie. You know I would have never done that. I didn’t know she was pregnant until after she already had you. She didn’t tell me. I don’t know why. Maybe she tried. You know I’m hard to get ahold of when I’m working. I really don’t know what happened.”
“But, she died when she was having me?”
“Right after, yeah,” Mack said.
“How did you know about me?”
“One of her friends called me after you were born. When I found out about you, and found out she had died, I took leave immediately and went to get you.”
“In New York, right?”
“Yeah, in New York.” Mack still couldn’t bring himself to tell her the entire truth.
“Did her parents know about me? Her brothers and sisters?”
“Her parents died before she did, and she was an only child. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t told you much about her. You don’t have any family on that side,” Mack said.
Eight Years: A Novel (Trident Trilogy: Book One) Page 12
