Wayward (A Soldier's Heart Book 1)

by Kimber Delaney

  “Screw the commissary. Wanna go grab dinner and then hit a grocery store?” Audrey asked as she placed a lamp on the conveyor belt.

  “Fuck yes. What’re you in the mood for?”

  “Something local. I’m sick of chains,” Audrey said. She cringed as she saw the total on the register and handed the cashier her card. That was a cool $300 spent on shit she had already owned. She tamped down her bitterness. It was all just stuff, and she knew it. Hell, she’d gotten out with the truly sentimental things, so she didn’t understand why she felt so bad. Probably just hungry and tired. Maybe even still coming off the adrenaline. Hyper vigilance wasn’t good in the long term. She had just been essentially homeless for two weeks.

  “Miss Linser?” The voice startled Audrey out of her mental pity party. The cashier was holding out her card and waiting.

  “Sorry,” Audrey muttered, grabbing her card. She turned to Charlie. “Ready?”

  Charlie ran through her mental checklist of places. “Got it. Tanuki’s. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  They pulled up to the apartments and gathered up as many of the bags as they could for their first trip. As they rounded the corner and made their way to the stairs, Audrey felt one of the bags slipping out of her fingertips and stepped off the sidewalk to a nearby table to readjust her grip.

  “Charlie, hol—”

  “Watch out!”

  Audrey looked over in time to see a volleyball headed straight toward her. She dropped her bags, took a step back, and with a sharp kick, sent the volleyball careening back in the direction it had come. Her satisfaction was short-lived, however, because it was headed straight toward Carwell’s back. She opened her mouth to yell, but Charlie beat her to it.

  “Carwell! Heads up!”

  To Audrey’s horror, he spun, and the volleyball connected with his abdomen. She cringed at the loud pop that echoed through the courtyard, and a chorus of groans rose from the surrounding crowd. The man dropped to his knees and rolled over onto his back in the sand and lay still, eyes closed. A perfect circle shone white and began to bloom red on his belly. She dropped the rest of her bags and ran to him.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Two thoughts ran through Simon’s mind. First, he was going to kick Antony’s ass for that stunt. And second, it had been a long time since someone had touched him. Her fingers were warm.

  Okay, three things. Her touch felt good.

  “What the fuck was that?” she asked.

  Simon opened his eyes just a bit and saw that she was glaring at Ramos.

  Ramos shrugged. “I was aiming at Madden.”

  Charlie slugged him in the shoulder, hard, and Antony winced. “Goddamn, woman. I will never understand where you find enough ass to put into a punch like that.” He rubbed his arm and stepped away from the petite woman.

  “No one’s more an ass than you, Ramos. What the hell?” Charlie said, bouncing like she was going to punch him again.

  “I’m sorry! It was a soft lob. I didn’t know your friend here was gonna go all Rapinoe on that ball.” He glanced down at Audrey. “Nice kick.”

  She furrowed her brow and looked at him as though he’d sprouted a dick out of his forehead.

  Simon held back his laughter and figured it was time to smooth things over before Ant got himself into more trouble. He opened his eyes and sat up, propping up on his elbows.

  “I’m fine,” he said.

  Audrey turned toward him, and he stared into deep brown eyes. “Really,” he said. “That was a nice kick.”

  She smelled like cloves and other herbs he couldn’t identify. She was searching his face, trying to see his eyes. Her pupils flared and a light blush bloomed high on her lightly freckled cheeks. He was thankful for the black lenses on his shades. It gave him an advantage in that she couldn’t see him staring. Her eyes kept drawing him in. They were almost black around the edge of her iris, and the color of strong tea on the inside. She had a slight frown line as she looked him over and was close enough for him to see the faint lines at the corners of her eyes. Her mouth was slightly turned down.

  At some point, she’d laid her palm flat on his bare chest. Her hand was warm and smooth, and it made him feel things he hadn’t in a long time and he smiled despite the stinging he still had from the smack of the volleyball.

  She jerked her hand away. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Glad you’re okay.” She stood and took a step back, brushing her palms along her shorts.

  The spot where her hand had been was suddenly cool, and he missed the warmth. He rocked forward and stood before grabbing his shirt off of the table to wipe his hands off. He thrust his hand out toward her. “Simon Carwell,” he said. “Your victim.”

  She took his hand. Firm grip. Warm. “Audrey Linser. Again, sorry about that. Your friend has terrible aim.”

  “Well, Audrey Linser, when we play soccer this fall, I want you on our team. I don’t want to be on the business end of another of your shots.”

  “You got it, Simon Carwell.” She grinned before looking at Ramos. “Well?”

  “I am sorry.” He held out his hand. “Antony Ramos. We’ll be working together.” He gestured at Simon. “Him, too.”

  She accepted his handshake. “You’re not on our soccer team,” she said, gesturing at Simon.

  “Oh, hell. I’m not gonna play if that’s how this is gonna go.”

  Audrey smiled. “Well, nice to meet you both, despite the circumstances. Charlie?”

  As the women walked away, Ramos called out, “Hey, come back down when you’re done. Two on two?” The group laughed as Madden waved one finger back at him.

  “I’m out,” Simon told Antony. “Got dinner tonight.” He walked over to the cooler and grabbed a bottle of water and watched as Charlie and Audrey picked up their bags and made their way upstairs and down the landing. They stopped right next door to his apartment. So, she was the reason for all the hustle of cleaning and moving in furniture. He took another drink. This might be interesting.

  ***

  Audrey’s heart was pounding, and her face was burning as she walked away from the volleyball pit. It was a damn good thing she hadn’t hit him in the face. She was known at the academy for her brutal volleys in soccer, and her reaction had been instinctual.

  He had a scar that bisected his eyebrow and curved up about an inch, before curving sharply down the right side of his face, stopping just below his cheekbone. Like the scars on his side, it was still a darker pink. She’d wanted to reach out and trace it with her fingers‍—‍that’d been when she laid her hand flat on his chest. His heartbeat was strong and steady, if not a little rapid, and the hair, though damp with exertion, was springy and coarse under her palm.

  Hormones, she decided. It’d been a while, and life had been screwy. He was a good-looking man shoved in her way by accident.

  “Ramos is such an idiot,” Charlie said, jarring Audrey out of her thoughts.

  “Was a dumb move, that’s for sure.” She shoved the key into the door and shoved it open.

  Charlie dropped the bags off inside of Audrey’s door. “I’ll go call Tanuki’s and see about a table. See you in a bit.”

  The door whispered closed, shutting out the sounds of music and yelling outside. Silence filled the apartment. Audrey surveyed the layout of the living area and quickly moved the couch and chairs around. Satisfied with the placement, she set to work on putting away the bags of stuff.

  She unpacked the items, cleaning supplies under the sink, laundry basket in the bedroom, filled with the new linens and towels. She dropped the detergent bottle gracelessly on top of the mess. Once she put all the little things away, she grabbed her book bag and brought it over to the desk. The view out the windows wasn’t the best, but she could see part of the mountain range in the distance. The other building was just far enough away that getting a good look in the windows during the day would be difficult, but once she hung up the curtains, it wouldn’t matter.

  She ran her hands over the top
of the desk. It was an old metal monstrosity from the 1980s. The olive-green rubberized vinyl on the top bore the marks of hundreds of owners. Initials and doodles marred the surface. She loved it.

  She ran her fingers over the slim pencil drawer and gave it a tug. It screeched on its casters, and she winced at the noise. No. That wouldn’t work. She grabbed her keys and ran down to her truck, taking a right turn to avoid going out through the central area. A minute later, she had a blue and yellow can in her hand, and sat at her desk. Two sprays, and the drawer was blissfully squeak free. She did the same to the rest of the drawers.

  Audrey pulled the laptop out of the bag, along with the mouse and docking station. She would pick up another secondary monitor later. She set everything up on the old, scarred desktop and entered Charlie’s Wi-Fi information. There was nothing worth reading in her email or on social media. She tapped out a quick message to her uncle, letting him know she’d made it safely. She was fond of the old man. Even though he’d always been distant, he was loving, in his own odd way. He took her in and kept her from being lost in the system. Audrey often felt that losing his sister, her mother, had changed the course of his life as much as it had hers.

  A knock on the door pulled her out of her reverie. “Come in!” she called.

  Charlie opened the door. “Yeah, so Tanuki’s is out. They’re packed. I ordered pizza from a local joint. Went and got beer, too.”

  “Throw a movie in, and we’ve got a date.”

  “Done. It’ll be here soon, so let’s go.”

  Audrey closed her laptop. “Talked me into it.”

  ***

  Simon heard a door slam and looked up through his windshield in time to see the women leave Audrey’s room and head around the corner. He knew Madden well enough from the times she’d jumped in on investigations and the rare times she’d show up at the club. Even though she was an agent, her primary duty was to teach combatives. She’d kicked his ass soundly every time he went for training, but he’d learned a lot from her. Charlie was one of the better instructors, and would take the time to help people learn to overcome obstacles presented by past injuries. She was damn good at her jobs. He thought Antony had a thing for her, but he had a thing for a lot of women and as far as Simon knew, never tried to get anywhere with Madden. Hell, in another life, Simon would have given her a shot, but that was a long time ago.

  Audrey and Charlie knew each other well. Her name was vaguely familiar, but he’d never run into her. It was weird, given there were fewer than 1,000 agents in the Army. Even though the agents were spread out on almost every installation around the world, they still had to come back to the same locations for different schools. He figured they were the same age, and if they’d joined around the same time, they should have run into each other at some point. He would have certainly remembered her. She may have started in a different field—not all agents came from the police force.

  He shook his head and started the car. There’d be plenty of time to learn about her on the job, he figured. Keep it simple. Didn’t need to subject anyone to his bullshit right now.

  He checked the time and pushed the speed limit once he got off post. He didn’t want to keep The General waiting.

  Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of a sprawling ranch-style home and knocked on the front door. A tall, older man opened the door. “Simon, right on time.”

  “Yes, Sir,” he said, stepping across the threshold.

  “You make me feel you’re about to salute me,” Erik Carwell said. The man looked over his reading glasses at his son. His eyes were kind.

  “Habits, Sir—dad.”

  A petite woman appeared around the corner, wiping her hands on a dishrag tucked into her apron. She was barefoot and wearing slacks and a light blue button-down shirt that matched her eyes. She grasped Simon’s arms and kissed him on the cheek. “Son, I’ve missed you.”

  “Mom, I come here every week,” he said, smiling through his protest.

  “And I miss you the rest of the time,” she said. “Go on, have a drink with your father while I finish this up.”

  In the den, Erik opened two Fat Tires and handed one to Simon. “Good week?” he asked, settling into his worn leather seat.

  “The usual. New troop showed up today. Don’t know her.”

  “Her? What’s her name?”

  “Audrey Linser,” Simon said. “She knows Madden, but we’ve never met.” He rubbed his abdomen absently and missed the look that crossed his father’s features. “It’ll be good to have a new person on the team. We’ve had a bit of pile up with cases lately, just like every summer.”

  His father’s silence made him look over. Erik’s brow furrowed slightly, and he was looking off into the distance.

  “You okay, Dad?”

  Erik snapped to. “Sorry, just thought of something I forgot to do. I’m fine.”

  “Dinner!” Simon’s mother yelled out from the kitchen.

  “Go ahead, son. I’ll be there in a minute.” He tapped something a message on his phone and took a long swallow of beer. A moment later, he followed his son to the dining room.

  The talk at dinner was mostly light, and as Simon’s mother served dessert, he took a deep breath and said, “I’m starting therapy on Tuesday.”

  The woman paused, before setting the first plate of cheesecake in front of her husband. She walked around the table and leaned down to hug Simon. “I am so proud of you,” she whispered.

  Tears stung his eyes, and he leaned into her touch. He clutched her arms with his hands and took comfort from her. At some point, another hand, larger than his mother’s, gripped his and squeezed. Simon looked at his father and was surprised to see that he was a little misty-eyed as well. A pang of guilt stabbed through his chest. They’d been through hell with him as well, since they knew from the reports exactly where he was and what he’d been doing when he was almost ripped from them.

  A few hours later, Simon hugged his parents and got into his car. He had a text from Antony, inviting him out to some club. Antony, his best friend, was still inviting him to go clubbing every single weekend. And every single weekend, without fail, Simon declined the offer. He was comforted by the invitation, even if he convinced himself that Ant was doing it out of pity.

  He absently rubbed the scar on his eyebrow. No, after talking with his parents about his upcoming therapy, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep, even with the nightmares lurking in the dark. His stomach twisted a bit at the thought of his upcoming meeting. It’d taken this long for him to work up going, and it wasn’t until First Sergeant Randall had threatened him with desk duty that he finally made the appointment. The thought of revisiting everything terrified him.

  Fuck. Suck it up, Carwell. He popped the car into gear and headed toward post.

  ***

  Audrey was lying in bed reading when she heard the door next to her room open and close. She did not know who her neighbor was and didn’t think to check the name on the door any of the times she’d been by. There were a couple familiar faces that afternoon at the volleyball pit, and a couple more at the PX, but she couldn’t place names or places to any of them. Hell, other than 1SG Randall and Charlie, she didn’t know anyone else in the unit. Her career had veered off into a hazy world shortly after she’d joined the Army, and that had kept her distanced from most people in their field. The extent of her interaction with most other troops was in training environments, or during investigations.

  She closed the cover on her e-reader and laid back in the darkness, listening to the distant sounds of doors closing, engines revving, and people yelling. Maybe she’d been out for too long. Maybe the universe was giving her a sign, and maybe she should listen. More damned maybes. There, in the dark, she could admit she was terrified. Sure, she’d be doing regular investigative work. That was the straightforward part. Her problem was adapting to working with the same people, in the same place, day after day. She’d been on the move her entire career. Hell, her entire life
.

  The only reason she’d ever been social at all in her life was by force. Her uncle had realized early on that if left to her own devices, she’d have her head in a book 24/7. She could go days without speaking a single word to anyone. He knew she needed to be around people, in secure situations, and had made sure she was in residence-hall style boarding schools, before finally sending her to military school when she could go. It was at those places she learned to talk to people, though she still kept most of them at arm’s length.

  Her love life had been much the same. She wasn’t a nun by any stretch, but she’d kept her relationships, if they could be called that, on a strictly physical level. At the first sight of any emotion beyond friends with benefits, she was out.

  It wasn’t until she’d met Madden that she’d had what she could call a best friend. And that had only happened after the petite woman had brute forced her way into Audrey’s life. Because of a snafu, they were both sent on the same fraternization investigation at Ft. Jackson and had figured it out during basic rifle marksmanship. Somehow, they managed to not fuck things up and completed their work. Afterward, when Audrey tried to leave, Madden had all but jumped in her car. She was thankful for her friend’s tenaciousness every day. Being in the same unit with Charlie was the best thing that could have happened, given the circumstances.

  Audrey rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Hopefully the new day would bring a new perspective.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Audrey’s alarm went off at zero-too-damned-early, and she slapped the snooze button and rolled over. Because she was new to the unit, she didn’t have to show up for the run, but she should get her ass up and make a good impression. She forced herself into a sitting position and inwardly cursed herself. The First Sergeant was expecting to see her there. Other eyes would be watching as well. She also needed to get her ass moving. She’d been slacking on the exercise a little, and she felt the difference in both her physical and mental health. Her run with Charlie over the weekend had helped, though she learned quickly that the higher elevation was going to kick her ass if she wasn’t careful. A battalion run should be slow enough to where she could acclimate, and if she needed to stretch, well, she could always take a guidon for a spin around the formation.