He walked into the same day room that they had been in the night before the mission. The same place they’d all written the Dear Jane letters.
Logan had been a genius to suggest breaking it off with the women. Ending things with Steph hadn’t been easy at the time, but like the other guys, Baron knew it was the right thing to do. Somehow, deep down, they had all kind of suspected that the mission would go wrong and that they shouldn’t have girlfriends back home suffering when the mission failed.
Unlike Blaine and Creed, Baron didn’t have delusions of getting back together with Steph. He’d had a lot of time to think while being held prisoner and had realized Steph wasn’t the right one for him. When he did get back into that scene, he wanted someone … smart. His future girlfriend, and future wife, was going to be responsible for carrying almost all of the conversation, so he wanted someone with a nice big brain between her ears. Someone who could fill the space with conversation that wasn’t petty and empty. Or just sit in silence thinking deep, intelligent thoughts.
In the dayroom, the guys were sitting in a circle on the beat up couch and a few folding chairs. Their experience in captivity had made them prefer each other’s company to anything else. In an hour or so, there was a media event planned when they would video chat with their loved ones back home, and in the free hour they had until then, they preferred to spend it with each other rather than catching up on the world or doing anything else.
Logan had his buzz cut, and was running his hands over the stubble. None of the rest of them had bothered shaving or cutting their hair yet. Now that Blaine was cleaned up, the bruises and swelling from the beating he’d taken while whistling were even more pronounced. All of the faces in the room were gaunt and drawn from lack of nutrition.
“This is familiar,” said Jace, holding his arms out to take in the room.
Baron looked around, thinking again how strange it felt to be sitting in the same room, still 7,000 miles from home in the middle of Kuwait.
Coming out of his chair, Blaine said, “This is freaking messed up.” His eyes were bloodshot and Baron had thought he’d looked bad back in those ISIS prisons they were left to rot in, but now … Blaine looked like a crazed animal, pacing and shaking his head. “Married?” His nostrils widened with every grunted breath. “She married the freaking Chief of Staff?” he roared.
That was news to Baron. Elena was already married. Wow, that hadn’t taken long.
“Sorry, bro,” said Baron.
Blaine, clearly driven to distraction, just kept pacing. “This can’t be right.”
“And then there was one,” said Maddox, grinning thinly at Creed.
Everyone but Blaine looked at Maddox. He’d said the exact words on the Dear Jane night. It was the opposite tonight, however. Creed was the only one who really had a shot at getting back with the girl he’d dumped.
Creed’s face was drawn tight. “I haven’t stopped thinking about her … about … Kiera for weeks. Months, maybe. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me. And now she thinks I’ve been dead for three months. I’ve got to see her in the flesh. She couldn’t resist all of this, right?” He smirked, definitely not the handsome guy who went into that prison. Maybe in a year he’d get some flesh back on his bones and look like a human again.
“Didn’t you see Princess Bride?” asked Logan. “True love is no match for death.”
It was a joke, but it was also … well, Baron didn’t want to say true. But it felt true. It felt true because the five of them were all pulling for Creed and hoping for success. The escape was a huge win, but they definitely needed some wins in the real world in the coming weeks and Creed had the brightest prospect so far.
“What about marrying another man?" asked Jace with a smile.
All eyes went to Blaine, who was clenching his fists and his jaw.
Baron shifted on his chair. Something felt wrong in this room, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was the same room, but it felt more like a movie set. He figured it was the natural result of living on dirt floors for months.
“It’s all right, I give you one month,” said Jace, nudging Blaine. “That’s twice as long as it took the first time.”
Blaine froze to process the words, then out of the blue he decked Jace in the jaw. His left hand came around with a follow up, but Jace blocked it and the other SEALs jumped in to separate them. They cooled down pretty quickly and when the other guys got out of the way, Blaine and Jace each nodded a silent apology to the other.
Slumping onto the couch, Blaine said, “No, man. I don’t know how it can ever be like it was with … her.” The habit of not using the women’s names still held.
Baron sensed Blaine was close to losing it, in a bad way. Blaine could take a lot of crap before blowing his top. More than any of them he was always in control, but the Elena thing was pushing him close to the limit.
Changing the subject, Baron blurted. “I’m getting out.”
That brought all eyes to him. Now that he wasn’t being forced to talk, he didn’t mind opening up a little to these guys. What he had to say was important, and now was the time to talk about it.
So Baron kept talking, “I’m not reenlisting. The only part of me that wants to be a SEAL only wants it to get revenge for what they did to us.” He scowled and shook his head. “That’s not a good enough reason. I’m done.” Baron had made up his mind weeks ago, but hadn’t opened up to the guys yet. Escape was never tangible enough to make thoughts of the future a reality.
“Same,” said Jace.
Baron noticed most of the guys were nodding. All of them were within six months of the end of their enlistment period.
“Anyone staying in?” asked Maddox.
“I’m not done with those … ” Blaine trailed off and ground his teeth. “If they hadn’t done that to us, I could’ve made it home before it was too late!” His face was red and he looked ready to take on all of ISIS single handedly. A few choice words escaped his mouth.
When they’d given him a chance to vent, Logan said, “I can’t imagine what my mom went through with me gone. It’s just not fair to put a woman through that twice. I’m not re-upping either.”
Baron slapped a hand on Logan’s back in support.
Jace sighed and said, “I’m not looking forward to seeing or hearing from Mindy. She is going to I told you so me so hard. The whole reason she broke up with me was because of my propensity for danger.”
“Wait,” said Logan rubbing his hand absentmindedly over his shaved face. “The fearless Jace is scared? Wow, we really are broken.”
“Not scared,” said Jace. “I’m dreading it like a sinner dreads the confessional booth. I’d rather swim with sharks or kiss a rattlesnake.”
Baron looked around again. Why did it feel like someone was watching him? Part of him worried that the rest of his life would feel the same.
Maddox was looking at Baron. “So what are you going to do now if you don’t get back in?”
Before Baron could answer, Jace spoke up. “He’s going to find a woman who’ll make him talk. ISIS couldn’t do it, but mark my words, a woman will get that mouth to work.”
That made them all chuckle. This environment was more relaxed and comfortable than the stupid debriefings had been; still, Baron couldn’t shake the eyes on his back. He stood and started strolling through the room.
The guys were watching him curiously, but Baron didn’t want the conversation to stop. “What about the rest of you?” he asked. To make sure the signal was picked up, he coughed then cleared his throat then coughed again. He needed them to talk while he checked the place out.
“There was this girl named … Amy,” said Jace. It sounded like he had to force himself to use a real name. Taking his eyes from Baron and looking at Creed, he said, “You know how you haven’t been able to stop thinking about … Kiera. I keep replaying graduation night in my mind, wondering why I didn’t ask her out. Is that weird?”
“Nothing’s weird,” s
aid Maddox. “You go through what we went through, life is going to feel weird. Want to know something? That night when we were here and you all sent the Dear Janes, I felt so left out. I wished I was still dating Addie so I could be part of the group. But the really weird thing, I feel like that all over again right now. After all we went through, something in my brain is telling me I still don’t fit in at all because I didn’t break up with someone that night.” He paused. “Or maybe I wanted a chance to dish back to Addie what she’d dished out to me.” His lips formed a grim line. “Yeah, I know I sound like a sleaze for saying that. You guys broke up with your girls out of concern and love for them, not for some revenge thing.”
Creed was sitting next to Maddox. He threw an arm around Maddox’s neck and rubbed his head roughly with a knuckle. “Nah, it’s all good. We get it. Your ex did a number on you. But you’ll survive. We got love for you, son.” He quirked a grin. “But I wouldn’t ask us to show it if I was you.” A couple other guys piled on to show Maddox some love, but Baron wasn’t paying close attention to them.
Baron scanned a bookcase, looking for hidden cameras. Nothing. He checked the webcams on both computers and couldn’t tell if they were on so he taped a piece of paper over each of them and unplugged the microphone on the one they had used to video chat before the mission. The lamps were clean of any sort of bug as well.
An idea came to him. Baron rushed into the dorm and tore the zipper open on his rucksack. All of the SEALs’ belongings had been shoved into sacks and stored. After a minute of searching, he found what he was looking for.
The guys were still talking as Baron fired up the old-school bug sweeper that he’d bought at a spy store before even becoming a SEAL. Within seconds he had a hit. He went on his knees and looked under the coffee table. It looked clear, but as he started rubbing his fingers along the joints and hardware, he realized one of the screws was a dummy. It looked like a screw head but held a tiny listening device.
Now that made Baron smile. Whether he truly had been feeling the bug as the reason for his discomfort, or whether it was paranoia from being back in civilization, he had no idea. But he still had … it. And for some reason, having that small victory in this new world meant more than he could say.
Everything might turn out okay after all.
Logan — The Rogue Warrior
Logan Steele had never worn his hair buzzed, but he couldn’t wait another minute for the barber. He ran his hand over his head, surprised yet again to feel the short stubble.
Jill would have hated the buzz cut. She liked his hair short and looking nice, just like Logan did, but she had also liked him looking sharp and well-groomed, not like some POW.
It doesn’t matter what Jill likes, Logan reminded himself. They hadn’t been that close when Logan got deployed, just kind of a comfortable relationship for both of them without needing any big define-the-relationship talks about whether they should get more serious or not.
Logan, for one, was glad he’d Dear Janed her three months ago and saved her all those weeks of agony. From what he’d read in an email, she was already in a serious relationship. That made Logan happy. He was far from ready to get involved seriously. The thought of getting serious with someone meant thinking about starting a family and that thought always made him sweat.
Maybe things would be different when he was out of the SEALs. He hadn’t told any of the guys his decision, but, like Baron, his days as a soldier were probably at an end.
The ten years he’d spent as a SEAL had been rewarding. He’d done his share of hands-on lifesaving and was ready to go virtual and get back into computer security. His talent for hacking computer systems had come in handy over the years. As a civilian, he planned on using those skills to create his own cyber security company.
Baron walked into the center of the circle of chairs with his palm held open flat. The room was silent as they all stared down at it.
That was a bug. Someone was listening in on their conversation, right here in the middle of a US military base!
“Pizza,” said Baron. “That’s what I’m going to eat for a week straight. Real pizza, not this military equivalent.”
Coming from Baron the words sounded so forced, but Logan knew he was trying to hide the fact that the SEALs had discovered the bug.
“Just give me a buffet,” said Creed. “One of everything.”
Baron handed the bug to Logan, who looked at it more closely. Baron used the device he’d been sweeping with to track in an outward direction. He was trying to figure out where the bug was transmitting to as the other guys kept up the bland conversation.
Jace said, “All I want is flatbread and rancid water.”
The guys laughed as Baron went in a line toward the door of the dormitory. He was on the trail. Logan got up and grabbed a laptop. Creed and Blaine held pistols casually in their grip.
As Baron reached for the door handle, the door opened. In walked a soldier who Logan didn’t recognize, wearing non-descript fatigues. He had salt and pepper hair, carried himself like a general, and was in fantastic physical shape.
“You won’t need that any longer,” said the man to Baron in a British accent. He held up some sort of receiver. “Now that you know I’m listening in, it does me no good.” The man walked past Baron as if he had every right to intrude.
What in the world was a British officer doing bugging barracks on a U.S. military base? The computer security part of Logan was bristling.
“I know you,” said Maddox. It was as if it was on the tip of his tongue and he was recalling where he knew him from. “You are … the Mr. ex-Duchess of Gunthry.”
A small smile crossed the man’s lips and he acceded a nod toward Maddox. “My wife is no longer associated with that title or the duchy.”
“We already have a baron,” said Blaine. “We have no use for a duke.”
“My name is Sutton Smith, and I’d like to talk to you about opportunities in your future.”
Sutton Smith? Logan knew that name, but he’d never seen the man. Maddox also perked up at the mention of the name. This man was no one to mess with.
“What is this,” said Creed. “Some sort of movie deal?”
Of course Creed would go there. His family were the famous Hawk brothers. The media would have a field day when they heard he came back from the dead.
“The vultures are circling already,” said Jace.
Sutton chuckled. “No. What I do is far from the eyes of the public.”
Logan wasn’t amused, and despite the respect and curiosity he felt, he also wondered why the man had intruded. “Cut the crap and tell us why a British officer is doing surveillance inside an American military base.”
“I’m not an officer, and I’m barely British after decades of living in California. I’m in need of some heroes,” said Sutton. “And I’m prepared to pay.”
“I know of five,” said Logan. “But I don’t know if they’re for hire.”
“Five?” said a few of the guys at once. A couple of them blew out breaths or shook their heads.
Logan looked down at the ground, a little embarrassed he’d let that slip. Yeah, they were alive and they had escaped, but what had they accomplished? The mission had failed.
“Five heroes, you say?” Sutton looked around at each man. “Let’s take a count.”
Sutton came face to face with Baron. “You. Luzader.”
“It’s Baron. We don’t know each other that well.”
Creed spoke up. “He’ll allow Your Lordship if you’d rather.”
Sutton didn’t get distracted. “Baron. What languages did your captors speak?”
Baron folded his arms, raised an eyebrow and smiled that crooked smirk in challenge. He loved having the upper hand.
“Still tongue tied,” said Sutton. “Syriac? Levantine? Mesopotamian? All of the above?”
Logan hadn’t even known Mesopotamian was a real language until Baron had told him. Baron’s poker face was pretty good, but Logan n
oticed a twinge of surprise. Baron gave a small nod of respect.
“Would you have escaped if you hadn’t been able to listen in on their conversations?” asked Sutton.
Shrugging, Baron said, “Maybe not yesterday, but eventually.” Sutton had earned some words, apparently.
“And how much info did they get out of you when they tortured you?”
Baron stiffened. “Baron Luzader. Petty Officer 2nd Class. 5822009321.”
Oh how that took Logan back to his own “questioning” sessions. It was not a pleasant sensation.
Jace brought the room back to the present. “I thought you told them it was your birthday a few weeks back.”
With a sly smile, Barron added, “Thought they might want to bake me a cake.”
The guys all laughed.
Sutton looked around the room. “That’s one hero by my account.”
Logan agreed.
He stood in front of Jace. “Can I see your fingers?”
Jace hesitated. Logan was pretty sure he knew how the rest of the guys were feeling—hackles up at the intrusion of this guy, but also curiosity as to what he was after. And Logan had to admit, Sutton had as much charisma and command presence as any actor who had ever played James Bond.
Finally Jace held out his hands. Every one of the fingertips was scabbed over and a few of his fingernails were missing entirely.
Sutton said, “How did it feel to dig with raw pieces of meat like these?”
“Oh, it was grand,” said Jace sarcastically.
“Yet, if you hadn’t found a way into Blaine’s cell to ambush the guard, the whole rescue plan would have failed.”
Rather than accept the praise, Jace deflected. “How do you know all the details already?”
“I’ll get there,” said Sutton.
Baron spoke up. “I’m glad I never talk because this guy hears everything we’ve ever said.”
Sutton raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, then turned back to Jace. “How long would the discussion have lasted on the tarmac if you hadn’t volunteered to be the first in the cockpit of that bucket of rust helicopter. You just acted like you expected everyone to follow you?”
The Lone Warriors: Intro to Navy SEALS Romances 2.0 Page 5
