As the sun peeked through the window of the hospital room, Sam stirred and slowly opened her eyes. The sun hurt her eyes the wider she tried to open them. Damn, my head is pounding. I feel like I was hit by a fuckin’ truck. As she scanned the room, she noticed someone sitting, well lying, quite uncomfortably in the chair next to her bed.
“Hello,” Sam said to the mysterious man in the chair.
“Oh, you’re awake? It’s me, Raleigh. How are you feelin’, darlin’? You took one hell of a blow to your head, and you had me pretty damned worried.”
“Have you been here all night?” she said, rubbing her eyes
“Actually, I’ve been back and forth, but yes, I have been here all night.” Raleigh wasn’t sure how Sam would take to the idea he had spent the whole night in the chair next to her, but he really didn’t care what she thought. She was his number one priority, and her stubbornness would not keep him from keeping her safe. For all he knew, whoever did this to her would be back to finish the job. He wouldn’t risk leaving Sam alone.
“It wasn’t too bad. Besides a stiff neck, I think I will survive,” he said with a smile
Sam paused and thought. Why would he stay here all night? No one has ever cared that much about me. Why would a perfect stranger care? Maybe there is more to this man than I think. Maybe he isn’t just a superficial ass who only cares about getting a little ass.
With a grin she replied, “Well, I’m glad it isn’t too bad. I wouldn’t want it to affect your performance. Performance is quite important ya know, in all areas of life. The performance you gave last night before I got whacked in the head was nothing short of spectacular. Good thing fate intervened.”
Puzzled, he turned to Sam. “Why would you say it was fate? I thought we both were enjoying the evening, and I was planning on taking it to the next level. Weren’t you?”
Sam paused, and just as she was ready to answer Raleigh’s burning question, Dr. Anderson strolled in.
“Sergeant, how are you feeling this morning?”
“Well, Doc, I feel like I got bashed in the head, but I think I will live. How long do you think I will stay here? I am going stir crazy in this place.”
Dr. Anderson did a quick once-over. “Sergeant, I think you can head on home, but stay down and outta trouble for the next few days. I will have the nurse prepare your discharge papers, but no working today. You can go on light duty tomorrow. Chief, I'm counting on you to make sure she stays down and stays outta trouble.”
Raleigh smiled. “Doc, you got nothing to worry about. I won't let her out of my sight.”
“I will let the nurse know. Sergeant, I mean it! Stay down today, and I will see you back in my office next Friday. If you have any headaches or any issues you become concerned about, call the office and come on in.”
“Thanks, Doc.” The words echoed from both Raleigh and Sam. They looked at each other and laughed.
Only a few minutes passed before the nurse returned with Sam’s paperwork.
“I need you to sign here, here, and here, Sergeant O’Hara.” The nurse handed her the papers as she pointed to each of the signature blocks. “Thank you, Sergeant O’Hara. Also, here is a prescription for some painkillers, just to take the edge off the pounding in your head. Try and relax today, and if you have any issues, the doctor has said to call his office for an appointment. We will let you get dressed then I can wheel you out to your car.”
“Is a wheelchair necessary?” Sam rolled her eyes at the nurse.
“Yes, Sergeant. It is hospital policy.” The nurse turned to Raleigh. “Sir, if you could step out with me so that Sergeant O’Hara can dress.” She motioned toward the door and pulled the door open for Raleigh to step out.
Sam dressed and thanked Raleigh silently for bringing her a change of clothes, and sensible garments to boot. She was impressed to say the least. Sam banged on the door to let the nurse know she was ready to leave, and Raleigh knew it was clear to come back into the room.
“Are you ready to go, Sergeant?” Raleigh motioned to the wheelchair. “Your chariot awaits.”
Sam sat down in the wheelchair, and the nurse wheeled her down the hallway to the front door.
“We will wait here, sir, while you bring up the car. It is also hospital policy we load the patient into the vehicle to ensure that they are properly strapped in.”
“I’ll be right back, darlin’.” Raleigh looked right at the nurse, winked, and ran out to the parking lot for his rental truck. He jumped into the driver’s seat and drove to the front door to pick up Sam. My god, she is beautiful, Raleigh thought as he pulled the truck up and parked. Walking around the truck, he opened the passenger door and motioned for the nurse to wheel Sam out so they could get back to Sam’s apartment.
“Is he always like this?” the nurse asked Sam.
“To be honest, ma’am, I don’t know him all that well. I will say this though, he’s definitely a ladies’ man, or so he thinks.”
“Oh, I can tell. I would let him take care of me any day.” The nurse smirked at Sam as Raleigh walked around his truck to open the passenger door.
“You’re a lucky woman,” the nurse said as she wheeled Sam to the truck. “He spent the entire night watching over you. He only dozed off for a couple of minutes when you woke up and found him this morning. He held your hand and stroked your hair the entire night. Never left your side unless he called one of us and only to take bathroom breaks.”
“Oh no, we aren’t together,” Sam told the nurse.
“Oh, I assumed that you were a couple. The way he looked at you and well, looks at you now. It seemed so obvious. I mean, look at him. See what I mean?”
Sam looked up and towards the truck where Raleigh stood. He was near the door, just leaning there, looking right at her. He winked and gave her a grin.
“You ready to go, darlin’?” he asked as he motioned toward the passenger seat. “Your chariot awaits, milady.”
Sam loaded into the passenger seat, and the nurse buckled her in. Raleigh walked around to the driver’s seat, started the engine, and headed towards Sam’s apartment.
“Ya know, you never answered my question, Sam.”
Sam had hoped he had forgotten. “And what question was that?”
Raleigh paused, then blurted, “Moving to the next level of this whirlwind relationship?”
Sam grinned then looked at Raleigh. “There you go again! Assuming there is a relationship. I never said anything about a relationship, even if it was possible. And well, it isn’t. What makes you think I would want one with a Mr. Ladies’ man?”
Raleigh’s whole demeanor changed with those words. Never had words cut so deeply. He had never allowed someone in, let alone allowed himself to feel the way he did about Sam. And the one woman he could see himself marrying one day ripped his heart into pieces.
“I've never said I was a ladies’ man or professed to want to be one. My parents taught me to be polite and to treat others with kindness and dignity. If women perceive my politeness as being a ladies’ man, then there is nothing I can do about that. Do I love the attention I receive from women? Yes! Do I love the way I make a woman feel when I give them attention? Yes! But that doesn’t mean I sleep with every single woman I meet, and it doesn’t mean that what I'm feeling for you isn’t real. Sam, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on and the most infuriating woman I have ever met!”
“Isn’t that what you like about me?” Sam grinned. “Oh, turn right here. This is my apartment building.”
Raleigh pulled in and parked his truck, got out and walked to the passenger side to help Sam out of the truck. “I've never had a man help me out of a vehicle before. It’s kinda cute. Thank you!”
Sam became a little weak and her knees buckled under her. Raleigh was there to catch her. “Let me walk you to your apartment and get you settled in. Then I’ll let you rest. I'm not fond of leaving you alone after the attack.”
“I promise I will be ok. I'm sure no one knows where I live. Plus, I think it was a lucky shot. Wrong place, wrong time.”
“You don’t think it’s all connected?” As he held her closer to him, he could feel her heart beating faster.
“No, not at all.” I wish he would just take me now and stop making small talk.
“Here we are. Apartment One-A. That's me.” Sam pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. Raleigh could feel Sam’s breath quicken as she opened the door.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
“My god, NO! Why would I be?”
“I don't know, you tell me. The closer we got to the apartment, the faster your heart rate and your breathing became. Are you afraid to be alone in your apartment with me?”
Sam snapped back. “No, why would I ever be afraid of being alone with you? You’re…” And with that, Raleigh turned Sam around and he kissed her. Not just an ordinary kiss, but one that took Sam’s breath away. She could feel her heart pulsing way down deep inside her as Raleigh’s kiss became more passionate and more wanton than she had ever experienced in her entire life. As his tongue danced inside her mouth, she thought about how incredible it would feel on her clit—dancing and vibrating around the folds, and how his warm breath would heat her as he became comfortable between her legs.
Raleigh’s hands moved over her body as if he knew every curve, playing her body like a violin. His hands made their way to her breasts, and he moved Sam against the wall of the apartment. He drifted, kissing her neck and down to her breast. He cupped them in both of his hands as he licked and sucked. Sam moaned and let out a sigh.
“You like that, baby?” Raleigh said as he looked up into Sam’s eyes. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked.
“No! Keep going!”
Raleigh could feel his cock thicken and push against his jeans. No, not now, this is not the right time. I gotta stop this. Before he could even get the words out, there was a knock on the door.
“Sam!” A voice at the door yelled.
“Damn! Ya, who is it?”
“It's me, Maddie. Open the door, girl.”
“Ya, hold on, I’ll be right there.” Sam turned to whisper to Raleigh. “Get yourself together. Hide in the bathroom.”
Raleigh looked at Sam. “No, we have nothing to hide. I brought you home. That's all she needs to know. Besides that, I think she suspects anyway. So, if you trust her, we have nothing to worry about. You trust her, right?”
“Yes, I do, and you’re a stubborn ass.” She shot Raleigh a quick grin. He knew she was teasing and oh, how he loved that smile of hers. That smile is gonna be the death of me.
Sam opened the door and Maddie burst in. “We got it! We got into the laptop, and girl, we got a ton of stuff.” Maddie looked at Raleigh. “We backed up all the information for you, Chief. So you can check it out. But we got names, addresses, dates, and times of meetings. There is a meeting tonight at twenty hundred hours at Navy Pier. It listed exact coordinates for the meeting. We can get them tonight.”
“Ok, first we need to sit down and review some of this before we jump the gun and run into a meeting we know nothing about. Let me get my laptop, then we can see where to go from here,” Raleigh said calmly. He ran outside to his truck, grabbed his laptop, and ran back to the apartment. “Sam, do you have a place I can set up and work, close to an outlet?”
“Yes, Chief. Just sit at the dining room table. There is a plug-in right there behind the chair.”
Raleigh turned on the laptop and began to review the thumb drive contents. “Well, you weren’t exaggerating when you said there was a lot of information on this. Sam, come look at some of this.”
Sam leaned in close to Raleigh so she could see the screen of his laptop, but got a whiff of his cologne that sent her hormones into overdrive. Compose yourself, old girl, she thought as she continued to draw in the strong scent, and a faint scent of sex she supposed was from their earlier encounter that was so rudely interrupted by Maddie just moments before. Her eyes grew bigger as she read through each line of information on the laptop.
“Encryption equipment, weapons, radios, body armor, and ammunition…My lord, this is catastrophic. People will die, if they haven’t already, without this equipment. Why? Why would someone do this? For the money, for power, for revenge? I don’t understand. This is a nightmare.” Sam covered her face with her hands, attempting to hide the tears that flowed.
“This is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. How does the Twelve-Sixty-Sixth fit into all this? We aren’t missing this kind of equipment. This stuff is ‘If-I-get-caught-I-am-going-to-jail’ type of equipment. We have tools, heaters, and some chemical suits missing. Nothing like this.”
Raleigh placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze just to say I know what you mean and its ok to be upset. “Ok, let’s look at some of these names.” The list seems to go on and on. Raleigh skimmed the list then paused. There were names familiar to him, like 9th Special Forces, Ft. Bragg familiar. He spent most of his Army career there, and now it looked like that was where the trail was leading—back home to Bragg. But first it looked like he would be attending a meeting at Chicago’s Navy Pier.
“Well ladies, it sounds like we have a date for tonight at Navy Pier. Take a guess who we are meeting with. None other than retired Staff Sergeant Janice Wilson, the Twelve-Sixty-Sixth former supply sergeant. Let’s assemble at the company area in a few hours, and we will move out from there. I will contact the Naval Criminal Investigation Service and have them meet us at the Navy Pier at nineteen hundred. That will give us time to go over a plan of action. From what I am gathering from her notes, Wilson hasn’t met her contact yet. So, I will go undercover and meet with her.”