The Peaceful Warrior: Navy SEAL Romance by Daniel Banner (2)

“Walk along the beach?” he offered.

“Yes, that sounds perfect.” She could walk hand-in-hand with him all night long.

Within a few minutes, they were on the sand, finally escaping the glaring lights of the city.

Their pace was slow and comfortable.

“How long have you lived in Southern California?” she asked.

Before he could answer, someone yelled, “Hey!”

Half a dozen men came toward them, outlined by the lights behind them and even though Daisy couldn’t see them, she knew it was the huge drunk guy from the bar and his buddies.

Cannon stepped in front of her. “Keep walking,” he told the guys. “Nothing to see here.” His voice was soothing and convincing.

“There is something to see here,” said the leader. “Me kicking your butt.”

The guys were only about ten feet away. A couple of them were carrying bottles of beer.

Cannon said, “I don’t want any trouble. You tell me which way you’re going and we’ll go the other direction.”

Daisy considered pulling out her cell phone and calling the police but Cannon was so calm and confident, she just felt like he had this under control. He’d talk their way out of this, the peacemaker that he was.

The big guy came right up into Cannon’s face. “You think you’re all tough? You probably aren’t even a SEAL. Let’s see your proof.” The rest of the group formed a half-circle around them.

“I never said I was a SEAL,” said Cannon. “Now if you’ll excuse us,” he started to lead Daisy out of trap the men had formed, but the big guy shoved him. Cannon wasn’t even knocked off balance.

“You’re not excused,” the big guy said, bringing a round of laughter from his buddies.

“I don’t want a fight,” said Cannon, facing them but trying to back away with Daisy in a safe position behind him.

“Of course you don’t,” said the big guy. “Cause you’re gonna lose.” He pointed with both hands, and his friends spread the circle out wider, cutting off almost all directions of escape.

Cannon was rigid and poised, she could feel him tensing like a snake preparing to strike. He was calm but threatening as he said, “Listen, friend. This is the last time I’m going to say this. Walk away. Don’t say another word. Just turn around unless you want to get hurt.” There was no more negotiator, just a soldier giving orders. Moving backwards and to the side, he stayed between Daisy and the men as he guided her away.

The big guy said, “Fine you go. We’ll just keep your woman here with us and—”

From five feet away, Cannon shined a flood light right in the man’s face, and when the guy lifted an arm to block his eyes, Cannon was there, shoving the flashlight into the guy’s neck. It crackled with electricity. The guy shook and fell to the ground. Cannon dropped the flashlight and it ended pointing up at him like a spotlight. The knuckle device was on one hand, but he had a short rod in the other. With a flick, he extended it to about three feet, and jabbed another guy in the gut. Another crack of electricity and that guy went down, twitching as well.

With another flick, he closed the baton and hurled it at a guy on the other side of the semi-circle who had started closing in, smacking him on the head and sending him reeling backward. The closest guy to him tried to throw a punch, but Cannon spun behind him. Before Daisy knew what was happening, the guy was flying through the air. He came down hard, landing head first in the sand.

Only three guys were left standing. Cannon darted forward and decked one right in the nose, sending him flying back.

Two more, one on either side of him. The guy in front came forward ready to hit Cannon with a beer bottle. Did he see the guy behind him?

Before Daisy could call a warning, Cannon back-kicked the guy so hard in the chest he went reeling back into the surf. Then Cannon grabbed the wrist holding the bottle and snapped it with a sharp blow from his elbow. The crack echoed across the beach. Cannon dipped down and came up with an uppercut that lifted the guy off the ground.

“Snicker-snack,” he said, then the guy landed with a thump.

By now, two guys were trying to get up. As graceful as a dancer, Cannon stepped twice and bent to pick up that baton, flicking it open and popping each guy with a jolt of electricity.

Daisy found herself wrapped in one of Cannon’s arms, staring up into his chiseled face. He hadn’t even broken a sweat and wasn’t breathing hard, but Daisy was completely out of breath.

“Daisy?  Are you okay?”

Had that fight really just happened? Daisy was still a little terrified, but also excited that her bodyguard boyfriend had just single-handedly taken on a gang all by himself.

Still confused, she asked, “Did you … say, ‘snicker-snack’?”

Cannon grinned guiltily and nodded. “Couldn’t resist.”

So that part of the fight really had happened. Daisy glanced around and saw half a dozen men lying in the sand in various uncomfortable positions. That was no fantasy; it had really happened.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

“Yeah,” she said, her mouth drooling a little for the kiss that she hadn’t gotten.

“Just a sec.” Cannon walked over to where another man was trying to come to a standing position. He placed that black brass knuckle thing against the back of the guy’s ribs and said, “You had your chance to walk away.”

Snap! went the electricity and the man fell twitching, face down in the sand.

Cannon picked up a couple gadgets and tucked them away, except for the flashlight, which he used to keep an eye on their attackers. So the weapons had been real too. That didn’t surprise Daisy; she didn’t have the imagination to come up with all those different types of stun devices.

He dialed 9-1-1 and gave a quick and dirty run down of what had happened, then asked for a police and medical response.

Daisy just stared around at the carnage, still having a hard time wrapping her mind around how quickly this had happened. Her hero boyfriend really was like a living, breathing Harry Dresden, just instead of using spells for fire and electricity, he used a veritable arsenal of stun gadgets that she hadn’t even known he was carrying.

“What if they’d had guns?” she asked.

He got that amused smile again. “I would have dealt with it.” He faced her and she could see concern grow on his face even in the darkness. “I’m sorry if you felt threatened.”

“I … actually no, I didn’t feel threatened at all. Even though I didn’t know you were a super spy action wizard hero or something, I felt safe. They could’ve had an army and I would have felt safe.”

Cannon took another glance around to make sure no one was going anywhere. Seeing that the scene was secure, he put an arm around her lower back and pulled her close. She could feel his steady breath on her face and her heart kicked into overdrive.

The way he looked at her like some super spy who’d just saved the world made her knees weak. But he was a million times better than some playboy movie spy. He had softness to him in contrast to the hardness she’d just witnessed. Throttling six men one second, and holding her so softly and tenderly the next.

He leaned forward and when their lips touched it was more thrilling than her first time on stage in college singing “I Could Have Danced All Night.” It was satin and stone in the perfect combination. Already primed by his studly heroics, she melted into his embrace and into the kiss. She was helpless to resist, even if she had wanted to. His lips were sweet, sweet stun devices and she was glued to where she stood and loving every second of it.

She felt his eyes open and opened hers to see him looking over her shoulder. She turned her head to see a guy trying to crawl away. The stun baton was suddenly in Cannon’s hand and extended at full length.  He didn’t even have to move to reach out to him and give him a prod like a naughty cow would get.

Yet another guy went into the sand twitching like a daddy long-legs spider’s amputated leg.

He looked back at her and said, “No mind switch that time.”

Daisy giggled, amazed he was so good at seeing that.

A pair of flashlights announced two cops coming down the sand toward them. Cannon stepped away from Daisy half a step and held his arms out. His posture was super natural and unthreatening; it was hard to imagine he was responsible for the scene around them.

“I have two firearms,” he announced calmly. “One ankle holster, one belt.”

The cops visibly tensed, and one drew his weapon but kept it pointed at the sand. Cannon remained calm and unthreatening.

He’d had guns the whole time! Why hadn’t he used them? That was easy for Daisy to answer: he hadn’t needed them. So many men would have started with the guns instead of trying to talk their way out of a confrontation, then ending it with the minimal amount of effective force. His hero status bumped up a few notches.

“Any other weapons?” asked one of the cops.

“A stun baton, blast knuckles stun gun, a stun gun flashlight, a pocketknife, a straightblade knife, kick spikes in the laces of my right shoe,” he looked at Daisy and gave her a sly smile, “and my fists.”

A short cackle escaped Daisy’s mouth, but the officer was not amused. “I recommend you don’t try being funny. You preparing for the zombie apocalypse?”

With a straight face, he replied, “Not being funny, but I don’t think electricity affects zombies.”

“You’re probably right. So why are you walking around pimped out like a one-man army?” He held the flashlight on Cannon while his partner pulled Cannon’s guns.

A couple more flashlights approached with policemen behind them.

“I work in personal security,” said Cannon. “My concealed carry permit is in my wallet.”

The cop grabbed that as well.

“Ma’am, are you carrying?”

“Me?” asked Daisy. “No. Uh uh.”

A couple of the men stood and tried sneaking away but the cops ordered them to a stop.

Cannon said, “These men attacked us. I was defending myself and the lady.”

When the other cops arrived, they put handcuffs on everyone, Cannon and Daisy included. Then they separated them to ask them all questions separately.

More police came, as well as some paramedics to take a look at the injured guys. After the interviews, the cops conferred and it didn’t take long to decide that Cannon and Daisy were telling the truth and the other guys had started everything. They dropped the handcuffs, took Cannon and Daisy’s contact info, and gave Cannon his guns back.

Cannon and Daisy thanked them and walked back toward the restaurant.

 “Sorry about that,” said Cannon. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“How could I be wrong with you here with me?”

“Not how you wanted to spend your date, though. Do you need to go? Have I put you off or scared you away?”

Anything but. She could tell he was giving her an out but she didn’t want it. “It’s late, but I don’t have anywhere to be.”

“Let’s head back to my car. Drive to somewhere more populated and talk more.” He took her hand, and she wondered if he had residual electricity coursing through him because she could feel the zing.

“That was amazing, Cannon. You realize that?”

“I know,” he agreed heartily. “Best kiss I’ve ever had.”

She laughed. “I wasn’t talking about the kiss, even though it was amazing too.”

Cannon shrugged. “Six drunk guys? Not really.”

“My ex-fiancé would’ve run away screaming.”

She felt a hitch in his step. “Fiancé?” He let her hand go and put an arm around her.

If she knew it would get that reaction she would have told him about Sterling sooner. “We dated for three years, all through his internship and residency.”

“A doctor?” Cannon’s voice rose a little. He was actually flustered already by the conversation, which made Daisy feel a little bit special. “What happened.”

“Remember what I told you about not being second place in a man’s eyes? That I wanted you to not be distracted tonight?”

“Yeah. Did I pass?”

“First things first,” she told him. “Sterling didn’t pass. There was always something more important than me.”

“Well he’s an idiot.”

Daisy laughed again. “But you passed. So far. Even before saving my life, you had passed.”

They arrived at a black Land Rover with tinted windows, the kind of car she expected to see in a presidential motorcade. He opened the door for her, but before she could climb in, he stole another little kiss. Hopefully there was more of that coming tonight from her probably boyfriend.

The inside of the car was like a spy car—large console, a walkie-talkie type radio, extra buttons and knobs that she was afraid to touch because she didn’t want to launch a missile or eject herself.

Cannon climbed in and when he put the key in, the spy dashboard really came to life.

“Nice ride,” she said.

“Company car,” replied Cannon.  “I tricked up the inside a little bit.”

“You and your gadgets.”

The metal bracelet he wore on his wrist started buzzing and a pale blue LED started running around it. Before she could ask if that was connected to the car, Cannon had his phone in his hand, hit a couple of buttons and held it to his ear.

“This is Culver. Tango seven seven.”

Daisy couldn’t hear whoever was on the other end of the line.

“I’m fine. The police had my phone for minute.”

“No, I’m clear.”

He listened for a minute.

“Uh huh. Right away.” He hung up and started the car. “Daisy, I have to run.”

Just like that? “So our date’s over? No drive? No talking more?” She shook her head and exhaled sharply. “Wasn’t I just talking about being dumped or neglected over and over?”

“I’m sorry, Daisy. My brother’s in trouble.”

“Warsong?”

“No, my … one of my other brothers. I really don’t have time to explain. Which way’s your house?”

Other brother? He’d said earlier he had one brother and one sister. “I can come along,” said Daisy. “This date hasn’t been exciting enough for me yet, I’m down for another emergency.”

He jerked out a laugh. “I thought you’d be terrified by now.”

“Not with you by my side,” she said, not joking in the slightest.

His mood changed momentarily, then he was antsy again. “Your house? Unless you’d rather catch an Uber, I can call one for you.”

“You’re so romantic,” she said with a little bite. She pointed to the right. What was happening? Hadn’t she just finished telling him how much she hated to be pushed to the side? Everything was perfect until things had fallen off a cliff. “Is the mission life or death, Cannon?”

He was driving fast and they’d already reached the next turn so she pointed to the left.

“It’s not a mission, I mean anything you could really help with.”

So it wasn’t life or death or he would have told her. So why did he have to drop her like a hot rock? What was it about her that made her always second fiddle in the eyes of everyone she cared about?

Two turns later, they had pulled up in front of her house. Cannon hopped out to open her door and walk her up to her house.

“This really is an emergency,” he said. “I wouldn’t do this to you otherwise.”

Daisy sighed. That was probably true, but how often would emergencies come up? “It always is.” He didn’t have time, or interest, to listen to her sob story about her dating history, so she added, “Thanks for dinner. And protecting me. I still can’t believe not a single one of them touched you.”

He shrugged off the compliment. “It was kind of my fault they came after us. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked him to shut up in the restaurant. Thanks for being such a good sport about it.” At her front door, he turned to her. “I really had a great a great time, Daisy. I’d like to take you out again.”

Just like at the restaurant, she was the focus of his life right now, but she knew that in a few seconds he would be running off to take care of something more important.

“I had fun too,” she said. “And thanks for … standing up for me.” That was something no man had done for her, and very few men even could to the degree that Cannon had done. She opened her arms for a hug, but Cannon came in fast and took her face in his hands, then took command of her lips just like he’d taken charge of the fight earlier.

Daisy wrapped her arms around his large shoulders, surprised again at the bulk that his clothes always downplayed.

The kiss was simple, but there was no doubt he meant it, their lips locking into place, then taking slight maneuvers to explore the surface and spark electricity over the entirety of their lips. She could still taste a hint of sweet chocolate mixed with the mint he’d had on the way out of the restaurant.

“Mmm,” she said as he released her, then giggled at herself. Well, at least she hadn’t zoned out again.

“I’ll call you,” he said, taking a step back.

The date was officially over, and it was a good thing he hadn’t asked her out again right then and there because he had weakened her defenses with that kiss. Daisy was too confused to commit to anything right away; she needed a little time for some serious reflection. He was waiting for something. Oh, he wouldn’t leave until she was safe inside.

“Be safe,” she said, though why she didn’t know. It was anyone but him that had to worry because nothing could ever hurt this man.

After all, she was plain Jane, and he was an action-hero ninja who was used to hanging out with billionaires and the Queen of England’s personal artist.

Be safe, she told herself as she went inside. Protect that heart of yours, girl.

 

 

 

 

________________________

 

Cannon climbed into his SUV and gunned it, driving as fast as was safe on this residential road.

What a date that had been, unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Daisy helped him stay on the surface of life where things were good, and life was happy. Yeah, he had opened up about some of the deeper stuff, but even that hadn’t been dark like sometimes in the past.

Daisy Close was exactly what he needed in his life. Right then and there he made the decision to take any steps necessary to win her over.

Yet here he was, rushing off to bow to Sutton and help a brother, leaving her in the dust. But what was he supposed to do? Zane needed him, and this was just a date, the first of many dates with her.

Even as he said that, he knew it was wrong. That had been more than just a date, and Daisy was more than just a woman. She was the woman he wanted in his life forever. He couldn’t wait to see her again, to put his arms around her, feel the softness of her and draw on her strength and goodness. To hold her hand, to see that gorgeous dimple when she smiled. To have her look at him again like she was his rock. 

He could tell she wasn’t happy when he’d ended their date. But it had been mostly over already, hadn’t it?

Now he was just making excuses. What would Zane have said back in the Philippines if Cannon had tried pulling out these weak excuses? He would have told him, jokingly, that if he wanted to make excuses, he should have chosen the Air Force.

Throughout BUD/S and SEAL training, Cannon had never once opened his mouth to make an excuse, so what was up now? He was conflicted, that was it. Did his loyalties lie with his brothers, who he’d trained with, fought with, bled for, and always been there for? Or did he owe a woman he just barely met who wasn’t having a major emergency his loyalty?

The answer was obvious, right?

Right?

Never had he let a brother down. Never had he let the team down. Not SEAL Team 7, and not anyone in the Warrior Project.

So why did his gut keeping telling him he was wrong?

Zane had a true emergency or else he wouldn’t have used the Coms band, so why was Cannon still worrying about something he could do nothing about right now?

Maybe that wasn’t right. Maybe he could do something. He ordered his car to send a text to Daisy: Sorry for running off. I’ll give you details later. Hope you give me another chance.

She sent back a winking emoji and: If you’re lucky.

That had to be good enough for now.

Distractions had never caused problems for Cannon, but he seriously wondered if he’d be able to focus on the job tonight.

 

 

 

 

Chapter

The day after their date, Daisy got a text from Cannon. It was good to know he was safe after whatever emergency he’d had to deal with, but after sleeping on it, she felt more than ever that she needed a guy who was going to be devoted to her. She’d come so close to throwing her life away as Sterling’s trophy wife, she couldn’t let that happen again.

Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about how exciting it was to go out with Cannon. Even before the fight, it was a thrill to spend one-on-one time with him. Then when danger came, he hadn’t even batted an eye.

She still couldn’t figure out if he was James Bond, or Harry Dresden, or maybe even Dr. Strange with the way he seemed to be under completely different time constraints than the guys he had fought. Someday they’d make a movie about this peaceful man with a dangerous side once he got pushed too far.

Just thinking about him made her heart race. She wanted him so bad, but she wanted the version of him who made her feel important all of the time.  Or at least most of the time. Every encounter they’d had so far, he’d been distracted or called away. She was so torn.

Not that she was ready to give up on Cannon, but she would proceed with caution.

So she turned down his request for a date, even though she really wanted to go. Maybe not being at his beck and call would help him figure out his priorities.

The next day, Wednesday morning, Daisy had an idea. She picked up her phone and dialed Cannon.

“Culver,” he said after one ring.

“Hey, Culver,” she said in a serious tone. “It’s Close.”

He chuckled. “Hi, Close.”

“You knew it was me before you answered,” she told him, “so why all military seriousness still?”

“Habit,” he said. “Next time I’ll … I don’t know. How do normal people answer the phone?”

“In the U.S.? Hello usually works.”

“Hello,” he said, trying out the word. “I’ll give it a shot.”

“Wanna go on a date?” She was too excited to wait any longer.

“I thought you’d never ask. Just say when and where.”

“I’m up for an award from the North American Literary Society—”

“What! That’s amazing! I mean, it sounds amazing, why didn’t you mention it like first thing when we met?”

“You mean, like, ‘Hi, I’m Daisy, I’ve been nominated for a semi-major award’?”

“That’s what I would do,” he said.

“I’ll think about it,” she told him. “Anyway, I’m a longshot for the award, but there’s a fancy banquet and all that. What do you think?” The thought of seeing Cannon in a tux on the red carpet almost made Daisy zone off in a little fantasy. Oh wait, no red carpet, but the tux could be a real thing.

“I am so in,” he said. “When is it?”

The excitement in his voice made Daisy feel all energetic and excited for the date.

“No running off? No being distracted?”

“Cross my heart, hope to die,” he said. “Just tell me when it is and what to wear.”

“It’s a week from Saturday.”

“Oh no. Saturday?”

“Yeah, next Saturday night.”

Cannon groaned. “I work Saturday. I’m on a train every Saturday, either northbound or southbound. And even if I’m southbound, the train is delayed more often than not, so there’s no guarantee I could make it after the train ride.”

That’s right. Daisy should have known that, but she still felt totally bummed out after getting her hopes up and picturing him in his fancy tux. And once again she was back to the same question: would he ever put her first in his life?

“Do you ever get days off?” It wasn’t like she was asking him to get it off so they could go see a movie. This was a once-in-a-lifetime event for her.

“No,” he said, “except for the five and a half days I’m not working.”

“You haven’t had a Saturday off since you started working for the Golds?”

Cannon paused. “How’d you know … I guess the info is out there, even though I never told you Pasha’s last name. Anyway, no. The custody arrangement is rock solid, and Mr. ... my employer hand-selected me for the job.”

“No one can cover for you? None of your other brothers?”

“No. Our contract is very clear about that. If I don’t go, Pasha doesn’t go, and then it’s custody apocalypse.”

That sounded bad. Daisy didn’t want to cause any type of apocalypse. “Well, it was worth a shot,” she told him. She knew she had failed to keep her disappointment out of her voice. Actually she hadn’t tried to keep the disappointment from being apparent. 

“Are you free tonight? Tomorrow? Sunday? Monday? Not that I’m desperate or anything, but … well, yeah, I’m dying to see you.”

Daisy understood he had to work, and she could work with his schedule, but every time she gave him a chance, it went perfect for a while then took a nosedive. She couldn’t just keep letting that happen. “How do I know I won’t get dumped halfway through the date?”

Cannon didn’t answer. A veritable eternity passed over about fifteen seconds.

“Cannon? Did I lose you?”

“I’m still here.”

Wow, even after begging to go out with her he couldn’t make a simple promise to complete one single date. Her excitement had transformed into disappointment, and was starting to rise into frustration.

“Let’s take it slow,” she said. “I’ll give you some time to figure out if you want to date me or date your job and your brothers.”

“Daisy—”

“I can take your Friday, Saturday schedule. I don’t expect you to quit your job for me after one date—well, half a date. But I won’t be a back-up option. I can’t hang around on the sidelines just in case you decide you have a little time for me.”

“Daisy, please—”

“I’m not mad, Cannon, and I’m not saying we’re through, but you can’t even commit to one single uninterrupted date, and I am not doormat material.”

“What can I do?” he said pleadingly.

“I’ve told you what I want, what I need from a boyfriend. Just like in my editing work, it’s not my job to tell you how to fix it. Give me a call in a few days if you figure it out.”

With a trembling thumb, she ended the call. Just then tears spilled over and ran down both sides of her face. She was nervous and disappointed, but mostly proud of herself. Doormat might have been a little overstated, but at the moment that was how she felt. Tough as it was, she knew she had to stand her ground now to give them both the best chance at a happily ever after.

 

 

 

 

 

Cannon stared at his screen. Sure enough, she’d hung up on him.

Doormat? Had he really made her feel like a doormat?

He wanted to throw up. Without taking time to consider, he dialed Daisy’s number.

Voicemail. He dialed again, and voicemail again.

For two nights now he’d lost sleep because he knew that he might not have a shot with her if he couldn’t figure out how to balance dating with his responsibilities, but finding out that he had hurt her that badly made him physically ill. What was the purpose of anything in his life if he made the woman he cared about so much feel like a doormat?

Oh man, he really was going to throw up.

Since calling wasn’t working, he tried texting. Daisy, I am so so so sorry I made you feel like that.  I know I have a lot to learn about dating. I’m going to figure this out.  Please give me another chance.

Why couldn’t this be simple? Like a fight. Man against man, strength and preparation and the grace of God deciding the victor.

His phone dinged. Figure it out. Then let me know.

At least that was something.  Too bad Cannon had no idea where to start.

 

Hours after Daisy had hung up on him, Cannon felt a little better. He didn’t have a plan exactly, but he had a next step. As he drove down the familiar I-5 from Los Angeles to San Diego, he used the voice features of his SUV to order roses to be delivered to Daisy’s house. It would have been better to have them delivered to a public place like her job, but since she had a home office, he didn’t have a choice.

He wanted to text, he wanted to call, he wanted to show up on her doorstep, but he still hadn’t figured anything out. Hopefully his next move would give him some idea of how to fix things with her.

Why he had chosen Sutton Smith to talk to about his women problems, he didn’t know. Corbin had a little experience, but he hadn’t come back to Earth from the honeymoon phase yet. None of the other SEALs had any experience with women to speak of, except River who was up a serious creek in regards to some duke’s daughter. As far as Cannon knew, Sutton and River were in the planning stages of some grand rescue in England.

At least Sutton had been married at one point, to Doug’s mother. But that had only lasted long enough for Doug to be born, then it had been Sutton and Doug on their own. Who else did Cannon have to turn to? His years in the military had been enough to split all the close ties with Warsong and Pike and his parents had died years ago from smoking-related cancers.

Traffic was relatively light and he pulled up to Sutton’s place in record time. He loved coming here. Architecture wasn’t Cannon’s strong point, but he’d heard English Tudor thrown around in regards to the humongous mansion with all the peaks in the roof and expansive floors. It featured upgraded everything and sat on a few acres right on an ocean cliff. It was one of the premier properties in Southern California.

Besides, it always felt like coming home. Even though his home as a child was inner city ghetto and nothing like this upscale way of life, it was still home. While Cannon had never been in love with money, or craved the lifestyle of this type of house, it was satisfying to be able to walk through the front doors without knocking and make himself at home. Doug had grown up here, and Cannon could still feel a little bit of him here.

He pulled up behind the twin of his SUV. Probably River’s vehicle. The front of the property was aged red brick in various geometric configurations with half a dozen steps leading to the front door. There was stone accent here and there, mostly on the foundation as if this was a new style of British castle. Cannon pushed open the huge front door and nodded at the security guy sitting in the lobby. In addition to the SEALs in the Warrior Project, Sutton had a whole team of private security guys. Ever since River had started stirring up trouble with that duke back in England, the mansion had been on high alert. Maybe not DEFCON 5, but at least DEFCON 3.

Agatha appeared in the lavish entry way and hurried over to him in her way of taking quick, short steps. “Oh, Cannon, my boy. It’s so good to see ya.”

She was dressed in her usual bright garb. Today it was a purple blouse with loose orange and pink swirled leggings. The loud outfit made her white hair seem like part of the get-up but it was her real hair. Agatha had been taking care of Sutton since he was a child, and seemed to enjoy the chance to mother the SEALs who came through his house.

“Hi, Agather,” he told her, mimicking her accent. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“You boys like to have your fun, but one of these days we’ll have you in jolly ol’ England and we’ll see then who talks funny. Now, can I get you something to eat?”

“No thanks. I need to talk to Sutton. Is he around?” Let her think that they had some important security business to talk about. If she found out he was looking for advice about girls, he’d never hear the end of it.

“I’ll take you back,” said River, coming around the corner into the entryway. A guy Cannon didn’t know trailed in with River.

Agatha said, “I’ll leave you to it, then. Don’t you forget to say cheerio before you leave, Cannon.”

“If you’re near the ice cream counter, I won’t be able to miss you,” he said as she walked away. He clasped hands with River and pulled him in for a one-arm man-hug. Worry and stress were obvious on River’s face. Cannon hadn’t seen him looking so worn-down since their SEAL days.

“You hanging in there?” asked Cannon.

“I guess. What choice do I have? How about you, Barney? How’s the babysitting?”

Cannon laughed. Oh, it was good to have brothers, even in hard times. “Life is good, man. I’m still getting paid the big bucks to ride trains, play Candyland, and watch Disney movies.”

“That sounds perfect for you, choir boy.” River wasn’t smiling but there was a certain timbre to a man’s voice when he was messing with you.

“Yeah, way too plebeian for a silk-stocking aristocrat like you.”

River chuckled. “Hey, this is Steve.”

The new guy stepped up. He had a young-looking face, mid-twenties, with white-blond hair. They shook hands, both gripping a little harder than they had to.

Cannon could recognize a new SEAL that Sutton had taken in to help with the transition to normal life. “What Team were you?”

“The best one,” said Steve. “Team 6.”

Cannon feigned confusion. “They must not have taught you how to count in your training because if you’re talking about the best, you mean 7.”

“A West Coast team?” replied Steve with the same fake surprise. “Surfer dudes and muscle heads? If you think 7 is the best, you must’ve been concussed one time too many.”

“Careful,” said River playfully. “Them’s fighting words around here. The founding Warrior Project guys are all Team 7.”

“Ah,” said Steve, suddenly understanding. “That explains why they brought me in. To fix the place up.”

Cannon and River chuckled. Steve would fit right in around here.

“Welcome aboard,” said Cannon. “If you need anything, I’ve got a good listening ear.”

River said, “He’s a former Navy Chaplain and still our informal therapist, pastor, and conscience. Feel free to confess all your sins. He’ll even give you a sticker that says, Forgiven.

It was so good to be back with the guys, even when they gave him a hard time. He told Steve, “Hopefully someone warned you not to listen to a thing River says. But seriously, I’ll listen if you need to talk.”

“Thanks, brother.” They shook hands and did the man-hug. “I’ll let you guys catch up.” Steve walked out, leaving them alone in the huge entryway.

River spoke in a quiet tone. “Hey, the plan we talked about? The mission in England? It’s looking like a go. Sutton’ll brief you when we get closer, but I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything, man. Unless you want to borrow one of my pistols. Or my dart gun, stun baton, volt shockers, or … well pretty much, you can’t play with my toys.”

Some of the stress on River’s face faded as he smiled. “You perform weddings, right?”

“I’ve done a few.”

“How do you feel about becoming ordained in the U.K.?”

Now that did sound fun. “I’m in. Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there with my stole on.”

“I knew I could count on you.”

“Who am I marrying?” asked Cannon.

With a conspiratorial chuckle, River put an arm around Cannon and led him away while he filled him in on the details.

Even the hallway was something out of a movie set with large wood beams framing it every six feet or so. When they reached the doorway to Sutton’s huge office, River stopped and said, “I’m glad I can count on you, Big Gun.”

“Any time, man.” He’d always been there for the other guys and had never had trouble telling them that before, but now he wondered if he really could be there for them all the time. Life was suddenly complicated. It was what he’d come to talk to Sutton about.

River left and Cannon felt relieved that he was past the small talk and could get to business with Sutton. He walked across the huge room to where Sutton sat at a desk with papers, maps, and house plans spread out over it. The room was the size of Cannon’s apartment and the million-dollar views were worth more than Cannon would make in a lifetime.

“Is all that for River’s top secret mission?”

“Aye,” said Sutton, finally looking up. “We’ve been at it all morning. Good timing, because he needed a break.” Sutton was in his late 40s, and still had the bearing of an admiral, but the body of a frontline Special Ops soldier. He also still had most of his British accent. Cannon always felt like he was talking to a truly experienced James Bond-type when he talked to Sutton.

“I know things are crazy,” said Cannon as he sat in the chair across the desk. “Thanks for taking some time.”

“Everything fine with Miss Gold?”

“Perfect,” said Cannon. “It’s Miss Close I can’t figure out.”

Sutton leaned back in his chair, finally understanding what was so urgent, and apparently amused by it. “She’s the young lady you met on the train.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And why do you think I know the first thing about women?” His eyes went to the desk and one hand absentmindedly covered a photo, but not before Cannon saw that it was that beautiful British Lady who was always on the red carpet. Liz … Gunthry? She was often called the most beautiful woman alive or something like that, but Cannon never paid attention to British royalty or celebrities in general. “Maybe I should get Agatha in here.”

“No!” said Cannon. “Let’s keep this between us men.”

Sutton sat up and studied Cannon. “You’re the one the guys go to when they need some guidance.  You tell them how to fix their problems.”

“I don’t tell them,” said Cannon, and it was true. “They talk about it and figure it out themselves.”

“All you do is listen? A broken telephone box could do that.”

“All right,” said Cannon. “Sometimes I throw out one or two carefully crafted questions and maybe a scripture if I’m feeling pious that day.”

“I know even less about women than I do about American Football, but if you’re fine with me using your technique against you, let’s give her a try.”

 Sutton wasn’t one for long, redundant stories, so Cannon described their relationship as briefly as possible, up to the texts about figuring out his priorities. Sutton tented his fingers and rested them over his jaw. A full minute passed before he said, “You bring this up at an … interesting time, and I can’t help but wonder about the timing.” He paused and looked out the window at the ocean for a bit. Still not looking at Cannon, he said, “I lost the woman I loved because I put something else before her.”

That was news to Cannon. “The Royal Navy? Your career?”

Sutton nodded, still gazing out over the ocean. “I’d trade it all.”

Cannon was too stunned to speak for a while. “Are you telling me—”

“That’s not how it works,” interrupted Sutton. “I’m only supposed to ask short questions, possibly biblical in nature. Not tell you anything. So, isn’t there something about putting off childish things?”

If Sutton didn’t know there was, he wouldn’t have asked. “It’s in Corinthians,” said Cannon. “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Sutton nodded. “Are you ready to be a man?”

“What? Because I’m doing my duty and being loyal to my fellow SEALs?”

Sutton’s eyebrows rose again, as if Cannon had answered his own question, but he still had no idea what Sutton was trying to tell him.

Since Sutton wasn’t going to explain, Cannon said, “I know the British Royal Navy isn’t quite the SEALs, but you know we are considered men among boys wherever we go. A SEAL is the pinnacle of manliness. Nothing against Her Majesty’s fleet or its sailors, but when I gave up being a Navy Chaplain to become a Navy SEAL, that’s when I became a man.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” said Cannon confidently. “That’s when I put off childish things.” No child could go through the training he’d received. No child could experience what Cannon and the others went through in the Philippines, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan.

Sutton just nodded slightly and bored into Cannon with his eyes. Is this how the other guys saw Cannon when he tried to listen to their problems and guide them to answers? Because if it was, Cannon needed a new hobby.

Either way, Sutton was telling him to be a man. But how did that help him know how to proceed with Daisy when the manly thing to do was to have his brother’s backs and worry about other people’s security before he worried about what he wanted, like spending time with Daisy?

Oh, this was such a tough principle to crack. Cannon asked, “Why would God make it so hard to chose between making myself and Daisy happy, and doing my duty as a loyal friend and brother?”

“Why would he make it easy?” exclaimed Sutton. “Who was the bloke in the Bible who had to work a dozen years to get his wife.”

“Jacob,” said Cannon. “Fourteen years.” Cannon would rather go through Hell Week again rather than wait fourteen years for Daisy.

“What about when Eve bit the apple? Did Adam have an easy decision? Blimey, he had to choose between his wife and God.”

“So that’s all you have for me? It won’t be easy?”

Sutton went on to say, “I’m no pastor, but I’ve had my wrestles with God over the years, and not once has it been easy.” He glanced down to where that photo was hidden and muttered, “And not once have I won when it really mattered.”

Was that a gleam of tears in Sutton’s eyes? Impossible. The man didn’t know the meaning of the word cry. As far as Cannon knew, he didn’t have tear glands.

“But do I give up?” Sutton’s question was low and a little bitter.

Of course he didn’t give up, he was Sutton Smith. Quit was another word that wasn’t in his vocabulary.

With a clenched jaw, Sutton’s face rose toward Cannon. An answer was coming. Wisdom was about to be dispensed.

“Are you going to give up, Cannon?”

“Never. I’ve never given up on anything worthy.”

“I believe that,” said Sutton. “None of you men would give up. So my question is, does Miss Close know that?”

“That I’ll never give up? Of course she does. She knows I’m a SEAL, she knows …” What did she know? Why did Cannon think he had any idea what she knew?

“Cannon.” Sutton was staring intensely at Cannon, his blue eyes like icicles. “If you offered to trade me another chance with the woman I loved, I would sign over every one of my possessions before you even finished speaking. Now, how much would you sacrifice for Miss Close?”

“Everything.”

“Everything?” asked Sutton. “So easy for a young man to say that. Not so easy to live it.”

“I would give anything,” objected Cannon. “Everything. I feel like I can’t live without her. I … she …” He didn’t want to go into the darkness of his past and how she helped him focus on the light.

They looked at each other for a minute. What else could Cannon say? What else could he accomplish here?

“Thanks, Sutton.” They hadn’t really decided or discovered anything. Cannon already knew he was crazy about Daisy. Now he needed to go figure out what to do about it.

“I hope the Good Lord gives you more success than he’s given me when it comes to women.”

“Me too,” said Cannon.

“I’ll be in touch,” said Sutton. “Preliminary schedule for River’s mission is next Thursday through Saturday. I will make the arrangements with Mr. Gold if there is a timeline conflict, because we need you on this one.”

Wow, the mission was that important? That reminded Cannon that he had some work to do if he wanted to be ordained in the U.K. by then.

“Cheers,” said Cannon, standing.

“Cheers,” said Sutton. “Heart of a warrior.” He went back to work.

“Heart of a warrior,” muttered Cannon as he walked away. Even that made Cannon remember Daisy’s reaction to his book blurb comment.

So what now? Maybe something would come to mind if he let it incubate.

The house was huge but right in the center of everything was an eight-flavor ice cream counter. Even if Cannon didn’t have great situational awareness of the premises, he’d know the ice cream bar was central because it never took him long to get there. Some of the SEALs loved the indoor lap pool or bowling alley, some of the guys liked the huge grounds where you could run a marathon in about three laps, and they all loved to grab some ropes and climb on the cliff face over the ocean. But of all the amenities of this unreal mansion, Cannon’s favorite was the ice cream counter.

He took a waffle cone from the huge glass jar and started scooping double chocolate malted crunch.

Agatha approached on the far side of the counter and bent her head to look into his eyes. He knew that somehow Agatha would know this hadn’t been a professional visit.

“Did you get the answers you came for, love?”

Cannon stopped scooping and his eyes unfocused for a bit. “I got more questions.”

“Maybe that’s for the best,” she told him. “Maybe you weren’t asking the right questions t’ begin with.”

Cannon finished filling the cone.

What would I give up for Daisy? Does she know I won’t give up on her? Cannon knew he was as ignorant about women as, well, a broken telephone box, but one thing he did know, he would never give up on Daisy.

How do I make her know that?

He wasn’t a quitter. Never had been, never would be. Even during BUD/S, even during Hell Week—

 “Agather, yer a genius, ya are!” He hustled from the room, before she could reach out and swat him.

He had an idea and wanted to give it a try ASAP.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Daisy stared at the words on the computer screen, only seeing lines of gibberish against a white background. The manuscript wasn’t working, but Daisy couldn’t put her finger on the reason why. It wasn’t her job to fix the problem, but she had to be able to point to what wasn’t working. And though she wrangled this one up and down, she couldn’t get to the heart of it.

It was the motivations of the protagonist that just—

A knock came at the door, hard and demanding. Why not ring the doorbell? A delivery? Sometimes UPS and FEDex guys would pound like that then jog back to their truck.

It had only been half a day since the conversation with Cannon. Maybe he was here to make up in person. Hopefully not, because she was in her editor’s clothes—pajama shorts and a tank top—and the only attention her hair had received all day was the scrunchie holding it out of her face.

She peeked through the side light and realized it was nighttime. Flipping on the light, she didn’t see anyone standing there.

Could it be doorbell ditchers? There were kids in her neighborhood but she hadn’t been a target of them before.

Keeping the door chain attached, she cracked the door. Sitting on the center of her welcome mat was a pretty brass bell, but there was no person in sight.  The handle was ornate, almost crown-like and the bowl was plain and polished. A rolled up piece of paper was tied to the base of the handle.

Daisy closed the door, undid the chain, then opened it and picked up the bell. The street in front of her house was still quiet.

Inside, she looked at the bell more closely but nothing else stood out to her. She gave a little twist of her wrist, and was disappointed when the bell remained silent. Turning the bell upside down, she saw that it had no clapper. What good was a bell that you couldn’t ring?

Hoping the note would elaborate, she opened it, and saw her name followed by a couple of block-style paragraphs.

 

Daisy,

A bell hangs on the wall at BUD/S training. When a SEAL candidate decides to quit, he rings the bell and that’s it. He gets a hot cup of coffee, a warm meal, and a long nap, but he’s out. During Hell Week, they bring the bell right down to the beach so you don’t even have to run back to camp. I saw that bell every day of training. So many times I thought about how easy it would be to ring it. But then I thought about what I would lose if I rang it.

 

In my relationship with you, there is no bell. I may struggle, I may fall and do a face plant in the mud, and I may make a fool of myself sitting in the metaphorical surf, shivering in my metaphorical underwear … but I will never ring the bell.  I will never give up. I’ll go without food, sleep, and the comforts of life if I have to for you, but I will never give up. You are my new Team. I could never live with knowing what I would lose.

 

Daisy turned the bell upside down and stared into the empty bowl. No, it wasn’t a bell, not as far as she was concerned. You could ring a bell, but this was unringable. This was a symbol.

Her nearly boyfriend had been so reticent about the details of his SEAL days, but she’d known that it was a tumultuous layer under his happy exterior. And he’d chosen today, when she had pushed him up against the ropes, to open up to her to compare their relationship with the greatest accomplishment of his life. She was his Team.  Did that mean she was his priority? If it didn’t mean that now, she had faith that he’d figure it out.

He flat out said he’d never give up.

At this point in their relationship, she couldn’t ask for much more. It was a huge step and she had to blink happy tears away.

She texted, Thanks. I think you’re figuring it out. She sent the text, knowing that he couldn’t be more than a few blocks away, if that far.

A response arrived. Give me a chance tomorrow night?

Tomorrow would be Thursday. If she didn’t see him then, she’d have to wait three more days.

Sounds fun! What do you have in mind?

A minute later he replied, Karaoke? It would be worth letting you hear me sing to be able to hear your voice. Again.

Yes!

Pick you up at 6. Dinner and singing.

Daisy started waltzing through her house, singing “Unchained Melody.” She was going to hear him sing.

 

 

Daisy pushed her plate with the pizza crusts away and leaned forward on the table, watching Cannon walk up to the short stage at the back of the restaurant.  She’d dared to him go first and he hadn’t hesitated. He wasn’t moving with his normal confidence, but there he was picking up the mic.

The familiar piano music that instantly reminded her of Toy Story started up, and Cannon gave her a wink.

“You got a friend in me,” he sang, smiling like always. His voice wasn’t going to get him to Broadway, but it was so charming and homey. Daisy felt a little stab of jealousy for Pasha, who got to hear him sing every week. There was no goofiness to Cannon’s singing, like the original version of this song, just her singing boyfriend, up on stage in front of the whole world just because she had dared him to go.

It made her feel all warm inside.

When he finished, Daisy whooped and clapped so energetically the rest of the place joined in. He came back and practically collapsed into the chair next to her.

“Not bad for your first time ever singing in public,” she told him, giving him a high five.

“Oh no,” he told her, and she noticed his special amused smile. “I deserve more than a hand slap for going up there.”

Daisy loved that idea, and leaned in so he could kiss her. It was just a peck, but once again, she felt like the only thing in the world as far as he was concerned. This night had started out good and gotten even better.

“I still don’t know how you got me to go up there,” he said, picking up his water and chugging some.

“Look at you all flustered and nervous.” She actually loved seeing him like this. Any time she chose she could think back to how he’d been the manliest man ever in that fight on the beach, so it was kind of fun to see him vulnerable.

Up until the time to sing he’d been so relaxed and yet focused on her and everything had been perfect all evening. Of course, no one could call him because he’d left his phone in the car so he wouldn’t be distracted. As long as that metal band he wore on his wrist didn’t light up, she was pretty sure she’d have him for the rest of the night.

“You want any more food or dessert?” he asked.

“Nah.” The wood-fired pizza was delicious, but she’d had plenty. “I’m good just enjoying the ambiance.” With him being her focused boyfriend, she could just chill almost anywhere and be happy.

“You have to get up there and sing,” he told her. “Come on, that lady’s almost done.”

“Go with me,” she said, expecting him to flat out refuse.

“Duet?”

“Yes!” Was he really going to do it? For her? “Please!”

He shrugged one shoulder. “All right.”

They went up to the DJ as “Don’t Stop Believing” wrapped up and Daisy picked “I Got You, Babe.”

The song started with Daisy singing, and went back and forth. During the chorus they harmonized automatically and somehow his slightly gritty voice blended nicely with her more cultured voice.

Being on stage with him, singing this love song in front of a couple dozen people was a new and exciting experience for her, and she wanted it to last forever. When Cannon sang the line, “I got you to wear my ring,” he gave her a wink that knocked her off balance and made her miss the first few words of her line.

The song ended and they went back to their booth. “Not too bad,” she told him, with a smile.

“With you up there, how could it not be great?” he countered. “You really are amazing.”

“I should be,” she said. “I had voice lessons for ten years.”

“I’m not talking about singing,” he said, focused on her with laser intensity. “Just being with you changes everything in my world. I wish I didn’t have to get on a train tomorrow morning. I wish I could just spend the whole weekend with you.”

Daisy’s whole body tingled, partly from the thrill of sharing that experience with him but mostly because he’d said exactly what she was feeling. This date had been simple and perfect, so far, and if she could get a couple more of those types of dates then she’d really know that he cared enough about her to put her first when they were together.

“You better get some sleep tonight,” she told him, still a little afraid to get too deep into the relationship discussion. “We should go.”

His back straightened almost imperceptibly. “I’m not leaving until I hear you sing. Without me.”

“Fine,” she said, loving how firm he was about it. “But we’ll have to wait a few songs so people don’t get sick of us.”

He put an arm around her and she leaned back against him and got comfortable with her head on his shoulder and her back against his strong chest and abs. She was in no hurry.

After a few songs, an opening came up so she hurried to the front and sang, “Unchained Melody,” thinking the whole time about that first night on the train and their long whispered conversation. As she sang, she couldn’t deny the feeling that she honestly couldn’t help falling in love with him.

When she came back to the booth, he was standing up and clapping, not trying to involve the whole place in the applause, but clapping only for her. He wrapped her up, picked her off her feet as easy as if she was made of feathers, and gave her a delicious kiss that she felt all the way down in her toes.

They left the restaurant and he drove her home and walked her to door. She made a half-hearted invitation to come in, and he turned it down. She didn’t push because she knew he had to leave for the train early in the morning, and also she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea about what exactly she was inviting him to.

But he did kiss her, the best one yet. And as he kissed her she imagined them standing on a rock outcropping at the beach, with waves crashing around them, her and him alone, deeply into the kiss, and savoring every second of it. If she’d had any doubt about his claims of never giving up, she had to believe his kiss.

He left her giddy, wanting more in such a good way.

All night long he had been all hers and it was so perfect. Cannon was definitely figuring it out. No real tests had come, but they would, eventually.

Something was different when she thought about a future with him. In the past whenever she thought of the possibility of being pushed to the side, it stressed her out. The bell without a clapper and the magical date tonight had helped her realize that he was willing to go to lengths and she should too. They both had to make sacrifices for the person they loved. There was a difference between being needy and respecting herself, and Daisy was starting to see the line.

At some point in the future, something would come up and she’d have to let Cannon go, without any resentment or frustration.

The strange thing was … Daisy thought she could do it. She could meet him in the middle, both leaving their starting places so they could be together on new, better ground.

The thought of that future with him had her too energized to sleep, so she pulled up her laptop to keep going with her current edit, but an idea struck her.

Maybe another trip to Seattle was in order. They really could spend the weekend together. They could be together with him putting Pasha and his job first, and Daisy being perfectly fine with it. She pulled up the Amtrak site to find out if there were any open roomettes.

She just couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing him before Sunday, so she texted him, asking if he would mind a tag-along on the train, and promising to let him do his job.

He replied, I’d never turn down the chance to see your beautiful smile.

That was good enough for her.  She booked it without another thought.

 

 

 

 

Chapter

Cannon waited outside of Pasha’s suite for her and Miss Dee to get settled. There was already something different about this trip, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.  The crowd on the platform had been like any other—mostly individuals commuting to Central California, older people preparing for a scenic vacation, and a crowd of other people riding for a dozen different reasons.  After doing the northbound trip for almost a year now, he figured half of the people on the train would go all the way to Seattle.

What was it about the crowd today that made him nervous? Maybe it wasn’t even the crowd. Storm clouds were moving in, and would only get bigger and meaner as they went north.  Rain all through Northern California, then snow all through Oregon and Washington. It rarely changed anything with the train or its schedule, but it did give the upcoming security detail an ominous feel.

Of course, he was ignoring the biggest probability.  Daisy was here. They’d seen her momentarily on the platform and would be meeting her in a few minutes in the Pacific Parlour car. This would be the third time she’d ridden the train with them, but the first one since they started dating.  He had to prove to her that she came first in his life, but how could he do that when Pasha was his one and only priority for the next 36 hours?

Before booking the trip last night, she had texted and asked if he had a problem with it. At the time all he could think was that it meant he could see her and spend time with her.

Now that it was a reality though, he wondered if it had been a mistake because he could not shake this feeling that something was off and he hated the thought that it might be because the woman he’d fallen in love with was on the train. She had promised to let him do his job, so she knew he had to focus on Pasha. Hopefully this trip wouldn’t derail his goal to prove that he would put her first.

The door opened a crack and when Miss Dee saw Cannon standing there, she opened it the rest of the way and Pasha came out. The stairs were always the trickiest part of traversing the cars, and he was glad for a competent counterpart like Miss Dee. He led the way up the stairs, and when they all reached the top, Miss Dee took the lead.

Halfway through the next car, they passed Daisy’s room. Pasha greeted her as enthusiastically as usual, and invited her to go to the parlour car with them. Daisy agreed and asked if she wanted to learn Rummikub, which Pasha quickly agreed to.

Cannon gave her a smile and a wink as she took her place in the middle of the procession with Pasha, and got a lovely smile back from her. As much as he wanted a hug and a kiss, he was glad she was fine without it.

He took his attention back to his focus on situational awareness.

Lately, every trip started with a walkthrough of the train, like the one that Pasha had found Daisy with the first time.  The security aspect had worried Cannon at first, but he had discussed it with Rasmus Gold and Sutton and agreed that it was okay. Cannon used it as a chance to get eyes on the entire train and scope out any possible threats.

Today was definitely different. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. It had to be because his … girlfriend was on the train with them. Was girlfriend the right word? As far as he was concerned it was. But he didn’t have time to think about that. Later, when everyone except for him was sleeping, he could think about it all he wanted. Daisy would probably visit him and they could discuss it together.

The sweep of the train was clear, except for that pesky malaise in the bottom of his gut, but until he could put a name to it—besides ‘Daisy’—he’d just be vigilant, like normal. That was horrible. He felt bad for wondering if the weird feelings were because of her presence.

They hung out in the parlour car for an hour, with Cannon sitting to the side while Daisy interacted with Pasha and, to a lesser degree, Miss Dee. Lightning lit the clouds and rain pelted the windows. The storm could very well be the cause of his discomfort.

They split up when Pasha went back to her suite for her lessons. They met up again for dinner, then after Pasha put her PJs on, they headed to the theater car. It only took Cannon about ten guesses to figure out they were watching The Incredibles. One of these trips she’d realize he was being obtuse on purpose, and the game would end.

Who was Cannon kidding; she probably knew already and kept playing along for his sake.

In the theater room, Pasha and Miss Dee took their normal seats up front while Cannon took his position in the back of the car. Daisy paused, unsure for a minute.  With a questioning look, she motioned to the front, asking if that’s where Cannon wanted her to go.

He nodded, reluctantly, and she nodded back understanding, shrugging like, what are ya gonna do? Cannon was pretty sure they were both rethinking whether it had been a good idea to spend this time together. Still, he loved being able to see her pretty face throughout the day.

The Blu-ray player wouldn’t read the disc, so they had to wait for Felix to round up a replacement.  Daisy and Pasha chatted in their funny, intelligent way. Daisy was so beautiful and carefree, she just made the world a better place wherever she went. Cannon loved watching this woman he loved interact with this little girl who he loved like his own daughter. After this trip, he’d do whatever he could to make sure he never had to choose between the two.

The movie eventually started, and it was one of the longer animated movies on the rotation. By the time they finished the movie and said goodnight, it was after eleven. Miss Dee got Pasha all ready for bed, then let him know Pasha was ready for him. Other than when he went in to sweep the room at the beginning of the each trip, it was the only time he went into the suite.

“Keep an eye out,” he told Miss Dee as he walked past, and sat on the side of Pasha’s bunk. Even though he felt like he knew the cause of the nerves, he was still being extra vigilant. He was tempted to forego the goodnight song so he could keep watch, but he was just being silly.

Miss Dee nodded and kept the door cracked, one eye down the hallway, and one hand under the flap of her coat where she kept her .357. Either she had picked up on a weird vibe from the train, or had figured out that Cannon had.

“Whose turn to pick the song?” asked Cannon, tightening the burrito wrap of Pasha’s blankets.

“Oh Cannon. Did you forget again? When I go to Daddy’s, you pick. When I go to Mommy’s, I get to pick.”

“Oh good, because I want to sing ‘You Got a Friend in Me’.”

Pasha smiled. “I love that one.”

Cannon sang it, the same song he’d sung the night before. He’d been as nervous as a new guy showing up for his first day with his SEAL platoon last night, but he’d tried not to show it. It paid off when Daisy had whooped and gotten the whole place to clap for him.

When he finished singing, Pasha gave him that cute little, half-toothless smile. “I’d clap, but I don’t wanna mess up my burrito blankets.”

“Goodnight, Violet,” he told her.

“Goodnight, Mr. Incredible.”

Miss Dee pulled the door open for him.

“Restroom,” he muttered as he walked passed.  They didn’t need a lot of words to communicate simple things like that.  He grabbed his toothbrush, then went to the restroom, knowing that Miss Dee would have her hand on the butt of her gun and a shoulder against the door until Cannon came back and let her know that he was back on duty.

In the tiny bathroom he put toothpaste on the toothbrush and splashed some water on it. As he lifted the brush to his mouth, he felt or … sensed something from outside.

Rain? Thunder?

No, those were footsteps, and not just from a single person.

Cannon dropped his toothbrush and drew his Glock. With his gun pointed down he opened the bathroom door. There were armed men in the hallway. As he raised his gun, someone behind the door kicked it shut, catching his wrist in between the door and the door jamb. The pressure of the door deadened the nerves in his hand, making his fingers release the gun even though he’d been gripping it tightly. He pulled his hand back, but the gun fell to the floor outside.

The door slammed all the way shut and he saw it shudder under the weight of a man’s shoulder.

Cannon took inventory of what he’d seen before the door closed. One, two, three, four, five … six men in the hallway, at least three of them with pistols, and probably all six. All of the guns he’d seen had silencers on them. There was also at least one more man and probably two more behind the door towards Pasha’s suite. This was a coordinated and timed attack. Miss Dee would have heard the door slam and tucked Pasha away in her safe corner by now.

If Cannon could take down six of these guys, Miss Dee should be able to handle the other two. Anyone who tried to enter her room without knocking would get a bullet in the chest.

Now Cannon just had to figure out how to stop six guys with only one gun and five bullets. Even if he had more ammo on him, he couldn’t start shooting willy-nilly. With such thin walls and doors on this train, hitting innocent passengers was a real possibility.

“Oy,” said a man from the other side of the thin bathroom door.

Cannon considered kicking the door open and taking out the man, but he decided to hold off and look for a better plan.

“What do you want?”

“It’s not what I want, bodyguard, it’s what I’m going to do.”

Whatever this guy’s plan was, he was confident in it. “I can’t hear you,” said Cannon. “Crack the door.” He turned off the bathroom light, but a night light still partially illuminated the tiny room.

After a few seconds, the door did crack open, giving Cannon the narrow view into the hallway he was looking for. He could see three of the men he knew were there. Out of their view, Cannon pulled his back-up gun, a five-shot revolver, from his ankle holster.

“You don’t tell me what to do,” grunted the man from behind the door. “Now listen good if you want the little princess to make it off this train alive.” The man was about four inches shorter than Cannon, based on where the voice came from. “In ten minutes this train will stop. The princess and the nanny will get off with me, my men, and your cell phone.  You and Bruce and Bruce are going to stay behind. They’ll keep you company for the next few hours to keep you from making any unauthorized phone calls.”

Cannon’s blood was boiling and it was all he could do to keep from reaching around the door and breaking this man’s neck. No one was going anywhere with Pasha, and no one was going to touch her. Not today, not ever. He was just glad Daisy was far away on another car instead of there with them.

Cannon dug his stun rod out of his pocket with his free hand while he talked. He growled in a voice he knew would carry to every man in the hallway, “I will protect her at any cost, and if you are still out there when I come out, you will pay that cost, not me.” Cannon’s breathing was fast, and he was in combat mode. “Each and every one of your men better be ready to meet your Maker, because this door will open in ten seconds, and I’m coming out to send you and them to hell.”

  “That’s a tough speech for a man who lost his gun, but this isn’t a movie. You’re trapped and unarmed and outmanned. Now put your hands out slowly, and everyone can get off this train alive.”

“Ten,” said Cannon. “Nine.” He had no intention of making it to zero. “Eight.” At six he would act, while they were still getting ready for him. “Seven.”

He heard steps on the staircase. In a split second, conflicting emotions rose: worry for the innocent person about to walk into a deadly standoff, but also gratitude for a minor distraction. But, hold on. He knew that gait.

No no no! Why right now?

This was the Philippines all over again, but instead of Doug running into the line of fire, it was someone he cared about even more, and she didn’t even know about the ambush she was running in to. Cannon had to think fast and act decisively. 

No, he just had to get her clear.

“Daisy! Run!”

Her steps halted immediately, but through the crack, he saw two men dash to the staircase. A short scuffle ensued, and he heard someone being dragged down the stairs. Daisy was trying to call out, but her voice was muffled.

“Looky here,” said the man behind the door, opening the door a few more inches.

Daisy stood there, no longer struggling, with two guns pointed at her head. Cannon controlled his breathing and tried to look at the mission as he would if we were still a SEAL. He had two objectives, two people to protect, but they were in opposite directions and one of them had already been captured.

The man who Cannon still hadn’t seen said, “Thanks for coming, Daisy. This simplifies things.” He tapped on the door with a knuckle. “Oy. Bruce and Bruce are going to take your little lovely back to their room. If you don’t cooperate three things are going to happen. You’ll die, the princess will still come with us, and there will be no one to make sure Bruce and Bruce behave up there with your lady. Come out now, with your hands up, and you can go with them to make sure things stay civil. It’s your decision. How much do you care about these two little ladies?”

Hostage situation. Where was Blayze when he needed him? What would Blayze do in this situation?

He would simplify. He would separate the at-risk parties if possible. Cannon didn’t believe for a second that if he gave up, he and Daisy would be safe. Pasha for sure wouldn’t be safe.  If he did give up and go peacefully, there would be a chance to protect Daisy, but that would mean abandoning Pasha, who had to be his number one priority right now.  Would Daisy understand? Had he made his duty clear?

Even if she did understand, could he really do it? Could he really leave Daisy to the fate of the Bruces?

The rules of engagement were clear in his situation, but what about his operational priorities.

Daisy spoke up. “Remember who’s number one today.”

An ape of a man, who Cannon had to assume was a Bruce, slapped a hand over her mouth. Then he and a short man scooped her up and looked at the man behind the door.

Remember who’s number one …

Cannon and Daisy had had that conversation and she said she wanted to be number one in his book. She needed to be first. But that word that she’d thrown on the end there – today.

Daisy was talking about Pasha. She wanted him to protect Pasha.

That was good enough for Cannon.

Oh, bless you, Daisy, you brilliant, caring, understanding woman, you.

Now if he could just clear Daisy from this area he could deal with each situation individually.

Cannon told the man on the other side of the door, “This is your last chance. Walk away now or pay the price.”

“Get her out of here!” said the man.

Cannon saw Daisy being yanked up the stairs as the bathroom door slammed shut.

Hopefully that helped the situation instead of making it worse. Cannon had never been in such a tight spot, but he wasn’t going down without a fight.

 

 

-------------------------------------

 

Was Cannon okay? Was Pasha? Were any of them going to survive this? Daisy sat crammed into Bruce and Bruce’s roomette. This was really happening. Bad guys and guns and she didn’t want to think of what else. In a few minutes they’d be at the train station and she had no idea what would happen then. She was scared, more scared than she’d ever been. The two guys had been talking to each other; nasty, filthy things they would do to her if they got the chance. She thought she might vomit at any second.

Right after Bruce and Bruce had dragged her away, she’d heard gunshots! A few really loud ones, and dozens of quiet ones that she assumed came from guns like the ones with silencers that the two Bruces had pointed at her.

“Y-you don’t have to keep your fingers on the t-triggers like that,” she told them, barely able to speak. She was definitely not James Bond girlfriend material. She had done enough research in her editing of action scenes to know that a sharp bump of the train or a random loud noise could cause them to accidentally fire the weapons.  “Police shoot people all the time by doing that.”

They looked at each other, and the little one said, “Can’t have her dead if we’re going to have some fun with her later.”

The thought made Daisy feel dirty, and sick to her stomach again, but at least they put their fingers on the outside of the trigger guard. That comment had been mild compared to some of their other statements. Try as she might, she couldn’t unhear their filthy speech.

Little Bruce checked his phone again. Probably waiting for confirmation of what they were supposed to do with her.

Was Cannon okay? Was Pasha? Daisy hoped he’d gotten the message she was trying to send and had somehow tried to protect Pasha instead of some foolish rescue attempt of Daisy. If anything happened to her little sister, Daisy would never forgive herself.  Coming on the train again with them hadn’t been the best idea. Being around Cannon was good any time, and not having the hope or expectation that he would put her first made it fun even when he was all serious and on duty. But he had a job to do and just by being here, she made that hard for him. She’d never expected anything like this though.

There were a lot of men down there, and a lot of guns, and from what she could see they had Cannon cornered.  There was barely room in those bathrooms to turn around, much less try to fight or defend yourself.

And that had been a lot of gunshots. Daisy couldn’t think of any way someone could avoid that many gunshots in the small bathroom or even in the narrow hallways of the train.

Tears formed in her eyes and trickled out the edges. She’d never been in love like this before, and now she’d lost him.

Big Bruce’s phone chirped from inside his jeans pocket. He looked at Little Bruce, then started digging it out, which wasn’t easy in the tight quarters. She was glad he’d taken his finger off the trigger with all the maneuvering he was attempting.

When he finally retrieved it, his face scrunched up, making him look like a confused monkey. “From the boss,” he said to the other Bruce turning the phone.

Daisy was dying to see what the text said.

“Why is he texting you?” Little Bruce ripped the phone away and muttered, “Alive?”

What did that mean? Who was alive? Obviously their boss was or he couldn’t be texting them.

Daisy considered lashing out while they were distracted. Would well-placed kicks to the groin give her enough time to run? Or could she grab a gun away? And if she did, could she really shoot someone?

Yes, in the case of these two pieces of filth, she thought she could. Actually getting a gun away was the part of the plan she doubted she could do.

Big Bruce said, “He must want me to be in charge now. So, let’s, uh, we should …” He scratched his temple with the tip of his silencer. “What should we do?”

Little Bruce leaned forward. They both smelled like cigarette smoke and old sweat. “Get her back to the alpha car,” said Little Bruce. He waved his gun at Daisy. “Up, hot stuff.”

“Is … is Cannon alive?” she asked, not budging.

Little Bruce sneered. “No. So sorry, but your boyfriend decided to play the hero.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Daisy with a tremble in her bottom lip.

“We can make you,” he said, raising the gun to her face.

“Bu-ut, your boss wants me alive.” Maybe that’s what the text had said. It was worth a shot.

Uncertainty flashed across his face, but he covered it quickly. “No, he said that if you come nicely, the princess will stay alive.”

“That’s a lie.” If Cannon really was … dead, then Daisy was in even more trouble than before. She had to try to be smart about this, and brave.

“If you don’t want to come nicely, I can shoot both of your feet and give Bruce a reason to carry you.” His sneering smile turned cruel. “Of if you don’t want to come, I can gag you and just leave you alone in here with big, cuddly Bruce for a while.”

Big Bruce’s eyes went wide and he licked his lips.

Tears were welling in her eyes and bile was rising in her throat. “Fine, I’ll go. “

“Don’t try anything,” said Little Bruce. “Because now, my finger is on the trigger.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

----------------------------------------

Please, Lord, let me be a weapon in your hand, so I can protect those in my care against men with evil intent, said Cannon in a silent prayer.

Daisy was gone. Safely out of the fighting zone for the moment. It was time for action.

The man on the other side of the bathroom door yelled, “You just made a big mis—”

Cannon put a bullet through the door where the man’s face was and followed with two in the chest, shutting him up immediately. The three shots reverberated through the bathroom like, well, cannon shots. He jumped up onto the counter, with one foot in the sink, smashed the nightlight, and conformed his body to the mirror and ceiling. As he had expected, bullets like a hailstorm poured through the thin door and out the wall of the train. They were all suppressed, sounding like popcorn going off on hot grease. If he had been standing on the floor, he’d have taken twenty wounds or more.

The barrage lasted a few seconds, and Cannon felt a sharp jolt pass through his calf, but he didn’t feel any pain. Not yet anyway. When the shooting stopped, Cannon stayed put. He had an idea of how these men would operate and he knew they couldn’t go for Pasha until they were confident Cannon was out of the way.

Seconds passed like hours, but this was not Cannon’s first fire fight and he waited … waited … waited. Shadows shifted in the hallway, changing the faint light patterns that came through the door.

Wait for it, he calmly told himself.

A second onslaught of bullets came, not as heavy as the first, but just as deadly if he’d been standing in the wrong spot. With this volley, they had shot high and low. Not quite high enough to hit him, but the door was Swiss cheese.

When that stream of bullets ended, Cannon heard someone whisper, “Check it.”

The outline of a face appeared and Cannon shot without hesitation and without remorse. These men were as bad as the cowardly men in Iraq who tortured and killed women and children.

Immediately after shooting, Cannon dropped to the floor and barreled through the door. He collided with one man, sending him off balance. Cannon whipped the stun rod out and jabbed it in the direction of Pasha’s door without even looking. Sure enough, it made impact with someone who took the jolt of the stun rod full in the chest.

As bullets started flying down the hall from the other direction, Cannon grabbed the man he’d collided with and turned him to use him as a shield. His companions filled the man with bullets, some of which passed through and struck Cannon. The shield’s legs went out and Cannon dropped to his knees behind the corpse.

“Now, Miss Dee!” With his last bullet, Cannon took out the nearest guy from a kneeling position.

Behind him, he heard the door to the suite fly open and two quick shots boomed out as Miss Dee shot over Cannon’s head, knocking the last man off his feet. They’d arranged in the past that if it ever came to a shootout, Cannon would shoot low, since he’d most likely be in the line of fire, and Miss Dee would shoot high.

“Cover him,” ordered Cannon, pointing to the one he’d dropped with the stun rod. She dropped to one knee to reduce her profile, and Cannon rushed forward, needing to be sure all of the men were down. He covered the thirty feet of hallway in no time, and confirmed that there were no more shooters.

On the way back, he checked each man to make sure that they were really down, and not playing possum.

“Pasha?” asked Cannon when he reached Miss Dee.

“She’s fine.”

“Are you okay?”

“I am,” said Miss Dee. “But you’re shot.”

“I know.” Looking down at his calf made the pain finally register.

“Here too,” said Miss Dee, pointing at his right shoulder and the left side of his abdomen. “I’ll have paramedics meet us at the train station in Sacramento. Police also.”

“There are two more men,” said Cannon. “I have to get to them before we stop in Sacramento.” Leaving Pasha felt like leaving a man behind in combat, but he’d done what he could here. If Bruce and Bruce didn’t see their companions get off the train in Sacramento, they would most likely kill Daisy and exit the train quietly, expecting her to not be discovered until Seattle.

Miss Dee didn’t look convinced. He considered making up an excuse about not being able to rest until all of their attackers were dealt with, but it came down to needing to rescue Daisy.

“I’m going,” he told her, then turned to the guy on the ground. “Where are they? Where did Bruce and Bruce take her?”

The guy was wide-eyed, laying on his side, hands up in surrender.

“I don’t have a lot of time,” said Cannon. “But I have a lot of ideas how to make you talk.”

The man glanced up the hallway at the bodies. “Room six on the next car.”

Cannon popped into his room and grabbed a set of handcuffs from his bag. As he slapped them on the prisoner, he said, “If you’re lying, I’ll make you sorry.” There was only one good shot at a rescue; Cannon needed good intel.

“I’m not lying. I swear.”

Cannon looked at Miss Dee. “I’ll send Felix down to watch this guy. When you see Felix, close the door and don’t open it for anyone but me.”

Miss Dee’s mouth was pinched. “Mr. Gold will not be pleased if you leave.”

There was no question what Cannon had to do, and he didn’t care right now about Mr. Gold. He grabbed a few more gadgets from his room.

“Keep her safe,” said Cannon, turning to the stairwell. He climbed cautiously, watching for any more surprises. At the top of stairs, he found a cautious Felix, standing by, but staying clear. “Pasha and Miss Dee are fine, but there are some dead men down there. I need you to keep an eye on one man in handcuffs in the aisle and also alert Miss Dee if anyone else approaches. But first, call Gustav. Have him meet me right here.”

 

 

 

---------------------------------

 

The barrel of the gun in Daisy’s back felt like a dagger that was about to puncture her spine. Daisy was so terrified she could barely stand.

Before heading back to the alpha car, as one of the Bruce’s had called it, the three of them got carefully arranged with Big Bruce in the front, then Daisy, followed by Little Bruce with his gun digging into her back.

That trigger finger made her nervous. Her armpits were working overtime, sweating with every bounce, jerk, and rumble of the train. One of Camille Jackson’s novels dealt with a concept called bimanual synkinesis. It’s what she had mentioned to the Bruces in their roomette. When one hand makes a movement, the other hand often mirrors it subconsciously.

Never did she think she’d use that obscure knowledge, and never with her on the barrel end of a gun.

The storm raged outside, thunder and rain. Still, after the commotion in the front car, she expected people sticking their heads out, concealed carry people coming out of the woodwork, and maybe an overhead announcement to duck and cover. The thunder and the mechanical noises and late hour explained the lack of alarm in this car, but people in the front car had to have heard the gunshots, at least the ones that weren’t suppressed. And even if they mistook those for sounds from the engine, it would still alarm people, right?

Daisy considered calling out for help, or trying to squirm away from Little Bruce and duck into a bedroom. But not only did she not know which ones were locked and which were unlocked, she would probably just be endangering an innocent stranger if she did that.

Someone was down at the end of the car by the stairs, but she couldn’t make out who it was. Little Bruce had told Big Bruce to move at a slow pace, to make it easier to stick together. As she got closer, Daisy saw that it was Gustav, the dining car host! Maybe she could make eye contact with him and alert him that something was wrong without causing a huge scene. They had to have hostage protocols in the train system, right?

As they approached, Daisy stared daggers and called out mentally to Gustav, but he was super intent on whatever he was doing with the coffee machine.  He didn’t even notice them coming. The most they would get out of him would be a grunt and a nod.

Her one chance of rescue was about to pass.

When Big Bruce was about three steps from Gustav, Daisy noticed a door next to her that was open. The curtains were drawn, and just as she stepped past they parted, and a hand holding something metal came down right behind her back. It hit Little Bruce’s arm with a crack and she heard his gun clatter to the floor.

Daisy screamed in reflex. The jolt made her jump and she still kind of wondered if she’d been shot and just hadn’t felt it yet.

Cannon stepped out of the roomette and grabbed Little Bruce around the neck. Daisy had to pinch herself twice to make sure she hadn’t gone off in some rescue fantasy, but this was really happening! Cannon bent and twisted himself, then Little Bruce rose up off the ground a foot, only to come down with accelerated force, face-first into Cannon’s shoulder.  Little Bruce fell to the floor unconscious.

Daisy swiveled her head and saw Big Bruce starting to turn toward her. Gustav shot him in the side of the face with a Taser and for good measure jabbed another stun device into his neck. The big guy shook like Jell-O in an earthquake.

Cannon darted past Daisy and guided Big Bruce to the ground, face down with his arms behind his back. In about one second, he had Big Bruce in handcuffs.

Daisy was glued in place, thinking that maybe everything was fine now, but still not comprehending how it had happened.

Cannon stood from slapping another set of cuffs on Little Bruce then took both of Daisy’s arms in his.

Automatically, she muttered, “Snicker-snack.”

Cannon’s eyebrows went up, searching her face as if she’d gone mad. “Did they hurt you, Daisy?”

She searched for the words, still unsure. “Um, no.” The world was starting to make sense. He had done it. He had rescued her. Bruce and Bruce were in handcuffs on the ground and they couldn’t do anything to her now. Daisy burrowed in his chest and wrapped her arms tight around him, still trembling like a leaf in the wind.

He put his arms around her, but she could feel his neck swiveling, still keeping an eye on the scene.

“What was that?” she asked. “Who …?”

“They wanted to kidnap Pasha,” said Cannon. “The police or FBI will have to investigate.”

“Pasha! Is she okay?” Her expression grew frantic as she looked toward Pasha’s car.

“She’s fine.” He placed his palm on her cheek and she leaned into it.

“You saved me,” she said, gratitude and love for him causing her eyes to fill with tears again.

“Daisy, I’m so sorry I let them take you.”

“You did the right thing,” she sniffled.

He didn’t seem to hear her and kept explaining. “I know you want to be first in my book and under any other circumstances, I would—” He paused and looked at her with a perplexed expression on his face. “What did you say?”

She had to lean back a bit to look up into his face, but still craved the safety of his arms and wanted them tighter around her again. “I’m glad you stayed to protect Pasha.”

“You are?”

Daisy nodded, smiling at his puzzlement. Then with a sigh she said, “I’m sorry it was such a hard decision for you.”

“So you did mean for me to stay? That’s what your code was?”

“One hundred percent. I don’t want a guy who doesn’t believe in duty or loyalty. Or one who would put my safety in front of that of a child.”

He pulled her back in tight and just squeezed her for a second.

She asked, “How’d you know we’d be coming right now and they wouldn’t shoot me?”

He pulled a cell phone out of his pants pocket. “I told them I needed you alive at any cost. And I knew if I could catch him on the wrist, he’d drop the gun. It’s what happened to me with the bathroom door.”

Cannon held her out a bit so they could see each other’s faces. “You are the most important thing to me, Daisy. Two days a week I work, that’s all.”

“And I get you the other five days of the week?” she asked.

“You get all of me,” he said eagerly. “I realized during all this … I love you, Daisy. More than I can say.”

“I love you too,” she said, goose bumps rising up and down her arms.

They smiled at each other and she knew that this man who had put his life on the line for her, for Pasha, for anyone who was defenseless, was the best man alive. He didn’t just throw around words like honor and duty and love of God—he lived it. And she, Daisy Mae Close, was the one he loved, the one he wanted to be with. It was more perfect than any fantasy she could come up with.

 Cannon said, “We need to get back to the front car, but first …” he leaned in and kissed her. Daisy kissed back hungrily. This man had come for her, had risked his life to rescue her. The power and passion of the kiss told her that he’d been every bit as scared as she had been. When he deepened the kiss, she rose to meet him, giving every bit as much as taking.

The kiss was too short, but she knew they had to go. And she planned on many more encounters like that, on her time, with her real boyfriend, when she was all his.

As she lowered from him, she noticed her hand was wet, and when she looked closer, she saw it was blood.

“You’re hurt!”

“Just a little gun shot. Nothing life-threatening.”

“Little gun shot!” What was he talking about? “Where?”

“Shoulder and calf. Oh, and a graze on my bicep. And one on my side.”

“What? You need to lie down! Should I tie a tourniquet? Why are you acting like this is no big deal?”

Cannon chuckled. “One question at a time, and wait until we get back to the other car. I went through worse than this on a daily basis in BUD/S training.”

Daisy couldn’t believe it.  Maybe he was messing with her.  If he’d really been shot he wouldn’t be playing it off like this, would he?

He took her by the hand and turned toward Gustav.

“I can’t thank you enough,” said Cannon.

“I live to serve,” said Gustav with a little bow. “It was worth it to get to play with your toys.”

“Will you make that announcement and keep an eye on these two?” asked Cannon.

“Right away, boss.”

As Cannon and Daisy made their way toward the lead car—Cannon limping because he’d been shot!— she heard Gustav’s announcement.

Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for disturbing you, but we will have an extended stop in Sacramento. If there are any law enforcement passengers, or doctors or paramedics, please come to the front car if you are willing to assist us.

Well, that would freak people out. But given the choice between knowing what kind of violence had transpired versus being in the dark, the people with limited knowledge were better off.

Either way, Daisy had nothing to worry about. Her real boyfriend had made the right choice and protected Pasha. He had somehow survived about a million gunshots, even though he didn’t seem to notice the ones that had hit him—what did she expect from a former SEAL?—and she was safe and back with him.

Once again, Daisy gave herself a pinch but nothing changed. Somehow her real life had become even more wonderful than her fantasy life.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter

Saturday night, eight days after the train incident, Cannon pulled up to Daisy’s house and climbed out of his SUV. After two days in England, he couldn’t wait to see her.

She didn’t even let him make it to the door but busted through it as he was walking up the steps and leaped into his arms. Her blonde hair covered his face, and he breathed in deeply her clean, yummy smell.

“I missed you,” he said, leaning back to see her beautiful, carefree face. Being with his buddies, pulling off an incredible mission, and performing a wedding on foreign soil had been extremely satisfying, but nothing compared with this woman who embodied everything good in the world, everything that made life worth living for him.

“You smell like an airplane,” said Daisy playfully.

“See if I taste like one.” He kissed her, even as she laughed, but she quickly returned the kiss. Oh, it was good to be back in the U.S. of A. It might have been his imagination, but Daisy always seemed to be smiling when he kissed her? Was it the natural shape of her lips, or was it just how he felt when he was around her, like all of the darkness he’d experienced was inert. The world was a bright place. Everything was going to be great.

“Mm,” she said, licking her lips. “Definitely not airplane. Thanks for coming straight here. How are your massive injuries?”

“My mere flesh wounds? Healing nicely. I barely notice them.”

It was obvious by her expression that she didn’t believe him. “And your jetlag?”

“Nothing compared with being awake on the train for 36 hours every week.”

 “Come inside,” she said, pulling him up the walk. “Did you find out anything about the train stuff?”

“The FBI is investigating still. They think it was an attempt to get a huge ransom.” The rest of the topic would pull some of the joy out of his world, but luckily Daisy was here to keep him from feeling it. “I talked to Rasmus in the car on the way here.”

She must have sensed his disappointment because she turned to him with a frown once they were inside. “There’s more?”

“Rasmus and his ex have decided that as much as Pasha loves train trips, it’s not a reasonable mode of travel for her any longer. Sutton and I advised them of the same right after the incident, so it’s partially our fault.”

He was going to miss those long trips with that other little bright spot in his life. Why was he getting emotional about it? He’d still see her.

Cannon grunted away the ball in his throat and said, “She’ll be flying on daddy’s private jet back and forth between California and Washington from now on.”

“Oh, Cannon, I’m sorry.” She put a hand on his injured shoulder and he didn’t flinch. By not reacting when she touched his wounds, it kept her guessing, trying to remember which arm and which leg had been injured.

“He still wants me to provide security.” Miss Dee had been wrong about Rasmus not being happy. He was bowled over with emotion when he heard about the overwhelming odds against his little girl, said Cannon was obviously a superhero of some sort, and had told everyone involved that Cannon had handled the situation exactly right.

“That’s wonderful!” said Daisy.

“Yeah. He was extremely grateful that everything turned out so well for the good guys on the train.”

Daisy looked at her hand on his shoulder and slowly lifted it as she looked up to study his face. For a while they just looked at each other, and again Cannon knew she was all he needed in the world.

“This is the hurt shoulder, isn’t it? Why do you have to stand there and suffer in silence?”  She bent and pulled back his sport coat and kissed his shoulder, making electricity shoot up his spine. “Why don’t you ever tell me?”

Cannon chuckled. “And risk having you touch me less? No way.”

She gave him a seductive look, with a little rise of her eyebrows and said, “Maybe I’d touch you more.”

Cannon’s mouth went dry and he felt himself blush hard. 

That made her smile. “Come over here and talk to me while I finish getting ready.” She went into the bathroom and started putting some makeup on. “Same work schedule? Friday and Saturday?”

Cannon leaned against the wall in the hallway. “No, just Friday morning.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her the next part. It was hard to explain his reasoning to someone who didn’t understand right from the start. He decided to give it a try. “Rasmus wanted to give me a big reward for … for doing my job. I say big reward, and for me it is big, but for him it’s chump change. A quarter mill.”

Daisy’s eyebrows went up in disbelief and her makeup stick froze halfway to her face.

Cannon went on. “I turned him down. But he was super insistent.”

“That’s really nice of him,” said Daisy, putting half of her attention back on the mirror. She picked up some kind of pinching iron thing and started flattening her hair.

“He gave Gustav and Felix a reward also. He said something about matching their annual salary.”

“Wow. That says a lot about how much he cares about his daughter.” She sprayed something in her hair and then ironed it again. “Especially since she’s not even riding the train any longer.”

“I’m not taking the money,” said Cannon. She was going to think he was crazy. She might even try to convince him to change his mind. “The thought of it makes me feel like a sell-out.”

“That is so …” She put the hair implement down and walked over to him and locked eyes with him again. “So … like you.”

Already on the defensive, he wasn’t sure how to take that, since everyone else he knew would be making fun of him for it.

She was smiling up at him. “How lucky am I to have the only real boyfriend in the world who would turn down that much money strictly on principle?” She kissed him tenderly, then went back to her hair routine.

Well, that answered that. How lucky was he to have someone who would let that much money go without trying to convince him to reconsider? “Rasmus kept insisting, so I came up with an idea.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued again.

“I’m going to start a ministry.” He hadn’t told anyone yet, and saying it out loud made him start sweating. “He’s going to donate the two hundred and fifty grand as soon as I get it set up.” The nagging doubt struck up again and he looked down at the floor. Who was he—a soldier, a killer—to claim to be a worthy servant of the Lord? Yeah, he’d counseled other soldiers, greeted churchgoers at the door, led the occasional Bible study, helped the youth in the church with the some fundraisers, and done some custodial work, but all those things could be done despite the blood on his hands. This was a whole new level of taking authority he wasn’t sure he deserved.

Daisy appeared in his view, peeking up into his posture. “Hey, where’s that patented Cannon Culver, life-is-good smile? You should be thrilled about this. You’re going to do so much good.”

Oh that was right. Now he remembered. He was someone who tried to amplify the light in the world. He was a man who would fight darkness with his last breath. He was best friends with the brightest five-year-old girl in the world. And he was boyfriend to the perfect woman.

“There it is,” she said, putting a hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

Cannon could sense the doubts on the edges of his perception still, and he got all teary-eyed. He could tell her, right? She wouldn’t think he was crazy or stupid or presumptuous, right? “I just keep wondering what makes me think I’m worthy? After all I’ve been through, after all I’ve done. A bunch of Bible verses keep running through my head. No man takes this honor on himself. I am not fit to untie the thong of his sandals. Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful—”

“Hey,” said Daisy, putting a finger to his quivering lips. A tear broke from one eye and ran all the way down his face. She wiped it and asked, “Did Jesus turn any of them away?”

“What?”

“The people who said those things. Did he ever tell them they were unworthy, or were those just their own doubts?”

Cannon thought. As far as he knew, Jesus never told any sincere person anything like that. Wow, why had he never considered that before?

Daisy nodded, seeing the realization on his face. “You are worthy. He needs someone like you. The world needs someone like you. Now, what’s the focus of the ministry going to be?”

With his confidence renewed, the answer came easily. “There’s a lot of bad in the world and there’s a lot of kids who grow up surrounded by it.  But there’s a lot of good too. I want to help inner city kids see the good, and focus on it.  Whether that’s through sports, or the outdoors, or computer programming, or service. Whatever, I just want to bring in mentors to help them see that the good is there, if they just go find it.”

Daisy was still watching him with those supportive eyes of hers so he went on. “I’m almost positive I can team up with the church, so if the kids want to learn about Jesus, they’ll have the opportunity, but it won’t be required.”

“I … couldn’t be prouder,” said Daisy. “You’re the best man I know.”

That made Cannon even more emotional and he had to deflect or he’d start bawling again. “And you’re going to be late for your big night if you don’t finish getting ready.”

She went back to the bathroom counter and looked herself over, then picked up a lipstick.

“Wait,” he said, catching her in a funny, pursed-lips face. He kissed those lips, sliding his hand carefully behind her neck and she was quick to respond. In the three-day turnaround for his trip to England, he’d missed her more than he expected. Not just her lips, but how he felt around her.

As much as he wanted to just keep kissing her, they did have somewhere to be.

“Good idea getting that done before I got this on.” She went back to her makeup.

“Oh, there’s still no guarantee I won’t mess it up later.”

“That sounds fun.” She smiled at him as she walked past him and into her bedroom. “And I really think dusky rose is your color, which is good because I’m pretty sure you’ll be wearing some of it by the end of the night.”

He laughed and walked into the front room as she closed her door. Being here with her, and just having her in his life made him feel like the Lord knew him and wanted to tell Cannon that he was on the right path. Bad things would still come up in his life, but with a companion like Daisy, he could face them without letting them define him.  And for the first time in his life, he thought he might actually feel worthy.

She came out a couple minutes later, backing out of the room. “Zip me up?”

Cannon couldn’t resist admiring her smooth skin just begging to be touched, and he ran a finger up her spine as he reached for the zipper.

“Mmm,” she moaned, doing a little shiver. “Those are the best goose bumps I’ve ever had.”

He smile and pinched the zipper, carefully tugging it upward. It felt fragile enough to rip off without even trying.

When he was done, she let her hair fall into place, then spun and held her arms out, showing off the little black dress she was wearing “How do I look?”

“You look better than a pizza and nap at the end of BUD/S.”

It was her turn to laugh and she came over to hug him and rest her head on his chest. He was careful not to mess up her hair or makeup.

“You look gorgeous,” he told her. “But I have to admit that you are always this beautiful to me.  It’s your inner beauty, and how you help me see the good things in the world.” He kissed her gently on the forehead. “Come on. I can’t wait to see you win your big award tonight.”

She let him go and handed him her fancy jacket, which he helped her put on. “There is some dang stiff competition, and freelance editors never really win awards like this, so don’t be disappointed if I don’t pull a Cannon and achieve some superhuman feat in the face of impossible odds.”

“Oh great,” he said, “now I have to deal with unattainable expectations for the next fifty years.”

“Only I know your real secret,” she said, leading him to the door and locking it behind them. “You’re a wizard, like Harry Dresden. You are unstoppable.”

Grateful to escape the praise, he opened the car door for her and she climbed in.

They drove to his place, where he did a quick shower, shave, and change, then came out in a tuxedo.  Of course it had some custom pockets for his gadgets. Not that anything would happen tonight at the fancy North American Book Awards banquet.

When she saw him, she wolf-whistled and said, “My daydream about this moment wasn’t nearly as good as the real thing.” She put a hand on his freshly-shaven cheek and rubbed it for a minute. If the event wasn’t such a big deal he would’ve tried to get her to just stay in.

Cannon said, “If I look half as good as you do, we’re a shoe-in for hottest couple tonight.”

“Thanks, but I checked out the website and that isn’t an actual award there.”

“Oh well. Guess we’ll settle for Best Editor—Multiple Works.” He looked down at her lips and asked, “Is that lipstick dry yet? We should probably practice for the celebratory kiss.”

“Lipstick doesn’t dry,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s like you’ve never had a real girlfriend or something.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked. “Real boyfriend and real girlfriend?”

A guilty look crossed her face.  He’d seen it enough to be sure that’s what it was and he could feel his own smile twisting in response.

“You’re busted,” he told her. “So tell me.”

“I know I’m busted,” she sighed. “I can tell by your little amused smile. At least let’s get in the car so I can think of how to describe it without embarrassing myself.”

He helped her into the car and as they pulled into the frustrating Saturday night L.A. traffic, she explained, “I do this thing in my head where I make up stories in my life. I think it’s a side effect of my job but I always paint it as more exciting and glamorous than it really is. Actually, I should say I used to do that. Since I started palling around with you, real life is more exciting than fantasy.”

“Wait!” he interjected excitedly. “You used to like zone out, like you were having a minor seizure or something. Mind switching. Was that the same thing?”

Her face turned red, and she refused to look at him. “Yes.”

He couldn’t help cracking up. “Oh, I love that so much. Ha ha ha. I was just asking if you minded switching seats, but I could tell by your face that you thought you’d been busted. Oh, man, that is hilarious.”

“If you’re done over there …” She waited until he had his smile under control. “In addition to making up fantasy events, I also used to think of cute guys as my fake boyfriend.”

Cannon felt his eyebrows shoot up, but he bit his tongue because he was dying to find out more and didn’t want to interrupt her.

“And I know you’re going to ask, so I’ll just tell you. Yes, you were my fake boyfriend way before you were my real boyfriend. That’s why I say real boyfriend now because it’s literally a dream come true.”

“When—”

“I knew you were going to ask that too.” She looked over at him, and he could feel her studying his face. “You weren’t even all the way in the train car yet and I had already claimed you as my fake boyfriend.” She hesitated and he could tell she was on the fence about admitting something else.

“Go ahead and say it,” he said.

“Ugh. I need to figure out how to keep secrets from you. Okay, fine. When you first walked in, I thought you were a little family.  I thought Miss Dee and you were … Pasha’s parents.”

Cannon lost it for a second, laughing so hard he could barely keep his eyes on the road. Never in a million years could he be with someone as formal as Miss Dee. “She’s great at her job, the best, and I’m glad Pasha has her, but it would be torture for me to be in a relationship with someone all stiff and pragmatic like her.”

“I’m so glad you’re enjoying this,” she told him, but she had to admit it was funny to look back on. “So of course if you were married, you couldn’t by my fake boyfriend, but as soon as I learned you weren’t Pasha’s parents, you were my on-again fake boyfriend.”

“And to think, you made me so nervous I could barely talk.”

“Yeah right,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Wanna know something? I play, well played, a little game on the trains.  When I heard footsteps on the stairs, I’d paint a picture in my mind. Like, old overweight guy with a mustache. Twin teenage boys in Polo shirts. A woman in jeans with a buzz cut and nose ring. I could usually get the big picture right, but the only time I nailed every detail was when I guessed beautiful woman in her mid 20’s. Blonde hair, blue eyes, one dimple and a smile that can light up a room.”

Her face lit up. “You identified me from my steps on the stairs.”

“I wish I could take credit,” he said. “I think it was more of wishful thinking and serendipity.”

She leaned over and squeezed his uninjured shoulder. “I loved that night. I know we won’t be on the train any more, but I want more of those late nights with you.”

“I can’t wait,” he said.

They pulled into the event center parking lot, and Daisy handed over a pass that he gave to the attendant. They parked and walked arm in arm toward the banquet area. Even though it was fun to dress up, drive the fancy company car, and eat an expensive dinner, Cannon only really cared about being with Daisy. The rest was great, and he would enjoy every minute of it, but he didn’t need it.

Before they went in the door, Cannon turned to face her. “I am all yours tonight,” he told her. “I don’t care if aliens land and offer free spaceship rides, I’m not leaving your side.”

“What are you talking about?” she said. “We’d go see the Milky Way together.”

“As long as I’m with you,” he told her. “Oh, and here, you better have this for good luck.” He bent and kissed her slowly, savoring the softness of her lips.

“Mm,” she said a moment later. “I feel like I already got lucky.”

He pulled the door open and said, “After you, Best Editor—Multiple Works nominee.”

They stopped at the coat check and Daisy handed over her jacket.

“Hold on,” said Cannon, pulling his phone out and sliding it into Daisy’s pocket.

As if on cue, it started buzzing. Cannon shrugged and turned away from it. He didn’t get many phone calls, so he wondered who it was, but it could wait a few hours.

Her smile was reward enough, and sliding her arm into the crook of his was a bonus.

Three hundred places or more were set in the banquet hall. When Cannon and Daisy entered, an usher led them to the front of the room to one of the tables closest to the stage. Another couple was already seated, people who Daisy didn’t recognize. After introductions, they made small talk. The couple were both retired doctors and patrons of the North American Literature Society. They had a million questions for Daisy once they learned she was a nominee.

Cannon’s Coms band buzzed. On the outside it looked like a normal silver band. When it was activated, blue LED lights ran along it. On the inside he could receive messages. Casually, he slipped it off his wrist.

Come in. Urgent.

Sutton hardly ever used the Coms band. Did this have something to do with the attempted kidnapping? Was someone in danger? Were he and Daisy in danger?

“What is it?” she said, worry pulling the corners of her eyes down.

“It’s … it’ll have to wait.” He knew she could read the worry on his own face, but tried to brush it off.

“Are you sure?” she asked quietly. “I know you deal with life and death situations, and even though it’s hard, I understand.”

Cannon slid the Coms band into his suit coat pocket. “It can wait.”

She squeezed his hand and they turned back to the conversation. In rapid succession, the other two couples arrived to fill the table. Cannon did his best to relax and be social, but his index of suspicion was raised so he was also keeping an eye on the room as a whole to gauge potential threats.

With the rest of the table filled, he and Daisy were able to sit back a bit more and enjoy each other’s company and the growing excitement for the awards ceremony. Cannon ignored the repeated vibrating of the Coms device in his pocket.

A suspicious-looking usher entered the room, scanning and moving between the tables. When he locked eyes with Cannon, he made a beeline for him. As the man neared their table, Cannon turned himself to interpose between the man and Daisy and did a mental inventory of all the non-lethal gadgets he carried. Cannon also had to watch behind himself and to the sides to make sure this guy wasn’t just a diversion.

“Mr. Culver,” said the usher, coming to a stop and performing a little bow.

“Yes?”

“There is an urgent call for you in the lobby.”

Why now? Why tonight? “It’s going to have to wait.”

“Cannon,” said Daisy softly.

Leaning closer the usher said, “It appears to be a matter of life and death. The caller identified himself as the Warrior’s Heart.”

That was his team for sure. Something was seriously wrong. Cannon kept wondering if the threat was for him and Daisy, but he had no supporting evidence and his gut said they were safe, even though they definitely had some enemies after last week on the train. Was Pasha okay? Maybe Sutton needed to convey information regarding her.

“You have to take it,” said Daisy. “We still have an hour until the awards start.”

In a whisper he replied, “I’m only taking it so I can make sure we are safe.”

“Can I … can I go with you?”

That made Cannon’s heart soar despite his worry. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Tonight he had only one objective, so he wanted to keep her close.

To the table, Daisy said, “Excuse us, please.”

As they followed the usher out of the room, Cannon checked their backs and just kept repeating to himself, Why, why, why did it have to be tonight?

 

 

 

Daisy followed the usher out of the banquet hall, keeping one hand in Cannon’s and feeling safe with him at her back. It almost felt like the dance he used to do on the train, keeping Pasha covered at all times.

Something was very wrong. This was not just a matter of one of Cannon’s buddies just wanting to reach out and say hi. The look on his face as he’d scanned that spy bracelet of his made her expect bullets to start flying at any moment. With Cannon, you could never be sure that wouldn’t happen.

Daisy was back to her old conflict. She wanted to support him, and she knew this was important, but once again, he was going to rush off to deal with something more important than her, and on this night of all nights that she’d been looking forward to.

At the coat check area, the attendant handed him a phone.

“Who is this?” demanded Cannon.

Daisy wasn’t close enough to hear everything but she did catch a man’s voice, a military voice.

Cannon said, “Culver. Bravo three six.”

In the car after the fight on the beach he’d given a similar code but different letter and numbers.

From the phone, she heard bits and pieces. “… bad, completely destroyed … word from Sutton … don’t know if Liz … ”

“And Agatha?” asked Cannon.

A garbled response was all the reply Daisy heard, but Cannon’s face fell, then his jaw clenched and she recognized the protector Cannon coming out. Someone had hurt someone he loved, and more than likely would pay for it.

The man on the phone said another string of words, but all Daisy caught was “boys … ever since … incommunicado.”

Cannon stared blankly into the coats and the phone fell away from his ear an inch or two.

“Big Gun,” said the voice, “you still with me?”

“Tell me one more time. Sutton’s exact words.”

Cannon was still giving the earpiece some space. The voice said, “Tell the Warriors I said, ‘Come in, boys.’”

Again Cannon went somewhere else. This must be what it looked like back when Daisy used to go away into her fantasy worlds. Just as quickly, he snapped back to reality and said, “I can’t make it, Zane. I’ll check back in six hours.”

“Culver,” demanded the voice. “We need everyone. Yesterday.”

“No can do. Not for another six hours.”

“This is not a request. It’s a mandatory—”

“With due respect, Zane. You’re not my CO any more. I’ll see you in six hours.” Cannon handed the phone back to the attendant, thanked him, and turned away. He held an arm out for Daisy as if he was ready to just escort her back to her table.

She accepted it only long enough to pull him away from listening ears to a quiet corner of the lobby. “That sounded important. Are your guys okay?”

“I’m … not really sure.”

Daisy took a deep breath and considered for half a second, but it was clear what she had to do. They would probably call it taking one for the team. “You need to go, Cannon.” How did this keep happening? Was she destined to lose him over and over and over? He wasn’t even a soldier any more. But she loved him, and this was probably one of those times where she needed to give instead of take.

He shook his head. “The only place I’m going is back in there to watch you win your award.”

Daisy felt petty for making such a big deal about something so inconsequential in the scheme of things. “I’m pretty sure you have a duty,” she told him. “You owe it to those boys.”

“The boys,” said Cannon, shaking his head with a sardonic chuckle. More to himself than to her, he said, “Leave it to Sutton to send such a subtle clue in his biggest hour of need. He’s never called us boys in his life.”

“What is it?” asked Daisy. “What happened?”

Cannon grew serious, looking down at her with those mesmerizing emerald eyes. “What happened is I’ve decided it’s time to put off childish things. The boys come second from now on. You are my Team now.”

Her view of his face glistened behind happy tears to hear him say that and she savored the sentiment for a minute before saying, “But they have a real emergency. People are hurt, I don’t know, maybe even … dead.” That word had never bothered her before when it was just something used in fiction, but now it had become a reality and she hated saying it. “This banquet, this event is just …” She didn’t even know how to compare it.

With no hesitation, he said, “It’s important. Any other night, I would rush out. But I made a promise to you tonight.”

“What about your promises to your guys?”

“I’ve already left you too many times,” he insisted. “Putting other people’s needs in front of the needs of the woman I love is just as bad as putting my needs before yours.”

Daisy loved hearing those words, the woman I love, and they almost convinced her to give in. “But there’s nothing you can do here. Either I won or I didn’t, and you being in the audience isn’t going to change that.”

“Me hollering like a crazed football fan when you take the stage will make a difference.  It’ll be a night the literary boosters never forget.”

Daisy had to grin at that. “Please promise me you won’t do that. I still have to work with a lot of these people.”

“Can I yell, ‘Snicker-snack!’?”

Daisy chuckled, wondering if he really would

“You ready to go back in?” he asked.

“I’m not convinced,” she said. “I don’t want you to resent me for keeping you away when they might be … when they might really need you.”

“If they are that bad off, then there really is nothing I can do by the time I meet up with them. Daisy,” his gaze grew even more intense as if he’d sharpened the focus on her. “If I don’t have you in my life …” his mouth closed and his lips drew tight together in a line, like he was trying to keep in overwhelming emotion and barely succeeding. He tried again. “If I don’t have you in my life, then what is the point of having anything else?”

Daisy had thought she was smitten before, but every minute together she was more in love with this man.

He broke eye contact for a second, looking up at the ceiling, pondering. “How do I explain how important this is to me? If I can’t prove to you here and now, tonight, that you are the most important thing in my life, then I will never be able to prove it.”

He kissed her, leaving her even more stunned.

“I love you,” he said, and kissed her again.

“I need you,” another kiss. It was getting harder and harder to let him pull away with each kiss. And her argument to get him to go was crumbling.

Cupping her face in both hands, he finished by saying, “And I will prove to you that I have put away childish things, and I am ready to be a man, as long as you are my woman.”

“Oh, Cannon.” What else could she say? She threw herself into his arms, forcing him to catch her, and pulled him tight for another kiss, good and long. She couldn’t believe this man had turned such a one-eighty from where he was with her on their first date. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to convince you to go?”

“Not in a million years.”

“Well then, we have a party to get to.” She reached up and wiped the lipstick off his mouth. Most of it anyway. She didn’t care if anyone suspected she’d been out here kissing her super handsome bona fide boyfriend.

Cannon held out his arm and they walked back into the banquet hall with her feeling like the most important person in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EPILOGUE/FINAL CHAPTER

 

It was my wedding day. I was standing in the highest room of the castle, looking out over the kingdom that would be mine today after I married the Prince. But his castle and his gold and his position meant nothing. Today the bravest, strongest, most handsome and caring man in the world would be mine and I would be his for the rest of our lives.

Daisy grinned to herself and looked out from an upstairs window in Sutton Smith’s mansion. The views of San Diego Bay were breathtaking, but she was more focused on the gathering below on his massive back lawn. Everyone in the world she loved was there, and standing at the front looking better than ever was the man she loved. The man who she could spend her life with after today.

“Get away from that window!” said Talia. “You know you aren’t supposed to see the groom before the wedding.”

“I think you got that backwards, sis. He’s not supposed to see me.”

“Oh yeah.” Talia looked her up and down again with awe. “He’s going to die you look so beautiful. Yep, he’ll keel right over.”

Daisy stepped slowly forward, careful not to walk on her dress. “Thanks for being here. I’m so glad we came back together.” Once Daisy had gotten over her concerns with Cannon about being number one, she’d taken a look at her life and realized a lot of the problems between her and Talia were simple jealousy. Daisy had called, apologized, and since then they’d been best friends.

Talia looked like she might cry. “I’m just glad my big sister is a bigger person than me. You’ve always been such a bright spot to everyone around you. I’m sorry we—”

“No sorrows today,” said Daisy. “I love you, sis.”

“Love you too,” said Talia, hugging her. “Now let’s get you down there and get you married before that SEAL of yours decides to come find you on a rescue mission.”

Marrying Cannon.  Nothing had ever sounded better in the whole world. Not even the Best Editor award that was hanging back on the wall that would soon be their wall.

Talia gathered up her train and Daisy started walking. The place had an elevator so she didn’t even have to try to negotiate the stairs.

As soon as she stepped out, she could see the gathering outside. No one had noticed her yet.

Pasha was standing by the back door with her father, Rasmus Gold. Who ever thought Daisy Close would have not one, but two billionaires at her wedding? Pasha wore a white tulle dress that matched Daisy’s but was more simple. The bodice was layered pleated flowers decorated with lace appliqués and crystals. The gown from there down was tulle and lace. Both dresses had trains, but Daisy’s flared wider and was much longer. Her bodice was more form-fitting and off the shoulders.

“Hey, Appassionata,” said Daisy.

When the little girl turned, her eyes grew as wide as platters. “Daisy Mae, you look beautiful!” She ran forward and buried herself in Daisy’s gown.

“You do too, little sister. Are you ready?”

“Yes I am. Thank you for inviting me to be your ring bearer.”

“I’m so glad you could make it.”  To Mr. Gold, she said, “Thank you for coming, and thank you again for my beautiful dress.” It had been their wedding present, and Daisy couldn’t even guess how much it cost.

“It’s my pleasure,” he said in his unplaceable accent. “Pasha and I wish you and Cannon the very, very best.” It was easy to see where his daughter got her manners from.

Daisy and Talia made their way outside, to where their father was waiting behind a wall that obscured him from the rest of the patio. He took a good look at her, and said, “Oh Daisy. I’m so happy for you.”

She hugged him, so happy he was here. Things had improved in her relationship with her parents recently as well.

“Go time?” asked Talia.

Daisy nodded, scared to speak.

Talia gave her one more hug and whispered, “Don’t forget, I want you to help me find a SEAL as soon as you get back from your honeymoon.”

Daisy chuckled as her sister walked over to the DJ, then made her way to the front. Most of Cannon’s SEAL buddies were getting snatched up recently. There was something in the water around here. Or maybe after Corbin started it all, they felt like they had to follow suit to feel like part of the team.  Either way, Daisy would do what she could to get her sister hooked up.

The day was perfect, low 70s, some cloud cover, a fresh breeze rolling in off the ocean bringing a fresh salty scent. The wedding march started up and Daisy felt a rush of excitement. She wanted to dance up the aisle to her man, but forced herself to walk in a measured pace at her father’s side.

Cannon was waiting for her, smiling bigger than she’d ever seen. He was clean shaven and wearing a tuxedo that made him look like an international spy. But it was his eyes that she loved the most. Those emerald green eyes that looked at her with such focus and love. Daisy never had to worry about a single thing with him in her life.

Talia, and the other bridesmaids were lined up on one side: Maia, her college roommate, River’s new bride Ally, and Corbin’s wife Delaney. On the other side stood all of Cannon’s buddies: River, Zane, Blayze, and Corbin. He had refused to pick a best man among them.

Her eyes went back to Cannon, and she wasn’t even tempted to make up a fantasy story in her head. Nothing could ever be better than this.

Before she knew it, she was at Cannon’s side, and her father handed her off. The men shook hands, and he took a seat in the front row next to Daisy’s mom.

Cannon winked at her and Daisy just wanted to run off alone with him, but she forced herself to face Pastor Riley, a man she’d grown to know well through Cannon’s involvement as a lay pastor. The ministry plans were going perfectly. It would launch officially in a month.

The wedding was planned to be short, and passed in a blur. All she remembered was cute little Pasha coming up the aisle with the rings on a pillow and one line from Cannon’s vows.

“You are the most important thing in my life, and I’ll never ring the bell.”

Oh, and she would never forget looking into her real fiancé’s eyes and saying, “I do.”

“… now pronounce you man and wife.”

That was it! That’s what she’d been waiting for.

Apparently, Cannon had too because even though he’d been staring at her, he snapped to attention, grabbed her and dipped her into a kiss—firm and soft, protective yet demanding. Warrior and lover. The kiss was everything he was and she wanted all of him forever and ever.

When they finally came up for air, they were still staring into each other’s eyes. She said, “We should probably go meet our guests, my real husband.”

“What guests?” he said with a wink. “The only one I see here is you.”

He kissed her again and Daisy kissed him back, so happy for this fantasy her life had become.