Chapter Six
Drake watched the three women together. It was obvious they had been friends for a very long time. He could almost hear Izzy's words in his mind as she explained the situation to the bride. He expected anger from Kiko, but he didn't see it. She nodded her head and frowned, and at one point her mouth fell open, but she didn't appear aggravated, like he would have been.
No, she seemed to take everything in stride, even reaching out to comfort Izzy. She could have been a real bitch about everything. Drake appreciated that her light was too bright to dim today.
Dylan stood hipshot across the courtyard with a group of buddies, but the entire time he watched Kiko. There was an emotion in his eyes that spoke of heat and need. He seemed to be biding his time until he could steal Kiko away, nodding absently to those talking around him.
If he were newly married, Drake supposed that he should be entranced by his new wife as well.
He turned to look for Izzy. The three friends were hugging and separating. All three were beautiful in their own way, but Izzy drew his attention like no other woman. She was a few inches taller than the other women and more fairly complected, and that hair...
It struck him that he was looking at Izzy with almost the same intensity Dylan was looking at Kiko.
Drake swallowed, wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into. He didn't plan on finding someone who worked his emotions like this. Yeah, he'd thought in the back of his mind about maybe hooking up with a lonely divorcee who needed a good screwing, but he never planned on being emotionally compromised.
Fuck…
For the first time in his life, he felt true, nauseating fear. The thought of walking away and never seeing Izzy again flooded him with anxiety.
Pushing up from the table, he turned looking for an escape, but there were people crowded around him. Panic clawed at his throat as he shuffled side to side, looking for an out. Finally, one opened up and he all but bolted from the courtyard. A hand grabbed at him but he whipped away.
Without thought, he headed toward the balcony where he'd hidden out before, weaving up the stairway and through the curtains beyond. His bottle of Woodford was exactly where he'd left it, but he didn't reach for the glass. He sat down in the chair and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, breathing hard. Then he scrubbed his head with his hands, aggravated at having left that way. His guys would be worried about him, and he had no excuse for his behavior.
Back and forth he ran his hand over his head, taking comfort in the repetition. He knew he was far enough back into the shadows that no one could see him here. But that evidently didn't mean people couldn't find him. When he felt the touch on his shoulder, he didn't jerk, just looked up into bright green eyes smiling gently down into his.
Drake wasn't sure if it was a good idea to see her again. He had a feeling it was going to hurt when they parted, but he gave her a small smile anyway.
"I was worried about you when you left."
He frowned, a little shocked at her words. He'd been alone so long he couldn't even imagine who had last worried about him. His mother, before she'd died? That had been when he'd still been in elementary school. It certainly hadn't been his dad. He'd washed his hands of his wayward, too-adventurous son long ago.
"I'm fine. Sometimes the crowds get to me. I had to get out of there and be alone to breathe."
"Oh," she drew back her hand. "Okay. I'll leave you alone then."
She'd started to turn, but he grabbed her hand. "No, I don't mind you being here."
Strangely, that was the truth. He didn't mind her being here at all. Normally the mere presence of other people aggravated the crap out of him, but not her.
That broad smile spread her lips again. "Okay, if you're sure."
She looked around for a chair, but the one he sat in was the only one out here. With a tug, he pulled her down onto his lap. For the slightest moment she stiffened, but then she relaxed into his hold, curling up against his chest. She fit amazingly well.
"I have to be honest, Drake," she murmured. "You're very easy to be with like this."
He sighed beneath her, swinging her legs up across the arm of the chair. "You know this can't go anywhere, right Izzy? I like being with you too, but there's no way this will work. No matter how much we're drawn to each other, we’re a country—no, a world apart."
Drake was glad that her head was nestled beneath his chin, because he didn't have to look into her eyes as he delivered that blow. But he could feel the tears landing on his chest. She didn't say anything for a long time, and he worried that she wouldn't talk to him anymore, but she stayed in his arms, gently rubbing her hand over his chest.
"I think," she said finally, sitting up in his lap and looking him in the eye, "that if we wanted something to work, we could do it."
Drake frowned. "I'm stateside less than half the year, and during the time that I’m stateside, I'm in Virginia. I have to be ready to be in the air within a couple hours of notification. That's no joke."
She nodded. "I know you do and I'm fine with that. I would never ask you to change anything you do. But I want you to think about something. Next time you have a long weekend or break, only if you want, maybe I can fly out to see you. I have no problem traveling."
That damn tightness in his throat was back again and he had to look away from her to get a grip.
"I'm not ready for anything too involved either," she continued, "but the thought of not seeing you again makes my heart hurt. I've only known you for a few hours, but I feel like I've been with you for a long time. And I know I want to see you again."
Drake blinked at her, wondering if she was crazy, or if he was. Maybe they both were to even think about trying to swing a relationship like this. Instead of answering her, he pulled him toward her for a kiss. Izzy met him eagerly and he could tell she was smiling against his mouth. For some reason that was especially sexy and he pulled back to look at her.
Her eyes were clear and there was an excitement in her expression that spurred his own. "You know, I think I might take you up on that. I'll warn you now, though, I'm not much of a relationship guy. Contact may be hard, especially if I'm out of the country."
She nodded, looping her arms around his neck. "I understand that. And I'm not going to wait by the phone for you to call. I'm not much of one for relationships either, but I feel like we click. And not just in the sack," she laughed, obviously feeling his arousal pressed against her.
Drake grinned, loving that she could tease him like this. "Let's make sure we still click in the sack," he said, pushing her back.
Izzy laughed and pulled away as a voice began to echo below them. "Not yet. Dylan and Kiko are about to leave and I want to see them off."
Giving in good-naturedly, he followed her from the balcony. All his anxiety had vanished. When she reached for his hand as they reentered the courtyard, he allowed her to take it. Most of the people were moving through a trellised arch at the far end of the patio, obviously being directed by the wedding planner and her assistants, but there was a bottleneck. Struck with inspiration, Drake tugged on Izzy's hand, pulling her back into the resort. With sure, quick steps he led her through the monstrous hotel and out a side door. He'd scouted all this last night before the guests started arriving.
They beat the crowd and came in from the opposite side of the gathering. The laughing revelers were forming an aisle way down the shallow fieldstone steps leading to the limo that was going to take the newlyweds to the airport. Izzy had said that there was a private plane ready to fly them south.
Drake drew her to a rock formation that was part of the landscaping. If she stood here, she would be able to see them leave.
The newlyweds ran down the steps, holding hands. The attendees showered them with birdseed and good wishes. When they got to the limo, Dylan and Kiko turned, giving their families a final goodbye.
In the last light of the evening, something glinted in the light to the east of the gathering, on a landscaped slope similar to the one they were on. Drake looked that way and at first couldn't make anything out. Then the glint flashed again. He'd seen enough riflescopes in his life to know what he saw.
"No fucking way," he growled.
He pushed Izzy to the ground behind the landscaping rocks. "Stay right there. I think Brendon is being an ass again."
Her eyes widened in fear but he couldn't stay to comfort her. He took off running.
Praying that his men would see him, he started going through the hand signals all teams were trained with. Attention. Look in that direction. Assault and Eliminate. Over and over again, even as he plowed through the crowd. Dylan took Kiko to the ground just as a shot ricocheted through the air. Drake didn't even slow, though he knew he was probably the target. He just pounded on. Then there were men running beside him, other SEALs that trusted in him and his word, even if they weren't on the same team.
When they reached Brendon, they completely overwhelmed him. Within a fraction of a second, he was disarmed and flipped over onto his belly. Struggling, he tried to buck them off. Drake was forced to immobilize him with a strike to the ribs, then a second one. Brendon gasped for breath, his arms going lax. Someone produced a white flex-cuff zip tie and he almost laughed, wondering who’d come so prepared to a wedding reception, but he took it without comment. He cinched it around Brendon's wrists, till the man cried out with pain. Drake couldn't give a flying fuck if he was in pain though.
Three of the men around him took over for Drake as he stood. Fetch stood a few feet away with a beat up hunting rifle in hand. "Looks like he was hunting something, Zero. It's clear now."
Fetch had the sense to handle the weapon gingerly so as not to smudge prints. Another SEAL stood to the side recording everything on his phone. Yet another group was directing the rest of the crowd back down the hill. By the time the sheriff arrived a few minutes later, the scene and suspect were completely preserved.
Izzy cried and walked into his arms when he got to the bottom of the hill. Then she pushed him away and looked him up and down. "You're not hit?"
Drake looked down at himself. It wasn't unusual to find injuries after the adrenalin had worn off, but he didn't see anything. "I don't think so. Judging by the state of the rifle he had, I doubt he could hit anything."
She swiped her tears from her cheeks, dragging in huge gulps of air. Drake was a little shocked at Izzy's reaction, and she seemed to be too. She turned away a little to get control of her emotions. When she turned back, she’d wiped her face and clamped down on her reaction, but her skin was still flushed.
Giving in to the need to hold her in his arms, Drake pressed a kiss to her head, running his fingers through her hair. Tucking some behind her ear, he brushed a touch along the outside shell, over the dangling silver earring she wore, then down to her collarbone.
"That scared me, Drake. I'm not going to lie."
Moving his hand up and down her back, he sighed. "I know it did, Izzy, but you're handling it well. I appreciate that."
She leaned back in his arms enough to look up into his eyes. "You think you were his target. Don’t you?"
He winced, his gaze sliding away. "Not sure. We're hoping the resort has footage of the area up there, but we're not holding our breath. They do, however, have footage of him getting into his truck for the weapon. The security guards said they were parked outside his room the entire time, so he must have jumped out of a window or something." He dragged his gaze back to hers. "He's not going to do anything else though. I promise you."
Dylan and Kiko were talking to the sheriff when they wandered over, and Izzy gave her a wan smile. "You okay, Mrs. Cutler?"
Kiko grinned for a moment, before sobering. "Yes, I'm fine. Not exactly the splashy end to the wedding I wanted, but, you know… at least no deaths occurred."
Kiko gave a sardonic shrug and Izzy leaned forward to pull her into a hug. Ginny slipped from the crowd to join them, and they held each other for a couple of minutes, not even saying anything. Just reassuring each other.
"I'm still going on my damn honeymoon!" Kiko declared, pulling back.
Izzy squeezed her friend's hand. "Of course you are! Besides, you have a private plane. You can go anytime."
They laughed together and within a few minutes Kiko and Dylan took off for real this time, beer cans rattling from the end of the limousine.
Ginny declared that she was tired from all the drama and was heading up to the room. But she winked at Izzy. And grabbed the good-looking man from the dinner table she'd been with earlier to tow behind her as she left.
Izzy laughed, because though this had been a harrowing day, they would all move on. And they would all find pleasure where they could.
Drake stood a few feet away, arms crossed as he waited for her. Izzy gave him a playful smile. "So, Navy man, I think you need a physical, just to make sure we didn't miss something."
He gave her a funny look. "You know, maybe we should. I might have missed something important. Thank you for taking care of me, Ms. Greer."
"No problem, Mr. Hardwick."