CHAPTER 5
Sean
I splash cold water on my face and shake my head. I’ve got one hand on either side of the sink and I’m hunched over. I look up, seeing my reflection in the mirror.
I look like shit. It’s obvious. This girl is absolutely wrecking me.
It’s written all over my face. I can’t concentrate when she’s around, not that I’ve been able to concentrate on anything since I first saw her yesterday.
The attack was one thing. I’m glad I was able to stop tragedy, but that was mostly just training kicking in. You fall to the level of your training, as the saying goes. Fortunately over the course of all these years in the Corps I’ve had so much training that I can just flip a switch and be the guy our country needs in a time of crisis. I live it 24/7, but sometimes I need to kick it into turbo mode.
Yesterday was full turbo mode. The EMTs checked my heart rate immediately following the apprehension of the criminal. His heart was beating out of his chest. My heart rate? Forty-three. I’m so well trained I’m practically a robot with a heart rate that low.
But what I’m definitely not trained for is this.
Her.
I could feel the outside of her leg brushing against mine in the chopper on the way over. I wanted to unhook her and take her right there as we flew over the big apple.
Mile high club? That’s for amateurs.
Helicopter sex? While it’s in motion? How many people can cross that off their bucket list?
And it was always on mine, but it was never worth the risk just to say I did it.
But damn, she’s the biggest risk ever.
Her dad’s best friend? That’s me. Government helicopter and the court-martial that comes with it? I was considering it. A once in a lifetime opportunity with a girl who makes me feel like I got a punch to the gut every time I look at her? She’s the only one. Ever.
Thank god she was so focused on looking out at the skyline from the chopper. If she would have looked down she would have noticed my raging erection calling out to her. Fuck, the thing was bigger and harder than a stick shift on a piece of farm machinery.
And that wasn’t even my first fantasy.
All I could hear was Steven Tyler yelling, “Love in an elevator,” the moment I stepped inside that thing. Damn, that Aerosmith song is older than she is.
When I was a kid they didn’t have cameras in elevators like they do today. Today I couldn’t risk it. She’s a person of interest in a case I’m assigned to, and I have way too much respect for her. All it takes is one juvenile boy who works the night shift at that building to take a look at that tape and next thing you know the footage is all over the internet. Not happening. Not on my watch.
I exhale so hard I spray some water droplets from my lips onto the mirror.
“Go time,” I say to myself as I turn and leave the bathroom.
And then it starts all over again.
She’s sitting there on the couch with her legs crossed. She looks professional and sexy as hell at the same time. I can’t imagine how those punks I saw at her office are able to work next to her. The way she looks? I’d have to quit, get fired, or put a ring on her finger on the day she started so everyone else knows she’s mine.
A girl like that doesn’t even come along once in a lifetime. Only a fool would make the mistake of missing out on her.
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“Yeah. I’m good.”
“Am I in trouble?”
“Brit, you’re never in trouble. You know I got you.” Damn, that was a little too direct. It’s my way though. No point in trying to be someone I’m not. When I see something I want I go for it. And I want her to feel safe whenever I’m around, so I’m going to let her know.
I sit down on the chair that’s perpendicular to the couch she’s on. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation at the Naval Recruiter’s office, but it’s the best we could do considering the circumstances.
Our intel said that nothing would happen at the parade. I’d be placed inside. I’d keep my eyes open. I’d be out as soon as it was over. Easy as one, two, there. Barely a weekend visit.
Didn’t really work out like that.
Everybody has a plan, until you get punched in the face. That’s the saying we learned in our hand-to-hand combat training, and it applies equally as well to what just happened at the parade. And at the moment I’m not even referring to that scum of the earth that tried to harm innocent people, including women and children.
I’m talking about her. My world is already crazy enough as it is, and I’ve just started to get things under control again. It’s taken a lot of work since the divorce.
I buried myself in my work and trying to be the best dad I can be for my daughter, and along comes another kind of daughter…Rick’s.
“I feel better already,” she says, “but what was going on over at my office?”
“You haven’t heard or seen the news?”
“Nothing.”
It hits me that she’s probably so focused on her school work that she got right back to it. Her parents sure raised one tough cookie. She’s nearly plowed over and I bet she just went home and studied…brushed the whole thing off. No time to live in the past. And not only that, she gets up for work this morning like nothing happened.
As much as it pains me to say it, it’s becoming truer by the day. Women are the new men. They’re tougher, more resilient, and don’t complain. It’s how I always thought of my grandfather who served in World War II. And it’s certainly true from the men of his generation. Men today are another story, but women these days? Childbirth for starters. Raising an entire family with a man-child who’s stuck on the couch watching football most of the time. And to make matters worse he’s wearing a team jersey like his twelve-year-old son, and the jersey’s got another man’s name on his back. And then the guy wonders why his wife doesn’t see him as a hero.
Women take it all in stride. It’s the new normal, and they don’t let it get them down. They just keep marching…keep the family running along and never complain one bit. That’s the kind of leadership and devotion to team that the military can’t teach. That’s a mother’s love. And it’s not just mothers. It’s so many women these days. They truly are the stronger of the species, and this girl’s got me thinking like an animal.
“Your face is everywhere. I think they pulled whatever they could from social media after an unnamed source identified you.”
“Do you think this unnamed source—“
“Everybody’s an unnamed source these days. Just means somebody recognized you. Could have been facial recognition software for all we know. Doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that you’re considered a person of interest because you fled the scene, and you volunteer at a location where known terrorists have passed through as recently as six months ago.”
“At the NGO?”
“It’s not your fault. You and your people are just trying to help. Most people are good, and a little help is all they need. There are just some rotten apples who try and game the system. It’s those rotten apples we have to keep our eyes on.”
My subconscious betrays me as it’s clear I’m the one keeping an eye on her. My gaze drifts across her breasts to her waist, and then down those legs of hers. It’s all just what we call a microexpression, but I know she caught it. Fuck! I need to keep this professional.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she says.
Damn this girl is a trooper. Talk about a team player.
“Thanks, but I’ve got this handled. I just need to ask you some really easy questions. Just answer them truthfully and I’ll cross your name off the list. I know you weren’t involved in any of this. No reason to worry.”
But I’m the one who’s worried. I’m here all alone with her, and I’m doing everything I can to keep my dick in my pants. I thought a man’s testosterone decreased with age. I guess it all depends on what he’s attracted to, and I ain’t never been so head over heels for a girl like this.