CHAPTER 17
Carly stepped onto the tarmac and fought the urge to drop to her knees and kiss the ground as relief overwhelmed her.
She’d never been so happy to be on American soil in her life. More importantly, she was one step closer to being free of this military bullshit and Trey so she could get back to her bar and her life and forget any of this had ever happened.
As if she could really do that.
Trey must have seen the need to bolt reflected on her face. He touched her arm for a second and then dropped his hand. In fact, unlike the flight there, he’d barely touched her at all since they’d had sex. Wasn’t that ironic?
“You’ll have to come back to the base with me to be debriefed by the commander. Then you can go home.”
The thought of how Trey had already debriefed her in Kosovo flew into Carly’s head. A short, bitter laugh burst out before she could control it. That juvenile reaction made her realize she was most likely starting to lose her mind. Either that or she was giddy from lack of sleep.
She glanced at Trey as he raised a brow over her outburst like the staid poster boy for military protocol that he was. His words on the flight echoed in her brain, fueling her anger.
Standard operating procedure clearly states . . .
How could he be so cold and businesslike after the night they’d shared? His quoting SOP to her after what they’d done together had left no doubt in her mind that what she’d been stupid enough to assume was a real attraction between them had been nothing more than a job to him.
Maybe it was her pride hurting more than anything else, which was exactly what she deserved for breaking her own rules and letting herself succumb to temptation.
In any case, he was still waiting for her to say something. “I know I have to go in. You already told me. Believe me, I’m as anxious as you are to have this thing over and done with so I can get back to my life and forget it ever happened.”
His calm demeanor didn’t crack at her comment or the less-than-nice tone in which it was delivered. No surprise there.
At least she’d been able to change into her own clothes on the flight. That helped her feel more grounded, more normal. She’d had enough of Candi’s clothes, especially those damn high heels. They caused too many memories, not to mention blisters.
With the blisters making even her sneakers hurt, Carly limped into the meeting room behind Trey. There she faced five men whose heads all swiveled immediately in her direction when she entered.
Wishing she could crawl beneath the linoleum, she wondered exactly how much they all knew.
From the doorway she spotted Matt and felt her face heat at the knowledge he for certain had watched the whole sordid performance Trey had put on the night before.
That pissed her off all over again until the sight of Jack made her forget her anger and embarrassment took over.
She didn’t have long to feel ashamed however, because they were barely inside the room when Jack leapt forward, red faced.
“You rotten son of a bitch.” He pulled back his fist and let the punch fly, clocking Trey with a blow that would have leveled a smaller man.
Carly hopped to the side to avoid Trey who took a step back when the blow threw him off balance. The entire team seemed to hold its collective breath, but no one moved a muscle to either help or stop the fight. Carly too stood frozen in place except for the wild pounding of her heart.
Trey’s head had whipped back from the hit, but he stayed put and didn’t even raise a fist. He stared calmly at Jack as if waiting for the next punch, but it never came.
Instead, Jack stepped forward and grabbed Trey in a bear hug, audibly squeezing the breath out of him. “Thanks for helping to save my brother.”
She saw the expression of shock cross Trey’s face as he accepted the embrace. When they broke apart, he touched his jaw, working it from side to side. “You’re welcome.”
Jack came to her next. He forced a small closed-mouth smile. “Hey, darlin’.”
Carly returned his smile hesitantly.
How exactly should she act in this situation? This guy had an obvious crush on her and had just seen his best friend screwing her on camera. She’d like to know the standard operating procedure for handling that one.
“Hi, Jack.”
He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss across her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re home safe.”
The commander stood in his office doorway, watching the whole exchange and not looking very happy. “You three, in my office.”
“Three? Me too, sir?” Jack sounded surprised.
“Yes, you.” The man turned and walked to his desk obviously assuming they’d follow, which they did.
Carly walked behind Trey and Jack when Matt grabbed her hand and slipped a pill bottle into it. Managing an embarrassed nod, she clutched the prescription in a tight fist.
Could this get any more embarrassing? As she entered the office behind Trey and Jack, she had a feeling it could.
“Close the damn door, McAfee.” The commander delivered his order like a man who was used to being followed without question.
“Yes, sir.” She did as she was told.
He waited until she had before he turned toward Jack. “What the hell is going on, Gordon?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“It didn’t look like nothing to me.” When Jack remained silent, the commander swung his focus to Trey.
“Williams, would you like to fill me in?”
“No, sir. I mean there’s nothing to be filled in on, sir.”
“So you’re going to tell me you two beat the hell out of each other after every mission?”
Trey kicked at the floor with the toe of his sneaker. “He didn’t exactly beat the hell out of me, sir.”
The commander raised a brow. “No, I suppose he could have hit you harder if he really wanted to. I’m going to assume your little show out there was a one-time event. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir.” Jack and Trey spoke in unison.
“McAfee.”
Carly jumped. She had been eyeing the water cooler and deciding if she could take the pill without anyone noticing when he called her name. “Yes, sir?”
“Good job. Go home.”
“Sir?” She frowned, wondering what had happened to the debriefing.
“Go home. Williams can handle things here for both of you. If I need you for anything, I know where to find you.”
She was being dismissed and she wasn’t going to argue. “Okay. Thank you.”
He smiled. “No. Thank you, McAfee. Oh and remember, not a word to anyone.”
A bitter laugh burst out of her before she could stop it. “They wouldn’t believe me if I told them. But no, I won’t say a word.”
She couldn’t wait to be on the other side of the door and away from them all. Being the third side in this messed up triangle was more than she could deal with right now.
Glancing from Jack to Trey, she got out of the office as fast as she could. It would feel very good to get home.
Time to start getting things back to normal, though she had a strong suspicion she’d never feel normal again.