Tumult (TSS Series Book 1) by Lea Hart (6)

CHAPTER SIX

Friday, October 13^th

Audrey sat at her tiny kitchen table and looked out the window at the soaring buildings and wondered if the publishers were going to give her the go-ahead on the trip to Syria or if she was going to have to fund it herself.

Looking down at the spreadsheet, she knew she could manage to pay Titan if it came down to it, as long as she took cases through the first half of next year. Letting out a sigh of relief, she recognized it gave her the freedom to pursue the dream with or without the publisher’s check, and it was worth it.

Either way, she was going to Syria within the next two weeks because if things continued progressing as they were, it would be her last chance for a while. With the Turkish government moving in to control the HTS alliance and the last of ISIS holding on in Raqqa, the situation was not going to become more hospitable.

Hearing a knock on the door startled her and she stood immediately, wondering who it could be. The doorman hadn’t buzzed her and she wasn’t expecting a package, so maybe it was building maintenance. She looked through the peephole and saw Carrick with a frown on his face.

Perfect way to start the day, she thought as she opened the door and saw him standing before her dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and no tie. So what if he was handsome enough to make her breath hitch, he sure didn’t have a personality she wanted to be around.

One minute frowning and growling, and the next practically mute as he stared holes into her. “Good morning, sunshine. It’s nice to see your smiling face.”

“Very funny,” he responded as he walked past her and stood in the middle of her small entry with his hands on his hips. “Your building’s security is a hoax. Do you realize any joker could get in this place with little to no effort?”

Closing the door with a firm click, she then walked around his massive frame and stood in front of him and mimicked his pose. Thank God she’d put heels on this morning because she was very close to six feet and didn’t have to strain to see his mulish expression. “Who pissed in your muesli this morning?”

Dropping his hands and his annoyed expression, he hitched his shoulder. “No one, I actually had a great run through the city and then had a terrific breakfast at the hotel.”

“Then why did you show up growling and snorting?”

Leaning to the right, he looked into her small living room and then walked toward the couch and sat down. “I wouldn’t say no to a cup of coffee if you offered it.”

“Answer my question first, and then I’ll consider making you coffee.”

“The idea of someone being able to breeze through your lobby and come upstairs without anyone batting their eyelashes is unacceptable.”

“That’s what has you in a snit?” she asked with a laugh. “Living in the city doesn’t afford the opportunity to live in a protective bubble of security, so the fact that you got in without a warning is merely an annoyance and nothing more.”

“I don’t like it,” he replied petulantly. “Something could easily happen to you.”

Seeing his annoyed expression didn’t irritate her as much as it had a second ago because she realized he was worried about her safety and nothing more. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Handing him the cup of coffee, she then sat and gave him a smile. “I thought we were meeting at the publishers. What made you come here?”

“I received confirmed intel this morning that President Erdoğan has tanks parked in Antakya ready to roll across the border. It’s possible he’s on the verge of launching yet another significant military operation, and unlike Operation Euphrates Shield, which targeted lands occupied by the Islamic State, the upcoming operation into Idlib will be directed toward the lands occupied by Syrian rebels.”

“Why would my publisher care about something that’s happening three and a half hours away?” Sitting back, she raised an eyebrow. “The women that I want to speak with have nothing to do with the latest coalition of HTS, and are only interested in vanquishing ISIS. The battle in Raqqa is all that matters now.”

“Speaking of Raqqa, they’re in the last days of the battle and where do you think ISIS is heading?” He lifted his hand and pointed up. “North and where will we be? North!”

“Carrick, I get that this trip is dangerous, and I completely understand if you decide you don’t want to act as security.” Seeing his frustrated expression, she put her hand on his arm. “Just tell me now if you’ve changed your mind.”

“What the hell are you going to do then?” he thundered. “Give up the project?”

“No, I have one more option for private military contractors; Kelly has already spoken to Dyna Corp and they said they’d take the job.”

Standing abruptly, Carrick slammed his coffee cup on the coffee table and started to pace. “That’s bullshit.”

Seeing his flash of anger made her wonder why he cared about this particular contract so much. It wasn’t a ton of money for the company and she bet it wasn’t going to net more than forty-thousand dollars, which was peanuts for a business as big as Titan. In the old days, the company had dealt with billion-dollar contracts with the government.

A little one-off watchdog gig couldn’t be all that important. “Tell me what’s making you so angry.”

Carrick stood in the middle of the tiny living room and took a deep breath. “This is one of the most ill-advised trips on record and the idea of taking you into a country that’s not only in the middle of a civil war but also fighting ISIS has every one of my instincts screaming to stay the hell away.”

“You’ve said that at least a half-dozen times, and quite frankly I’m tired of hearing it. Either you’re in or you’re out. Tell me now, so I can cancel the meeting if I have to.”

Raising an eyebrow, he almost growled. “That’s it?”

“I’m going one way or another in the next two weeks because if I wait any longer, I won’t be able to, due to a case I’m taking. I’m going to tell these women’s stories, one way or another.”

“Shit, Audrey, why’d you have to say something like that?”

“Carrick, I think it’s best if I go with another company for security because you have too many reservations about this trip.”

Walking over to the couch, he collapsed and then ran his hand over his face. “You’re not going to get rid of me because there’s no way I’m letting you go to Syria with some bozo from Dyna Corp. Those people will hire anyone with little consideration for ability and experience.”

“They have an excellent reputation and come highly recommended,” Audrey responded as she watched his hands flex several times. Seeing his gaze slide over, she noticed his smirk as he shook his head. “What?”

“You’re just trying to piss me off with talk about Dyna Corp.”

“No, I’m not.” Scooting to the far end of the couch, she gave him a look that had often worked on juries. When he didn’t react, she did it again and waited. “Really, that look didn’t make you the least bit concerned?”

He gave her a nonchalant shrug and turned his body toward her. “I’m going to have to teach you the art of mean-mugging someone. That look you just threw me doesn’t even qualify.”

“Now, you’re trying to piss me off because the last one was awesome.”

“Like I said, I’ll give you a full lesson on the art.”

Standing, she smoothed out her dress. “We should go because the subways have been packed lately and I don’t want to take the chance of being late.”

Carrick stood and took Audrey’s hand. “Before we take off for Syria, you and I are going to have a long discussion about the rules and regs and what I’ll expect of you the moment we step off the plane in Ankara.”

Scrunching up her nose, she nodded. “Fine.” She slid her hand away from his and immediately missed his touch. “I’ll get my jacket and bag, then I’ll be ready to go.” As she walked into the kitchen and put her things in her bag, she thought about the little tiny seed of attraction she had for Carrick and wondered if it was going to become a problem. Lifting her eyes to the window, she saw the clouds covering the top half of the buildings and decided it absolutely wouldn’t.

They were two very different individuals, living on opposite coasts, who had very little in common. A week spent together wasn’t going to change any of those facts, so whatever she was feeling would never matter in the long run.

Add to that his bossy, cranky personality and she was going to be entirely immune to him.

As she walked out of the kitchen, she didn’t see him and wondered if he was in her bedroom. Moving toward the doorway, she saw him standing at the window. “The lights at night are beautiful.”

“I can’t imagine living in the middle of a city for any length of time.”

Walking over, she stood next to him and tried to see the concrete jungle from his point of view and found she couldn’t. She’d been living in a city since she left home for college and she was pretty much immune to the noise and activity. “Where do you live?”

Turning, he looked down at her and grinned. “I have a small house on Coronado Island. Once I retired from the Teams, I realized that I wanted to stay in the area and found a little fixer-upper that’s a block from the beach.”

“Sounds lovely.” Checking her watch, she turned and grabbed her jacket. “We should go.” As she walked out of the room, she felt Carrick’s hand go to the small of her back and wondered why she liked it so much.

Not coming up with an immediate answer, she decided to focus on the upcoming meeting instead.

***

As they stepped off the platform in the Times Square station with a mass of humanity, Carrick couldn’t decide if he felt better or not. Being trapped on the subway for over fifteen minutes with men gawking at Audrey was not his idea of a good time.

The way some of the men’s eyes crawled over her ass pissed him off more than he could say, and it was only through sheer willpower that he was able to control himself from teaching them some manners. Only when he draped his arm around her waist and gave each and every one of them the look he reserved for combatants did they drop their eyes.

Taking her hand, he led her up the stairs and when they reached the top, he checked the surrounding area and tightened his hold. “East on 42^nd St and then North on 6^th Ave, right?”

“Yes.” Sliding her hand out of his, she stepped over to a storefront, opened her bag, and pulled out hand sanitizer. Holding it up, she asked, “Do you want some?”

“No, I’m good.” When she wrinkled her nose and shivered, he decided she wasn’t going to hold his hand if he didn’t, so he put it out and watched her smile as she squirted a glob onto his palm. “You know this stuff is just making bacteria more aggressive.”

“Maybe so, but there’s no way I’m walking around with the germs of the city on my hands.”

He rubbed his hands together and wondered what she’d do when they were deep into Syria and couldn’t take a shower for days.

Sure was going to be interesting to see how she handled the germs and dirt then.

He watched her slip the bottle back into her bag and then zip it up. “Are we good to go?”

“I know you have about ten snarky comments to make and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep them to yourself until after the meeting.”

He took her hand and made sure he was closest to the street as he walked along 42^nd. “I only had three and I plan on keeping them to myself for the rest of the day.” He felt her move her hand away and frowned before he retook it. “If someone wanted to try something, they’d do it here in the busiest block of the city.”

“You realize I’ve lived here for over five years and never once had a bodyguard to ensure my safety. What do you think will happen when you leave tonight and I’m on my own?”

“I’m here now and if you don’t want to see me lose my shit, then you’ll allow me to do what I feel is necessary.” Tightening his hold, he smiled when she did. “And, I’m not leaving until Sunday.”

“Why?”

“Wasn’t sure how long the meeting was going to run, so I allowed myself an extra day.”

“Oh.”

Looking down, he saw her frown and wondered why the idea of him in the city for an extra day was making her unhappy. They had some planning to do and it would be easier to accomplish if they were sitting in the same room. “I’ll take you to the gun range tomorrow and see what your skills are like.”

“I know how to shoot a gun, Carrick. My father is an accomplished outdoorsman and I was taught to shoot when I was twelve.”

“Good to know.” They passed the recruitment station for the armed forces that was lit up with the American flag and he wondered how often people went in. Times Square seemed like a strange place for one, but what did he know.

“What would you tell someone who walked into the recruitment center and wanted to be in the Navy?”

“I’d tell them the choice to serve is the best decision I ever made in my life. While my friends went out to make a living, I was discovering what I was made of and how I could give some part of that back. Every part of my SEAL experience was incredibly powerful and it has been my honor to be part of a community that believes in taking on great challenges and does what it takes to meet them. The mindset is hugely potent and will define how I live the rest of my life.”

They turned up 6^th Avenue and Carrick let out a laugh. “Not sure if that would make anyone want to join, though.”

“Why did you?” Audrey asked.

He moved around a group of people that were standing in the middle of the sidewalk and then answered. “Because I wanted my sword to be in service to this nation and to be in the company of the best men in the world.”

“Did it live up to your expectations?”

They stood in the front of the Simon and Schuster building in the middle of Rockefeller Square and Carrick nodded. “Exceeded every single one of them. I know that I can meet the most hideous challenges and will always find a way to do things right. It wasn’t easy but everything that follows has been a gift.”

“You’re lucky, Carrick, because you got to go out and live your dream.”

Looking up at the enormous skyscraper, he grinned. “Let’s go in and see what we can do about you having the same chance.”

Moving his hand to the small of her back, he led her past the large glass doors and wondered why he only felt comfortable when he was touching her. As they stood in line at the security desk, he decided not to worry about it. They had more significant concerns and his keeping Audrey close was going to be the least of them.

God willing.