Chapter 33
“I really need to learn to lock my door.” ~ Caleb
Caleb
I groan as I roll over in bed. My head protests the movement and my stomach gurgles. I’m afraid I’m going to throw up.
“There’s a bucket next to the bed if you need to vomit,” Hudson says.
Hudson? What the hell? Why is he here? I open my eyes and blink until the room comes into focus. Hudson isn’t alone. Lucas and Flynn are with him. There’s only one explanation for their presence.
“What did Maya tell you?”
Hudson growls. “She didn’t tell us anything.”
Ah, I guess there is another possible explanation. “What did your women tell you?”
“Nothing.” Lucas frowns. “Which is very unusual for Chloe. I’m afraid she’s going to burst soon.”
Flynn nods. “Sophia didn’t say anything either.”
I force myself to sit up. If Maya didn’t tell her friends what an asshole I was to her, who subsequently told their partners, then? “What are all of you doing here?”
Hudson crosses his arms over his chest. “We’re not stupid.”
I rub a hand over my forehead. My head is pounding and nothing is making any sense. “Never said you were.”
He nods to the bedside table. “There are two pain pills.”
“Thanks,” I mutter before swallowing the pills with a bit of water.
“Our women went to Mermaid Karaoke yesterday,” Flynn begins.
Maya and her friends at Bootlegger can only mean one thing. “How much bail money do they need?”
“Those women never pay bail money,” Flynn says.
Lucas growls. “I won’t allow Chloe to spend the night in jail.”
Must be nice to be a cop.
“I have a special fund for bail money,” Hudson says.
Or a millionaire.
“Can someone explain why you’re here before my head explodes?” I ask.
“We’re here because you hurt Maya. No one hurts Maya on our watch,” Flynn says. “She’s family.”
I don’t bother asking how they know I hurt Maya. Their circular talk makes my head hurt worse. “Maya deserves better than me.”
“Better than a genuine American hero?” Hudson asks.
I scowl. “I’m not a hero. ”
There’s a knock on the door and I moan. Who the hell is here now? When did my cabin in the woods become Grand Central Station? What does a man need to do to get a bit of peace on this island? Why did I stop locking my door?
“They’re here,” Hudson says. “Get dressed.”
Lucas wrinkles his nose. “A shower wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
Before I have a chance to protest, they leave the bedroom and shut the door behind them. I hear the front door open but as much as I strain to listen, I can’t hear who it is. Is it Maya? Did she come back?
I need to see her. To apologize. I throw the covers off and get out of bed. I hurry to the bathroom and shower as fast as I can. I’m still putting on my t-shirt when I enter the living room. I screech to a halt.
“You’re not Maya.”
Kyle chuckles. “I’ve been accused of many things but a woman has never been one of them. Not even when I wore a hijab.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I contacted him,” Hudson says.
“How the hell do you even know who he is? Our missions are classified.”
He shrugs. “I have contacts. A signed football greases a lot of palms.”
I scowl at him. “Operational security isn’t a joke.”
He holds up his hands. “Never said it was. I didn’t learn anything about your missions. Hell, I don’t even know which countries you’ve served in. But when I reached out, I discovered Kyle was looking for you.”
I face my former teammate. “Why the hell would you be looking for me?”
“Um… maybe because you cut yourself off from contact with everyone in the unit. Even the Cap wouldn’t divulge your location while you’re on convalescent leave.”
“Convalescent leave is over,” I snarl. “I’m being discharged.”
“Fuck, bro. I’m sorry.”
“Why the hell are you sorry? You should be glad I won’t be returning to active duty where I can get other soldiers injured the way I got you injured.”
Kyle’s brow wrinkles. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Do you need me to spell it out?” I motion toward his prosthetic leg. “You’d have a real one of those if it weren’t for me.”
He rears back. “Did you get hit on the head when those insurgents shot you in the leg? I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”
“Don’t lie.”
He marches to me and I wince when I notice his limp from his prosthetic leg. He grasps my t-shirt and shakes me. “Enough of this pity party. It’s not your fault I lost my leg.”
“But if I had—”
He shakes me again. “Nope. I’m done listening to your idiotic lies. You couldn’t have done anything differently. You don’t have psychic abilities. You couldn’t have anticipated there were twice as many insurgents in the building than our briefing indicated. You are not to blame for the actions of others. You hear me?”
I lift my hands. “I hear you.”
He narrows his eyes. “But do you believe me?”
“I can slap some sense into him,” Lucas offers.
“Slapping won’t work.” Hudson meets my gaze. “What does work is the help of a woman who loves you.”
I snarl at him. “What do you know about it?”
Flynn barks out a laugh. “Hudson was nearly as much of a hermit before he got Nova pregnant as you were before you let Maya in.”
“It’s true.” Hudson nods. “I was convinced my life was over because I couldn’t play pro ball anymore. I thought I was a has-been who didn’t deserve a woman like Nova.”
“But you’re a millionaire and own a successful business,” I point out.
“You know as well as I do none of that shit matters if you think you’re undeserving.”
Kyle releases my t-shirt and throws an arm around my shoulder. “I approve of your new friends. They’ll never be as good as me but they’re damn close.”
“The offer to be my head of security still stands,” Hudson throws out. “In addition to the salary, the benefits include health insurance, free meals at the resort for you and your family, and living accommodations in a condo on the resort grounds.”
“Dude.” Kyle whistles. “Do you have any more job openings? ”
“There’s always room for a friend of Caleb’s. Assuming you can convince Caleb to take the job.”
“Challenge accepted.”
I shove Kyle away. “Everyone needs to stop pushing me.”
“Someone’s got to push you, you knucklehead. Did this idiot ever tell you about the first time we went rappelling?” Kyle chuckles. “He cried like a baby.”
“I didn’t cry.”
“But you wanted to.” He grinds his knuckles over my head and I punch his shoulder. He laughs as he catches his balance on a chair.
“How do you do it?” I ask.
“Do what?”
“Laugh and joke when you lost part of yourself back there in the sandbox.”
He sobers. “I didn’t lose part of myself.” I nod toward his leg. “My lower leg is a body part. It’s not part of myself.” He taps his fist on his chest. “In here. I’m still me.”
“But your career is over.”
“There are other careers.”
“But you loved being in the Army.”
“Not as much as I love my wife.” He smiles. “She’s happy as a pig in shit to have me home. She’s pregnant.”
“Mandy’s pregnant?” He nods. “Congrats, bro.”
“Thanks.” He clears his throat. “And the Army is paying for my bachelor’s degree. I’m going to be an engineer. Plus, I’m volunteering at the VA on weekends. Compared to some, I’m a lucky son of a bitch. ”
My throat tightens as guilt stabs me. I’m being a whiny bitch about my injury whereas Kyle lost part of his leg and he’s moving on.
“You always were full of optimism.”
“And you never shut up about the woman you were going to claim once you did your time in the Army.” He scans the room. “Where is she? Did you finally man up?”
I scratch my neck. “I pushed Maya away.”
“Dumbass,” he mutters.
“It’s why we’re here,” Lucas says. “We need to figure out a plan of action for him to win Maya back.”
“I told you. Maya is better off without me.”
“Dumbass,” Kyle repeats. “We might need to get Mandy. She’ll talk some sense into him.”
“I can pick her up,” Hudson volunteers.
“Whoa.” I hold up my hands. “His wife is a ball buster.”
Kyle grins. “She keeps me on the straight and narrow. Doesn’t let me hold pity parties with a bottle of moonshine.”
And the hits keep coming from him. I might as well confess now before they drag it out of me. “I might have said some nasty things to Maya after I found out I wasn’t able to return to active duty.”
“It sucks your Army career is over but you weren’t planning to re-up in two years anyway,” Kyle says.
I scowl. “But that was before…”
“Before what?” he asks. “Before you saved my life?”
“Stop saying I saved your life. ”
“Bro, I was bleeding out. You could have left me there. You were already in the clear. But you didn’t. You came back and carried me out of there. You saved my life.”
I frown. “You make me sound like a hero.”
“Because you are.” He slaps my back. “It takes time to adjust to civilian life. But you have a good group of friends to help you. And.” He waggles his eyebrows. “If this Maya is as wonderful as you always claimed she was – and based on the chocolate chip cookies she used to send you every month, I think she is – she’ll forgive you.”
“All you need to do is cut your chest open and bleed for her,” Flynn says.
I cringe. “Anyone else have a better plan?”
“Does she enjoy swimming?” Hudson asks. “I could put in a pool for you out back.”
Lucas chuckles. “There’s no way Maya is living in this cabin in the middle of nowhere.”
Crap. Is he right? I don’t want to live in town.
I shake my head. I’m making it all about me again. Which is how I landed in hot water to begin with. I need to start thinking about Maya. About the future without the Army. My heart stutters but I inhale a deep breath to calm myself.
I’ve survived worse than this. But I won’t survive losing Maya. I don’t want to.