8. Wade
8
WADE
I left Ellie’s apartment and immediately went down to the kitchen and asked Chuck to make me a burger and whatever Ellie usually ate.
“Yeah, man. I’ll make her favorite,” he replied, then paused, leaning against the counter. “ Tammy gave me the lowdown on the phone call. She doin’ okay now?”
His concern for her only confirmed what I already knew— Ellie had a way of worming her way into people’s hearts, even in the short time she’d been here.
“She’s still a bit shaken up, but better,” I responded, trying to ease his concerns.
Chuck wiped his hands on a towel and gave me a serious look. “ You need my help sending this asshole a message?” he asked, his voice low and steady. “ She’s a sweet girl. She don’t need nobody hassling her.”
I told him I had it handled for now and that seemed to satisfy him for the moment. After getting the food order squared away, I went into my office and called Archer . We had cameras all over the building, but I wanted to put a few more security measures in place. With pricks like Randall , they often escalated once they felt they’d lost control over a situation. My guess was he was pissed Ellie left and was making his move to scare her. If he was dumb enough to stalk her here, I wanted to be prepared. I also wanted to see if we could trace some of those phone calls made to the Watering Hole . Archer said he and Vince would look into it and see what they could find.
Something also wasn’t sitting well with me about his perfectly timed arrival at his house when Ellie was packing up. Or how he’d found her at this pub. I also asked Vince what to do about Jack . I understood Ellie didn’t want to worry him, but Archer and I both agreed he should know and would be pissed if he found out we’d kept it from him. Plus , he’d met the prick, albeit briefly, so he may be able to shed some light into his behavior. I rattled off an email to Jack to have him give me a call when he could, knowing it could be days before he was able to.
Just the thought of this dickhead messing with Ellie had my blood boiling. When she’d told me what he’d done to her, it took everything in me to remain calm for her sake. Any man who can do that to a woman or child is not a man and, in my opinion, doesn’t deserve to share space on this Earth .
While I waited for the food, I went in search of Tammy to fill her in on a few things. While Tammy had worked here for years with my uncle, what many people didn’t know was that she was also former military and a badass in her own right. While she never outright lied about her military past if people asked, she also didn’t share her exact role freely. She said that if she ever felt the need to bring those skills back again, she liked having the advantage and element of surprise of people not knowing she could kick someone’s ass if she needed to.
“Hey Tammy , you got a minute?” I asked after spotting her near the bar. I knew she’d called in extra help for the bar so she wouldn’t have to work too long.
“Yeah, Corey just got here, so give me a minute and I’ll meet ya back in the office,” she said, nodding toward the back.
I walked back, telling Chuck I’d come get the food in a few minutes, and then made my way to the office. Tammy came in about a minute later.
“Normally I don’t like going behind people’s backs, but I need to know what’s going on with Ellie , so spill,” she said sternly with her arms crossed leaning against the doorway.
“Have a seat.” I pointed to the chair in front of me.
She closed the door and sat.
“It’s not my story to tell, but the gist of it is that Ellie has an abusive ex, and while she left him and came here, it appears he somehow found her,” I explained, giving her the bare minimum but also the essentials she needed.
“When you say abusive, we talkin’ emotional, verbal, or physical?” Tammy asked.
“Definitely the last two, but likely all the above,” I told her and could see her face tighten and breathing pick up. “ Dipshit’s name is Randall . I got Archer and Vince looking into him as we speak, but definitely let me know if you see or hear anything around here. Not sure how he found out she’s working here, but he knows now.”
“He knows her brother works with you guys upstairs? Could be a guess?” Tammy asked.
“I thought that too, but it appeared that while she mentioned her brother living here in town while he wasn’t overseas, she hadn’t given him any specifics of where he lived, and she didn’t even know we had Ranger Shield up and running yet, so I doubt she gave that asshole anything he could use to find us.”
I told Tammy if that guy or anyone else called back asking for Ellie specifically, to let me know right away. She confirmed and told me she would let me know if she heard or saw anything.
I grabbed our food from Chuck and made my way back upstairs.
* * *
Once upstairs, I knocked at her door. I had a key to unlock it, but didn’t want to startle her, plus my hands were full of food.
Ellie opened it, but I hadn’t heard her unlock it.
“You should keep this locked at all times,” I told her as I walked into the kitchen.
“You said you were coming right back, and you already told me you guys keep this building very secure.”
“Yes, we do. It’s very secure, but now that your ex-douche canoe knows where you work, and you live where you work, you shouldn’t take any chances,” I explained to her so she understood the importance.
Her smile dropped, and I instantly felt bad.
“Okay, sorry,” she said in a more somber voice.
“Let’s eat,” I said, holding up the bags and setting things up at the two barstools Jack had in his apartment in lieu of an actual table and chairs.
I felt bad bringing the mood down, so I tried to think of something else to talk about to get her mind off it, though I wasn’t exactly great at mindless small talk.
“What was Jack like as a kid? Got any embarrassing stories you wanna share that we can give him hell for when he comes back?” I asked.
She laughed and her smile instantly reappeared, making me feel good about my choice of conversation.
“Did he ever tell you about the time he got his braces stuck on a girl’s braces while making out with her—then had to go to her dad to get them unstuck?" She giggled, a definite devious edge in her voice. It was contagious— I laughed, too.
"No, can’t say he did. Do tell," I urged, prying for more.
She launched into three more gloriously embarrassing stories, giving me plenty of details to share with the other guys so we could properly give Jack a hard time later.
“What about you? Do you have any siblings?” she asked me.
“I have one older sister, Willa ,” I told her. “ She and her husband Paul live here in Georgia , and they have two kids, Charlie who’s nine, and Haley who’s seven. I also have a younger sister Whitney , who is going to college here in Georgia . She’s training to be a vet, so she only has one year left of her forty-seven years of vet school.”
“Oh, that’s awesome,” she said, laughing a little. God her face was beautiful when she laughed freely like that.
“What about your parents? Do they live here too?” she asked with a smile still on her face.
“Yeah, they still live in the same house I grew up in,” I explained, feeling a bit lucky knowing she didn’t have her parents anymore. “ They all get together with my grandma, who also lives nearby, every Sunday for lunch or dinner. I can’t usually go because of my schedule at the pub, but I try to go once a month or so if I can.”
Her smile on her face now turned sad, and I couldn’t help but feel bad that she didn’t have that anymore, given both her parents and her grandma were dead. My family annoyed the hell out of me at times, but I still loved having them here, and holidays were great. Chaotic , but great.
“I miss that,” she sighed. “ We used to do family dinners too, though my grandma lived a little farther away. Jack is all I have left, but he’s gone so much, I don’t really get to see him often. God , I miss him.”
She started to choke up a little, and I felt this tightening in my chest. I felt so bad for her, which was the only reason I could imagine why I did what I did next.
“Why don’t you come with me tomorrow to family dinner?” I asked. “ It’s nothing fancy. It will be crazy and loud, but the food is great.”
“You sure they won’t mind?” she asked a little anxiously. “ I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding,” I said. “ My mom and grandma will be thrilled to have someone else, though I warn you, I don’t make it a habit of bringing anyone with me, so I’m sure my sisters will fill you with embarrassing stories from my childhood too.”
She smiled again, and her face lit up.
“Oooh, that could be fun.” She grinned that slightly devious grin again, and I wanted to kiss that right off her face.
Stop that thought.
You’re already close to crossing the line, inviting her to see your family.
Lord knew Mom , Grandma , Whitney , and Willa will have a field day with me bringing home a woman. Something I had never ever done.
“Thank you,” she said, bringing me back from my thoughts. “ I actually wouldn’t mind meeting your mom. Jack said she used to send the best care packages and would often add in things for the other guys too. I tried, but after Gran died, I was so overcome with grief that I stopped sending stuff as regularly as I used to.”
“Don’t worry about it. My mom took it upon herself to adopt all ten guys in our squadron and basically become our den mom,” I told her.
It was true. My mom sent stuff for me and the other guys, especially the ones like Jack and a few others who didn’t have parents or other family to send care packages to them.
“What’s your mom’s name?” she asked.
“Her name is Wendy , and my father’s name is Wayne ,” I told her, adding in my dad’s name, knowing full well what she would ask afterward.
“You all have names starting with W , and isn’t your last name Watson ?” She grinned. “ Was that on purpose?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
“Yes, Mom thought it was cute,” I explained. “ I’m pretty sure my dad thought it was weird, but he told her since she was the one giving birth, she could pick the names.”
I was pretty sure my dad regretted that, but if he did, he would take that thought to his grave rather than upset my mom.
“It’s a sore subject with her and my sister Willa since she decided not to continue the trend with her kids,” I told her.
“But her husband’s name doesn’t start with a W ,” she intelligently pointed out.
“Yep, but that didn’t mean anything to my mom,” I said. “ And even though Willa’s kids are older now and clearly aren’t going to have their names changed, my mother still brings it up at least once a year at family get-togethers.”
She laughed, and I swore I felt that in my dick. God , she looked so gorgeous when she laughed.
Maybe it was the situation earlier in the day, or maybe it was how relaxed I felt with her, or maybe it was just the fact that she looked so damn beautiful at this moment while laughing, but my brain obviously malfunctioned, because I leaned forward and kissed her. Hard . I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to me. Holy hell, she tasted good.
For the first couple seconds, she was stiff, but then she tilted her head and kissed me right back, opening her mouth to me. I slipped my tongue in there and tasted her some more. Desire filled me with an urgency that kept all logical thought at bay. She moaned, and that sound went straight to my dick, which was now hard as a rock. That moan also woke my brain right up.
Get off her. I pulled away quickly and backed away from her.
“Jesus, I’m sorry,” I said, instantly regretting losing her mouth but also regretting my impulse control. I needed to leave now before I did it again.
Without giving her any chance to say anything, I made my way to the door.
“I’ll come get you at noon tomorrow for lunch,” I said as I opened the door and walked out. I walked right over to my door and let myself out.
I needed to get control of myself around her. In a matter of minutes, I’d invited her to my family lunch and had my tongue down her throat. What the hell were you thinking?
Never in my life had I craved someone like I craved Ellie . It was like I was a teenage boy all over again with no impulse control around girls.
That stops now, before you make an even bigger mistake. Oh , and Jack kills you for touching his sister.