Chapter 4 #2
“I. Don’t. Care. They’re all in this just as deeply.
They’ve kept me here against my will. They’ve beaten me when Shahzada tells them to.
I don’t care if they don’t hit me as hard as they could; they still do it.
They laugh when I fake cry about my hair.
They enjoy seeing me beg. They’re all culpable—and I hope they die slow, horrible, painful deaths! ”
Grover couldn’t hold back the smile that crossed his face. It was inappropriate as hell, but he was so relieved Shahzada and his followers hadn’t completely doused her fire, he didn’t care. “They will,” he told her.
He heard her huff out a breath in agitation.
“What’s the first meal you want when you get home?” he asked, trying to get her mind off the assholes holding them captive.
“Seriously?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Because I’ve had nothing but tasteless oatmeal-type shit for months,” she complained.
Grover realized that his question had been pretty tactless. “Sorry. Forget I asked.”
“I never used to think much about food. I mean, I tried to watch what I ate because with my height, even five pounds would make me look much larger. But I didn’t really have a favorite food or anything.
Now that I haven’t had anything good in months…
I realize how much I miss tasting anything other than the crap they’ve given me. ”
“There’s a pizza place north of Austin that has my favorite pizza ever,” Grover said. “DeSano Pizzeria Napoletana. The name is super fancy, and I swear I’ve never tasted anything better. You’d think everything was made in the heart of Italy instead of Texas.”
“McDonald’s French fries,” Sierra said. “The salt on my fingers used to annoy me, but even the thought of salt right now makes my mouth water.”
“You could have anything in the world and you choose fast food French fries?” Grover teased.
“Hey, don’t judge,” Sierra complained.
“Sorry,” Grover told her. “What else?”
“Fresh vegetables. A tomato straight from the vine. A huge salad with chopped veggies and cheese. And slathered in ranch dressing.”
“Sounds good. What else?”
“A cream-filled doughnut.”
Grover chuckled and ignored the flash of pain from his ribs. “You have a sweet tooth, huh?” he asked.
“Yup,” Sierra said unapologetically. “Pretty much just about anything would sound amazing right now though. I…I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
He hated the shame he heard in her voice. “You’ll gain it back. I’ll help you.”
Her hand tightened on his for a moment before she relaxed again.
He kept talking. “On our first date, I’ll get us a pizza from DeSano Pizzeria Napoletana.
I’ll make you a huge salad with fresh veggies I’ll pick up from a farmers market.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, cheese…you name it, I’ll put it in there.
We’ll go up to the top of the barn that was recently completed on my property.
You can see for miles up there. We’ll eat until we’re stuffed, then we’ll let it settle while we talk, and then eat some more.
We’ll be so full, we won’t be able to climb down to leave so we’ll have to sleep up there. ”
Sierra chuckled. “So now our first date has turned into a sleepover?”
“Sure. Why not? We’ve already slept together here, so why not when we get home too?”
There was a moment of silence before Grover heard the most beautiful sound ever. Sierra giggling.
“You’re assuming I want to come to Texas to visit you,” Sierra said when she had herself under control.
“I am,” Grover agreed.
Another minute or so of silence before she spoke again. “You’re not like any man I’ve ever met. You’re bossy and too sure of yourself. You think you’ll get your way just because you want something.”
When she didn’t say anything else, Grover asked, “And?”
“And what?”
“I heard a but in there somewhere.”
“Yeah. But…for some reason I can’t get mad at you for it.”
“I’m an upfront kind of guy,” Grover told her seriously, hating that he couldn’t look into her eyes as he spoke.
He squeezed her hand tighter. “When I saw you a year ago, I was instantly attracted. You were like this ray of sunshine in an otherwise pretty dark world. When I didn’t hear from you, I admit…
I was both pissed and disappointed. But even as month after month passed, and I still didn’t hear from you, I couldn’t get you out of my mind.
When I found out that you had written? That was it.
I wasn’t going to let some asshole terrorist steal my chance to get to know you. ”
“So you came all the way over here and got yourself taken captive so you could get a date?” Sierra asked.
Grover snorted. “Hey, I’m the last of my team to find a woman, and I’m not getting any younger.”
“Please. I’m sure women trip over themselves to get you to look at them. In case it’s escaped your notice, you’re fairly good-looking, Grover.”
“I’m thirty-three, not twenty, Bean. I’d like to think I’m not so shallow as to go home with every woman who decides she wants to sleep with a soldier.
I’m not denying I went through that phase when I first joined the Army, but that’s not what I want anymore.
Not for a long time. And not as many women as you think want to get involved with a career soldier like me.
Someone who has to leave at the drop of a hat and can’t talk about where he’s going or when he’ll be back. ”
“Then they’re stupid,” Sierra said softly. “I’m not saying it’s easy to be married to someone in the military, but I think, for me, I’d be proud of what my boyfriend or husband was doing. I’ve learned firsthand how important it is to keep the tyrants from taking over the world.”
Grover was silent for a while. He didn’t know any of the basics about Sierra.
Things like whether she was a morning person.
If she spread her stuff all over the bathroom counter or kept it all neatly lined up on her side.
Her favorite movies or books. The things he did know were far more important, and he liked all of it.
A lot. She was practical. Smart. Down-to-earth.
Compassionate. Loyal. A little bloodthirsty.
He knew that last one wasn’t something most people thought was a good trait, but he wanted a partner who understood that killing was part of his job. The Deltas didn’t kill on every mission, of course, but when they did, it was absolutely necessary.
Grover shifted on the ground and winced again. Damn, he hurt. Shahzada was a vicious son-of-a-bitch, and he wouldn’t be sorry to see him dead.
As if she could read his mind, Sierra asked, “Do you honestly think your team will find us? I mean, how will they be any different than anyone else who’s looked in the past?”
“They’ll find us,” Grover reassured her.
“And I know because if one of them was missing, I wouldn’t stop until I’d figured out where they were being held and rained hellfire down on anyone who dared keep me from them.
Besides, I left them notes on everything I did when I was on post, and what I had planned to do the night I was taken. They’ll follow up and get us out.”
“I don’t understand why Shahzada has been so…hard on you,” Sierra said.
“He probably has a small penis,” Grover said.
There was a beat of silence, then Sierra burst out laughing. Once again, Grover couldn’t help but grin at the beautiful sound.
“Well, all right then,” she said when she had herself under control.
“In all honesty, I’m not one hundred percent sure myself,” Grover said more seriously.
“I know he’s pissed the base is locked down.
And like you said, he’s frustrated that he hasn’t been asked to move up in the ranks.
He’s still stuck here in this town. He wants more.
And because he’s spent so much time on the post, he’s probably jealous or resentful of men like me. ”
“Special forces?” Sierra asked.
Grover shrugged, forgetting the damage being strung up had done to his shoulders. He bit back a pained groan and took a deep breath before continuing. “Of men stronger, bigger, and who don’t need to rely on fear and intimidation to be powerful.”
“Tell me about your friends?” she asked.
Some people might’ve thought her question was an abrupt change of topic, but Grover followed her logic. He liked that she thought of him and the rest of his team as the opposite of Shahzada. Honorable.
So Grover told her all about his team. He talked about some of their missions—without including details about where they were or what they were doing. He mentioned a few of their close calls and explained how much they relied on each other.
He told her the story of how Trigger and Gillian met when her plane was hijacked.
He described how devastated Lefty had been when Kinley entered the witness protection program, but how he’d never lost faith that he’d see her again.
He explained about Brain’s amazing ability to speak and read so many languages, and how much it had come in handy over the years.
Shared the story about Sergeant Spence, who’d tried to kill Brain and Aspen, and how relieved the other woman was to be out of the Army.
He talked a long time about Logan and Bria, Oz’s nephew and niece, and explained his own not-so-great relationship with his brother, after Spencer’s actions had almost gotten their sister Devyn killed.
He told Sierra about their duties at the Olympics and meeting Ember, and how he wasn’t so sure about her at first, but now loved her like a sister.