Chapter 48
Zane
(Five days later)
It was Terry’s day to cover SpaceMasters, so I was at my desk in the Hawk building, missing my woman, when Pete walked in.
Pete had been through hell as a prisoner in Syria. The Navy put him on a twelve-month leave to recover, and Lucas thought a job with us at Hawk would give him purpose and help him.
As a fellow SEALs, Lucas had tasked me and Duke with helping him find his way.
It wasn’t until Pete got close that I noticed the fresh cuts on his knuckles. “Get in a fight with your toaster?”
It didn’t garner the laugh I intended. “I saw her again.”
“Who?”
“Dana.” Twice recently, Pete had mentioned having caught sight of this Dana Miller he’d had a crush on in high school. “She ran off,” he added before I could question if it was really her.
“Really?”
He checked his hands. “She was being hassled by some guys.”
“That sucks.” It explained his wounds. Helping a woman in distress was built into our DNA as SEALs. “I take it you handled it?”
“Afirmative.” He looked down. “I’ve got to find her.”
After he walked off, I knocked on Lucas’s door and let myself in.
The boss looked up.
“Pete says he saw that girl again and he needs to find her.”
Lucas nodded slowly. “Maybe we can use that.”
Pete had been through hell in that Syrian camp, so we blew it off when Pete had first claimed to have seen Xavier, who we knew died in Syria. After the second time, Pete had wanted to devote himself to finding Xavier.
Lucas leaned back in his chair. “Let’s channel his drive away from Xavier and toward the girl. You and Duke can help him. It’ll be good for him to get a success under his belt.”
Now, Duke and I had the hot potato. “Copy that.”
“Keep me informed.”
Then someone knocked on the door, I opened it to find Wellbourne.
The lieutenant entered. “I have an update.”This was probably what Peyton and I had been waiting to hear.
“Boston PD searched O’Connor’s house and found some interesting files. He’d kept notes and recordings of five men who had engaged him to have their wives killed.”
That fit with what Peyton had told me.
Wellbourne twisted in his chair. “Now, this may not be what you want to hear…”
I braced for bad news.
“But O’Connor has agreed to turn state’s witness against the five on conspiracy to commit murder—”
It feared the next answer. “In exchange for what?”
“He’ll plead guilty to one count of the same charge, on his wife’s case. I know it doesn’t seem harsh enough, but it carries a twenty-year max sentence.”
“Which means the asshole gets out when?” Almost nobody served their entire sentence.
“Maybe eleven or twelve. It depends. But after that, we get a run at him for kidnapping.”
“That’s a little better.”
“It was Boston’s call.” The lieutenant pulled a plastic evidence bag from his pocket. “At least your girl can have her watch back now.”
I accepted the watch. “Thanks. This means a lot to her.”An hour later, I fingered the business card, put it down, then picked it up again. I’d put this off long enough and dialed the number.
“Dr. Lang’s office,” a perky woman answered. “How may I help you?”
“I’d like to make an appointment to see the doctor.”
“I’m afraid she’s completely booked for some time.”
That answer gave me an easy out, but my tattoo reminded me that the only easy day was yesterday. After swallowing, I pulled out the trump card the boss had insisted I use. “Lucas Hawk referred me.”
“Just a moment, please.”
I waited.
Another woman came on the line. “This is Doctor Lang. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“Zane March, ma’am.”
“You can cut the ma’am, Zane. What can I help you with?”
“I have nightmares, violent ones.”
“I understand you were a SEAL?”
Lucas had obviously talked to her. “Yes.”
“Zane, I can help you, but you may consider the process just as difficult as when you went through BUD/S. Are you ready to commit?”
“I am.”
“Do you have a buddy you can talk with when it gets hard?”
Peyton’s face flashed in front of me. “I do.”
“How is Thursday at one for our first appointment?”
“I’ll be there.” My angel deserved this. I would march through hell for her.
After the call, I dialed Peyton and told her the news Wellbourne had given me.
“So it’s over?” she asked.
“Yup.”
O’Connor’s son hadn’t survived his injuries.
The Russians Hannigan had hired as muscle had all already pleaded guilty to simple kidnapping, which was a minor charge in California, but there was nothing more to do about that. It was over.
“And you have my watch?”
“I do, and there’s one other thing… I called the doc.”
“What did he say?”
I took a breath. “She said it would be hard.”
She giggled. “You have a tattoo for anybody who tells you that.”
“I have to admit I’m a little scared.”
“Then today’s the day. Can we have lunch?”
“Sure. But I’m on my bike. Where can I meet you?”
“I know. Santa Monica Pier at noon.”
Peyton
I stood at the edge of the parking lot wearing my shortest dress and the bulky backpack while I waited for Zane.
The sound of a Harley approaching filled the air.
The rider had greasy hair flowing out from under his skullcap helmet and a big beer belly. “Wanna ride?”
“No, thanks. I’m waiting for my boyfriend.”
He left just before I saw Zane turn the corner on his Yamaha R1.
Yes, I’d looked it up.
He backed his bike up to the curb and dismounted.
I rushed up and wrapped him in a hug before he even got his helmet off. It was silly, but I’d missed him.
He removed his helmet and tapped my backpack. “What’s this?”
I took it off and pulled out the pretty pink helmet I’d bought.
“Really?”
“I know that seeing the doctor about your nightmares is a scary thing.”
He turned his head to look at the ocean. “It’s fine.”
That was a lie. I knew guys had difficulties talking about their emotions, and admitting fears was even worse. This was both combined.
“So…” I placed a hand on his chest. “I promise to help you with that in any way I can if you help me get over my fear of motorcycles.”
His hands moved to my hips. “You’re going to ride with me?”
“I hear there’s a cute restaurant at Zuma Beach.”
“That’s a fairly long ride up the PCH.”
I nodded. “I know.” If I did this, I was going all out.
He stepped back. “You’re not exactly dressed for it.”
I spun for him. “Do you like it?”
“I love it, but are you going to be comfortable riding in a skirt that short?”
“Today, I’m going to match your courage. Danger is my middle name. Hell, I survived a serial killer.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.” He put his helmet back on and helped me with mine.
As we left the parking lot, I held tight to Zane.
Half an hour of wind and noise later, I was positive that wrapped around my man like this was exactly where I was meant to be. “Faster.”
He responded with a quick twist of the throttle, and the bike roared forward.
Serena had warned me that being with a SEAL was a ticket to a full-throttle life and she was sure right.
After he slowed down, I yelled to him, “Maybe after lunch we can find somewhere secluded to stop.” I reached lower and squeezed him through his jeans.
“You keep that up, Angel, and we won’t make it to your restaurant.”
He grew hard under my touch.
I pulled my hand away. “Want to know something else?”
“What?”
“I forgot my panties.”
He laughed and sped up. “Angel, now we’re definitely stopping before that restaurant.”
Full throttle life.