CHAPTER THREE
While Priscilla, Patrick, Margo, Major, and Elena waited for the men to return, Patrick and Major worked on some honey-do lists around the house. They’d come with the triplets in support of whatever might happen to them after meeting with SEAL command.
“What do you think will happen to them?” asked Priscilla.
“I think they’ll ask them to retire,” said Margo. “It’s normal for them. It’s happened to all of our men at some point. Most didn’t leave willingly.”
“I hate that,” she said quietly. Her phone pinged and she looked down at the message. “What in the world?”
“What’s wrong?” asked Major.
“River said they have someone with them.”
She opened the door seeing them walk across the street with the woman in Quinn’s arms. She was tiny, but then again, everyone looked tiny next to these boys.
Her long dark hair hung over his arm in a ponytail, her slender body draped across his arms. Still in his dress whites, it looked like a movie scene.
“So, is the woman a retirement gift from the SEAL team?”
“Very funny,” said River kissing her. “Dad? Major? We need the medical kit. Is Adam here yet?”
“They should be here any minute. They were in L.A. doing something with a non-profit up there.”
“Did I hear my name?” called Adam walking through the backdoor. He looked at the woman and his eyes went wide. “Oh. Okay. Put her on the sofa.”
“So, how did you end up carrying a woman home?” asked Margo.
The three men told the story of what occurred, the others showing the concern on their faces. They looked down at the pale woman, her eyes still not open and then back at Quinn as he continued with the story.
“Did you get a good look at this guy?” asked Major.
“We did. We’re happy to give a full description. She’s not even from here. She said she’s from Pensacola. That could be why she passed out. Maybe he drugged her and got her here without her knowing it,” said Quinn.
“She’s got a quite knot on her head,” said Adam. “Fiona has reduced the pressure and swelling which should help but she also has drugs in her system. The kind designed to knock someone out for a very long time. Like maybe for a plane ride or boat trip.”
“Damn,” muttered Quinn. “We’ll see if we can find anything on the cameras for flights from Pensacola to San Diego.”
“It would pretty damn risky for him to drug her and try to get her on a plane,” said Finn.
“Maybe,” shrugged Adam, “but it could have easily been passed off as a nervous flyer or perhaps a skittish newlywed. We won’t know until she can speak to us. I think he gave her way too much for someone her size.”
“She should be waking soon,” said Fiona lifting her hands from the woman’s head. “The drugs are gone now but she’s probably still going to have a headache.”
“Thank you, Fiona,” said Quinn.
“I’ll get some food going,” said Margo, kissing her sons’ cheeks. “You boys go change.”
“Hey, Mom? Do you think you could stop calling us ‘boys’ now that we’re retired SEALs?” smirked River. She looked at the three of them with a straight face.
“Nope.”
The triplets laughed, shaking their heads as they stared at the young woman.
“I’ll call home and give a description of our guy to Hiro,” said Finnegan.
A soft moan emanated from the young woman as her eyes fluttered open. She immediately covered them with her hands, frowning at the light coming in through the big windows.
“Hey, hey, take it easy,” said Fiona softly. “You had quite a bump on your head.”
“Yes. I remember them,” she said pointing to Quinn, River, and Finnegan. “Thank you for coming to my apparent rescue.”
“Do you remember anything at all?” asked Patrick. She looked at him frowning and then tilted her head toward the triplets. “They’re my sons. Sorry, we all look alike.”
“Wow. Thank goodness. I thought I might have a serious head injury.”
“You almost did,” said Adam. “Do you remember being hit on the head?”
“I remember not feeling well. Greg, that guy you saw had asked me out to dinner a few weeks ago.”
“Where did you meet him?” asked Quinn.
“At work. I mean, sort of. I’m a flight attendant for Coastal Airways. He was on my flight from Miami to Pensacola. He was friendly, asked me if I was going home or leaving home. Passengers ask that all the time. Most don’t mean anything by it, they’re just curious if we finally get to go home.”
“What happened at the end of the flight?” asked River.
“He said he was in town for a week and wanted to take me to lunch. Lunch is always better in my opinion, it doesn’t feel like as much of a commitment. I agreed to lunch, he seemed nice but I refused to let him pick me up.”
“Good girl,” nodded Patrick. She smiled at him, nodding.
“I met him at a little seafood place on the beach, we talked, ate, and I thought it was nice but there wasn’t anything special about him.
Unfortunately, he did. He was calling me non-stop.
I had another series of flights to do and when I returned, I figured the only way to get rid of him was to meet for dinner.
“So, I agreed on the same restaurant. I knew most of the waitstaff there. I told him I wasn’t staying, I just wanted him to know that although I appreciated the interest, I didn’t feel the same.”
“Did you eat or drink anything?” asked Finn.
“Just water. In a glass.” They all nodded, some even moaning. “Was that wrong?”
“When you’re concerned about someone you’re with, always ask for bottled water and never let it out of your sight,” said Margo.
“Damn. I went to the ladies room,” she frowned. “I didn’t think he was crazy. I just thought he was insistent.”
“Hard to tell the difference sometimes,” said Quinn. “What happened next?”
“He continued to argue that I belonged to him and I finally just stood and left. I drove to my apartment but felt like crap. I know that I locked the door.” She looked down at her clothing and frowned.
“What’s wrong?” asked Quinn.
“I was wearing this at dinner. Just shorts, t-shirt, and sandals. I must have fallen asleep in this.” She reached up, touching her ponytail. “My hair. My hair was like this as well. What day is this?”
“Thursday,” said River.
“I met him Monday night,” she said with tears. “Three nights he had me. Wh-what did he do?”
“Hey, it’s okay,” said Adam. “Nothing more than the bump on the head and he drugged your water, possibly drugging you for the last few days to keep you quiet.”
“How could you know that he didn’t, he didn’t touch me,” she whispered.
“I’m a doctor,” said Adam. “I’m going to ask that for now you trust me.”
She nodded at them, then looked at all the faces.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is April Lewis.”
“April, I’m sorry we’re meeting under such circumstances,” said Patrick. “I’m Patrick. That’s my wife, Margo and my sons you’ve met. Quinn, River, and Finnegan. Priscilla is River’s wife. Then we have Major, his wife, Elena and of course, Adam and Fiona.”
“Thank you all. What do I do now?” she asked.
“For now, you stay here with us,” said Margo. “I think the boys are going to want to figure out what Greg wanted from you. Did you know his last name?”
“Jones. Greg Jones,” she said with an embarrassed look. “It probably isn’t his real name, is it?”
“Possibly,” said Quinn. “Did your apartment have another door or entrance?”
“A balcony door. It’s a sliding glass door. I live right on the beach so it’s one of the perks of paying that kind of rent.” The all smiled, trying to make her feel more at ease.
“I’m going to bet you could use a hot shower and a change of clothes,” smiled Margo.
“I don’t have anything,” said April looking down at herself. “What am I going to do?”
She started to cry and before anyone could get to her, Quinn was in his knees in front of her, holding her to his shoulder, rubbing her back. Finnegan looked at River with a smirk, then at his father.
Margo gave them the look that said, ‘shut up’, and then took April’s hand.
“Come with me, honey. I’m sure we have something that will fit you.”