Chapter 2 #5
Everyone was silent for a second, before Mary heard chuckles erupt all around her, which pissed her off even more.
She spun, ready to tell off the others, but Truck was there.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. He hugged her close and lowered his head so he was speaking right into her ear.
“Easy, Mare. He didn’t mean anything by it, and I didn’t take offense. ”
“Well, you should,” Mary protested, squirming in his arms. “It’s not cool. You got injured serving your country and they should respect you for it, not make fun of you.”
“We do respect him,” Trigger interjected. “But more than that, we respect you for coming to his defense.”
Mary blinked and stopped struggling to get away from Truck. She stared at Trigger then met the eyes of the other men. They were all looking at her with expressions that ranged from humor to admiration.
Suddenly she blushed. Shit, she’d done it again, spoken without thinking. It would be a miracle if the men didn’t think she was a raging bitch.
She forced a smile on her face and grabbed hold of Truck’s forearm, digging her nails in to try to ground herself. “All right then. Now that that’s settled. Thank you for coming over and helping out today.”
Everyone nodded at her and mumbled various renditions of “of course” and “wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Truck kissed the top of her head and stepped to her side as a paramedic sauntered up to them. She was tall and slender with long brown hair, which was currently up in a ponytail on the back of her head.
Mary smiled, thinking she was coming to make sure she was okay—but instead the woman went up to Truck and smiled flirtatiously.
“My name is Ruth, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Reports said that there were shots fired. Were you hit?”
Mary blinked at the woman. Shots fired? She hadn’t heard anything, but then again, she’d been inside the vault. The paramedic didn’t look at any of the other men standing around, and she certainly didn’t look at Mary. She only had eyes for Truck.
“I’m fine,” Truck told Mary, seeing her concern. “A piece of the door we busted down broke off as we were breaching the building.”
“Are you sure?” Ruth asked, ignoring the fact Truck wasn’t talking to her. “You have some dried blood on your head.” And with that observation, Ruth reached up and touched his temple with her fingertips.
Truck reacted instantly. He jerked away and glared at her with a look so intense, Mary would’ve stepped backward if she didn’t know Truck as well as she did. He looked like he was about two seconds away from hauling off and slugging the pretty paramedic.
Deciding she needed to do damage control, pronto, Mary stepped into Truck’s side and put an arm around his waist and looked at Ruth. “He’s okay. I’ll be sure to check him over when we get home.”
For once, the words didn’t come out snarky.
It was obvious the other woman was attracted to Truck, but for some reason, Mary wasn’t intimidated by her.
She felt kinda sorry for her. Truck was hot, and she couldn’t blame the other woman for flirting with him.
But Truck was hers. He’d made that more than clear time after time.
“He should be checked out by a professional,” Ruth pushed. She fluttered her eyes up at Truck. “It won’t take long at all. We can just go over to the ambulance and I’ll take care of you.”
Mary felt Truck tense under her, and before she could run interference again, he spoke.
“Are you insane?”
Ruth blinked. “What?”
“Are. You. Insane? I’m standing here with my woman, who was inside the bank when those assholes decided to start waving guns around, and you come up to me, bold as you please, and hit on me?”
“Truck, it’s okay,” Mary soothed.
“It’s not okay,” he countered. “We’re obviously together. You’re in my arms, and she has the nerve to come on to me?”
“She didn’t mean anything by it. I mean, you’re so handsome, I don’t blame her for trying.”
Truck kept his eyes on Mary’s, dismissing the paramedic as if she wasn’t standing there. “Mare, I’m with you. I’m always gonna be with you. It’s not cool for anyone to try to pick me up, especially not in front of you.”
Mary turned into Truck and looked up at him, petting his chest with her hands soothingly. “Okay, Truck.”
“I just thought—” Ruth began, but Truck cut her off.
“That’s the problem. You clearly didn’t think. You’re not hard on the eyes, but it’s damn presumptuous of you to think any man you want will choose you over the woman he’s already with. Let me make it clear. I don’t want you. I want Mary. I’m with Mary, and I’ll always be with Mary.”
“Uh…okay…sorry…my mistake.” Ruth looked behind her desperately. “I gotta go. Be sure to see your personal physician if you get headaches or feel dizzy or anything.” And with that, she turned on her heel and headed for one of the ambulances.
“Fuck,” Truck said, closing his eyes, frustration easy to see on his face. “You were right here. I can’t believe she did that. I mean, it’s more than obvious I’m crazy about you. Stupid bitch.”
Mary smiled up at Truck. She wasn’t thrilled that the other woman had hit on him, but she’d be dead if she wasn’t happy with the way he’d immediately rebuffed her.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly, raising a hand and trying to wipe off the blood on the side of his head she hadn’t really noticed before the paramedic had brought it to her attention.
Truck took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth. He kissed her palm and nodded. “I’m fine.”
“He always did have a hard head,” Trigger quipped.
“Damn straight,” Truck retorted.
Mary nodded and turned to the other Delta Force team. “If it’s okay with you guys, I think I’m gonna have Truck take me home now. It was nice meeting you. Take care of my husband this weekend, yeah?”
They were all smiling at her now, as if she were a comedian on a stage rather than someone who was trying to regain her dignity.
“Of course we will,” Doc said. “It’s what we do.”
After a last round of “Nice to meet yous,” Truck took Mary’s hand and led her away.
“God, shoot me now,” Mary muttered.
Truck wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her into his side. She threw one of her arms around his waist to keep her balance and leaned against him. “You’re amazing,” Truck told her as they walked toward his car.
He opened the passenger door for her and got her settled then walked around the front to the other side. After he closed his door and started the engine, Truck turned to Mary. “Wait until I tell the guys that you told Trigger to look after me like I was a wayward child.”
“You’d better not,” Mary warned, as threateningly as she could.
“Or what?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll think of something,” she said, trying hard to think of a suitable threat, but coming up blank.
Truck reached out and snagged her behind the neck and brought her into his personal space. “I can’t wait,” Truck said against her lips, before pulling her the rest of the way into his arms and kissing her senseless.
When Mary was breathing hard and trying to remember they were in a public parking lot, Truck finally let her go. It made her feel better that he was breathing just as hard as she was.
“Thank you for coming for me,” Mary said softly.
“I’ll always come for you,” Truck returned.
“I’m sorry I’ve been a pain in the ass,” she continued. “I’m not sorry I married you, and I want to make this marriage work.” The words were some of the hardest she’d ever said, but the way Truck’s eyes lit up made them all worth it.
“You have no idea what that means to me,” he told her before kissing her on the forehead then settling back into his seat.
“Unfortunately, I have to get back to post. There’s nothing I’d like more than to stay home with you, but I can’t.
We’re in the middle of planning the op and we’re running out of time before we have to leave. ”
“I understand.”
“But hear this, Mary. When I get back, I’m going to do everything in my power to show you how much you mean to me. That includes in our bedroom. You okay with that?”
“Yeah, Truck. I’m definitely okay with that,” Mary told him, even if she wasn’t one hundred percent okay with him seeing her naked yet.
They drove home in a comfortable silence, fingers intertwined. Mary was scared out of her mind that she’d somehow screw things up, but for the first time in her life, she felt as if she was making the right decision.
Truck loved her. That somehow made things easier. He’d be more forgiving if she made some mistakes in their relationship. Hell, he’d already been more forgiving than he should’ve been. She knew that.
Truck knew about her double mastectomy. He knew she was standoffish with most people.
Knew she used snark as a shield. She had no idea how he’d fallen in love with her in the first place, but was extremely thankful he had.
He’d done all the hard work in their relationship and had made all the first moves.
Mary knew if he didn’t already love her, and she had to put her best foot forward in order to try to woo him, she’d fail miserably.
She’d never chased after a man in her life, and would have no idea where to start with Truck if she had to do it all over again.
She’d lucked out when it came to Truck. Big time.
Laying her head against the back of the seat, Mary turned to watch Truck drive, and simply enjoyed being next to him. Feeling safe and protected. She didn’t know what she’d do without him.