Chapter 8
It was hard to believe an entire week had gone by since Pid had returned from Algeria with Monica.
After the AAR, he’d requested a few days off so he could finish the surprise he was making for his houseguest. He drove her to the base each morning, accompanying her to the small office where Commander Huttner had requisitioned a computer for her to go through the files of former SEALs.
It was a daunting project, but Monica didn’t seem put off by it. She seemed more…resigned. It was obvious she wasn’t super excited about having to look through all the pictures on file, but she hadn’t refused either.
While she was at the base, Pid worked as efficiently as he could at his house to finish the surprise he’d planned. She’d been intrigued by the mess he was making as he cut and measured boards, but hadn’t complained about sawdust on the floors or all the hand tools he’d left sitting around.
But today was the day he could show Monica what he’d been working on. This morning, his landlord—who was a general contractor—came over and helped him with part of the project.
Pid then asked Aleck to come over in the afternoon to help him finish, and somehow the entire team had shown up.
But he was grateful. He hadn’t gone into Monica’s room before today, except once to measure, because he hadn’t wanted to give her a head’s up about the surprise.
So having the five extra sets of hands was extremely beneficial.
The team managed to finish the entire project by the end of the day.
As Pid stood back and studied their work, Midas slapped him on the back. “It looks good, Pid.”
“If I didn’t know what I was looking for, I wouldn’t even know it was there,” Jag agreed.
Pid eyed the room critically. It wasn’t perfect. He didn’t have the time or the knowledge to physically move the window to even out the dimensions of the room, but he thought it would be okay.
“What are the odds Monica’s gonna be able to ID this guy?” Slate asked.
Mustang had left five minutes ago to pick up Monica from the base and bring her home. She’d probably be surprised Pid wasn’t retrieving her, like he had every other day this week, but he needed to clean up at least a little bit before she got home.
Pid sighed and leaned over to grab some tools from the floor. The rest of the guys followed his lead and began to clean up, so the room would appear just as Monica had last seen it when she’d left that morning. Almost.
“Honestly? Slim to none,” he told Slate.
“That’s what I thought,” his friend replied.
“It’s really an impossible task,” Midas threw in.
“There are thousands of former SEALs out there between the ages of forty-five and fifty-five. And if her guess of his age is off, that adds thousands more. I’m guessing she’ll have to look through all of them if narrowing the field down based on discharge type doesn’t help.
And the guy’s file photo could’ve been taken when he was much younger. ”
“I know,” Pid said.
“And the tattoo isn’t very useful, as he could’ve gotten it after he left the Navy,” Midas said.
“Not to mention the fact that his face was covered,” Aleck threw in.
“I know,” Pid said again.
“So what’s the plan?” Jag asked. “She lives here forever in this little fortress you’ve built for her?”
“No,” Pid said in annoyance.
There was no doubt Monica was a prickly little thing, but damned if she hadn’t grown on him in the week he’d known her. He didn’t want her living in his guest room for the rest of her life. He wouldn’t mind eventually seeing if maybe they were compatible as more than friends and roommates.
He was well aware it would take time for her to learn to trust him.
She didn’t trust anyone, as far as he could tell, but especially not military members, which ate at him.
A woman like her, so strong and brave after everything she’d gone through, shouldn’t go through life closed off and afraid because of one man.
He had no idea if he could be the one to help Monica let down her guard and learn to enjoy life, but he wanted to try.
“That’s it? Just no?” Slate teased.
“That’s it,” Pid told his friend.
“Right. So, moving on, clear your schedule for a month from now. Kenna and I are getting married and if you all aren’t there, I’m gonna have to hurt you.”
The guys all thumped Aleck on the back and congratulated him.
“How’re you managing to plan a wedding in such a short period of time?” Slate asked. “I thought it took women months to work all that shit out.”
“It often does, but we have Robert,” Aleck said with a grin.
“Ah, the magical concierge. Another perk to being rich,” Jag joked.
“Actually, I think the man would’ve taken on the task of organizing everything for free. It’s Kenna. Somehow she just makes people want to bend over backward for her,” Aleck said.
A year ago, Pid never imagined he’d be standing around talking about wedding details, but as Aleck told them all how their parents would be there, and about the permits Robert had somehow managed to get in order to bury a pig on the condo property for the luau, he couldn’t help but smile.
Some men would’ve resented how much their friendships had changed once girlfriends and wives entered the picture, but not Pid. He loved seeing his friends happy.
“Oh, and Kenna is having a bachelorette party, and she told me to tell you that she really wants Monica to come,” Aleck told him.
His smile faded a bit. “I don’t know,” he hedged. Even though he’d all but told Monica that she was now a part of their tribe, going to a wedding was one thing, attending a bachelorette party with women she didn’t know would be a harder sell.
“I tried to tell Kenna that it was odd to invite a woman she didn’t know to her bachelorette party, but she insisted. Said that if she was your friend, that made Monica her friend, and she wants her there.”
“Monica has a hard time warming up to people,” Pid explained. He hated to say anything negative about the woman he was beginning to care about more than he knew he probably should, since she’d eventually be leaving, but he wanted to warn his friends, so they could warn their girlfriends in return.
“I think that’s obvious,” Midas said. “Lexie’s been texting her and trying to get her to open up, without much luck.”
“It’s just that she struggles with trusting people,” he said.
“Because of that asshole father of hers,” Slate growled.
Pid nodded.
Everyone now knew about her father forcing her to help bury a man. Not to mention how her hand had been damaged.
“How about we have dinner at Duke’s one night before the bachelorette thing? Hanging out in a neutral setting might help them get to know each other better,” Aleck suggested.
Pid nodded. He really did want Monica to get along with his friends’ women, but if she didn’t?
It wouldn’t be a deal breaker for him. He liked Monica exactly how she was.
Quiet. Introspective. She was definitely more apt to watch and listen than join in any revelry.
He had no doubt she’d get along with Elodie, Lexie, and Kenna, but being best friends with them wasn’t a requirement for being his girlfriend.
Then again…what the hell was he thinking? Monica was in Hawaii for one purpose and one purpose only—to identify the man who’d broken into the ambassador’s home. That’s it. Once that happened, or if it became obvious it wouldn’t happen, she’d be gone. Back to her life as a nanny.
“Great, I’ll ask Kenna when she thinks the best time will be,” Aleck continued.
“And I’ll talk to Lexie, who will let Elodie know.”
“Any objections to letting Ashlyn come too?” Slate asked.
“Not from me,” Aleck told him. “The more the merrier.”
“I’d love for Carly to get out of her apartment, but it might be too soon for her to go back to Duke’s,” Jag said.
“Do you think she’ll come to our wedding?” Aleck asked.
Jag shrugged. “Don’t know. But I’ll do my best to convince her.”
“Look at us,” Midas joked. “Arranging a playdate for our women.”
Everyone laughed, and Pid couldn’t help but join in. They certainly didn’t sound like a bunch of badass Navy SEALs at the moment, but he knew not one of them cared.
His phone vibrated with a text, and Pid looked down at the screen. Mustang let him know he’d picked up Monica and was on his way back. “All right, time for everyone to go. I appreciate your help more than you know, but Mo’s on her way back here.”
He’d already explained why he didn’t want everyone there when he showed her what he’d done, and his friends were cool with that. Monica wasn’t fond of being the center of attention, and having his entire team staring at her, waiting for a reaction, wouldn’t be easy for her.
Pid couldn’t believe how nervous he was as he paced, waiting for Mustang to arrive with Monica.
He wanted his houseguest to feel comfortable.
She hadn’t wanted to be here and was doing the commander, and her country, a big favor.
The least he could do was make sure she felt as safe as possible while in the States.
The sound of tires on the gravel outside his house had Pid heading to his front door.
He waved at Mustang, who was behind the wheel of his beat-up pickup truck.
It might look like a piece of shit, but Mustang took care of it meticulously.
The engine was probably in better shape than nine out of ten cars on the road.
Pid eyed Monica as she walked toward him.
She looked tired. He hated how much looking at profiles all day seemed to drain her energy.
Making a mental note to talk to both Monica and the commander about shortening the hours she spent at the base each day, even if that meant it took longer to go through the profiles, Pid smiled at his guest.
“Are you all right?” she asked with a frown.
“Me? Of course. Why?”