Chapter 19
The ride back to Oahu went by quickly. Pid couldn’t make himself let go of Monica long enough to make sure she was unhurt. He had no idea what Bull had done to her in the hours he’d had her alone. The thought of him even touching her made Pid want to go back and kill him all over again.
It helped that his death hadn’t been easy.
It had been a bit too fast for Pid’s peace of mind, but at least no one had to worry about him popping up in the future.
There would be a lot of meetings he’d have to attend, a lot of explaining he and Baker would have to do, but for now, all he cared about was that Monica was alive and in his arms.
Getting her inside the chopper had been tricky. Pid knew reaching for her hand would possibly be a trigger. But he hadn’t had a choice, and while he’d seen the panic and flashback in her eyes, he’d never been more proud than when she’d overcome her fear and reached for his hand.
Pid felt a tap on his leg and turned to see Baker pointing at the ground, then lifting one finger. He hadn’t bothered to put on a headset, needing to hold Monica more than he wanted to communicate with the pilot or his friend.
Nodding to show he understood, Pid tightened his arms around Mo. She’d been boneless from the moment he’d pulled her onto his lap. After a brief panic attack, during which he’d thought she’d passed out—then being relieved he was wrong—Pid had just held her.
The landing was nothing but a small bump, then the pilot immediately shut down the engine.
Monica lifted her head and stared at him. “It’s over,” she said.
“Yeah.”
The door to the chopper opened, and Pid wasn’t surprised to see Mustang and Slate standing there. Behind them were Midas, Aleck, and Jag.
“She okay?” Mustang asked, the stress clear in his voice.
“Not sure,” Pid answered. At the same time Monica said, “Yes.”
She tried to get off his lap, but Pid couldn’t let her go just yet. Not after the scare he’d just had. “Easy, Mo. I’ve got you.”
To his relief, she relaxed against him immediately.
Mustang jumped into the cabin and reached for one of his arms, as Baker gripped the other. Between the three of them, Pid stood without having to let go of Monica. When he got to the door, Slate and Aleck helped him climb out, again without jostling Mo too much in the process.
When Pid’s feet were on the ground, he was only slightly surprised to see he was back on his property. The pilot had brought him straight home.
Turning, Pid met Baker’s eyes. “Thank you.”
Baker nodded.
Pid turned to go, but Monica stopped him. “Wait!”
He immediately halted.
“Baker?” she said tentatively.
“Yeah, darlin’?” Baker asked.
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
“He wasn’t my friend,” he said, his voice low and harsh. “No friend of mine would ever do what he did. He deserved what he got—don’t for a second think otherwise.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“I know you are. Because you’re a good person, Mo.” Baker turned to climb back into the helicopter when Monica called out once more.
“Baker?”
He sighed as if annoyed when he turned back around, giving her an amused look. “What?”
“I’m glad it was me and not Jody,” she said softly.
Baker swallowed. Hard. Then, holding Monica’s gaze, he walked toward them.
Pid expected her to tense, especially considering the look on Baker’s face, but he didn’t feel her so much as twitch as the man stopped before them.
He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. Leaning forward, he kissed the top of her head, then stared at her for a long moment before turning and heading back to the helicopter without a word.
The SEAL team all stood back as the pilot started up the engine once more. Pid was sure his nearest neighbors would be pissed since it was so damn late—or early, depending on how one looked at it—but at the moment he didn’t particularly care.
Without waiting for the helicopter to take off, he headed for his house. He wanted to get a good look at Monica’s feet. She’d had to walk on that lava rock too damn far, and he wanted to make sure they were cleaned and disinfected.
He pushed open his front door and wasn’t surprised to see that his teammates had cleaned up the broken glass. They’d also boarded up the back door, and he didn’t doubt they’d already arranged for someone to come and replace it tomorrow.
He set Monica on his kitchen table and framed her face with his hands. He stared at her for a long moment, drinking in the fact that she was here, back in his house, and that she seemed to be all right.
“I’m okay,” she confirmed, gripping his wrists.
Pid couldn’t seem to speak past the lump in his throat.
“Pid?” Aleck asked from next to him. “Where is she hurt?”
He swallowed hard and found his voice. “Her feet. The bastard made her walk on the lava rock without shoes.” He wanted to check them, but Pid literally couldn’t make himself let go of her. Everything that could’ve happened kept running through his mind in a horrible, unending loop.
Aleck seemed to know how he was feeling, and he nudged him to the side gently.
Pid grabbed hold of Monica’s left hand and gripped it hard as Aleck knelt down and took a foot in his hand. He examined both her feet, then stood.
“She’s got some cuts and scrapes, but nothing major. I think a good long soak will fix her up. Where else do you hurt?” he asked Monica.
“Nowhere. Just my feet.”
“Now’s not the time to be a hero,” Pid chided gently. “Whatever he did, we’ll deal with it.”
Monica reached up and palmed the side of Pid’s face.
He felt her touch down to his soul. “I’m fine.
I mean, he hurt me, hit me a few times, but I was out of it for most of the boat ride to the other island.
He kept me drugged, which was probably a good thing because given how choppy it was, I probably would’ve puked my guts out,” she said.
“He pulled up to the shore fairly close to where you found us. He carried me most of the way, then we waited for you to show up.”
Pid closed his eyes in relief. It would have killed him to know Bull had assaulted her, but it wouldn’t have changed how he felt about her. Not in the least.
“If you’re sure you’re okay, we’ll go,” Mustang said. “If you need anything, you know all you have to do is ask. I’m sure El is going to want to come check on you guys tomorrow.”
“Same for Lexie,” Midas said.
“And Kenna,” Aleck added.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Ashlyn found her way over here,” Slate threw in.
Pid was grateful for the support, but the last thing he wanted was for Monica to have to entertain everyone so soon after what happened. He opened his mouth to tell them but Monica beat him to it.
“I appreciate that so much. And I’ll text them tomorrow, but can you maybe…would they be offended if I asked for a day before they came over?” Monica said. “I think Stuart needs some time.”
Pid jerked in surprise. His friends smirked.
“Of course. But when Elodie gets stressed, she cooks. Would you object to us dropping something off?” Mustang asked.
“Of course not.”
“Lexie will be fine with that as long as you text her,” Midas told her.
“And as long as you’re still coming to the wedding this weekend, Kenna’ll be cool,” Aleck said. “You are still coming, right?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Monica said.
Pid knew he should be the one reassuring his friends, but he was too raw right now. He’d almost lost Mo before he’d really even had her. Monica was exactly right—he did need some time.
“I’m thinking Huttner’s going to want to talk to you both ASAP,” Mustang said. “But I’ll see if I can buy you a short break. You might need to come to the base to talk to him tomorrow afternoon.”
Pid nodded. He didn’t like it, but he knew he needed to talk to his commander.
They both did. Baker would most certainly be in touch with Huttner, letting him know what happened to Bull, but both he and Monica would need to add their account of what happened as well. If nothing else, to protect Baker.
“Glad you guys are all right,” Slate said, clasping Pid on the shoulder before he headed for the door.
“Same,” Aleck said. “But I’m not surprised. Your woman is tough as shit.”
Each of his teammates added their agreement to Aleck’s comment before they all headed out, finally leaving Pid alone with Monica.
He put his arms under her and lifted, heading for her bedroom. Putting her down on her bed, he ordered, “Stay.”
She smiled, and that dimple in her cheek nearly brought him to his knees. He’d come too close to never seeing it again.
“What am I, a dog?”
“No,” Pid said seriously. “You’re mine.”
Then he turned before he blurted something else she wasn’t ready to hear, heading for the bathroom. By the time he’d prepared a bowl of warm, soapy water and a washcloth and returned to her room, she was standing by the dresser, having already changed clothes.
He wanted to scold her for standing on her injured feet, but he couldn’t. Not when she’d put on one of his T-shirts…and from what he could tell, nothing else.
“I hope you don’t mind. I kinda stole this the other day when I did laundry. Your shirts are more comfortable to sleep in than the pajama set I bought.”
Pid cleared his throat before saying, “I don’t mind. Anytime you want to steal my clothes, feel free.”
She smiled at him again. “I’m not sure anything else will really fit.”
Pid put the bowl of water on the floor and held out his hand. She took it without hesitation, and once more his heart nearly melted. He urged her to sit on the bed and, once she was settled, he ever so gently cleaned her feet.
Aleck had been right, there weren’t any deep cuts on her soles, thank goodness. Mostly just scrapes. She’d been lucky—very lucky. If she’d had to run from Bull or walk any distance on the sharp lava, it would’ve been a different story.
He dried her feet and remained kneeling in front of her.
“Stuart?” she asked a little uncertainly.