Chapter 20
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“YOU’RE SURE YOU’RE okay to do this?” Avery asked Luciana.
She’d brought bagels, cream cheese, and malasadas, plus plenty of strong coffee for the two women to have for breakfast. Shockingly, Harrison never drank coffee, which Luciana had discovered to her dismay when she’d gotten up that morning.
Even more surprising, she’d fallen back asleep after their middle of the night talk.
He’d stayed with her in the living room until she was drowsy and yawning before gently suggesting she go back to bed.
Luciana felt bad that she’d kept him up, but he’d assured her that he was used to running on little sleep.
How he managed that without coffee, Luciana wasn’t sure. The man was a mystery, and she had the sense he didn’t necessarily open up to others the way he had with her. They were still just getting to know each other, but oddly, she felt as if she already knew him in the ways that really mattered.
She finished clearing the table with Avery, loading the dishes into the dishwasher. Harrison kept his home neat and tidy, and since Luciana was the same, she thought nothing of immediately cleaning up after her meal with Avery.
“Si. I’m okay to go shopping together,” Luciana told her friend. “It is like ripping off a band-aid, no? I just need to do it. I refuse to stay hidden in Harrison’s home. I deserve to live my life how I want—and shop,” she joked.
“If you say you’re okay with it, then let’s do it. I know you probably need all sorts of things, but if you end up wanting to come home because being out in public is too overwhelming, that’s fine. I’ll bring you back here, and we can hang out together for the rest of the day.”
The two women walked outside, Luciana taking care to lock Harrison’s front door. “I’m a little amazed he trusted me enough to give me his house keys,” Luciana said.
“Honestly? I’m surprised, too,” Avery said with a huff of laughter.
“I don’t know Commander Madden well, but he seems like he keeps to himself.
It’s hard to imagine him hanging out with a group of friends or even having a wife or girlfriend, for that matter.
He’s gruff and no-nonsense, pretty much married to his career. ”
“I imagine he’d have to be for a man in his position,” Luciana said lightly.
“Clearly, he trusts you. As he should,” Avery added.
“We get along quite well, surprisingly. For a man I know little about, I’m perfectly comfortable with him.”
Avery cast her friend a quick glance as they climbed into her vehicle. “Ryan said the commander was worried about you earlier.” Her lips quirked.
“What’s so funny?” Luciana asked.
“I guess the team never even heard him mention a woman before, and suddenly he’s all worked up over you.”
Luciana flushed. “It is nothing. He is just worried because he’s the one who found me. Plus, I didn’t sleep well last night. He heard me walking into the living room and stayed up chatting for a while.”
“I don’t know,” Avery said, backing her car out of the driveway. “They’ve rescued other hostages before. Commander Madden doesn’t deploy with the team, for starters. And while some of the men did meet their women during an op, it’s not typically—”
“Wait, really?” Luciana asked with interest. “That is surprising.”
“It surprised me too when I heard the story. Wyatt, their team leader, rescued his fiancée Callie from a hijacked plane. They went their separate ways but she ended up here in Hawaii months later. She had no idea Wyatt was stationed here, either, but they ran into each other one night. It must’ve been fate,” she joked.
“It must have been. That’s really incredible,” Luciana said.
“Clearly it worked out for them. I guess when you know, you know, right? I met Ryan through my brother. I’d come to Hawaii to visit Aaron but ended up spending most of my time with Ryan.”
“I’m surprised you left for the Darien Gap in that case,” Luciana admitted. “You could’ve moved right to Oahu.
“The timing was bad,” Avery admitted, “but I had to chase my dreams. Ryan said he’d wait for me. I guess it took less time than we thought it would for us to be together,” she added wryly.
“We never would have become friends had you not taken the job with Doctors Without Borders,” Luciana said. “But you also wouldn’t have been kidnapped.”
Avery turned from the long, winding street to a bigger road.
Luciana had paid close attention yesterday when Harrison was driving, out of habit, and knew they were heading toward Waikiki.
“You’re right,” Avery said, continuing their conversation.
“But who knows what would’ve happened if I stayed in California.
Maybe I would’ve been killed in a car crash or been in an earthquake. No one knows their own fate.”
“Si, this is true. I left my own home at seventeen, as you know. My father’s story was that he kicked me out, but I basically ran away.
” Avery frowned. “We had very different lives, as I told you before,” Luciana reminded her.
“It is what it is. Now tell me about the stores you mentioned. Harrison loaned me his credit card, and I definitely want to pick up some more clothes. I also need toiletries so I don’t keep using his shampoo. ”
Luciana caught the smirk on her friend’s face. “What?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Avery said with a laugh.
“Spit it out,” Luciana mock-threatened.
Avery shot her a grin. “I think he likes you. I know that’s insane given you just met, and it’s hard for me to imagine Commander Madden falling for any woman, but the signs all point to yes.”
Luciana laughed. “Come on now. He is being polite because I am living with him. I’m a guest in his home. He’s worried only because I was held prisoner.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Avery joked. “Remember how in Bajo Chiquito you told me there was nothing like a strong military man? Girl, I have a feeling you could have your very own if you wanted.”
***
LUCIANA STOOD AT THE kitchen table hours later, snipping the tags off her new purchases.
She had more clothing, along with a robe and swimsuit.
They’d also made some progress with Doctors Without Borders, who’d agreed to ship her belongings to Hawaii.
Although their arrival would take longer than she wanted, what choice did she have?
It wasn’t like Luciana was going to fly back there right now.
And her purse, wallet, and phone were long gone, confiscated by the very men who’d kidnapped her.
She glanced at the meticulous list she’d made, detailing what items she still needed to do. Although it felt endless, she was pleased that she’d at least made some minor progress. The past twenty-four hours were a whirlwind, and she half expected to wake up and find it had all been a dream.
But no—she was safe. Really and truly free.
Hearing a car pull up, Luciana hesitantly peeked out the window. Relief flooded through her as she realized it was Harrison. Avery had left an hour ago, but Harrison was still home earlier than she expected.
“You had a busy day,” Luciana noted, clearly seeing the tension on his face as he came in.
“Yes, but I was also worried about you.” His gaze quickly scanned over the kitchen as if to ensure everything was as it should be.
“Sorry about the mess. I found some clothing and other things when Avery took me shopping. I’m just getting it ready to wash.”
“It’s no problem,” he assured her, setting his own bag down on the kitchen table.
“I got you a cell phone on the way home. You’d mentioned contacting your own provider to get the old number switched over and working on a new phone, but I went ahead and set this up.
It’s on my contract for now, but we’ll sort that out another time. ”
“Oh, you didn’t need to do that. I contacted my bank earlier and will have new credit cards mailed to me soon. Avery let me make some calls on her phone,” she explained.
“Well, I figured it would be easier not to have an international number while you’re here in Hawaii. In addition,” he added, his voice growing serious, “I’m not sure you want to keep the old number. They may have destroyed your old phone, but they may try to access it.”
“You think they would contact me if I kept the number on the new phone?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I don’t know how tech-savvy they are to get the phone number of your old one. If it had a lockscreen, they might not be able to get in at all. I’d change all your passwords though just in case.”
“Good idea,” she said, frowning.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just wish I’d thought of that already. I’ve got a whole list of things to do,” she said, gesturing to her paper on the table. “I’ll add that to my agenda.”
“It’s a lot to do, but you’re handling things remarkably well. I have to admit I asked Ryan if he’d heard from Avery earlier today. I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said, fixing his gaze on her.
Inexplicably, her heart fluttered. Harrison was a busy man. She almost didn’t know what to make of him taking the time out of his day to concern himself with her well-being.
“Avery and I had a nice day together. Surprisingly, I didn’t panic at all despite being out in public. Avery was worried, too, but it just felt...normal. That sounds trite, perhaps, but I felt more like myself than I had in a long while. It was good to spend time with her.”
He studied her face for a moment, nodding.
When Luciana spoke, Harrison really listened.
Some people only paid partial attention, their mind on other matters, and she appreciated his full attention more than he knew.
It was nice to be seen for a change. To be a person whose opinions and thoughts mattered, not a mere object for men to enjoy.
“You look a bit stressed yourself,” she noted.
“Things are tense. We’re monitoring an unfolding situation, and we needed to debrief on our recent op—rescuing you,” he explained.
“You go over the mission?” she asked.
“We do. I meet with my entire team and then receive an AAR from each of them. An After Action Report,” he explained. “When you’re up for it, I’d like to bring you in for some official statements. Only when you’re ready,” he added, noticing she grew tense.
Luciana swallowed. “Yes, I will help. I want to do whatever is needed so they don’t hurt any other women.”
“You’re brave as hell,” he told her.
“It doesn’t feel that way, but life goes on anyhow.
” She looked away and noticed that Harrison’s gaze fell on the bag of Kona coffee on the counter.
Luciana laughed softly. “I was so excited to see some in the store that I forgot you don’t have a coffee maker.
I grabbed it along with some other things when Avery and I were shopping earlier.
She brought the most amazing Kona coffee this morning. ”
“I’ll get a coffee maker,” he promised, his gaze lingering on her mouth.
“Oh, you don’t need to feel obligated to get a coffee maker just for me,” she protested, suddenly feeling put on the spot.
“Anything that makes you smile like that isn’t an obligation.
” His voice was gruff, but she heard the truth behind it.
She flushed, gazing at him in the kitchen.
Harrison was still in uniform, making him seem all that more masculine.
He’d worn his uniform before, of course.
The very night they’d met Harrison and his team had all been in uniform and full combat gear.
This felt different though. It was downright domestic standing here in his kitchen, talking about coffee and their days.
Luciana gathered up the price tags she’d cut from her new clothes, crossing the kitchen to throw them away. “I even got a swimsuit today, so I’m ready to check out one of those beaches.”
“I’ll take you there one day,” he promised.
She glanced out the window then back to him. “Can we go this evening? Just for a quick trip.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You want to go to the beach right now?”
“After flying for hours in an airplane to a tropical paradise? Si. I would love to see the beach.”
The corner of his mouth hitched up. “Then let’s go. Normally I ride my Harley, but we can drive if you prefer. I’ll have to change out of my uniform, but I’ll be quick.”
“Do you have another helmet?” she questioned.
“For my Harley? I do. If you ride with me, you’ll have to hang on tight,” he said, seeming to realize she might not like that. “I don’t mind taking my SUV if you’d rather do that.”
“No, I think I would like the motorcycle ride.” Sitting behind Harrison, clutching onto him might be dangerous, but racing down the road with the sun shining down and wind whipping through her hair sounded freeing.
“Put on your swimsuit if you’d like, but make sure to wear clothes over it.
And shoes,” he added, glancing at her bare feet.
Harrison’s gaze briefly ran up her legs, and she felt her skin heat.
It was nothing like when the men had stared at her in the nightclub with her lowcut, skimpy dress.
It made her feel good. Flushed. It was wild to even have such a thought immediately after being rescued, but Luciana felt more like herself today than she had in a month.
When she’d been out with Avery, it was almost like she was where she was always meant to end up.
She felt at home here, she realized. Hawaii wasn’t her home, and Harrison wasn’t her boyfriend, but she found herself wishing for a moment that both actually were.