Chapter 27
Chapter 27
H ome wasn’t the same. It was no longer her safe space; she had been invaded. Worse, there was no Samson to greet her. The feeling of safety could be regained. The feeling of a cold, wet nose pressing on her hip could not.
The area where he’d fallen had been cleared of blood. The agency, most likely at Ridge’s direction, had ordered the area thoroughly cleaned and restored. His body had been taken by the vet and would be returned after cremation, again at Ridge’s direction. He had tried to think of everything to spare her pain, but there was no relief from the pressing emptiness of her house. Exhausted, she curled up in bed and cried herself to sleep.
When she woke, eleven hours later, she showered and ate a bowl of oatmeal. The house still felt empty and sad. She would grieve Samson for a long time, but the first brutal rush of emotion was over. Now life had to return to normal.
When she checked her phone, she had a text from Ridge asking her to call him when she woke. With a fortifying breath, she pushed the button and waited for him to answer.
“How are you?” he said, in lieu of hello.
“I’m fine, how are you? Did you eat? Did you sleep?”
“Yes to both. I wanted to let you know Din, ah, Sam was found safe in the house. They locked him in the cell they used for you. They beat him, but not fatally. He’ll recover fine.”
“What’s going to happen to him?” she asked, her tone wary. Would he spend the rest of his life in federal prison?
“We flipped him,” Ridge said.
Maggie gripped the phone. “You mean…”
“He’s going to work for us, go back to the Saudis and pretend he’s still working for the cause. No one knew about the family enmity that was going on there. He’s going to be a treasure trove, if he works as well as he’s promised he will.”
“He could be killed,” Maggie said.
“Better than prison,” Ridge said. He sounded terse and she wondered why. Was it because he preferred Sam in prison? Or was it because of the personal drama between them? Probably the former; his mind always ran to work first.
“So I guess he’s free now, free to pursue his former life,” he said, his tone morphing from terse to bitter. Maggie smiled. Maybe his bad mood was a little about her.
“Hmm,” she said, preferring to remain noncommittal in the face of his bad mood.
“There’s something else,” he said, and she gripped the phone again.
“What?”
“Ease up, it’s a good thing, I hope. It’s a SEAL team tradition to go out and celebrate the end of a successful mission. We’re meeting tonight, and I want you there. I’m inviting the rest of the team from work, too.”
“That’s so nice,” Maggie said.
“Will you be there?”
“Where and when?”
“Barney’s at seven,” he said.
“Yes,” she said.
“I would pick you up, but I’m at work.”
“Should I be at work? What day is it?” she asked, squinting as she tried to remember.
“You have a couple of days off, thanks to The Colonel and his newfound devotion to you,” he said, and she could tell he was smiling.
“He’s sweet, he reminds me of my grandpa,” Maggie said.
“I once saw archived video of him breaking an operative’s neck with his bare hands,” Ridge said.
“Just like my grandpa,” Maggie said.
He laughed. “If I’m late tonight, will you save me a seat?”
His tone gave her a shiver. “Yes.”
“Good. And, Maggie, after this night is over, I think you and I need to have a long, productive conversation.”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
“Hold on to that deferential attitude. You’re going to need it, Agent Eldridge,” he said, and the call was over.
With nothing left to do for the next few hours, Maggie used the time get ready. To say she was nervous to meet the other members of Ridge’s former SEAL team would be an understatement. Besides her, they were the people he was closest to. They would be judging her, as she could tell Ethan had the night they met.
She wore the jeans her sister, Amelia, had convinced her to buy. It had been a big argument because Maggie couldn’t imagine anywhere she would go that would be denim-appropriate.
“Sometimes you’ll go out,” Amelia had told her.
“If it’s a date, I’ll probably wear a dress,” Maggie had argued.
“Trust me. Buy the jeans, they look amazing on you. Finding a pair of jeans that fits is a miraculous enough reason to buy them,” Amelia had said. In the end, Maggie agreed, and now they were the perfect thing—not too casual, not too dressy. Amelia had picked a gray sweater for her, and Maggie wore that up top. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, though she spent a solid ninety minutes drying and curling her hair, more than she had spent getting ready for prom. Her makeup took forever as well, causing her to remember why she didn’t usually put so much effort into her upkeep. She would never do this much work for every day. For tonight, everything had to be perfect.
When she arrived at Barney’s, ten minutes early, Babs and Blue were already there. They greeted her like a returning dignitary who had been out of the country for months.
“Maggie, Maggie, Maggie,” Blue said, picking her up and spinning her in a circle before setting her down and kissing both cheeks. “I was almost a work widower.”
“We thought we might never see you again,” Babs said, choking up near the end of her sentence.
“No, no, there will be no tears tonight. This is a celebration,” Blue said, slipping his arm around Babs’ neck.
“You’re right,” Babs said, pressing her fingers to her eyes. “I can’t ruin my mascara when there are going to be eligible SEALs here.”
“Did someone say SEALs?” Ethan asked. He led a group of four other men over whose brawny, crew-cut presence screamed “we’re in the military!” “Maggie?” he asked, tipping his head and peering into her face. “I think it’s you, but you looked different without clothes. Still completely adorable, though.”
“For the record, I was wearing pajamas,” Maggie said. “Ethan, this is Babs and Blue, the others should be along shortly.”
“This is Ribs, Frog, Jones, and Shimmer,” Ethan said, introducing the group of men behind him who were busy surveying the room. She recognized the gesture from Ridge. He couldn’t relax in a public setting until he had assessed the room for danger and made note of its exits, and even then he was never fully at ease.
“Shimmer?” Maggie echoed.
“He’s iridescent with a flamethrower, long story,” Ethan said. “Let’s sit. Where’s LT?”
“He said he might be late,” Maggie informed him. She purposely left an open space between her and Ethan, but he moved closer and filled it.
“Cam asked me to save him a seat,” she told him.
“He won’t mind. We go back a long way,” Ethan said. Smiling, he turned toward Maggie and draped his arm on the back of her chair. “So, you and LT. What’s that about?”
“The eternal question,” Blue interjected. On the other side of the table, Babs seemed to be hitting it off with Jones. LuAnn and Ellen arrived, saving Maggie from answering Ethan’s query, or so she thought.
“I have a better question: Why does everyone else have a nickname and you’re Ethan?” she asked.
“Ethan is my nickname,” he said. “Ethan Allen, I’m from Vermont.”
Maggie laughed, “That might be the most obscure nickname I have ever heard.”
“I know, right?” he said, using the opportunity to ease in closer.
“You’re in my seat, son,” Ridge said from behind him and everyone turned to look at him.
“Ridge is wearing a hoodie,” Blue announced.
“I didn’t think he owned one,” Ellen said.
“I thought he was born wearing a suit,” Babs added.
Maggie had no words. She merely smiled at the sight of him in a faded sweatshirt, “Navy” emblazoned across the front in faded, gold letters.
“Here’s a seat,” Ethan said, grinning as he patted the free chair on the other side of him.
“Are you going to move or should I tip you out?” Ridge asked him.
“Maybe we should ask Maggie who she…” Ethan began, but Maggie cut him off.
“Cam,” she said, making a little shooing motion at Ethan.
“Ooh, that burns,” Jones said, and the other SEAL members laughed. Reluctantly, Ethan moved aside and Ridge sat down. But everyone was looking at them and they couldn’t say a word. Maggie was afraid to look at him, afraid her eyes would reveal too much to the other members of the table. Ridge didn’t say anything to her, but he did rest his hand on her thigh under the table and give it a squeeze.
“It’s coincidental you arrived now, LT, because Maggie was about to tell us what’s going on with you two,” Ethan said.
“We’ve already been down this road,” Blue interjected.
“What are you talking about?” Ridge asked him.
“With the whole little bit you guys have where you act like newlyweds and then insist you’re only friends,” Blue replied.
“Who said we’re only friends?” Ridge asked.
“You did, a few days ago. You sat right there, same seat, and did the little cheek-to-cheek thing where you said, ‘Love her, not in love with her. Best friends.’”
“Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?” Ridge asked Maggie.
“It sounds like something he might have dreamed,” Maggie said. “Doesn’t ring a bell at all.”
“No, no, no, we were making fun of you and you insisted there was nothing going on, that you were only friends,” Blue said.
“That’s crazy talk,” Ridge said. “Why would I ever say that?”
“You guys, back me up here,” Blue said, looking pleadingly at Babs and LuAnn.
“Are you sure we were here?” LuAnn said.
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Babs said.
“It’s been a stressful few days for all of us, Blue,” Ridge said.
“I hate you all,” Blue said. “Fine, back to Ethan’s question. What is going on with you two?”
“What is going on is that I’m starving and tonight’s on me,” Ridge announced. The celebration that echoed around the table was enough to divert speculation from Ridge and Maggie, enough that Maggie was eventually able to lean closer and whisper in his ear.
“Am I fired?”
“I thought you quit,” he said. “Twice, if I remember correctly.”
“I had my fingers crossed,” she said.
“These fingers?” he asked, picking up the hand closest to him and caressing it under the table.
“You’re mad at me because I disobeyed,” she said.
“I was,” he amended.
“Not anymore?” she asked.
He sifted his fingers through the ends of her long hair as it rested on her back. “It occurred to me I’ve been trying to run the office the same way I ran a SEAL team, but clearly they’re not the same. You’re not military, and neither is anyone else on the team. And I’m not anymore either, and I need to accept that and adapt. It needs to be more democracy and less dictatorship.”
“How am I going to know when I’m allowed to disobey you and when I’m not?” she asked.
“How about if you obey me at all times, both in and out of the office?”
She laughed. “You’re cute.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “I like this.” She plucked at his hoodie.
“I thought you might. I like this.” He motioned to her jeans and sweater. “Another Amelia special?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never seen those jeans before,” he said.
“First time wearing them,” she said.
“They look good on you. They’d look even better off, though.”
“Oh, my,” she said, using her cold hands to try and cool her hot cheeks.
“Just when I think you could not be any cuter, you blush at innocent innuendo,” he said.
“Suggesting I take off my pants, not so innocent,” she informed him.
He leaned closer so he could whisper directly in her ear. “Do you remember that little scene in my office where I said you were playing with matches in a dry forest? I’m about to bring a blowtorch, and I guarantee you I won’t be the one to break first.”
“Have mercy,” she said, turning away from him to fan her face. “What are you doing to me?”
“I don’t know. What am I doing to you?” he asked.
“That’s a discussion for a later time,” she said.
“Check, please,” he said.
“You know by offering to pick up the tab you’ve ensured we’ll be the last ones to leave,” she said.
He groaned. “I did not think this through.”
“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Blue said. “They’re doing the newlywed thing, where they think they’re alone in the room but really everyone is sitting here staring at them.”
Maggie scanned the table and, as Blue said, everyone was now looking at them. How long they had been staring she couldn’t say.
“We’re friends. I told you that the other night,” Ridge said.
“No, you said you…you just said…You’re going to make me cry again,” Blue said.
“Oh, he makes you guys cry, too?” Jones asked.
“What are you all talking about? I’m sweet and cuddly,” Ridge said.
“None of us is buying what Maggie’s been peddling,” Ellen said.
“Of course he’s nice to Maggie,” Shimmer said. “Look at her, she looks like every baby animal from every Disney cartoon.”
“Ever since you had a daughter, all your references are Disney,” Frog complained.
“Yeah, that’s why we’re nice to Maggie. That’s not why Ridge is nice to Maggie,” LuAnn said.
“Did I mention you’re all fired?” Ridge said.
“You can’t fire us, you’re not our lieutenant anymore,” Ethan pointed out. “So go ahead and tell us what’s going on here.”
“What do you want from us?” Maggie asked.
“We want the truth,” Blue said.
“You can’t handle the truth,” Maggie said.
“I like this one,” Jones said. “She seems non-crazy. Remember Harlow?”
Ridge sat up. “No, no, no, no. Do not bring up Harlow.”
“Who’s Harlow?” Maggie asked.
“No one,” Ridge said.
“You, shh,” Maggie said. “Who’s Harlow?”
“Ridge’s former girlfriend, AKA Crazy Eyes. Show her the crazy eyes, Frog. You still have that picture of her from your wedding?” Jones said.
“Oh, yeah. Take me a sec to find it,” Frog said and began scrolling.
“She doesn’t need to see a picture,” Ridge said.
“I think she does,” Maggie countered. “What was crazy about her?”
“Psychotically clingy. The man couldn’t breathe. She checked his phone, followed him around, and if he was late, she would start texting us, wondering where he was, as if we had a normal job with regular hours,” Jones said.
“And she made out with Ethan,” Frog added.
“You made out with his girlfriend?” Maggie said, leaning around Ridge to look accusingly at Ethan.
“It’s a test we do, Maggie. Good news—you passed,” Ethan said, tossing her a wink and a smile.
“Maybe I actually am a cheater, and I don’t find you attractive,” Maggie suggested.
“Ooh, that’s a burn that’s going to linger,” Shimmer said. “Yeah, I like this one.”
“OK, here she is,” Frog said. He turned his phone so Maggie could see it. She took it to get a better look at Harlow. She was pretty, but not the drop-dead knockout she had been expecting, and certainly not in the league with Ridge’s sister-in-law, Isabel.
“You all look so young. When was this?” Maggie asked.
“Four years ago,” Frog replied.
“What about the other girlfriends after Harlow?” Maggie asked.
“There haven’t been any, to my knowledge,” Ethan said.
“Me, neither,” the others chimed in.
“Four years?” Maggie asked, giving Ridge a questioning look.
“I’ve been busy,” Ridge said.
“No, LT, at four years, you’ve been in training for the priesthood,” Ethan said, earning laughs from everyone but Maggie who was still too surprised to react.
Mercifully for Maggie and Ridge, the conversation moved on, and the evening ended up being fun.
“We’re definitely going to have to do this again next time one of your team gets kidnapped by terrorists,” Jones said.
“I think we’re safe,” Babs said. “Maggie’s the only one of us who has dated a terrorist.”
“Wait, what?” Shimmer demanded.
“We were so close to going the whole night without that fact being revealed,” Maggie said.
“They didn’t just date,” Blue added, anxious to get in on the gossip as the group walked to the parking lot. “They were two months from the wedding.”
“Wait, the guy she jumped in front of when I almost shot him is her fiancé?” Jones asked.
“Was, was my fiancé,” Maggie clarified. “Six years ago.”
“What is he now, Maggie?” Frog asked.
“Yeah, for LT’s sake, we need to track the men in your life,” Ethan said.
“I think, for the sake of the men in my life, I’m going to continue to remain mute when strangers ask me personal questions,” Maggie said.
“We’ve seen you in your jammies. We’re family now,” Shimmer said.
“So are my brothers, and I don’t give them details on my love life, either,” Maggie said.
“All right, enough hazing of Maggie,” Ridge said, putting his arm around her. She leaned into him a little. The SEAL members might have good intentions but, as a whole, they were overwhelming.
“We’re joking, Maggie. You pass muster,” Frog said, giving her a fist bump.
“If you’re good enough for LT, you’re good enough for us. But let’s be honest, it’s been four years. At this point we’re willing to take anyone with long hair and feminine mannerisms,” Ethan said.
“You guys are fun,” Maggie said.
“Welcome to my nightmare,” Ridge said.
Eventually everyone streamed away until only Ridge and Maggie were left. They turned to face each other, leaning on her car.
“Are you exhausted?” he asked.
“Is there any other state of being anymore?” she asked.
He rested his hand on her neck, his thumb skimming her jaw. “Still want to talk tonight?”
“Do you?” she countered.
He nodded. “Your place or mine?”
“You choose,” she said.
“I’ll follow you home,” he said. “I’m out of food.”
“How do you know I’m not?” she said.
“Good one,” he said. She always had food on hand, and coffee and creamer, two things he was also usually out of. They shared a smile. The tension went from a simmer to a boil.
“If we don’t leave now, we might be stuck here forever staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move,” she said.
“I volunteer to make the first move, but you’re right. Home is more comfortable,” he said. He opened her car door for her and closed it when she was safely inside before jogging to his car.