Chapter 3
THREE
MAILE
It was fun watching Cameron turn three or four shades of green when he first heard that tripe was the stomach lining of a cow.
It was even more satisfying to see him actually like the dish and devour his second bowl hungrily.
There would have been a time when she would have leaned into her cousin and they could have giggled over it.
But that time was gone.
Now, the person leaning into Kawehi's side was Pallas, or as Kawehi called him Dom. Dominico Pallas.
Maile didn’t mind too much.
Maile knew how great Pallas was for Kawehi. And great for her, too. He’d been amazing from the moment he’d entered their lives.
A steadying influence.
And a man willing to stand up for her cousin. To get her justice.
He was there for Kawehi. And now they were expecting a baby.
Oh, they'd done a civil ceremony to make things official and planning to do a big splashy event for family and friends, but for now? All that mattered was how happy they were.
That was the important part.
After a few years of waiting for news of her husband who'd left her behind and in the lurch, she could now trust the man she was with.
Pallas whispered something in Kawehi's ear and she blushed furiously.
"What do you think he said to her?"
Maile looked over at Cameron sitting beside her.
He actually sounded like he was curious and not caustic.
It made her rethink her natural instinct to snark at him.
He picked up his napkin and wiped at his mouth. Then he turned his head back to her to ask, "Well?"
Smiling she leaned in, widening her eyes just slightly. "Something sexy."
Then he turned back toward her. "Really?"
She almost burst out laughing at his confusion.
"You know they do it."
He cringed and he did a little shiver. "I... I can't imagine it."
Maile gave him a smack on his arm. "I don't either, but you can know something without imagining it like a sex tape."
His expression...
He went from shock to surprise, his brows lifting.
Then his eyes narrowed and he looked curious.
"You can?"
She smacked him again. "Yes. I can. You?" She shook her head and sighed. "I dunno."
Pallas pushed his chair back and Maile looked across the table. "Axl?"
Cameron sat up straight in his chair, all semblance of fun and silliness gone form his expression. "Yeah?"
Pallas' expression was all business. "Wolf called a meeting."
There was a time when Maile would have leaned in to hear more.
Back then, when Kawehi and Pallas were starting out and things were new, she'd find herself on pins and needles to get more information.
Now, she didn't think about it. She didn't even hope to hear more. ;
She knew she wouldn't.
Maile saw Kawehi's expression across the table and felt her stomach sink a little.
Her cousin loved her husband, which made it even worse that they knew the kinds of danger that his team could find on their missions.
For Kawehi, these dangers weren't exciting or something to be curious about. These dangers were something that could literally take her husband away from her.
And his wife reached out for him.
Maile turned her gaze away slightly, not wanting to intrude.
She didn't expect that what she'd see instead was the look on Cameron's face.
She was used to his asshole behavior. His snarky tone.
What she hadn't expected was the soft look of sadness on Cameron's face.
The look that said he didn't quite understand what was in front of him.
Then, almost as if he knew she'd turned to look at him, Cameron turned to look at her.
For a moment she continued to see that look on his face.
And then, it was gone.
Cameron stood up and used his hands to resettle his clothes.
It didn't do anything.
All he'd done was lift a few suitcases and eat some food, but she understood the need he would have to keep his hands busy.
She was twisting the paper napkin in her hands.
"Maile?"
Almost as if she'd been caught doodling in her chemistry class, she stood up, dropping her hands to her sides. "Yes?"
Pallas smiled at her. "You forgot to salute."
She understood the need to ease the tension in the room. Maile straightened her stance even more, forcing her shoulders back.
Lifitng her arm, she gave him a rigid salute that she'd seen the team do a time or two. "Yes, sir!"
Kawehi laughed and Maile felt some of the knot in her stomach relax.
Pallas' eyes were calm, something that made her relax a little more.
"Do you think you can stay here with Kawehi overnight? I'd feel-"
"Sleepover!" Maile gave a little jump and bumped into Cameron, almost accidentally. "We can put on our jammies. Pop some popcorn. Watch that film with Superman and that guy from Reacher." She lifted her chin at Pallas and then gave him a wink. "I'll take care of my cuz until you come home."
The look on Pallas' face was a smile, but it was also a little pained, like he'd just put on his boots only to find out that there was a little pebble under the arch of his foot.
"Uh... thanks?"
She clapped her hands together. "Girls' night in!"
She mov9ed past Cameron, bumping him with her hip as she moved. "Okay," she looked straight into Pallas' eyes, "you two get going. The faster you get there, the faster you get back.
Kawehi got up from her chair.
She did it mostly on her own, but Pallas had his arms around her in a protective stance to keep her away from any hard or sharp surfaces. "I'll walk you out to the car."
Pallas didn't say a word, but together they both walked out.
Maile hung back, watching them until the front door closed with a soft click.
Silence fell in the room and it wasn't until she turned her head and saw Cameron standing there that she realized she didn't know what to say.
With Axl she was always ready with a snarky quip.
It just felt different.
"You don't need to go mushy on me."
Mushy?
She leaned back from him, her gaze fixing on his face. "What do you mean mushy?"
He shrugged, his gaze still on the closed door ahead of them. "If you start to cry or beg me to come back safely this is going to get weird."
"That would be weird?"
The laugh that barked out was a little more like a snort than she'd admit to.
"If you want weird, Axl," she turned his team name into two distinct syllables, "weird is you thinking I'm going to worry about your sorry ass."
He smiled then.
And she did, too.
He turned his head to look at her and she watched him lower his chin to look her straight in the eye.
"Just remember, it's natural for me to look down at you, okay?"
His smile broadened and before she could think better of it, she aimed a punch at his gut.
A punch that she almost landed.
If it hadn't been for his big, meaty hand wrapping around hers she might have gotten a good one in.
"Gotcha."
His smiled deepened and her lips pressed into a thin line.
"Let go, jerk."
His smile relaxed a little. "There she is."
"What-"
"The woman who would gut me with a pocket knife and enjoy it."
Maile felt her shoulders relax a little. "You give me too little credit," she insisted, "I'd gut you with anything, including a spoon, and enjoy the crap out of myself."
He winced and then they did something she would have never imagined was possible.
They laughed.
Together.
Easy.
Relaxed.
"Now, you should go and watch his back."
The easy grin disappeared from his face. "Always."
She felt a little sad at his look and tone, but didn't know him well enough to fix it.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "You take care of her, okay?"
She beamed a smile at him.
"Always."
Cameron walked across the room, his long strides eating up the distance so that when she started the move, she didn't even make it there to grab the door before it closed.
Maile pulled it open and walked out onto the porch in time to see Pallas and Kawehi step back form each other's embrace.
She knew how much effort it took her cousin to let go.
Kawehi loved Pallas like her next breath.
And Pallas?
Kawehi was his world.
Together, they were crazy in love.
And Maile loved to see it.
She got to Kawehi's side as the rear lights of Pallas' car flared to life.
Wrapping her arm around her cousin's waist, Maile leaned her head against Kawehi's shoulder. "Does he know how much junk food I'm going to try and feed you?"
Maile felt Kawehi's arm wrap around her back, too.
"You know how much hell he'd give you if you did."
"Of course," Maile shrugged. "Now, let's go inside so I can order some junk from Instacart!"
Kawehi laughed a little and Maile did a little victory dance in her head.
Operation Distract the Mommy to Be had gone into action.
"I feel like we need some Red Vines and Sour Patch Kids."
They turned to walk back to the house and Kawehi groaned a little. "I don't think my stomach can stand that much sugar."
"Awwww..." Maile sighed dramatically, "then I'll just have to eat it so you don't have an upset stomach. Ow!"
Maile almost jumped when Kawehi lightly pinched her on the side.
"Hey!"
"I love you, cuz."
Maile hoped that wasn't a hiccup or a sob she heard in Kawehi's voice.
"That's good," Maile replied, "but I love you more."
AXL
Axl pulled in a scant second after Pallas and took a look around the parking lot. They weren't the last to arrive, but they weren't the first either.
Before they reached the door, Riptide came jogging up.
"Phew," he laughed, slowing his steps, "not it."
The door opened under Pallas' hand and Cameron could see the room inside.
Wolf was that the front and as they entered in, he could clearly see Chicago, Arctic, POS, and a few more of the men.
"Don't worry," he spoke as Wolf looked up to see them walking in, "the water boy is here."
Riptide gave him a quick jab to the kidneys, but Cameron kept his composure and continued to walk.
"We can always throw him overboard if we feel like it later."
The others laughed.
Well, most of them.
Wolf looked like he was tolerating them, like he always did.
Buck, who was at the front of the room, half-turned in his chair to look at them. "Don't you think you can stop teasing Riptide by now?"
Cameron 'nudged' Riptide toward an empty seat by Buck. "I'll never get tired of it. He's the inflitrator of the team. We have to keep him on his toes."
Wolf cleared his throat. "Riptide is the Navy liaison on the team and you should know that he passed all of the same tests to be here that you did, Axl. So take a seat and shut it."
While the words were pointed, Wolf's tone wasn't.
"And Riptide is going to be an integral part of this mission because we're going to be on a Navy transport."
Wolf lifted his arm and clicked on the remote. The white wall behind him lit up as the lights over the seats dimmed. "This is what we're up against."
They'd have some time to grab their gear, but they didn't need much. Wolf and Pallas kept them all prepared for this kind of movement at anytime.
Axl put a hand on Pallas' shoulder as he reached fate front of the room. "Hey."
Pallas turned to look at him. "You have a question, Axl?"
Did he?
Yes.
Did he have a question that he had a burning need to ask at the moment?
Not really.
"I just want to say," Cameron filled his lungs with the cold, clean air-conditioned air in the room, "you're a lucky guy. You'll be back soon and you can pamper your wife to the point of making the rest of us sick to our stomachs."
Pallas' reaction was typical for his friend.
He lifted an eloquent brow and shook his head. "Don't I always?"
Axl couldn't argue with the truth.
He stood straight at attention and gave Pallas a wink. "Yes, sir."
Sighing, Pallas walked off toward their locker room.