Chapter 19
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T he annoying sound of reveille trumpeting in her ear brought Brynn out of a sound sleep. Tucker stretched out an arm and hit a button on his phone to silence it.
His other arm tightened around her, and he brushed her forehead with his lips. “Go back to sleep. I’ll get dressed and slip out. I’ll call you later.”
“I can fix you a quick breakfast while you dress,” she offered as he slipped out of bed.
A morning view of a very nude Tucker was an awesome way to wake up.
“There you go, breaking that cooking ban again,” he teased as he slipped into the sweatpants.
“Actually, I was going to heat you some frozen waffles in the toaster.”
He laughed. “I’ll settle for a cup of coffee.”
“I think I can handle that.” She reached for her robe on the floor and put it on.
“I’m going to jump in the shower. Then I’ll have to go home to get dressed before reporting to base.”
“Coffee will be waiting for you.”
He disappeared into the bathroom, and she wandered out to use the small powder room in the hallway, usually used by guests.
By the time he came out of the bedroom dressed in his uniform and boots from the day before, the coffee was ready. She poured some into a go cup. “Cream or sugar?”
“Cream. What have you got planned today? Any shoots?” he asked as he took the cup.
“No. I have some updates to make to a website for a local bookstore. Between my photography gigs, I have contracts with several small businesses to do graphic design work to maintain their websites.”
He took a sip of the coffee. “You amaze me at how many things you can do.”
She leaned back against the cabinet to sip her own. “You’re no slouch yourself.”
He flashed her a smile. “After work today, how about we go out to eat? I think we could both use a nice dinner that neither of us has to cook.”
“That sounds good.”
“How’s five-thirty?”
“That works for me.”
“I’ll ask Knotty if he and his girl can join us for dinner at McP’s. She’s a techie, too. She does software engineering.”
Their work lives moved in such opposite directions… It was a relief to know he wanted her to meet some of his friends and that he wasn’t wary of sharing other parts of his life with her. “I’d like to meet the Roman gladiator and his girlfriend.”
He smoothed back a long strand of caramel hair and studied her face for a moment before leaning down to brush her lips with a kiss. “I gotta go.”
She rested a hand against his chest. “I know.”
They’d avoided speaking about his friend Jordan since he’d shared the news with her. Their new intimacy had kept his mind off what had happened. But would it once again come crashing down on him when he started dwelling on it during the meeting.
“I’ll be here if you need anything,” she said.
He kissed her again. “I’ll call you later.”
The soft closing of the door as he left the apartment had her sighing. He’d found his feet, hopefully, and would be okay. But the way he’d been when he’d first shown up…
It was so hard for guys to admit they needed comfort. Her brothers would sooner suffer an amputated limb than admit they were hurting. Tucker had been too exhausted to hide his pain or grief. But he’d come to her… That thought had a few nerves fluttering her belly. She cared for him, lusted after him… She wasn’t ready to think about the rest.
While nibbling a piece of toast and finishing another cup of coffee, she mentally set out a plan for the day.
She went into the bedroom and stripped the sheets off the bed. She put them in the hamper and then got another set out of the closet. It took her only moments to remake the bed and set the room to rights. She put the sheets and a few towels in to wash.
Thirty minutes later, with her hair still a little damp from her shower, she sat down in front of her computer and opened it. She accessed her password folder and opened the files for the slideshow. She let it run once more to be certain it was eye-catching to the viewer. Satisfied, she sent Liam Bryant a link to the slideshow so he could play it and asked for his feedback.
The brochure would be the next thing, but first, she needed to update Treasure’s website.
Emily Jane, one of her first clients since she’d set up business in San Diego, regularly sent her work. The bookstore-giftshop-café was a popular and successful shop because Emily Jane stayed on top of things, updating the site and sending newsletters to her customers regularly.
Brynn made some minor changes to the site to make things pop a little more and then added the new items to the online menu for the café. Using photos she’d taken of the store a few weeks ago, she created an ad with the info E.J. had included in her message and sent it to E.J. via text for her to okay. E.J.’s answer was an immediate yes . She took another half hour to send out the ad over all the business’s social media sites and the mailing list.
Next, she started the brochure for Liam Bryant while she waited for him to send feedback about the slide show.
It was almost noon when she took a break to get a drink and eat a snack. She retrieved the camera SD card from her computer desk and downloaded the photos of the sea lions she’d taken. Had it really been only the day before? So much had happened since then.
She browsed through the photos one by one, then decided to post some on her podcast. She’d even taken a short video of the big bull who’d grumbled at her and used it to end the episode.
She reached for paper to write down her thoughts about the whole experience and how it tied in with her journey to trauma recovery.
It was after she’d posted the video for the podcast that she realized she was just distracting herself with busy work to keep Tucker off her mind. She wondered how the meeting was going and if funeral arrangements had been made for his friend.
Once again, she was waiting for his call. At least, this time, she knew he was safe.
*
Sitting outside of one of the admin’s offices the agents had taken over, Tucker rocked his head back and forth to relieve the tension in his neck. They’d already interviewed Sam, Arrow, and Bullet. That left Rosenburg, Denotti, Swan, and him. Beckham had just gone in.
Denotti elbowed him. “I’m sorry about your buddy, Gilly.”
Tucker nodded. “Thanks.” He drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry they’re questioning you guys because Jordan and I were friends.”
“Not your fault,” Denotti said flatly. “They’ll rule us out and move on to the next team.”
The agents were following his playbook. Their team had deployed, and someone had died. They were looking at all of them now. What had he expected? He hoped they would rule them out, but there was no guarantee. They were looking for a needle in a huge haystack.
The door opened, and Simon Beckham came out. His eyes looked steely with anger as he walked past the four of them.
“Petty Officer Giles.” Byers stood at the door with the same deadpan expression he’d worn the last time they’d met. Tucker rose to walk into the office.
As soon as Tucker sat in the seat in front of the desk, Byers asked, “How often did you keep in touch with Petty Officer Toliver, Giles?”
“We always called when we got home from deployment to check in. A few months ago, I called him, and we went surfing. He told me then he was going to propose to Savannah. They’ve lived together for about three years. He called me about a week later and told me she’d said yes. He said he’d hit me up to be an usher at the wedding if I was available. I asked him if he needed someone to arrange the bachelor party. He said his brother Rob was going to take care of it, but I needed to be there. He and Savannah knew his team was due to deploy soon and had set a date for seven or eight months out for the wedding. We’ve called and texted each other a few times since, but things have been a little hectic for us both. I didn’t know he’d gone wheels up until Senior Chief Masters briefed us…after our mission.” He struggled against any display of emotion.
“You weren’t at your apartment last night. Where did you go?” Byers asked.
Surprised, Tucker stared at him. “I went to my girlfriend’s apartment.”
“What’s her name?”
He hesitated. “Why didn’t you just call me if you wanted to speak to me last night? I’d have told you where I was.”
“What’s her name?” Byers repeated.
“Brynn Barrington.”
“How long have you been seeing each other?”
“A little over a month.”
“Will she corroborate that?”
“Yes. I was at her apartment from the time I left the base and drove to her apartment until this morning around six. I had to drive home to change into my uniform before coming in.”
He understood what had set Beckham off now. This wasn’t an interview. It was an interrogation.
“We have a federal warrant for your phone and the call history and texts,” Byers announced, handing him a slip of paper. “We’ll need your password.”
“I need to write down a few numbers before I give it to you. Jordan’s girlfriend, Savannah’s number, and his mom and dad and brother.”
“Go ahead.”
Tucker quickly copied down the numbers and a few others. Then he scanned the document Byers had handed him for a moment. He wrote down his password.
Byers bagged the phone and the password slip, set it aside then handed him a receipt.
“You’ll get the phone back as soon as we’ve run through the data.”
Tucker shrugged. “Knock yourself out.”
Byers tried his intimidation stare, but it had little effect. He’d done nothing wrong, and he wasn’t going to let this guy rattle his cage.
“Have you thought of anything else you want to share with us, Petty Officer?” Byers asked.
“No. I said my piece the last time we met. All but this… Get these fuckers. And do it quickly. I’ve had to watch one friend fight his way back from a catastrophic injury and lose everything. And now, I’ll have to watch as another is buried.” He struggled to maintain his composure. “Is that all you need?”
“Yeah.”
Tucker rose and walked out of the room. He wanted to leave but couldn’t. Instead, he left the building and walked the distance to the beach. He’d tried to shove past the rock of grief wedged beneath his ribs, but it just wouldn’t ease. After a while, watching the surf calmed him.
Denotti walked down and sat down on the beach next to him. He handed him a cell phone. “All the important numbers are programmed in. Sam had a heads-up from command that cell phones were going to be confiscated and took care of it.”
“Thanks.” He studied the cheap burner phone. “It wouldn’t hurt to keep these around as a backup.”
“I hope you remember your lady’s number,” Denotti said.
He quickly programmed it into the phone and then shot Denotti a look. “Do you remember yours?”
Denotti grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Oh, yeah.”
Sam and Beckham wandered down, followed by Swan and Rosenburg, and then Arrow and Bullet. For long moments, the eight of them were silent.
Sam finally spoke. “Petty Officer Tolliver’s family requested that you be a pallbearer at the service, Tucker. You okay with that?”
“Yeah.” It was the least he could do.
“Dress whites,” Sam said.
“Okay.”
“His CO said he’d let me know when they’ve made the arrangements. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
“Okay. His brother or girlfriend may try to call me.” But they’d taken his phone. Fuck. He raked his fingers through his hair. He’d have to call them and give them the number of the burner. He dreaded that.
“Now that we’ve had our interviews, we can knock off for the day,” Sam said. “The brass has given us a few days of R their grief stretched through every word. He was glad he didn’t have to speak to his dad.
Rob, Jordan’s brother, was holding it together by a thread. He left them his temporary number and got off the phone.
Tucker took out his dress whites. How long had it been since he’d worn them? At least a year. They were still covered in the dry cleaner bag from their last use. He looked them over to ensure they were clean and wrinkle-free, then inspected his shoes, a pair of white and a pair of navy. Both looked good.
In the laundry room next to his weight room, he shook out his duffle bag and put his cammies and underwear in to wash. He always thought of his grandmother when he did laundry and sat down to call her. He gave her his temporary number and asked her to share it with his dad. “I’ll call you when I get my phone back so you’ll know everything is back to normal.”
“You’re sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine, Gran. Just the phone issue.” He thought of something that would cheer her up. “I’ve been teaching someone to scuba.”
“You have. Who is she, and how is she doing?”
He laughed. “She’s doing great. She’s a professional photographer for a magazine and does all sorts of graphic design. Her name is Brynn Barrington.”
“I bet she’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, she is. We’ve been dating for a few weeks.”
“Good, I’m glad. I worry that you’re alone too much.”
“I’m with the guys eight or ten hours a day, Gran. If anything, I’m not alone enough.”
“Having a woman in your life keeps you from turning into a grumpy bear. You release some of that testosterone in your system with a little…”
God, he hoped she wasn’t going to say sex.
“…bedroom play, and you just level right out. By the way, your father’s seeing someone, and he’s leveling out just fine.”
He struggled not to laugh. “I’m glad he’s seeing someone. When are you going to find someone to level out with?”
She laughed. “There’s not a man alive who can handle me. Your grandpa struggled something fierce and gave it a good try, though. I’m staying in fighting shape, though, just in case. I’m doing chair yoga down at the church every Thursday morning.”
He had to laugh at that one. Damn if he didn’t miss her.
“When are you going to come for a visit?”
There was just a hint of demand in her tone. “I don’t know, Gran. Things here have been a little hectic. But the first opportunity I get, I’ll fly your way.”
“Good. And you can bring your Brynn home with you.”
“We haven’t exactly gotten to that level yet, Gran.”
“Sure, you have. You told me you were seeing her, and that’s the first time that’s happened.”
Damn.
When he hung up, he felt better. He picked up the phone to call Brynn.