Chapter 7 #3
“We’re done,” Doc said. He wasn’t going to stand there and listen to Ember’s parents tear her apart any more.
He was appalled at the way they were speaking to her.
He knew it was because they were disappointed, but he needed to get her away from them before anyone said something that might permanently harm their relationship.
He turned with Ember in his embrace and kept his arm around her lower back as he led her away from her parents, who didn’t say another word. For which Doc was grateful.
“People will probably take pictures,” Ember said quietly.
Doc stopped and changed course. Instead of going out the main gate, he headed for the gate he’d entered through earlier, the one reserved for athletes and officials. He pulled his phone out and clicked on Grover’s name.
“What’s up? Everything all right?” Grover asked by way of greeting.
“How far away are you? Can you come back and pick up me and Ember?”
“Of course. Give me ten minutes?”
“We’ll be by the athlete entrance. Things are probably too hot at the main gate.”
“Ten-four. I’ll bring the fancy golf cart with the tinted windows.”
“Appreciate it.”
“See you soon.”
Doc clicked off the phone. The Korean officials had supplied dozens of the specialty golf carts for the Games, and he was grateful that Grover had thought to grab one.
He stopped a short distance from the exit, not wanting to leave until Grover was there, just in case fans were waiting outside. “You okay?” he asked Ember. “That was kind of intense.”
“I’m fine,” she said with another fake smile.
She wasn’t fine. That was obvious. But he wasn’t going to push her right now. “For the record…I think Grover wants to recruit you. No matter what he promises you, don’t believe him.”
Her smile gentled, and he could tell it was a bit more genuine now.
“But seriously, you shot amazingly well.”
“It’s funny. I’ve always struggled to concentrate on my own target.
It’s hard to block out the sounds from the other competitors, especially when you know they hit their five and get to move on.
But today, I barely heard any of them. I knew I was out of medal contention, and that seemed to help.
Also, I couldn’t help but think of last night.
That was life and death. Literally. This?
Even though it was the Olympics…it didn’t compare.
It made it easier to not be tense and just do what I’ve trained to do. ”
“You only missed, what, three shots out of the twenty?”
“Something like that,” she said modestly.
“I’d love to take you to a range,” Doc mused. “You could be like a pool shark or something. We could sucker someone into a friendly competition. They’d think because you’re so pretty that you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Then—wham! You’d hit every shot and wipe the floor with them.”
Ember giggled. “That wouldn’t be very nice.”
“Don’t care. It’d be worth it to see their expression when you outshot them.” Doc was relieved to see she’d relaxed somewhat with their banter.
“I’d love to go shooting with you. Do you and your team work out every day?”
“We try to. It’s important we stay in shape.”
“I love running. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I can lose myself in my head and block everything else out. Maybe it’s the endorphins or runner’s high or whatever, but I’ve always loved a nice long run.”
“Are you a morning person?” Doc asked.
“Absolutely. I usually go to sleep around eight-thirty or nine, which I know is pretty ridiculous, but I get up around four-thirty to head to the gym. I swim first thing, before doing anything else,” Ember said.
“Something else we have in common,” Doc told her with a smile. “I don’t need as much sleep as you, but I do like getting up and starting my day early. I’d love to go running with you. And swimming, for that matter. We’re well matched.”
Ember stared at him, and Doc stared back. There was so much he wanted to say, but this wasn’t the time or place. He slowly reached up and palmed her cheek. “You were amazing today,” he said gently.
Tears immediately filled her eyes, but she shook her head and refused to let them fall. “I can’t do this right now. Please.”
Doc nodded. “All right, Em, it’s okay. I understand.
” And he did. She was holding on to her composure by the skin of her teeth and the last thing she wanted to do was lose it in public.
Luckily, he saw Grover pull up in the golf cart outside the entrance.
He once again put his hand on the small of Ember’s back and led her to the door.
“Good job today!” one of the guards called to Ember.
“Thanks,” she responded.
“Hope to see you back in four years! You’ll crush everyone. I know it!”
Ember smiled and waved to him and let Doc guide her to the cart. He held up the tinted plastic window and she crawled into the back seat. He followed her, and the second he was sitting, Grover hit the gas.
They drove back toward the Olympic Village in silence. The main entrance was now closed so they headed for one of the others. Within ten minutes, they’d pulled up in front of the dorm and Doc hopped out with Ember on his heels.
Without thinking about it, he took her hand in his.
“We’ve got patrol in three hours,” Grover reminded him.
Doc nodded. He’d traded shifts with another special forces members so he could watch Ember compete in the run and shooting event.
It wasn’t a full shift, as he’d worked a few hours that morning, but he wouldn’t have missed her final event for anything.
Grover had volunteered to accompany him. He had the best friends.
“Are you hungry?” Doc asked as they headed inside.
She shook her head.
Doc wasn’t so sure about that, but he didn’t push. Ember was practically vibrating next to him. She greeted other athletes they passed and thanked them when they congratulated her, but otherwise didn’t say much.
Without discussing it, Doc led her to his room and unlocked the door.
She stood in the middle of the room without moving, and Doc couldn’t stop himself from going to her as if his life depended on it.
He turned her around and saw the tears she’d desperately been keeping at bay, finally spilling over.
She choked on a sob, and his heart broke for her.
He pulled her close and felt her legs give out from under her.
He eased them both to the hard tile floor and held her as she cried as if her best friend had just died.
Doc didn’t tell her to hush, didn’t promise everything would be all right. He just let her get it all out.
She’d worked her ass off for years, just for this one day, and it hadn’t ended the way she’d hoped.
He hated that her mom had to bring up the fact that she would’ve medaled if she hadn’t done so poorly in the swim.
That was like rubbing salt in an open wound.
It was insensitive and hurtful, and Doc was livid that she’d had to deal with that.
She was probably well aware of where she would’ve placed if her shoulder hadn’t been dislocated, which only made her finish all the more difficult to take.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Em,” Doc murmured, rocking her back and forth as she soaked his shirt with her tears. “If I could go back and change yesterday, I would. I shouldn’t have been so rough with you. This is my fault. God, I’m so fucking sorry.”
She shook her head against him. “N-No—”
“It is,” he insisted, interrupting her. “But I’m also so damn proud of you, I can’t even put it into words.
Do you know how many people I would’ve trusted to have my back like you did yesterday?
Six. Trigger, Lefty, Brain, Lucky, Grover, and Oz…
who you haven’t met yet. That’s it. Anyone else, I would be afraid they’d somehow shoot me instead of the bad guy.
Or they’d bolt, leaving my six vulnerable.
And before yesterday, I’ve never, ever given my spare weapon to a civilian.
But I didn’t think twice about handing it over to you.
I fucked up your Olympic dream, and I’ll spend the rest of my life kicking my own ass about that, but I’ve never been as impressed with anyone as I was with you last night. ”
His words seemed to make Ember cry harder, so Doc decided to shut up and just hold her. Giving her the support she should’ve gotten from her parents.
It took a while, but eventually her sobs changed to the occasional sniffle. Then she mumbled, “I think my ass is asleep.”
Doc smiled and shifted, easily getting to his knees, then his feet, with Ember in his arms. She didn’t panic, didn’t act as if she was afraid he was going to drop her, simply wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he moved them to his bed.
He sat with her legs draped off to the side and lifted his hand to her face.
He wiped the tears off one cheek, then the other.
“Feel better?”
She shrugged. “A little.”
“Good. Want to talk about today?”
Ember sighed. “The fencing went okay. My balance was a little off, but I held my own. I lucked out and got a good horse in the jumping and compensated for my shoulder with my right arm, but I was sitting a little lopsided and it threw the horse off. By that time, my swim coach, Lonnie, and my parents figured something was up, but I didn’t tell them what happened.
They talked a little about the attack this morning, and I didn’t tell them I was involved. ”
“Why?” Doc asked.
She met his gaze and said, “Because you’re Delta Force. I know enough to know that what you do is top secret.”
Doc closed his eyes and tried to control his emotions. This woman was fucking perfect—and he had no idea how to make things work between them. They were in an impossible situation.