Chapter 47
“Good run?”
The security guard greets me by the pedestrian gate to let me inside.
“Pretty decent,” I reply and jog straight through up to the front door of the house.
It’s still early, and no one was interested in a morning run. I don’t blame them. After yesterday’s adventure, I imagine everyone wants to sleep in. But I’m not one who likes to change their daily habits, especially if I can control them. So it doesn’t matter about the lack of sleep I have, I try and wake up every morning at 6am for a quick jog followed by a cold shower.
I unlock the door and step inside, glancing up the stairway as I remove my trainers. All is quiet, and everyone is probably still zonked out. I smile and head towards the kitchen to prepare a protein shake before heading back upstairs.
Pausing at the entrance, I observe the back of the barefooted, bare-legged beauty facing the window wearing just a t-shirt. And judging by the size of it, it probably belongs to one of the lads. She’s holding a cup of what I imagine is coffee and staring out, lost in thought, as she doesn’t seem to notice or hear me approaching.
“Eden,” I say, strolling up beside her, and I watch her slightly jolt herself back to earth.
She tilts her head up at me and smiles, but it’s a grin that seems more troubled than happy.
“Penny, for your thoughts, darling,” I slide my hand around the small of her back and kiss the top of her head.
“Just lost in thought,” she slides away from me and pulls out a stool by the kitchen island, sitting down on it. Settling her coffee mug on the counter she sighs deeply.
“About?” I join her.
“You were a soldier.”
I nod my head, “For five years.”
“Did you….” She hesitates, takes the coffee mug in her hand, and spins it slowly as she formulates her thoughts to a question. “Did you have to kill people?”
I knew we’d have to have this talk, but I needed Eden to initiate it because it isn’t the kind of discussion one just throws out.
“Kill in action,” I correct. “Yes, I did. It was part of what I trained for and something sometimes unavoidable when conducting a rescue mission.”
“And did it bother you? How did you deal with it?” Her voice is soft and curious, and I’m glad she’s asking all the right questions. It tells me how ready she is to deal with her trauma.
“Well, military training often includes psychological preparation to help soldiers cope with the mental and emotional challenges of combat, including the act of taking a life. But regardless, one’s first kill might throw a person, irrespective of training, through a range of emotions, including shock, guilt, remorse, or even a sense of accomplishment, depending on the situation. These emotions can be overwhelming, and soldiers may struggle to process them.”
“And what do they do when they can’t deal with it?” she asks with genuine curiosity.
“Soldiers often rely on the support of their fellow unit members. The bonds formed within a military unit are strong, and soldiers may find solace and understanding from those who have experienced similar situations.”
She stops spinning her mug but hasn’t looked up to face me.
“How do you feel about what you had to do?” I ask, carefully observing her face.
She shrugs her shoulder and thinks about my question.
“I don’t know, that’s just it,” she finally admits. “When I plunged Callum’s knife into that man’s neck, I did it without much thought. He held a gun to Brittney’s forehead and was going to shoot her. I didn’t think. I acted on impulse. But at the same time, I knew I had a hidden knife and would use it. So does that count as pre-meditated?”
“It counts as self-defense,” I say firmly. “You were given no other way out of the predicament you were in, so you took the chance fate gave you, and you saved yours and your friend’s life. There was nothing you could have done better. Because of your action, your best friend is alive.”
“But, what if I enjoyed it? Stabbing him as if he were a piece of meat and bones on a cutting board. Does that make me a psychopath too?”
“No, it makes you human. That individual did despicable things to you. Things no person should have born upon them, and it was a matter of kill or be killed. You drew pleasure from claiming your life back and saving your friend. Don’t confuse that with the kind of shit that psycho derived from.”
She drums her fingers on the marble, her face tilted down in thought, and I wait patiently for her to let me in further.
“I killed men,” she finally says. “Lots of them. Do you think the others will think differently of me?”
“Differently, but not in how you might think we do,” I reach out and take her hand. “Look at me, Eden. You need to see the genuine emotion on my face with what I want to tell you.”
She turns to face me, somewhat reluctantly, and I know she’s afraid of what we’ll think of her after her ordeal, so I let go of her hand and stand up next to her, cup one side of her face, and lock eyes with hers. If I allowed myself to, I could get completely lost in those green jewels, but now isn’t the time.
“We all think you’re one of the bravest people we know. You did what you needed to do to protect yourself and your friend. Not many people could have done what you did. You’re a hero to us. What you feel is normal, but never ever doubt how we feel about you. And if what you did still bothers you, then we’ll help you get counseling. Whatever you need, we’ll be right next to you, supporting you as the men who love and think the world of you. You will never be alone in this.”
“We got your back, babe,” I add as a final confirmation.
She blinks but remains silent, and I move my hand to hold her chin between my fingers.
“Got it, Eden?”
“Yes.”
“Never doubt how much we love you. You’re it for us, darling. You have our hearts and souls to keep.”
Her eyes drop to my mouth, and I use that opportunity to lean forward and finalize our discussion by claiming her lips. I kiss her with the sweetness of passion and a million loving thoughts condensed into a single moment.
I pull away from her and brush my nose against hers, up and down, in a way that I know she finds impossibly soothing by the way her entire body melts against mine.
“Thank you,” she whispers, and I pull her against my chest, wishing I could yank out all that pain and trauma she’ll forever carry with her.
A phone buzzes, and I look around, knowing I left mine upstairs.
Upon realizing it’s coming from the coffee table in the living room area, I see Eden’s bag and phone across the room.
Not wanting to break our contact, we both ignore it.
“Is that my purse?”
“Yes,” I say reluctantly, drawing back and strolling over to retrieve her phone and bring it to her in the kitchen.
“The agent brought it over after it was found along with Brittney’s purse in the restaurant. I had hers couriered to her parent”s place in Tampa, where she flew to last night.”
I hand her the mobile. Asher deleted all the frantic messages we sent her after we learned about the car bombing. There’s no point in letting her see how worried we were about her and adding extra stress to what she currently suffers from.
As Eden focuses on her messages, I prepare my protein shake.
“One’s from Britnney. She asked me to thank you guys for mailing her stuff to her.”
“How’s she doing?” I ask, measuring the whey powder into the glass container.
“She didn’t say, but I’ll phone her a little later. She did say she caught the concert online and that we’ve seriously broken the internet with our onstage kiss.”
She smiles wide, “She said the news is heading it as the kiss of the century.”
I chuckle.
“Oh,” she exclaims with a slight frown. “Catalina is in LA. She’s asked to meet with me.”
I raise a brow with surprise. I thought Eden closed that chapter with the witch.
Usually, I wouldn’t use childish names to call people, especially women, but Catalina certainly deserves the title after what she did to Eden.
Technically, she deserves a prison sentence, but Eden wants to sever the relationship and not drag it through court.
“Did she ask why?”
“She said she needs my help and that I’m the only person she can trust.”
“She didn’t say what kind of help?”
Eden shakes her head.
“Alright?” Asher strolls in with a kind of freshness he brings to the room.
Maybe it”s because his hair is an indicator that he’s just showered and that I need to get my sweaty, stale clothes off and run a shower over myself.
I’m more focused on my shake, but I glance up and see Ash stride over to Eden, who looks up from her phone as he approaches her.
Adoration fills her eyes as she drinks in his shirtless torso. I can only imagine that she looks at all of us with that kind of carefree lust.
Rather than wait for him to make the first move, she falls into his embrace.
“You alright, Eddie?” he asks, but I look straight down at what I’m doing with my shake.
“Just missed you, even if it hasn’t been that long since I left your bed,” she says, and I hear their lips kiss.
I glance up from what I’m doing and watch him brush his fingers through her long, silky hair, and she pulls away.
“You’re a sweetie,” he kisses her head.
“Brekkie?” he asks both of us.
“Sure,” she replies, and he takes her empty mug to the sink.
“I’m good with the shake for now, thanks.”
“I heard the shower on in Haze’s room,” Ash remarks. “And I saw Callum heading to the gym.”
“That’s early for him,” Eden chuckles.
“Yeah, I think he’s trying to break his tobacco habit and is switching his addiction to sports.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, I guess,” she says and sighs. “What should I do about Catalina?”
Asher opens the fridge door but turns to us. “Have I missed something?” His eyes dart between the two of us, and Eden explains the text message.
“I have to pick up Storm later this morning, but I don’t want to drag Carl with me to find Catalina.”
I exchange a glance with Asher.
“What?” Eden asks.
“Eddie, darling,” Ash leaves his breakfast preparations, grabs a stool, and slides it over to her. “Rick’s funeral is taking place today. Carl said his family didn’t want to create a delay. He’s with Rick’s wife today.”
“I didn’t even know he was married.”
“Security detail rarely talk about their personal lives, mostly because of privacy reasons. Carl left me with the funeral details in case you want to go.”
She nods her head with determination.
“We should attend his funeral. I also would like to reach out and see if his wife needs anything. He died protecting me. It’s the least I can do to see his family get through this. Did they say anything about the other person who died in the blast?”
“Umm, yeah, Carl spoke with his contact at the LAPD. A homeless person was there at the wrong time. I think they are looking for their next of kin.”
“Oh.” She looks down in thought. “What happens if they can’t find the family?”
“Dunno about here, but in England, they’d get a pauper’s burial in an unmarked grave that’s shared.”
“Shared grave?” she shakes her head in disagreement. “No, that won’t do. Can you try and find out? Maybe they’d allow me to cover their funeral costs and get them a proper grave with a plaque and their name on it. They died unnecessarily, and everyone deserves a proper place of final rest.”
Asher picks up her hand and kisses it.
“You’re a real gem.”
She definitely is.
“Eden,” I catch her attention away from Ash. “I’ll phone the FBI agent and let them know of your wishes. I’ll also let Carl know we’ll be attending Rick’s funeral. I can drive you to pick up Storm afterward.”
“And I have to be in Irvine later this afternoon,” Asher announces. “Why don’t you arrange to meet Catalina at that Greek diner we once visited in Huntington Beach. I can drop you off on the bike and pick you up once I finish. That way, you have an excuse to cut your meeting short with her if things get tense like they did in New York.”
“I’d feel better if she had one of Carl’s men with her,” I interject, feeling slightly uneasy about still letting her around LA without a proper escort.
“I don’t want to do this in front of security. This is too personal.”
“Fine,” I mumble, not happy with the idea. “But you,” I turn to Asher, “make sure the area seems decent and that you don’t delay picking her up.”
He nods in agreement and turns to Eden, pushing a strand of hair from her face, and his hand lingers on her cheek. “What do you say to dinner after? Just you and me, and leave these wankers here.”
Charming, except I stay silent after seeing Eden’s face blow up with a massive smile.
“Like a date?” I don’t miss the excitement in her voice.
He grins back at her. “Yeah, like a date.”
I make a mental note to reserve Eden for a special night with just her and me. Judging by the look on her face, she loves the idea of couple dates, and I’m pretty sure each of us would be happy to provide that for her.