Chapter 11 Surprise
ELEVEN
Surprise
Ryker had dumped the laptop on Warren’s bunk and figured his friend would get it returned to its rightful owner in due course. He then hurried back to the chow hall, intent on not leaving T alone for longer than absolutely necessary.
Dinner turned into an event. Ryker found himself shoved into the same corner table as before, straddling the bench where he could see the room behind him and T in front of him.
Unlike lunch, the table was filled. Collins and the rest of the docs from his team sat at the far end where they engaged in lively conversation with Skye Dean.
The diminutive woman looked too fragile to be an emergency doctor, and he wasn’t sure why that thought crossed his mind.
It might have been because of his association with T.
He expected the women he worked with to not only have the mental capacity for the job, but also the physical endurance to pull it off.
He was well aware that made him a chauvinist, but he simply didn’t care.
After a few minutes of listening in on the conversation, it became clear that Skye had no problems holding her own against the physicians.
Her questions were astute and precise without wasting time in being impressed by the rigors of the job.
Collins in particular and Marks took to her immediately.
Drummond kept himself apart, but he was always cold and hard to warm up to.
Warren had not shown up for chow, but Ryker figured he was either working out in the gym or had found that laptop and was talking to his wife and kids again.
Warren wasn’t a small man, but he was the shortest of the team.
He made up for the lack of height by pumping iron and running as many miles as he could before collapsing.
They often ran together. Most times, Collins joined them, but their eight- and ten-mile jogs were nothing but a warm-up for the ultra-marathoner.
With Skye monopolizing the docs, Ryker found himself sitting across from T, watching every flicker of her eyes. The raucous antics of the men of Angel Fire riveted her attention, and he hated the thoughts he saw swirling in the depths of her eyes.
When Forest had led Angel Fire inside the chow hall, the entire room descended into stunned silence, followed by excited shouts.
The band moved through the chow line, mostly unmolested, and then broke apart to sit at separate tables, taking time to introduce themselves to the men and few women gathered.
He watched in awe how easily they played the crowd.
The men were natural performers. Many asked the band to play, but they didn’t have their instruments.
Forest’s deep bass carried across the room, announcing various jam sessions the band had lined up for the next day as well as the concert planned for the following evening. He gave Ryker a wink when he mentioned a special surprise. That made Ryker’s stomach churn and his heart leap.
“They’re incredible,” T said after a particularly long silence.
“The band?”
“Yes. It’s so easy for them. I couldn’t do it.”
“Do what?”
“Talk to that many people.”
“I never took you to be one who hated crowds.”
“Oh, I’m fine with crowds,” she said. “It’s the people in them I have problems with.”
“I never took you for being shy either.”
“Seriously? You know me better than most. When have you ever seen me be the life of the party?” She gnawed at her lower lip. “I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
Ryker followed the bouncing of her eyes and then realized something he’d missed before.
T wasn’t checking out the band. She was watching the few women in the crowd, taking note of her competition.
He was cool with that. The more competition she faced, the lower the likelihood of her following through with her plan.
“How are you holding up?”
He was honestly concerned about her. Relationship killers messed with the mind, and if she needed to work through shit to stay at the top of her game, then he would be her sounding board.
Not that he cared anything about Scott, but he needed to be there for T.
His biggest problem was how he managed that role.
So far, he was a teammate, and there might be a bit of heat simmering between them.
That had been confirmed when the shooter targeted their team.
Those few moments when he’d covered her with his body confirmed what he knew to be there.
The biggest issue he faced was T’s need to talk.
What he wouldn’t do was sink into the abysmal depths of the friend zone.
If he let that happen, there would be no coming back.
“You mean about Scott?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
“I thought we’d agreed not to talk about him.”
“No. You decided you were going to fuck the first man you came across, and I disagreed.”
“You mean, you stuck your nose in where it didn’t belong.”
“Whatever. We agreed we weren’t discussing your sex life, but that’s not what I’m asking now.”
“I’m fine, Lyons. It sucks, but I’ll be fine.”
T stood and worked her way free of the table, tapping Skye on the shoulder and whispering into her ear.
Skye gave a nod and then picked up her conversation with Collins. “And you recommend trauma, emergency, and ortho for a team? This works well for you?”
“Our needs might be different from yours,” Collins said. “We fly into hot zones; combat injuries are what we see, projectile weapons, limb wound salvage, and debridement. It depends on what you think you’ll face.”
“We plan on having a tactical team. Ex-special ops will be on that team. We’re looking at rescues mostly but high-risk scenarios. Most of the situations we envision will be against armed forces. I’m thinking it will be similar to what you see.”
Collins shook his head. “Sounds tough. I like to think we’re the only people with this type of job, but I forget what is happening on the non-military front.”
“Trust me, I’m not looking forward to it, but our medical team would, of course, come in after the scene is secured. I envision much of what you’ve mentioned. Projectile wounds. I doubt we’ll be faced with field amputations, like your team.”
Drummond piped in, “We really don’t do many of those anymore. We’ve learned a lot about limb salvage over the years. Mostly, we debride and stabilize.”
“I’d love to learn more about that,” Skye said.
Ryker listened to their conversation with half an ear.
Forest’s comments about the special surprise had turned his stomach into knots, but that wasn’t what had his blood boiling.
Of all the members of the band, why had T chosen Bent?
With growing anger, he watched her close in on the table Bent had enraptured with whatever story he seemed to be telling.
T didn’t waste a second. Despite what she’d said about hating crowds and people, she honed right in on Bent, thrust her hand forward, and said something.
Whatever it was, it had Bent’s head swiveling to where Ryker sat.
Great, she was using her association with him to get close to Bent. Well, that simply wasn’t going to fly.
Bent scooted over and made room for T. The table was crowded with excited airmen, but they made room. The look T gave Bent went on for far too many seconds, and Ryker wasn’t a fan of the look Bent returned. It was vital he put an end to this now.
He unfolded himself from the bench. “Sir,” he said to Collins, “excuse me.”
Collins waved him away, too engrossed in his conversation with Skye to say anything. Without another thought, Ryker headed straight over to T.
“Hey there,” he said, interrupting the conversation. He placed a hand on T’s shoulder and another on Bent’s. “Whatcha doing with my girl?”
T’s head snapped up, and she gave him a vicious stare. Bent turned to see who’d approached, and his face widened in a grin. He scooted over, making room for Ryker. He slid himself into the narrow space, wedging himself in exactly where he wanted to be—between T and Bent.
Bent slung an arm around Ryker’s shoulders and raised his voice to carry. “I don’t know if we’re supposed to say anything, but this dude here…this dude is going to be rocking it onstage with me.”
Bent’s announcement was met with a chorus of, “No way!” and, “Cool!” and, “Righteous!”
Forest approached, his massive size bringing the ambient noise down half a notch. The man simply had a presence about him that couldn’t be ignored. “Wasn’t that supposed to be a surprise, Bent?”
“Ah, you know better than to trust me with surprises.” Bent cocked a thumb at Ryker and leaned in toward the table. This resulted in everyone at the table and those standing around it to lean in close. “This dude is a hidden wonder. And you won’t believe what he can do with the bass.”
Eyes widened, and mouths gaped. Another chorus of “No way!” and, “Cool!” ricocheted around the table.
The only one who kept silent was T, who crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him.
He ignored T and gave a nod. “Well, that’s the plan, and I have to tell you, I’m pretty pumped.” He gave Bent a manly shoulder bump. “I can’t believe it either.”
Forest gave a soft laugh. “No wonder Tuttle didn’t fight when I took over. You’re unmanageable.”
“I don’t remember him having a choice,” Bent said. “I think you were quite persuasive.”
“I asked,” he corrected.
“You mean, you moved in to protect your sis from Ash.”
Forest waved a dismissive hand. “That was then. I’m speaking of now and how you’re incapable of keeping surprises.”
Bent slapped Ryker on the back. “This dude is epically talented, and I can’t wait to share the stage with him.” He pointed around the table. “Who all is going to make it to the concert tomorrow?”
Every arm lifted.
“Good,” Forest rumbled. “Hope to see all of you there. And we’ll be making our rounds through the shops, too.
The band is pumped to see what all of you are doing to keep our country free.
Thank you all for your service.” With that, Forest left the table and headed off to where Noodles was entertaining another group of airmen.
T unfolded her arms and pressed her palms against the table. “I can’t wait. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
She extricated herself from the table and left Ryker sputtering.
With Bent going on and on about playing with him, he wasn’t in a position to follow T.
And she headed directly to Noodles’s table.
As she wrapped an arm around Forest, Ryker watched with alarm as she yet again worked her way to a position directly beside one of the men of Angel Fire.
It was a struggle to keep his frustration in check, but there was nothing more to do about it.
While continuing the conversation with Bent and those gathered at the table, he never once let his attention waver from the one person he most wanted to spend the evening with.
As the night progressed, he felt her slipping further and further away.