Chapter 35
Living with Frankie was easy. They fell into a pattern that felt right.
He went to work, then came home to help her finish cooking dinner.
On weekends, they hung out, sometimes with people he worked with, other times alone.
Their sex life was great. Better than he expected.
Having sex multiple times a week was not something he thought he would ever have, but it was so nice.
Frankie initiated sex almost as much as he did, and she certainly enjoyed what they did together.
Two weeks after they’d declared their love, work started demanding more of him. Frankie was great about it, but he didn’t like having to stay late for things that could have been taken care of earlier in the day.
He still loved his job, but was getting annoyed with a few aspects that they shouldn’t be dealing with.
On Monday afternoon, after an excellent weekend with Frankie, they received news that some stuff was popping off overseas, and they would need to stay late.
He accepted the situation without complaint.
This was a part of their job. It wasn’t a late meeting that could have taken place earlier in the day with some planning.
Evaluating situations that could impact the US was a major part of what they did.
There were still kidnappings of US citizens that happened, though they were fewer than in previous decades.
They got involved in the rescue if it had anything to do with national security or a person associated with the government.
Those cases were rare. Usually, kidnappings were about money, and other organizations were involved in those situations.
He sent a text to Frankie telling her he would be late, and she replied that it was okay and that she would see him when he got home.
She sent another note a few minutes later stating that she was headed to Garnet’s house for dinner and would stay until around eight or nine that evening.
He liked that she was friends with Ansley and Garnet.
Since they’d declared their love for each other, which also was the night of the storm, Frankie and the other two women had grown much closer.
They did yoga together when the guys went out for runs on the weekends, and they got together at least once during the week for some sort of meal where they checked in and talked about life.
It was nice that she had close friends and seemed to be healing.
Keel slid his phone into the cubby outside the conference room and headed in, ready to hear what the issue was this week. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take too long or end with them jumping on a flight to somewhere overseas.
He was thankful that the men who developed the Delta program had been adamant that the people who went on the mission had final say in how the mission happened. They would never be tossed into a situation where they had no say in what they did or how they did it.
They settled in their seats, and the briefing started. Based on the information, he didn’t think they would be heading out in the next week. The situation was building, but it wasn’t about to boil over.
Frankie couldn’t stop laughing. “So the guy got stuck in the reformer?”
Ansley nodded, her laughter building again. “Yes. And he’d come in there so smug. I shouldn’t laugh at his expense, but he’d all but told us we were weak and stupid for doing Pilates.”
Frankie shook her head. “Oh no. That’s totally inadvisable. The women who do Pilates are super strong.”
Ansley grunted. “The first week after starting Pilates, I thought I was going to die.”
“From what you’ve told us, it sounds hard,” Garnet said.
“It is.”
Frankie tapped her chin. “I wonder if I should do Pilates.”
“That would be fun. You could join me when you want. We can go to a beginner’s class so you aren’t thrown into the worst of it.”
“I totally need a beginner’s class. I feel so weak after everything that happened.”
“You look so much better,” Ansley said.
Frankie held out her arms, no longer seeing her wrist bones poke out as much. “Yeah, I’ve put on seven pounds.”
“That’s great,” Garnet said.
“Still haven’t gotten a period, though.”
Garnet’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you aren’t, you know, um, pregnant?”
She shook her head, heat rising on her cheeks.
“Um, no.” A nervous giggle escaped her lips.
“We’re using condoms until I can get on the pill.
But the doctor I saw wants to wait since I haven’t had a period in so long.
She’s worried that there might be more problems which she won’t be able to diagnose until that happens. ”
“I hope there’s nothing bad going on,” Ansley said.
Garnet shook her head. “Ugh, fertility and periods and all that stuff is just hard.”
Ansley’s eyebrows shot up. “Something you’re not telling us?”
Garnet rolled her eyes. “No. I’m still not sure if I even want kids. I mean, I’m fairly certain I don’t, but I’m learning to never say never.”
Frankie shrugged. “Ain’t that the truth. I kind of want kids, but then again, I don’t. It’s a lot of pressure. I mean, what if I do something wrong?”
Ansley’s laughter filled the room. “Oh, you’ll do stuff wrong. All parents do. But I think being loving through it all is more important.”
Frankie let go a long sigh. “With my history, I just don’t know if I’d be any good at it.
Being a parent is hard. Before I escaped, one of my ex’s friends had kids.
They came around sometimes. I always thought it was weird to bring kids into that environment.
You know, the parents partying, doing drugs and stuff. ”
Ansley and Garnet both wrinkled their noses. “That is weird,” Ansley said.
“So wrong,” Garnet added.
“I didn’t like it. I’d never want to put the kids in that position.” A shiver worked through her, and she pushed away the worst of her bad thoughts. “I’m so glad I escaped. Keel is a good man.”
Ansley nodded. “He is good. I’m glad you two found each other.”
Frankie chuckled. “When we first found each other, I’m not sure he was glad to meet me. I mean, Forest did pull a gun on him twice.”
Ansley waved her hand. “He’s used to people pointing guns at him.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t been there. I’m sure Forest would have killed me.”
Garnet nodded. “It sucks when people get stupid ideas like that in their heads. I’m glad you’re okay.”
Frankie checked the time. It was nearly ten. “I should head home.”
“You can sleep here if you want,” Garnet said.
She shook her head. “No, if Keel comes home, he’ll wonder where I am. Thank you for having us over.”
“Sure. Anytime. It was great.”
“I should probably head home, too,” Ansley said.
“I’ll watch you two until you make it to your house.”
“Thanks.”
Garnet hugged her, then Ansley, then headed out, hurrying across the street as Ansley headed to her house. She waved to Garnet and shut the door, locking it behind her.
Sleep didn’t come easily, so she rolled out of bed, disappointed that Keel wasn’t home.
The house was so quiet, it felt like she was breaking a rule walking around this late at night.
Of course, Forest had rules she had to follow, but Keel didn’t put rules on her like her ex had.
If she woke up in the middle of the night, he wouldn’t yell at her to come back to bed.
She wandered into the kitchen, staring into the refrigerator for a long moment before heading to the front of the house, staring out the window at the dark street.
Something was wrong. It wasn’t as dark as she expected, especially at Sonja’s place. It took her a moment to realize Sonja’s house was on fire.
Frankie burst into action, throwing the door open, forgetting the alarm. The alarm going off was a good thing since she’d left her phone in the bedroom and didn’t feel she had time to go back for it. At least the alarm company would alert emergency services.
She reached the front door of Sonja’s house, unsure how to get inside. She felt the door handle with the back of her hand. It wasn’t hot, so she tried to turn it.
The door swung open, and she stepped in. A blur of fur rushed past, heading outside. At least the cat wasn’t trapped in here. She would worry about catching the cat later.
She looked up, and the wall of flames blocking the kitchen kicked off a flashback of her screaming for her parents. Tears filled her eyes, and she wasn’t sure if it was the smoke or emotions.
Panic swept through her as flames licked at the ceiling. She froze, fear hot as the flames rolling along the ceiling.
She’d been too afraid to act as a teenager, and her parents had died. This time, she wouldn’t bow to the fear. She wouldn’t let Sonja die.