Chapter 36
Ansley stepped out of the building, thrilled that her interview went so well.
She knew she had the job and was about to text Link when someone called her name.
For a second, she thought it was Pete. It sounded like him, and it kind of looked like him.
But then the man stepped closer, and she realized it was one of the men she'd been in the Marines with. What was his name?
“Miller?” she asked, not sure she’d gotten the name correct.
“Yeah, it’s me. Andrew Miller.”
“Oh goodness, Miller, it’s good to see you.”
Miller gave her a side hug, then stepped back quickly. “What are you doing in DC? Do you live here now?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m here for a job interview.”
“Oh.” Miller glanced at the building she’d just stepped from. “State Department?”
She nodded. "Translator. Just part-time. I wouldn't be in the office here."
“Oh, bummer. Daniels lives here.”
“Daniels. I don’t—“
“The guy who ate the burger then went on a run and—“
“Oh, him. Okay, I remember him.”
“Yeah, all over the sergeant. He didn’t win any points on that one.”
She checked her phone for the time. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have to catch a train.
” She didn’t like being out in the open for this long with Pete being free.
Paranoia was a terrible bitch, and she wanted her life back.
But when had anything been easy? It seemed like there was always something.
Miller squeezed her shoulder. "It was good seeing you. Next time you're in town, get in contact. I know a few men and women who served with us. They'd love to see you."
“Thank you. It was great seeing you.”
“Bye, have a good trip home.”
She caught a taxi to the station and ran inside. Running into Miller had been great, but she was on edge since she thought it had been Pete. But Pete wasn't here. He wasn't around, and she didn't need to worry about him. Not here. There was no way he knew she'd traveled to DC.
On the train home, she thought about her friends in California.
She needed to call them and see how they were.
She'd already lost contact with so many people, and she didn't want to lose her connections to everyone.
But how realistic was it to keep up with friendships when she lived across the country?
She wanted to keep up with Luis, for sure.
While on the train, she sent him an email, telling him how life was going.
Before she got to Fayetteville, Luis replied, telling her that everything was great in California. She felt better after contacting him.
She would make an effort to keep up with her friends. They had been close while serving. Maybe some of them would drop off the radar, but she would make the effort. She looked through her contacts and made plans to send emails to the people she wanted to keep in contact with.
The train ride went by fast. She caught a taxi and was glad to see Link's vehicle in the drive when she arrived home.
He opened the door and was outside beside her when she stepped out from the vehicle. His lips were on hers as he held her close.
The kiss ended, and she leaned back, staring up into his beautiful eyes. His smile spread wider.
“I’m so glad you’re home.”
She nodded. “I am, too. I’m so happy to be home.”
“So how did it go?” Link asked as he took her bag from her.
“It went really well. I should hear in the next few days.”
“That’s great.”
They stepped inside, and he turned on the alarm. "I need to freshen up and then I just want to relax."
“Sure. Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.”
Before heading into the bathroom, she turned to him. "I ran into someone I used to serve in the Marines with. Miller is his name."
“Oh, cool. Is he living there?”
"Yeah. What's weird is he looks a little like Pete, and it scared me."
“That sucks. But it was someone you knew.”
“Yeah, that was good. Still, it threw me. I was unsettled until the train took off. I hope we figure out where Pete is soon, because I don’t like not knowing.”
Link came close and pulled her into a hug. “We’ll find him. He’s not going to be able to hurt you.”
She blew out a breath and squeezed him close. He made her feel safe, and that was good, because with Pete out there, everything else seemed up in the air. Pete hadn’t hurt her before, but his recent actions seemed very desperate.
Link hated that Ansley felt fear. She was a badass, but Pete had lied about her, putting a target on her back.
The threat of so many people looking to find her had to be scary as hell.
When he went on a mission, he knew he had a target on his back, but at home, no one cared who he was.
He felt totally safe in the USA, but Ansley was being unfairly targeted by an idiot who wanted to make her life hell.
"Go freshen up, and we'll eat. Then we can watch a funny movie and I'll hold you while we laugh at the antics on screen."
"Thank you." Ansley stepped into the bathroom, and he headed to the kitchen to finish making their dinner. He wanted her to feel safe. Hopefully, the FBI would find the idiot, and it all would be over soon.
When she came out, she'd changed into a t-shirt and shorts and looked refreshed. Ten minutes were left on the timer when Ansley received a ping on her phone. Her eyebrows shot up, and a smile spread across her face.
“Good news?”
“Yes. It’s my contact at the State Department. They said there’s an offer in my email.”
"Oh, nice. That's great."
“Yeah.” Ansley was staring at her phone, her smile even wider. “It’s a good offer. I’m going to accept it.”
“Congratulations. That’s great. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you. I’ll take care of the paperwork after dinner.”
“You can do it now if you like.”
She shook her head. “No. Dinner is almost done. I can sign the paper and scan it after we eat.
Things were working out for them. Ansley was working at a job she enjoyed, he was in a good place at work, and they were together. Life was looking up.
Dinner was perfect. Ansley told him about the interview and how it had gone. Her excitement was easy to see.
“It was weird running into Miller. He was someone I served with, but I’d kind of forgotten about him. Honestly, I feel bad about that.“
“You shouldn’t. I know you probably met hundreds of people when you were in the Marines. You won’t remember all of them.”
"Yeah, after I left him, I had to rack my brain to figure out when I'd served with him.
It was in Italy. He'd wanted to go on the vacation with us, but he didn't put in for time, and we weren't going to change our plans.
He was nice enough, but I think he wanted to date someone in our group, and she didn't like him. "
“That’s rough.”
“Yeah. For him, not her. She wasn’t into guys, so she was oblivious to his interest.”
“So she didn’t know?”
“Not really. We got different assignments after Italy, so I lost contact with her. I should see if I can find her.” She blew out a harsh breath. “See, it’s stuff like that. I haven’t even thought about her in years.”
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You can't keep up with everyone. If you tried, you'd never get anything else done. You have the people who stick with you, and then other people who come into your life and then leave. Not everyone has to be someone you keep up with."
She nodded, still looking a little off. "I did send an email to Luis, the guy with the dog I sent you a photo of. I was good friends with Luis. I want to keep up with him."
"That's good. I'm sure Luis appreciated your email."
"He did. I did, too. Made me feel like I wasn't abandoning everyone."
Link nodded. There were hundreds of people he met in the military that he didn't keep up with. “I know there are people I left an impression on who I don’t really remember. It’s part of life.”
"I get that. I think it's everything mixed all together, and then running into Miller and not remembering him. I don't want to be ungrateful for what I had in the Marines."
"Don't believe the crap that was in that podcast. Yeah, I listened to it to see why you were upset.
It was obvious the video was faked, and the people he interviewed from your past weren't your friends.
So what if they called you ungrateful? Every teenager I've ever known is an ungrateful jerk.
Especially new recruits. Few people learn impactful lessons when they are under the age of twenty.
Heck, some people don't learn the big lessons until they are in their thirties or forties. That podcast was bullshit."
She met his gaze, then stood and moved to him. He pulled her onto his lap. "Thank you," she whispered as she held him close.
"Hey, it will get better. We'll get the podcast taken down, and Pete will go to prison. Everything will work out."
It would eventually work out. He just hoped they found Pete before he did something really stupid. Not knowing the guy’s location was wearing on them. If they didn’t find him soon, it would end up driving Ansley up the wall.