Chapter 17
The entire process of entering the base fascinated Saylor. Security had taken her ID and copied it as well as checking Max’s military identification. Equipped with a visitor badge, she’d walked into a large building teeming with activity.
“You need a haircut, son,” a man with rows of insignia and ribbons told Max curtly. Even totally clueless of the military, Saylor knew the stranger was someone important.
“Sir, yes, sir,” Max answered, saluting.
“You weren’t kidding that you needed to get your haircut,” she whispered when they walked away.
Max winked at her. “We’ll go there first.”
A few minutes later, she stood behind a barber’s chair as a soldier buzz-cut Max’s hair back into submission. It was over in less than five minutes. She spent more time talking about what she wanted done with her hair stylist than Max’s entire haircut had taken.
“Office next and then we can go to lunch,” he said, joining her.
Saylor couldn’t resist rising onto her toes to rub the short bristles over his ears. An erotic thought popped into her mind of feeling that sensation on her breasts or between her thighs. Her cheeks heated despite her efforts to push those images away.
“We are so making whatever that was happen, little girl,” Max told her.
She nodded. Not trying to deny anything, Saylor slipped her hand into his.
She loved this feeling. Having someone in her life who made all her fantasies reality and cared about her was a dream come true.
She forced herself to walk sedately next to him when she wanted to skip with happiness.
Soon they would be home, and she could let her little side out.
“Good morning. I need to change my beneficiary forms,” Max announced. Spacing out, Saylor glanced around the office as he stood at the desk filling in the paperwork.
“I’ll need your ID, ma’am,” the clerk said to her when Max finished.
“My ID?” Saylor repeated as she fumbled with the small phone wallet she carried for her driver’s license.
“They need to confirm who you are, Saylor,” Max told her.
Confused, Saylor glanced at the form in front of them. Her name jumped out at her. “You made me your beneficiary?”
“Yes. And my next of kin. The military can talk to you now if anything happens to me,” Max explained quietly.
“Here you are, ma’am,” the clerk told her as he handed back her license before looking back at Max. “Anything else, sir?”
“No. Thank you.”
A blare sounded, and a voice came over the intercom. “All service members evacuate the west entrance.” Instantly, everyone moved.
Max grabbed Saylor’s hand and tugged her from the office. “Come with me, baby. I’ll get you somewhere safe.”
They hadn’t taken five steps when his phone rang. Max grabbed his device and read the message as they ran. “Fuck. Change of plans, baby.”
Almost immediately a second announcement rang out. “Take shelter away from the north and west entrances.”
“What is going on?” Saylor asked.
“They’ve got a bomb threat at both entrances. The base has one team always on duty. One is taking the west. I’ve been called to the north.”
Fright like she’d never felt before made her blood turn to ice. Not for herself like she’d felt in the bank robbery, but fear that something would happen to Max. “Your team isn’t here.”
“They wouldn’t be with me anyway, little girl. Here.” He pressed a code into a side door and pulled her inside. Lockers lined the walls. Saylor met the surprised glance of a ripped serviceman dressed only in a towel. She looked up at the ceiling immediately.
“Make way!” Max roared. Saylor heard bodies hit the lockers with thuds as everyone stood back, creating a path for them.
“Sorry!” she called as he pulled her through a doorway into a large gym area.
“Our lockers are here with my equipment.”
“I’ve got your equipment locker unlocked. I’ll watch out for Saylor.”
Relief flooded Saylor as she met Hank’s gaze. In a flurry of activity, Max strapped equipment to his back and filled his arms. He stopped to pull her close for a hard kiss. “Be safe. Do what Hank says without argument.” He was gone before Saylor could even answer.
She turned in shock to look at Hank. “Is he going to be okay?”
“He’s really good at what he does, Saylor.”
Hank had reassured her without ensuring Max’s safety. Tears gathered in her eyes, clouding her vision. Blindly, she walked forward into Hank’s arms. He gathered her gently against him and patted her back.
A few minutes later when her trembling calmed, he said, “We’re safe here. Let’s sit down.”
Her legs shook as he guided her over to the bleachers on one side of the open area. When she sat, Hank settled next to her. His presence reassured her.
He talked softly. “This base is the safest place in town. Everyone is trained to handle any threat or emergency.”
“Do you have something you need to do?” she asked, hoping he could stay with her.
“I’m here with you. That’s all I need to take care of. We’re off duty. They called Max because he’s the best and he’s here close. They would have probably called him in with the other EODs.”
“EODs?” Saylor asked. She knew she’d heard that before, but couldn’t remember now what those initials meant.
“Explosive ordinance disposal.”
“Hello?” a quiet voice said, peeking around the corner into the training space.
Hank jumped to his feet immediately and moved in front of Saylor, shielding her with his body. “Stretch out on the bleachers out of sight. Better yet, squeeze between the boards,” he hissed at her before shouting at the young blonde, “Show me your identification!”
Pausing as she slid down through the bleachers, Saylor watched the woman automatically raise her hands as if she were surrendering. “Sorry. I can leave.”
“Identification!” Hank bellowed, walking forward.
“I dropped my purse when they told us to run,” she said faintly. Saylor could hear the tremor in her voice like she was on the verge of crying. “I’m here working with the document management team. Wait. I have a visitor’s pass. It’s in my back pocket.”
She lowered one hand to reach for it, and Hank snapped, “Freeze.” Her arms shot up above her head as she shook with fright. He stalked forward and grabbed her elbow, spinning her around. He reached for a metal clip that dangled from her pocket and pulled out a white card emblazoned with Visitor.
“Who’s your contact on base?” Hank asked. His voice had lowered in intensity and volume.
“Commander Alan Buchanan.”
“What’s your name?”
“Sammie. Samantha Townsend,” she corrected herself.
“Sammie, do you consent for me to search you?” Hank asked.
“S-Sure.”
Saylor rose from her hiding spot as Hank ran his hands over her slight form. “You’re clean,” he said, stepping back. “I’m sorry if I scared you. When an alert goes out, everyone unknown is suspect.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” Sammie said in a quivering voice as she wrapped her arms around herself.
“Hey! You can wait with us,” Saylor invited. “Hank sounds mean, but he’s a good guy. I’m Saylor.”
“Hi, Saylor. Hi, Hank,” Sammie said softly.
Saylor noticed she moved slightly closer to Hank, as if needing the security of being close to the large man. He turned and pressed a hand to Sammie’s lower back, guiding her toward Saylor.
His sharp gaze landed on Saylor. “I told you to take cover.”
“I did. I just figured out Sammie was safe before you did,” Saylor answered, crossing her fingers that he wouldn’t tell Max. Inside she knew there was no chance he wouldn’t. Her butt was toast.
Maybe a distraction would make him forget. “Can we go where Da… Max is?”
“No way, Saylor. We’ll stay right here. Max will return as soon as he can.”
“Incoming, Murdock!”
Saylor recognized Jerico’s voice as he warned Hank he was entering. She turned to greet the team leader with relief and waved as four men jogged inside. The rest of the team had come to join them.
“They let you on base?” Hank asked.
“Jerico pulled rank and the rest of us glided in behind them,” Koa explained. His appreciation for Jerico’s leadership had grown quickly when the newest member of the team had joined months ago.
“He’s handy like that,” Hank acknowledged. “They called Max in to help.”
“Max will take care of whatever’s happening. Does he need backup?” Caden asked. His gaze passed Hank’s large frame. “Who’s that?”
Sammie peeked out from behind the team’s sniper.
Hank turned slightly and wrapped his arm around her waist to guide her forward.
“These guys are safe, Sammie. Let me introduce you.” He pointed at each soldier and told her their names.
“That’s Caden, Koa, Jerico, and Zale. We’re all teammates, including Max who’s taking care of a problem. ”
A muffled boom sounded. Saylor jumped and looked around the room in horror. “Did something just blow up?”
“Yes, but safely, little girl. That was something being exploded in a controlled environment. One threat has been eliminated. Let’s listen for the second,” Caden assured her.
Long minutes passed as Saylor hardly breathed. She swayed and everything got fuzzy around the edges of her vision. Stiffening her knees, she kept listening for anything that would signal that Max was okay.
Zale stepped forward to run his hands over her arms. “Let’s go sit down, Saylor. You look pale. Inhale deep for me as we walk.” He guided her over to the bleachers and sat down with her. “Do you feel like you’re going to pass out? Put your head down between your knees if you’re dizzy.”
“I’m okay. Can we go check on Max?” she asked.
“Not now. As soon as they give the all clear,” Zale told her.
“This is so hard,” she whispered.
“I know. Max’s skills are without equal. And now he has even more reason to be careful,” Zale said.
“Because of me?” Saylor needed to hear someone say it other than the voice in the back of her mind.
“Definitely. He just found you. He won’t risk missing time with you,” Zale reassured her.
Saylor inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. She did one of the breathing exercises her therapist had taught her to settle her nerves, and her fogginess cleared. Another muffled boom sounded. Saylor’s gaze rebounded to Zale’s face. “That’s a good sound?”
“The best ever,” Zale answered with a smile.
“We should get the all-clear announcement soon,” Jerico predicted.
The entire team turned as one and stepped in front of the two women to shield them as the door opened.
“Hey, did you schedule a party and not invite me?” Max’s voice came from the doorway.
“Daddy?” Saylor launched herself up and ran to jump into Max’s arms. He absorbed the impact easily as he squeezed her tight. Saylor wrapped her legs around him, clinging to his hard body like a monkey.
“Did she just call him Daddy?” Sammie’s voice asked from behind her.
Saylor didn’t care if the woman judged her. Her daddy was safe.
“Come sit down and let me clean that,” Zale said from behind her.
“Are you hurt?” Saylor immediately lowered her legs and pushed away from Max. She spotted the bloody towel wrapped around his hand. The haziness rebounded, and she felt herself falling as the reactions around her seemed to come from a long distance away.
When she blinked her eyes open, Saylor sat on her daddy’s lap. His concerned face watched her intently. “Daddy?”
“You passed out, baby. How do you feel?”
“Shaky,” she admitted.
“Me, too.”
Saylor remembered his injury and sat up straight quickly. “Whoa,” she whispered and clutched his shirt to steady herself.
“Drink this, Saylor,” Zale said, handing her an open sports drink.
She took it and almost spilled the bright blue liquid inside. Max steadied the bottle with his towel-wrapped hand. “You’re hurt.”
“Not bad. The device was booby-trapped with glass. I cut a finger as I removed the cover. I’m fine. A few stitches and I’ll be as good as new.”
“If Max will ever let me sew him back together,” Zale muttered.
“Daddy! Let him fix you,” Saylor urged.
“Only if you’ll keep sipping on this,” Max told her, lifting the bottle in his hand slightly.
“I will. Let me hold it.” Saylor pulled the container from Max’s fingers and took a drink to show him she would follow his directions.
“Good girl,” Max praised her quietly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zale pull Max’s hand closer and unwrap the towel. She averted her eyes and focused on her daddy’s handsome face. “Did the other bomb guy get hurt?”
“No, Saylor. I had them radio over a warning. He’s good.”
“Both had glass in them. So, they were created by the same person or group. I’d figured that out already when the attack happened at two gates,” Zale said.
Max nodded. “Who’s the woman with Hank?”
“She’s an outside employee working with something administrative, I think,” Zale answered. “Her name is Sammie. Hank just met her, but they’re both sticking close to each other.”
“Do you think that’s his little girl?” Zale asked.
“I called you Daddy in front of her. She probably thinks I’m a weirdo.” Saylor told him.
“She’s probably too stressed to remember. Don’t worry about it, little girl,” Max reassured her.
“Or she’s his little girl,” Zale suggested. “All done. Saylor, your daddy’s booboo needs a kiss to heal well.”
Saylor brushed her lips lightly against the gauze wrapped around Max’s fingertip. “I hope that helps.”
“Of course it does. Thank you, baby.”
“Can we go home now?” Her stomach growled loudly, making the two men laugh.
“How about lunch first? Then home,” Max suggested. “Shall we ask everyone to join us?”
“Yes, please. And the other Littles?”
“I’ll go get mine,” Zale volunteered. “Koa took care of letting the girls know everything was over.”
“Zale, while we’ve got you here. Could we schedule an appointment for Saylor to have an exam? We’d like to talk to you about birth control,” Max asked.
Saylor’s cheeks flamed red, but she nodded. She was ready to stop using condoms and trusted Zale.
“Saturday at ten. Come to my home office. We’ll get everything taken care of,” Zale promised.
“We’ll be here,” Max answered before turning to the team. “We’re headed out for tacos. Does anyone want to join us? Ladies are invited, Sammie.”
“Thank you, but I need to find my purse and get back to work,” Sammie said quickly.
“I’ll show you where someone would turn in something found,” Hank offered.
A minute later, the all-clear announcement blared from the speakers across the base.
Hank escorted Sammie out the door as the guys coordinated their plans quickly.
Saylor glanced around the room as Max hung his equipment back in his locker.
She was glad to have seen this place. Now she’d be able to picture Max at work.
“Ready, baby?” he asked.
“Yes, Daddy. Let’s go.”