Chapter 2
Chapter Two
She could do this.
It was just dinner. Another gathering with friends. The same setup she’d been part of for the past several months. All she needed to do was breathe.
Nothing fancy, just in, hold, out. Ignoring the nauseating lemon scent clinging to every surface.
How one of the toilets behind the stall doors kept running, the constant trickling sound making her left eye twitch.
Not as bad as how that damn sonar weapon had rattled her brains a few weeks ago, the tone still lingering in the back of her mind.
Driving her to the brink without warning.
But it seemed everything set her off these days.
Sheriff Greer Hudson stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Dark circles rimmed her eyes, the lines around her mouth deeper than she remembered.
A couple butterfly bandages secured a cut across her left temple, only a hint of the bruising bleeding through the thick foundation she’d dabbed over top.
Fallout from an early morning encounter with a couple drunken, rowdy frat boys.
She smirked. They were still sweating it out in one of the cells.
But it wasn’t the obvious exhaustion paling her skin that worried her. More the gleam in her eyes that broadcast how damn lovesick she was over one, irritatingly handsome medic. While she doubted his teammates would notice — look beyond the smudges and tape — he would.
Chase Remington.
Ex-pararescue turned SAR tech, and the man slowly driving her insane.
She groaned, splashing another handful of water on her face, careful not to remove more of the concealer. She’d arrived at the café ten minutes ago and had detoured into the washroom to freshen up. Decompress after another eighteen-hour shift. Until she’d caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
Seeing her feelings for him staring back at her had stopped her cold, and she’d been backpedaling ever since.
The handle on the old wooden door rattled, the hinges creaking in protest as the door swung inward, clattering against a metal stop.
Mackenzie Parker swept into the two-stall bathroom, her long brown hair twisted up into a messy bun.
She smiled when their gazes clashed, glancing over her shoulder before helping those rusty hinges close.
Mac ambled over to the counter, dabbing at the corner of her mouth. “Everything okay? You look… concerned.”
Greer turned and braced her ass against the wall. “Are you checking up on me?”
Mac eyed her in the mirror.
Greer sighed. “Shit, you are.”
“I saw you stroll in, then head in here, and…”
“And what? Did I reach some magical time limit that had you questioning my well-being?”
“It’s been ten minutes. You never take more than five, tops. And that’s only when you have to wash off blood or something from an altercation.” Mac waved at the strips on Greer’s temple. “And based on the bruising you’re trying to hide, that’s at least twelve hours old, so…”
“I think you missed your calling. You should have been a detective.”
“Please, those few ground encounters I had with Striker were enough to remind me why I prefer to attack a situation from the sky. Facing tangos on the ground is creepy.”
Greer laughed. “You’re not wrong.”
Mac turned, leaned her hip against the counter. A small bump pressed against her hoodie, her pregnancy just starting to show. “I’m not wrong about something bothering you, either.”
Greer plastered on a fake smile. “I’m fine, just tired.”
“I don’t doubt the tired, but you’re not fine. In fact, you’ve been off since that insane mission on the salvage ship with Zain, Saylor and Chase.”
Greer’s lips quirked as Chase’s name echoed through the small room, rattling around in her head like that damn sonar weapon had. Lingering in the background like a benediction. She fisted her hands, searched for something to say, but nothing fit.
Mac sighed. “If you need to talk about Chase, but you’re afraid what you have to say is going to hurt him—”
“He stepped in front of a bullet.”
The words rushed out in a heated mess, jumbling together until Greer wasn’t sure if she’d gotten more than just bullet out.
She huffed. “Three, actually. Meant for me. And he would have staggered to his feet and taken more if I hadn’t dragged him into a storage room a second before that damn sonar went off. Dropped us both.” She shook her head. “I know that’s what he does. What they all do, but…”
How did she say that one selfless act had changed her without admitting she was floundering? That she couldn’t look at him without hearing the pop of gunfire. Seeing him jerk from the hits, yet holding his ground.
That she couldn’t picture any other man ever standing up for her the way he had.
Mac slipped her hands over Greer’s. “Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s insane.”
“That’s kind of the team’s default position, and you’re part of it. There’s nothing any of them wouldn’t do, but Chase…” Mac squeezed. “He’s been all-in from the start.”
Greer bowed her head in defeat, aware she needed to tell someone the truth before it spilled free over coffee. “I’m crazy about him.”
Mac laughed. “You say that like we didn’t already know.”
“It’s more than that, I…” Greer worried her bottom lip, all the words just tumbling free. “Do you think it’s possible to fall in love without even kissing? Going on a date?”
“Pretty sure Foster had me hooked before he shoved me against his front door.”
Greer looked up at her. “I don’t know what to do. It’s getting to the point I can’t focus when he’s around. Can barely breathe. But I don’t know how…”
Mac let go of her hands, inched closer. “Whatever’s holding you back, I promise it isn’t the deal breaker you’ve concocted in your head. We all have demons — Chase included.”
“I just can’t be wrong, again. Not like my last few assignments with the bureau. With Thompson.”
“First, Thompson’s not on you. In fact, if you hadn’t been willing to dig deeper, despite knowing he’d have your badge if he found out, we’d still be under his rule.
Still have him running his drugs through town.
” Mac inched closer. “But more importantly, I don’t think you’re afraid of being wrong about Chase. I think you’re afraid of being right.”
“You read that in a fortune cookie?”
Mac merely smiled, then walked over to the door. “C’mon. Before Foster sends out a search and rescue team.”
Greer sighed, took one last glance in the mirror, then headed out, following Mac over to the table. Chase and his teammates looked up, the lively conversation cutting off as the two of them approached the table.
Foster stood, holding out Mac’s chair. “I thought I’d have to send Jordan in to do a recon. Find out if you’d somehow gotten trapped.”
Mac rolled her eyes. “Men. Besides, look who I found.”
Chase copied Foster’s approach, grabbing the empty chair beside him and offering it to Greer. “Your shift should’ve ended an hour ago. You need to take better care of yourself.” He leaned in as he helped her scoot the seat forward. “You look exhausted.”
Greer smiled. “Aren’t you the charmer.”
“If you don’t want me to call you out, then don’t start working before five.”
She arched a brow. “Are you stalking me?”
“Will you arrest me if I say yes?”
“Might give me an excuse to use my handcuffs.”
Chase coughed, glanced at his buddies. “We got called in early, and we pass your office. You were already there.”
Greer ignored the smug smiles staring back at her. “It’s the start of Hell Week. Things should settle down once it’s over.”
Kash frowned, popping a fry in his mouth. “I thought all that fraternity hazing crap was outlawed?”
Greer glanced at Chase when he shoved some nachos her way. “Most universities and colleges claim they’ve cracked down on it, and it tends to be more stupid pranks than anything, but the fraternities really just shifted the stunts to smaller communities where they think local law won’t care.”
Zain motioned to her head. “Is that how you got that cut?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Chase muttered something under his breath, shaking his head as the conversation drifted to safer topics, mainly their buddy Rhett Oliver. How he’d roused for the first time in a year. A sign they hoped meant he was finally rejoining the living.
Greer settled in, their combined buzz more than a bit infectious.
The way they laughed, teasing each other and looking as if a weight had been lifted, drew her in.
And just like that, all her reasons for keeping Chase at arm’s length slowly crumbled amidst the press of his thigh against hers.
The way he smiled whenever she risked a glance.
Her heart rate had already tripled when Saylor leaned back in her chair.
She took a sip of pop. “Zain says you’ve got a new deputy starting tomorrow. Some guy they knew back in the service.”
Greer nodded. “Elijah James. He did a few years as an Army Ranger until an injury pulled him from the field. He shifted to military police, then decided to go civilian. And the entire team swears the guy’s solid—”
Zain groaned. “Trust me. Eli’s solid. Guy was a beast until that IED pulverized his leg. He’s lucky he didn’t lose it.”
Kash shifted forward as he rested his elbows on the table. “And he worked like hell to get most of the mobility back.” He glanced at Chase. “Chase wouldn’t let us recommend anyone we wouldn’t trust with our lives let alone yours, right buddy?”
Chase sighed. “Eli’s good people. We all did a number of joint task forces with the guy.” He leaned in close to Greer, sucking out all the available oxygen with his smile. The way his gaze swept the length of her. “And yeah, I wouldn’t let anyone back you up I wouldn’t go into battle with. Period.”
Greer swallowed, coughing when it didn’t quite go down right. “Good to know. Besides, it’s painfully evident my resources are already spread too thin across the county.”
Saylor arched a brow. “Does this mean you might actually take a day off?”