Chapter 10 #3
It was quintessential Alaska. With a huge moose head over the bar, the servers wearing jeans and flannel shirts, wooden planks on the walls and floors, and dollar bills tacked up on every available surface.
Most signed, some foreign currency, and even a few fives, tens, and twenties.
Shadow didn’t know why people liked to do that in a lot of the bars he’d been to in Fairbanks, but he hadn’t hesitated to add his own to mix the first time he’d visited The Staggering Moose.
“Did your training go okay today?”
Shadow turned to Brinley. She wasn’t asking the table in general, her voice was pitched low and she was speaking just to him.
“Yeah. Almost lost someone though. Guy thought he was all that and a bag of chips, and was annoying the rest of his platoon with his need to always be right and because he was bossing everyone around. So we blindfolded him, drove him out to the middle of nowhere, and left his ass there. Zero was on him—meaning he was actually out there with him, without the guy’s knowledge, making sure he didn’t do anything stupid enough to get dead.
It took him three hours to go one mile in the bush.
Taught him a good lesson. He was much more agreeable and humble after that.
It can be disorientating to be in the middle of the woods, and even more so in the winter, when everything is covered in snow.
A soldier has to rely on their instruments and skills to get them to where they need to be in a timely manner. ”
“I guess so. He really didn’t know Zero was there?”
“Nope. He’s one of our best at surveillance. He’s like a ghost.”
“Shouldn’t his name be Ghost then?”
“Nope. There’s another guy who was a Delta, retired now, but his name is Ghost, and no one wants to use the same nick as someone who’s as legendary as the original Ghost was.”
“I guess I could understand that. But surely not everyone who’s a Delta has different names.”
“No. But there are some names that just aren’t used because of the reputations of the men who had them first. How was your day? Did you finish that gown you were working on?”
Shadow didn’t feel weird in the least talking about fashion and dresses and sewing with Brinley. It was what she loved, and what she was good at, and he enjoyed watching her face light up when she talked about her designs.
“I did! And I think it turned out really well. My client is going to love it…I hope.”
“She will.”
“I signed a new client today, as well.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Yeah. She was in Fiji and really liked the outfits I designed for that pageant. We’ve been emailing, and I agreed to take her on.”
“Do you know her?”
“Not in the sense you’re talking about. But I did research her.
I don’t just take on anyone. Natasha, that’s her name.
Natasha Blue. She wasn’t participating in the Miss Globe competition but was there watching.
She’d just left before those guys burst in and…
you know. She’s eighteen and hoping to move into more professional and competitive pageants.
She’s not as tall as a lot of contestants, around five-eight, blonde, with a tiny waist and big boobs.
That might sound like a good thing, but it makes it more difficult to design gowns that don’t make her look too top-heavy.
She’s into philanthropy, organizations with kids and trying to get rid of all the plastic that goes into landfills.
I found some clips of her at other pageants, and I think she really does have what it takes to win bigger competitions. I’m excited to help her.”
“That’s great, hon. Happy for you.”
“Thanks. It’s good timing, because I lost two clients this week…retirement, not because they didn’t like the dresses and outfits I made for them. They just felt as if they needed to move on with their lives and leave the pageant world behind.”
A couple of hours went by, and with every minute that passed, Shadow found himself getting more and more antsy.
He normally loved hanging out with his team, felt it was important to spend time with them when they weren’t in life-or-death situations.
But tonight, all he wanted was to be alone with Brinley.
He didn’t want to share her with their friends for another second longer.
But…he’d sit there for as long as Brinley had that smile on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from the beer she’d drank, and she looked happy. She didn’t get out much, and watching her get along so well with the most important people in his life, his team, felt good.
He hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversations going on around them, but when Cypress stood and announced she was going home, seemingly out of nowhere, his gaze immediately went to Echo.
His friend was frowning, looking almost confused.
“You’ll take care of Brinley, right?”
“Of course.” Shadow’s response was immediate. Obviously he’d take care of her, but now he was kind of worried about Cypress. Why was she so adamant about leaving right that second?
“I’ll walk you out,” Echo said.
“No need. I can take care of myself. Always have, always will.”
And with that, Cypress headed toward the door without a backward glance.
“Damn,” Atlas murmured.
Echo didn’t comment, simply stood and followed Cypress to the door.
“What did I miss?” Shadow asked the others at the table.
“Not sure. We were all just talking, Echo and Cypress were having a conversation between the two of them, and she just decided to leave,” Grinder answered.
“I should go and make sure she’s okay,” Brinley said, her brow furrowed in worry.
“Echo’s got her,” Shadow replied. Despite what his friend had said earlier, he knew down to his bones that Echo wouldn’t let anything happen to Brinley’s best friend…or any woman. It wasn’t in his DNA to stand back and not do whatever was necessary to safeguard someone.
Brinley nodded but pulled out her cell, her fingers racing across the screen as she typed out a message. Probably to Cypress.
It looked like she and her friend had a quick volley of messages, then she put her phone back inside her purse, which was hanging off the back of her chair.
“She’s okay. Just tired. And she insists everything’s fine.
I’ll talk to her later and find out the real scoop.
She’ll also let me know when she gets back to the apartment. ”
“All right. I know I said that Echo’s got her, but if you feel the need to go to her, I can take you home.”
Shadow couldn’t read the look in Brinley’s eyes when she turned to him…but his heart leapt at her next words. “She’s okay. Sometimes she just needs some alone time. I wouldn’t mind going back to your place for a while though.”
“We’re going to head out too,” Shadow said to his friends without hesitation, abruptly standing.
Brinley had been to his apartment before, but something about the way she’d made the request, the way she’d bit her lip in nervousness, had him thinking she didn’t want to come over to watch a movie, like they’d done before.
He didn’t know exactly what she wanted, or how far she wanted to go, but anything this woman asked of him, he’d give her. And he couldn’t deny that he was aching to get his hands on her. To lick those freckles on her chest that had been taunting him all night.
They said goodbye to the others and passed Echo on the way to the door. He was on his way back to the table…and he looked concerned.
“Everything okay?” Shadow asked.
“Yeah. You two leaving?”
“Uh-huh.”
“All right. Drive safe. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
Shadow nodded and rested his hand on the small of Brinley’s back as he led her toward the door.
He stayed close, loving the feel of her at his side.
He was glad he and the rest of the team had the morning off and they didn’t have to report to base until after lunch.
It was one of the reasons why they’d met at the bar tonight, because they didn’t have to worry about doing PT while hungover.
Not that any of them usually overindulged. They were just being cautious.
Brinley smiled up at him as they exited the bar and made their way to his SUV.
She was so damn pretty, and Shadow was having a hard time believing his luck that she was with him.
The more he was around her, the more he loved the uniqueness of her features.
Her hair was just beginning to curl, and any lipstick she’d been wearing had long since worn off.
He loved her huge, expressive eyes, and even her nose was adorable.
It was official, he was a lovesick fool…but he didn’t care. Not even the smallest bit. To him, this woman was beautiful inside and out, and he doubled down on his vow to make her see herself through his eyes.