Chapter 16 #2
“It’ll get worse. Wait until after you’ve been inside her,” Mustang said, without sounding lecherous.
“There’s something about being with the woman you love that completely changes you.
And in my case, having Elodie in danger seemed to flip my switch.
I know it’s cliché to feel like she was a damsel in distress who I rescued, but…
there it is. She’s mine. Body and soul.”
“Well, I can do without having to rescue Kenna. Hell, she’d probably just rescue herself. She’s pretty self-sufficient,” Aleck joked. “But I’m totally down with being inside her.”
Mustang nodded, then sighed and rested his head on the seat back.
“Thanks, Mustang,” Aleck said. “I’m just so impatient to get home and see her, and it occurred to me that she might not feel the same.”
“You’ll find out soon enough. I’ve found that sleeping makes the time go by faster,” he said as he closed his eyes.
“Wow, you aren’t being subtle at all,” Aleck told his friend.
Mustang grinned again, but didn’t open his eyes.
Deciding to follow his lead, Aleck did his best to get comfortable on the not-so-comfortable seat.
He closed his eyes, and even though he hadn’t slept more than four hours in a row throughout the last six weeks, he couldn’t seem to make himself do so now.
He was too keyed up. Too anxious. He prayed Kenna would be glad to hear he was back.
After way too many hours traveling, Aleck was finally in Honolulu.
He and the rest of his team had debriefings they needed to take care of, but for the rest of the day, they were off duty.
Tomorrow afternoon, they’d go to the base for just a few hours, and the next few days after, they’d be working eight-hour days until every single minute of their mission had been accounted for.
Then they’d finally get a few days of R&R to decompress before starting their usual routines all over again.
As he walked through the parking lot to his car, Aleck had only one person on his mind. Kenna. He hadn’t called her yet—he was scared to. Him, a deadly Navy SEAL, was fucking terrified to call his girlfriend to let her know he was back safe and sound.
If she said she was too busy to see him, or that she hadn’t handled his deployment well and wasn’t interested in a relationship any longer, it would destroy him.
Looking at his watch, Aleck saw that it was three in the afternoon.
She might be heading to work, anyway. He also wanted to look his best when he saw her.
And right now, he was anything but. His beard was even longer than it had been in the picture he’d shown her, and he felt as if he had sand and dirt ground into every pore.
He needed a long, hot shower, a shave, and something to eat that wasn’t a damn MRE.
His bright Jeep wasn’t hard to spot in the small parking lot reserved for military personal and civilians with access to the base, and simply seeing it made Aleck smile.
He and the rest of the team had retrieved their keys and phones out of storage, and he clicked the fob to unlock the doors as he approached his Jeep.
Something caught his eye on the windshield. After stowing his duffle bag in the backseat, he reached for the piece of paper that had been stuck under his wiper. Annoyed that someone had come through the parking lot and left advertisements on the cars, Aleck unfolded the paper.
But this was no advertisement.
The paper was faded from the sun and had obviously been rained on several times, telling Aleck that it had been placed on his Jeep at least a few weeks ago. He read the smeared words—and every muscle in his body tensed.
You’re not as awesome as you think you are.
The first person who came to mind when he read the words was Kylo fucking Braun.
The man had gone too far this time.
Refolding the note, Aleck climbed behind the wheel. He put the note in his glove compartment and took a second to inhale a deep breath.
He assumed Braun had found out that he and his team had been deployed, and he certainly knew what kind of car Aleck drove, so he had taken the opportunity to place the note when he knew he wouldn’t be caught in the act.
The man was a coward, and not worth a second of Aleck’s energy, but it still pissed him off to no end.
Since he and Mustang had talked about Baker on the plane, the man was fresh in Aleck’s mind. Maybe he’d give him a call and see what, if any, dirt he could dig up on Braun. Get him transferred.
Aleck didn’t feel bad in the least that he was seriously considering fucking with the man’s career.
He’d brought it on himself with his constant harassment, and just from being a jealous asshole.
Braun wanted to play games? Aleck was all in.
The other man would find out the hard way that you don’t mess with a SEAL.
Satisfied with his decision to get rid of the thorn in his side once and for all, and knowing Baker would definitely be able to discretely do what needed to be done to get Braun transferred out of Hawaii, Aleck reached to put his key in the ignition—and had another thought.
Midas and Mustang had immediately called Lexie and Elodie after retrieving their phones. He wouldn’t be surprised if Jag had texted Carly as well.
Shit.
He had no idea if Kenna had done as he’d suggested, getting together with the other women, but if she had, she’d probably be getting a text from one of them, letting her know that the team was home.
And if she heard from someone other than him that he was back, like she’d learned about his condo, Aleck knew he’d be in deep shit. It might embarrass her again, make her feel bad that he hadn’t called her right away like his teammates had.
He was reaching for his phone before he’d even finished his thoughts. He didn’t even consider sending a text. He clicked on her name and held his breath as he brought the cell up to his ear.
It rang twice before she answered. “Marshall?”
“Hey, babe.”
“Oh my God!” she screeched. “Are you back?”
He chuckled. “I’m back,” he confirmed.
Then Kenna shocked the hell out of him by bursting into tears.
Shit!
“Kenna? It’s okay. I’m all right. We all are. Nothing’s wrong, we’re all good.”
“I’m just so h-happy that you’re home,” she hiccupped.
“Breathe, babe. You’re worrying me,” Aleck told her. He heard her take a deep breath, then another. “Better?”
Instead of answering him, she asked, “When can I see you?”
“The sooner the better,” he said honestly.
“Are you at your condo?” Kenna asked.
“Not yet. I’m still on base. I wanted to call and let you know I was back before you got a text from one of the other girls.”
“I appreciate it. Are you going home or do you have to go into work?” she asked.
“Home. We have a meeting tomorrow afternoon, but we’re free until then.”
“Can…would you mind if I came over?”
Aleck felt his heart rate kick up a notch. “You’re not working?”
“I am, but I can call in. Alani will understand.”
Aleck blinked in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Are you really that surprised?” she asked.
“Kind of,” he said honestly. “You love your job, and you’ve said more than once that you hate people who call in, that the business and managers rely on the servers to be there when they’re scheduled.”
“Marshall, I’ve spent the last six weeks worrying about you and missing you like crazy. If you think I’m gonna be worth a shit at work, knowing you’re finally here but I can’t see you, you’re wrong. If you don’t want me to come over, just tell me. I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll try to understand.”
Fuck, he loved this woman. Flat out. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. How could he not love her when she would drop everything, including the job she enjoyed, to see him?
“Not want to see you? Damn, Kenna, I’ve spent every minute I’ve been gone missing you,” he blurted. “So yes, I want you to come over. I look pretty gnarly right now, and I need to get cleaned up and try to scrape this hair off my face, but I want to see you more than I want to breathe.”
He heard her sniffing and figured she was crying again.
“Don’t cry,” he ordered.
“Then don’t say such nice things,” she retorted.
Aleck realized he was smiling like a crazy man, and anyone watching him would probably think he’d seriously lost it. “Please come over,” he said gently. “I can’t wait to hold you.”
“Same,” she said. “Do you need me to stop at the store on my way? Anything you’ve been craving while you’ve been gone?”
“Yes, but no,” Aleck said. “That would take too long. I just want to see you.”
“Okay. And for the record, you’ve got stuff to eat at your place. You said it was okay for me to stay over there sometimes, so I have been. There’s not a ton of stuff in your fridge, but there’s enough to get you by until you can get to the grocery store.”
Knowing she’d been puttering around his condo, sleeping in his bed, had Aleck’s heart flipping—and his dick going hard. “Drive safely,” he ordered. “Do not get in a wreck driving like a bat out of hell to get to my place.”
“I will. And I never drive crazy,” she retorted.
“Kenna?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s so good to hear your voice. I’ve missed our phone calls and texts.”
“Same,” she said softly.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Soon,” she echoed. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
Aleck felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from his shoulders.
He started the engine and backed out of the parking space, the note he’d found already forgotten in his glove compartment as he accelerated out of the lot.
He needed to at least shower before Kenna arrived.
She might be anxious to see him, but she wouldn’t be very impressed with how he smelled if she got there before he had a chance to clean up.