Chapter 8 #3
All too soon, she got herself under control and shook her head at him.
“My father was one of those crazy preppers, and you could never be in his league. Not even close. His idea of safety was the concrete bunker at the back of our property. I hated that thing. Every time he made us go down there, it felt like a coffin lid slamming shut when he locked us in. It smelled funky, it leaked, and the only way out was the way we came in. This is nothing like that. Nothing. And it’s the best present I’ve ever gotten. Thank you.”
Then she blew his mind by leaning in and giving him a hug. It wasn’t long, but Pid had never been affected by a woman’s touch in the way he was by that brief embrace.
She stepped away from him and asked shyly, “Can I try to open the door?”
“Of course.” Pid stepped back and shut the door. It clicked closed with barely any noise, and he had to admit, he’d done a good job. When the door was shut, he almost couldn’t see where it was. If someone didn’t know it was there, they’d never notice the slight imperfection of the wall.
He watched with a grin as Monica pressed her foot where he had to the floorboard and the door opened. She ducked down and went inside, inspecting the space. “Can I go outside?” she asked.
Pid leaned down to peer inside the space between the two walls. “Of course. There’s no hidden mechanism for that door. But it’s double bolted shut. Just unlock the deadbolts and press down on the knob.”
She did just that and sunlight streamed into the space from outside. She got down on her hands and knees and climbed halfway out. Then she backed up to look at him. “Can I get in from outside?”
Pid shook his head. “No. With the amount of rain we get here, I wasn’t convinced I could come up with a lever that was both hidden and strong enough to withstand the humidity and still work.
I didn’t want to put a knob on the side of the house either, that would be a dead giveaway that it was a door.
So for now, it’s only an egress point. Not an entrance. ”
Monica scooted back inside and pulled the outer door shut. She secured the locks once more then headed his way. Pid stood back as she exited the small room. She closed the door and stood there for a moment, staring at the wall with a pensive look on her face.
“You good?” Pid asked.
She turned to look at him. “I’m great,” she said with a grin, gifting him with a peek of her dimple.
“Good. You hungry?”
“Starved.”
Pid frowned. “Did you eat lunch?”
“Yeah. But that was hours ago.”
He chuckled. “Right. How does steak sound for dinner?”
“Delicious. What can I do to help?”
“Want to make a salad?”
“Sure.”
They walked back out into the living area, toward the tiny kitchen.
It really wasn’t large enough for both of them to work comfortably, but Pid didn’t complain.
He liked having her near. Liked bumping into her when he moved too quickly.
And he couldn’t help but notice Monica didn’t exactly jerk away from him anytime he accidentally brushed against her.
As he prepped the steaks, he asked, “Any luck today?”
She knew exactly what he was talking about. “No.”
“But it’s going okay? You’re comfortable enough in the room the commander put you in?”
“It’s fine,” Monica said. “But honestly, I don’t think this is going to work.”
“Why not?” Pid asked. He wasn’t exactly surprised by her statement, but wanted to hear why she wasn’t very confident in her ability to pick out the man who she’d seen.
“Because everyone looks so different from the guy I saw. They’re younger in the pictures. And way more formal. And their eyes are different.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t know that I can explain it. The man at the door had his lower face covered, but I knew he was smiling.
I could see wrinkles around his eyes. But I imagined it wasn’t a friendly kind of smile, so much as one of…
anticipation. His eyes were cold,” she said in a whisper.
“I could tell he wanted to hurt me. To get inside and do something awful.”
“Mo,” Pid said gently, turning and gently pulling her into his chest, as he’d wanted to do earlier. He didn’t think about what he was doing, just reacted to the fear and pain in her tone.
To his surprise, she didn’t yank away from him. Instead she seemed to snuggle closer. Her arms were trapped between them and he felt her fingers press against his chest, her forehead resting against him as well.
“The men in the pictures all seem…proud. Happy to be having their picture taken for their official record. And why wouldn’t they be?
They were SEALs. They’d worked very hard to get where they were.
Maybe if I could see pictures of the men in camouflage, all dirtied up, I might be able to recognize someone, but in their pressed uniforms with excitement and pride in their eyes…
I just don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to pick anyone out with any kind of certainty. ”
Pid was frustrated for her. For his commander. The situation sucked. There was a man out there somewhere who wouldn’t hesitate to stay his course. Encouraging violence against others, killing women, stealing what wasn’t his. Generally causing as much suffering as he could.
With one hand at her upper back and one resting on her lower, Pid held Monica against him, giving her all the support he could muster without making her feel trapped.
He felt her take a deep breath and knew she was going to pull back before she moved. He immediately dropped his hands, letting her step away from him.
“Guess that means you’ll have a houseguest for longer than you thought, huh? How long do you think your commander will keep me here looking at pictures even when it’s obvious I’m not going to recognize anyone?”
“Honestly? I have no idea,” Pid told her.
“He’s pretty worked up about this guy, isn’t he?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Can I tell you something?” she asked.
“You can tell me anything,” Pid said with feeling.
“I don’t hate being here. I thought I would. I mean, being surrounded by military guys all the time isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. But so far the people I’ve met on base have been nice. Or at least, not not nice, if that makes sense.”
“It does.”
“Being around you and your friends has made me realize that I was partly only going through the motions with the therapists I’ve seen over the years.”
“What do you mean?” Pid asked.
“Just that…they’ve all told me my hatred of everyone who has anything to do with the military is irrational.
That my father was one person, not representative of everyone who wears a uniform.
But while I nodded and said I understood…
I don’t think I did. Not really. Until now.
I hate that all these years later, he’s still controlling me. ”
“Cut yourself some slack, Mo.”
“I’m trying,” she said, looking up at him. “And you’re helping. A lot. You’ve been so nice, even when I haven’t given you a reason to be.”
He smiled down at her. “I don’t mind your prickliness.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then again, maybe I don’t mind being here because the weather’s so nice.”
He chuckled.
“I miss being around kids, but it’s also been a nice break.”
Pid nodded. “You think you’d like to see some more of the island? Get out more?”
“With you?”
“No, I thought I’d just give you the keys to my precious minivan and give you a map and shove you out the door,” Pid teased.
She grinned up at him. “Your precious minivan?” she asked.
“Yup.”
Monica rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t mind seeing something other than your house.
Not that I think your place is bad; it’s actually very comfortable and I love the yard.
But yeah, I guess since I’m in Hawaii, I might as well see some of the sights.
I never know when it’ll come in handy when I’m trying to entertain kids under my care in the future. ”
Pid didn’t want to think about her leaving, even if it was inevitable. “Great. Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yeah?” she asked suspiciously.
“Kenna would like to invite you to her bachelorette party. I know that’s weird, considering she doesn’t know you, or you her, but that’s just the kind of person she is. She’s super friendly.”
“I don’t know,” Monica hedged.
“The guys and I talked about it and thought maybe we could all meet up at Duke’s for dinner one night.
It’ll be super laid-back, with no pressure.
I thought it might be a good idea to let you get to know her and the other women before you say yes or no to the bachelorette thing.
” He held his breath as he waited for Monica’s reply.
“And if I say no?” she asked.
Pid couldn’t help the pang of disappointment that hit, but he made sure not to let any of that show on his face. “Then we won’t go.”
“I’m not good at making friends, Stuart. It’s not that I think Kenna or the other women aren’t good people, I just never know what to talk about, and people tend to think I’m stuck up or something when I don’t participate in conversations.”
“They won’t think that,” Pid told her.
Monica looked skeptical.
“I promise. They won’t.”
She sighed. “I’ll go. But you have to let me say ‘I told you so’ when we don’t hit it off.”
Pid’s hands itched to hug Monica again, but he managed to refrain. “Okay. Deal.”
Just then, her stomach growled, and Pid chuckled. “Right. Enough talk. I need to feed you.” He turned to the steaks he had on the counter once more.
“Stuart?”
“Yeah, Mo?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Everything. The safe room. Being patient with me. For letting me stay here. All of it.”
“Being with you isn’t a hardship, Mo,” Pid said, then forced himself to concentrate on fixing dinner. If he didn’t, he’d probably say more than she was ready to hear. Mainly that he might just give her the world if she let him.
It was crazy how infatuated with this woman he was becoming, but Pid didn’t care.
He had no idea if she’d be in his life for another day, week, or month.
But he planned to do whatever he could to show her she was safe here with his friends, his team, and with him.
She could let down her guard and be herself, and she’d still be liked… and loved.
Not that Pid was in love with Monica. Not yet. But he had a feeling if he continued spending time around her, he’d fall. Hard.
And that didn’t even freak him out. Not at all.
One day at a time, he told himself. Anything could happen. She could ID the man the commander was looking for and be gone…or maybe, just maybe, with a whole lot of luck on his side, she’d decide to stay, whether or not she ever figured out who she’d seen in Algeria.
Either way, Pid was determined to not let even one day go by without making Monica smile. His goal was to see that dimple as much as possible until she left.
“What are you smiling about over there?” Monica asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Just thinking about dinner,” Pid told her.
“Well, get a move on, my belly’s yelling at me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with another smile.
Yeah, he was definitely okay with having this woman in his space.