I watch him leave through tears, holding my breath and hearing the garage door go down. When the dings beep, indicating they are down the driveway, I exhale loudly and collapse. Dad gets me to the couch, and uncontrollable sobs rack my body. Jewls crawls in behind me, holding tight, her own whimpers audible.
I find her hand and squeeze, giving us this because we need it. But after the jag is over, we have to be strong.
She squeezes back.
She knows.
I have a feeling my best friend has fallen for a badass Marine-turned-cop.
I try my best to pull her to me but fail because all I can think is that the man I love with all my soul just walked out the door into imminent danger.
23
Ace
It’s time.
The phone feels like a hundred-pound weight, pulling me down.
Find your balls, Kingston. You’re a fucking Marine. Act like it.
My subconscious mocks me, painting me as a coward.
“You need me to dial it for you?” Talon comes to my side.
“Nope. You make your call?”
“We all did. Waiting on you.”
“Sam and Drake have all our paperwork and know what to do?” The rhetorical question is another excuse to stall. Sam, Drake, and all the dads—except mine—know our wishes. It’s Sam and Drake that have our financials.
“You know they do.”
“Fuck.” My head falls, and I grip the back of my neck to release some tension. “How do I do this?”
“This isn’t new, we’ve all been through it before.”
“Yeah, but I called Rich.” That’s the truth.
Before every mission, we make one last call. The guys called their parents. I called Rich. He knew the significance of those calls and always told me how proud he was and reminded me there were people that loved me at home. Each time, he’d drop in something about Harley. It was what I needed to hear. We’d hang up, and I’d go straight into the zone.
Tonight, my call isn’t to Rich.
“Kingston, my guess is she needs to hear your voice, too.”
Kingston.
The second we stepped foot off the plane and were greeted, we were no longer the casual Ace, Talon, Ford, and Major.
We were back to Kingston, Simms, Whitman, and Powers.
“Want me to hang with you?” Talon offers.
“Nah, I’m good.”
He slaps me on the shoulder, and when the door shuts, I dial her number.
“Achilles.” Harley draws out my name, setting my pulse racing.
“Yeah, baby, it’s me.”
“I’ve been worried.”
“I called you when we landed in North Carolina.”
I leave out the part that stint only lasted twenty-four hours before we were wheels up again.
“That was four days ago! Are you okay? Is it over? Are you coming home?”
My chest aches at her hopefulness. “We’re working things out.”
“Have you…? Did you find…?” She doesn’t have to finish the questions for me to know what she’s asking.
“Not yet.”
Her breath hitches. “You’re not in Carolina anymore, are you?”
“No.”
“Are you in South America?”
My silence is my answer.
“Oh, God, Achilles.” Horror and fear bleed through her voice.
“That right there is why I didn’t want you to hear what you heard. You already know too much.”
“I know nothing and it’s driving me insane.”
“How’d today go?” I gear the conversation away from my whereabouts, needing to get a read on her state of mind. “It was a big day.”
“I was an emotional wreck. My co-workers have no idea what’s happening with me personally, so they thought it was remorse. My boss pulled me aside and repeated his counteroffer. I had to decline a-freaking-gain, which made me feel like shit. They threw me a big to-do with a cake and champagne. My parents surprised me, and it was nice to have Mom take the attention off. Dad loaded my boxes while I said my goodbyes. They followed me back here, and Mom worked with me on my cooking skills while plying me with wine. She’s convinced it will help me sleep.”
My ears perk up at this. “You’re not sleeping?”
“Ummm… well… it’s just… been difficult.” She trails off.
“Jewls around this weekend?”
“She’s coming back tomorrow night and spending the weekend. Tom offered Spazle to keep me company.”
“Who’s Spazle?”
“His German Shepherd. She’s a spaz, so he named her Spazle.”
“Tom has a female German Shepherd?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Because he’s a hard-knock ass. Good to know I can give him shit.”
“He rescued her. But she’s full-bred German Shepherd. Sweet to those she likes and protective. He brings her to the police picnic every year, and she definitely picks her favorites.”
Suddenly, I like the idea of Harley having a little extra protection in the house. “Take her to the house anytime. We don’t care.”
“I’ll think about it. Right now, I’m trying to keep sane by cleaning, decorating, and working. But as of today, I’m officially unemployed.”
“Only for three weeks.”
“Yes, but this was a much better idea when I thought you’d be home every day. Now I’m afraid I’ve broken my promise to Ford.”