“Well, I’m not interested in him or Chad.”
Sally gasped.
“Why you little minx. Two Marines? I think your erotic romance novels have gone to your head. You go, girl! I say hell yeah to a double-Delite.”
“Oh God, please stop talking so loudly.” Alexa lowered her head as she noticed a few other women in the store glancing at them. They had to have heard her sister’s remarks.
“Oh please, like none of the women in this store are interested in a ménage with two sexy Delite cowboys? I think not.”
“Oh brother.” Alexa walked away from her sister and toward the section with jackets. She eyed a nice leather one with fur inside and fur surrounding the hood. Glancing at the price tag, she figured it was an investment in some cold weather attire. It was kind of flashy and sophisticated looking.
“You need to go for it. You need to look at some shorter skirts and sexier tops, Alexa, and stop hiding behind baggy clothes and books.”
“Hey, I love my books and I like long
skirts.”
She moved closer to her and whispered.
“There’s no bruises to hide anymore, Alexa. We’re past that now.”
Alexa felt the tears sting her eyes. She shuddered at the thought of what they had gone through.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to live with that type of fear anymore. We’re not doing anything wrong by wearing shorter skirts and showing a little skin. That was their hang-up and control, and they’re no longer controlling us.”
Alexa was quiet a moment.
“How can you just snap out of being fearful? I can’t. I remember their threats, their anger and control.”
Sally placed her arm around her sister’s waist and pulled her closer. Their heads were together.
“It’s time to move on. People don’t have to see you as weak or so shy that they can’t converse with you. It will only open you up to danger and the wrong kind of men.”
Her sister’s words sank in. Was that what Sally was doing? Was she playing a role of acting strong and socializing with everyone when really she was just as scared and timid as Alexa?
“Now I think you should shorten up those skirts of yours and start chatting with Michael and Chad more often. They’re great guys and I know you like them both.”
Sally let go and began to pull out some questionable skirts and tops for Alexa to try on. She started doing a runway walk with the clothing in front of her as she pranced up and down the aisle. Alexa laughed.
Could she really come out of hiding? That wasn’t an overnight decision to make.
“Will you cut it out, Sally? You’re so crazy.” Alexa looked back at some of the longer skirts on the rack.
Sally grabbed her arm and practically dragged her to the dressing room.
Sally reached for more items as she led Alexa to a changing room. Alexa giggled then shook her head. This was going to be a long afternoon.
Chapter 2
Chad walked down the hallway and noticed that the office door was closed. He wondered if Michael was looking up some information on Solandro Cruz. Chad had heard that name before, and even as he completed his last mission in Cartagena, he had still come up with nothing on this man. None of his sources had anything definite. Not a description, not a location of residence, and not even whether the man existed. There seemed to be no legal records on Cruz, yet one file came up red flagged on his flight home from Columbia. Since then, he had received three separate calls from his superiors. Both Michael and Chad were concerned for Mason. He just left for a similar gig in Columbia. Before Chad had left Cartagena, he had a feeling that some of his higher-ups had ruffled a few feathers on their previous visits. The Columbians were looking to cut ties with the United States and were leaning toward accepting offers from notorious drug lords. He was afraid it was going to come down to bombing some towns and issuing a strong arm to get the locals to cooperate. They didn’t need them handing over information to large drug operations like Francisco Santos.
It was becoming hostile territory over there, and Chad hadn’t liked the feelings he had after this last trip.
He knocked on the office door using their secret knock so that Michael would know it was Chad.
The automatic lock unlocked, and Chad walked into the room. Sure enough there was Michael deeply enthralled in information on the screen in front of him as he glanced up toward the other screens that faced his seat in a semicircle.
“What’s going on?” Chad asked.