Hot Mess (2 page)

And then she’d been angry with herself for reacting that way. She was a grown woman, independent, and she didn’t like that a man had made her feel unsafe just by looking at her angrily.

But then she’d gone home, taken a hot bath, immersed herself in a book, and forgotten about Jake and his friend.

Now Georgeanne checked the time on her phone, and then she gathered her computer and purse and made her way down to the basement where her class was being held. Two and a half hours later, she retraced her path through the Pentagon and down to the Metro station that lay beneath the building.

Jake had not come to class, but then she hadn’t really expected him to. As she stood in the station with the hot air blowing through the tunnels and ruffling her hair, she decided that tomorrow she was calling that woman at his unit and trying again.

She knew she should just leave well enough alone, knew that the military did what they wanted when they wanted. Though they could have shipped him off in the middle of the night for some sort of duty, he wasn’t in the Special Forces. He worked in a general’s office as a low-level administrative assistant. Not typically the kind of guy to disappear without notice.

Georgeanne yawned and stepped forward as the rush of air intensified ahead of the next train. She was so ready to take a hot bath and climb into bed with a good book and her cat. The sad state of her life these days, she supposed.

A bright light shone from the tunnel as the train fast approached. The station wasn’t crowded at this time of night, but as Georgeanne waited on the platform, someone jostled her. Hard. It was so surprising that she didn’t realize at first what was happening. It was as if she were tipping forward in slow motion. It took a moment to realize she was falling.

Georgeanne screamed as the darkness below the platform yawned up at her.

* * *

Staff Sergeant Sam McKnight stood in front of a townhouse on a shaded Alexandria street and took a deep breath. It was early morning and the sun was shining bright. The sky already had that hazy look that meant they were in for another humid day in the DC Metro area. It was hotter than blazes, but not quite as hot as Texas. Or as hot as where he’d just returned from.

Texas might be hot, but the Arabian Desert was hotter. He could say that for a fact now. He looked down at his uniform—crisp BDUs—and wondered if he should have saved this visit for another time, when he could show up in jeans and a T-shirt and look halfway like the guy Georgie would remember.

But he’d just gotten back to the States recently and he was looking forward to seeing an old friend—at least he hoped Georgie was still his friend. He hadn’t known she was in DC until he’d called Rick just a few days ago.

“Could you check on her for me, man?” Rick asked. “I think the divorce messed with her head. She seems sad. Won’t come home to Texas, insists on staying in DC and teaching college classes.”

Sam frowned. He had no idea what kind of reception Georgie might give him. He hadn’t seen her since she’d married Tim Cash six years ago. Before that, the last time he’d seen her was when she’d been naked in the front seat of his truck and he’d nearly taken everything she’d offered. He’d had the good sense to stop, but he wasn’t sure she’d ever forgiven him for it.

“Sure. But you’re her brother. Why don’t you just call her and ask how she is?”

Rick blew out a breath. “I call her every week, but she never says anything. She avoids my questions about Tim and says she’s fine.”

Sam fixed his gaze on her door. Birds chirped in the trees overhead as he steeled his backbone and prepared to ring the doorbell. Hell, he wanted to see Georgie. He just wasn’t certain she wanted to see him.

When he’d heard she was marrying that dick Timothy Cash, he swore he wouldn’t go to the wedding. But then the invitation had arrived and, though he’d replied no, he’d flown home at the last minute and walked into the reception, compelled by some force he hadn’t quite understood.

He had never forgotten the sight of Georgie in her wedding dress, or the way it had somehow managed to jab him right in the chest and make him ache for days. He hadn’t seen her since that day six years ago.

Sam took a deep breath and stepped up to the door. He’d just joined the Hostile Operations Team, the baddest-ass military outfit on the planet. He was
not
scared of a little girl from his hometown just because she somehow twisted him up inside.

No fucking way.

Sam jabbed the doorbell and waited. No one came. He jabbed the bell again and stepped back to look up at the house. A curtain moved in a window above. He didn’t know if that meant she would come to the door or not, but he wasn’t going away now that he knew she was home. Georgie couldn’t ignore him forever.

It took almost five minutes, but he heard movement inside. And then the door whipped open and Georgie was standing there, staring at him with the most God-awful wounded-looking eyes. Jesus, had he put that look on her face? Or had Tim really hurt her that badly?

Sam wanted to drag her into his arms and hold her tight. “Hello, Georgie.”

She blinked. And then a slow smile appeared. It wasn’t a bright smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. “Hey, Sam.” Her gaze slid over him. “Get lost on your way to work?”

“Naw.” He stood there looking at her, just drinking her in, and feeling that same jab in the chest he’d felt six years ago. Why? That’s what he didn’t get. She was just little Georgie Hayes, his best friend’s pain-in-the-ass baby sister.

You keep telling yourself that, stud.

She stood there in a stretchy tank top and what he’d been told were yoga pants, her body lush with those curves that had nearly done him in twelve years ago. Her green eyes were deep and mysterious, and her brown hair was piled on her head in a messy knot. She looked adorably rumpled, and he had a sudden thought that maybe she wasn’t precisely alone.

Which jabbed him in the chest a little bit harder than before.

She held the door open wide. “Do you want to come in?”

“That would be great.”

She stepped back and he entered, shutting the door behind him. Her foyer was dark and cool and he stood there like an idiot, waiting for her to say something. He figured if he was interrupting something, she might not let him in. On the other hand, he didn’t really know what Georgie would do these days.

She turned without speaking and he followed as she walked down the hallway. Sam frowned when he realized she was limping.

“You okay, G?”

Her shoulders stiffened momentarily. “Fine. I fell and got a little bruised.”

He didn’t know why, but that made his hackles rise. She’d been divorced from Tim for months, and while Tim was a class-A prick, Sam had never known him to be violent. But what if Georgie was seeing some guy who was?

Sam would kill him, that’s what.

Georgie entered a bright kitchen at the back of the house and walked over to the counter. “I was just coming down for coffee. You want some?”

“Sure.”

Sam stood there with his Army-issue beret in his hands and watched her move. She was stiff, but still so graceful. She grabbed two delicate-looking white cups and saucers from her cabinet. Georgeanne Hayes was Texas money, debutante balls, exclusive sororities and country club all the way. She knew which fork to use, what to wear to any event—and she used bone china for her morning coffee.

He was nothing but a poor kid from a broken and dysfunctional family. The Hayeses had looked out for him as much as they were able, but he’d pretty much known, from the time he’d been about thirteen, that the military was his future. It guaranteed him a way out of Hopeful when nothing else would. Georgie’s father had talked to him once about college, about helping him apply for student loans and getting him a job to pay the money back when he was through.

Sam had been too proud to accept that kind of help. And too embarrassed to admit he didn’t think he was college material. His daddy grew angry over the time he spent with the Hayeses, accused him of “putting on airs.” Well, he wasn’t putting on airs, dammit, and he’d forged his own way in life. Maybe he wasn’t college educated, but he could damn well do things his father couldn’t.

For that matter, he could do things that Rick and his dad couldn’t either. Not that they needed to know how to breach a steel door, rescue a hostage before the clock ran out, or hit a bull’s-eye blindfolded. But he could, and it made him proud.

Georgie fixed the coffee and pushed it at him over the counter. “Cream and sugar?”

“No, thanks.” He took the delicate cup and saucer and held them without drinking.

Georgie fixed her own and then looked him directly in the eye. “Did Rick send you?”

He wasn’t surprised at her directness. “Of course he did. But I’m here because I want to be. It’s good to see you, Georgie.”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping just a little. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been under some strain lately. I’m glad to see you, Sam. Glad you’re looking well. Rick told me you were in Afghanistan and Iraq. I was worried about you.”

Her concern made a lump form in his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for thinking about me.”

She looked directly at him in a way he wasn’t quite accustomed to from her. “It’s been six years, Sam. I didn’t think I’d see you again after all this time.”

He shrugged. “I never doubted it. The military kinda does that to a guy.”

“You’ve been gone a long time.”

“It’s what I signed up for.”

She closed her eyes and tilted her head slowly to either side, stretching her muscles. He tried not to focus on the creamy skin of her neck while she moved so sensuously. He’d once had his mouth on that skin.

“So what did Rick say? Check up on Georgie because I think she’s gone off her rocker?”

Sam snorted a laugh. “Not quite. But yeah, he’s worried about you.”

She came around the island and headed for the family room. When she settled on the couch, tucking her knees beneath her, Sam didn’t miss the way she grimaced. He sank onto a chair opposite.

“I’m doing okay,” she said. “Tim and I just grew apart. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing I’ve ever been through, but the divorce was final almost a year ago now. I’ve moved on.”

He searched her face for signs of strain. “Rick thinks you should go home to Texas.”

She blinked at him. “And do what? Attend country club gatherings with my mother? Join the Junior League?” She shook her head. “I like DC. And I like what I do, so I’m staying. The last I checked, I was all grown up, and that’s one of the perks.”

Man, no wonder Rick had asked him to talk to her. Georgie wasn’t about to be pushed around. Unlike when they’d been kids. He was three years older than her and that made a huge difference at a young age. Now, not so much. “Didn’t peg you for a college professor.”

She shrugged. “I always wanted to be a writer, so the English degree was no stretch. Turns out I enjoy the teaching more than the writing, so here I am.”

“I’m sure you’re great at what you do. The kids must love you.”

She laughed. “They aren’t kids, Sam. Didn’t Rick tell you?” When he shook his head, she kept going. “I teach in the adult education program. My students are men and women like you. Right now, I’m at the Pentagon two nights a week, at Bolling AFB two nights, and Quantico some weekends.” She laughed again and took a sip of her coffee. “Enough about me. Tell me about you. What are you doing in DC?”

He couldn’t tell her about HOT. That wasn’t authorized. Now that he’d in-processed, he was pulling duty out at their smoking new training facility on a military base in Maryland. Getting to know the guys he’d be working with, the routines, everything. HOT had only moved to DC a few weeks ago now. Before that, they’d been down at Fort Bragg.

“Just got here for a new assignment. When I called Rick, he told me you were here.”

She sighed. “Tim took a job in DC about two years ago. I followed him, of course. Left a good job at the University of Texas, too.”

Sam leaned forward. He wanted to touch her, but he wisely refrained. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Georgie.”

She swallowed. And then she shrugged, as if it were nothing. “Sometimes it doesn’t. Lesson learned and all that.”

Sam set the coffee down on the end table. He knew about marriages that didn’t work out. He didn’t imagine Tim Cash screaming at Georgie the way his father had screamed at his mother though. Didn’t imagine Georgie crying and begging for another chance. The idea of her crying over that dickhead made him sick.

As if she’d just remembered why he’d spent so much time at her house as a kid, her expression changed into something that looked too much like pity for comfort. “Oh, Sam, I didn’t mean—”

He stood abruptly. The one thing he couldn’t stomach from anyone was pity. “I have to get to work, Georgie. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were.”

She looked up at him, her eyes bright. He hoped those weren’t tears. If they were, he was sunk. Georgie Hayes crying always brought out his protective instincts. She bit her lip and looked away again. “Of course. But can I ask you something first?”

A wave of tension rolled through him. He had no idea what the fuck she might ask. But he couldn’t refuse her when it seemed such an easy thing on the surface. “Anything, G. You can ask me anything.”