Love, Tussles, and Takedowns (23 page)

Again nodding at Clint, Saaleh explained, “Some of your soldiers were in the explosion but others were not. My captors rushed forward to fight. And that is when I ran. My brother told me if ever I had a chance to escape I was to run as fast as I could and never look back. I did. I ran for hours until I found a town I could hide in. The people cared for my wounds and kept me safe.” This time he nodded to the translator and the Americans who had escorted him in to Hudson’s apartment. “It wasn’t until months later that I was entered into the orphan refugee program. I found out then that the house my brother had been ordered to go to was filled with the first group of children the U.S. were assisting. They were scheduled to leave the next day and my captors had aimed to send a message.”

Saaleh’s hand returned to Hudson’s shoulder firmly. His translator’s voice wavered with emotion as she relayed his forceful words. “Your bullet took my brother’s last breath, yes, but his life was to end the moment that bomb was placed on him. So you may believe you killed him, but I believe you saved him.” Saaleh’s voice grew reverent. “When those children’s lives were spared, I believe you allowed him the final pardon for his sins—sins our captors forced him to make over the many months.”

They all watched, speechless, as Saaleh dropped down to his knees and gripped Hudson’s hands. “You also saved me. When our parents were killed, my life became my brother’s responsibility. And you allowed him to succeed. Because of your actions, I am here now in America, safe from those groups. I may be just a child but I know my brother did not die at your hands. I know whose hands will carry my brother’s blood. It is not yours. For the rest of my life, I will remember you as the man who put that final look of peace of my brother’s face before the bomb those monsters created tore him to shreds.”

Saaleh patted the scars on Hudson’s wrists gently. “I will also remember you as the man who was injured by that very bomb while I ran to safety. You became injured so I could become free. Your apologies, Mr. Hudson, are not welcome with me. There is no forgiveness for me to give because you are the man who saved not just those children under your government’s protection that day, but two boys who you had no responsibilities for.” The boy gripped Hudson’s hand tighter. And when he spoke again, it wasn’t in his native tongue.

He enunciated the two words foreign to him slowly and with much conviction.

“
Thank you.
”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“MOM, DAD, I’M taking the week off.”

Lia grinned. They had her on speaker so she could hear the dead-silent shock over the phone line as clearly as if she was standing in the shop with them. She wasn’t sure which part they were more shocked over—her calling them mom and dad for the first time ever, minus the ‘foster,’ or her taking the week off.

It was possible the latter was more awe-inspiring.

But the former was what put tears in her mom’s voice and a warbled cough in her dad’s.

“This is Hudson’s last week before he officially starts his next gig in Yuma so I was hoping I could subcontract a Spencer’s employee to man my shop for the week. I don’t have any auctions or authentication projects scheduled so it’ll be a pretty easy gig.”

“Lia, you know you don’t have to subcontract,” scolded Grace gently.

“I want to. Just because the adoption paperwork has officially gone through doesn’t mean I’m going to be any less stubborn on the business end of things.”

Jack sounded not at all surprised. “That’s my girl. You get that business edge from me.”

She heard him flip through some papers before he returned with, “Billie’s schedule would probably be the best fit. Fax us the request and I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Done.”

Grace sighed. “You two. I swear, we need the adoption paperwork to prove you’re
not
blood related. The idea of family favors are just lost on you both.”

“Not true. I’m all for calling in family favors,” reassured Lia. “Just not when it comes to the shop. I have absolutely no qualms about cashing in overdue favors with Caine to teach my women’s self-defense classes while I’m off.” She snickered. “In fact, I made sure to let all the women know that they could bring a friend for free next week to make sure my very single big brother would feel welcome as my substitute. Year’s membership optional, but preferred.”

Grace’s voice was all proud sass. “Now
that
she got from me.”

Jack conceded the point for that one with a reluctant smile. “So what are you and Hudson planning this week? And feel free to be as vague as possible—you’ve already traumatized your brothers enough; no need to go giving me a stroke.”

She chuckled. “He actually wants to take me to the Grand Canyon since I’ve never been, and play tourist for a few days. Weirdly enough, that includes him wanting to stay at Ted’s B&D for a night or two.” Smiling, she added, “Other than that, he’s probably going to want a day devoted to finding my fish.”

Pause.

Huh, that came out a little weirder than she intended.

“I told you not to give me traumatic details,” complained Jack while Grace just laughed softly over the phone line. “These new euphemisms are getting stranger and stranger.”

Now she was the one traumatized. How a fish would be included in a euphemism was beyond her. “Dad! I’m talking about an actual fish! A golden fighting fish—”

“Nope, no more details! I’m texting your brothers to let them handle this one,” he called out, a teasing laugh buried in his voice. “Hanging up now. You kids have fun.”

Lia stared at her phone screen, shaking her head. Her brothers were definitely the apples from their father’s tree.

* * * * *

OF ALL THEIR grand plans, they ended up doing just one of them.

They definitely found her golden fighting fish.

And then spent the rest of the week forgoing euphemisms for the actual thing.

Best. Vacation. Ever.

Hudson looked down at Lia tucked in against him, already falling asleep.

Lazily, he bent down and kissed her bare shoulder while his fingers trailed along her smooth, warm skin.

She caught his hand to halt his tour at the scenic stop of her navel before it could descend any lower. “Nope, that ride is closed for the night. Turn around please.”

He smiled and slid his hand back up her body.

She sighed. “I guess you don’t need supervision to play on one of those but the ride operator is going to sleep so don’t hurt yourself.”

Chuckling, he reached over and covered her with the blanket so he wouldn’t be tempted to keep molesting her. They’d just had record-breaking Olympic qualifier sex--he wanted her to get a little bit of rest before the next round.

But Lia had other ideas. Snuggling against him, she rubbed that tempting little butt of hers just enough to make sure he wouldn’t be resting anytime soon. “G’night,” she said softly, stifling a fake yawn to cover the smile full of mischief he could clearly hear in her voice.

He grinned. Shoot, when was the last time he’d enjoyed the after this much?

With another elaborate theatre yawn, Lia then began shifting here and twisting there to find a comfortable sleeping position, doing a bump and grind dance that was all seemingly very innocent.

Yeah right.

Not a second later, she frowned and then turned fully around right into a stripper stretch that grazed his chest with all the interesting parts of hers. Finally, she expelled a bone deep sound of pleasure as she hooked her knee up around his waist to fit herself against him like a puzzle piece, impressively keeping her smile hidden as she ‘fell asleep.’

The minx would stay in character until he was good and blue too, he was sure of it.

No, he’d definitely never enjoyed the after this much, he decided, rolling back so that she was on top of him. His smile matching his thoughts, he wondered if the next after would be just as fun right before he flexed his fingers in her hips and slid into her in one deep stroke.

Tucking his hands behind his head, he settled back in with satisfaction before saying quietly.

There, let her pretend to be asleep now.

She broke less than a minute later.

* * * * *

THE NEXT MORNING, Lia found herself staring down at a smorgasbord of hot sexy male flesh. She loved waking up before Hudson. If this was the sight that was going to greet her every morning, she wouldn’t need her ten morning alarms anymore.

She ran her tongue over the granite cut grooves of his abs before continuing lower.

Someone was happy to see her.

With just her fingertips, she teased over his skin, lightly enough to keep him on
just
this side of sleep, but placed strategically to ensure that the navigation of his thoughts while he slept was all hers to control.

When her soft puff of air against his rapidly rising morning salute resulted in his rubbing a sleepy palm over himself for a few lazy strokes, Lia felt her panties practically melt at the erotic image.

She was awfully disappointed when her private show ended just brief moments later. But she got over it soon after when Hudson slid that same hand across the mattress in search of her.

A sexy glide of his hand between her thighs and she was ready for the man to wake up.

Using her hair as a paintbrush, she slowly tried to wake him up.

From the waist down.

And the man thought
she
made sexy noises while she slept.

She trailed her little fun-brush across those chiseled dips below his eight-pack and grinned in triumph when his right hand shadowed the path of her invisible artwork.

Swirling her makeshift brush in wide sweeps over his ‘good stuff’ hands and all, she froze when he mumbled muzzily, “That tickles.”

Her brows dropped in surprise.

Perhaps she was sleep drunk because that couldn’t have been…

She gathered her hair and slid it across his skin again.

“Dammit, woman. That tickles.”

Suddenly, every muscle in his body turned rigid with shock.

Lia was right there with him.

Together they stared at his right hand in mute astonishment.

“Again,” he graveled in a voice that sounded so hopeful it hurt her heart.

This time she used her hand, wanting it to be her hand if there really was a miracle brewing before them.

When she slowly twined her fingers with his, instantly she felt each of his fingers twine right back.

She gasped.
He could feel her.

“I can feel you,” he exhaled in naked wonder.

Tears flooded Lia’s eyes as he slid his hand over her skin. She jumped up and grabbed her phone and his. Thrusting his phone at him she demanded, “Call your doctor now.”

He looked dazed as he pulled the phone from her hand—with his right one—and just sat there flexing his fingers on the phone whispering, “I can feel everything, Lia. Everything.”

“It’s like the explosion never happened.”

And that’s when Lia’s tears ran.

Because she knew exactly what this could mean for him.

The second he looked up and saw her crying, she knew he thought her tears were of sadness instead of joy. It broke her heart to hear him modulate his voice to hide his excitement and toss out casually instead, “It might be nothing.”

Or it might be everything.

She wished that he’d believe she wanted it to be the latter.

When he continued to school his expression as he called his doctor, Lia turned and started typing into her own phone.

>>> DREW, IT’S LIA. I NEED YOU TO CALL HUDSON’S C.O.

She took a deep breath and texted the next part that both filled her heart with hope for the man she loved, and splintered it at the edges:

>>>
LET HIM KNOW THAT HIS HAND MIGHT BE HEALED.

>>> IF IT IS, HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO AFGHANISTAN.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

LIA PACED BACK and forth in her apartment, checking her watch every ten minutes. Okay, maybe it was more like every five.

Hudson was over
three hours late
getting back to Cactus Creek.

All week, Hudson had undergone medical tests in both Arizona and California with his old doctor and therapist, along with what seemed like a half dozen different military doctors.

And between all those appointments were hushed phone meetings that ran for hours on end. The fact that it was in the middle of the night when Hudson thought Lia was sleeping didn’t have her obsessing over it any less.

It didn’t take a genius to know he was talking to folks overseas.

The reason for the talks were pretty clear as well...just as clear as the medical test results that Lia had accompanied Hudson to California to go get.

His hand was healed.

Whether it was a psychological thing or a delayed, cumulative result of the bio feedback training with Gabe’s rigged therapy rifles, no one knew. But his hand was definitely healed.

...And soon his heart will be, too.

Lia had heard the doctors talking last week, before the tests. And she’d done her own fair share of internet research. There was precedence for Hudson to return back to active duty.

According to one conversation she’d overheard him having with his CO, he could even be back in Afghanistan by the end of the year.

It was the dream.

The one thing so many injured soldiers spent their entire lives yearning for and never getting—the return to their former military lives. To return to the brothers-in-arms and missions they once vowed to give their lives for. To no longer ignore the call to duty it broke their hearts to turn their backs on.

Hudson was being granted that dream.

This is his chance to get it all back. His life, his family, his future.

She’d repeated that mantra to herself all week. Every time another hospital name or government-blocked number showed up on the caller ID. Every time he read another for-his-eyes-only document that had him brimming with excitement.