Tempting Target: Heart of a SEAL (12 page)

“Alright,” she said, as she let go of his arm. “Could you take my bag to the car though?”

He didn’t see why she needed that when the damn thing had wheels on it, but if it would shut her up and he could get some sleep and stop thinking about the piece of him he was leaving here in this airport, he’d do it.

Carolyn looked around, like she was going to miss the place when he knew she would probably be coming back to this same place tomorrow.

When they reached the car, he had to see the people who had waited for him and they weren’t amused, especially when he told him about Carolyn. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t with him. If she had a friend who was at the base, he’d better be willing to get up at the crack of dawn and bring her back because she’d be waiting at the entry station if that didn’t occur.

When the bags and Carolyn were in the car, Matt could feel eyes on him, but when he turned to see who it was, the feeling left. It would have been nice to see Emmy one more time, but he knew that wouldn’t have made anything any better. It was better this way. He got into the car and slammed the door.

“Where is your girlfriend?” Carolyn asked when the driver pulled off.

“I don’t have one. She was just a friend.”

“It looks like she’s going to the Philippines, so you may be lonely tonight.” She wasn’t very good at beating around the bush. Carolyn put it right out there, so he thought he’d return the favor and volley it right back.

“I don’t want or need anyone to keep me company, but I thank you. You may want to get your phone out so you can call whoever is going to pick you up from the entrance. I can get you that far, but I’m not going to have you on the base on my say so when I don’t know you.”

“It’s really late to call someone.” She looked like she knew she was attractive and any man would want to have her at his disposal, but it was clear that she didn’t know him.

“The driver can take you back to the airport to make other arrangements if what I’m suggesting isn’t something you’d like to do.” Matt knew she was getting the brunt end of his repressed anger, but no one told her to hitch a ride with the man with the thorn in his paw. He looked at her, and she looked at the floor. A different Carolyn had emerged, the one who knew when to shut the hell up and go for the ride.

“I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.” She was trying to play on his emotions, acting like she was so distraught by his behavior, but it wasn’t working.

“I’m sorry you like to cause trouble, too.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Emmy was in a pissy, bitchy mood, and it stemmed from watching Carolyn sink her meaty hooks into Matt not even thirty minutes after he’d howled like a wolf on a full moon while he was riding her ass. What did it really matter? He was done with her anyway, right?

It had been the longest hour of her life. Half of her wanted to find Matt and that skank and find out why he couldn’t even wait to get out of the airport before allowing himself to go home with someone else. Hell, he’d picked
her
up in an airport. Maybe he was knuckle deep into her pussy right now. The landscape around her got a little blurry, and she stopped what she was thinking immediately. There was no way in hell that she was going to allow herself to cry over someone who wouldn’t even ask for her cell phone number before he ran off with someone else.

The next set of flight attendants were lining up at the door, and she thought it was time to leave this portion of her journey, as she started for the next. She was wiser than she was a few days ago, and she learned more about herself than she’d learned in the last four years of college. She was going to chuck all this up as a learning experience.

“I’m sorry everyone. There has been a change of plans. A weather advisory has gone into effect for the island, and no planes are allowed to fly in or out until further notice.” The perky blonde woman looked like she shared everyone’s dismay. Emmy wondered if they taught them how to look like they had empathy for everyone and their plight. Emmy didn’t care one bit if they got there today or tomorrow since she wasn’t on anyone’s timetable but her own.

“We will be providing rooms for the night…well, morning. We’ll see how it looks in the morning and if the ban can be lifted from the airport. Please see one of the four attendants holding a sign with the corresponding letter of your last name to get your room key and then exit the front door to the waiting bus.”

They were herded like cattle to get to their destinations, and it wouldn’t have been too bad if she’d had her luggage. There was nothing she could do about her luggage making the trip to her next stop while she stayed here. At least no one would know that she’d lost her medication for the day, and it didn’t look like she was going to get to take it tomorrow on time either. She took a deep breath and tried not to worry about it. There was nothing she could do and worrying about blood clots forming around her metal valve wouldn’t help.

When she finally got to her room, she had herself so worked up it wouldn’t have surprised her if she had a heart attack just from worrying. She tried to tell herself that there were studies about people who cured themselves from all types of things with the power of positive thinking.
That’s what I can do…think positively.

She took a shower and tried to wash the day away, knowing that she was washing the last of Matt from her skin, as well. That shouldn’t have made her sad, but it did. When she lay down on the bed after her shower, she tried to work on the power of positive thinking—but most of the positive thoughts eluded her. It could have been because she was hungry.

She wasn’t hungry when Matt had suggested they get something to eat.
No. That wasn’t true. It wasn’t that I wasn’t hungry. It was that if I had to look at his beautiful face, his light brown hair, and those cornflower blue eyes—all while he was trying to be sweet or fucking me up against any surface he could find—I was going to fall farther into him than I already did, and he’d already told me that this wasn’t something that he was taking seriously.

It was her decision to cut her losses and just let him go instead of allowing him to linger and take more and more of her heart with him. When she saw Carolyn run after him, the emptiness in the pit of her stomach was filled with rage. Was it childish that she followed them? Maybe, but it could also have been that she needed to stretch her legs… or she needed to work on her spy skills. You never know when you’ll need something like that. She watched Carolyn get in the car, putting her hands on Matt as she talked about his muscles. Or at least that’s what it looked like, she couldn’t really hear anything from where she stood. All she knew was that he carried her bag, like a real gentle man, even though it had wheels, and he helped her get settled in the car. Emmy could have sworn that Carolyn looked right at her, but she couldn’t be sure, and even if she was… what would that mean. She was out, and apparently, Carolyn was in.

The knock at the door was a pleasant surprise. Maybe they were coming around with complimentary snacks or a sample of pizza. Opening the door, her mood sank, and along with it, the hope for food at the door.

“I’m sorry I was late when it was time to choose, so I was assigned this room with you.” Carolyn looked a bit wary, but she had to know who Emmy was. Why would she choose to stay in a room with her? She must have a death wish, because Emmy was feeling particularly murderous.

There wasn’t anything to do but let her in. The occupancy of the hotel and the number of passengers on the plane should have told her when she saw this two-bed room that there would be someone staying with her.

“It’s been a crazy night?” Carolyn was trying to go for the let’s be friends vibe, but little did she know Emmy was praying that she didn’t hurt the woman in her sleep.

“Yep,” Emmy said in a tone she hoped conveyed that there should only be sleeping done and not much else. “Well, I took my shower, and I’m headed to bed. Feel free to do what you do. Don’t worry about making noise; I can sleep through almost anything.”

Emmy got into bed, knowing that she’d not be able to sleep with this snake in her room, but it was a free room, and she’d said that she’d share when they asked her about it. If she would have thought for a minute it would have been this woman in her room, she’d have said no.
Come to think of it, why isn’t she still with Matt?
You know what… not my circus… not my monkeys.
That is what I have to remember when it comes to that man and what he did.

Carolyn went to the bathroom and showered while Emmy stewed so hard she shouldn’t have been hungry; she could have had a bowl of the anger she’d been brewing all night.

“Emmy?” Carolyn was sitting on her bed, and Emmy thought about ignoring her, but what would be the point of that?

She didn’t answer her, but she turned over so she was facing the woman. It was getting light outside, so she could see her even though the lights were off.

“I saw you watching me and the commander as we made our way to the car.”

Emmy still didn’t see a reason to talk to her about any of this. She would neither confirm nor deny what the woman thought she saw.

“Did you spend time with the commander when he was in Hawaii?”

“Look, Carolyn, I’m not sure what this is or what you think you’re going to be getting out of this, but I’m not really in the mood to talk to you about Matt. The man’s name is Matt.”

“I understand. I really don’t know what came over me. When I met Matt on the plane, I thought we may be able to have some fun together, but when you popped up out of nowhere and were fucking in the bathroom, I was really upset. Did I have a reason to be upset? No, but that’s what happened. I asked for a ride to the base to see a friend on the base, but she wasn’t there. He dropped me off at the entrance. I came back here to find that I couldn’t get a plane out of here, so they are putting me up like they’re putting you up.” Carolyn seemed like she was in a better place, but right now but it was hard to know what kind of woman she really was. She was going to trust her and get a few hours of sleep.

“I get it. He’s gorgeous, but he’s mentally and emotionally unavailable. You saved yourself by not attaching yourself to him.” Emmy was telling the woman the truth, but in reality she wouldn’t have traded it for the world. Even if she knew that this heartache was coming, she’d still have chosen to be with him. He was a fun, witty, intelligent, sexy, beautiful man who knew how to pleasure a woman with his mind as well as his body. There was no reason to tell Carolyn that, because that would have just been mean.

“I’m going to try to think about that if I ever see him again, but I’m pretty sure that if he’d have chosen me, I wouldn’t have cared if it was for just one night or for all of the ones that followed.”

“So, I’m guessing this is a truce?” Emmy asked the woman who was almost asleep on the bed next to hers.

The snoring was the only response that greeted Emmy, and she was happy about that. Since she was virtually alone, she would go to sleep and hope that the planes would be allowed to leave the island in the morning.  Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about the man who was making her crazy, even as he had probably forgotten about her.
Sometimes that’s just the way life goes.

***

It was after noon the next day when they were all called to come to the lobby. While they were told that there was a typhoon building and it looked like it was on its way to the island, she was counting. Was she concerned about being in a natural disaster? Absolutely, but she was also aware that she had, indeed, missed two days of anti-coagulant, the medication that helped her blood move freely around the metal valve in her heart. The medical staff talked to her about what to happen if she immediately stopped taking the medication, and she knew that death was one of the possibilities. There were other possibilities that she couldn’t really remember, because when death was listed, that pretty much trumped all the rest of the symptoms, right?

Carolyn was by her side, like the truce they’d had last night was going to extend throughout their whole association. Looking at how grim the management and the airport staff were, it seemed like it may be a long while. It wasn’t that the woman was bad, mean, or evil, she saw something she wanted and went after it. Truly, she was the woman that Emmy was trying to be… if you left the whole going-after-Matt out of the equation.

“We will be transporting you all to the military base that is on the island. It’s being set up for you now. It’s a large warehouse that will hopefully withstand the typhoon, if it hits.” It was the same blonde woman from that morning. Emmy didn’t know if her job title included being the bearer of bad news, but she wasn’t as peppy as she was a few hours ago when they moved to this hotel.

Carolyn looked frightened, and Emmy wanted to help her, but she was in the same situation.

“I guess we should get on the bus,” Emmy said to a Carolyn who looked like she was going to lose the continental breakfast she’d just consumed. “Why are you in the crowd with all of us non-workers? Shouldn’t you be up front helping?”

“Actually, this is my week off. I was supposed to do the flight last night and then I was going to go back home today. I should have just gotten on the plane and returned right then. It was the last plane allowed to leave.” Carolyn looked like she was holding something back.

“What aren’t you telling me, Carolyn?”

“I was supposed to leave, but when I saw that you were getting on your flight and the commander… ummm… Matt was staying, I figured I had a chance with him.” She did appear to look sheepish, and Emmy couldn’t find fault with her trying—although it made her madder than a prom queen who had been pranked and splattered with blood. Unfortunately for her but fortunate for Carolyn, she didn’t have those same powers.

Emmy didn’t say anything to that but continued to look away from Carolyn. There was no need for her to see what her words had done. It wasn’t that she was upset with Carolyn; it just made her think about how sought after Matt was. Maybe that was the reason he didn’t want to put forth any effort to be with her. Yeah, he said it was so she wouldn’t wait around for him, but that couldn’t be it. If she wanted to wait around, that was her business, not his. It didn’t matter; he’d made his choice, and she was standing here with Carolyn waiting out a typhoon.

They loaded on the bus and drove to the facility that was supposed to protect them.
Nothing like the words ‘evacuation station and fallout shelter’ on the outside to make you feel safe.
The actual building was made out of cement blocks, and although it didn’t look like it would be featured on Homes and Gardens as a comfortable spot to take a nice vacation, it did make her feel rather safe.

There were cots lined up in the large facility that made her think of disaster movies, but each and every green cot had a chocolate brown blanket on it. She had to hand it to them, they knew what to do in an emergency. She didn’t have much stuff, but she tried to keep what she had close at hand.