Vortex (SAI Book 1) (14 page)

“I went to U-Dub and had a good time. But I also played baseball while I was there, so I had to keep myself in check during the season.”

“I wonder if we would’ve become friends back then. Probably not…”

“It took me a long time to mature, so I’m guessing that I never would’ve had the guts to go after a girl like you. You probably came out of the womb knowing what you wanted and how to obtain it.”

Laughing, she let out a loud snort. “Next time you see Gideon, ask him about college. I was a geeky girl trying to become a butterfly, and there wasn’t a thing about the process that was pretty. The way you see me now is a result of the time I spent abroad and seeing my husband killed.”

Wiping her hand across her face, she almost choked. “I tried to save him, and I couldn’t. Had I been a better surgeon, or had more supplies, or been in a hospital, I might’ve been able to do it. But I wasn’t good enough, and he died in my arms.” Laughing roughly, she kicked her shoe against the ground. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to share that.” Looking around wildly, she pasted a fake smile on her face. “It’s Fat Tuesday, and we’re supposed to be celebrating.”

Watching her wipe her face and stare sightlessly almost undid him. That was a hell of a burden she was carrying around, and he was impressed that she held it together as well as she did. Looping his arm around her shoulders, he kissed her head. “I know that you did everything you could, and if anyone was going to save him, it would’ve been you.”

Their sweat-slicked bodies brushed against each other as they moved along the path, and he knew he was an ass for even enjoying it. She had just shared something incredibly painful and personal, and he was thinking about rubbing up against her naked body. This woman stirred up something in him that made him lose his good sense and manners, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. He’d spent fifteen disciplined years on the Teams, and this was a crappy time to lose his self-control. Breathing in deeply, he willed his body to obey. “Tell me about Fat Tuesday.”

“Thank you,” Vivi mumbled.

“For what, honey?”

“For not making feel like a fool for oversharing. I never do that, and I’m sorry I ruined our perfectly nice morning with tales from my past. I usually hold it in a lot better than that.”

“Jeez, Vivi. I’m not that much of a jerk. Nobody knows better than me what the cost is of holding shit in. I’ve struggled with some PTSD. A couple of missions over the years have left some baggage that I had to work through. The one thing I took away from the navy docs was that it was never a good idea to pretend like things didn’t matter. When you do that, it comes back to bite you twice as hard. It’s better just to face it up front.”

“I’ve dealt with it for the most part, but sometimes the pain surfaces, and I’m surprised by it. Just when I think I’m moving past it, something happens, and it’s like it happened just yesterday.” Shrugging, she took his hand and held it. “That’s why I stayed abroad for so long. I tried saving as many people as I could to make up for the life that I couldn’t.”

“Sounds familiar, Vivi. I could tell you a similar story about the near-maniacal need I had to do good. After I lost two men from my Team, I became possessed. Maybe in some ways, I still am.”

“We are some kind of pair…you and I. I bet a psychologist would have a field day with us. I wonder how many issues we have between the two of us?”

“I doubt we have that many. SEALs don’t even have issues, so I doubt we’d even make one of those afternoon talk shows.”

“I don’t think that should be a measure of sanity, but what do I know? Being from the South allows me all kinds of latitude. You hardly qualify as interesting until you do something really spectacular. And when I say spectacular, I mean something that makes you infamous.”

“Well, we have that to look forward to.”

“Yes, we do. I could have a breakdown at any minute. Lord knows what that’s going to look like.”

“Is it going to be anything like the time that Ronnie, Ella, and Ana went to Walmart and started drinking in the booze aisle?”

“It wasn’t the booze aisle, it was the aisle where they sell wine and beer. I don’t think opening a screw-top bottle of wine as you shop qualifies as ‘losing your shit.’ It’s more like…testing the product to see if you want more. They poured the wine into regular glasses. It’s not like they had bad manners.” Waving her hand in front of her face, she clearly dismissed that as anything
truly
unusual.

“Good to know.” When he’d met her a year ago, he assumed she was the most controlled, put-together woman on the planet. She appeared perfect, without a flaw in sight, and he’d instantly disliked her. Or, to be more accurate…he was attracted to her and assumed she would never return his feelings. What a relief to know that she was human just like him. In fact, she could be a skosh crazier, which filled his heart with joy. Crazy he could handle…perfect he couldn’t.

“Let’s run home. That way I can justify all the things that I plan on eating and drinking today,” Vivi announced.

“Are you sure?”

Taking off slowly, she called behind her, “Absolutely.”

He followed her and caught up quickly. “We can walk if you want.”

“No, we’re exercising.”

“If you say so.” Jogging next to her, he couldn’t help but admire her gumption. She went after what she wanted, and it didn’t seem to matter what the end result was going to be. They were leaving the campus and about to hit a main street when Vivi slowed down. “Do you want to take the shortcut home?”

“Whatever you want, honey. I’ll follow you.” He was rewarded with a wink and a smile and felt pretty damn good.

The light changed, and Vivi was about to step off the curb when the roar of a car engine filled the air. Glancing to his left, he saw a late-model SUV move through the intersection. It came toward them with tires screeching. The smell of burning rubber filled the air as the front bumper clipped Vivi’s hip just as he pulled her back.

They flew backward against the sidewalk as the impact of the car and Joel’s arms pulled them out of danger. He kept her against his frame as he tucked his body and kept her on top of him. Instincts took over as he rolled her underneath him and quartered the surrounding area. Catching the last four numbers of the license plate, he committed them to memory. His hand flew to the back of his shorts as he searched for his gun.
Fuck.
He wasn’t armed.

***

When he looked down into Vivi’s frightened eyes, he instantly felt ashamed. How could he have let this happen? He’d been so wrapped up in what was transpiring between them, that he lost his situational awareness. “How are you doing?” Running his hands over her body, he checked for any immediate wounds that would need his attention. Granted, he wasn’t a doctor, but he was a trained SOF medic and he had a ton of field experience.

“Nothing’s broken, and no one shot at us,” she replied shakily.

Lifting himself off her body, he helped her up. “Take it slowly.” A crowd had assembled, and Joel scanned the group to determine if anyone seemed overly interested in them. It was possible that whoever orchestrated this had left someone behind. Nothing jumped out at him as suspicious, so he waved to the crowd. “If anyone has video of the car coming after my girlfriend, I would appreciate a copy of it.” Several people checked their phone, and Joel kept quartering the surrounding area.

Slipping his tiny phone out of his pocket, he then called Ben and gave him their location and asked for a pickup. There was no way that Vivi was going to be able to make it home. Or him, for that matter. All those years in combat had not prepared him for seeing the woman he was falling for have a car speed straight at her. His heart was beating rapidly against his chest, and his hands were shaking. At least this time, he was there. He’d pulled her away from danger and saved her. It wasn’t like what happened to Francie.

Breathing deeply, he tried to get himself together. A few people came up and said that they had caught something, so he gave them his number and asked them to send it to him. It was a long shot, but any information they could gather would be helpful.

“How are you doing, Vivi? Ben is going to be here shortly, and he’ll give us a ride home.”

Pulling her body away from him, she lifted his T-shirt and checked his side and back. She touched the gashes gently. “I need to treat your scrapes.”

Glancing down, he noticed that he had road rash along his side and back where he hit the gravel when they landed. “I’m fine.”

“Yes, you will be after I take care of you.” Nodding firmly, she glanced around at the people gathered, and tried to smile.

He could see how hard she was working not to fall apart, and he wished that she would just let it go. The adrenaline dump was going to be awful when it happened. The sooner she let it out, the better. Her bright eyes and tense face told him that she was operating especially close to the edge. “You can let it out, Viv.”

Turning her face into his neck, she whispered, “No, I can’t. If I do, then I may never stop. I would prefer not to do that while on campus.”

Holding her as close as he could, he pressed his face into her hair. “Okay. We’ll just hold on tight to one another, and when we arrive home, we’ll let it out. I have a few emotions about seeing a car come at you that might need to be expressed.” Her loud gulp and intake of breath told him that she understood. His phone buzzed, and he answered it. “Got it, man, thanks.”

“Is Ben close?”

“Yes, sweetheart. He’s five minutes out.”

“Okay, I can last five minutes.”

Maybe it was time to distract them both. “Sometimes it takes me that long to decide what I want to eat for breakfast. I don’t know about you, but I can never decide if I want sweet or salty. What about you?” Looking down Broadway, he saw Ben coming down the street. It was a good thing, because he didn’t think that Vivi had three minutes left in her, much less five. “Here comes Ben. Hold on, sweetheart.”

Flattening her body against his, she nodded into his shoulder. “To answer your question…I always prefer sweet for breakfast.”

“I guess that means we have to eat the cake you made for breakfast.”

“King’s cake for breakfast on Fat Tuesday seems like a good idea.”

“I agree,” Joel said quietly against her head. Letting out a breath, he waited for relief to wash over his bones. The horn of a car interrupted his thoughts, and he saw Ben signaling. Vivi was in real danger, and until he was confident that she was safe, there was no relief in sight. “Let’s go.”

Opening the back door of the SUV, he helped Vivi in and followed behind her. “Clear,” Joel called to Ben. “Sitrep.”

“Gideon is pulling all the footage from the security cameras in a five-mile radius. The FBI is going to analyze it, and hopefully we’ll get a hit before the end of the day. They’re going to see if anything pops with the gangs in Algiers and the crews from out of state. The best thing we can do is figure out what they believe that Vivi knows. We can neutralize from there. It might be time to take her back to Florida. We can secure the women there until we determine where the threats are coming from. Let the Feds and DEA handle the prescription drug theft. All I care about is keeping the women safe and sound.”

“Agreed,” Joel barked. He felt Vivi jump when he raised his voice. “Sorry, honey.”

“Is that your commander voice?”

Ben answered from the front. “It sure is. When we were on ops, Joel had the unenviable job of trying to get fifteen to twenty adrenaline-fueled special operators on common ground. We’re talking snipers, breachers, communicators, and translators all on the same page. Every single one of us was coiled and ready to strike, and we all had strong notions about how to accomplish the next assault. Joel corralled our crazy and listened to every single idea and eventually forged a battle plan. That loud voice of his was used several times a day, and it was guaranteed to secure everyone’s attention.”

“Good to know,” Vivi replied.

“Is the house cleared?” Joel asked.

“Dane cleared it a couple of minutes ago. No activity on any cameras, and nothing is coming in on the street cameras as well. You guys are good to go.”

Ben pulled up to the back of the house and parked the truck. “I’ll keep you posted on any developments.”

Opening the door, Joel quartered the area before helping Vivi out. “Thanks, man.” Ben saluted him, and Joel led Vivi to the door.

Releasing the security system, he opened the door and felt the air-conditioning cool his body. He reset the system and led Vivi toward the stairs. “Let’s get cleaned up, and then I’ll feed you.”

When her shoulders started to shake, he knew she was about to fall apart. Lifting her, he took her up the stairs and into her room. Collapsing on her bed, he held her tightly as she began to cry. “Let it out, Viv.” Holding her, he felt a swell of pain and fear fill his chest. Seeing a car come at Vivi brought back the pain of losing Francie. Swallowing loudly, he buried his face in her hair and willed himself not to fall apart. He could deal with it later. Right now he needed to take care of Vivi. That was a much better thing to focus on. And his best choice.  

CHAPTER TEN

Eventually, Vivi pulled herself together and glanced around her room. “I guess we’re not going to go down to St. Charles Ave. to see the parade.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to make it.” Running his hand over her face, he gave her a sympathetic smile. “I guess we’re having Fat Tuesday at home.”

Sliding off his lap, she winced as she straightened up. Lifting her T-shirt, she examined her hip. “I guess the car got me good.”

“I barely got to you in time. The force of the car clipping you helped propel you into my arms when I pulled you back. We were lucky that it hadn’t gained too much speed yet.”

Joel stood up and held his arms open, and she stepped into them. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she felt herself melt into his embrace. “Why are people after the clinic and now me? I’m trying to face all this bravely, but it’s getting harder and harder.”