“Mae—”
“I’m fine being in the apartment with Hawk. I do technically live there. And I’ve been back to Stone’s apartment. To get some things he might eventually need. To grab things thatI need but keep there. I’m not hiding. I’m not refusing to process what happened. The man I love, the man who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with broke my heart and now he might never wake up. I just needed a goddamn normal morning.”
Gunner nodded before he pushed off the post and disappeared. Mae could have run back up to her apartment, but there was no sense when the locker room was right there. Good thing, too, because Mae ended up with her head in the toilet. She’d pushed herself too hard.Just great.After a quick shower, and thanking the warm water for washing away every bit of grossness she felt after getting sick, Mae dressed in her work clothes and found her way back out to the front desk.
An hour later, with expense reports filed and training schedules printed, Mae almost felt back to normal. She just needed to send one more email off to Sebastian and then she could get a cup of coffee.
“Good morning, can you help me?”
Mae’s head snapped up at the unfamiliar woman’s voice.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the door was open. We’re closed for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh.” The leggy blond looked completely out of place. Bright red nails to match the red toe peeping out from her long black slacks. A black blazer and silk blouse, designer from the look of it, did not scream ‘rural Texas’ to Mae. “I didn’t see a sign. Is this business closing? This is the same team that runs that elite training facility, right? What’s it called?”
“The Trident. And yes, we are one in the same. The business isn’t closing, we just are having to take a hiatus for a few weeks. For personal reasons I won’t divulge with a stranger.”
“Oh, I’m not a stranger, honey.” The woman smiled. “Can you just tell me if Stone Lawson works here? The newspaper article I found said he was one of the founding members, along with his SEAL team. I have a few questions Iwas hoping to ask him. Or, them, I guess. We’ve all met before.”
“Excuse me?” She cleared her throat as she stood. “How exactly do you know him?”
Mae’s fingers tapped against the wood top of her desk. Something about this woman was ringing all sorts of alarm bells.
“We have history. But like you said, it’s best not to discuss things with a stranger.”
Okay, this lady was really starting to piss her off. With a sickeningly sweet smile, Mae fought her urge to tackle the stranger.
“I’m happy to take your name if you want to leave a message for him.”
The blond’s eyes went wide. “So, he’s not here?”
“No, he’s not.”
“Wow. Small town gossip at its finest.”
“Excuse me?”
“The story is true, then? He’s currently in the hospital from a gunshot wound?”
Mae didn’t reply, her finger now searching against the underside of her desk for the silent panic button.
“I asked around town before coming here. It’s incredible what people will tell you when you ask them one or two little prompting questions. I’m just sorry to hear he’s slipped into a coma. I’d really love to ask him if he felt that the shooting was karma for what he did in Afghanistan with the rest of his team.”
Nope. She wasn’t going to ignore that comment. Mae pressed the panic button. Better to have Gunner up there to sort out whatever this woman wanted.
“Mae? What the fuck? You okay?” Gunner jogged into the reception area, his hand on the weapon inside the holster hewore on his belt. As soon as his eyes landed on the woman, they widened. “Lo? What are you doing here?”
Mae’s jaw dropped open. “You know her?”
“Yeah. I know her.”
“Gunner.” The woman’s face transformed into a smile. “Long time no see.”
“What. Do. You. Want?” Damn, Gunner wasn’t messing around.
“I want to ask Stone some questions, but I hear he’s… not up to talking right now. I’d take Sebastian in his place. And Hawk, too. Hell. The whole team if I can.”
“No.” Gunner crossed his arms and Mae was thankful for his bluntness.
