“Yes, you can. There are options.”
She pulled away, emotionally and physically. Inches separated us, but it felt like feet. No, it felt like the goddamn Grand Canyon. Like the Pacific Ocean. “How dare you ask me to do that.”
“I want… I need you to live, Naomi.”
Her eyes softened for a second before her shoulders squared and she faced off with me. “I’m not a coward, Eagle. I made a commitment and my time’s not up yet.”
Ten years. That’s the commitment a pilot makes. Her commission had to be almost over. “Naomi—”
“Fuck.” She groaned, throwing her head back to stare at the ceiling. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shared… any of that.” She scooted further away. She’d closed down and couldn’t even look at me.
“Why the hell not?”
“I know what happened to… what happened with the IED and your… your woman. I shouldn’t have told you about the op. I’m sure that brings back memories and emotions, but I didn’t even think about how it would affect you. Shit. I am such a fucking idiot sometimes.” She stood, scanning the floor.
Someone had told her about Genie. It was nobody’s story but my own to tell, and knowing that someone had blabbed pissed me off. “This isn’t about her. This is about you.Youwere almost killed.”
My tone came out harsher than I’d intended. Naomi swallowed and brushed away the last bit of moisture from her eyes. When she looked up at me, her expression was guarded again. “I didn’t tell you what happened because I’m looking for advice or a way out of the service, Marine. I told you because I thought you’d understand.”
“I do understand. Goddammit, I get it. Better than anyone. Why the fuck do you think I’m telling you not to go back?” I could tell it was the wrong choice of words by the way anger ignited in her eyes.
“Telling me?” She choked. “News flash, Houston, you don’t get totellme anything. I have a dad and a brother, and if I ever feel the need to shut my face and know my place like a good girl, I’ll go directly to one of them.”
She’d used my real name. I didn’t even know she knew it, but she was pissed enough to pull it out. Yep, I’d fucked this up royally. “That’s not what I meant,” I ground out, trying to fix it. “You almost died.” Why couldn’t she get that through her head? Why couldn’t she see the finality of it all and know how valuable her fucking life was?
“Yeah, wellIdidn’t. Michaels and Stevenson did. My team is down two PJs. They need me.”
The resolve in her eyes had me scrambling out of bed. “Don’t go. Let’s talk about this.”
Ignoring me, she put on her bra.
I couldn’t let her leave like this. She was flying out tomorrow morning and I’d be damned before I let her march right back into danger. What if the next time they got her? What if she never came back. I couldn’t let that happen. Moving to block her path, I said, “Dammit, Nae. Their war isn’t worth your life.”
She tugged her dress over her head, and then paused to frown at me. “I’m a pilot for the United States Air Force. Their warismy war. I chose this path and I’m damn well going to see it through. I’ll see you around, Marine.”
Before I could respond, she stormed out of the door.
That was the second time Naomi walked out of my life, and I was scared to death it would be the last.
Eagle
Two Weeks Ago
LOUD, BOOMING NOISES aren’t exactly what a group of veterans with PTSD need to hear, so the club always heads northeast for Independence Day. We’ve held a standing annual reservation at a remote campground outside of the little one-horse town of Skykomish, Washington since the club’s inception. This year, the fourth fell on a Friday, so everyone gathered at the station on Thursday at noon to eat lunch and pack up the tents and supplies before we headed up.
Emily and Julia were among the ol’ ladies and club whores helping us prepare for the trip. Julia brought Havoc a beer and he pulled her onto his lap, keeping her there while they ate. She was wearing his property patch and geared up to go with us. Havoc didn’t let her out of his sight much since proposing to her after Link’s wedding. The two were planning to fly back east next month to have a little ceremony with Havoc’s family, then we’d throw them one hell of a reception when they returned home.
Link and Emily had been married for almost two months and still acted like goddamn newlyweds. He ate with one arm draped over her shoulders as he laughed and joked with the brothers around him. Link and Havoc were so damn happy these days it was hard to be around them. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for my brothers and their relationships, but I hadn’t been able to get a certain blonde-haired brown-eyed Pedro off my mind since she fled from my room the morning after her brother’s wedding. Being around Link, Havoc, and their women just reminded me how much I fucked things up with her.
It reminded me that I didn’t even know if she was state-side or deployed.
Whether or not she was in danger.
Hell, I didn’t even know for sure that she was alive.
Granted, Link wouldn’t be nearly this damn happy if anything had happened to her, but sometimes it took a while to notify the family.
I sounded like one serious doom and gloom motherfucker, but I’d seen Naomi’s death more times than I could count, and it was fucking me up. Sometimes I’d see her lying on the ground, her body riddled with bullets and covered in blood, her eyes pleading for help. I’d kneel beside her, trying to stanch the flow, but there was so much blood. It would coat my hands as I tried to scoop it up and pour it back into her.
