“I can’t wait to see everyone. I’ve missed them,” I told them, feeling the warmth in my chest I rarely let myself experience. “I can’t wait to be back, even if it’s only for a weekend.”
“Why don’t you leave?” Pike asked.
“Leave and do what?”
“I’m sure you could work with James and Thomas at ALFA.”
That was always Pike’s fallback plan for me. He wanted me to join their security firm and settle down nearby, but I wasn’t ready. I had a life to live, a world to explore, and nothing was going to stop me from following that dream until I was too old to perform my duty.
“Someday, brother. Someday.”
“What time will you be here on Friday?” Gigi asked, ignoring our conversation. “And will she need her own bedroom?”
“Yes, to the two bedrooms and probably around dinnertime.”
“I’ll cook something fabulous,” Gigi replied.
“It’s going to be an interesting weekend,” Pike said. “I’ll let Tamara, Mammoth, Lily, and Jett know you’ll be in too. I’m sure they’ll want to see you before Sunday dinner.”
“Whatever you want to do. It’ll be nice to be home for a few days.”
I never thought Florida would feel like home, but after all these years, especially after being away, it did. I fought the feeling for a long time, but then I realized it was about the people around me. My brother, his girl, her family. They all welcomed me, making me feel like I’d always been part of the family.
“Ditto,” Pike muttered.
“We want to get some tats on Saturday. Can you schedule us in? Probably two hours each max.”
“You got it. Gigi and I will make time for you two.”
“I got to run, guys. Training’s about to start,” I lied, done with all the mushy stuff. “I’ll text you when we’re heading down.”
“Take Route 19 and not I-75.”
“I’m not new, babe,” I told Gigi because she’d told me that more than once over the years. “We will.”
“I’m so crazy excited to have my little brother home,” Gigi said, making me feel all warm and fuzzy.
I’d never had a sister. Never thought I wanted one. But after being with the Gallos, I realized you can never have too much family, and sisters weren’t as bad as guys made them seem.
“Love you, guys. Talk soon.”
“Love you too,” Pike said.
“Love ya,” Gigi added before the call disconnected.
I hurried to the building, craving coffee no matter how shitty it was going to be. Caffeine was caffeine, and right then, I needed a shit-ton.
“Look who decided to show his pretty face today,” Maverick, a SEAL I’d known for four years, said as he kicked back in the chair with his arm slung over the back of the next. “Long night?”
I gave him the middle finger before taking a seat across from him. “I see you’re still your same asshole self.”
He shrugged before he pushed a cup of coffee toward me. “Life’s never been better. Sun’s shining, I’m sitting on my ass, sipping a coffee. No bullets coming my way today or, at least, not yet, but I’m ready to get this shit finished and my ass back to California asap.”
“Where is everyone?” We’d planned to meet and have coffee before we headed into our briefing about today’s activities, but so far, I hadn’t seen another soul I knew.
All I saw was a bunch of kids, looking way younger and greener than I thought I had when I’d first enlisted. As I looked around the room, I felt like I was sitting in a private high school cafeteria and not the mess hall on base.
“Partied too hard like you, my friend,” Maverick said, lifting his cup toward me with a slight tip. “I turned in early, opting for a good night’s sleep over someone’s sloppy seconds.”
