I groaned as I rolled my eyes while the guys just fell apart in laughter. They clapped me on the back as I pushed through the crowd, heading back up the stairs.
“Assholes! All of you! I thought something was wrong!” I called down to them.
Their laughter erupted into roars.
“Fuckheads,” I muttered.
Though I felt a soft smile tug at my cheeks anyway.
It didn’t shock me when I got to the top of the steps and saw the girls waiting for all of us. Ariel stood there with her arm linked with her sister. Amanda’s eyes were locked over my shoulder, watching the door with an intensity that balanced Wrecker out well. I'd been around enough trauma to know what that watchfulness cost. She was scanning. The way Wrecker told me she'd been doing since the elevator. Since the man she couldn't stop seeing in her head, the one Wrecker had taken to calling the Watcher, because they still didn't have a real name for him. Still couldn't find a face in any of the footage Ranger had pulled. Jasmine shuffled on her feet, flashing me a kind-enough smile, though I knew she was anxious to get her hands on Ghost. And then there was Marla. All smiles like she was for a while now. I was proud of all of the work she did to help herself recuperate.
I didn’t see Miss Elizabeth, though.
“Excuse me, ladies,” I said as I scooted through them.
“She’s upstairs in her room,” Jasmine said.
“Wanted to take a shower,” Amanda said.
“Cap!” Ariel squealed.
I whipped around and watched as my men were tackled one by one. There were hugs and kisses to go around, with Brutus scooting by everyone just to get away from the assaults. He grumbled to himself and rolled his eyes whenever he got caught behind a kissing couple.
“Hey, Bee!” Anna chimed in as she stepped out from around the corner with a glass of pickle juice she was sipping on. “How was the meeting?”
Brutus took one look at her and pivoted so quickly on his feet that I almost laughed.
“Hey! Bee!” Anna chirped as she followed after him, sipping on the green liquid. “Where you going!? Tell me all about the meeting! Was my brother a dick!?”
I crooked an eyebrow as I watched that five-foot-nothing woman trail after the behemoth that was Brutus. But all too soon, I heard the softest, faintest sound of water running above our heads.
I pulled away from the crowd and made my way to Miss Elizabeth’s room.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I slipped into her room. I wasn’t even sure what I expected when I approached the bathroom door. What I didn’t expect, however, was to hear the sounds of crying.
Sniffling.
Whimpering.
Something was wrong.
“Miss Elizabeth,” I said as I knocked on the bathroom door softly. I ignored the way it eased open, like she couldn’t be bothered to latch the door. “Can I come in?”
I did my best to wait for permission before I stormed into the bathroom to figure out what in the hell had made her cry.
Because if there was something I could do about it, I would.
16
LIZZIE
I couldn’t help myself.
Not just with the shower, but with my career. Being declared AWOL was a death sentence in the military. I counted the days in my head that I was gone. Been off the grid. Nine days spent searching for my best friend, only to be captured by those buffoons. Almost two weeks, twelve days, spent with the crew.
I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes as dread filled my gut.
Were they searching for me? Was I labeled ‘suspected as desertion’? I drew in a broken breath as the hot water battered my body. Parts of me were still so sore that the water hurt, but I didn’t care.
