Mike shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not. After all, itisthe U.S. Government. They can always come up with some sort of explanation. And given everything I’ve done for them, you bet your ass I’ll find a way when I’m ready. One thing’s for sure, though. Whether I come back as Mike Bradshaw or someone else, it’ll be for good.”
Mike gave a brief pause then continued with, “It’d be one thing to do what you and your teams does. To be able to work a job here and there and come back home. To arealhome and an actual life that belongs to you, and not some fictional character. Like this”—Mike glanced around at the property again— “You’re gone when you’re needed, but then, you get to come back to all of this. You’ve planted roots, man. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you the last time I went on a date. Anactualdate with someone I liked, not a piece I was just using to gain intel.”
Mike’s hand scrubbed over his beard again. “Shit, Jake. I look back at my life, so far, and I’ve got nothing to show for it. Not personally, anyway. I’m thirty-four years old with no wife, no kids. Hell, my dad died, and I couldn’t even go to his fucking funeral. Or Liv’s for that matter. Though, thank Christ, that turned out differently.”
Jake couldn’t agree more.
“I don’t know, man,” Mike went on. The guy clearly needed to vent to someone he trusted. “I’ve left my sister alone all this time, even when she was going through her own hell, and for what? I mean, at least if I did what you do, I’d have the option to settle down somewhere. Start a family of my own.”
Jake was surprised at that. Until recently, he’d never seen his job as one that was conducive to a long-term relationship, let alone a family. He was still worried about how they’d manage it, and wondered how Mike thought it could work.
“You think so?”
“Hell, yeah. It’s no different than being career military. Better, actually. You guys are home a lot more and have the freedom to pick and choose the jobs you take. No government contract that owns your ass. It’s your choice. You make the decisions.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. I think about the situations we go into. Hell, my last job kept me away for two solid months. The thought of leaving Li...a wife at home to worry, or worse, take care of everything on her own if something happened to me?”
Damn, that was close. No telling how Mike would have reacted to that little slip. “I always figured it would be pretty fucking selfish to ask someone to live that way.”
“Women are a hell of a lot stronger than we give them credit for, Jake. Shit, my sister’s a perfect example. After everything she’s been through, she keeps pushing forward. I don’t know how she’s done it all these years on her own.”
This time, Jake couldn’t hide his smile or the affection in his voice. “She’s the strongest woman I know.”
Mike tilted his head, and Jake worried he’d given himself away. He moved his eyes forward, doing his damnedest not to show how he truly felt about the guy’s little sister.
Somber again, Mike said, “We almost lost her in that jungle. When I heard she was gone, what those bastards had done to her and the others...that was the closest I’ve ever come to blowing a cover.”
Jake looked over at his friend and vowed, “I’d die before letting anything else happen to her.”
Mike simply nodded. He may have ‘died’ himself years before, but Jake knew the thought of losing his sister for real was more than his friend could bear.
****
“I’m so sorry,” Oliviawhispered the apology to Mac as they drove down Jake’s road. It was one of about twenty she’d given to her during the drive home from the mall in Dallas.
“Would you stop already? I keep telling you, there is nothing to apologize for. And if you do it one more time, I’ll be forced to bring out that badass side of me you seem so fond of.”
Despite the harsh words, Mac smiled at her and winked before rolling her window down and scanning her eye for entrance through Jake’s gate. “I still can’t believe that asshat came up to you the way he did.”
Olivia gave her a quick smile back, still hating that they’d had to cut the day short because of her. It had started out great. Perfect, even.
In the first hour, they’d stopped for coffee and breakfast at a quaint little bakery then hit a few dress shops before heading to the mall.
They’d gone into one of the larger department stores. While Mac was busy trying on a pair of awesome boots with surprisingly high heels, Olivia had gone into another section nearby, looking for some new tennis shoes for work.
She was trying on a pair of her favorite brand when she caught a man staring at her.
Olivia had smiled politely, but only because they’d made eye contact. When she looked back up a few minutes later, he was still there. Staring.
It took about twenty seconds before she was overwrought with terror, flashbacks of being attacked assaulting her.
Her pulse had raced. A thin layer of sweat had formed on her brow, and she’d frantically looked toward Mac, praying she could get her attention, somehow.
When she realized Mac was too focused on the boots to notice her, Olivia had quickly turned and started walking toward the other woman. She kept her eyes looking straight ahead and not at the man who had begun to follow her.
He started to reach for her, and that’s when she’d screamed. Olivia had yelled as if her life depended on it, and in that moment, she’d truly believed it had.
For a moment, she was back in Toamasina, being chased by Cetro and his men. She’d flung her arms out and swung her purse at the man trying to take her.
