Page 20
Story: Handling Haven
Wiping her wet cheeks, she said, “If we’d slept in like Tara wanted to, we never would have been there.”
“Oh, baby. Don’t do that to yourself. A few months ago, Ghost told me not to live in the world of ‘what if’—I’d only drive myself crazy—and he was right.”
“About carrying me to the chopper?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I was afraid I’d made your injury worse, but I didn’t have a choice. We had to get you and Reardon out of there.
“Everyone who’s gone through something bad in their lives has those thoughts—what if I’d slept late, what if I’d gotten up early, what if I’d made a right turn instead of a left. Bad things happen to good people; it’s an unfortunate fact of life. We’re all going to die sooner or later, and no one should take the blame for something they couldn’t have seen coming and had no control over. All we can do is grieve for our friends and loved ones we’ve lost, then live our lives to the fullest in their honor—to make their lives and deaths mean something. I’m sure since going to work for Deimos, you’ve saved countless lives, far more than you ended. Now that you’re taking a new direction in your career, you’ll just have to find a way to continue honoring your mom and sister. You wouldn’t want them to lie in bed, crying day afterday if you’d been killed instead of them. You’d want them to be happy and enjoy life, doing the things you could no longer do.”
“Like your friend’s dad told you.”
“Mr. Riggs was a great man. If it hadn’t been for his words at Digger’s grave site, I’m not sure I’d be in Delta. And wouldn’t that be a shame, because then I’d never have met you.”
A small smile returned to her face. “And saved my life.”
“Exactly.” Cupping her chin, he drew her closer and brushed his lips against hers. He was thrilled when she didn’t pull away, instead, lifting her arms to encircle his neck. Her mouth opened, welcoming him in, and it was an invitation he couldn’t refuse if he wanted to, which he didn’t. His tongue sparred with hers as his cock grew hard against her hip.
“Eew, they’re kissing!”
Haven ripped her mouth from his, and they both turned to see a group of two dozen or so boys and girls, around six or seven years old, walking past their picnic table. Two women, one at the front and the other at the back of the line, had to be their teachers, taking them for a short field trip. Frisco had no idea which little boy had started them all giggling with his very loudannouncement, but it didn’t matter. Grinning, he glanced at Haven who was also laughing, despite her pink cheeks. “Busted.”
“Yup.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “But I know somewhere we won’t be interrupted ... and it’s got a bed.”
Standing with her in his arms, he set her on the seat of her chair. “How fast does that van go?”
“C’mon,Tara, hurry your ass up!” Halle McBride weaved through the pedestrians on the sidewalk, who were just starting their day. She’d woken up early, when it’d still been dark outside, and hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. Instead of just lying there, staring at the ceiling and listening to her sister snore, she’d woken Tara and their mother, Maryann, and convinced them to start the day early. They only had a few more days of vacation before returning to Michigan and the daily grind of school and work.
Her sister was a few feet behind Halle and their mom, trying to fix the broken zipper on her cross-body purse as she walked, not entirely watching where she was going. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”
“Halle, slow down,” their mom chastised. “If we miss the train, there’ll be another one shortly. Tara, watchwhere you’re going. You’re going to walk right into someone. I swear, it’s like you two are little kids again.” It wasn’t an insult since she was smiling and looking forward to the day trip to a place they’d only seen pictures of.
Wanting to make up for all the years when their vacations had consisted of outings to the local zoo or museums on free-admission days, or window shopping at the mall, the three women were soaking up everything they could. Paris had been fun, but having taken Spanish as her second language in high school and college, Halle was enjoying Madrid even more since she could understand most of what was being said around them. She’d even been able to flirt with their cute waiter last night during dinner at a little restaurant near their hotel.
With her internship starting two days after the current semester ended, she was glad the McBride women had been able to schedule their trip for spring break instead. Thankfully, Tara was now in college with Halle, so they both had fifteen days off instead of the nine days their local high school had. Next year, though, with Halle in law school, they didn’t know how much time they’d have. If it was only a week, they’d probably stay in the Western Hemisphere.
As they approached the Atocha station to catch the Cercanías train to San Lorenzo de ElEscorial, Halle glanced over her shoulder to make sure Tara was still with them. Still moving forward, Halle walked directly into someone coming out of the entrance to the building. “Oof!” She grasped the man’s arm to steady herself. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”
The Middle Eastern man glared at her and spat something in Arabic as he shoved her away from him with more force than necessary. Halle almost tripped and ended up on her ass, but her mom reached out and grabbed her around the waist, stopping her momentum. She gaped in surprise. “What the hell? I said I was sorry.”
The slender man stood about six foot two and wore loose-fitting, black pants and a white dress shirt. His hands were empty while a small knapsack hung down his back. An ugly scar from an old wound ran from his left ear to the middle of his cheek—his trim beard could only hide a small portion of it. His dark hair matched the color of his eyes—eyes that were boring into her with hate and venom. “Disgusting infidels,” he growled before striding away.
“Well, screw you too!”
“Halle, hush,” her mother said, pulling on her arm. “Ignore him. Let’s go.”
Having given up on the zipper, Tara had also seen the whole thing and chimed in. “Yeah, the last thing we need on our vacation is you getting stabbed or shot by apsychotic stranger. Don’t worry, someday the asshole will get his; karma’s a bitch like that.”
Staring after the man, Halle knew her mom and sister were right. In this day and age, with terrorists and madmen setting off bombs or walking into places and shooting everyone just for the hell of it, one couldn’t be too careful anymore. With a final, silent “fuck you,” to the rude bastard, she followed her mother and sister into the station. After they got their tickets and found the track they needed, Halle glanced around. “There’s a bathroom over there. I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” her mom said, checking her watch. “The train will be here in eight minutes.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t miss it.” Zig-zagging through the morning crowd standing on the platform, Halle made her way to the ladies’ room. The screech of brakes on a metal rail announced another train’s arrival as it flew into the station and came to a stop. The doors to the cars opened, and the people on board fought to exit while others pushed their way in.
After making use of the restroom’s toilet and washing her hands, Halle rubbed her hands under the hot air of a dryer on the wall. Striding to the door, she pulled on the handle and swung it open. The world detonated around her. A flash of bright light blinded her a split second before a thunderous roar filled theair, followed by screams. The heat was unbearable as Halle was thrown off her feet and backward into a wall. Pain exploded in her head. Falling to the floor, darkness overtook her as she managed to utter one word before going still. “Mom—”
“Haven ... Haven, baby, wake up.”
CHAPTER 16
“Oh, baby. Don’t do that to yourself. A few months ago, Ghost told me not to live in the world of ‘what if’—I’d only drive myself crazy—and he was right.”
“About carrying me to the chopper?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I was afraid I’d made your injury worse, but I didn’t have a choice. We had to get you and Reardon out of there.
“Everyone who’s gone through something bad in their lives has those thoughts—what if I’d slept late, what if I’d gotten up early, what if I’d made a right turn instead of a left. Bad things happen to good people; it’s an unfortunate fact of life. We’re all going to die sooner or later, and no one should take the blame for something they couldn’t have seen coming and had no control over. All we can do is grieve for our friends and loved ones we’ve lost, then live our lives to the fullest in their honor—to make their lives and deaths mean something. I’m sure since going to work for Deimos, you’ve saved countless lives, far more than you ended. Now that you’re taking a new direction in your career, you’ll just have to find a way to continue honoring your mom and sister. You wouldn’t want them to lie in bed, crying day afterday if you’d been killed instead of them. You’d want them to be happy and enjoy life, doing the things you could no longer do.”
“Like your friend’s dad told you.”
“Mr. Riggs was a great man. If it hadn’t been for his words at Digger’s grave site, I’m not sure I’d be in Delta. And wouldn’t that be a shame, because then I’d never have met you.”
A small smile returned to her face. “And saved my life.”
“Exactly.” Cupping her chin, he drew her closer and brushed his lips against hers. He was thrilled when she didn’t pull away, instead, lifting her arms to encircle his neck. Her mouth opened, welcoming him in, and it was an invitation he couldn’t refuse if he wanted to, which he didn’t. His tongue sparred with hers as his cock grew hard against her hip.
“Eew, they’re kissing!”
Haven ripped her mouth from his, and they both turned to see a group of two dozen or so boys and girls, around six or seven years old, walking past their picnic table. Two women, one at the front and the other at the back of the line, had to be their teachers, taking them for a short field trip. Frisco had no idea which little boy had started them all giggling with his very loudannouncement, but it didn’t matter. Grinning, he glanced at Haven who was also laughing, despite her pink cheeks. “Busted.”
“Yup.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “But I know somewhere we won’t be interrupted ... and it’s got a bed.”
Standing with her in his arms, he set her on the seat of her chair. “How fast does that van go?”
“C’mon,Tara, hurry your ass up!” Halle McBride weaved through the pedestrians on the sidewalk, who were just starting their day. She’d woken up early, when it’d still been dark outside, and hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. Instead of just lying there, staring at the ceiling and listening to her sister snore, she’d woken Tara and their mother, Maryann, and convinced them to start the day early. They only had a few more days of vacation before returning to Michigan and the daily grind of school and work.
Her sister was a few feet behind Halle and their mom, trying to fix the broken zipper on her cross-body purse as she walked, not entirely watching where she was going. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”
“Halle, slow down,” their mom chastised. “If we miss the train, there’ll be another one shortly. Tara, watchwhere you’re going. You’re going to walk right into someone. I swear, it’s like you two are little kids again.” It wasn’t an insult since she was smiling and looking forward to the day trip to a place they’d only seen pictures of.
Wanting to make up for all the years when their vacations had consisted of outings to the local zoo or museums on free-admission days, or window shopping at the mall, the three women were soaking up everything they could. Paris had been fun, but having taken Spanish as her second language in high school and college, Halle was enjoying Madrid even more since she could understand most of what was being said around them. She’d even been able to flirt with their cute waiter last night during dinner at a little restaurant near their hotel.
With her internship starting two days after the current semester ended, she was glad the McBride women had been able to schedule their trip for spring break instead. Thankfully, Tara was now in college with Halle, so they both had fifteen days off instead of the nine days their local high school had. Next year, though, with Halle in law school, they didn’t know how much time they’d have. If it was only a week, they’d probably stay in the Western Hemisphere.
As they approached the Atocha station to catch the Cercanías train to San Lorenzo de ElEscorial, Halle glanced over her shoulder to make sure Tara was still with them. Still moving forward, Halle walked directly into someone coming out of the entrance to the building. “Oof!” She grasped the man’s arm to steady herself. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”
The Middle Eastern man glared at her and spat something in Arabic as he shoved her away from him with more force than necessary. Halle almost tripped and ended up on her ass, but her mom reached out and grabbed her around the waist, stopping her momentum. She gaped in surprise. “What the hell? I said I was sorry.”
The slender man stood about six foot two and wore loose-fitting, black pants and a white dress shirt. His hands were empty while a small knapsack hung down his back. An ugly scar from an old wound ran from his left ear to the middle of his cheek—his trim beard could only hide a small portion of it. His dark hair matched the color of his eyes—eyes that were boring into her with hate and venom. “Disgusting infidels,” he growled before striding away.
“Well, screw you too!”
“Halle, hush,” her mother said, pulling on her arm. “Ignore him. Let’s go.”
Having given up on the zipper, Tara had also seen the whole thing and chimed in. “Yeah, the last thing we need on our vacation is you getting stabbed or shot by apsychotic stranger. Don’t worry, someday the asshole will get his; karma’s a bitch like that.”
Staring after the man, Halle knew her mom and sister were right. In this day and age, with terrorists and madmen setting off bombs or walking into places and shooting everyone just for the hell of it, one couldn’t be too careful anymore. With a final, silent “fuck you,” to the rude bastard, she followed her mother and sister into the station. After they got their tickets and found the track they needed, Halle glanced around. “There’s a bathroom over there. I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” her mom said, checking her watch. “The train will be here in eight minutes.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t miss it.” Zig-zagging through the morning crowd standing on the platform, Halle made her way to the ladies’ room. The screech of brakes on a metal rail announced another train’s arrival as it flew into the station and came to a stop. The doors to the cars opened, and the people on board fought to exit while others pushed their way in.
After making use of the restroom’s toilet and washing her hands, Halle rubbed her hands under the hot air of a dryer on the wall. Striding to the door, she pulled on the handle and swung it open. The world detonated around her. A flash of bright light blinded her a split second before a thunderous roar filled theair, followed by screams. The heat was unbearable as Halle was thrown off her feet and backward into a wall. Pain exploded in her head. Falling to the floor, darkness overtook her as she managed to utter one word before going still. “Mom—”
“Haven ... Haven, baby, wake up.”
CHAPTER 16