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CHAPTER 13

JAXSON

Ring. Ring.

I grumble as I reach for my cell phone and see the general’s name flash across the screen. Fuck my life, this can’t be good.

Was I too hard on Aurora? Should I have minded my own fucking business?

Knowing I can’t ignore his call, I hit the green button. “Hello?”

It took forever to fall asleep last night because I couldn’t stop replaying my conversation with Aurora. “Did I wake you, Rivers?”

“No, Sir.” I rub a hand over my face. “Everything okay with Lykos?”

As much as I want to know how Aurora is doing after our visit yesterday, I don’t want to appear eager to ask questions. The general is very perceptive, and it would raise suspicions that his daughter is constantly invading my thoughts.

“He’s fine. Made himself right at home.”

“I was hoping he’d be a good fit.”

“Aurora asked me to call,” General Parks admits. Tiredness forgotten, I bolt upright and wait with baited breath for him to continue. “She asked me to have you come back over today, if possible.”

“Do you know what she wants?”

“No, and I didn’t ask.” He pauses. “I don’t know what happened between you two yesterday, but today was the first day I saw a glimpse of the old her.”

“General?” I need an explanation.

“She ate breakfast and smiled for the first time in weeks,” he says proudly. “Whatever you did, keep doing it.”

Little does he know, I’d do anything for Aurora. The more time I spend with her, the more her soul calls to mine. I’ll never press her for anything other than friendship, and if that’s all she ever offers, I’ll gladly accept the hand-out. Make no mistake, if she ever shows any interest, though, she’ll be mine. Either way, no one will ever touch her again without her permission.

“What time do you want me to come over?”

“As soon as you can. I don’t want to give her a chance to get inside her head and change her mind.”

Even though my heart is racing at the possibility of spending more time with Aurora. I pretend to ponder my schedule for the day.

“I have to meet up with the team before lunch.” I head toward the living room. “How about I grab a pizza and head over there after that? Around noon?”

“Perfect. Aurora likes supreme.”

“Supreme. Got it.”

General Parks clears his throat. “Appreciate it, Rivers.”

“I just hope I can help.”

“If anyone can, it’s you,” he says before disconnecting the call.

A million scenarios run through my head as to what Aurora could possibly want. Maybe she wants me to show her some more commands for Lykos, not that there’s much to show her. Yazzie told me to give her his number, and he’d be glad to give her some training techniques if there were more skills she wanted the Wolamute to learn.

Maybe she forgot some hand signals? Who cares? Either way, you get to see her again.

I step toward the bathroom when a knock at the front door stops me. “Fuck,” I mumble. This is what happens when you move into an apartment complex and live on the same floor as your entire team: easy access to each other at all hours of the day.

I should’ve bought a house.

I throw open the door and glare. “What do you assholes want?”

Carver sniffs the air. “I smell coffee.”

Bennett and Thomas push past me into the kitchen, with Carver right behind them.

“Can we come in?” At least Hudson has the decency to ask.

I throw up my hands. “Might as fucking well.”

Thomas throws a bag at me. “What crawled up your ass?”

I open the bag, and saliva pools in my mouth. Inside are two warm, freshly baked honey croissants. As Bennett passes out cups of coffee, I take a big bite and moan a little.

“Awe, is the Captain hangry this morning?” Carver teases.

“Fuck off,” I say without any heat.

“Any word from the general?” Hudson asks casually.

I swallow hard. I was hoping to talk to Aurora without telling the team to find out what she wants first, but I should’ve known one of them would ask. We all hate seeing her deteriorate.

“Just got off the phone with him,” I answer.

Thomas’ head snaps up. “When were you gonna fucking tell us?”

Felix Thomas is one helluva Marine, but he sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him. Normally, he can keep them in check. However, this assignment has him twisted inside. His sister was kidnapped by a close family friend when they were kids, and even though they eventually found her, she was never the same.

“Settle the fuck down,” I command. “I literally hung up with him right before you degenerates shoved your way in here.”

“Sorry,” he mutters.

“What’d he want?” Bennett asks. “Is there a lead on the Krukov family?”

I shrug. “He called on Aurora’s behalf.” I hold up my hand to keep them from interrupting. “He doesn’t know why, but she wants to see me.”

Hudson's brows furrow. “Do you think she wants you to take Lykos back?”

All eyes land on me. We were all a bit worried when we picked up the Wolamute. His size alone was enough to intimidate anyone, let alone Aurora.

I shake my head. “The general said that, and I quote, ‘She ate breakfast and smiled for the first time in weeks.’”

“Hell yeah!” Carver cheers. “I wonder what she wants.”

“No clue.” I finish off my pastry. “Will you dickheads get out of here so I can get ready to go? I need to stop for pizza on my way there, too.”

“Pizza?” Bennett asks, hopefully.

“No… No way,” I chastise. “I’m going alone. I’ll fill you all in later.”

“Roger that,” they say in unison.

Fifteen minutes later, they finish their breakfast and coffee. Hudson hangs back as the others head out. “Be careful.”

I clench my fists at my side. “Excuse me?”

Hudson rolls his eyes. “You’re falling for her .”

“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair. “Is it that obvious?”

He chuckles. “Remember, I see what others might not. Aurora’s fragile, she’s still healing.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I sneer.

Hudson holds up his hands. “You do, but you’re also a protector. You’re gonna wanna do whatever it takes to protect her. Don’t overwhelm her. It could do more harm than good.”

“In other words, ignore every instinct I have.”

He laughs. “Yep.”

“Shit.”

“That about sums it up.”

I flip him off when he walks out of the apartment, his laughter echoing down the hallway.

Ringing the doorbell at the general’s home, I shift on my feet with excitement like a teenage boy arriving for a first date.

This isn’t a date.

Aurora swings open the door, and my heart stops. There’s color in her cheeks today, and even though there are still circles under her eyes, they’re less prominent. She’s wearing leggings that hug her curvy figure and a purple t-shirt that makes her emerald eyes sparkle.

“Jaxson,” she greets shyly. “Thank you for coming.”

My brain misfires, and I mentally kick myself to jumpstart it. “Uh… Hi.” I shove the pizza box forward. “Your dad said you like pizza.”

You’re a complete fucking idiot! What are you twelve?

She giggles nervously. “I love pizza. Come in.”

I follow her into the house, noting Lykos is right beside her. I’m really distracted not to have seen the giant beast standing beside her. Hudson’s right, I need to keep my game face on. She leads me to the backyard to an outdoor dining area.

“I’ll grab us something to drink.” She rushes inside, returning a moment later with two cans of Coke, paper plates, and some napkins. “I hope this is okay.”

“Perfect.” I open the box. “I hope supreme is okay.”

“It’s my favorite.” She takes a bite and groans.

That sound sends a shockwave right to my dick. Obviously, he didn’t get Hudson’s memo about not overwhelming her. I try thinking about anything other than the sounds she’s making while she’s eating her pizza.

Dentists, the plague, taxes, running drills…

I pick up a piece of pizza. “How’d it go with Lykos last night?”

“First night that I didn’t have nightmares,” she admits. “Thank you for bringing him here.” She pauses, inhaling deeply. “I bet you’re wondering why I asked my dad to call you.”

“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready,” I reply before taking a drink.

“I want you to teach me to fight.”

Choking on my Coke, I stammer, “W-w-what?” Never in a million years did I expect to hear her say that.

“Fight,” she states matter-of-factly. “I want to be able to defend myself. I never want to feel vulnerable again.”

I puff out my chest. Instantly, Hudson’s words replay in my head, and I deflate.

She trusts me enough to teach her. How could I ever deny her that request?

“What do you want me to teach you?”

“Everything,” she says breathlessly.

“On one condition,” I stipulate.

“Okay?”

“We have to tell your dad.” I raise my hand. “Not to get his permission. This is your choice, and I’ll do whatever you need to feel safe. However, this is his base, and we’ll need to use the facilities. I feel better teaching you here in an environment I’m familiar with.”

She puts her hand out. “Deal.”

I slide my hand over hers, and electricity shoots up my arm. Her mouth drops open, and she pulls away quickly.

“When do you want to start?” I ask.

Aurora recovers from her shock. “As soon as we can.”

“Is your dad home?”

“He’s in his office.”

I collect our trash and toss it in the receptacle. “Let’s go talk to him.”

She pats her leg for Lykos to follow. The general’s door is open when we approach his office. “Dad,” she calls. “Can we talk to you?”

General Parks looks up from his computer. “Absolutely. Come in.”

It’s déjà vu all over again. I drop into the leather armchair with Aurora next to me. “I need to request to use some of the facilities on the base, Sir.”

General Parks sits back in his chair studying my face. “You don’t need my permission to use anything on the base, Rivers. You know that.”

“Not for me, General.” I gesture to Aurora. “For her.”

The general swings his gaze to his daughter. “What parts of the base would Aurora need access to?”

“Before he answers you,” she inserts. “I asked Jaxson to teach me to fight.”

Red slowly creeps up the side of his neck. “Fight?”

“Yes, fight.” She stands and walks over to him. “I need to be able to defend myself, Dad. You taught me a lot growing up, but everything you showed me was useless against them. Please Daddy, I need this.”

The general stands and pulls her into his embrace. “If this is what you need, then you can have it.” His eyes shift to mine. “Rivers, whatever you need access to, you let me know, and you’ll have it.”

“If you can get me the schedules of when the gun range, obstacle course, and gym will be in use, I’d appreciate it,” I rattle off. “I’ll also make sure we go during times that no one is around so we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”

“I’ll have that emailed to you by the end of the day.”

I hate to leave, but I need to get started on a game plan. Might be better if I inform the rest of my team what’s going on. As much as I would like to have Aurora all to myself, we’ve all perfected skills over the years, and she would benefit from learning from each of us.

I push out of my seat. “Aurora, are you okay with the rest of my team joining us? I think they’ll be able to help us out.”

“Um… sure,” she says hesitantly.

“If you ever get uncomfortable, we can kick them out. We’ll do this at your pace.”

She juts out her chin and narrows her brows in determination. “I’ll be fine.”

“Can I have your phone?”

She pulls it out of her pocket, unlocks it, and hands it to me. I type in my phone number and text myself before handing it back to her. “Now you have my number, and I have yours. I also put in Yazzie’s number.”

Her brows raise in question. “Yazzie?”

“He’s the one who raised and trained Lykos,” I explain. “Call him anytime if you have any questions.”

A smile tugs at her lips. “Thanks, Jaxson.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” I warn. “You might be cursing me to Hell by the time I’m done with you.”

The general roars with laughter. “You giving her the ol’ Marine welcome, huh?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Bring it,” she challenges.

“Don’t worry, I will.” I wink. “I’ll text you when I have all the details ironed out.”

The general steps around his desk. “I’m going to walk Jaxson out.”

Excitement courses through my body knowing I get to spend an undetermined amount of time getting to know Aurora.

Too bad you also got to share her with the rest of your team. Fuck!