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CHAPTER FIVE

“What gives?” Edge asked Casper after their meeting with the colonel. It had gone way longer than any of them had expected, and it was now after ten p.m.

“About what?” Casper asked, even though he had a feeling he knew exactly what his friend was referring to.

“You and Laryn. I didn’t miss that look you gave me when I kept her from falling on her ass. If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead meat.”

“Nothing.”

“Stop with the bullshit. You’ve been different around her ever since that incident after we picked you up in Iraq.”

Casper ran a hand through his hair. He was tired.

Stressed about the upcoming trials tomorrow night.

They were fun, but also harrowing. Not life-or-death harrowing, but hoping the helicopter performed the way it was supposed to so they could get on with their next mission was always nerve-racking.

A lot rode on his and Pyro’s ability to put the chopper through its paces, to make sure that, in the heat of the moment, when every life in the helicopter was on the line, it did what was asked of it .

“You gonna try to hit that?” Edge asked crudely.

Casper acted without thinking. He shoved his friend aggressively, making Edge have to take several steps back to keep his balance. It was a good thing the parking lot was empty, because having someone observe them fighting wouldn’t be good for either of them, or the Night Stalkers in general.

“Don’t talk about her like that!” Casper growled as he stalked closer to his friend.

Edge might be eight years older than him and in his early forties, but the man was just as capable of defending himself as Casper. If push came to shove and they ended up actually fighting, it would be an even match, and neither would come out of it without some serious injuries.

But Edge didn’t seem remotely willing to fight. He smirked and held up his hands. “Sorry, dude. Just had to make sure.”

“Make sure of what?” he asked.

“That you weren’t just fucking with her.

I like Laryn. Always have. She’s a hard worker and I respect the hell out of her.

If you were just looking to get laid, I would’ve taken you out.

Made sure you stayed away. But your reaction tells me everything I need to know about your intentions.

My only question is—why. Why now? What changed? ”

Casper did his best to rein in his anger at his friend. He actually appreciated that he was looking after Laryn. “Honestly?”

“Of course.”

“It was after we lost the chopper in Iraq. She met me on the flight deck, giving me grief like she always does. We went to talk, she wanted to know how the chopper felt when it was hit, why we weren’t able to avoid the RPG, everything about what happened.

But unlike in the past, she seemed…upset.

Her face went white when I described how we went down, and she literally started shaking.

It was in that moment when I realized that the stoic, grumpy mechanic face she’s always shown us, shown me , was a mask.

She cares about the choppers—of course she does—but when she learned about what happened after Pyro and I went down, how serious the situation was, it hit her hard. ”

“And?” Edge asked. “That doesn’t explain your interest in her now. Just because she was upset that you crashed—Er…landed hard, doesn’t explain why you all of a sudden seem to want to tear me a new asshole for touching her.”

“I’ve paid more attention to her over the last month, and she’s…She’s everything I’ve been looking for in a partner. In a woman. Hard-working, compassionate, funny, kind…and sexy.”

“Sexy? Laryn?”

Casper frowned at his friend. “Yeah. Those coveralls are hiding one hell of a body.”

“Huh. I hadn’t noticed.”

“Good. Keep not noticing,” he growled.

Edge laughed. “All right. I’ll buy all that.”

“I’ve been taking it slow. Trying to come to terms with all these new feelings, while also figuring out how to approach her. She’s a little prickly.”

“A little?”

It was Casper’s turn to chuckle. “Yeah. But I have a feeling she’ll be worth the chase.”

“As long as you aren’t chasing her just for sex. You can get that anytime, anywhere.”

“I know. And no, that’s not why I want to get to know her better.”

“Okay. Well…let me know if you need anything. I admire the woman. She’s pretty amazing.”

“She is. Now I need to call her and update her on what the colonel told us.”

“All right. You’ll be in tomorrow morning?”

“Of course. PT first, then we’ll meet back at the hangar to go over last-minute shit for the trials.”

Edge gave Casper a chin lift and headed for his car.

Casper leaned against the driver’s side door of his Taurus and pulled out his phone.

The parking lot was deserted and dark, but he wasn’t worried about anyone jumping him.

Not here on base at the hangar. For some reason, he didn’t feel like going back to his lonely, small apartment yet.

His heart was beating fast, and he was looking forward to hearing Laryn’s voice more than he was ready to admit out loud.

Everything he’d told Edge was correct. What he didn’t share was that when he and Laryn were in that meeting room on the ship, and he’d seen her shaking after hearing about his ordeal in Iraq, he also saw how relieved and emotional she was that he was all right.

Something had clicked in that moment. At least for him.

Close calls were a part of his life as a Night Stalker.

He worked in a dangerous profession and dealt with life-or-death situations all the time.

No one discussed it. No one in his circle really thought much about it.

It was just part of the job they all loved.

But seeing how relieved Laryn had been that he was alive and unhurt made him realize that the mechanic he’d worked with for years… cared if he lived or died.

It was an unforgettable feeling. One that sparked a sudden and almost jarring certainty that Laryn was meant to be his.

No one would believe him if he admitted it, but there it was. And he’d spent the last month trying to figure out what it was about her that drew him so much, especially considering she’d always been there, in the background…at least for the last three years.

He’d been an idiot. Hadn’t opened his eyes to the possibility that the woman who completed him was right there all this time.

And he’d struggled with the revelation. So…

he’d watched her closely, observing her at work, around her mechanics and his teammates.

Seeing what made her tick. Now he could admit the feeling he’d had on that ship wasn’t an anomaly.

And his curiosity and the feeling of being drawn to her had just gotten stronger .

Last night, he’d moved faster than he’d intended. Had shown his hand too early. He hadn’t meant to spook Laryn, and he needed to move slower, let her get to know him, to trust him before he tried to move things between them from the friend category to something more.

He clicked on Laryn’s name in his cell—he’d gotten her number when they’d returned from the mission that had destroyed his chopper, using the excuse that he needed to be able to contact her with issues as she retrofitted his new MH-60.

It rang several times, and when her voice mail clicked on, Casper frowned. Instead of leaving a message, he called right back. This time, she answered. But it didn’t sound like the Laryn he knew.

“Hello?”

“Laryn? It’s me, Casper…er…Tate. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

But he was already on the move. He’d opened his door and sat behind the wheel before thinking about what he was about to do.

“Don’t lie to me. What’s wrong?” He could tell by the shakiness of her voice that something was up. He just wasn’t sure she’d tell him. He’d be the first to admit that they weren’t exactly confidants. But he wanted to change that. Change a lot of things about their relationship.

“I just…Really, it’s fine. I’m good.”

She’d almost told him. As Casper pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward the base’s exit, he pushed a little harder.

“Talk to me, Laryn. I can hear in your voice that something’s wrong.

If you don’t want to tell me, okay, but don’t lie and say nothing’s going on when I can hear that something’s up. ”

“You don’t know me well enough to be able to say something like that,” she told him.

Casper wasn’t thrilled she still wouldn’t tell him what he wanted to know, but at least she was talking to him.

If she was talking, she was breathing, which was good.

“I know that you’re particular about your tools.

I know that you’re a marshmallow when it comes to stray animals and trying to find them homes, even though you can’t keep them yourself.

I know you’re a morning person and not a night person.

I know that you prefer to eat a big breakfast and a light dinner, and you’d rather not socialize with the soldiers and sailors onboard the naval carriers—my team included. ”

He could hear her breathing, but she didn’t respond right away. Relief hit Casper once he exited the base, because he could drive a little faster without worrying about being pulled over by the military police who strictly enforced speed limits on base.

“Laryn?”

“I’d love to have a dog. I want a beagle.

I’d name him Waffles, and he’d be a pain in my ass, but so cute it wouldn’t matter.

I don’t like the feeling of food sitting in my belly like a lump when I go to bed.

And it’s not that I don’t want to socialize with people on the ships we end up on; it’s that no one seems to want to socialize with me . ”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know.”

She sounded so sad. So lost. It made Casper’s heart hurt.

“Well, things are gonna change on that front. You’ll eat with us, and I’ll see if we can’t get you a berth in a room near us.”

“It’s fine, Tate. I don’t expect to be best friends with people on the ships. I’m a big girl. I am who I am, and if people don’t like me, I don’t care.”