Page 24

CHAPTER TEN

Casper’s call with the manager of Anchor Point was frustrating.

He’d told the man everything that Laryn had seen and done, but without proof, the manager was reluctant to simply fire Barb.

She’d never had any complaints about her in the past, and she was apparently a hard worker.

There were no security cameras pointing at the bar that would prove she’d drugged his shot, and he argued that he couldn’t simply take Laryn’s word for what happened over that of his employee.

It wasn’t a surprise, but it was still frustrating.

His teammates’ reactions were more satisfying.

They.

Were.

Pissed .

He had to reassure each of them that he was fine, that Laryn had done what she’d needed to do in order to make sure he was away from Barb the Bitch and safe.

“She’s done,” Pyro had told him in a fierce tone.

Casper didn’t bother asking what that meant; he didn’t need to. By the time Pyro was done with her, the woman would be gone from Anchor Point…and probably from the Norfolk area, as well.

Next up on his list of people to call was his twin.

Nate answered after only one ring. “You okay?”

Casper was right; Nate had known something was up. “Yeah.” He gave his brother the quick and dirty details about what had happened. Including how he’d woken up and had absolutely no recollection of the incident and how disorientating that had been.

“But you’re all right now?”

“Yeah. Thanks to Laryn.”

“Are you sure she wasn’t in on it? That she and this Barb bitch weren’t working together?”

Anger rose hard and fast within Casper. “What the fuck, bro? No! She wasn’t working with Barb!

I can’t believe you’d even say that. I’ve known Laryn for three years, and I have no doubt whatsoever that she has my back.

She literally has my life in her hands because of the work she does on my helos.

If she wanted to hurt me, she’s had more than her fair share of chances to do just that. ”

“She could’ve been doing what she accused the waitress of doing. Trying to trap you.”

“You’re making me regret calling you, Nate. Laryn’s too honest to do something so awful. If she was interested in me, she’d just come out and tell me.”

“Would she?”

Something in his brother’s tone had Casper pausing.

“All I’m saying is, I saw the two of you together on that naval ship, after you rescued Josie, Kevlar, and me.”

“Yeah, you saw her sniping at me for crashing her helicopter,” Casper retorted.

“Yes, but it was the way she looked at you. With relief. She was using anger as a shield. ”

The argument Casper had ready got stuck in his throat. “How do you know?”

“Because I’ve got eyes. Look, you guys have worked together for years. You’re amazing. Good-looking, if I do say so myself…”

Casper snorted. Since he and Nate were twins, it was hilarious his brother even said that in the first place.

“And you’re polite, appreciative, and kind.

Why wouldn’t she fall for you? And if you showed no inclination to return any feelings she might have for you, always giving her shit like she’s one of the guys, why would she open herself up to possible rejection?

Seems like one sure way to have you for herself is to get knocked up…

just like she claimed that waitress was trying to do. ”

Casper was done listening to his best friend, his flesh and blood, denigrate the woman who’d been there for him again and again.

Who’d gone out of her way to make sure he was safe.

Who’d calmed the anxiety coursing through his blood when he’d woken up with no memories of what had happened to him the night before.

“She’s not like that. I’ve never been a POW, but I imagine when you realized what had happened after you were captured, you were as stressed out as you’ve ever been,” Casper said in a low, controlled tone.

“You didn’t know what the future held, you were probably confused, hurting, and even scared.

And then you realized you weren’t alone.

That Josie was there in that cell next to yours.

It gave you a focus. Something else to concentrate on.

That’s how I felt, Nate. Adrift, disorientated, anxious.

And then I turned my head and saw Laryn, and I realized I was safe.

She’d never let something happen to me when I’m up in the air in one of her babies, and she’d never let anything happen here on the ground.

And since when did you get so damn chatty, anyway?

I think I liked it better when you weren’t talking,” he finished, sounding like a three-year-old who’d just had his favorite toy taken away.

Instead of getting pissed at him for his honesty, Nate simply chuckled. Then asked, “When we were in Iraq after that chopper went down, remember how I told you that I didn’t know where Josie was from, or anything about her except that she was mine?”

“Of course.”

“When I’m with her, I feel the way you just described feeling when you woke up with Laryn.

Safe. And I’m sorry. I was kind of playing devil’s advocate there.

Wanting to make sure about Laryn. My advice for you?

Don’t get lost in your head. If you like your mechanic, go with it.

Don’t second-guess yourself or your feelings.

She could be the best thing that ever happened to you, like Josie is for me.

Doesn’t matter that it took three years for you to see what was right under your nose. Just that you finally did.”

“Yeah,” Casper agreed quietly.

“I want to meet her. I mean really meet her, not just in passing like we did on that ship. I expect you to make that happen, Tate.”

“Not sure what’s going on with us,” he hedged, even though he knew what he wanted to happen between them. “Or when I’ll get the time to go out to California. We’re headed back to the Middle East in less than a week.”

“Shit. Keep me in the loop if you can,” Nate ordered.

“I will. Same goes for you.”

“Yeah. Tate?”

“Still here.”

“Glad you’re all right. It sucked on my end when you went blank. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I’d like to be able to thank Laryn one day.”

“I’d like that too. Stay safe, bro.”

“You too. Later.”

“Later.”

Casper hung up and took a deep breath. Nate’s needling to try to make sure Laryn had his best intentions at heart was annoying, but he understood where his brother was coming from. That he was simply trying to protect his twin.

He thought back to that moment in the mountains between Iran and Iraq, when Nate had looked him in the eye and claimed that Josie was his, even though he’d just met her.

If he recalled correctly, Josie wasn’t even speaking at the time because of the trauma she’d been through, and yet his brother still knew without any doubt that she was the woman for him.

Casper wasn’t there yet with Laryn, but he could admit that he’d never felt about another woman the way he did about her. He’d never felt as if he could completely let down his guard with anyone else he’d dated. She had his back, one hundred percent, she’d proven it time and time again on the job.

Others might argue that any good mechanic would do the same thing…

make sure that nothing was wrong with the choppers they maintained.

But Casper had experience that said differently.

Laryn was also the first person to greet him when he got back from a mission, wanting to know if anything felt off about the chopper, how she performed, if there was anything he thought needed to be tweaked.

But it felt personal…as if she cared more about checking on him than her precious helicopters.

And thinking back over the years, at the ribbing and teasing they always engaged in, he realized what his brother said was right on the mark.

He always fell back on their tried-and-true way of communicating because it was easy and familiar.

And because he wasn’t sure how to let Laryn know how much he appreciated what her concern meant to him.

He was like a third-grader pulling the hair of the girl he liked.

Or chasing her around the schoolyard. Or putting a frog in her lunch box.

And that shit was going to stop. Now. Today.

He’d taken the first step by asking her out, but there would be no more needling her from his end.

She was a professional, a damn good mechanic, and she didn’t need him interfering with her job.

Thinking about Laryn and how she did everything in her power to keep him safe when he flew, had him wanting to return the favor.

He wasn’t sure if Altan Osman was really a threat, but his gut was screaming at him that something was wrong there.

He also hated that Laryn had been so discontent, she’d contemplated finding another job.

It was time to call Tex.

John Keegan, known as Tex to just about everyone, was a former SEAL who’d lost part of his leg and been medically retired.

Since then, he’d spent his time working for the government and independently, assisting in locating those who were kidnapped, taken captive, or who’d simply disappeared.

He had a soft spot in his heart for special forces members and their families, and word was that he’d helped to find dozens of people, bringing them back home safe and sound.

But he did more than find lost people…he was a computer genius, which was how he was able to track down the missing in the first place.

Casper heard he had a room in his basement filled with computer screens that blinked with trackers Tex had given some of his closest friends and their families, just to keep an eye on them.

He was able to hack into traffic cameras, phone records, social media accounts, emails, government computers, and otherwise get into the most protected and closed-off records to obtain any kind of information necessary.