Two Weeks With a SEAL (The Wakefield Romance Series) (23 page)

"Chief," he
said with a smile, looking over his shoulder at me as Reno and I kept our eyes
peeled and our guns trained on the guys within sight, "guys in the tower
are mine."

"Alright
Rooster," I said, sending the go ahead over the radio, squeezing Randy's
shoulder signaling for him to go through the fence, "just make sure they
don't fall on one of our guys."

He gave me another
famous Randy smirk and took out the guys in the tower with two quick shots from
his M-4, Reno and I leading the way around the closest building as other gun
shots rang out from our other team members. We met up with Black and Timmons,
following them into the largest building as Randy brought up the rear.

Our instructions were to
take out only the aggressive ones, leaving the trembling drug mules kneeling on
the floors as we passed. It was a mechanical response taking out the armed
guards with quick accuracy.

Timmons broke down the
door at the back of the building and we filed in. Randy took out one guy as he
came from a closet and I planted a bullet between the eyes of a man screaming
at us, lunging with a machete from a dirty mattress. In that room we found the
CIA agents and they were in bad shape. Both men had been tied to chairs, beaten
mercilessly and drugged into stupors with opiates.

"Aw, fuck
man," Randy had said, keeping an eye out on the door back into the
warehouse to make sure we weren't ambushed by any stragglers as Black and
Timmons untied the two men, throwing them over their shoulders. The all clear
came over the radio and I signaled to our pick up helicopter team to meet us at
the rendezvous spot in five.

Taking the point, I keep
my M-4 up as we make our way back through the warehouse, the drug mules still
mostly on their knees and trembling as we pass with Randy at the rear once
more. Leaving out the door we came in, a rusty old army truck whips up in front
of us, French at the wheel.

"Get the fuck
in," he yells just as I hear our surveillance eyes in the sky say there
are more enemies coming our way fast. We all jump in the bed of the truck as
more of our team members follow suit.

"Throw the flaps
up," I yell, motioning to the men to push the green canvas flaps up and
out of our vision. I kept our pickup team informed as to where we were as we
sped towards the lift off point, seeing a few Jeeps slide into view behind us,
racing through the now decimated drug camp.

"Eyes open
Rooster," I say, nodding for Randy that they were on our tail and he
tapped one of our other 'brothers' on the shoulder, getting him to bring his
sniper rifle to his shoulder. A silent gunshot out the back of our speeding
truck and two seconds later the first Jeep lurched and rolled uncontrollably,
exploding as it's gas tank struck a tree roadside. For a second the men cheer,
but French, Black and I know there are still two Jeeps after us and sure enough
they speed through the flames, the passengers firing at us.

"Frag out,"
Randy yelled, pulling the pin in his grenade and tossing it out the back of the
truck just as our driver swerved towards the pickup point. He had perfect
timing as his grenade landed and the Jeep behind us drove over it just as it
exploded, sending the vehicle lurching ahead and head over heels, blocking the
road. I shook my head as Timmons high-fived Randy as our transportation came to
a screeching halt, the hum of helicopter blades kicking up the dirt around us.

We loaded the two
injured CIA agents into one of the Seahawk SH-60's, the team loading into the
other two with Randy sitting beside me as he always did. "Did you fuckin
see that Chief?" he almost cooed, letting out a cheer and slapping his
hands together.

I had just chuckled at
him, shaking my head as I unhooked my helmet from around my chin, setting in on
my lap and tugging my gloves off. He rolled his eyes at me, "Ray would be
congratulating me on an awesome throw." He hit me where my heart was,
mentioning Rhea and he knew it, giving me an evil smirk as Black, French,
Timmons and Reno all became very, VERY silent.

Now sitting here, wrapped
up in our warm sheets with Rhea draped over my chest as she moves her cheek to
rest over the middle of my body, I know she would've been proud of her brother.
Hell, she is proud of him even though I can't tell her any of the stuff we
really did. She's not stupid, I know that. She knows that I'll be sent to a far
off place to fight some bad men in a secret, information buried by the
government kind of mission. I brush the hair from her face, tucking it behind
her ear and the sigh that came out warmed my heart, making me melt all over.

I already had my
retirement papers in motion, to go into effect after this next mission, Reno
filing his right along with me. We were both thirty and ready to settle down
more, the Navy offering us desk jobs within NCIS and we had both happily
accepted. Reno had his budding family with Rosa now pregnant and I wanted to be
with Rhea as much as possible.

I wanted a family as
well. Rhea and I haven't really talked about having kids, but I know she wants
them. She'd be a great mom, plus anything that is half her is bound to be
beautiful whether its male or female. The thought of her with a baby on her hip
makes me smile wide, running my hand through her hair and over her shoulder,
brushing my fingertips lightly over her bare spine feeling her shiver.

I sigh and she stirs,
rolling around slightly, coming to a rest as her nose and lips lay against my
cheek. "Mmmm," she mumbles and I can feel her lips moving lightly on
my scruffy cheek, placing tiny kisses along my jaw, "why are you awake
baby," she asks and her voice is the sexiest, sleepiest thing I've ever
heard. Her hand runs along my chest, taking an extra second to circle above my
heart, squeezing into my right shoulder as she snuggles tighter to my side.

"Jus thinkin,"
I say, kissing her forehead as she tips her head back, her blue-gray eyes
barely open with a smile caressing her luscious lips. I run my hand over her
cheek and it makes her look tiny. So fragile but I know she isn't. She is one
of the strongest souls I know.

"Thinkin' bout
what," she grinned, her tongue darting out to lick her bottom lip as she
tilted her head back even farther, her nose brushing my jaw as she peered at
me.

"How crazy you
drive me," I chuckle, covering her face in wet kisses in under five seconds,
her giggles and squeals breaking the silence in the room. I rolled to my side,
wrapping my arms around her shoulders, pulling her face into nuzzle against my
neck, her giggles still running through her chest as her hands rub on my chest.
"Now go back to sleep babe," I whisper, kissing the top of her head,
"it's only six in the mornin'."

"Okay," she
sleepily agreed and I feel her snuggle closer to me, her arms wrapping around
my waist, her nose resting against my throat just under my Adam's apple.

I waited till her
breathing was even and deep once more before I relaxed totally, wanting her to
rest was more important than my own. I laid my cheek on her hair, taking in the
scent of her coconut shampoo and closing my eyes, feeling her heart beat under
her chest as it pressed tightly to mine.

That was my heart in
there.

That was my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhea

The BIC pen in my hand
shook violently as I tapped it on the legal pad I was scribbling on. I kept my
eyes on the door, watching Chad play Halo sitting on the floor in the living
room as I sit here in the spare bedroom at my old desk, scrawling out a letter
I plan to stick in his pocket when I say goodbye to him Monday morning. I had
already written down two pages worth, front and back, filling the margins with
stupid mind-occupying doodles when I stopped to think of what to write next.

I was spilling my heart
into this hand written letter. I was filling it with twenty years of
heart-wrenching love and longing and two weeks’ worth of over flowing
happiness. I hear Chad get up and I quickly shove the legal pad into the top
drawer, pulling out the book I had to make it seem like I was reading just as
his face peeks around the door frame.

"Hey baby," he
smiles at me, his hair down and wavy, his blue eyes sparkling with the sun that
came through the window.

"Hey," I say,
returning his smile and setting the book aside, "what's up?" As he
came into the room and leaned on the dresser, I couldn't help but let my eyes
roam his body. He had on a form fitting thermal long sleeve tee, his dark jeans
being snug enough to show off his butt and, well, you know. As he crossed his
arms over his chest his muscles bulged, making my mouth water and I see a smirk
on his lips as my eyes finally reach his.

"You wanna go get
some lunch," he asked, reaching out and brushing his knuckles along my jaw
and I lean into his warm touch nodding my head slowly as his thumb caresses my
cheek. My heart ached with the amount of love I have for this man. "Alright
hun," he smiles, leaning down to kiss my lips lightly, "Go get your
sweatshirt and we'll get some lunch."

I lazily put on my fake
Uggs, throwing my Virginia Tech sweatshirt on and headed out the door, locking
up behind me as Chad pulls the truck from the garage. I don't ask where we're
going, I just slide on in the truck, pushing up the center console to snuggle
up to him, watching the road fly by as we head out of town.

We sing along to the
radio, Chad belting out Randy Hauser's "Boots On" while I badly
impersonate Reba McEntire's "Fancy". It feels good to just hang out
with Chad this way. It feels right. It's a cloudy sort of day with the sun
peeking out every once in a while as we go through a bunch of back roads,
ending up in the nearby town of Waverly.

I smiled as soon as Chad
pulled the truck into a small plaza.
Boy did he love his Chinese food
, I
thought, spying the Golden King Chinese Buffet sign hanging over the entrance,
lit up like a Christmas tree. I giggle out loud as he puts it in park and he
just looks down at me, the arm around my shoulders shaking me a little,
"What's so funny," he smirks.

"You," I say,
poking him in the side before quickly sliding over and jumping from the cab of
the truck before he can retaliate. He meets me at the front of the truck,
wrapping his arms around my waist and spinning me around making me squeal with
delight.

"I jus wanna eat as
much comfort food as I can cuz in a couple of days I might be back on
MRE's," he points his index finger at his open mouth, making a vomiting
motion and it makes me laugh. The smells waft our way, making us both give an
audible "mmmmm" sound making us laugh at each other as he holds the
door open for me.

The buffet was pretty
much empty of customers except for an elderly couple sitting near the window
and I had to laugh at the way the woman kept peeking over her husband’s
shoulder to look at Chad. It was so cute. The food at this restaurant was
fantastic, Chad going up for plate after plate. I lost count after he came back
with his possible fifth one, piled high plate with Lo Mein and General Tso's
chicken.

Chad and I were deep
inside a re-telling of a childhood story when I spied the elderly couple
getting up and heading our way to leave, the woman's eyes on the back of Chad's
head. She stopped at our table, pulling our attention to her, "May I say
something dears," her sweet little Southern accent rolled over us and I
see a genuinely sweet smile cross Chad's lips as he nods. "You two make an
awful pretty couple," she cooed, patting her hand on Chad's shoulder.

"Why thank you
ma'am," he said, his hand patting over hers and pausing there for a split
second, sending a blush through the woman's pale skin. She smiled at me,
scurrying away as her husband called for her from the register, turning to wave
at us from the door. We both waved back and Chad returns his gaze to mine with
a wicked smile on his bearded face.

"I'll never get
tired of that," he says, shoving a forkful of noodles in his mouth,
flashing his blue eyes up to me.

"Me neither,"
I say quietly, my face blushing just like the old woman's had as I push my fork
around in the food on my plate. I suddenly had too many butterflies in my
stomach to eat anymore and I reached for the bill. I pulled money from my
wristlet and slid out of the booth, popping a piece of chicken in my mouth from
Chad's plate. The woman behind the counter smiled nicely at me, taking the
money and giving me a receipt then telling me in broken English to 'stay right
there' while she disappeared behind a swinging door into the kitchen.

I looked over the Chad
who gave me a questioning look and I just shrugged my shoulders, turning back
to see the woman approaching with a brown paper bag, setting it on the counter
in front of me. "Tis fo you," she said, pushing the bag towards me with
a smile. I pulled the bag from the counter, peering inside to see take-out
containers of all shapes and sizes, labeled with black marker.

"But we didn't
order…"I started to say but she waved her hand, stopping me.

"No, no," she
said, looking over to Chad, "you husband like so much, you take
home." Well paint me purple. Chad's appetite had earned us free food.
Enough to last me a week and a half. I thanked her again and headed back to
Chad, setting the bag on the table as he wiped his mouth.