Code Name: Luminous (24 page)

“That’s why I’m calling. Aircraft was in flight five minutes
ago.
ETA fourteen ten hours.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Course, what do you need?”

“Will you check in on Lumin for me?”

“Shit, Tony,
ya
think I haven’t
already? They released her this morning. She’s shaky, but she wanted out of the
plastic bubble something awful.”

He laughed. “I bet. I want her to stay at my place.”

Kayla chuckled.

“What? Oh shut the hell up, woman.”

Kayla’s voice altered to something akin to a teasing big
sister and said, “Picked out a ring yet?”

“What? No,” he drawled and paused. “Should I? Maybe I
should?”

“Tony, for
frig’s
sake, I’m
kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“Have you lost it? You’ve known her a millisecond. She
almost died and that scared you, but you’re going to have time to get to know
each other. Well…after stopping a pandemic and finishing off your seven-month
deployment.”

“No fucking way,” he hollered. “Kayla, you have to help me.
Can we get married over the phone?
Video call?”

“Whoa, Tinman, listen to me.
In fact,
standby one.”

“Petty Officer Callahan,” Mace answered.

Oh, for shit’s sake.
“Kayla, he’s standing fifteen feet away from me.”

“I know that,” she said, linking all three of them together
on a conference call. “But this is easier.”

Mace lifted his hand in a “what the fuck” gesture. “Mace,
talk to Tinman.”

Mace walked toward him. “What’s up?”

“I want you to go find Tinman’s good sense,” Kayla ordered.
“He’s obviously misplaced it. He wants to marry Lumin.”

Mace choked back a laugh. “Nothing wrong with that, is
there? She’s
hot,
probably keep him out of trouble for
the next fifty years.”

“He wants to marry her now,” Kayla announced.

“Now as in…now?
Ah, T-man,
ya
want to do that before or after we blow up a major
highway?”

“Now,” he said.

Mace cocked his head and his brows rose. “You’re not
kidding.”

“I’m not
kiddin
’.”

“You haven’t even asked her yet, Tony. It’s not exactly a
‘sweep a girl off her feet moment’ you’re planning.”

“She’ll say yes.”

Kayla stammered then said, “Mace, help me out here.”

Mace cleared his throat. “I think she might, Kayla.”

“You’re both stupid,” she spit at them.

He and Mace broke out laughing.

“Can we do one thing at a time, and this is not the time,
Tony.”

“I want her to have my name. What if something goes wrong?
She’ll get all my benefits. She’ll have my place. I know you guys will look
after her.”

“Tony,” Kayla yelled.
“
Gaaaah
.
Get on the phone, Nina.”

“Why am I on the phone?” Nina said, coming on the line.

“Hey, babe,” Mace said, winking at him.

“I’ve got a ton of shit to do. Hi, hot stuff,” Nina said,
the sound of papers shuffled close to the phone.

“Intervention,” Kayla said sharply. “Tony wants to ask Lumin
to marry him, as in now.
Right now.
As in get the
pastor, now.”

“T-man,” Nina screeched. “Seriously, that’s too cool.”

“Nina!” Kayla yelped.

“What? I think it’s sweet,” Nina said, siding with him.

Tony laughed knowing Kayla was
gonna
round out on him any second. “That’s three against one, Kayla.”

Kayla huffed. “Well, it’s going to be two against three and
Lumin’s vote evens it out. You need to spend time together. You’ve talked on
the phone, and spent some precious, if not earth-shattering, hours together,
but this is an important decision. Neither of you should jump into this like
crazy teenagers.”

Kayla was doing a good job voicing the concerns of a big
sister or his mom, who he didn’t talk to enough, but maybe he should. If Lumin
married him, she’d become part of his small, dysfunctional family. “What if I
ask her and she says yes?”

“Then,” Kayla paused. “Then you’re engaged, and it should
stay that way for at least a few months. She’s only twenty-four, Tony. Her
parents will no doubt want to be part of this. Not to mention they’ll want her
to finish her degree.”

He hated Kayla sometimes. She always managed to find the
weak point. “She can still do that while we’re married. In fact, she won’t have
to work anymore. Lumin can concentrate on school alone.”

“Tony,” Kayla shouted. “Do I have to get my husband on the
phone?”

“Oh sure, pull out the big guns.” He rolled his eyes and
Mace broke out laughing, and so did Nina. “Why the hell do you guys get to be
married and I don’t?”

“T-man,” Nina said, still chuckling, “you have to admit, we
kinda
knew our husbands for more than one day. I think
Lumin is perfect for you, but this is only a couple shades off a Las Vegas
shotgun wedding. Don’t you want to ask her when you’re face to face?”

“That could be months, Ninja girl.”

The looming task of controlling a virus settled on all of
them and no one spoke. Everything could change if they weren’t successful. He
and Lumin were immune to the virus, but millions weren’t, and he and the squad
could be months dealing with an international disaster.

“Thanks for the words of wisdom, girls.”

Nina said, “Good luck, T-man. I’ll take care of the mother
hen here.”

He hung up and Mace gave him a raised brow. “You’re
gonna
do it, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Ditz,” Mace yelled over his shoulder. “We need a laptop
over here for a video chat.”

“What for?”
Ditz asked as he
approached him.

“Just give it to him.”

Ditz shrugged and offered his. “Use this icon,” he said,
pointing at the screen.

“Thanks, man.” He took a big breath and hoped the stars were
all aligned. He sauntered over to a sizeable rock jutting from the sand
surrounded by tufts of tough grass that managed to find a will to live in the
hot terrain. He hunched down and sent Lumin a text to sign on to his computer
at home. Within a few seconds she answered.

Sure, standby.

A broad smile tightened his cheeks, and then the reality of
what he was about to do sent his heart into thumping beats.

“Hi,” she said, settling down in a chair at his kitchen
table. She moved slowly and winced a little.

“Hey, my lady.”
She looked a
thousand times better than when he’d been forced to leave her and rejoin the
squad.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her smile giving him courage.

A mirage of images lay out like a portfolio in his mind.
He’d never tire of waking up and turning over to see her smile and those eyes
first thing in the morning. He remembered the look of lost faith when she
thought she would die and he willed the heavens to let her live. Seeing her
ponytail flounce behind her when she’d crossed the casino lobby and knew she
was special. He clearly saw a lifetime with her and he closed his little black
book on bachelorhood.

“I’m doing all right, except I’d rather be there with you.”

“I’d have to agree.” She gave him a sweet wink. “I’d like to
know what that beard feels like on my cheek.”

“That might be a while,” he said and gave her a thoughtful
look.

“I understand.” She reached out her hand and slid a finger
down the screen. “I can use my imagination.”

He balled his hands, wishing he could hold her. “It won’t be
easy for us, but I know one thing for sure.”

She cocked her head, waiting.

“I always want to come home to you. I don’t need months to
figure out who we
are,
I know it’s going to be you and
me.” With a curled brow he said, “But if you need time, then we’ll take time.”

“What are you talking about, Tony? Of course we’ll have
time.”

He nipped at his lip. “Lumin, I wanted to ask you—”

“I can’t wait to introduce you to my parents. I think
they’ll love you.”

His request took a step back and then curled itself in a
corner. Meet her parents. Kayla’s lecture bit him in his “do the right thing”
ass. He was almost thirty-one. He’d lived. Lumin had just begun. She had
milestones she needed to cross, and he wanted to be there to see them, but
chances were he’d miss a lot of them depending on duty. Being a SEAL meant
missing a huge portion of their life together until he retired from active
duty, but he didn’t know when that would be.

His gaze fell to the rock.

“What’s wrong? My parents will get used to the fact that
you’re not Catholic. I know you said you want to become one. I promise it’ll be
all right, even if you’ve changed your mind.”

He nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. “I hope so.”

“Tony,” she paused. “Something is wrong, tell me.” Her
expression scrunched with worry.

“Just concerned about you.”
Which was the truth.
He looked over his shoulder to see the
squad milling by the river bank.
Duty first.
He
rebelled against the thought. He wanted Lumin to come first, but she never
would. Not in his world, even if that’s all he wanted. “We have to get moving.
I just wanted to check on you.”

“Okay,” she said meekly. “Tony, I’m going to rest up for a
few days, but I’ll be out of your apartment as soon as possible. I talked with
my brother today. He wants me to
come
stay with him
and his family.”

He grasped the edges of the laptop and looked into her eyes.
Did she think he wanted her gone? “I want you to stay near the base. Kayla and
Nina are close by. If you need anything call them. I don’t know when I’ll be
back, but my place is yours.” He swallowed heavily.
“Ours.”

“Ours?”

His nerves jumped like he’d drank a bucket of caffeine. He
must be confusing the shit out of her. This being a gentleman shit had rough
edges that were making him bleed internally. “I want you to do what’s right for
you. If it means you don’t think we’re a good fit—”

Lumin surveyed him for a moment. He didn’t have to wear his
heart on his sleeve when it came to this woman; it just marched on out of his
chest without permission.

“You called for a reason. Are you trying to tell me in a nice
way to hit the road?”

Her sweet voice reached out to him and nearly hit the
detonator button on his desires. “I just want you to be safe.”

She picked up a piece of paper and held it in front of the
camera. A list of eight names and telephone numbers, all of them women, some of
them with a short message but very definitive, made him wince. Pulling the
paper aside so he could see her again she said, “That was the first three
hours.” She shrugged. “I’ll leave it on the counter for you.”

“Throw it in the garbage,” he said quickly. “I didn’t call
to dump you. I called because I can’t stand it anymore. Twelve hours without
seeing you
is
too long.” He ran his tongue over his
dry bottom lip. The sun beat down on him and his body leached sweat inside his
fatigues. SEAL training taught a man to ignore uncomfortable, but his feelings
for Lumin seemed to grow even when he wasn’t in her presence. It sat somewhere
in the extreme yearning mode, or higher. He kept asking himself why. She was
beautiful, but so were a lot of other women. It made no sense, except for maybe
the thought that she had given her innocence to him. He had to honor that.
Age-old thinking, maybe even possessive, and there was no doubt it had hit him
hard when Ed had come on to her, and that was even before he’d touched her.

“Tony, stop worrying about me. You saved my life, now go
save the world.”

Good sense flew out the window, carried on the wings of
selfish need. He needed to know she was his.
Forever.
“Not until you agree to marry me because I can’t take on the world unless
you’re beside me.”

Lumin’s eyes grew into blue saucers. “What?” she said on a
whispery exhale.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and said, “Lumin
Edenridge, I promise I will do this right when we’re together again, but I’m
asking if you’ll marry me.”

Lumin leaned back in her chair. “You’re not kidding,” she
said, looking shell-shocked.

Maybe he should have listened to Kayla and Nina, they were
girls after all. “
Ahhh
, no, I’m not.”

“I—I mean we, we haven’t talked about things that matter.”

“Like what?” he said, seeing the guys milling; he knew he
had to get moving.

“Well,” she said, nervously. “Like children. Maybe you hate
children.”

“I don’t. I love Squirt and Kelsey and I want us to have a
family, but only when you’re ready,” he added.

“What about my schooling?”

“Finish it. I can support us both until you do.”

A nervous laugh escaped her and she shook her head. “I don’t
know what to say.”

“Say yes.”

“T-man, we
gotta
go,” Mace said
from behind him, then leaned over.
“Hey,
Lumin
,
how
ya
doing, girl?”

“I’m all right, Mace.”

Mace grinned at her. “Did you say yes?”

She laughed. “Not yet.”

“That’s what he deserves. Keep him dangling.”

“I don’t think I can.”

Tony held his breath waiting for the next part. Lumin
quickly scribbled something on the paper where she’d taken the messages. Slowly
she lifted it in front of the monitor and turned it. His blood pressure spiked
and he stopped breathing until the other side faced him. He let out a huge
breath and laughed, and Mace did too. It said, “Affirmative, T-man.”

“I love you, Lumin.” She gave him the sweetest smile. It
wedged itself in his heart and that’s where he’d keep it. “We
gotta
go, Mrs. Bale.”