Epic: Book 02 - Outlaw Trigger (12 page)

“
All of them. I couldn’t help myself.”

She poked at his side.

As soon as they neared the officers’ table, Clarke and Dostoevsky rose. “This must be the lovely Nicole,” Clarke said. He extended his hand, as soon as she took it, he lifted her hand to his lips. “You are as magnificent as anticipated,” he said as he kissed it. “It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”

Nicole blushed and glanced away. Then she bowed her head. “Thank you very much…”

“
I am Captain Nathaniel Edmond Clarke. You may call me Nathan.” The captain released her hand. “You have the luxury of
not
being bound to subordinate obligations.”

Nicole dipped her head again. “And you may call me Nikki, Nathan.”

“
As you would have it, Ms. Nikki, soon-to-be Remington.”

Nicole angled her head to Dostoevsky.

“
Nicole,” Scott said, “this is Commander Yuri Dostoevsky.”

Dostoevsky lowered his head and quickly looked away. “Mrs. Remington.”

She smiled as she shook his hand. “It’s close enough to say that, I suppose. Thank you so much for getting me through Customs.”

“
Will you be staying with us for long?” Clarke asked.

Nicole’s attention returned to the captain. “For ten days. Then I go back to the U.S. for another semester.”

“
What subject are you studying?”

“
Nursing. I have one more semester after this one. There’s a little work left after that, but it’s moving along.”

“
Will you move here to
Novosibirsk
then?”

She frowned, looking back at Scott.

Scott’s eyes were already distant. Would she move to
Novosibirsk
? She was about to be his wife. They couldn’t live on separate continents. But what choice did they have? Could he get a transfer somewhere else? What if they
had
no choice? “We’re still figuring that out,” he said. “We have a lot to figure out, but we will.” He squeezed her hand. “We will.”

Nicole forced her frown away. “We will,” she said. She entwined her fingers around his.

“
Brilliant,” Clarke said. “If there’s one bit of advice I can offer the two of you, it’s this. Never let love go. Trials may seem impassable, but you can overcome. This coming from a man who’s been married for ten years.”

Scott’s mouth fell open. Had Clarke just said he was married?

Clarke looked at Scott and chuckled. “This surprises you, lieutenant?”

“
I never knew that, sir…”

“
That’s because I never make mention of it. My work life and my private life are entirely different entities. But yes, I have a lovely wife and two beautiful daughters.”

“
They live
here
?”

Clarke nodded. “In Novosibirsk, the city itself. Even though I could if I wanted to, I’d never let her live here on base. I visit her as often as time allows—we speak every day. What, did you think I was
always
in my quarters when I wasn’t around? I spend quite a few nights back at home.”

Scott was astounded. That absolutely floored him. All this while, he’d thought the captain was retiring to his quarters every night. “I don’t know what to say, sir.”

“
Ask me how I did it.”

“
How did you do it?”

“
We never let love go. When I was assigned here, she took a chance and moved with me from London.” He smiled. “And here we are.”

Within a span of seconds, Scott’s respect for Captain Clarke grew tenfold.

“
Well,” Clarke said, “as much as I’m sure the two of you would love to chinwag with us all day, I’m certain you’ve got some catching up to do with one another.”

“
Yes sir,” Scott said. “That we do.”

“
Then cheerio to the both of you. Don’t let us see you anymore today. That’s an order.”

Scott had no problem with that one. Nods were exchanged, and Scott and Nicole turned away.

“
I had no idea he was married,” Scott said as he led her out of the lounge.

“
That’s amazing,” Nicole answered. “She must really love him.”

Scott’s gaze distanced again as he heard her words.
She
must
really
love
him.
Was Novosibirsk really that far? Could Nicole love him that much?

She squeezed his hand. “Almost as much as I love you.”

Alleviation. To hear her say that relieved everything. They could make it that far. God had put them together for a reason. God put Scott in
Novosibirsk
for a reason. Everything would go as planned. “We’ll figure this out.”

“
I know. I trust you.”

As they passed through the bunk room, several of the operatives offered their goodbyes. Scott gave a special wink to Galina, who quietly replied, “You owe me.”

“
I like your unit,” Nicole said as they stepped into the hallway. “I like Nathan.”

Scott laughed. He wasn’t used to the captain going by first name alone.

“
His voice is sexy.”

That caught his attention. “What?”

She looked at him coyly. “His British accent is sexy. You’d better watch out.” Her eyes returned ahead, and she cleared her throat. When she spoke again, it was in a mock-British accent. “I could get accustomed to his presence.”

“
You keep dreaming about that.”

She giggled and squeezed his hand. After several seconds, her face grew serious again. “I don’t like your commander, though.”

“
Dostoevsky?”

“
Yeah. I know he helped me get here and all, but…I got a wierd vibe from him.”

Scott laughed. “I hate to make you think you’re not special, babe, but everyone gets a weird vibe from him.”

“
He wouldn’t look me in the eyes.”

Scott’s brow furrowed. Dostoevsky never had trouble with eye contact. Confrontation was the commander’s middle name. “I’m sorry. I guess that’s just how he is.” They walked for a moment longer, before Scott nudged her side. “He was probably blinded by your beauty.”

She laughed. “Right. Because he really looked nervous.”

Scott looked at her appreciatively. That was what he missed. He missed her laugh. He missed her wit. He missed her everything. “It’s good to have you back, baby.”

“
It’s good to have you back, too.”

It felt like she hadn’t been gone a day. Every bit of love, every bit of familiarity. It all fell into place as though neither of them had skipped a beat. The touch of her hand was as warm as ever. Nothing had changed at all.

_{* * *}

1542 hours

For the next hour and a half, Scott and Nicole lay awake in bed. It brought back so many fond memories, her being there beside him. It brought back so much normality. The touch of her skin, the fullness of her hair. They were part of his senses just as much as they were part of her body. He still could hardly believe she was there.

“
What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“
You.” The truth was broader. He was thinking about them. He was thinking about marriage. He was thinking about
Novosibirsk
. Somehow, all three of those would have to fit together. They would have to harmonize. He just didn’t know how.

“
Just me?”

His hand got lost in her curls. “Maybe a little bit more.”

She nestled in at his side, turning her dark blue eyes to watch him. “Like what?”

It was an easy question to pose. It was an impossible one to answer. To even ask, ‘How are we going to make this work?’ would be to indicate doubt. It opened the door to the possibility that there was no answer. That was unacceptable. “Just thinking about what we need to do.”

“
What do we need to do?” she asked. Her gaze trailed to his lips, then it returned to him.

“
I don’t know.” It was a truthful answer. He regretted not having something else to say. “I’ll put in for a transfer.”

“
When?”

“
Just before the wedding.”

Her fingertips traced the edge of his neckline. “When will that be?”

When would that be? It was the same question he’d asked himself every night for months. “There’s so much to think about.”

Her gaze settled down, and her head rested in the crevice of his shoulder.

There
was
much to think about. She had school left. He was already in the middle of his career; her future stared her dead in the face. How could their paths co-exist?

“
Let’s elope,” she said.

Scott’s mind stopped. He tilted his head to read her. “What?”

“
I’ve been thinking about it…for a while now, but especially since Nathan said that today. His wife moved here so they could be together.”

He propped himself up on his elbow. Was she serious? “Baby, what about school?”

“
I’ll transfer,” she answered. “I’m sure there must be a university with nursing courses here. I’ll transfer my credits and enroll.”

“
Sweetie,” he tried not to laugh, “it’s not like moving to another neighborhood. This is the middle of Russia. This is nowhere.”

“
I know,” she answered, “but God called you here, and He called us together. I’m ready to make this work.”

She was crazy. Was she crazy? “When are you talking about doing this?”

“
Now.” She nuzzled against him. “Before I go home. This next week.” Her fingers danced over his chin.

“
But this is
Russia
, baby. You can’t even speak Russian.” It went even beyond that. Nursing school was hard enough in her native language. Though she never admitted it, he knew that her grades had been slipping. But in Russian? She’d never stand a chance.

Her face softened, and she closed her eyes. “I’ll learn. I’m pretty good at foreign languages. I learned French pretty quick.”

“
Sweetie…”

When her eyes opened, they glistened. “Scott, please. This isn’t something I thought of five minutes ago. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, for weeks, for months. About the possibility. And when Nathan said that today, it just sounded so obvious. I don’t know what else to do. They wouldn’t even assign you to
Detroit
Station
, so what makes you think they’ll grant you a transfer?”

“
I’m an officer now.”

“
Yeah.” She almost laughed. “In
Novosibirsk
. Do you understand that, Scott? God put you
here
. He didn’t put you in Michigan. He didn’t even put you in America. I’ll move here on base. You heard what Nathan said, that’s allowed.” She continued before he could cut her off. “You always talk about God’s will, and how you felt all of this was so right. I’m trusting you, Scott. Let me trust you.”

He sighed and glanced away. She didn’t know what she was asking. “Baby…”

She guided his face to look at hers, and spoke to him in a whisper. “God is putting you in the places you need to be. He’s putting me there, too. Let’s trust Him together.” Before he could answer, a smile broke from her lips. “So, Scott Remington…will you marry me…now?”

His heart melted.
God is putting you in the places you need to be.
Those were the words she’d always told him. Maybe she was right. Maybe this was their destiny together. Maybe everything that was their future hinged on this decision. She felt it was right. He had his doubts, but she was determined. She wouldn’t have asked about it if she weren’t. And for the first time since his first day at
Richmond
, there was a solution on the table. There was a way they could be together.

There was a way.

How else could he answer her question?

“
Okay,” he said. “You say you’ve thought about this—and I believe you. I’ll trust you, too.” He held onto her hand. “Yes, Nikki. I will marry you—now.” As soon as he said it, he felt a burden on his chest lift away.

Nicole smiled contentedly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close. “I love you.”

That statement required no hesitation. “I love you, too.” Enough to trust her. “Let’s take a few days to figure this out. Not to talk ourselves out of it. Let’s figure out how to do it.” Somehow. Some crazy way. But a way nonetheless.

She quietly nodded her head.

For the next several hours, Scott and Nicole lay side by side. Few words were spoken, but few words needed to be. The tunnel still stared at them from ahead, but for the first time, there was a thin horizon of light at the end of it. There was hope. There was a chance.

There was the two of them.

Clarke’s orders were fulfilled to the letter. No one else saw them that day.

8

Friday, August 5
^th
, 0011 NE

1945 hours

Alexander Nijinsky stood outside, behind the back of the hangar. He had been there for quite some time, blowing the scented vapor of a metallic sprig from his lips. In his free hand sat the picture. The face of the woman—the one who would come.

She had a beautiful essence about her. She was young. She smiled like a sunrise. It was a professional picture, and he wondered how Dostoevsky had gotten it. He wondered who the young woman was. But none of it mattered. She was the Rule. That was all Nijinsky needed to know.