ROMANCE: BIKER ROMANCE: Werewolf Rider (MC Shifter Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult Paranormal Romance Short Stories) (127 page)

Chapter Two

“Fire in the Hole!”

There was the tense pitter-patter of machine gun fire all over but Cole could still hear Jimmy’s desperate cry. He didn’t even question it and instinctively jumped out of the way.

Cole had seen the grenade as it was tossed their way even before Jimmy had screamed out the warning. Cole managed to jump out of their foxhole. He felt sand, pebbles, and dust hit his face as he dove away. After a few very long seconds, he heard the sound of the explosion as the grenade went off.

“Shit! Jimmy! Storm! Turner! Wildman!” Cole cried out.

Cole rattled off names of his fellow SEAL Team 7. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and a host of feelings were running through him. Fear, tension, worry, anger, confusion, they were just the ones on the top of his list.

“Jenkins! I’m hit!”

Cole turned around to where he heard the voice. It was Jimmy. He was coughing up blood and he looked horrific. Blood was pouring from his chest, there were pieces of shrapnel lodged all over his body and his face was contorted in pain and agony. The other members of Cole’s squad were all hiding under whatever cover they could find. The Taliban had them cornered, they were sitting ducks.

“Medic! Medic! Damn it, Jimmy is hit!” Cole yelled.

After seconds that seemed like a lifetime, the medic scrambled over to where they were. The bullets were still flying everywhere but he made it. Cole could only watch as the medic tried to stop the bleeding but there was just too much blood loss. Jimmy was in bad shape, and he would bleed to death if they stayed where they were.

Cole cursed under his breath. He could not bear to see his SEAL brother quickly approaching death. There had to be something he could do, he didn’t allow any option other than a successful mission,
ever
. That’s why he was Team leader. He could think, fight and finagle himself out of any situation, and had been given the nick-name ‘Sly’ to show for it. He moved like a wolf, steady, stealth, and often made great fun of sneaking up on his brother SEALs.

“Bastards!”

Cole whirled around. It was Wildman. They had always joked about Wildman and how his name fit his personality to a “T.” He was a loose cannon. Someone who took too many unnecessary risks and acted out of raw emotion. But somehow, Wildman always managed to survive the skirmishes. Cole was similar in his fearlessness, yet much more calculated in each move. Today, however, Wildman would pay the price for his recklessness and his lack of patience, something that had been both a blessing and a curse for him.

“Wildman! Get down!” Cole demanded.

But it was too late. Wildman had panicked in their predicament, and forfeited his position to the terrorist, who had just claimed responsibility for an ill-fated flight from Los Angeles to the U.K. He felt trapped and cornered like a rabid animal. He wanted to desperately bite back. Wildman rose up without a plan and rattled off machine gun fire in all directions, just hoping for a hit. He was only up for a few seconds before he was gunned down.

Cole saw the entire tragedy. It wasn’t pretty, and he wasn’t moving. Wildman was dead.

“Damn it!!” Cole grieved, while considering options knowing it was perhaps time for his own ‘Hail Mary’ to get his team out of there. Their presence in the small village had been compromised, and they were still trying to figure out the leak.

“We’re screwed.” Turner said. His voice had a tone of resignation. It seemed as if the situation was indeed hopeless.

Cole looked at his comrade sternly.

“No, we’re not.” Cole said. Cole’s voice had a tone of finality and there was a look of steel in his eyes.

“SEAL team 7 will not die here.”

Turner looked at Cole with a look of confusion.

“What are you going to do?”

Cole didn’t answer. There was no point. He just had to act before they were all taken down.

Cole started running towards the sandy hill where members of the renowned terrorist group were entrenched. It was a mad, suicidal charge, but he knew his team could use the few moments of surprise to their advantage. He raced forward, pouncing left and right while ducking, like some kind of four-legged animal

“What the hell is he doing? He’ll get himself killed!”

Turner could not believe what he was seeing. No one could believe it. For a moment, everyone was too stunned to even move, including the enemy, who even held their fire for the moment. But it was Turner who first woke up from the momentary surprise.

“Give him some cover fire!” Turner barked. You two swing around and take 3 and 9 position. He pulled the trigger and started firing. Seal Team 7 quickly sprang into action taking advantage of the few seconds of leverage. Soon, there was a hail storm of return fire from Cole’s team, taking out key positions that quickly evened the fire fight.

Everything suddenly started to move in slow motion for Cole. It seemed like he was in some kind of strange movie. Before Cole enlisted in the Navy he had read about how this could happen when on the brink. How perceptions could change in some bizarre way. He didn’t expect to actually experience it first-hand. But now it was happening. Cole could see the bullets whizzing past him in slow motion. He could see the look on his enemies’ eyes. And he just kept running erratically toward them, firing, hitting mark after mark.

There was no fear in Cole’s heart. His mission was to create an opportunity from which his brothers could benefit. He wasn’t concerned about himself, at all. He was going to take down as many of the terrorists as he could and let his team capitalize on the element of surprise, or shock, or stupidity, he wasn’t quite sure what term fit best. An idea dislodged from memory, from his favorite movie, ‘
Dances with Wolves’
.

He ran right into a sea of bullets. Cole didn’t notice but the enemies around him were dropping fast from the gunfire of his friends. He took down two more and then another, and another. Cole wasn’t even counting. He just kept charging and firing away. Some sort of divine intervention at war, it seemed.

***

The sights and sounds of the battle in Afghanistan were still fresh in Cole’s mind. It was almost as if it had happened yesterday and not months ago. Cole silently opened his eyes. They wandered to the ceiling of the bus. He looked around. There were other sleepy looking passengers on the bus as it silently moved along the long country road.

Cole had dozed off on the ride home. He had already touched down on USA soil, now the strange land and vicious battle was long done. It was all a dream. But Cole had painful wounds to show for it. His leg was in a cast and he would have to walk on crutches for some time. He would need a lot of physical and psychological therapy from the PTS but at least he was home, a proud protector of the U.S.A and its citizens. He had made something of himself, despite the odds.

“Home. I’m back home.” he muttered, as the bus rolled on.

Cole noticed just how quiet the bus was. The dream had brought him back to that tragic day losing Wolfman. Jimmy had miraculously made it, and was quickly evacuated with the sudden reversal of events. Cole would later be awarded a Gold Medal of Courage for his valor but he wasn’t concerned with glory. All he wanted was his Team back home and safe. Wolfman had been the only casualty that day, when the odds of any of them getting out alive were slim to none, as each of them had recognized. 

The bus zoomed along the highway until it reached Cole’s familiar hometown. It stopped at the stop sign, where the painted bench and the small tree were still there but with some noticeable differences. The stop sign was now cracked along the edges, and the paint on the bench had almost totally faded while the tree was almost unrecognizable, so much bigger than before. The branches and the leaves actually stretched over the bench and someone could sit comfortably under its shade on a hot summer day.

Cole noticed the little changes and smiled as he got off the bus.

“Everything changes.” he said to himself.

“Cole!”

At first he didn’t recognize her; tall, and slender, with long, black wavy hair, a beautiful figure with full breasts mostly hidden behind an ankle-length flowing sundress, a natural exotic looking beauty. But with the way she was waving and jumping all over, Cole had to take notice of Kaylee. He noticed just how she had become quite a stunner of a woman. Even though they were in contact here and there through the internet, and he saw the odd picture of her, Cole was still taken aback by how much Kaylee grew into her still developing features as a child. Facebook pics just didn’t do her justice, he thought.

She was no longer the tomboyish twelve year old girl that he had left behind. She was now a tall and shapely young lady. Cole didn’t know it, but Kaylee was just as surprised at seeing him look so different from the gangly sixteen year-old troublemaker he once was.

“Holy smack,” she thought, noting his ripped abs, massive chest and arms, very visible behind his snug white t-shirt. His quadriceps boasted a size she had never seen on a client athlete before and he was truly a sight to be seen. His usual brown wavy hair, longer and even more tussled than usual. But it was his strikingly manly chiseled face that made her quietly gasp, not wanting to reveal her observation.

“Kaylee! It’s been so long!” Cole said.

The two of them smiled at each other and hugged, sending a shiver down Kaylee’s entire body.

“You look sooo different!”

The two of them caught each other saying the same thing at the same time and both of them laughed heartily at their shared remark.

“Hey stranger, how ya’ doin’?” Cole casually asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

“I’ve been great! Everybody’s waiting for you at the Town Plaza. Big welcoming party and all. Everybody’s talking about what you did to save your Team. There’s even going to be a parade for this weekend!” she proudly declared.

Cole controlled the urge to blush. He looked away from Kaylee. He didn’t want her to think he was staring at her welcoming green eyes, but he couldn’t help it. Kaylee was a natural, stunning beauty he observed, standing close to her.

“I was just doing what I was trained to do. Each of us would have done the same for the other.” Cole insisted.

“No, it wasn’t! I heard about how you sacrificed yourself for your Team, something that opened the door to saving all, but one, I’m so sorry to hear.” And you banged up your leg pretty good too, lucky that was all!” Kaylee exclaimed. “How’s your noggin?” Kaylee teased, knocking on his head, like he used to do to her as a kid.

Cole was quick to downplay his actions again.

“It’s part of being a SEAL. With some physio I’ll be back on my feet in no time.” He grimaced in pain, trying to hide it.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be losing those crutches in no time.
I promise
.” Kaylee said, with finality and hint of something he didn’t yet know.

“What do you mean?” Cole said. He looked at Kaylee with a slightly confused look on his face.

Kaylee smiled at him for a few moments, enjoying his anticipation of her response.

“Didn’t they tell you? I just graduated from Med School and my internship’s done. I’m in charge of your physio, I volunteered for it! But don’t worry I know what I’m doing.” She said with a proud grin.

Cole was taken aback by what Kaylee said. Since he had left, she had really grown up. All those days of playing as little children, he had never really pictured her as more than a kid. Somehow Facebook images still hadn’t convinced him she wasn’t still twelve years old. She had always been like a little buddy to Cole, one whom he knew he could trust and confide in, a best friend type. But now she was all grown up and she had actually achieved her dream of working in the health field. And she was telling Cole that he would be her first patient, as a post grad.

“Just think, it’ll be just like the old days when you used to come over after you got into a fight. I remember putting a Mickey Mouse Band-Aid on one of your many scrapes, which you hastily tore off. I never did that again!” Kaylee laughed.
 

Chapter Three

Shattered Illusions

When Kaylee volunteered to take care of Cole she was full of excitement and anticipation. After all, his case was so meaningful and symbolic on so many levels. He was her first client, fresh out of med school and internship. Normally, it wasn’t that easy to get a full assignment so soon after graduation. But Dr. O’Bannon liked Kaylee, her smarts, past client results, her work ethic and put in a good word for her. Some strings were pulled and she managed to get Cole’s case.

When Cole first told Kaylee that he was going away, the night of the fateful accident, she had been devastated. Although not badly injured, she had surely felt he would be around for a little longer before leaving. She never let on how much she quietly adored him, as it always seemed like he didn’t really care, or notice. But Kaylee always hoped that somehow, someway they may have a chance. With Cole’s enlistment, she had to put it out of her mind. She forced reasoning before her heart, and now he was back, and there was an air of secret hope.

The advent of social media seemed to lessen the impact of the blow on Kaylee’s heart. They became connected through the social media but Kaylee never really expected them to get closer. She knew many SEALs were ‘Bad Boys’, and had a host of women ‘at the ready’. Kaylee wasn’t that type of girl, and was a realist, despite being a hopeless romantic. She had naive innocence about her, and remained a virgin, despite the many boys attempting to win her heart, and body.

She had her dreams of being a physiotherapist and it seemed that Cole was fortunate to have an opportunity, in what turned out to be a perfect fit, with the Navy Seals. They were his family now, and he thrived in the presence of the comradeship, loyalty, intensity and danger. He had become ‘All That He Could Be’, just as the Military slogan promised. He was fearless, fit, clever, and extremely tenacious. If anyone would succeed, he would. And he did.

All that changed when Cole got injured and he was sent home. This was a perfect chance for Kaylee to spend time with her childhood friend, and she jumped on it.  

And she hated every moment of it.

Kaylee checked out all the equipment at the clinic. She tweaked the treadmill and checked that everything was in order. There was nothing else she could do while waiting for Cole. He was late, again, as always. This had become their routine as the sessions went on. The pomp and pageantry of Cole’s homecoming party and parade had long come to an end. Reality showed up different to her imagination in helping him recover.

Cole had moved into his late parents’ house. He also got a job as a mechanic to keep from going stir crazy while on the mend. He was supposed to rest, but paid it no attention. Kaylee noticed that Cole seemed relieved his father had passed on while he was on his tour of duty, but Kaylee never dared mention this to him. She kept her observations to herself. He had become aloof, was depressed, and kept mostly to himself in the company of car parts.

Kaylee tried to encourage Cole, telling him that it was a blessing his injury wasn’t worse and he should take his physio seriously. She had put together a brilliant physio program that would enable him to recover, if he actually did his routine as directed. Cole however, was an ass, loud Harley and all. The view of him hobbling over to his Harley with his bad leg, and securing crutches to his saddlebag was quite the sight to be seen. He shouldn’t have been driving it at all, it was dangerous and it just delayed his healing progress. He was on a course of self-destruction. To make matters worse, he had recently smelled of cheap liquor. Wiping out on his bike, worse, doing so when drunk would be the end of him, and his career, if he lived through it.

This became a real embarrassment to Kaylee, considering that Dr. O’Bannon was letting her use his clinic’s equipment for Cole’s treatments. It was all just out of respect for Kaylee and Cole’s reputation as a war hero that O’Bannon let her treat him in the clinic.

‘Humph! My back is aching from polishing all this stuff. What’s taking Cole so long this time?’ Kaylee thought.

Kaylee realized that long absences had a way of idealizing people in your consciousness and it was no different with Cole. In all that time apart, she had conveniently forgotten certain traits about him. She had forgotten just how notorious he was for being unreliable. And his recent habitual tardiness was just the tip of the iceberg.

‘I can’t believe that I actually scrambled and begged Dr. O’Bannon to get me to work with Cole! I forgot just how much of a jerk he could be!’

The roar of a Harley outside the clinic interrupted Kaylee’s angry thoughts. She knew who it was. The roar was all too familiar.

Kaylee walked briskly outside and saw Cole alight awkwardly from his huge Harley bike. The sound of its roaring engine was still echoing in Kaylee’s ears and the smell of the smoke from its exhaust was still fresh in the air. How Cole could still ride a Harley, even if he was undergoing therapy for his injuries was beyond Kaylee.

Cole was just getting off when Kaylee walked angrily towards him.

“You’re late, again!” she said loudly.

Even through his recently grown thick beard, Kaylee could notice Cole smiling sheepishly at her. He also reeked of alcohol, she thought.

“Sorry. I was a bit busy.” Cole said.

“Doing what? Drinking? And driving!!? You do know you’re
not
supposed to drink and drive, let alone while on pain medicine. And I don’t think riding your Harley’s the best way to travel with your bad leg. What have you turned into?” Kaylee was stunned by Cole’s ‘ah ha’ expression, and his sarcastic demeanor turned angry.

“Got any better ideas?” Cole snapped back.

“I think you still have your parents’ old jeep in the garage. You could drive it. It would be less stress on your legs.”

Now Kaylee could see Cole frowning from behind his beard. What was with the new look, anyway? His energy dropped every time his parents were mentioned, his mother passing when he was just seven, and living with an abusive father was no picnic, she knew. She made a mental note on the real problem and decided to figure out a way to help, on the emotional front.

“Hey! Nobody tells me when or when not to ride my Harley!” He shouted back at her, clinging to what little masculinity he had left.

Kaylee noticed that Cole was really having a hard time getting on his crutches this time. But she was too angry to help him.

“You’re not making your therapy and treatment any easier for yourself! Keep this up, and you’ll stay on your crutches!”

“A little help grabbing the other crutch would be appreciated!” Cole snapped again.

Cole and Kaylee were arguing in the clinic’s parking area, and their voices were slowly getting louder and louder. More people were beginning to notice their bickering but they just kept going.

“You know what? That’s the trouble with you, Cole! You’ve never really changed! You’ve always been that brat who kept getting into fights to act tough! You’ve haven’t changed a bit! It’s always been this way with you, ever since we were kids!”

Cole ignored Kaylee’s tirade and tried harder to adjust the position of his crutches. He hated being this dependent on them. Kaylee wasn’t sure if Cole was ignoring her or just sneering behind the beard. Maybe he was trying to act tough but she didn’t buy it and her anger had really risen now.

“Deep down, you’re the same little kid that got punched in the face by Bobby Evans!” Kaylee blurted.

Just as Kaylee spoke, Cole’s right crutch went outward losing its grip, and he lost his balance. He fell on his side on the concrete of the parking lot, and his crutches scattered.

“Cole!”

The sight of Cole collapsing snapped Kaylee back to reality and she forgot her feelings of anger. She crouched beside Cole, put her hands under his massive triceps and slowly helped him up. Just as she crouched beside him, Cole whispered to her ear.

“I never told you why I was in a fight with Evans that afternoon,” His mood had suddenly altered to one of vulnerability.

Cole had gotten Kaylee’s attention. Kaylee noticed that Cole was reminiscently grinning behind his way too fuzzy beard now.

“What? What do you mean?”

“I socked Evans because he said you were a skinny, brainy, ugly duckling who would never amount to anything.” Cole unintentionally shared, in a moment of vulnerability and retort to her tirade, trying to reveal something deeper about him to her.