Page 23 of Andy

Wild stepped back. “Let’s get ready to move out.”

Andy shut his eyes as the missile launched and hit the caravan of cars. The last thing he needed was his vision blown out because of the bright flash. Wild got confirmation that the vehicle had been hit. Now, it was time for them to move in and check the identification.

The caravan hadn’t moved far from the compound, and they would have to fight their way to the vehicle to get confirmation. They weren’t far from the explosion, and it took them less than fifteen minutes to get to the caravan. They moved to the car holding their terrorist, and Harry did the DNA test after Andy and Wild pulled the man from the wreckage.

No one had come from the compound to check on anyone. They knew bad shit followed this man, and none of them wanted a piece of it.

He often wondered how many of the people who followed terrorists actually believed the person versus being terrified of him. He figured there was some mix of both in the truth of the matter. Getting involved in the why of crap like this was beyond his pay grade. He was here to do his part, not get distracted.

Everyone else on his team had stepped away, and he was checking one last thing when an explosion rocked the area, sending Andy flying through the air. He smacked into the ground with a grunt, unsure what had actually hit him.

Chapter 12

Mel went to work and then home to her apartment every day for a few weeks. She hadn’t been with Andy for long, so they didn’t have a routine, which probably helped her not feel so weird about him being gone. She was starting to worry that he’d just ghosted her. It wouldn’t be the first man who she thought was into her who ended up walking away.

On the third Thursday after they’d gone swimming at Harry’s place, Ingrid walked into the bank. Mel recognized her and wondered if Ingrid was there for banking or something else. She didn’t have to wonder for long as Ingrid saw her and waved, then came over to her office.

“Hey, we didn’t get your phone number, and we wanted you to come over this weekend. We’re hanging out at our place, and we want you there.”

Mel bit her lower lip as insecurity twisted through her. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, we’re totally sure we want you there. We should have asked you to come over last weekend, but we all got busy. I’m here to make sure you show up. I understand if you have other plans. One of us should have come by earlier. They've been gone a long time, and it can get hard if you don't have someone to hang with.”

Relief filled Mel. Andy was still gone. He wasn't ghosting her. “I don’t have plans.”

“Okay. So tomorrow night, we’re all sleeping at my place. Give me your number, and I'll send you the deets.”

Mel laughed. “I haven’t heard anyone use that word in a while.”

“Oh, we know we’re not young chicks. We’re the old folks who lived with the dinosaurs, according to the kids.”

Mel laughed as she entered her number into Ingrid’s phone. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Sure. We really want to get to know you better. And plan on spending the night because we’ll probably drink.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“See you tomorrow.”

About five minutes later, her phone pinged with a text from Ingrid with all the information for the weekend. They were staying at Ingrid and Bear’s house until Sunday evening. They planned on taking the kids to the zoo on Saturday morning and then spending time on Sunday at Rory and Harry’s pool. All in all, it sounded like a fun weekend.

Mel was excited about spending time getting to know these women but also nervous about spending time with people she didn’t really know. What if they didn’t like her? She knew she had idiosyncrasies. So many women, whether through jealousy or just evilness, had made fun of her because of her weight. She hated how mean some people could be when they realized she wasn’t starving herself to get to this weight. When she’d met the women before, they’d all been nice, but maybe that’s because they’d been in front of their men. Who knows how they would be on their own.

On Friday evening, she showed up at Bear and Ingrid’s place, nervous as all get out. She’d stepped on the scale this morning and realized that she’d dropped five pounds since Andy had left. Not only did she have to deal with Andy being gone, hanging out with women she didn’t really know, but now she had to gain some weight. It was hard for her to put weight on. She had brought a few cans of high-calorie supplements her doctor had prescribed for her. It was weird having to drink a supplement at her age, and she hoped no one made fun of her.

The door opened, and Ava pulled her inside, giving her a tight hug. “I’m so glad you came. We should have invited you last weekend. We have pizza and hotdogs. I know, what a combination, but the kids wanted hot dogs.”

“It sounds good. Where can I put down my stuff?”

“Here, let me help you.”

“Um, sure.” She’d wanted to sneak at least one of the cans into the back of the refrigerator without anyone seeing, but with Ava next to her, there was no way she could do that secretly. Maybe she should have packed a cooler, but the ice would have melted by morning.

“The kids will be going to bed around nine or so, and then we’ll drink some. But one night each time, we’ll have a responsible person in charge who won’t drink much. But you don’t have kids, so it doesn’t have to be you.”

She should say something. “Um, I can’t drink.”

Ava blinked. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

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