Page 45 of Raider Unleashed

“I mean I love you, Piper. I’ve loved you since that first night in the bar. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

Excitement danced across her skin. Was he really taking her back? “I love you, too, Raider. I am so sorry for what I did. If you give me another chance I promise I will never push you away like that again.”

Raider stared at her and then opened his arms. She got off the bed and walked into them. A wave of emotion rolled over her. She was home. The only home she’d ever really known. The only love she ever wanted.

Raider pulled back. “You’ve got to promise; No more secrets.”

She smiled. “Deal.”

He swooped down and captured her lips with a scorching kiss.

20

Raider leaned his elbows on the bar and watched Waylen and Kian play pool.

“Dude, you cheated,” Kian yelled like a drama queen.

Waylen snorted. “I don’t need to cheat to beat you.”

“Yes, you do, and you know it. You suck at pool.” Kian turned to Lane. “You saw that, didn’t you?”

Lane merely shook his head. “I’m staying out of it.”

The waitress came by and asked if they wanted anything else. They all shook their heads. Raider looked around the bar. “I like this place. Ohana. That means family, right?”

“Yup,” Harlan commented as he set his beer down on the bar. “And I agree. This place is cool.”

Raider looked around. Pool tables and a dart board anchored one end, and there was a small stage at the other end. A long wooden bar gleaming gold in the low lighting and was jammed with locals. The surfboards and Tiki masks on the wall just added to the ambiance. A loud burst of laughter came from the open-air side of the bar. It felt like…home.

“You know,” Raider started, “Piper has to pick a place to go. Fielding promised her a team of her own but he wants her out ofSan Diego and preferably not on the east coast. She’s thinking of staying here.”

Waylen straightened from taking his shot. “You thinking of staying with her?”

Raider nodded. “I kind of like it here. There’s a certain Zen to it.”

“I know what you mean. It’s growing on me too,” Lane agreed.

Kian shrugged. “Maybe. I haven’t really seen much besides the freakin’ volcano. Would be nice to check out a beach or two. Even some of the other islands. I hear Maui is nice.”

“They’re all nice,” Harlan said. “But they’re in the middle of the freakin’ ocean. You want to be all the way out here?”

It was a valid question, even from a Navy man. It was in the middle of nowhere in a sense.

“That’s true,” Raider agreed. “Not a whole lot of choice on things to do.”

“What are you talking about?” Lane said. “There’s beaches and mountains. Where else can you ski and swim on the same day?”

“Nowhere and you can’t do that here either 'cause you suck at skiing,” Waylen said and the guys all laughed. It was true Lane wasn’t much of a skier.

“We could do some great SCUBA diving and snorkeling,” Harlan commented.

“Fishing,” Kian added.

Raider laughed. “Since when have you ever been able to sit still long enough to fish?”

“Word,” Lane said with a snicker.

“So there are touristy things to do,” Raider said, “but what would we do full-time? I gotta tell you, retirement sucks. I hate not being busy. If I learned anything on this trip it’s that volcanoes are unpredictable and I hate being bored.”

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