Page 39 of Twister

Griffin got on the phone and after a few moments, he hung up. “There’s a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“David was on leave yesterday. He was supposed to be back this morning. He missed muster, and no one has seen him since he left. Sounds like he might be running.”

13

The next fewdays were filled with so much work, they didn’t have much time for anything except eating and sleeping. When they were again finished with swimming the wreck, Sadie again took care of all the gear. When she approached Twister, he was busy with Dagger, and she automatically started cleaning his gear. Dagger’s eyes widened, and Twister turned around. His mouth tightened, and Dagger immediately excused himself.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Tension filled the space between them, the bad kind, the kind that made her insides shrink into a hard, cold knot. Experiencing the almost strangling sensation of dread unfolding in her, she wrapped her arms around her torso and watched him, every muscle in her body braced for a blow.

She stiffened at his angry tone. “I was?—”

“I know what you were doing, but I don’t need you to clean my gear. I can clean my own gear. I prefer to know that it’s done my way.”

There was an awkward silence, and suddenly, the companionship they had shared seemed like a distant memory. “I’m sorry. It’s a habit.”

His expression didn’t change. “I don't think that it is.”

She let the words wash over her, not wanting to absorb their full meaning, knowing there was no way she could avoid it. Her chin lifted, his reaction and words suddenly making her angry, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint why. “What is that supposed to mean?”

His hard expression softened. “You are a kind, warm, and generous person. Some people see that and take advantage.”

It took a moment before she was able to frame the words, her voice numb when she whispered, “And I let them?”

“You do. Everyone needs validation, but you don’t have to kowtow to people to be respected.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

“Say no. Just fucking say, no, deadbeat. Clean your own fucking gear. Get your own dive mask. Fill your own goddamn tanks. You’re a fucking Navy diver, not some lackey who’s responsible for those jobs, Sadie. You have skills and abilities that are already valued by the Navy. They don’t have to say it. They give you jobs that are tough and difficult because you are successful at them. Goddammit. Why can’t you see that?”

Ever since he had been so harsh with her, she’d retreated, simultaneously resentful and angry at him for chewing her out, her emotions drowning out any rational thought or serious consideration for what he had said. The fear inside her twisted and turned, tying her up in even more of a tangle. To face head-on what she was feeling, what she needed, was just too threatening to the precarious foundations she’d adhered to for so long, foundations that had been built on specific beliefs, reinforced over the years by…herself.

She was hurt to her core. She’d only been trying to help. After they docked, she made sure she rode in a different van while the SEALs did their security check, trying to understand why this whole thing was upsetting her so much. Once back at thecompound, she got some food and secluded herself in her room to lick her wounds, trying to figure out why Twister’s words dug so deep. When there was a knock about half an hour later, she didn’t answer, nursing her anger and fear, needing time away from all his masculine energy, all the sexy things that made him so irresistible. She didn’t want to be overwhelmed by him before she knew herself and why she was withdrawing when she really didn’t want to, geez. She was just trying to help. She was a team player. He should understand that. Sadie thought back to Dylan and their work relationship. Was she the one who was always helping, always supportive? She tried, but she couldn’t remember a single time he cleaned her equipment or stored her gear. She did remember getting to the equipment room late and Dylan sitting there playing a game on his phone—and then ribbing her about being late. Deep down, Sadie knew she’d done everything she could to make Dylan’s life easier, at work and in their personal lives, because she wanted his approval. And he’d taken advantage of her most vulnerable need—to be enough, to take care of the ones she loved. He changed her, molded her to his desires and needs.

But that wasn’t the feeling she was getting with Twister—absolutely the opposite—and delving into herself was the only way she was going to get answers. But for the next few days, she stubbornly stayed out of his reach, punishing them both, knowing with a sickening drop in her gut that he was only telling her the truth, but she couldn’t deal with examining any of it.

She turned to her homework, which she’d fallen behind on since she’d met that infuriating, enigmatic man. Her laptop open, the screen filled with what was nothing but meaningless data she couldn’t focus on. Then the machine started chiming, and she jumped. It was her one-on-one communication app. Her mom.

She sighed and answered. “Mom.”

“Hi, Sadie. I was just calling to see how you were doing. It’s been a bit.” She hadn’t said a thing to her family about theKittiwakeor the possibility that her great-grandfather’s remains were part of what they had recovered. There was so much more work to do, but the bones they had discovered so far were being examined in their lab. To spare her family any disappointment or despair, she held back the information.

“You look tired, honey. Always working so hard for everyone else.”

“Well, I had to. You were working, Dad was working, and there wasn’t anyone else old enough to handle the family. You never noticed how hard I was working, school, cooking and cleaning, and handling the twins. It was utterly exhausting. ” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them, and something inside her bubbled up to the surface.

The shock on her mother’s face made Sadie pause. It was true that she had never asserted herself when it came to what she needed from her parents, not even when it came to exhaustion and desperately needing a break. A lot of her behaviors were beginning to make sense to her—wanting to feel important, feeling pride in being needed, and focusing so minutely on relationships. Her fear of becoming a burden on others and driving them away suddenly was real. She remembered the way she had gone overboard for Jeff’s daughter Allison’s birthday, how she jumped at the chance of diving theKittiwake, even though it would have been best to rest and recover before her crucial service for MDSU-2. But her pride at helping Jeff with his daughter and being asked to dive overrode her common sense. That same pride kicked in when Jeff praised her for being a savior, and again when she realized her great-grandfather’s remains would finally come home and she would be a hero to her family because of it. That little dark undertone to her personality she wasn’t liking too much right now.

“Sadie—”

A sharp knock on the door distracted her, and she bit her lip. “Mom. I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later.”

“We will. Don’t put it off.”

She disconnected the call and slipped off the bed, her stomach in knots. “Who is it?”

“Sadie, it’s me. Please open the door.” His deep, weary voice hit something so chasmic in her, she immediately felt immature and out of touch with herself for acting the way she had, but then that was her knee-jerk reaction, wasn’t it?

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