Page 23 of Red Rabbit
Great. I was afraid something like this would happen but I was foolish and listened to my dick instead of my head.
“Why?” I asked cautiously.
She didn’t answer me and quickly finished dressing before she crawled out the door. I didn’t know what to think about the look on her face. It wasn’t regret necessarily, it was—sadness? Did she feel what I did in that moment when we felt more connected than just two people having sex? I didn’t want to think about it too hard. It scared me too if I was being honest. This was supposed to be light and casual so why didn’t it feel like that now?
I ran a hand over my face in resignation and pulled on my clothes before I grabbed a flashlight and stepped out into the rain after her. I glimpsed her through the trees during a flash of lightning but then she was gone again.
Why was I doing this? Why did I suddenly care?
Because what I felt in the tent was something I hadn’t experienced before. Yeah, I’ve had amazing sex and connected with a lot of women but whatever we just did was different and the instinct to chase after that feeling was why I found myself in the rain, chasing after a woman—something I absolutely never thought I’d do.
I was about to call out for her when suddenly I heard her scream. I went towards the sound and then there was Kaelin, on her knees while a man in tactical gear held a knife to her neck.
It was such an absurd sight, I wondered for a moment if I abruptly wandered into a dream. Then the thunder crashed and lightning illuminated the scene and I knew it was real. There were five other men standing around and one shouted when they saw me. As one, five assault rifles turned towards me. My hands inched into the air even as I attempted to reach behind me for the gun in my waistband.
“Stop or I’ll kill her,” the man said.
Kaelin yelped as the man emphasized his point and pressed the dagger harder against her neck. We all stood there in limbo until I saw movement through the trees.
“Wolfe?” A sixth man came into view and shock rippled through me. “I can’t believe it. What are the odds, man?”
“Cooper,” I said, incredulously. “What are you doing out here?”
“What areyoudoing out here?” Cooper asked with a laugh.
He looked the same as I remembered—built like a MMA fighter with a close buzzed military cut. He wore his standard army issued pants with black boots and a black hoodie. An AR was across his chest, held loosely in his hands and I saw a handgun and knife in his belt. His eyes held the same dark, sly shadows and I noticed he didn’t tell his men to stand down.
“Plane crash,” I said.
“Plane crash? Jesus,” Cooper said, looking genuinely alarmed.
“This your operation?” I nodded at the men behind him.
Cooper smirked.
“Yes, it is. Off grid, no one breathing down my neck.” He saw my gaze flicker over to Kaelin and turned towards her. “She with you?”
“Yes.”
“You know her?” Cooper watched me closely.
If he hadn’t served with me and knew me more intimately than most, I might have made up some story but I knew better than to try and manipulate him.
“Not personally. She was on the plane. Forced proximity,” I said and Cooper nodded, his eyes still on her and a look in his eyes I didn’t like.
“Well, she’s a pretty one. You lucked out there.”
He looked back at me and stood with his hands in his belt loops, chewing on a stick. I could tell he was thinking something over and for a moment I flashed back to when we were deployed and he would stand there assessing the situation as though he was taking in the view on a casual stroll. He was always so damn carefree. Not careless—but always a little unhinged. He was a loose cannon back then, I couldn’t imagine he changed much. We lost touch over the years as life took us in different directions and I think both of us reminded each other of our traumatic past and just wanted to move on. At least that was true for me.
“Unfortunately, I’m going to have to take her with me.” He said finally with a cold look in his eyes, all friendly formalities gone.
“I can’t let you do that,” I said.
“She doesn’t mean anything to you, why do you care?” Cooper scoffed. I didn’t say anything and he grinned. “Ah, I see.”He looked back and forth between Kaelin and I. “You’ve fucked her haven’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
I still didn’t say anything and he laughed.
“Some things really never change, do they Wolfman?” Cooper said. “Regardless, I’m still taking her. I have a littlethinggoing out here,” he said, waving his hand at the trees as though it explained everything when it explained nothing.
