Page 15 of Believe in Me
“Mooney?” Beatle demanded.
“Beatle, put him down!” Trish commanded, ignoring the question and pulling on Beatle’s arm, shrugging off the other guy’s hands.
“Yes, Master Sergeant Raphael Luna,” Mike said.
“Mooney got promoted? Did you know that, Blade?” Beatle asked the other guy.
“Aww, that’s great. Wonder how his boys are doing?” Blade answered.
“Can you put me down so I can answer?” Mike suggested. Beatle seemed to think it was an okay idea and dropped Mike to the floor. Luckily Mike caught himself and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Mooney, bad time to talk. Can I call you back?” He didn’t get a chance to hear Mooney’s answer because Blade grabbed the phone from him.
“Mooney? It’s Blade, you know this guy?” he said into the phone then listened to whatever Mooney said. “Yeah, I’m here in San Antonio with Beatle and we’re checking on a teammate’s wife.” Blade pulled the phone from his ear as everyone in the room heard Mooney screaming about Mike being a jackass and not who he thought he was if he was, Blade cut off Mooney’s rant when he said, “Stand down. I should have said widow. Joe died a year or so ago.”
Mike glanced at Trish who looked like she either wanted the floor to swallow her whole or to break down in tears. It seemed to be a toss-up. There was no way that he was going to let her feel bad about anything they’d done so he walked over and pulled her head into his chest.
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay,” Mike whispered. He could feel her trembling and placed a kiss on her head. “Do you want me to kick them out?”
“Like you’d have a chance with us,” Beatle said, obviously having heard Mike’s question. Mike looked at the two men closely and realized he’d met them before— at Spook’s wedding.
“Trish, we’re sorry if we embarrassed you. When we got to your house and found the door wide open, our battle instincts kicked in. You know better than to leave an entrance unsecured. We know that Joe lectured you incessantly before deploying about personal safety. Then we find you under a male we didn’t recognize, full protection mode. Forgive us?” Blade said.
Mike felt Trish take a deep breath, then pull out of his arms. “It’s okay, Blade. You and Beatle were protecting me. Might have been a good idea to use some situational awareness prior to attacking but that’s what you Deltas do. Close with and destroy.”
He didn’t think he’d ever see two Deltas blush but that’s what he was witnessing. Mike squared his shoulders and held out a hand to the closest man. “I’m Mike Mullvaney. I believe we met at Spook’s wedding a few months ago?”
Chapter 10
In the field the week after being pulled off Trish and slammed into a wall by two Delta soldiers wasn’t the greatest timing but Mike sucked it up. They’d left bright and early… okay, it wasn’t so bright at four a.m. Monday morning. Even though most of his platoon spent their time in the lab, they still had to maintain current status on weapons and soldier basic tasks. A few days of mud and sun would not be a welcome change. Most of Mike’s soldiers preferred the sterile environment and were more brainy than brawn.
They’d survived but Lord help them because Mike wasn’t a happy master sergeant with all their scores. He was going to change up the schedules and at least one section was going to work on soldiering basics each week. How they couldn’t clean a weapon in under an hour horrified him. Yes, Mike enjoyed the science of tracing the components in their fuel supply, but he also made damn sure that if he had to defend a position with a M-16 he was going to hit his target. He was going to ensure that he could depend on his soldiers to do the same.
When they got back Thursday afternoon, he took one look at the formation and held back his chuckles. They were barely standing, sunburned and covered in dirt.
“Permission to dismiss the platoon, Lieutenant?” Mike asked not looking at Cassidy. He knew that the lieutenant was in as bad a shape as the soldiers in front of him. Bless the heptad for keeping him on his toes and making sure that he remained in top shape. Christ, the last time they were all together Spook had put them through advanced combatives. Mike could still feel those bruises months later.
“Permission granted,” Cassidy said, his voice giving away his level of tiredness.
“Platoon, you’re dismissed. See you all at six for a run.” Mike couldn’t hold in his laughter at their collective groan.
§ § §
It had been a strange week for Trish. She kept expecting Mike to come into the café or text her even though she knew he was in the field. Knowing the unit was due back in today, Trish had sent him a text this morning.
Trish: Hey you, let me know when you’re back. I’ll cook dinner for you.
Look at her reaching out. She was still embarrassed by Beatle and Blade showing up like they did; them calling her a widow. Okay, she was a widow but wasn’t ready to tell Mike about Joe. Mike wasn’t stupid and knew that something had soured Trish on soldiers. But was she really soured? Maybe, maybe not.
Trish was cleaning out the display case when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw there was a text from Mike.
Mike: Best offer I’ve had all week. Six?
Trish could feel the smile break across her face and texted back.
Trish: Perfect. Won’t keep you out late. Know you’re beat. See you then.
“Mike must be back. You’re smiling,” Jess said from beside her causing her to jump, squeak and almost throw her phone.
“What the hell, Jess? Make some noise next time so I don’t have a heart attack,” Trish grumbled.
