Page 38 of Fall of the Trident
Marta poured herself a glass of wine and put the pot of salted water on to heat.She preferred to make her own tomato sauce with hamburger and Italian sausage.She’d just dropped the noodles into the boiling water when she swore she heard the door between the house and the garage close.
Damn.She was sure she had more time.Peering around the wall, the hallway was empty.
Whew.She returned her attention to her supper preparations.
An hour and a half later, she pulled the lasagna out of the oven and set it on the granite counter to cool.The salad was chilling in the refrigerator, and the garlic bread was covered in foil ready to be popped into the oven as soon as Trevor got home.
Home.She’d come to think of these temporary quarters as home in just a few weeks.It had felt like a home.They ate supper and breakfast there, spent hours on the couch reading or talking.Occasionally, they’d watch a movie together.Several times a week, they’d go out to supper then return home where they’d go to bed and most often, make love.
At least Marta thought they were making love.Maybe she was wrong.Maybe she’d read far too much into their time together.She was his first lover after his wife’s death.Was she nothing more than a rebound fuck?
She didn’t know, but she was going to find out as soon as Trevor got there.
The sound of a car in the driveway caught her attention.Glancing out the kitchen window, she watched the man she loved get out of the back seat of a blue Navy sedan.He waved goodbye to his driver and said something to him.
Someone grabbed her around the neck and pulled her back against his body.
He was several inches taller than her and very strong.
She tried to fight, twisting and turning to no avail.
“Hold still,” he growled.
He tightened his hold on her neck until she could hardly breathe.
She knocked the bottle of wine off the counter, and it shattered on the floor.
Marta knew she was in trouble when cold metal pressed against her temple.Out of her peripheral vision she could see a gun held to her head.
Trevor walked through the kitchen door and stopped.
“About time you got home.The little lady here has been cooking for you for hours.”
Marta recognized that voice: Rear Admiral F.X.Finger.
“Well, isn’t this sweet.Seems the Boy Scout has been fucking his secretary,” Finger taunted.
Trevor wouldn’t look at her.His gaze never left Finger’s.“Francis, put the gun down.What do you expect to gain here?”
“You’ve taken everything away from me—my money, my clubs, even the training camp.Your fucking men invaded my island and arrested all my men.They stole all my girls.Now the fucking CNO said he’s going to strip me of my Trident.I have nothing.This is all your fault!ThegreatVice Admiral Trevor Maddox, international hero.”Finger’s vitriol spat from his mouth.
“Everything is gone, so I’m going to take away everything that’s important to you.”He poked the gun into her temple.“I’m going to start with the perfect Ms.Marta Merkel.She’s living in these quarters and although the second bed is made up, all her clothes are hanging next to yours in the master bedroom closet.You’re fucking her, aren’t you?”It was an accusation, not a question.
Marta wondered how long he’d been in the house.He’d certainly had an opportunity to check out the closets.Had he pawed through her underwear drawer?At the moment, that seemed more revolting than the gun pointed at her head.
“She means something to you, doesn’t she?”Admiral Finger was so close to her face she could feel the heat of his words.
She stared at Trevor.She also wanted to know the answer.
“She’s nothing to me.She’s my rebound.She got me back in the saddle, so to speak.She’s the first woman I dated since my wife died.”Trevor grinned.“Now that I know everything works the way it’s supposed to”—he grabbed his crotch—“I’m ready to move on.In the meantime, she’s with me working here so I might as well take advantage of a woman in my bed every night.I’d be stupid not to.When she heads back to California, my two sons and I are headed to Turks and Caicos for fun in the sun and scantily clad young women.Marta’s old.I’m looking forward to fucking women half her age with beautiful bodies.Marta means nothing to me.”
What the hell?She and his daughter were planning on going to Turks and Caicos with him and his sons.Was he trying to bullshit Finger so he’d let her go?
He finally dropped his gaze to her.“Sorry, Marta, this isn’t the way I wanted to break it off.”
“You fucking bastard,” she yelled at him.
Ignoring her, he refocused on Finger.“Francis, I thought you were in jail.”
