Page 31 of Riggs
"You got it, Prez." Less than a minute later, Everest returns with our drinks setting Luna's in front of her. Several minutes pass and the energy surrounding our group has intensified, and the way Neil keeps looking at my woman is about to set me off. Neil is a man I hold a high amount of respect for, but commander or not, I will lose my shit all over his ass if he doesn't remove his eyes off my woman. Not able to hold back any longer, I level Neil with a look. But before I get a chance to open my mouth, Neil beats me to it.
"I didn't get your girlfriend's name."
My back goes straight, and I narrow my eyes. "That's because I didn't offer it."
"I don't mean any disrespect, Abel. It's not like that."
"Then what the hell is it like?" I demand.
"How about we calm down here, brother," Wick suggests motioning to Luna who is sitting beside me looking worried.
"What's wrong?" she asks. "Why does he want to know my name?" It's then I realize she must have read his lips because I wasn't signing.
"Everything is alright, babe. I'm going to have Everest take you to my office while I talk with Neil." Luna doesn't question me; she nods.
"Prospect," I bellow, and Everest appears from down the hall. He has taken his duty of watching Luna to heart and is never too far away. "Take Luna to my office."
"Wait!" Neil says with urgency his face going pale as he reaches out, grabbing hold of my arm the same time Everest moves Luna behind him, shielding her.
Good man.
"You said her name is Luna?" Neil asks.
"What the fuck is going on, Neil?"
"I heard you call her Luna," he takes a step forward.
"Yeah, her name is Luna Novak. What of it?"
Out of the corner of my eyes, Wick advances, knowing I'm on edge. I also realize our outburst has drawn the attention of Kiwi who walked through the door about thirty seconds ago. I don't know what the hell is going on, but in the decade I have known my commander, he has not once looked this shell shocked or exhibited this type of unnerving behavior. No, the man in front of me seems as though he has seen a ghost and is on the verge of passing out. Those two facts are the only thing keeping me from putting my hands on him. I never imagined myself in any position where I'd give thought to harming the man who stands before me, but like I said before, Luna is a game changer. There is nothing in this world I wouldn't do to keep her safe.
Having enough of my woman looking afraid, I give Everest a nod, and he takes off down the hall toward my office with Luna in tow. I don't miss the way Neil watches her retreat under the protection of my prospect. The moment Luna is out of view, I start demanding answers. "I'm going to start by saying I respect the hell out of you, Commander. You are one of the last men I want to go toe-to-toe with, but all that shit aside, you have about two seconds to explain to me what the hell is going on right now."
"I — I think," Neil stumbles over his words. "That woman," he points down the hall. "She looks like someone I once knew."
"She looks like someone you knew. You, come up here scaring the shit out of my woman because she looks familiar. What the hell, Neil?"
"You don't get it, LeBlanc. I'm trying to explain to you the resemblance is uncanny. She could be her twin. I know it sounds crazy." He runs a hand through his hair.
"So, tell me; who does Luna look like, Commander?" Wick cuts in.
Neil shakes his head, and a look of sadness crosses his face. "Her name was Amelia Novak."
My gut clenches. This Amelia shares the same last name as my woman. Giving Kiwi a brief look, I interrupt the commander for a moment. "Kiwi, Grab your computer. See what you can find out on Amelia Novak."
"You got it." Turning, he walks off.
Neil continues. "We grew up in the same town back in Arizona, and attended the same high school." He sighs. "Amelia was a freshman when I was in my senior year. The two of us didn't really hang with the same crowd in school. After graduating, I went off to basic. Sometimes, I would return home when on leave, but never saw her again until five years later. One summer, I ended up having a two-month leave and decided to stay with my parents. Amelia was working at a bar. She was only twenty at the time but being we lived in a small town and people tended to overlook that sort of thing. I remember sitting down at the bar and not being able to take my eyes off her. Amelia had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a fucking knockout." Neil pauses and closes his eyes. "She knew who I was and greeted me by name. I stuck around until closing time, then asked her out for coffee. Amelia and I sat in that coffee shop until seven o'clock the following morning." Neil shakes his head. "I've never experienced a connection with a woman as I did with Amelia."
"So, what happened?" I ask wondering where he's going with his story and what it has to do with Luna.
"We spent everyday together for the next two months. I was fucking obsessed, man. I took her home to meet my parents. Even met her dad at one point. I didn't like him. He was a piece of shit drunk, and Amelia admitted he tended to knock her around. That's why she was working at the bar. She was saving up to move out of his place and get her own apartment. I begged her to let me put her up in a place before I had to leave, but she refused. She was too proud and shut me down immediately. A week later, I shipped back out. I made her promise to email me. I tried to call her for months after I left, but she would never answer my calls. Every day of my life, I regret not telling Amelia I loved her before I left town. I knew in my gut she was the one for me and I wanted to marry her — I should have." Neil hangs his head. "I don't know what held me back." He looks back up. "Eighteen months later, I finally came home. When I landed in town, the bar she worked at was the first place I stopped. The owner told me she up and quit a couple of weeks after I left. After leaving the bar, I went to her dad's house." Neil stops talking, his face a mask of pain. Wick and I don't push for him to say more. We allow him to compose himself before he finishes his story. "When her father answered the door, I asked him where Amelia was. He told me she was dead," Neil chokes. "He told me the woman I loved was dead, then proceeded to tell me the location she was buried before slamming the door in my face. That piece of shit didn't have one ounce of remorse on his face as he said those words to me. At first, I didn't believe him. That was until I went to the cemetery and saw for my own eyes. I found her marker. That son of a bitch didn't have the decency to get his daughter a headstone. So, I did."
"What happened to her. How'd she die?" I question.
Neil shakes his head. "Never asked. All that mattered was my girl was gone, and there was no way I was going back to her old man's place. Not without putting a bullet in his head. Back then, I'll admit I was too scared to want to know what happened to Amelia, but now, I think I need to know. Because the woman who walked out of this room — your woman is my Amelia made over. I swear to God, Riggs."
"Prez," Kiwi interrupts from his place at the bar where he's typing away on his laptop.
