Page 3 of Only Her (K2 Team)
Cody crammed the cell phone back into his pocket. He got the sub-message.We hope you’re not still drinking.If he answered his father before he managed to cool off, he’d say something he’d regret. He’d come late to his college professor parents, and they had never quite known what to do with him. Academia was their life, and for that reason, along with not wishing to add to the world’s population, they’d elected not to have children. He could just imagine their surprise when at forty-two, his mother had found out she was pregnant.
Someday, he’d tell his father that he hated the nickname Sonny Boy. And someday, he would make them proud of him. That happening had been set back at least ten years when the professors had shown up unannounced a few months before and found him drunk out of his stinking mind. They were one-glass-a-day wine drinkers, anti-war, anti-killing anyone for any reason. That his country considered him a hero for his high kill count embarrassed them.
After witnessing his slurring, they had tried to convince him to return home where they could get him help. The dogs, they’d said, could be taken to a no-kill shelter since his mother couldn’t tolerate animal hair. To keep from lashing out at the two people in the world he loved but didn’t understand, he’d called on the training and discipline he’d learned as a SEAL sniper and had calmly asked them to leave him alone. What they hadn’t understood and still didn’t was that the dogs gave him a reason to face another day and another day after that.
A few weeks after his parents had visited, his former commander, Logan Kincaid, had shown up unexpectedly. The next thing Cody knew, he was at a secret location learning all about theSealion, a stealth boat that had only been whispered about among the SEAL teams. Soon after, he’d participated in a K2 mission and hadn’t touched a drop of liquor during the operation.
Since then, he’d cut out drinking during the day. Although he’d tried to make it through the nights without the numbing effects of alcohol, the nightmares had driven him back to the scotch bottle. Yet last night, he’d managed a few hours without the dreams. Well, he’d dreamed, but it had been of her, his neighbor with no name. He’d woken up with a massive hard-on, and he’d take that over the nightmares any day.
He pulled into the K2 parking lot at the same time as Ryan O’Connor, the team’s medic. The last time he’d seen Doc had been three months before in Helsinki when they’d gotten a defector and his family out of Russia using theSealion.
“Heard you’re getting married,” he said, bumping Ryan’s shoulder hard enough to send the man sideways. “And I thought I was crazy.”
His friend came right back at him. “Youarea crazy son of a bitch.”
Fully expecting it, he braced his body against the hard hit. “Oomph.”
Ryan laughed. “I heard that. You’ve gone soft, old man.”
It hadn’t been that long ago when his body wouldn’t have given way, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have made a girly sound. Although any civilian looking at him would think him in excellent condition, he’d gotten lax on his training regimen and wasn’t in the fighting form that was critical to their job. Time to get back in shape, in more ways than one.
If he didn’t get his head screwed on straight, Kincaid wouldn’t fire him, but he would ground him and send him to a head doctor. Cody knew this because the boss had been up front with him about his concerns. He appreciated the man’s honesty, but Cody would quit before reliving his nightmares with a shrink. That meant he had to get a grip because his sobriety depended on keeping the job and being back with his teammates.
After he spent a half hour with Maria Buchanan, Kincaid’s sister and team member Jake Buchanan’s wife, getting all his new hire paperwork in order, Maria took him on a tour of the facilities. He was impressed with what his former commander had achieved. K2 Special Services was a state-of-the-art operation, and Cody itched to be included as a valued member of the team. Because Kincaid knew he’d gone a little crazy—more crazy than normal—he’d have to prove he had his act together. He just wished that was actually true.
“Everything’s going to work out,” Maria said, placing a gentle hand on his arm.
How much had she heard about him? His cheeks heated, and Cody glanced away, pretending to study the open war room where support staff was gathered around Jamie Turner, known as Saint to the team because he didn’t drink, cuss, or brag about his conquests. He’d heard Saint had recently gotten married. What was with all the love crap going on with his teammates?
“Unless you’re involved in an operation, you’ll start each morning here,” Maria said, pulling open a door. She led him into the most amazing gym he’d ever seen. Every imaginable exercise machine—treadmill, rowing machine, NordicTrack—you name it, and it was here. Along the back wall were weightlifting benches, and there was even a boxing ring. About a dozen people were inside, working out on the various machines to the sound of high-energy rock music blaring from overhead speakers. Two men Cody pegged as personal trainers were walking around the room, stopping now and then to assist someone.
He spied his other former SEAL teammates, Kincaid, Buchanan, and O’Connor. Kincaid was the first to notice him and gave a slight lift of his chin, indicating Cody should join them.
“Hit the deck,” his boss said, when Cody reached them. “Last one to a hundred gets in the ring with me.”
Hell. That was going to be him, but he’d be damned if he wouldn’t give it all he had. He dropped alongside the others and powered through the first seventy-five push-ups, then with his arm muscles quivering and sweat pouring off him, he got to ninety-two before he collapsed facedown on the floor. What was about to follow was going to hurt.
Kincaid stared down at him, his lips curling in disgust. “Five o’clock, Dog. In the ring.”
Cody gave a curt nod, embarrassed about his poor showing. On the plus side, he had until five to recover before he had to step into the ring and get knocked on his ass by the boss.
He spent the rest of the day familiarizing himself with K2 and the current operations going on in various parts of the world. Several times, he caught his thoughts straying to his neighbor, wanting to crack a smile at her giving him the finger. She was a feisty one. If he were in a better place... he quickly shut that kind of thinking down. Between being screwed up, starting a new job, and cutting down on the booze, he didn’t have any room left for a woman. Even if a certain part of him down below disagreed.
All too soon, the day passed, and he found himself in the ring with Kincaid. Reluctantly in the ring, he amended. The rest of the team, along with other K2 employees, lined the perimeter, and after no one would bet on him, they gave up trying to place wagers. That was a boost to his ego. Not.
The only edge he had was that he was crazy. In their frequent bouts in-country, his team had all been leery of him, including the boss, as they never knew what to expect from “Dog.” That would be his only advantage in the fight about to happen. The rules were that there were no rules, and although he’d come out on top more often than not with his teammates, he’d never bested his commander. Even a fool could predict that wasn’t going to change today, and he just hoped Kincaid wouldn’t hurt him... too much. That was his last thought as his vision centered on the fist coming at him.
“What happened?” Cody asked from his position, flat on his back on the mat, as Doc stared down at him. He shook his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs.
Ryan O’Connor snorted. “First punch, you were out like a baby.”
“I’m not a baby.”
“You were today. The others left, didn’t want to stick around and shame you.”
And wasn’t that humiliating? Cody pushed up and glanced around. There was no one in sight. “I thought he’d let me play with him for a round or two first, that maybe I’d get a lucky hit in.”
“He was teaching you a lesson.” Ryan stood. “Since you’re not dead, I’m outta here. Got a hot date with my girl.”
