Page 5 of Wild Card (The Trident Trilogy 3)

Chase pulls up a chair next to me. “Kind of a long story, but short version, she’s Millie’s best friend’s mom. Well, her best friend growing up. I think she kind of lost touch with all of them after Mack died or disappeared or whatever he did.”

“Wait. Yeah, Millie’s told me about her. A little bit anyway. I think she’s the woman who was like Millie’s surrogate mom growing up. Right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I understand. Mack’s mom, Millie’s grandma, was pretty worthless, so I think Carol filled in.”

“Huh,” I say, stroking my beard, “so Mack dated her?”

“Yeah, we didn’t talk about it much, but I think they were pretty into each other.”

“So why wouldn’t he want Millie to know they dated? Millie loves her.”

Chase sighs. “I don’t know. Mack’s complicated. He likes to keep the different parts of his life separated. I don’t know if I ever told you I met Millie when she was a baby—right after Mack brought her back from Bosnia—and then not again until she was sixteen. She showed up unannounced on base one day or I wouldn’t have met her then. He didn’t want her near his work.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. He probably didn’t want her to worry about him not coming back from a mission and then he didn’t come back from one, so . . .”

“Yeah,” Chase says, nodding his head. “You know she showed up on base like a week before he disappeared. It was weird like something was guiding her to see him one last time. I remember walking outside to get Mack for a meeting. They were sitting on top of one of those picnic tables in the visitor’s area. His arm was around her and her head on his shoulder. She was laughing about something. That image haunted me from the second I thought he blew up in that house.”

A flash of déjà vu runs through my brain—like I’m seeing her sit on that picnic table. I shake my head to try to get the memory to focus, but it leaves me as quickly as it came.

“Do you know anything about her real mom?”

“Not really,” Chase says. “I met her though. Have I told you that? Our team worked with her for a few weeks. She was our translator. That’s how they met.”

“Does Millie know that?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure. After Mack disappeared, I never told her who her real mom was. He didn’t want her to know anything about that side of her family because of who her uncle was, you know? She’s only known for sure that Nejra was her mom since Sayid told her earlier this year. I guess it’s up to Mack what else he shares with her.”

I take a long swig of my beer. “People always tell her she looks like her mom. True?”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s been so long ago. I don’t remember what she looked like, but I remember she was smart and outspoken for a traditional Muslim woman. And she had a thing for Mack. That much I remember clearly.”

“Not so traditional then,” I say, laughing.

“Well, you know, we met her in the middle of a war after she had just lost both of her parents. As you well know, war changes people. I think she was looking to live a little. I’m sure she thought it was just a matter of time before she died. Sarajevo was being bombed constantly during the siege.”

“So were they just together once? Was it a one-night-stand?”

“No, not really. They spent a lot of time working together. I think they developed a mutual affection for each other. Mack liked her—respected her. He tried to move her to the U.S. That was before he even knew she was pregnant. But, she didn’t want to leave what was left of her family. She was close to her brother and that aunt that just died.” He pauses for a second as he grabs another beer out of the cooler. “Mack gave Nejra his address before we left. I was pissed when he told me. As you know, that breaks all kinds of rules, but there was something about her. He felt protective of her. I still don’t understand why she didn’t contact him to tell him about Millie. She could still be alive today—”

He stands up abruptly as Millie walks through the patio door.

“Did you leave Mar and Mack alone in the house?” Chase says, trying to cover the awkward break in our conversation. “One of them is going to kill the other by the end of this month. I’m going to be left without a wife or a best friend.”

“It’s fine. Dad went to grab something out of the car,” Millie says, laughing as Chase hurries inside.

I hold my arms out to her as she walks over. “Come here, baby,” I say as she sits on my lap. She pulls her feet up and curls into a little ball against my chest. “You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s weird about Dad and Carol though. I told you about her. She was like a mom to me growing up. I had no idea they had a thing.” She takes a deep breath. “I talked to her for the first time in years when I was in the Outer Banks to sell my grandma’s house. She was still so sweet, even after years of me blowing her off. I wonder if they’ll get back together—”

“Babe, you need to stay out of it,” I say, wrapping my arms around her a little tighter.

She looks up at me—eyebrows raised. “Like he stays out of my relationship?”

“He’ll leave us alone eventually,” I say, nuzzling my nose into her neck. “He’s got to figure out a way to be okay with it because I’m never leaving you.”

She lays her head back down on my chest. “Promise?”

“Yeah, baby. I promise,” I say, kissing her again as I see Mack walk into the yard. “No one’s ever getting in between us. No one.”

* * *

---