Page 55 of Unexpected Packages

I released a sigh. “Yes, I know, Annie. Look—” I paused. “I hope to be back by her local competition. If I’m not—”

“If you’re not, I’ll explain it to her. Nica told me that you’re seeing someone. She really liked her. I’m happy for you, Alex. You deserve to be happy. Make sure you get back for both of them, and me. I worry about you.”

“Thanks, Annie.” I didn’t want to get into it with her, so I left it like that. After hanging up, I was alerted to a few new emails and quickly got lost in the business at hand again. Every few minutes, Lexi would come to mind, but I’d just as quickly push those thoughts away. I’d have time to think about her when the job was done.

I got to sleep around midnight and was back up at four. I had a long plane ride ahead of me, and I’d take a nap on the way. After I finished my packing, I looked around my apartment, and my eyes landed on the necklace box. I opened it and stared down at the heart charm.

She no longer held my heart, but sadly, my heart had yet to show back up inside my chest cavity. I removed the necklace from the box and slipped it into a small velvet pouch that one of my military ribbons had come in. I tucked the bag into my pocket, gathered my stuff, and then locked up my apartment.

In the main entrance, I opened my mailbox, slipped in the hold mail slip, and then locked it again. I paused, staring at the A. Miller on her mailbox and reverently touched it. I’m coming back to you, Alexandra, and I am not going to let you go once I do.

Class went quickly, and before we knew it, Trevor and I were off to the airport. I hadn’t had much of a chance to think about anything other than the trip, and the only time that Lexi came to mind was when I stuck my hand into my pocket and felt the small pouch. I’d finger it momentarily and then shift back into gear.

Our travel time was almost twenty-four hours, and we were changing planes three times. It was going to be a long night and the next day, but I’d done it several times before. It would probably only take me a day to get my bearings once we arrived.

Trevor and I were mostly quiet on the journey, our mind-sets shifting back into warrior mode and away from the civilian way of thinking. Soon it was going to be time to watch our every step, every word we spoke. Once we stepped off the plane, we couldn’t really trust anyone except ourselves and the people we were going to help. Even those we’d have to be careful with. Who knew if any of them were working on the other side.

By the time we were ready to land in Afghanistan, I was prepared to get to work. For the last few hours, all I had been able to do was replay the previous conversations with Lexi over and over again. Trevor and I disembarked from the plane and stood in the terminal. I don’t think either of us ever really thought we’d be back here, and not in a civilian contractor capacity. We no longer had units and commanders behind us. Once we met up with the Kendall Group, we would be in charge, and their safety would become our responsibility. We nodded to one another and went to collect our backpacks.

A man approached us once we’d collected them and introduced himself as our guide to the location. The limited trusting began right then, and Trevor and I followed the man out of the airport.

As we drove down the bumpy roads, I’m sure Trevor’s mind was going a million miles a minute as mine was. Reliving moments in time from past deployments. Buildings that had once been blown apart before our eyes were either no longer standing, or worse than they had been. Amidst the bustling streets, I saw ghosts of our brothers lying in pools of blood or screaming in agony. It made for a tense ride to the hotel that our people were in.

Once we arrived, the driver sped off after telling us that we’d find our party on the third floor. Trevor and I headed up the stairs. “Did that guy make you as nervous as he made me?”

“Oh yeah, the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. Every time he glanced in the rearview mirror at me, I tensed,” Trevor replied quietly.

“I’m glad it wasn’t just me,” I said as we hit the third floor. Farther down the hall, two security guards were stationed, and they eyed us carefully until one started laughing.

“Well, damn, we knew we were getting help, but I had no idea it was going to be you two,” Cliff Warner said as he approached us and took my hand, bumping chests with me.

“Good to see you, Warner,” I told him.

“You too. Tell me, did you think you’d ever see this place again?”

“Oh, hell no,” Trevor responded. “At least I’d hoped like hell that we wouldn’t.”

Warner filled us in on the people who were with us, and how four more security members were coming to assist. Right now, we only had the four of us for twelve other civilians, so having eight was great. We had four vehicles for the twenty of us, and hopefully we’d get the convo on the road at first light tomorrow.

In the meantime, he took us into a room to show us the gear, and the first thing Trevor and I did was look over the weapons. After a quick check to make sure they were in good working order, and we had adequate ammunition, Warner took us to meet the engineer in charge of the group.

Warner knocked on a door two down from where we’d been, and a tall man pulled it open. “Vick, this is Alex Miller and Trevor Vaughn. They just arrived from home to help us.”

We shook hands as we entered his room, and we found three other people in the room with him, two men and a woman who eyed us carefully. Introductions were made around the room, and Vick took a moment to ask how our injured friend was.

“Murdock’s on his way home as we speak,” Trevor told him. “Can you tell us how it happened? We saw the report, but I’d like to hear it in your own words.”

Vick explained that they were passing through a small town when they came under fire, and a small IED went off. Luckily, none of them had been injured, although one of the vehicles sustained significant damage to it. It was as they were getting everyone off the road that gunfire had started, and Murdock had been hit.

After a few more questions and hearing what was planned for the next day, we told them to get rest and eat well. We’d be on the road before the sun came up the following day.

Trevor, Warner, and I returned to our room, where we went over maps and notes on the assignment and then decided to get some shut-eye before the other members arrived. I told Warner to wake us in three hours, and we’d take over the watch in the hallway.

Before I lay down, I stood at the window and stared out over the city. My hand in my pocket, my fingers rubbed the pouch, and I thought about how less than two days ago, I’d been holding Lexi for the last time. I was determined to get this done as quickly as I could and get back to her and my daughter.

As I watched the shadows fall over the city, a shiver slipped down my spine. There was danger in the air, and I suddenly had the feeling that this trip wasn’t going to go as quickly or easily as I’d hoped it would.

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