Page 12 of Erik's Salvation
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Right. Well, call if you need anything from me.”
“You know I will.” He ended the call, his mind on his job. It was dangerous, and usually he needed dangerous. The rush of knowing every breath could be his last. The high of ridding this world of scumbags.
But right now, he needed to sort out his shit. He also needed to spend time with his family.
When he pulled into the parking lot of Black Bean, he spotted his sister’s car immediately. Of course, Andi hadn’t gone in. She’d waited in her car, foot probably on the gas, ready to go find him. His sister was nothing if not a woman of her word.
Not only was Andi the best at riding his ass, she was also a doctor, which meant she had eyes like a hawk and observed everything. A hell of a lot more than he wanted her to.
The second he was out of his car, so was she, and when she was close enough, she pounced on him like a five-and-a-half-foot bear. Erik caught her easily, and the second she was in his arms, he breathed her in.
God, she smelled like home.
He tightened his hold, not realizing how fucking much he’d missed his family until this moment. “I missed you, A.”
She dug her face into his shoulder. “You have no idea.” When she pulled back, her eyes glistened. “You doing okay?”
No. The voice was a loud shout in his head. A shout he didn’t dare say out loud to his sister. “Yeah.”
The slight narrowing of her eyes told him she didn’t believe him. Hell, if he were her, he wouldn’t have believed it either. “You?”
She sniffed and nodded. “Better now. But don’t ever disappear on us again. You’re home, and you need to stay home. Got it?”
“Or you’ll hunt me down and beat my ass?”
“Worse. I’ll lock you in my house and make you eat endless supplies of Dad’s cooking.”
His lips twitched. His dad was a terrible cook, and everyone in the family knew it. They hadn’t been exposed to it much growing up since their mother had prepared most of the meals, but there had been the odd occasion when she was sick or away, and their father had insisted on inflicting his culinary torture on them.
When they stepped into the café, he was hit yet again by that old nostalgia. He got it every time he came here. “I can’t believe they haven’t changed this place at all.” Not one bit in eight damn years.
The old wooden tables were still mismatched and painted in different colors. The brown wooden counter still had the same hanging rattan pendant lights above. He’d been here a handful of times since getting to town, mostly for coffee, and it still shocked the hell out of him.
“I know,” Andi said softly. “It’s exactly the same. Norman and Rita are nothing if not creatures of habit.”
She pulled him to a table near the window. He took the seat opposite her, his back to the wall so he could see his surroundings. Andi didn’t blink. She had two special operations siblings—their brother, Nate, was a Navy SEAL, stationed at Coronado. She got it.
“Tell me how you’ve been. The real story, not the made-up bullshit.”
He lifted a brow. “You think I’d give you made-up bullshit?”
“I know you would. It’s why you’ve been avoiding the family since you stepped foot in this town.”
His jaw clicked. So fucking true. “I’m doing as well as I can be.”
She nodded. It was a slow movement that told him she was far from done dissecting him. “I know I’ve said this many times over the phone, but I’m sorry about…everything.”
His gut twisted, pain ricocheting off all his vital organs. Not at what she’d said, but because of what shehadn’tsaid. Sorry about his team. Sorry about Vick and—
He shut the thought down before it was complete.
She tilted her head. “Do you miss the military or boxing?”
He’d done a stint in the professional boxing world after leaving the Marines, and he still boxed regularly. Getting into the ring was like a dose of life-giving air to his lungs. It loosened the band that was always so fucking tight around his chest. Exactly why he’d already turned his basement into an indoor workout room with a heavy bag. “No. It was time.”
He already knew what the next question would be.
