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WYATT REACHED OUT AND grabbed the backpack from Callie as she winced, pausing in the middle of the path. She shook her head as he took the weight of it, rubbing her injured arm with her good hand. “I’m right-handed, so I naturally always swing my backpack down on this arm. I should know better by now to be more careful.”
“I got it,” he said, easily slinging it onto his own shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Fine, but I can carry my backpack,” she protested.
“Yep, but so can I,” he said easily. Wyatt didn’t think she really cared if he hauled both. Her backpack was even lighter than his, since Wyatt had the food he’d picked up for a picnic. “Did you need your water?” he asked.
She said yes, grabbing her bottle from the side pocket.
Callie had pulled her hair back in a ponytail, the blonde strands turning wavy from the humidity in the air. She looked cute as hell in her tank top and shorts. He could see the string bikini tie around her neck—hot pink. The dainty little strings were sexy and feminine on her. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by staring, but damn. She was gorgeous. The tank top pulled across her small breasts. Her curves were perfectly proportionate to her lithe body. Clearly, she kept in shape. She was toned almost like a dancer—slim but strong. “You seem like you’re in good shape,” he commented as they began walking again. Wyatt had been prepared to move at her pace, but she’d moved forward up the trail, not winded in the least.
“I walk and hike a lot, but I also do Pilates and barre. I do online classes, although I’ll probably look into something local now that I’m settled here in Hawaii for the most part. Some things are harder now with my arm,” she admitted.
“Did it heal properly?”
“Yes, thankfully, it did. I was in a cast but didn’t need surgery. My doctor said it would take twelve weeks to heal. That’s long gone, but he told me it could take up to two years to fully regain my strength.”
“Damn. I want to kill those guys all over again for hurting you.”
Callie looked shocked for a moment but then laughed. “Geez. I didn’t think I’d approve of such brutality, but honestly? They deserve to die all over again. They killed several passengers on that plane, threatened me, and were nothing but pure evil.”
Wyatt continued walking at Callie’s side, letting her decide what to say next. He’d listen if she wanted to talk about her experience, but he didn’t want to ruin the day by bringing up bad memories for her either.
“I was so surprised when I heard them arguing several rows back,” she admitted, surprising him. “We’d seen them in the airport as well. I felt like I was in a movie. One moment they were yelling at the flight attendant, and then they were storming the front of the plane. I’ve never been so terrified.”
“They were cowards,” Wyatt said, his voice laced with anger. “Men like that put innocent lives on the line for their own sick agenda. They’re everywhere, too. We take out the bad guys in one place and others are springing up right behind them, itching to rise to power.”
“It’s a strange world,” Callie said. “Look at us—we’re here in the forest, enjoying a gorgeous Hawaiian afternoon. Somewhere, someone else is in pain and struggling. Being hurt. Having the worst day of their life. It’s hard to make heads or tails of it.”
“That’s why I have to compartmentalize when I’m on an op. Life goes on at home. My other buddies might be on base here in Hawaii. Regular people are going to work or school. Some might be on vacation or just doing their daily errands. And we’re in the middle of a mission, weapons drawn, full gear, tracking down evil men intent on harming others. I have to focus on the present.” He lifted a shoulder. “That’s why I try to fill my weekends with things I enjoy when I’m here. I know how lucky we are to have this freedom. Some people in other countries live with next-to-nothing.” His gaze flicked over to her. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that, what with all your travels.”
“It’s eye-opening,” she agreed. “I feel like I had so much, depending on where I was. Of course, I visited wealthy areas, too, when I was exploring. Then I felt like I was slumming it,” she joked.
Wyatt looked over at her again, watching her turn her water bottle around in her hands as she talked. Callie liked to stay busy, he observed. She wasn’t fidgety, just seemed to like having something to do. She wasn’t the type of woman to sit still, and he appreciated that. He enjoyed his down time but would much rather go for a jog on the beach or attempt to surf rather than lie out in the sun all day. Once again, he was struck by how much they had in common. Given they met by a chance occurrence, he almost felt like he couldn’t have met a more perfect woman if he tried.
“Are all your friends like you?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You like to stay busy. I can tell, because I’m the same way.”
Wyatt chuckled. “I was just thinking the same thing about you,” he said, noticing the hint of a flush on her cheeks. “And yeah, they are for the most part. I guess you have to be in our line of work. Anyone who wants to drive a desk and push paper wouldn’t fit in on the teams.”
“Yeah. I guess they’d have to become an analyst or something. That’d be an interesting job—not one that I’d want, because again, the sitting still would be pretty awful,” she joked.
“That’s why you were interested in waitressing.”
“Well, yeah. I don’t necessarily want an office job. I’m kind of a wanderer I suppose. I’m responsible,” she quickly said. “I paid rent on my apartment, have a retirement account.”
“I know you’re responsible,” Wyatt assured her.
Callie looked at him in surprise. “Some people didn’t really understand what I did. They thought I was some trust-fund baby with wealthy parents who financed my travels. I made money from advertising. I have a large number of followers—had,” she corrected.
“You seem like you miss it,” he said.
“Yeah. Sort of. Honestly, I’m terrified to just jump on a plane at a moment’s notice and jet off somewhere. I never gave it a second thought before.”
Wyatt glanced over as she paused, watching as Callie bit her lip. She looked visibly upset, and he reached out to comfort her, his hand landing on her back. “I’d be scared as hell,” he admitted. “You were amazing to keep moving forward with your life—not let panic and fear stop you from living.”
“I’m not really living,” she protested. “Sure, I got here, but I feel like I’m hiding out.”
“What are you hiding from?” he asked. Wyatt had asked her that the other day, but she hadn’t given him a clear answer. There had to be a reason she’d stopped doing what she loved. A break in traveling he could understand, but to completely remove her social media altogether? His instincts were telling him something was wrong.
Callie let out a breath. “I got some weird comments on my social media feed a week or so after the hijacking.”
Wyatt tensed, looking over at her. “What do you mean?”
“They were short comments. I know who you are. You were there. I’ll find you. I don’t even know what they were talking about aside from the hijacking. There were others, too, but I didn’t even read them all. It freaked me out. One of them said something like ‘You know who I am.’ That’s the odd thing. I literally have no idea who they are. The hijackers were all killed. Maybe someone just found out I was on the flight and wanted to mess with me.”
“Did you tell the authorities?” Wyatt asked.
“Well, no. I met with them right after the hijacking. I was still in the hospital when an FBI agent came to take my statement. I was already back home in the States by the time I started seeing the comments. It freaked me out. Usually, I just block any weird followers I get. This wasn’t normal creepy or snarky remarks though. It felt...threatening.”
“Can you show me them sometime? You said your social media channels are dark now, but they’re still archived or something, right?”
“Yeah.” She met his gaze, still looking worried. Wyatt hadn’t removed his hand from her back, just kept a steady hand on her as they moved up the trail. They’d been talking for so long, they were almost at the waterfall. He rubbed his hand in small circles, watching as she let out a breath. Doubling up their backpacks was no trouble, and he liked that he was able to lighten her load—both physically and mentally.
“We can talk about it more later if you want,” he said, trying to keep his voice gentle. Thoughts were churning through his mind, but he didn’t want to worry her. “We’re about five minutes out from the falls.”
“Okay. Yeah. Maybe I can pull them up later on. I’m not sure my cell phone would get a good signal here anyway.”
“The trail narrows up ahead, so why don’t you go first. I’ll be right behind you,” he said. She agreed, and then Callie’s slender frame was moving in front of him. His gaze inadvertently landed on her ass, and he tried not to stare, letting his gaze track back up her body. Tiny wisps of her blonde strands had fallen free from her ponytail, landing around her slender neck. The ties from her hot pink bikini top caught his eye, and Wyatt felt his blood heat. She was delicate and sexy, even in her tank top and shorts. Selfishly, he was looking forward to seeing her in a bikini. Callie was a gorgeous woman. He was in good shape, and he had caught her own gaze landing on his muscles.
The electricity between them was still there, a sizzling undercurrent that always drew him closer. Made him want to learn more. Wyatt felt comfortable with Callie. With some women, the attraction burned bright, but there was nothing really holding them together. Their personalities didn’t mesh, and they had little in common. Callie was the complete opposite—the total package. She was smart. Beautiful. The tiniest bit shy when he focused his attention on her, which made him feel all that much more protective of her. He didn’t know what would come of their new friendship/relationship, but he knew he wanted more. Wyatt wanted to see where things could lead between them. Callie was the type of girl that made him want everything.
