| |
––––––––
RYKER TOOK A SIP OF his steaming black coffee from the deck of the beach house, his gaze scanning the horizon. The hot liquid burned down his throat, and he looked at the waves crashing on the shore. His other teammates were milling about inside with their women, and he frowned.
The glass door slid open a moment later, and Jacob “Joker” Olson walked out, drink in hand. “Yo, Ryker. Jessica said brunch is almost ready.”
He grunted as he glanced back, eyeing his teammate.
“What’s up, Bulls Eye?” he asked, calling Ryker by his nickname. “Sad that your lady friend headed back to Blacksburg?”
Ryker smirked, thinking of the flirtatious blonde he’d spent the summer with. “Hell. She was a firecracker, but neither of us was looking for something long term,” he said with an easy shrug. “It was a good time, but it’s over. No harm, no foul.”
“Yeah. I was just busting your balls.”
“What the hell are they cooking in there that takes so long?” Ryker complained, glancing through the doors toward the kitchen.
“Not sure. Jess and some of the other women are handling the food. They shooed me right out of the kitchen. Bailey’s making some killer Bloody Mary’s though. You should go grab one.”
“God damn, I could get used to this kind of Sunday morning.”
Jacob guffawed. “Hell, couldn’t we all. Jess wanted one last hurrah before she starts teaching at her new school next week. And although she extended the rental of the beach house through the end of September, after that we can kiss this beauty goodbye.”
“Yeah. It would’ve been killer to hang out here this fall and enjoy the beach while the weather’s good, but without Michelle’s parents paying for it, I get it. The rent’s gotta be sky high.”
Jacob nodded. “It goes down a little after summer, but Jessica’s moving in with me when she has to leave the beach house.”
Ryker chuckled. “Hell. Her best friend and I fizzle out, and you’re planning happily ever after with a woman.”
“Hell yeah,” Jacob agreed. “I know a good thing when I see it. It took a hell of a lot of convincing her this summer, but now that she’s staying here in Virginia Beach, there’s no point in waiting around.”
Ryker smirked, glancing back out at the water.
“You looked awfully damn serious out here brooding alone.”
“Surprised you noticed,” Ryker quipped.
“Like I said, Jess kicked me out of the kitchen. It smells fantastic in there, but if she doesn’t want my help, I can take a hint. Maybe we’ll throw one last barbecue here where we man the grill. But apparently, the kitchen is her territory.”
“Women.” Ryker paused a beat and then eyed his teammate. “Did Mason tell you what I found the other day during training?”
Jacob nodded. “The necklace. Surprised you still had it, man. We’ll find her. We can’t exactly go traipsing all over Afghanistan without any solid intel. We need a rescue operation, not a suicide mission.”
“It’s been a month,” Ryker said. “I don’t fucking like it.”
“You know as well as I do that a woman in harm’s way doesn’t sit well with any of us. Frankly, I’m surprised she hasn’t been all over the news. She’s with State, right? I’m guessing they don’t know that. You’d think she’d be considered a high-value target and they’d be broadcasting videos of her all over the damn place.”
Ryker nodded, glancing over at the doors to the house. One of the women, Taylor, was walking toward them, gesturing for them to come inside. “I don’t know what to make of it, but I still have that damn necklace I found, and I can’t just sit around any longer and do nothing. I’ll talk to the CO on Monday and see if he has any updates.”
“You never know,” Jacob said, turning to the door. “You know as well as anyone that we could be wheels-up in hours.”
“Yeah. We just need the fucking intel,” Ryker muttered, following him inside.
The other guys on his SEAL team and their girlfriends were gathered around the kitchen and dining area, grabbing food and drinks. “Hey, you want a Bloody Mary?” Bailey asked. Her eyebrow ring glinted in the light as she glanced over at him, and her boyfriend Noah “Viper” Miller sauntered over and slung his arm around her waist.
“Nah, not my drink,” Ryker said. “Thanks anyway.”
“Oh come on,” his other teammate Colton “C-4” Ferguson said, taking a sip. “It’s got alcohol. What’s not to like?”
His girlfriend Camila walked over with two plates of food, handing one to Colton. “Some men like a stiff drink, no?” she asked in her Colombian accent.
Bailey grinned at them. “I’ll make you something stronger. Let me check and see what Jessica has here. I think Michelle bought some....” Her voice trailed off as she mentioned the woman Ryker had previously been seeing.
He chuckled. “Hell, you can mention Michelle’s name. If she comes back to town to visit Jessica soon, I told her to call me and come spend the night at my place. Both of us knew it was just about some summer fun.”
Noah let out a low whistle. “That’s what they all say, right before—bam! Some woman smacks into you, and you never even saw it coming.”
Colton laughed, agreeing with him. “Hoorah—that’s been par for the course so far with most of this group.”
Ryker shook his head, smirking. It had been one hell of a summer, but he’d already met a pretty brunette since Michelle had left. And a sexy French tourist visiting with friends. He loved a beautiful woman beside him—and in his bed.
While his buddies might be happy with their women, he was perfectly content to remain single and enjoying all the beautiful ladies he met.
There was a loud knock on the front door, and their SEAL team leader Hunter “Hook” Murdock and his pregnant girlfriend Emma came in, beaming. “Hook!” Colton called out. “Come grab a drink!”
They smiled and said hello as they made their way in, and Ryker watched in amazement. Hell, even his SEAL team leader was happily settled down with a woman. About to be a father. Their team was a hell of a lot different than a year ago. Not that any of his buddies seemed to be complaining.
“Think a shot of whiskey will do you?” Bailey asked Ryker as she held up a bottle.
“Hell no—not for brunch,” he said with a low chuckle. “I’m good with my coffee. Noah looks ready for some attention though,” he said, nodding toward his buddy.
“Let’s grab some food, sunshine,” Noah said as Bailey glanced over at him.
Ryker smirked.
“I saw that,” Bailey teased. “Maybe Michelle wasn’t destined to be ‘Mrs. Bulls Eye’ but she’s out there somewhere.”
Noah guffawed. “Mrs. Bull Eye. That does have a nice ring to it. Does that mean I can start calling you Mrs. Viper?”
“Only if you’re proposing,” she quipped.
“Wait, who’s proposing?” Hunter asked, sauntering over. “Are you trying to show me up or something?”
Ryker raised his eyebrows as Emma waggled her fingers, showing off a sparkling diamond ring. Holy hell. Not a total surprise since she was pregnant with his child and they’d moved in together practically the second she’d come here from England, but wow.
The first man on their SEAL team was finally getting hitched.
There was a round of whoops and hollers all around, and a moment later, Bailey was popping a bottle of champagne that she’d pulled out of the fridge.
Noah moved over toward her and said in a low voice, “When I propose, it sure the hell won’t be with my entire SEAL team here.”
Ryker shook his head and moved toward Hunter. “Congrats, man. That’s fantastic.”
“I’m a lucky bastard,” Hunter agreed, wrapping his arm around Emma’s shoulders as she stood beside him.
“Well how about you, Ryker?” she asked in her British accent. “Your entire SEAL team has a girlfriend—or fiancée,” she added, smiling up at Hunter. “Should we find you a woman or what?”
He chuckled. “Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t do relationships—not serious ones, anyway.”
Hunter smirked beside Emma.
“What the hell is so funny?” Ryker asked. “I mean, sure, I saw the same woman all summer. But that was with a mutual agreement to part ways after we had some fun.”
“Ryker,” Emma chastised. “Did you think Hunter would ever settle down?”
“Hell no,” Ryker said, his lips quirking as he looked between Hunter and Emma.
“Well there you bloody go,” Emma said as Hunter chuckled.
“There I ‘bloody go’ what?” Ryker asked, raising his eyebrows.
“The unbelievable can happen sometimes. Did I think I’d waltz into a pub, meet Hunter, move to the States, and get pregnant and engaged?”
“I sure didn’t,” Hunter said with a chuckle, brushing his lips over her flaming red hair. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Bailey and Noah handed out plastic cups of champagne to everyone, Bailey putting a cup of orange juice instead into Emma’s hand. “All right,” Noah called out, as everyone looked his way. He held his cup up in the air. “We’ve been waiting a damn long time for Hook to settle down. Emma, he’s all yours now,” he added, listening to the laughter throughout the room. “To Hunter and Emma!”
The others all toasted and sipped their champagne, and Jessica began to tell everyone to get some food.
Ryker grabbed an empty plate and sauntered over to the buffet table. He was reaching for some scrambled eggs and bacon when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Quirking his brow, he saw his teammates all reaching for their phones at the same time as well.
Shit.
It was go time.
