“I can’t believe it.”
Luke stared down at the written confirmation in his hands. The OTH discharge had been wiped clean off his record to be replaced with Honorable.
Josh had done it. He’d only gone and managed to expose a scandal that involved a colonel, a lieutenant general, and countless other small-fry officers as well as four NCOs. A scandal that was hitting the papers thanks to Josh’s leaking the news, making sure that faces were put to those names and that those people would be punished for the many crimes they’d committed.
He looked up into the face of his smiling husband and felt tears prick his eyes at the huge grin Josh sported. “I can’t believe you did it, Josh.”
“I didn’t do it alone.” He grabbed Dana, his PA, and squeezed her. “Here’s the brains behind it all.”
Dana snorted and disentangled herself from Josh’s clasp. “You were the brains. I was the brawn.” She flexed her fingers. “Well, technically, these were.”
Luke stood on shaky legs and reached for her. It wasn’t like him to hug strangers, but this woman had helped save his reputation. He’d have given her a piece of the moon if he could. She squeaked when he wrapped her up in his arms, then patted one of her flushed cheeks in a gesture that was curiously old-fashioned when he released her.
“You’re welcome,” she muttered weakly. “I’m just glad the work paid off. Especially after what those bastards were doing over there.” She shot off a glare at Colonel Harrison, who had flown in for the appeal. He was in a chair, shell-shocked, with cuffs on his wrists. Two MPs guarded him while they waited for transport to take him to a holding facility.
A part of Luke wanted to gloat at the sight of the dejected officer. A court-martial was in his future, as was jail. Unless he struck a deal, one that shopped other people in the racketeering business he’d been running. It was a possibility, and after what Harrison had put Luke through, the notion didn’t please him, but that was how justice worked. Sometimes, to completely destroy a rat’s nest, you had to wade into its heart and poison the core.
After what General Jarvis, Josh’s superior officer, had uncovered over in Libya on the base there, the core was well in need of being poisoned. The girl, the young bride who Luke had caught Harrison sodomizing…she was dead. Buried in an unmarked grave, along with two more young females. Worse than that, there were sales records. Other girls in the area who had been taken from their homes under the guise of arrest had been sold off like chattel. Jarvis’s investigation hadn’t uncovered their whereabouts, and God only knew if he ever would. Harrison’s fingers were muddied by being stuck in so many pies. His corruption ran through his veins.
If it hadn’t been for Josh, for his husband’s perseverance and belief in Luke, then none of this would have come to light. Luke could have been the one sitting in cuffs. His lawyer had explained that to him when he’d appealed his discharge. By shaking the boat, by rattling a few feathers, the cover-up that was his case would be unsettled, and all hell could have broken loose.
Instead, he was a free man. His honor back in place, his respectability with it.
The crazy thing was, it didn’t matter. His honor had never been in question, and those who had doubted it hadn’t deserved to be in his life anyway.
Case in point the man heading his way.
“Father,” he stated when Robert and Lou came to a standstill in front of him. Lou was crying, tears of relief and happiness openly pouring down her cheeks. She kept on trying to stem the flow with a sodden paper towel, but it was a losing battle. “Mom,” he continued, his voice softer. He reached for her, tucking her against his chest, smiling at the quiver he felt rattle her bones. “It’s okay, Mom. It’s over. It’s done.”
“I can’t believe it, Son,” she whispered. “I’m so proud of you.”
“You should be proud of Josh. He did the hard work.”
She peered around his arm. “Josh knows I’m proud of him. That we’re both proud of what he uncovered today.” Lou stared at Robert a second, then cleared her throat. The sound was pointed, a command.
Robert seemed to wince, and then he clapped Josh on the arm and grabbed his hand to shake it. “Thank you, Josh. Thank you for clearing Luke’s name and for restoring our family’s honor.” He took a step toward Luke, arms open, his intent clear, but Luke held up a hand.
“No. Don’t spout your bullshit my way. You didn’t have faith in me. And you said it yourself. All you were interested in was the family honor. Well, screw that. I’ve been a dedicated soldier, loyal to my country and to the people I serve. I don’t have to be loyal to the people who don’t have faith in me, who didn’t believe in me when the odds weren’t stacked in my favor.”
“Son, how did you expect me to react—” Robert started, but Lou stopped him with a prod of the finger to the chest.
“The boy’s right. You’ve been a jackass for most of your life. You’ve pulled some stunts, but I’ve never been more ashamed of you than I have this past year. After the way you treated Lexi and now Luke…” She shook her head. “But this isn’t the time or the place for that conversation. Luke has to get on the phone so a certain somebody can come home. I wish I could see her face when you tell her the news,” she whispered, a smile hitting her still-wet eyes. “She won’t believe it only took three days for the entire thing to reach its peak.”
Josh piped up. “I can’t believe it either.” He looked at Luke, but his attention was still on his father. “We should go. Your mom’s right. We need to call Gia.”
Luke’s mouth curled into a sneer. “Another person who managed to believe in me. Shame my father couldn’t.” He bent down, kissed Lou’s cheek, and murmured, “I’ll be over tomorrow. I need to check out the grafts we did two weeks ago.”
She nodded. “The buds have taken to the rootstock. I’ve been checking on them daily.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He ignored his father and took a second to look around the courtroom that had been the heart of his greatest hopes and fears. It was decidedly dull, nothing special about it, and yet it was here he’d been granted a fresh start.
People still milled about, some upper-ranking MPs discussing the case with General Jarvis and a few members of the appeals board. The shit storm Josh had stirred might never settle, but—and it made him feel guilty—he was relieved to be out of it.
No more deployments, no more violence. Just family, peace, and the garden.
Had his father not been standing there, looking awkward as hell, Luke would have probably let the tears burning his eyes fall. As it was, it was a point of pride to keep them contained. Robert already had preconceived notions of his pansy-ass son, and Luke refused to affirm them.
He squeezed Lou’s arm, then turned on his heel and started to head out of the room. He could hear Josh at his back, knew his husband was collecting the papers he should have collected himself but had left so as not to spend another second with his father, and made his way to the exit. A few feet away from the door, someone called his name out. He turned, spotted Jarvis, and maneuvered his way to Josh’s CO.
As he made the about-turn, he flinched as his knee protested the abrupt movement. God, this injury was driving him insane. He’d never felt so goddamn weak in all his life. His irritation made his voice gruff when he muttered, “You called, sir?”
Jarvis’s top lip quirked. “No salute? You’re already out of the hang of being a soldier, eh?”
“I’m sorry, sir. It slipped my mind.” It genuinely had. His head was still attached to his shoulders, but the brain matter it contained was on another ether. Throw in his preoccupation with his fucking knee, and a salute had been the last thing on his mind.
“Of course it has,” Jarvis replied, smiling. “Congratulations. It went better than I think even Josh hoped.” He peered over Luke’s shoulder, looking at Josh, Luke assumed. “A good man, that one. Exactly who you need when the firing squad is aimed your way, and I have no difficulty in telling you it was, Lieutenant Colonel Gray.”
“I know it was, sir,” he answered shakily, fully aware of how rough things had been. “I knew what I was inviting by upsetting the apple cart. I saw the panel’s initial reaction to my case too. I’m well aware of how fortunate I am.”
“I don’t think you do. Prison…?”
Luke nodded. “I didn’t want to focus on that, but yes. I knew it was a possibility.”
“It takes a brave man to stand up for what he believes in. To stand up for the truth, especially when the whole world is against you. And let’s face it, for a career man like yourself, the army is your whole world.”
“No, it was, sir. Not anymore.”
“Can hardly blame you, not when it turned on you the way it did.” Jarvis sighed and scratched his nose, unsettling the glasses he wore. He pulled a face. “This is damned awkward.”
Luke frowned. “What is?”
“I’ve had a request, from several higher-ups.”
“You have, sir?”
“Yes. Now your name’s clear again, they want to know if…” He grunted. “It’s a foolish request. What kind of man is going to leap back into the hornet’s nest after he’s been bitten to buggery and managed to make it out alive?” His grunt turned into a huff. “They want to know if you’d be willing to work on a freelance basis.”
“Freelance?” Luke asked, his voice loaded with disbelief. “Freelance in what capacity?”
“Obviously, you’d remain on home turf, no more deployments or being sent off to handle hostage situations, but your know-how is invaluable to us. You’re our top man. The one in the know. Passing on your knowledge would be of great benefit to us.”
“You want me to train other hostage negotiators?”
“That’s the long and the short of it.”
Luke frowned at Josh’s CO, but the frown wasn’t aimed at Jarvis, more internally. His first reaction was to spit in the man’s eye and tell him to fuck off. After what he’d been through, if he never had to see BDUs again, it was a day too soon. And then, rationale struck.
He had a family, he had to support that family, and tea roses were his dream, but they didn’t have to be the be-all and end-all.
“The offer might come as a surprise, yet who better to pass on their wisdom but a soldier with an experience as wide as yours, a record as long as yours, and one who was renowned for getting the job done with little damage to human life?” When Luke didn’t reply, Jarvis admitted cautiously, “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you haven’t tried to blacken my eye.”
“The desire was there at first, sir, but I’m no fool. I escaped those cuffs around Harrison’s wrists by the skin of my teeth, and I don’t intend to end the day wearing a different set.” He folded his arms. “I’m interested in the proposition.”
“You are?” Luke got the feeling it took a lot to surprise Jarvis, yet he’d managed to achieve that.
“Yes, I am. I’ll need more information, concrete details before I can agree to anything.”
“Naturally. The people interested in you had me draw up a contract of employment pertaining to this particular job offer anyway. I thought it was a waste of time, but apparently I was wrong. Not something that happens often, I’m happy to say.” He reached down for the briefcase he’d settled at his feet, turned, and rested it on one of the few chairs that had filled the gallery where people could sit and watch the proceedings.
It had been a closed appeal; the public hadn’t been allowed in. Even his parents had had to sit outside for the main event. But the seats were put to use now as Jarvis riffled through his papers and pulled out a sealed envelope.
“Take your time. Consider the offer. I’ll say this, but I’ll deny it if you mention it. It’s negotiable.”
Luke frowned but accepted the envelope. “What do you mean?”
“They’ll go to double the hiring price.”
“You’re not being serious?”
“Well, you don’t know what the original salary is, but I can promise, it was generous. They want you on board, Lucas. After that last negotiation in Yemen, you came to a lot of people’s attention. Libya was going to be your last deployment, and though it was cut short by this farce, and your career with us as an officer was too, the promotion that was heading your way is, unfortunately, an impossibility. However, if we can get you on our team as a private individual, then you’ll make a lot of the men breathing down my neck happy. Do you understand my drift?”
He didn’t, not exactly, but he nodded regardless. “Yes, sir.”
Jarvis’s smile was the definition of satisfied. “Good. I say take your time, but I’d appreciate some indication as to your decision by the end of the month. It can be my Christmas present. I’m sure I’ll get a nice reward for managing to sway you to our cause.” As he spoke, he closed up his briefcase and tucked it under his arm. With his free hand, he saluted Luke. “Good day, soldier.”
He made to move away, but Luke broke protocol to grab Jarvis’s arm. “Who, sir? Who’s interested in me?”
There was a twinkle in Jarvis’s eye. “That you’ll never know, Lucas. Sorry.”
He left Luke standing there, feeling like he’d been punched in the gut. When Josh approached him from the back, resting a hand on his shoulder, he nearly jumped through his skin. Breathing heavily, he was about to snap at Josh, then saw the look of concern on his husband’s face. “Sorry,” he gritted out, still on edge. “I didn’t expect anyone to…” He rubbed his temple with a shaky hand. “Never mind.”
“What’s going on? What did Jarvis want?”
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here. I want to go home.”
Josh frowned but nodded. “Okay. I’ve relinquished Dana for the day, and I’m on leave for the next five. Plenty enough time for Gia to come home and for us all to settle in together.”
Only half listening, Luke let Josh’s words lull him as they strode out of the appeals court and out of the main building itself. Only in his periphery did he notice the stares, the interest he garnered as he walked out a free man. The shock waves the result of his case would have triggered had probably been epic, but he was too confused to be interested.
However he’d imagined the day ending, it hadn’t been with a job offer in one hand and his freedom in the other.
* * * *
The instant the door opened, two bundles of arms and legs hurled their way at the still-shell-shocked man. One bundle was shy of four feet. The other hit five-five in her stockinged feet. It was the scent of her that hit him first, the knowledge she was here when she wasn’t supposed to be. It hit him at his core, shaking his very foundations and undoing his control in ways she probably didn’t know she could.
His arms were shaking when he wrapped them around her, taking a second to breathe her in, to enjoy her rounded form against his body. Then he whispered, “What are you doing here?”
“You don’t expect Laurie to keep anything a secret for long, do you?”
He blinked, was about to reply when Josh burst out, “Gia? What the hell are you doing here?” Before she could utter a word, she was tugged out of Luke’s arms and bundled promptly into Josh’s. Rather than be left out, he waded into the fray and hugged them both, turning the embrace into a group huddle that contained a giggling, squashed Lexi as she clung to their knees.
“God, it’s good to have you home.” Josh breathed quietly. “I’m glad my mom is a loudmouth. I don’t even have it in me to scold her.”
“Neither should you,” Gia murmured, pulling back to grin up at them both. “I was already back in Texas anyway when I got her call.”
“She must have contacted you the instant I sent her the news.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be too annoyed that you told her before you told me?” She cocked a brow but spoiled it by dotting Luke’s cheek with kisses. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. So incredibly happy. Come into the kitchen. I’ll make us something to eat, and you can tell me what happened.” She unfurled herself from their arms and grabbed ahold of Luke’s fingers with one hand, and the other she used to guide Lexi. Their little girl was still bobbing up and down, garbling nonsense about the Cherokees and victory dances, as she half danced, half skipped her way along the hall.
They’d kept all the details of the appeal from her. In hindsight, if it hadn’t gone his way, it could have been a disaster. But with things ending the way they had, he was glad she’d been kept in the dark about the entire process.
He didn’t think she realized what they were happy about but was simply content to be a part of the fun. Plus, it was an opportunity to make Native American battle cries. If Lexi was anything, she was an opportunist to her bones.
They followed her as though she were the Pied Piper and took a seat at the breakfast counter. Josh was the first to admit, “We wanted to call you, but Luke had some news we needed to discuss in the car, so we figured we’d wait until we could get home and video call you with Lexi.”
She waved a hand as she headed to the fridge. “Don’t worry about it, love. I’m just glad to be home.”
“Not half as glad as we are to have you home,” Luke retorted, his voice working again after being cleaved shut with the emotion that had railroaded him upon seeing her.
God, he loved her.
The feeling wove around his heart, both relaxing him and adding tension. Here, in this kitchen, was his whole world. These people had believed in him, had never once doubted him, and would forever support him.
As the emotions he’d been battling all day finally battered him, he heard Lexi’s small concerned voice as she murmured, “Is Papa crying?” But he was too deep into the eye of the storm to answer or to get ahold of himself.
The day had been filled with shocks and surprises. Highs and lows. But they came on the heels of weeks and months of emotional days and stressful nights. Of nightmares and agony.
At that moment, with the people he loved most in the world, he was helpless to leash the welter of feeling that hit him and had no choice but to wait out the storm. Because when he did, he knew these three would still be there, waiting for him.
And that was all any man needed to know.