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The Hunting Cry’s two active patrol boats launched from the front bay, the opposite end of the ship from the heavier dropships and superiority fighters that could transit atmosphere. Of the two locations, Imee had her preferences, but the forward hangar also didn’t have a lot of traffic from the GroPos. Seeing Grenville hurt too much, reopened too many scars for her to risk any more than necessary.
Though to be fair, he hadn’t even been in the mess at the same time as her for more than a week. She’d fallen into the drudgery of Ops work that made up the majority of her non-flying time. Two of the wing’s mechanics were going through maintenance on her boat, and since she technically did their personnel reviews, she was overseeing the work as an excuse to stay forward. Boredom was better than sitting through simulations training.
At least Akomi tagged along for the trip, though her roommate had gone to the far side of the area to review the latest FASTOPS updates and make certain the wing was still operating within the Joint Forces’ standards. Imee was about to offer her roommate a coffee when a cold nose pressed into the palm of her hand and sent her away from the mechanics’ trolleys with a yelp of surprise.
Once she’d recovered, she turned and went to one knee. Djehuti was more than happy to amble into her waiting hands, and she stroked along the wolf’s back gently. He squirmed and wiggled under the attention, then dropped into a play bow. The wolf’s happiness sparked along her nerves, lifting her out of the dour mood that had been plaguing her. “I missed you too, dog.”
“You know he hates when you call him that.” Grenville stepped out from behind a bulkhead, while his wolf rolled over to let Imee rub his belly. “Though apparently, scritches take precedence.”
Imee pushed down the quick flood of warmth that flooded her when she saw him; easy enough to do since the pain of his past accusations burned in her throat, and the stupidity of thinking she could capture that lightning in a bottle came rushing back hot on its heels. There were so many things she wanted to ask about why he’d sought her out, but she settled for confrontation. “Don’t usually see you ground pounders in the fore.”
Grenville had the good grace to look sheepish, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I knew you’d be up here, and Djehuti wanted to see you. He misses you.”
She scrubbed the wolf’s ribs with her fingers, and he growled his happy response. “Well, he can come see me whenever he wants. Yes, you can.” The wolf braced his paws on her shoulders, licking her face as she baby-talked. She laughed and set him back down. “Okay, that’s enough.”
“I miss you too.”
The sadness in his voice tore in her chest like a barb. “Yes, well, we both know why that is.”
“Yeah, we do. And while I don’t expect you to change anything, or want to see me, I need to apologize to you.”
She glanced over at the two mechanics, who had both stopped working to watch the exchange. “If you all aren’t working, you can go to the lounge and take a break. Now.”
The two offered her a quick salute then dashed off toward the exit.
Once they’d gone, she turned back to Grenville. “I’ve heard that before, and it was bullshit then. Why should I listen?”
“Honestly? You shouldn’t. Neither Djehuti nor I deserve the time of day from you.” He studied the deck plates and shifted his weight from foot to foot.
“Hardly. The wolf didn’t do anything wrong.” She looked over at Akomi, but her roommate wasn’t providing any support, studiously staring at the manual in her lap while she clearly strained to hear every word.
“Then for his sake, I hope you’ll hear me out.”
She folded her arms and leaned back against the nose of the patrol boat. “The mechanics will be back eventually, so you’d best get on with it.”
He glanced after them, the worry on his face plainly written, but the two hadn’t reappeared suddenly. “I fucked up.”
“Go on,” she replied. This wasn’t the Grenville she knew, and the absence of his usual self-assuredness made her feel off kilter.
“That’s just it,” he said. “I’m used to talking. I’m not used to saying things. This is hard. And there’s a lot. I shouldn’t have undercut your decision about facing down those Triptych goons. I sure as shit shouldn’t have tried to tear you down because I was feeling jealous and scared. But there’s a hundred other ways I’ve probably fucked things up that I didn’t even recognize at the time. Still don’t. But that doesn’t make it right. I’m a firm believer that apologies are meaningless if you can’t name what you’re apologizing for and why it hurt the other person, but I’m hoping you’ll let me get away with promising that I try to do better?”
She mulled it over, then asked the question she’d already figured out the answer to. “Why jealous?”
“Because it felt like I was losing Djehuti. He’s the only family I’ve got.” The wolf heard his name and padded back to his bondmate’s side. Grenville got down on his knees to card his fingers into the wolf’s thick ruff. “I’ve never had any decent role models for relationships, so I don’t actually know what I’m doing. It’s easier to keep it casual, because—”
“Because then you can’t get hurt.” She shook her head. “But you also can’t heal.” Behind his amber eyes, she could see the boy he’d been; angry and alone, without someone to help him carry his grief.
He nodded. “Someone a damn sight smarter than me told me that you couldn’t achieve anything worthwhile without risk, and you can’t fly if you’re scared of falling.”
“She was probably quoting from some saccharine book of inspirational quotes,” Imee said. Akomi laughed from where she was sitting and failed to cover it up with a coughing fit. “But it’s not entirely wrong.”
“I just need to know if it’s true. Tell me I can fly. Tell me you’ll give me, give us, another chance.”
His voice cracked on the word us, and wings crashed against the inside of her rib cage. “I’m willing to forgive you. We both know there can’t be an us with the rank differences. One of us will get drummed out.” Meaning her, because she was the expendable one in the long run. There were always more pilots. Rangers were revered.
“I tendered my resignation.” The words flattened in the air like a wing crumpling under high-G, and they left her almost as deflated. Before she could interrupt he held up a hand. “The Commander wouldn’t take it, for the record. But I wanted you to know that you were worth more. That I love you more than any of this.”
Her heart skipped at the word, at the first time she’d heard him say it, and then it fell in the next beat. “If they didn’t take it,” she said, “then we’re back to square one. No fraternization.”
“Not exactly. There’s one other option.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out a band of black silicon resting in a carefully folded paper box. “It’s not elegant, and like me, it’s less than you deserve. But it’s sturdy, and it won’t cut your finger off if it gets crushed.”
Her pulse thundered in her ears as he held the box out to her. She was vaguely aware that her roommate had abandoned all pretense and set her book down so she could walk closer. “I... What are you asking me?”
“We’ve known each other forever, and it’s taken me this long to realize that I’m useless without you. Imee Lewis, I love you. Will you marry me?”
She tackled him before he could finish the question, smothering the words with a kiss, promising him a hundred more. A lifetime’s worth. When they broke apart, he smiled and leaned his head against hers. “Is that a yes?”
Imee coughed out a quiet laugh. “That’s a yes.”
“Okay you two, stop it before the kids come back.” Akomi’s grin threatened to split her face in two. “This better mean I get to be a damn bridesmaid.”
Imee couldn’t stop smiling, and her smile couldn’t stop leaking little laughs of happiness. She looked at her roommate. “Yes, you can be a witness. Or a bridesmaid. Or whatever we end up with. But only if you go play lookout so we can neck some more.”
“Gross!” Akomi laughed, but she strode off all the same. She called back over her shoulders, “I’m still going to want details, you know.”
Imee chuckled and shook her head. Grenville stroked the side of her face, fingers leaving a trail of sparks in their wake, his amber eyes never leaving hers. “I should warn you, it’s not all roses from here. There are some issues.”
She’d already been thinking about it; she couldn’t fly for his fireteam, couldn’t be in a position where their marriage might affect her judgment or cause her to disobey an order. It would mean not seeing him during the day. And she’d be stuck worrying about him when he was on a mission, fully aware of what he was risking and powerless to help him. He’d be stuck doing the same for her.
And it would be worth it. So very worth it.
A black-furred body shoved in between them, and the circle of their arms opened to include Djehuti. The three of them fit together like they were pre-fabricated to do so. Like they were a family.
THANKS FOR READING! I hope you enjoyed your visit to the Three Systems, and to the Rangers of Fireteam Bravo. If you’re not ready to leave yet, then you’re in luck – the story continues in Book 3, Chen. Learn all about your favorite taciturn specialist, and her fun-loving wolf Nujalik. Available now at all your favorite e-tailers:
https://books2read.com/u/mgGpkR
Also by JC Hay
TriSystems: Rangers
TriSystems: Smugglers
The Corporate Services Books
Flare: Team Corona (Part of The Great Space Race)