Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Wren felt as if she were eight years old again and called into the principal's office. Of course, back then, no one believed her when she told them what was going on in her house, but she wasn't that scared kid anymore. She was a grown-ass woman who was perfectly able to hold her own.

Maybe.

Okay, maybe not.

Colby Johnson intimidated her. Her boss was tall. And broad. And muscular. She was pretty sure he enjoyed using his size to loom over other people. As if simply because he was a large man, that somehow translated into him being better than others.

He had brown hair, brown eyes, and what seemed to be a perpetual frown on his face. She hadn't seen him in anything other than designer suits and ties. Colby was also a "loud-talker." Pretty much everyone in the office could hear him when he forgot to close his door .

It wasn't as if Colby was a bad boss. He wasn't. He had a way of getting his employees to go that extra mile. To voluntarily work overtime when there was an important project in the works. He was bold, brash, and had single-handedly started BT Energy.

He was also generous. Which was ultimately why Wren had taken the job. It was expensive to live in California, but her salary reflected that. She was making more here than she ever had at any other job. Of course, money wasn't everything, but in her interviews, Wren had also liked what she'd seen and heard. And her research had shown the company was very successful.

Even though she'd been there for a month, meeting with her boss was still intimidating for Wren. Especially when she had a feeling she knew what the outcome of this meeting would be. But Bo was generous enough to offer to meet with the group that was going to South Sudan, and since canceling the trip wouldn't happen, she figured maybe, just maybe, Colby would jump at the chance to get some intel from Navy SEALs.

"Good morning, Wren. What can I do for you?" Colby boomed from his seat behind his desk. It was a large piece of furniture. Taking up almost half the space in the room. There was a computer with three screens on one side, and papers strewn all over the rest of the surface. It was only ten in the morning, but he looked harried and stressed, which made Wren think this wasn't the best time to talk. But since they were supposed to leave for the African continent in a little over two weeks, she didn't have a choice but to talk to him sooner rather than later .

"Morning, Colby. I wanted to talk to you about our upcoming trip."

"You aren't going to try to talk me out of it again, are you?" he asked. His voice was calm enough, but she could hear the irritation under the words. He hadn't been happy when she'd brought up safety concerns previously.

"No, sir. I was talking to a friend, he's a Navy SEAL, and he offered to have his team come in and talk to those of us going to South Sudan about safety. About things we should and shouldn't do, and what to do if something happened." Wren said the words quickly and as unemotionally as she could, knowing the businessman in front of her would appreciate that, since he was always very busy.

"That won't be necessary. My security team is putting together a flyer for us and they'll be there in case anything happens. Is there anything else?"

Wren wanted to protest. Wanted to say that a stupid flyer wasn't going to make her feel any safer, but hearing from a group of SEALs who'd been in countless dangerous countries would . But she recognized a blowoff when she heard one. "No, that was it."

"Wren, we're all glad you're here. You're good with the media. You have a softer edge than the rest of us. But you were hired to be the face of BT Energy, not to make the heavy decisions that have to be made. I'm not saying that to be a jerk. Trust me, I'm not going to do anything that will jeopardize this deal or hurt my company. Things are going to be fine. We'll go to Africa, have a press conference, meet with a couple of bigwigs, participate in a few photo ops, then we'll leave millions of dollars richer. This pipeline is going to put us on the world's stage. You just have to trust me."

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Wren didn't trust easily.

But dutifully, she said, "Yes, sir."

"I sent you notes on some of the men we'll be meeting with. I've also emailed you some stats on South Sudan and their customs. Make sure you read everything carefully, the last thing we need is our PR person breaking some taboo on camera."

She nodded and turned for the door. At the last minute, she turned back. "Can I ask the others if they want to talk to my friend and his teammates with me?" She wasn't sure where she'd found the courage to ask, but if she heard after the fact that one of the people going to Africa had the kind of connections she did, and she wasn't asked if she wanted in on a safety meeting, she would be upset.

"I don't think it's necessary, but if you want to, feel free. Just not during work time and not here in the office. The last thing I want is word getting out that we hired the Navy as consultants. Would make it seem as if we don't trust our South Sudanese hosts."

She nodded and stepped out of Colby's office. She breathed a sigh of relief, but also of frustration. Being safety conscious didn't have anything to do with distrust of the people they were going to be meeting in Africa. It was simply a smart thing to do when you were going into a country that wasn't exactly stable.

Wren went back to her cubicle and brought up the information Colby had sent her. It took a while to read through it all. The South Sudanese people were generally stoic and private about their emotions. The cultural norm was to hide pain and struggles. Resilience, self-restraint, and physical courage were admired.

None of that came as a surprise to Wren. After years of violence in the country, those traits would be normal so families could try to stay under the radar of those who might wish to do them harm.

The material her boss had provided was interesting, but it wasn't really anything that would help her in her job while she was there. One thing she'd already been warned about was that media freedom was lacking. She'd have to be very careful about everything she said at the press conference. She wasn't to say anything negative; everything had to be framed in a positive light.

Sighing, Wren sat back and arched slightly, trying to work out the kinks she had from being hunched over her computer for so long. She jerked in surprise when her cell phone vibrated on the desk next to her notepad, then laughed at herself. Wren didn't get a lot of calls. She simply didn't know that many people, especially here in California, where she'd only been living for just over a month.

Thinking it had to be Bo—he'd insisted on getting her number when he dropped her off that morning—Wren looked at the screen. To her disappointment, it said "Unknown" instead of Bo's name. She wasn't in the mood to talk to a scammer or telemarketer, so she didn't answer. If it was someone important, she figured they'd leave a message.

"Hey, Wren."

She jumped what felt like two feet and spun around to see Luke standing behind her cubicle. He had a smirk on his face, as if he enjoyed how badly he'd startled her. He was the youngest of the guys she was traveling with to South Sudan. At twenty-five, he seemed to think he was still in college. He frequently went out and got drunk during the workweek, and Wren had heard him bragging about the various women he'd picked up at bars more than once.

But he was also funny. And good-looking. And had been genuine in welcoming her to the company.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?" she scolded. "I'm totally getting you a bell to wear around your neck so I know you're coming up behind me."

He laughed, then said, "Mooooooo."

Wren couldn't help but laugh.

"You get the forty-page document on culture we're supposed to memorize too?" he asked.

Wren grimaced. "Yeah. It's a lot for sure."

"I'm sure it'll be cool. We just have to be polite, don't make eye contact for too long, and I have to make sure not to touch any woman's shoulder, otherwise I'll find myself being hustled off to a hut to be married."

Wren rolled her eyes. "That's not true."

"All right, it's not, but all the rules still make me a little nervous."

She figured this was the perfect time to bring up Bo's offer. "Hey, I know a guy, he's a Navy SEAL. And when I told him about the trip, he was worried since there's a lot of stuff going on over there. He offered to meet with me and anyone else who wants to go over safety protocols. You know, what to do if something happens and how to stay safe. You want to meet his team with me?"

For a second, Wren thought Luke was going to agree. Then he stiffened right before someone stopped next to him.

"You scared, Wren?" It was Archie. He was the oldest of the group taking the trip. At fifty-two, he thought he knew everything about anything. And for some reason, Luke looked up to him.

He slapped Luke on the shoulder and chuckled. "The little woman is frightened of the bogeyman."

Wren frowned. "I'm not?—"

But she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Archie said, "Luke, I could use a second set of eyes on the specs of the pipeline south of Juba. I'm thinking we'll need to move it a mile or so west because of flooding in the area and how swampy the ground gets."

"Sure. No problem, Arch."

The men turned to leave, but Luke turned back. He shrugged. "It's going to be fine, Wren. Nothing's going to happen. Colby's bringing a security detail. Besides, you'll be surrounded by all of us men at all times. It's all good. But sometime I want to hear the story about how you hooked up with a Navy SEAL." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Wren couldn't help but roll her eyes at the ridiculousness of her coworker. He was constantly on the prowl.

When she was alone in her cubicle once more, she sighed. If Archie got to the other guys going on the trip before she could talk to them, they'd probably turn down her offer as well.

Maybe she was being paranoid, but she didn't think so. Especially when she remembered Bo's reaction to hearing where her company was taking her. If a Navy SEAL was uneasy and freaked out that she was traveling to a certain country, who was she to blow off his concerns?

Turning back to her computer, Wren decided to send an email to Aaron, Dallas, and Oliver. She'd extend the invitation to meet with Bo and his team. If they declined, that was fine. Regardless, she was eager to hear what the SEALs had to say.

She was halfway through sending the email when her phone vibrated again. Looking down, Wren saw it once more said the caller was Unknown. For the first time, a little niggling of worry hit her.

Surely Matt wouldn't be calling her…would he?

She hadn't given him her number. But that didn't mean he couldn't have found it. He'd been inside her apartment, it probably wouldn't have been hard for him to find something that had her phone number on it.

Biting her lip, Wren stared at her phone. It stopped ringing, but whoever was on the other end didn't leave a message.

It was probably a telemarketer. It wasn't Matt. Why would he call her?

Her mind made up that the next time she got an unknown call, she'd answer it, Wren turned back to the computer and the email she was writing to her coworkers.

"Yo!"

"It's about time you got here."

"What's up? "

Safe smiled as he walked toward his friends and teammates. Even though they had a few days off, they'd planned to meet at the beach to work out. He was a little late, since he'd taken Wren to work.

"Hey," he said as he approached the others. Blink was doing sit-ups in the sand with Flash. Smiley and MacGyver were doing burpees. Kevlar was standing next to Preacher, watching him as he approached.

"How are you feeling?" Safe asked Kevlar.

"Eyes are still bloodshot, but I'm good."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood, brushing off sand as they did so.

"So? What the fuck's going on?" Flash asked. "I get a call from Smiley this morning and he tells me that Kevlar got maced while at some chick's apartment with you?" He gestured to their team leader. "But Kevlar didn't want to tell us about it until you got here."

"Yeah. Some stuff has happened since I last saw you at Aces," Safe said.

"No shit, Sherlock," MacGyver said. "Start talking."

"We can talk and run," Kevlar informed them, gesturing to the beach.

Safe nodded, and the seven men started down the beach at a fast jog.

"Right, so, Wren, the woman who was drugged at Aces, spent the night at my place. We found out the asshat she was with stole her ID and keys out of her purse."

"Shit. So he knows where she lives," Smiley said.

"Exactly. I offered my place to her for a few nights while we get her locks changed and stuff, but she needed clothes and some of her things. I didn't think it was a good idea to just walk up to her apartment, so we went in through the back door," Safe said.

"The second-floor balcony door," Kevlar added.

"Aw, man, and you didn't call us to have some fun?" Smiley bitched.

"I figured seven men lurking in the bushes might draw a bit too much attention," Safe said with a small chuckle.

"You're probably right. Okay, go on," MacGyver said.

"So we got inside, but the place was already trashed. Fucker moved fast. Probably went over there right after he left the bar. And when I say trashed, I mean trashed . All her clothes were slashed, dishes were all broken, he knifed her furniture. It was a mess."

"Tell them about the panties and the conditioner," Kevlar said.

"I'm getting to that. Jeez," Safe complained. "Asshole had also taken all her underwear out of her drawer, piled it on her bed, and squirted a bunch of her conditioner on top. Her white conditioner."

"Gross."

"Ewwwww."

"That's some sick shit."

Safe agreed with his friends. "Yeah. Obviously was smart enough not to actually jack off on them, because DNA, but still. The fact that he wanted Wren to think that's what it was indicates this guy isn't your average weirdo."

"Please tell me Tex is on this," Flash asked.

"He is." It was Kevlar who answered. "But there's little to go on. This guy's smart. Didn't park in Aces' lot. Walked to the bar. And Tex tried to track where he went with traffic cameras, but he lost him a few blocks from the bar when he walked back into a neighborhood. And he walked to Wren's apartment too. No car on any cameras he appeared on that Tex could see. So that's a no-go."

"He already did his tracker thing from last night too?" Safe asked Kevlar.

"Yeah. When he heard what happened to Wren's place, he was pissed. Said he was making this a priority."

"Is she all right?" Blink asked.

Safe glanced at the newest member of their team. The man had been through hell on a mission where some of his previous teammates had been killed, the rest injured so badly they were medically retired from the Navy. He'd been on convalescent leave when Remi, Kevlar's girlfriend, had been kidnapped. If it wasn't for him being in the right place at the right time, and acting so convincingly, Remi wouldn't be with them today.

Kevlar had asked that Blink be assigned to their team, and he'd accepted. They all owed the man a huge debt of gratitude. If Remi had been hurt or killed, Kevlar would never have been the same. It was likely they would've lost him as a teammate.

Blink would never be the most talkative, but when he did speak, it was usually for a good reason.

"She's okay," Safe told him and the others. "Hanging in there. I was late because I dropped her off at work."

"Damn, she's tough if she insisted on going to work after everything that happened," Smiley said.

"She is," Safe agreed .

"So how'd Kevlar get maced?" Flash asked.

"While we were in her apartment, trying to figure out if we could salvage anything, her date returned. Probably to hide out in her place and wait for her. Or to see what other shit he could do to terrorize her. I tried to get her to hide under the bed while I went to help Kevlar subdue the guy, but she froze. And when I say froze, I mean she froze . Went into immediate panic mode." Safe didn't hesitate to tell his friends what happened. He trusted them with his life. Which meant he trusted them with Wren's life, and that was a huge deal.

"Why?" Blink asked.

"I'm not sure. It's too soon for her to open up to me…but she's let a couple things slip. About her childhood. It wasn't good. I think her mom was abusive, and she's been let down by a lot of authority figures in her life. Something about hiding under the bed brought back memories of doing that as a child…hiding from her mother's boyfriends."

" Fuck ."

The vehement word from MacGyver summed up the situation pretty nicely.

"Yeah. Anyway, I slipped behind her bedroom door, and couldn't leave her because of how panicked she was, and Kevlar confronted the guy. Asshole had the mace ready and surprised him. Instead of chasing him as he ran off, Kevlar stayed to guard the door."

"See? You should've called us too," Smiley said.

Safe nodded. "In hindsight, I should've."

"So what's going on now?" Flash asked.

"A nosey neighbor heard the ruckus at the door and called the cops. They came, made a report, suggested Wren not go back to her apartment for a while until they could investigate and figure out who trashed the place."

"If Tex can't find him, they won't either," Blink said firmly.

Safe agreed with him. "So she's staying with me for now. I called Julie before getting here, and she agreed to pull together some things for Wren to tide her over."

"Remi would love to meet her. Help her get whatever else she needs," Kevlar volunteered.

"I appreciate it. I mean, we can probably get a lot of stuff online, but eventually she's going to need to replace literally everything. Dishes, pillows, bedding, every piece of furniture." Safe sighed. "Fucking asshole."

"So what now? She moves in and you play happy couple for a while? Then…?" Smiley asked.

Safe looked at his friend. Smiley had dark hair and overall looks…and kind of a dark vibe to go along with them. It wasn't surprising he sounded a bit cynical. "I don't know. We're taking things a day at a time. But I'll tell you this…I like her. A lot."

"Oh shit," Flash said with a grin. "First Kevlar, now you."

Instead of being offended, Safe merely shrugged. "If you think I'm going to get defensive and tell you there's no way anything serious will come out of this, you're wrong. Wren is…she's different. Vulnerable, yet tough as nails. I think whatever happened in her past, she's learned that she has no choice but to stand on her own. She has no idea what it's like to have someone at her back."

"And you want to show her," Smiley said.

"Yeah. I want to show her," Safe agreed.

"She's definitely different," Kevlar told the group. "I don't know what it is about her, exactly. But like Safe said, I felt a need to protect her, but at the same time wanted to stand back and watch her kick ass on her own. It's an interesting dichotomy."

"Well, shit. Now I want to meet her," MacGyver said.

"Me too," Flash agreed.

"I have an idea," Kevlar said.

Safe braced himself, not sure what his friend was about to suggest. He was a great team leader, but sometimes he also had some pretty wild ideas.

"Here we go," Preacher said under his breath.

Safe chuckled.

"I think we should show Wren what it's like to have people who will be there for her without strings. I know Remi will have no problem helping her out, but what if we got Caroline and the others involved too? You've already talked to Julie, so what if we bring in Alabama, Fiona, and Summer? And we know Jessyka will be in. She's so pissed that Wren was drugged at her bar, she's already gotten out the pitchforks."

"And Tex is already involved," MacGyver said with a nod. "I like it. We can talk to Wolf and the others as well. When we aren't around, they can act as escorts if needed."

Safe swallowed hard, suddenly overcome with emotion. These men didn't know Wren. Other than knowing he liked her and was impressed by her, she was a complete stranger. And yet, they were still willing to go above and beyond to try to show her that she wasn't alone.

He remembered something else he wanted to talk to his friends about .

"Thank you. I think that's a great idea. There's something else you can help me with."

"Anything, you know that," Kevlar told him.

"She just moved here to California and started a new job. She's the PR liaison for BT Energy."

Preacher whistled long and low. "Impressive," he said.

"Right? Well, they have a big trip coming up that she's going on. I guess a new gas pipeline is being installed—in South Sudan."

"Are you kidding me?"

"What the fuck ?"

"You can't be serious."

"Wait—what?" Kevlar asked, stopping in his tracks. Everyone else stopped running and stood in the sand, staring at Safe.

He pressed his lips together and nodded. "Believe me, she knows exactly how I feel about her going over there. I was kind of a dick about it, but she doesn't have a choice. She just moved here, just got the job. Probably partly because of this trip. She can't say no."

"It's insane that anyone thinks it's a good idea to go over there. And putting workers in the country to set up a pipeline? That's a recipe for disaster with the way things are right now. Not saying they won't get better in the future, but the country is extremely volatile at the moment," Flash argued.

"I know. And she knows too. I think she's terrified, but trying to put on a brave face about it. I told her I'd be happy to go in and talk about safety with her boss and anyone else who's going. What to watch out for, what to do in case the worst happens. "

"Her boss knows that foreigners are more likely to be kidnapped and held for ransom than the locals, right?" Smiley asked.

Safe shrugged. "I'm assuming so, yes."

"And that violence against women is common?" Flash added.

Safe nodded grimly.

"Fuck. This has disaster written all over it," Kevlar muttered.

Safe couldn't disagree. "I can only hope something happens in the next couple weeks that makes the trip impossible. I feel like a dick saying that, but it's true."

His friends all nodded.

"What do you need from us?" Blink asked.

"Will you come with me to talk to the group, if her boss agrees?"

"Of course."

"You don't even have to ask."

This was why he loved and respected these men so much.

"Speaking of Africa…" Kevlar said.

Everyone groaned.

"We already had a feeling this was coming, and I got official word this morning…even though we completed our objective in Chad, things haven't settled. They've gotten worse with the new guy taking over, actually. Or…the not new guy. Whatever. We're being sent back in."

"Fuck," MacGyver sighed. "When?"

"Most of the research we did for the last trip is the same. I don't have details yet, but we'll probably be wheels up in ten to twelve days. "

Anxiety churned in Safe's belly. It was looking like he'd be gone when Wren went on her trip. It was somewhat ironic that they'd be on the same continent and in countries right next to each other. But it wasn't as if he'd be able to keep in contact with her.

"We'll talk to her, tell her everything she needs to know to stay safe," Kevlar told him, as if he could read the riotous emotions whirling through his brain.

"Yeah," Safe said.

But inside, he had a bad feeling. And no SEAL worth his Trident ignored those feelings.

"Not only that, but I bet some of Wolf's team would be happy to come too," Preacher said.

Safe nodded. He was grateful for his friends and the other SEALs, but nothing could quell the uneasy feeling in his gut.

"Safe," Kevlar said, approaching to put a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to us."

"I just…I'm thinking so many things. I just met this woman. I'm not sure why I'm so…invested."

"I know how you feel. I felt the same way about Remi. There was just something about her that made me know she was different. Special. And I was right. Don't discount your feelings. Is there any way at all that you can talk her out of this trip?"

Safe pressed his lips together and shook his head as he remembered the conversation from that morning.

"In that case, we'll make sure she has all the tools—figuratively and literally—that she needs to get through any situation. Tools that can escape the average person's scrutiny."

"Oh. This is gonna be fun," Smiley enthused. Then he sobered. "I mean, it stinks that Wren will be in a potentially dangerous situation, but coming up with ways to hide survival tools on her will be an interesting challenge."

For the first time, Safe began to feel a little better about Wren's upcoming trip. He still didn't want her to go, but he understood better than most that she really didn't have a choice. And if she had to go, at least he and his friends could make sure she, and the people traveling with her, had the necessary means to get out of any kind of shit-hits-the-fan situation. Because the truth was, there was a higher-than-average chance of things going south.

South Sudan. Shit . Her boss must be insane.

"Right, so how about we think of ways to outfit Safe's woman while we're working out?" Kevlar said in his I'm-the-boss voice.

Everyone laughed, but immediately resumed their run.

Safe's mind worked as his friends bantered back and forth while they ran. If he was shipping out in less than two weeks, he had a lot of work to do. Help figure out who this Matt guy was and make Wren's apartment safe, help her replace her belongings, get to know her better, show her that she wasn't alone anymore, that she had him and his friends at her back, teach her how to be safe in a volatile country, and help Kevlar and the others plan their own mission back to Chad.

There wasn't nearly enough time to do everything that needed to be done. Especially with both him and Wren working full time.

But he'd do it. He had to. Safe had a feeling if he didn't figure out how to fit everything in, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.