Chapter 27

James pulled into the lot next to the beach and turned off the car. Her stomach tightened. There was no turning back. "Do they know why I'm here in San Diego?"

"No, I haven't told them everything. I did say that I knew you from when we were younger."

She put her hand to her mouth and chewed her thumbnail until James put his hand on hers, saving the nail from her teeth. She turned and met his gaze. The moment felt a little unreal. "I'm worried."

"They're going to love you," he assured.

Danika's stomach twisted again as she stepped from the car. His assurances should help, but she'd lived too long under Ezra's thumb and didn't trust anything.

She grabbed the umbrella and James started to tell her that she didn't have to carry it, and she rolled her eyes. "I can carry the umbrella and the chairs. Heck, I can carry a lot."

"Dang, Sharp, she talks back. I like that. Give him hell. I'm Jay." A big guy with brown hair approached them. His wide smile was disarming, and she smiled back at him .

"Jay, as in blue jay?"

The man smiled so wide she thought his face would crack. "Yep. That's what they call me, but not because of the bird."

"So, what's your full name?"

Jay's lips spread even wider. "I like her a lot. She doesn't take crap from anyone, does she?"

Guilt washed over her. She'd taken Ezra's crap for way too long, and that's why she was in this situation. "If only that were true," Danika said.

Jay's eyes narrowed. "My full name is Jesse Moore. I grew up in Texas. I heard you grew up with Sharp."

She glanced over at James and narrowed her gaze. "You mean James."

"Yeah, we call him Sharp."

"Oh. Why Sharp?" Danika asked.

Another guy approached. He was shorter than Jay and James. "Because when he was in BUDs, he asked one of the instructors if they had wings."

"What?" Danika blinked at the guy.

"Yeah. He was hallucinating. He didn't nope out, though, so they started calling him Sharp, saying that he wasn't smart for staying in."

"But I was smart. I mean, I'm here now," James said.

The short guy snorted. "Are you sure it was smart to have to put up with our crap? I'm Squat because I'm so short. My real name is Christopher Drake."

"I'm Apple because I'm so sweet," another guy said. "Real name is Avery Owens."

A guy with a thick beard and hairy arms and legs threw back his head, laughter spilling out. "I'm sure that's not why you're called Apple." He took the umbrella from her and stuck out his hand. "I'm Griz. Real name is Justin Williamson. By the way, no one expects you to remember our names because it's a lot to remember. So you're Danika? You knew Sharp back in high school. I bet he was a punk back then."

She shook her head. "No, he was great."

Another guy came over. "And I'm Dwight Boone. I go by Shine."

"So you all work with Sharp?" Danika asked as they walked over to the sand and one of the empty volleyball nets.

"Yep," Squat said. "We're all on the same team now."

"Team? What does that mean?"

They all turned to look at Sharp, and he shrugged. Apple narrowed his gaze and frowned.

"You didn't tell her?" Apple asked.

James shook his head. "Nope, not yet."

"Damn, you don't even know he's a SEAL and you like him. That's awesome," Apple said.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't really know what that means."

Griz burst out laughing. "I think I'm going to like you, Danika."

It hit her. None of them were giving her the look like they wanted to fuck her. They were all just talking to her like she was James or any one of them. They were treating her like she was a human and not a sex toy. She liked his friends. This was so much better than how Ezra's friends had treated her.

"So what does it mean you're a SEAL?"

"He's a special operator, highly trained and highly effective. He's the military's best weapon against the fight," Griz said.

"We all are," Jay added.

"Oh." She nodded, but she didn't really understand. She knew the military had special people, or they had in England. But that was so much different than life here. All of the guys were built. She could see their biceps. Then Jay removed his shirt, and he looked even more built than James.

She could see girls checking them out on their way out to the empty volleyball court. None of the guys paid attention to the women looking at them, but waved at groups of other people, mostly guys.

Many of the men seemed to know each other. How would her life have been different if she'd chosen to go into the military? Not that she would have been a good fit. But maybe if she'd been shielded from Ezra, she wouldn't have ended up in so much trouble.

Sadness slipped in, thinking how once she'd traveled to England with Ezra, she'd been totally alone. Part of that was Ezra had cut her off from her friends, took away her devices so it was impossible to communicate, and then finally locked her away. He'd controlled every aspect of her life, taking but never giving. Her biggest mistake had been trusting him and leaving the USA to be by his side.

They set down their stuff, and James stepped close, whispering in her ear. "Hey, are you okay?"

She shook off the weirdness. "Yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about England and how that jerk cut me off from my friends, really from everyone. I was his prisoner. You seem to have so many friends. It's just different from what I experienced."

He pulled her in for a hug. "It will get better."

One of the guys had set up her umbrella and chair not too far from the playing area. She sat in the shade and watched as the men bumped around the ball until another group of guys showed up. They played two very intense games, diving for the ball and hitting it so hard she worried they would have bruises on their arms and hands .

The game wasn't a friendly match. Instead, it seemed like they were out for blood. They dove and jumped, their bodies working up a sweat, so they were glistening and covered in sand by the middle of the first game. She liked watching, though. James wasn't the only good-looking man on the beach, but he was the only one she had eyes for.

The guys took a break, and she was introduced to more men. She remembered the names Slayer and Sugar, but she knew she would never get all of their names. They were really nice, which shouldn't have surprised her.

The guys went back to playing ball and then women started showing up. The first to introduce themselves were Candace and Deb, then Trixie and Elise. Followed up by Liz and Raven. There were kids with the group, but she didn't really get their names. The guys seemed very attached to their women, and it was easy to determine who belonged with whom.

At the end of the next game, the men who weren't on James's team took off with their wives and children. The guys took a short break, and a group of women came over to play against them. At first, Danika felt intimidated by the women, but then she realized the men were treating these women the same way they treated the guys they'd played against. She figured out all the women were military, and none of them were flirting. They might have joked with each other, but there wasn't the sexual edge she usually noticed between men and women.

James came over after the game and pulled her up for a kiss. "Hey, we're about ready to eat. We're going to head to the ocean to wash off, then we'll go over that way and eat. Are you good with that?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Stay right here. I'll carry stuff over."

"You know, I can carry this stuff. "

"I know. But stay here for me. Please."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure."

The guys ran down to the surf and dove in. They seemed to be naturals in the water. They were so carefree. She'd never been that free in her life. Maybe it was just the environment, but all the guys appeared unencumbered by ghosts from their pasts. She wished she could live in the moment and not carry the mistakes she'd made with her. But she'd screwed up too much to let it all go.

Now, her past was dictating what she could do and where she could live. She didn't regret seeing James again, but she did regret not being able to be on her own. No question, she needed to come to terms with everything that had happened while she'd been with Ezra, but she was having a hard time. Though she didn't want to be a screwup, it seemed that she was destined to be a failure.