Chapter 34

Going back to work after the excellent weekend was a little painful. The real world had bad people in it who took advantage of the innocent. He'd seen so many lives destroyed, and today was no different.

They were in a situation room, watching a SEAL team on the other side of the world run a mission, rescuing a tourist group who'd been captured. Already, two of the tourists were dead. The terrorists had beheaded them on a live feed. That had to have been terrible for their families.

The helpless feeling didn't leave him even after they were finished and headed home. He needed to take his aggression out on something. The answer wasn't taking it out on Danika.

Before he hit the turn that would lead him to the apartment complex, he dialed her phone. She answered on the first ring.

"Hey, I made dinner. It will be easy to reheat, so if you're not ready…"

"Sorry. I'm not. Today was…" he took a moment to search for the right words. "A fucked up mess. It was awful, and I'm angry and feeling helpless. I need to do a workout or something to get rid of the pain in my heart."

Danika was silent for a moment, and he wondered if he'd fucked up. He was about to tell her it didn't matter when she spoke.

"We could go to the beach, and you could do a run while I walked, or you could go down to the gym."

He blew out a breath. "I think the beach would be best. I'm not fit for any company."

"Run circles around me. Just take off in one way, then go the other way. I'll put the food in the refrigerator, and when we get back, we can heat it up."

"Thank you. You're too good."

"No, I'm just the right amount of good for you."

He pulled up outside the apartment and ran in, changing into shorts and a T-shirt. He noticed that Danika had made up water for them and had a sandwich ready for him to eat.

"Thank you." Though what he'd seen at work disgusted him, he wasn't so far gone that he thought being rude was okay.

The beach wasn't too busy. Just a few families here and there. He ran south, then turned around and passed Danika before doing burpees and lunges. After an hour of repeating the process, he was exhausted enough to feel some amount of peace.

Danika was sitting at a bench near the restrooms where he'd parked. When he walked up, she raised her eyebrows, and he tried for a smile. Being a jerk wasn't cool, so he tamped down the last of his rage and moved to her, brushing a quick kiss against her lips.

"You're the best. Thank you. I'm tired enough I can deal with the emotions."

"I know you can't talk about it, so I'm not going to ask. I want you to know I support you. I imagine your job isn't easy, and if you need time, I'm good with that."

"Thank you. It makes it easier to have a moment to calm down."

"You ready to eat?"

"Sure. I could eat. I'll shower first if that's okay."

Danika's laughter was balm to his weary soul. Being with her brought calm that he hadn't felt before. Just her being around was enough to make him start to heal.

"Please. You look like a sugar cookie, all dusted with sand clinging to sweat."

He glanced down and snorted. "Yeah. I'm a mess. I'll brush off most of the sand before I get into the car."

After he showered and they'd eaten, Danika was helping him put up the dishes he'd washed when she turned to him and pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing like she was thinking hard. He turned to face her and leaned his hip against the counter, waiting for her to speak.

"Have you heard back from your buddy Thario?"

"Oh, I forgot to send him a text. Let me do that now." He felt bad about not contacting him. Daily life got in the way of calling or texting old friends. It was one of the things that made guys like Thario feel even more disconnected. Since most of them weren't working full-time jobs, they had loads of extra time on their hands, exacerbating the feeling of loneliness. It wasn't fair that Thario was out of the military and cut off from friends.

After he texted, he set his phone to the side and pulled Danika to him, holding her close. The softness of her body up against him brought relief to his soul. He stood there for a long moment, holding her. And then his phone buzzed.

He glanced over and saw that Thario had responded. " Looks like Saturday is good. We'll meet him at his place at one."

"You told him I was bringing lunch?"

"I did. He said you don't have to."

"Tell him I'm bringing it. I'm not having him cook lunch for the three of us when I can easily make something up. I like cooking."

"I've noticed that."

She raised her eyebrows. "You have?"

"Yeah, you always hum or whistle while you're cooking. You don't do that when you're doing dishes."

"Ugh, I hate doing dishes."

"Oh, another new thing I learned about you. I like this, getting to discover what you like or don't like."

"Are there people who like doing the dishes?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I don't mind doing them."

"Are there any chores you like doing?"

Sharp shrugged. "I guess so. In the Navy, you learn to just do the work. You keep your area clean because if you don't, it gets bad. Like, could you imagine having hundreds of men living in the same building and not keeping it clean?"

"Yikes. That would be terrible."

"Keeping things neat and tidy is part of military life. I've been in long enough to have made cleaning a habit. The barracks are packed in this area. That's why I'm in an apartment."

"Is it this way everywhere?"

He shook his head. "No. With the Navy, it's worse because we can't plunk down a Naval base in the middle of Nebraska, where land is cheap and few people live. We did a training exercise in the middle of the country one time. We were near a base and it was empty in that area. I mean, there was a town that had grown up around the base, but they had miles of land the government bought, so there were open fields all around. It was wild."

"I guess I've never thought of that. You can't have a Navel base without having the ocean close."

"Nope. But I've gone to some amazing places. I mean, missions aren't really in the best places to head, but I've spent time in Italy, Japan, Hawaii, Australia, Northern Europe, and Indonesia."

"That's a lot."

He shrugged. "For a boy who thought he would spend the rest of his life trapped in middle America, it has been nice."

"How long do you think you'll stay in the Navy?"

He blew out a breath. "I don't know. I'm closer to retirement than the beginning of my military career. I mean, I still have a few years. But really, I'm not sure if I want to leave when I hit twenty years or stay in. If I stay in, I might move from being a SEAL to something else."

"Is that because it's difficult?"

He shrugged. "It takes a toll. Also, I'm feeling it more. Nothing bad, but after getting my bell rung in the explosion, it was difficult. Also, I liked the special assignment I was on. I don't know. A lot of ex-SEALs take jobs that are basically security jobs working in the same area the military goes in, but they aren't held to military standards. They are paid well. But a lot of them end up with some weird emotional baggage."

"It's wild that you're close to retirement, and I've not even found myself."

"You'll get there. Honestly, I'm not sure I've found myself. I'm just doing what I was told to do."

She hugged him close again. Her presence a calming force, allowing him to actually rest when he got home and be on top of things when he headed to work. The rest of the week went smoothly, and on Saturday, he was a little nervous taking Danika to meet Thario. The guy had been a total flirt before the mission where everything went wrong.

They pulled up at Thario's place, and he was outside on the porch with his dog. Danika reached over and squeezed his hand, maybe giving support or taking it. Either way, when she stepped from the car, she was all smiles as she approached the porch.

"Hi, I'm Danika. You must be Thario."

"In the flesh, what little there is left. So how did an ugly scoundrel like Sharp get such a beautiful woman as you?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. But I'm addicted to him."

Thario threw back his head, laughter spilling out. Sharp hadn't needed to worry. Danika would spar verbally with Thario and not be insulted with his flirtation. It was nice to see Thario laughing and chatting like he had back before the incident. One thing he noticed was that there was a new layer of respect in Thario's flirting. Maybe it was because Danika was taken. Or maybe Thario had just learned more about himself. Whatever the case, he was glad Thario and Danika got along.