Library
Home / Stryker / Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

John

Stryker was driving him up the wall.

It had been weeks since his kidnapping, and Stryker's protectiveness seemed to escalate with every passing day. It was as if the longer the Noah Group took to make another move, the more obsessed with his safety Stryker became. It was time to take a stand, whether the overbearing SEAL liked it or not.

He glanced around the dining table at everyone seated there and took a breath.

"I'm going to the shop with Jason today," he said as he grabbed his cane and headed for the door. The cane was only temporary until his foot was fully healed.

"What?" Stryker stood up from the kitchen table.

"I said I'm catching a ride with Jason to the shop," John repeated.

The rest of the team in the kitchen went silent, and Jason looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Poor guy was being thrown into the middle of this, but John was desperate. He'd apologize later.

"I'll take you," Stryker stated as he took a few steps from the table.

"I'll be safe with Jason, he's part of the team, and we're both armed. I'm perfectly fine. You can take the day off." It was Texas, after all; it was weird when someone wasn't carrying.

"I don't need a day off," Stryker argued, looking a bit frantic.

"I do," John growled. He hated having to do this, but enough was enough.

"What do you mean by that?" Stryker asked.

"I'm sorry, babe, but you've gone off the deep end when it comes to my safety."

"What's wrong with wanting you safe?"

"Nothing, but you've taken it to an extreme. I can't even have a shower without you hovering outside the damn door." He waved down at his body. "And I even consented to having a damn tracker put in my shoulder, so that I could be found if anything happened again." He glared at Spencer, who mouthed, "Sorry" but didn't look sorry at all.

"I'm notthatbad," Stryker said, looking around the room at his friends for backup.

Everyone looked down at the table, seemingly finding the surface irresistible all of a sudden.

"Sorry, man, but John's got a point," Brick said. "You're acting like someone might jump out from behind the damn furniture."

"And I can see through the furniture, and the walls, remember," John added. "No one can sneak up on me."

"Raymond did and look what happened." Stryker wasn't letting this go.

"I admit that was my fault. I wasn't taking all this seriously. I should have never gone back to my apartment alone. I'm much more aware of my surroundings now, and you and the team have spent countless hours teaching me how to defend myself. I can do this, Stryker."

Stryker opened his mouth but quickly closed it again when Brick coughed and not so discreetly shook his head. Smart advice.

"I'll be fine," John said before walking over and kissing Stryker. "Have a good day. I'll see you at supper."

Stryker deflated like a balloon. "Okay. See you then."

John couldn't help but kiss his dejected boyfriend again before following Jason to his truck. He took a deep breath, knowing this was the first step in the right direction. Neither of them could live in a constant state of alert. It wasn't healthy for either of them. If the Noah Group were going to show up, nothing and no one would stop them, but John was more prepared now than he'd ever been to defend himself. He was ready.

***

Stryker

"Have I been that big of a dick?"

"Yeah." Fletcher chuckled before gulping his coffee.

"Thanks, asshole," Stryker grumbled.

"Just telling you like it is, man."

Stryker sat back down at the kitchen table, and Julia brought him a fresh cup of coffee.

"It's okay, Stryker. You're only trying to protect John. You love him," she said. "You've prepared him to defend himself, and he's ready to do that. Letting him go is the right thing to do."

Stryker took the offered coffee; he knew she was right, but it was hard to shut off his need to protect the man.

Gunner stood up from the table and headed for the door.

"Where are you off to?" Brick asked with a smile on his face.

"I've got some shit to take care of. What of it?" Gunner chuckled.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with a trip into Marshall, would it?" Brick asked.

"Now, would I do something like that?" Gunner grinned and headed out the door.

It was good to have friends.

***

"This fucking day couldn't get any longer," Stryker grumbled.

He'd been sent to the ranch on an errand to pick up their monthly beef order. Yes, it was better than sitting around the lake house waiting for John to get back, but it still sucked.

However, some good news came his way today: Raymond had been carted off to San Antonio to await his trial on kidnapping, breaking and entering, and assault charges. He felt a whole lot better without that psychotic asshole being in the Marshall jail.

When he pulled up to Bryan's ranch, Shaw, Kyle, and his dog Gracie were standing outside one of the rings, watching Freddie ride a pony. Woodley and Harris were there as well. Woodley had been spending a great deal of time out at the ranch of late.

When he exited his truck, he waved at the group and went to the ring to say hello.

"Hey, Stryker, you here to pick up your order?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, but I'm in no hurry. Got nothing to race back to the lake house for."

"John at work?" Kyle asked.

"Yep, he went in with Jason today. I won't see him until supper."

Shaw's eyebrows raised. "You let him go off without you?"

"It wasn't by choice."

"Good for him. John can take care of himself. We've trained him in what to do if he's approached, and Jason's with him, so he should be okay."

"Yeah, yeah, so I'm told," Stryker grumbled. "Anyway, how's Freddie doing learning how to ride?"

"He's doing well," Kyle said.

Bryan was in the ring with Freddie, and Stryker watched as he helped guide the pony around the ring. Laughter caught his attention, and he turned to look toward Harris and Woodley, standing a couple of feet away. They looked chummy.

"So, what's going on between those two?" Stryker asked Shaw and Kyle.

"We're not sure just yet. Could be nothing, could be something, but they do seem to like hanging around with each other," Shaw said.

"It could be that they have common ground, both being unwilling participants in the Noah Project experiments," Kyle said.

"Yeah, could be," Stryker said as he turned his attention back to the ring.

Freddie had a smile on his face a mile wide as he rode atop the pony. Stryker noticed a cat sunning itself off to the side on one of the posts. It wasn't odd to see a barn cat hanging around to keep the mouse population down, but when the pony got too close, the feline arched its back and hissed, sending the pony off in an unexpected gallop.

Shit.

Stryker was up and over the rails along with Shaw in an attempt to catch the spooked pony, but when it turned around at the far corner of the ring, Freddie lost his balance and slid out of the saddle. Just as he was about to hit the dirt, Freddie's body stopped moving, and he appeared just to be floating a few inches off the ground.

Stryker had heard about Harris's and his sister's telekinetic abilities, but Jennifer was nowhere in sight. When Stryker looked back at Harris, he could see the man struggling with his arms outstretched as if holding the young boy aloft. Slowly, Harris lowered Freddie to the ground before collapsing himself.

As Shaw and Bryan went to check on Freddie, Stryker ran over to see if Harris needed help. Woodley knelt on the ground beside Harris, holding his hand and taking the man's pulse. Harris looked unconscious, but within moments, his eyes opened back up, and by the time Stryker made it to his side, Harris was attempting to sit up.

"Are you okay, man?" Stryker asked as he knelt beside him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It drains me whenever I try doing that alone without my sister."

"I wasn't aware you could do it without her. I thought the two of you had to be touching for you to be able to move things."

"They've been practicing doing a bit on their own just in case they're not together and the ability is needed," Woodley answered on Harris's behalf.

"Just like now when Freddie was thrown from the saddle."

"Exactly."

"You sure you're okay?" Woodley asked, still holding on to Harris's hand.

"Yeah, just a bit drained is all."

"Harris, Harris, are you okay?" Freddie cried as he ran to the man's side.

"All good, buddy. How are you?"

"I'm good too. I didn't even hit the ground hard, thanks to you. Thank you for stopping my fall."

"You're welcome."

Woodley and Stryker helped Harris back to his feet.

"Are you going to get back up on the pony?" Harris asked Freddie.

"You bet I am. One little fall isn't going to stop me," Freddie said.

Stryker liked the kid. In fact, he liked all three boys, Ben, Sammie, and Freddie. This Fire Lake family was varied and unique, but each member had their place. He found it hard to believe just a few months ago he'd been ready to pack up and leave Fire Lake. Now, there was no other place he'd rather be.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.