CHAPTER ONE

Jaden

What started as a well thought out straight-line gameplan, went completely FUBAR. I sank into the sofa, dropped my head, and linked my hands over the back of my neck. My phone rang and I almost ignored it, but when I saw “Dad” on the screen, I knew the call was more than serendipitous, it was a gift.

“Dad.”

In that one word, I must’ve communicated everything I felt. I heard him suck in a deep breath before, in a rapid-fire bark, he shouted, “What happened? Are you awright?”

“Nothing. Everything. Yeah, and no.”

For a beat I heard nothing, then Dad chuckled.

“Nothing funny about this, man.”

“Lay it out for me, son.”

“Was in the bedroom packing for my deployment—you know, I was scheduled to be on the USS Theodore Roosevelt for at least six months—when the doorbell rang and a seaman hand-delivered my change of orders. I’m not leaving San Diego.”

“Huh. You know why?”

“Yeah. Called CNO Admiral Franchetti and said, ‘Hey, Lisa. What’s up with this shit?’”

Now Dad was outright laughing. “Okay, boy. I take your point.” He threw out one last chuckle, then got to the heart of the matter. “What does Zahli have to say about this?”

“Zahli’s in the lab today. I don’t expect her home until tonight, when she’ll be shocked as hell to see me.”

“You should call her.”

“Right. That’ll make her day. ‘Hey, Zal, guess what? You know how you thought you’d have the apartment to yourself for the next six to eight months? You’d be wrong.’”

“Yeah. Okay. Better to have that conversation in person.”

“What conversation. The one where her life, which has already been fucked, gets more fucked by the guy who promised to give her what she needs for the next couple of years. Or the one where I tell her we’re going to have to move to a bigger place because there’s only one bedroom and bathroom, and both of them are supposed to be hers.” I leaned back against the sofa and let out a long-ass sigh.

“Right. But you’ve been sleeping on the pull-out for the last coupla months. Keep doing that.”

“Two months was supposed to be a temporary thing since I was being deployed, and let me tell you, it’s been far from ideal. We share a bathroom, the closet, and the bureau, which are in the bedroom, and I get up an hour before dawn, and she gets home most nights after ten.”

“So get a bigger apartment.”

“She’ll have a shit hemorrhage.”

“Is that a medical term, Doctor Schuyler?”

“Seriously, Dad. You know all this already. You and Mom were in the room when Zal was so royally pissed, she threw a pillow at me when I told her not to work. That I’d take care of the rent, utilities, and food. And that was after she blistered my ears for two months until I convinced her to marry me so she’d have health insurance and support from the Navy if she needed assistance when I’m deployed.”

“Boy, she has us. You know we’ll always take care of her. And you’re a tough bugger. You’ll survive her shit fit. Get a bigger apartment.”

“And another car.”

“Well, damn. I forgot about the car.”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t care if I had the money put away, but I’d had less than enough to live on while doing my residency, and it’s only been three months since I started getting my Navy paycheck. Telling Zal I have to buy another car will surely bring out all her sweetness and light.”

That got me another chuckle. “You’re friends. You’ll work it out.”

“Old ground, Dad. You know she doesn’t consider us friends. Everything I do or say winds up in a fight or a lecture. The world according to Zal is: I was best friends with her dead brother, and I’m the type who feels guilty so I’ve taken her on like a charity case. And, the only reason I’m doing anything for her is because of how close I was to Raffie. That fuckin’ asshole who had to become a Navy SEAL and wound up getting himself killed.”

“Awright, boy. There’s no reason trying to retread a worn-out tire.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

“You feel any better?”

“No. But thanks for letting me drop all my shit on you.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I didn’t even ask. Why’d you call?”

“Ah. Right. Your mother wanted me to tell you to remind Zahli to come early for Thanksgiving.”

“I was supposed to be airlifted to an aircraft carrier, and wouldn’t have been able to communicate with Zal for at least twenty-four hours. They talk at least three times a day. Why can’t Mom tell her?”

“Boy, I’ve been living under the same roof with that woman for over fifty years. I have absolutely no idea why she does ninety percent of the things she does, and I know better than to ask.”

This time, I was the one who laughed.

***

“Aaaahhhh.” A shrill scream tore me out of an exhausted sleep. I scrambled to find the lamp on the end table next to the sofa, and when I turned it on, I saw Kahli on the other side of the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room/dining room. She was backlit by the over-the-oven light, and was holding a huge knife in one hand, her phone in the other.

Of the many things I admired about Kal, her commitment to overcome any problem or obstacle was one of my favorites. She was creative and inventive. If I’d given her enough time, she would’ve fashioned a homemade grenade.

“Kal. It’s me.”

“I can see that now, Jaden,” she snapped. “When I walked in all I saw was a dark lump on the pull-out, and I knew you’d left so I thought someone had broken in.”

“Is everything all right Miz Saab?” a voice came through the speaker on Zal’s phone.

“Shit. Sorry. Yeah. Everything’s fine. It’s my husband.”

“Is he…supposed to be there?”

“He had orders to deploy today, and for some reason he didn’t. Since I hadn’t been informed,” Zal said sarcastically through her teeth in a tone I’d heard way too many times, “I thought—”

“Someone had broken in,” the 911 operator said.

“Yeah. Sorry,” Kahli mumbled.

“Don’t be. Always best to call us. You good now?”

“I am. Thanks.”

“No problem.” The operator disconnected and Kahli put her phone on the counter, and the knife back in its drawer.

While Kal was talking to the operator, I’d picked up my sweat pants, pulled them on, and walked to the dining room side of the kitchen counter, where I stood watching her watch me.

Her head tilted to the left, something she’d done since she was a young girl right before she asked a probing question. “What are you doing here?”

“This afternoon my orders changed. I’m staying in San Diego.”

She leaned back to see me better. Her gaze latching onto mine. “And you didn’t think to call me to tell me this huge news?”

“What happened to ‘Unless someone I love is on the way to the hospital or is in the hospital, don’t bother me when I’m at school?’”

“This type of thing runs concurrent with that statement.”

I couldn’t help my lips quirking. Kal’s rules were flexible only when she decided they were. If I’d decided my change of orders more or less fit the spirit of breaking her no-call-while-in-school rule, I would’ve been subject to another ear blistering.

“I’m thinking you should provide me with a list of other instances that ‘run concurrent with that statement’ to keep myself out of the Kahli shitter.”

“Lovely. Such a kind and thoughtful way to communicate you don’t care enough to keep me informed of the important stuff that impacts our lives.”

“Kal, as much as I’d enjoy going a few rounds with you, I have to report to the Naval Medical Center by zero-five-thirty.” I looked across the kitchen to see the time on the microwave read 11:35. Realizing how late it was, I went from wore out to ticked off. “What the hell are you doing coming home so late?”

Her head jerked back and her beautiful espresso brown eyes went wide. “Excuse me? Since when do I report to you?”

“Don’t throw that bullshit at me. You promised you’d leave campus no later than nine-thirty since you assured me there were still a number of students around, particularly folks leaving the lab at that time. You leaving at eleven means you’re not keeping yourself safe. So, yeah. Now is when you report to me.”

She tilted her head back as she leaned into the counter so she could keep her squinty gaze locked to mine. “I was safe. Alex walked me to my car.”

Alex? Who the fuck was Alex? She never mentioned an Alex before. I knew the names of all the students who were in her study group, her lab partners, and most of the other Masters’ candidates in her class.

“Alex short for Alexis or Alexandra?”

“No. Alex is Alexander Weinfeld. He’s a PhD candidate who’s doing similar research in the aerospace field.”

“Is he? Please, tell me more.”

“I thought you had to get up early to be at the hospital by five-thirty.”

“Amazingly, I caught a second wind.” I stared at her, and I swear, when she sank her top teeth into her full bottom lip, she was fighting a grin. Like this shit was funny. And like I needed to see her biting her lip when that was supposed to be my fuckin’ job.

“There’s not much to tell.” She shrugged. “This was only the second time I saw him in the lab. As I was packing up, we got to chatting, and he offered to walk me to my car. End of story.”

“So you let a strange man walk you late at night to a dark parking lot.”

She let out a weighty sigh. “The pathways and the parking lots are well lit, and he’s not a strange man.”

“Isn’t he? You met him for the second time tonight. Anyone else in the lab know him? Did you ask around about him? Ask to see his credentials? From the look on your face, the answer is no. So, yeah, Kal, he’s a strange man, and you were not safe.”

There was a light in her eyes she got when she was amused. Seeing it right now made me want to find this fuckin’ PhD asshole and rearrange his face.

I was so far from amused, it wasn’t funny.

“Okay, Jaden. I won’t leave after nine-thirty, and I’ll ask around about Alex Weinfeld.”

“You’re damn straight you’ll leave by nine-thirty because I’ll be picking you up at nine-thirty.”

“Excuse me?”

“I need the car tomorrow, so I’ll take you to school and pick you up.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You won’t be able to get away in time to get me to class.”

“I’ll make time.”

She flicked her hand in front of her face. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll text Lissa and tell her I need a ride. She’ll pick me up and drop me home.”

“I’m not in the habit of repeating myself. I said, I’ll make time.”

“And I’m not a seaman who has to take orders from Lieutenant Schuyler.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and counted to ten. “I’m not ordering you, Kal. I’m trying to take care of you.”

“Ugh. I don’t need taking care of, Doctor. I’m perfectly fine.” She motioned her hand between us. “You and I will work out a car sharing schedule, and Lissa and I will switch off driving. Easy fix.” She pocketed her phone and walked around the counter. “You need the bathroom?” I shook my head, too pissed to speak. “Fine. I’m going get ready for bed. Good night.”

She marched through the living room, skirted the pullout, went into the bedroom, and closed the door quietly. Five minutes later she came out in a pair of red paisley harem pants and a cropped red hoodie.

Shit. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Like I needed to see the bouncing evidence of her rockin’ body. I had to bite the inside of mouth as I talked myself out of getting hard.

She stopped and stared at me. Her shoulder length thick dark brown hair was piled on top of her head in a messed-up knot that moved when she walked. Tendrils were tucked behind her ears, and the arm of her glasses was tucked in the zip of her hoodie in anticipation of removing her contacts.

“I thought you needed to wake up super early,” she said in an accusatory tone.

“I do.”

“Then why are you still leaning against the counter with your arms crossed over your chest?”

“I’m decompressing.”

She scrunched her adorable nose as she blinked rapidly. “From talking to me?”

I wanted to say that wasn’t talking, it was sniping, but I knew the comment would escalate things to a level I didn’t feel like engaging in. “No, Kal,” I lied. “It’s been a hell of a day.” That was no lie. “One minute I’m packing to leave, the next I’ve got orders to stay. I have no idea what’s going on, and I’ve got to get up earlier than my usual zero dark thirty so I can be at the Medical Center for who the fuck knows why at five-thirty in the morning.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Sorry. I didn’t think about how thrown off you must be.” She gestured to the pullout. “Go to bed. I’ll be reading, so it’ll be quiet.”

I nodded and headed to my “bed” as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.