“So. Harris, huh?” I stand, my ass is numb from sitting here.
“Yeah. He called me. God, Jade, he is one hell of a…”
“Stop. I don’t want to know.” I’m not about to tell her I know. Well, technically, I don’t. But still, I’m not telling her a thing. Especially when she keeps going on about how sweet he is to her. I listen as she carries on for our entire conversation about him. How he left for the base an hour or so ago but promised to call her as soon as he could.
I’m happy for her, I really am. I know Mallory though. Sometimes better than she knows herself. I’m not about to burst her bubble with my worry. Mallory isn’t cut out to date a man who has to leave at the drop of a hat to go fight for his country, ready to sacrifice his life. She’s a wonderful person and the best friend anyone could ask for, and she may have a mouth on her with no filter, who tells you like it is, but Mallory worries more than anyone I know.
The door swings open, finally. I smile wide when I see the look on all the guys’ faces as they walk out one by one.
“Hey, Mal. The guys are walking toward me. We’re heading home. I should be back in a few days.”
“I can’t wait to see you,” she returns.
“Ask Harris if he wants to come over to my parents’ for dinner Saturday night.” It’s crazy how this past month or so has gone. Meeting Kaleb like I did. Then falling in love with him. When I told him last night about the conversation with my parents and how my mom talked my dad into having a big get-together, he honestly seemed to be looking forward to something for the first time since this entire mission went to shit.
This demanding and bossy man has a loyalty to family. I’ve known it all along with the way he talks freely about his mother and sister, not to mention the overflowing love he has for all these guys. Underneath his hard shield is a man who’s not afraid to show how much others mean to him. It’s one of the many reasons why I love him. It’s also one of the reasons why I’m worried. He may be hiding how he truly feels about his brother. A big part of him does hate Ty, but—and it’s a huge but—no matter what he tries to tell anyone, I know it's killing him slowly inside to deal with this shit.
“Dad’s barbeque chicken. Hell, yes, I’ll be there whether he can be or not. Love you,” she says quickly, and I tell her the same before I hang up while watching what feels like a dozen pair of eyes trained on me. Every set of them screams power and determination. They are also warning me to not ask a damn thing.
“You ready?” Kaleb lifts me off my feet and plants a hard, closed-mouth kiss to my lips.
“No. Not until you guys tell me what the hell is going on?” It’s Jackson who gets my hard glare after Kaleb puts me down again on solid ground. A ground that feels like it’s trying to suck me in. These assholes are keeping something from me, and I don’t like it.
“Jade.” Kaleb says my name like a warning. I keep my eyes on Jackson. His smirk is pissing me off. This is not the time for him to act like an asshole. He’s itching to give me some smartass retort, that’s why I’m glaring at him like I want to kick him square in his damn dick.
“What’s going on?” I demand.
“Baby. I’ll tell you later. Right now, I want to forget all of this shit for a few days and spend some time with our families.” Even though the sun is shining down on us and the humidity in the air is letting me know it’s going to be a sweltering hot day, a cold shiver runs up and down my spine. Goosebumps caress my skin. Whatever it is, it’s bad, very bad. “We need to go or we’ll miss our flight.” I internally take note of all their faces. Analyzing is what I do best, and these assholes know that.
“You’re lucky you found her first, dickhead.” Jackson leans down and plants a kiss on my cheek, pulling me in close for a hug as he begins to whisper into my ear. “Cheer up, buttercup. I promise to protect that big ape of yours. You have nothing to worry about. Just relax.” I squeeze him tight, knowing it’s bothering him to keep whatever this is from me. It should be Kaleb with the guilty conscience.
If it’s no big deal, then fucking tell me. I almost force those words out of my mouth. I know better though. I leash it all in and just observe and watch every single one of them. They can’t look me in the face when they tell me goodbye. These fuckers are terrible at this shit.
They think I don’t know they’re all hiding something, and I’ve had it with all of them. I’ll keep my shit together and enjoy my day meeting the two women in Kaleb’s life who mean everything to him. But I can promise one thing… before that, I’ll work on Kaleb. This could be a very long flight.
*****
The flight so far has been awkward. Neither of us tried to hide that there’s an issue suffocating us both.