Mercy: Second Chance Military Romance (7 page)

“Captain Jeffries wants you out of here right now.”

“This is bullshit,” I said, nodding to the flames. “What the hell happened?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know. Can I help with your bags?”

“I’m not leaving,” I said, defiantly crossing my arms over my chest.

“If you don’t, Tyler will be in even more trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis too, and…”

“Let me guess,” I interrupted. “You don’t think I need to know.”

“It’s not my call,” he said. “Are you coming, or do I need to call the MPs?”

“I’m coming,” I said then stepped back inside to grab my suitcase and messenger bag.

“Hurry. The chopper is waiting,” Tony said as I followed him to the large, open space in middle of the camp.

“Will you please tell me what happened?” I begged over the loud sound of the chopper blades and engine. “Was it the Taliban?”

“No,” he shouted. “It wasn’t an attack. You need to get on the chopper. Now.”

I glanced around, wondering about Tyler. Would he look me up and call to let me know what had happened? Fucking him was the furthest thing from my mind as I searched for him.

“You need to go,” Tony shouted, pointing at the helicopter.

“Fine,” I said, ducking my head and jogging over.

A soldier helped me inside. As soon as I sat down, the chopper lifted into the air. I peered over the side, looking down.
Tyler!
He looked up at me in the chopper as it flew away.

The entire trip to the Kandahar airport, I thought about what had happened at FOB Rushmore. I hadn’t gotten the story I wanted or the man I desired.

All I wanted to do was get back to New York and my normal life.

ELEVEN

Tyler

Two Years Later

As I got out of the yellow cab and saw the New York City skyline, I suddenly realized how much I had missed the city. The car pulled away. I walked up on the sidewalk and pulled out my phone.

Everything had fallen apart after Mercy left FOB Rushmore in Afghanistan. Captain Jeffries, involved heavily with the smuggling operation, had ordered her to the chopper after Roger blew himself up.

The damn fool had constructed a bomb from mining dynamite. It had gone off before he had a chance to take it off the base. He had said it was to shut-up a local Afghani who wanted to report us.

I glanced up at her building from across the street, wondering what apartment was hers. Was she looking out a window at me right that moment? I checked her address on my phone then put it away.

After more than two years of not hearing from her, I had looked up her information online. It had cost me two hundred dollars, but I got her current address without any problems.

Crossing the street, I wondered why she hadn’t contacted me over the years. Her last night in Afghanistan had turned hot and heavy, but she left before we actually got down to the act.

The physical blue balls sensation went away, but I had been stuck with mental blue-balls for too many months. I made it to the front door of her building, not seeing a doorman.

I scanned the buzzer box quickly, finding her name. With a deep breath, I pressed the button.
She’s not home
, I thought immediately, stepping away.
I’ll come back some other day
.

“Hello? Who is this?”

The sound of her voice thrilled me.

“Me,” I said.

“Who is me?”

“Tyler.”

“Tyler?”

“Yeah, from Afghanistan. We almost…”

“Oh, Tyler! Come in.”

The door buzzed and clicked, unlocking. I opened in and went into the lobby. On the way to the elevator, I thought about the two years since I’d last seen her.

Was I insane for showing up out of the blue? Questions went through my mind as I rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor and her apartment.

I knocked on the door when I reached it. She opened it right away. When I saw her beautiful face, memories of the naked moment we shared in Afghanistan flashed through my mind.

“Tyler,” she said, her long, red hair as curly as ever. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s been two years since we met, and I thought I’d look you up.”

She did not appear as happy as me.

“Come inside a minute. I need to leave for work.”

I stepped into her apartment.

“Anyway, like I said, we were separated a bit abruptly, and…”

“Yeah,” she interrupted then took a step toward the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the living room.

Her shoes tapped on the well-polished wood floor as she walked over.

I followed her, admiring the view.

“That’s quite a view.”

“Right? It’s why I moved here. The rent is crazy expensive, but I think it’s worth it.”

“You must be some big-name journalist by now.”

She frowned.

“No. I’m an editor now.”

“Oh, working on the other side of the equation? Still a journalist though. They kicked me out of the Army about a year after you left. I’ve been roaming around since then.”

“I’m not actually a journalist anymore. I edit…other stuff.”

The way she said “other stuff” intrigued me to no end.

“I’d love to talk with you about it.”

“Like I said, I’m on my way to work. It’s weird that you caught me. I’m usually not here this late in the morning. How did you find me, anyway?”

“Oh, some stuff I did online.”

She smiled.

“Turn-about is fair play.”

“How about dinner tonight?” I asked.

I watched as she took a deep breath. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to stop thinking of her naked body. If anything, I found her even more beautiful.

“Okay,” she said. “But I need to go now.”

She put her hand on my arm then let go and walked toward the door.

“I’ll pick you up around six?” I asked as I followed her.

“Yeah, that should work. Give me your number.”

“Here…” I dug my phone out and handed it to her. “Call yourself.”

As her fingers manipulated the screen, my eyes kept stealing glances of those perfect breasts. Her puffy, pouty nipples had been in my spank-bank for years. I wanted to see them again, taste them again.

She handed my phone back to me as we stood outside her door.

“If I don’t call you, meet me here at six,” she said as she turned the doorknob to check that it was locked.

“Here’s hoping you don’t call me.”

Her face lit up.

“It’s good to see you, Tyler. I just have a lot going on right now.”

“I totally understand. We can take it slow.”

As we walked down the hall side by side, I pushed all the questions aside as well as my desire to strip off her clothes and take her right there in the elevator.

She turned and grinned at me as we rode down. Did she feel the sexual tension in the air too? We arrived at the first floor and walked toward the front door.

“It’s good to see you,” she said again as we made it outside.

“I’ll see you later tonight. Have a good day.”

“Are you headed uptown? We could share a cab?”

“No, I’m the other way.”

“Oh well. I’m looking forward to tonight. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“We do…”

She waved then spun around and took off down the street, stretching her arm out for a cab. I watched a moment or two before turning and heading to find a diner and hang out.

After leaving the military, I had been living on the small nest-egg I’d acquired helping Roger and the others extract a ton of minerals from Afghanistan while we were in the country.

On rare days I missed working, having a reason to get out of bed in the morning, but most of the time I enjoyed having nothing tying me down.

Roger called me occasionally, wanting to go into business together, but I’d never taken him up on the offer. We had gotten away with what we did in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to push my luck.

Thoughts of the past faded as I concentrated on the future. After two years, I would finally be having a meal with Mercy, the woman I’d never been able to forget.

TWELVE

Tyler

When I made it to her apartment later that evening without my phone ringing, I wondered if my luck in love might be changing. While not unlucky, I’d not been in a relationship since getting out of the Army.

Doing so was the furthest thing on my mind, but I realized there was something special about Mercy. The way she had left an impression on me spoke volumes about her as a person and potential mate.

I hit the buzzer at the door and waited.

“I’m on my way down,” she said.

As I waited, I glanced down the street, looking for a cab. By the time she made it down, I had one waiting at the curb for us. She got in the back then scooted over.

I checked her out as the cab took off toward the restaurant I’d given to the driver before she arrived. The red, low cut dress she had on played off the color of her hair.

“You look nice tonight,” I said.

“Thanks. You never told me where we’re going.”

“A picnic in the Afghanistan mountains.”

She laughed. I slipped a hand behind her, rubbing her back.

“No, it’s a place called Giorgio’s. You know it?”

“They have the best pasta.”

“You have good taste.”

Tall buildings passed outside on either side of us, so different than Afghanistan where buildings over two-stories high were a rarity. The thought reminded me of something.

“Whatever happened with that story you were working on?”

She frowned.

“Well, after Captain Jeffries kicked me out before I’d had a chance to put the story together, my readers and the website who had paid me to go to Afghanistan were not happy. I had a hard time finding any work as a freelance journalist after that.”

“That sucks.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a better job now.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far, but I pay my bills. What about you? What happened after…that night.”

At the mention of the night I had been ready to fuck her, the mood changed in the back of the cab. She looked away, peering out the window on her side. I pulled my hand back.

“Yeah, It didn’t go too well for me either. I left the Army about a year ago.”

“What have you been doing since then?” she asked, turning back to face me.

“Oh, a little of this and a little of that. Let’s forget about work and the past for now. We’re just two people having a great dinner together.”

“I don’t think it will be as romantic as a picnic in the foothills of a mountain range, but I’m game.”

Her smile returned, putting me at ease. The driver pulled over to the side of the road in front of Giorgio’s. After paying the driver, I got out and glanced around.

“I’ve not eaten here in a while,” she said. “It’s so expensive.”

“My treat. That’s romantic, right?”

We walked to the front of the restaurant. I stopped and opened the door for her. Once inside, the hostess smiled when she recognized me.

“Mr. Anderson. Your table is ready.”

“Wow. You come here a lot?” Mercy asked.

“Usually alone.” I nodded my head toward the hostess as she walked away. “After you.”

She walked after the hostess. I followed behind her, loving the way the dress clung to her body.

After we were seated at my usual table in the corner, she glanced around. The sound of other couples talking filled the dining room. I sat with my back to them. They didn’t matter.

“They’re busy,” she said.

“Good food.” I picked up a menu. “I’m not sure what to get yet.”

Both of us studied our menus a moment until a waitress arrived. She took our order politely and without any fuss. When she left, I looked across the table at Mercy.

“That sucks that story didn’t pan out for you,” I said, feeling a bit guilty about not giving her all the information I had about what was going on over in Afghanistan.

“It’s probably for the best. At least I’m not traipsing across the planet to war-torn countries anymore.”

“Yeah, me either.”