Once in the Humvee, Daisy looked again at the slip of paper in her pocket.
Ethan ‘Ace’ Gibson
910-555-1223
Chapter 4
Ace watched as Dee made her way to the waiting Humvee. She climbed inside without a backward glance at him or his teammates. Ace wondered what had her so on edge and why on earth she would keep going into danger time after time. He made a promise to himself in that moment. He would find out about her and he would help her rid herself of her demons, whatever they may be. His brain was screaming at him to let it go. He was going to get hurt again, but his heart wouldn’t let it go. Ace and his teammates headed to the Humvees that were awaiting them. They headed out to complete the mission they were called over here to do.
A long week later the team had completed their mission. They were more than ready to head back to the states. It had been a tough mission and they had taken some casualties. Worm had been wounded and needed medical attention. Elise, the woman they had rescued also needed to be checked out my medical. So they were taking her to the base hospital to be cleared prior to heading back. Ace still had the doctor on his mind, however. He was hoping to run into Dr. Dee and see how she was doing. He just felt the need to make sure she was okay. Something about her had touched a nerve in him. An almost primal need to know her was consuming him. He needed more information though. Something to help him understand her and how he could help her.
When the team arrived on base, they headed to the medical section. Deadeye was hovering over Elise, the woman they had recovered. She had been taken hostage by a terrorist that had wanted to make her his bride. Thankfully they had been able to find and rescue her. Ace wanted to laugh at the situation. Deadeye had never, ever, hovered over a woman, and definitely not a target they were sent to rescue.
Hawk, their commanding officer had called ahead and made arrangements for the civilian to be checked out by the best doctor on base. When they arrived, a nurse directed them to an exam room. The nurse didn’t want to let any of them in the room with Elise, but when Elise refused to let go of Deadeye, the nurse relented and allowed him to stay with her. Deadeye would not have allowed anyone else to stay with her anyway, and they all knew it. The rest of the team headed to a waiting area.
Ace saw Dee head down the hall and enter Elise’s room. Ace moved down the hall to wait for her to come back out so he could talk to her. Sometime later, when Dee exited the room, she rolled her eyes when she saw Ace waiting for her. She tried to step around him, but he moved to block her. She looked up at him and scowled.
“Ace, you need to get out of my way. I have a patient to take care of. If I am not mistaken, you brought her to me, so if you will excuse me. I have work to do,” Daisy again moved to step around him, but he again blocked her by stepping into her path. He backed her up against the wall.
“Dee, look. I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Ace said in a calm voice. “I only want to get to know you better. I like what I have seen of you. We have some chemistry and you know it. Let’s just see where it could go, okay?”
Daisy stared at him like he had three heads. Chemistry? More like oil and water. Was he really hitting on her in a medical ward in a fucking war zone? She shook her head and tried to step away. She skirted around him to give orders to the nurses for the needed tests to evaluate her patient. When she finished giving the nurse her orders, she turned around to run smack into Ace standing there, patiently waiting for her. Her hands landed on his broad muscular chest as he griped her biceps gently to steady her. Unconsciously she allowed her hands to get their fill of his taut muscles that flexed under her hands as he moved.
“You’re a persistent fucker, aren’t you?” Daisy asked with a slight smile on her face. Ace chuckled lightly. She had to admit he deserved an A for effort. He was persistent despite her nasty attitude.
“Yes, ma’am I am when I see something I want. I pursue it until I have satisfied my curiosity,” Ace smiled down at her. “I have a feeling I am going to be going after you for a long, long time. I don’t think I will ever be satisfied without knowing all about you,” Ace said determinedly. Daisy was flattered, but still annoyed.
“I’m nobody special. I lead a rather boring life other than my work. It’s pretty much all I do. So, if you will excuse me, again. I have patients to see about,” Daisy said as she turned to look over some charts.
“Come on, give me a little something. How about your email address?” Ace inquired. Daisy dropped her head in defeat and sighed heavily.
“You aren’t going to give up on this are you?” Daisy asked, but without waiting for an answer, she quickly wrote down her information on a blank script pad and handed it to him. “Now, leave me alone. I’ve got work to do.” She chuckled quietly as she turned away and made a shooing motion with her hands. Daisy couldn’t believe that she had given him her information. She was getting weak. It wasn’t like he was the first guy to put the moves on her, but he was the first one she had ever given into. His handsome face and body were like a Greek god’s and she found his persistence admirable. She hadn’t been able to intimidate him. She was going to have to be stronger in the future if she was going to survive him.
Daisy couldn’t believe the audacity of Ace. He had been more than persistent. She was flattered that he had been so tenacious in getting her information. She had never had anyone other than Luke be so interested in her before. It felt good, but she knew better than to read anything into it. She was old enough to know that love and romance were not in the cards for her. The way she worked she didn’t have time for relationships. The Navy was her life. She had so much to atone for there was no time for herself or what she might wish for. Damn that Marine for making her want more.
* * *
Satisfied that he finally had a connection to her, Ace walked back to the waiting room with a smug grin on his face. He joined the others and waited until they were released to go back home.
“What are you grinning about?” Straw asked when Ace sat next to him. Ace just grinned at his friend, but didn’t answer. While they continued to wait, Ace looked at the information she had given him.
Daisy Robertson, MD
Canp Lejeune, North Carolina
910-555-0224
Ace smiled to himself. Her real name was Daisy. He had her now, she just didn’t know it yet. He relaxed for the first time in a week. He could deal with this. He had her name, knew she was based in North Carolina just like he was, and he had her email and phone number. A short time later, Elise and Worm had been cleared to leave the country. They all loaded up and headed for the base airport. As they exited the medical building, Ace looked back to see Daisy watching them leave. He gave her a small wave. It was the last time he would see her in person for several months.
Once back in the States, Ace called John ‘Tex’ Keagan. Tex is a medically retired Navy SEAL with seriously scary tech skills. He can find out anything and find anyone. Ace was pretty sure not everything Tex did was legal, but as long as the job got done, Ace didn’t care how it got done.
“Hey, Tex! Ace Gibson from Hawk’s Marine special ops team. Remember me?” Ace asked the former SEAL.
“Sure, Ace I remember you. What can I help you with?” Tex replied. Ace was grateful to have Tex as a friend.
