Page 34 of Triton

Grady walked over to me. He dressed as Hulk but wasn’t wearing a mask. A lump grew in my throat when he came into focus. I’d met him before, but every time I saw his face, I was reminded of the risks I took when I deployed. Grady was ripped and masculine, but half of his face was mangled and horribly scarred. I forced myself not to stare at his glass eye or his misshapenear.

Grady shook my hand. “Hey man, thanks for coming.”

“Anytime, bro. It’s an honor to hang out withyou.”

I stared at his beautiful wife outside with Aria, noting how she looked at him so lovingly, as if he was the most handsome man in the world. I wondered what it would be like to find a woman who loved me the way Isa loved Grady. Could Aria be that woman? I had my doubts, especially since she refused to talk about any future with me nor even clue me into her plans for the nextyear.

“Can I get you abeer?”

“Yeah. That would be great.”

Grady went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of local craft lemon shandies. He squeezed a lemon wedge through the neck and handed meone.

I knocked his bottle with mine. “Cheersman.”

“Cheers.”

He took a swig, and I did as well. It tasted refreshing—like a glass of summer.

“How you’ve been?” I asked.

“Good, dude. Trying to get through school but I have another surgery next month. I’m doing some work with wounded warriors, but the pay sucks,” he grimaced. “Not sure how much longer I can afford to do it. I still get offers to write a memoir, but I’m not into it. And I’m asked all the time to do speaking engagements . . . but I’d probably just have panic attacks, so I don’tknow.”

My eyes scanned his place. It was nice and modern, but small. This badass was a medal of honor recipient. He’d jumped on a bomb to save his friends’ lives. Rage filled me when I thought about the celebrities who lived in mansions while Grady was struggling to make ends meet, medically retired from the military, unable to serve the country he loved. The entire situation pissed me the fuckoff.

“That sucks, man. I respect the hell out of you. And I agree with you about not wanting to write a book. Most of the Team guys I knew who wrote them completely regrettedit.”

“Yeah. It would all be some fake war propaganda. There isn’t that much to say. What do they want to write about? My fucked-up childhood? Basically, a grenade was thrown into the building I was clearing, and I jumped on it. End of story. The rest would just be a pityfest.”

Now I liked this guy even more. Even some of the SEALs I met bragged about our missions. Grady was so humble. “Don’t downplay it, dude. You’re a beast.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” His gaze trailed off toward his wife, who was chatting with Aria, and his expression softened. “I’ll tell you, man; I wouldn’t still be here if I hadn’t met Isa. Before she came in my life, I had some dark times. I’d spent months wishing the bomb had killed me. She really savedme.”

Fuck. His words chilled me. I’d lost some of my own buddies to suicide. I patted his shoulder. “Well, I’m glad you found her. I’ve talked to her a few times at the pool, and she’s great. And she’s crazy aboutyou.”

“Well, it’s mutual. I still can’t believe how lucky I am. Hey, do you guys have that new Glock 19? I’ve been dying to shootit.”

“Hell yeah. It’s awesome. I still love my Sig, but the Glock is smaller. Do you want to come shoot on our range? I’d be honored to take you anytime.”

The half of his face that wasn’t scarred lifted and he smiled. “You mean it, man? The civilian rangessuck.”

“Yup, anytime.” I took out my phone, and we exchanged numbers.

“I’ll take you up onthat.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder. “One more thing. I know you have Isa, but if you ever need to talk to someone who has been through war, call me. I mean it. I know you have your buddies, but I’m here foryou.”

He swallowed. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I’m going to go feed everyone.” He brought a platter of burgers out to the grill.

Aria came back inside. “How long do you want tostay?”

I gave her a blank look. “What? We just gothere?”

Her shoulders were slumped, and she pulled her hair. “I know. Isa is super nice, but I don’t know anyone else here. I just am not much of a partygirl.”

“That’s the point of a party, babe. You get to know other people. Do you want a drink?”

She shook her head. “No, I missed my workout today so I shouldn’t.”