Page 22 of Her Passionate Hero

Fuck.

“A beer sounds great.”

Gray grinned and Hunter grimaced. His phone rang. He pulled it out of his duffel and blanched. He’d missed four calls from his grandmother.

“Grandmother?” he said in Spanish.

“Come home,” his adopted grandmother said without preamble.

“What’s wrong?” he clipped out his question, his gut in knots.

“I need you home now.”

“Answer my question.” He ignored Gray’s intense regard.

“Have some respect, and just do what I say.”

“Mamie,” he growled.

“Fine. It’s Aliana. She’s in big trouble. Someone blew up her home last night. She almost died. The police aren’t helping. But if you don’t care. Don’t come home.” She hung up.

He looked down at his phone.

“Motherfucker!”

“That’s a lot of anger for a man who just got done talking to his grandmother,” Gray mused.

“Yeah, well, most men don’t have Rosa Diaz as a grandmother.” He stopped folding and started shoving shit into his duffel. Fuck it all.

“Why d’you call her Mamie? Why not Abuelita?”

“She’s only half Mexican. Her mother’s family is Haitian. Mamie is French for grandmother.” He zipped up his bag, slung it over his shoulder, then stared at Gray.

“Well, that explains why you speak French so well,” Gray murmured to himself. He watched Hunter zip up his duffel. “Going somewhere?” Gray asked blandly.

“I’m officially requesting leave.”

“How long?”

“Fuck if I know.”

Gray put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Can you listen to me a moment? Really listen?”

Hunter looked at his lieutenant. In the six years he’d been under the man’s command, he’d only been this somber outside of a mission four times.

“Yes,” Hunter said solemnly.

“I can tell something serious is going on up in L.A., but I think your response might be a little over the top.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I know I don’t, but hear me out.”

Hunter nodded.

“You were just talking to the woman who you consider your grandmother, then said ‘fuck’ three times. That’s not you. I think this shit with the kidnapped and raped girls in Africa got deep inside your heart, mind, and soul and you haven’t dealt. If you don’t, whatever is going on in L.A. is going to blow up in your face.”

“With all due respect, Gray, you don’t know fuck all what triggered me. And maybe, just maybe, going to L.A. will be just the thing to finally put this to rest.”