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“Yeah, I’d say so. I think it’s about time we started making travel arrangements.”
“I’ve looked into that,” Jocko says.
I chuckle. “Of course you have, you efficient motherfucker.”
He grins, a rare sight for him. “Like I said…”
“I know, I know.” I laugh. “I would’ve done the same if I wasn’t supposed to be dead. So, what are our options?”
“I think we should take the ferry to Sicily and work our way to one of your European safe havens from there. We can get you the right papers to return to the States and…”
“And Sergey won’t be able to cover the airport and the ferries, at least not as well as he could when he had all his men.”
“Exactly.” Jocko nods. “It’s going to take me a day or so to do the proper security checks. And there’s this other thing.”
“What?” I ask.
He looks at me for a long moment, his eyes hard. “Are we going to talk about you and Kelly?”
I return his stare, fire pulsing through me. “How the fuck do you know about that?”
“It was a guess, but you’ve just confirmed it. Come on, Kane, I’ve seen the way you two have been looking at each other. Maybe Lena’s blind to it. But I’m not.”
I shake my head, unable to stop the note of pride from whirring through me. “You’re too clever for me, you bastard. Yeah, something is happening there, Jocko.”
He blows out a long breath. “With your daughter’s best friend? What the hell are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I’m obsessed with her. I’m thinking I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I’m thinking she’s the woman I’ve been waiting for, for a long damn time. I’m thinking she’s… she’s everything to me, Jocko. Everything. It’s the only way I can explain it.”
He tilts his head at me, the prospect that I may be insane flitting across his eyes.
“I don’t understand,” he says.
I nod. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I hardly understand it myself and I’m the one who’s experiencing it.”
Jocko pauses, staring patiently, the same way he always looks at me when he’s waiting for me to explain something. Something about being in the military makes moments like these easier to handle, smaller almost because they’re so much less catastrophic than what we’ve been through.
“Do you remember how clear your mind was in combat?”
“Of course I do,” he says.
“It’s like that, man.” I run a hand through my hair, a smirk touching my lips when I think about how my Kelly teases me about the gesture. “When I saw her climb out of the taxi outside Medina, I was convinced Lena must’ve brought somebody else. I didn’t recognize her at first. But I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That she was the woman I was supposed to be with. I know how that’ll sound to a grim bastard like you.”
I grin, letting him know I’m joking, even if there’s a shred of truth in it. Jocko has always been the distant type, never staying with the same woman for long. He’s always said he’s afraid of opening himself up to a woman, and until recently – very goddamn recently – I agreed with him.
“So you want to be with her, what, forever?” he asks.
“Exactly. And I knew this the second I saw her. I know it doesn’t make any sense. I know I’m probably insane. But that’s the truth and I can’t fight it anymore. And what’s even crazier is that she feels the same. We both felt it, this instant connection, the moment we laid eyes on each other. If it wasn’t for the fact she’s Lena’s best friend things would be so, so easy between us.”
Jocko sighs heavily. “I’m not going to lie and tell you I’ve ever felt anything like that. But I’ve never seen you so passionate before, not even close. I can tell this girl means a lot to you.”
“She means the world to me,” I say firmly. “But so does Lena. That’s my problem…”
I trail off, chuckling, shaking my head as a thought occurs to me.
“What?” Jocko prompts.
“I’m just thinking about this crazy suggestion Kelly made. She said we should go on a date to try and make each other lose interest. But I know that’d never happen.”
“But you want to take her on a date. Or at least have some alone time with her.”
“Of course I do. But we’ll have to wait until we get back to the States for that.”
Jocko bites down. “Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know how Lena’s been asking to go back to Medina as soon as it’s safe, so she can do some more research for her novel?”
Excitement flares to life inside of me, followed a second later by a pang of crippling guilt. “Yes.”
“With Sergey’s men deserting him, I’m confident I could keep her safe for a few hours. You know I’d never let anything happen to her. That girl’s like a niece to me. And who knows, maybe Kelly is right. Maybe you can work this out of your system and Lena never needs to find out.”
