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“It’s better for her this way. We get her back to Chicago, and we leave for the mission.”
“And what about her safety? What about making sure that she’s taken care of? It’s the least we can do for Zinc,” Freeman said.
“I’ve already taken care of that, with Viktor’s help,” Corona said, and Atlanta sighed.
Freeman glanced up toward the ceiling, thinking about how he got to make love to her and how Jessup was with her now. Tonight would be their last night with her.
“When are we going to tell her?” he asked.
“Now. She’ll need to pack, and we need to get the house closed up. We won’t be back here for a couple of months,” Corona told him, and Freeman felt sick.
Suddenly he wasn’t sure about anything. Nina was going to be upset. He just knew that, despite the tough attitude she’d tried to portray these last few weeks. He had finally found a woman who touched his heart and his soul like no other woman, never mind person, and now he had to let her go in order to save her. Corona and Atlanta were right. She would be stuck worrying about them every time they left for some mission, and they would be worried about her and unable to concentrate. Their professions were dangerous and getting more so at every turn. Having a committed relationship with Nina was impossible.
* * * *
“You need to pack your bags. We leave early tomorrow morning. We’ll drop you off at your place in Chicago, and then we need to gather some stuff and head out to the airport for our mission,” Corona told her as they finished up dinner.
Nina felt sick to her stomach. Despite the fact that she’d known this was coming, it still didn’t make it easier. Somewhere along the line, she’d fallen in love with the four soldiers. She thought about their bodies, their scars, their tattoos, all signifying their dedication and commitment to the United States of America and to what being an American stood for. They were hard-core, sometimes mean, combative, opinionated. But they were gentleman, warriors, and they made her feel more beautiful and important than she’d ever felt in her life. In fact, she didn’t think anyone but they could ever make her feel this way.
That empty, hollow space in her heart, the one from all the loss, betrayal, and abandonment she’d experienced as a child and a teen, had temporarily been filling up. It was because of them. Now, it would be empty again, and she couldn’t help but feel angry and disappointed.
She wanted to hold on to them, to make them consider trying to work things out and remain a part of her life so she wouldn’t lose that feeling inside. But that would be selfish of her. She couldn’t change their lives, take away their commitments to the military and have them give up their freedoms, their dreams, because she was one messed-up, lonely woman with no one in this world who truly loved her.
She felt tears fill her eyes, but she put on her strong face and nodded.
“I’ll pack up as soon as we’re done cleaning up,” she whispered, and Corona nodded.
She listened as they talked about flight arrangements, going to some storage facility and grabbing their gear, and how long the flight would be to head to the various locations and meet-up points with other soldiers. It put a damper on the fairy tale life they were living out here in Salvation. It ended any possibility of touring the town with them and seeing what else Salvation had to offer. She imagined taking Atlanta’s hand and leaning her head against him as they strolled through town and let everyone know she was with him and the others. That wasn’t going to happen, ever.
Instead, she thought about life in Chicago and whether or not she wanted to remain a manager at Bailey’s or look elsewhere. She thought about Dominion and wondered how far he lived from here and whether she should ask them to just let her take care of herself. But then they would ask her questions about her life, and about Dominion, a man she didn’t even know and had never met. It was better that they didn’t know about him or about how alone she really was in this world. Plus, there hadn’t been any new news on Zinc and why he’d been killed or who had done it. That dangerous, fearful, and unsettling feeling filled her gut. She was back to being strong again, putting up a wall around her heart and soul, and acting like a soldier herself.
“You go ahead and get started. We’ll clean up down here,” Atlanta said, dismissing her.
It was the beginning of feeling as though their lovemaking hadn’t meant as much to them as it had to her. She supposed it was her being so inexperienced and silly. Men as good-looking, older, and charismatic as these guys would have women fighting to get in their beds. She’d known what she was accepting when they started this. It ended here, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Thirty minutes later, as she finished packing and put out an outfit to wear to the airport the next day, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.
She didn’t turn to look. Her heart hammered inside of her chest as she stood by the dresser, looking out the window toward the side of the house.
Strong arms wrapped around her midsection, and she exhaled.
Freeman.
He inhaled against her neck and suckled her skin.
“Freeman?”
“Not a word. Please,” he whispered and turned her around then lifted her top up over her head and tossed it down. He reached around her, unclipped her bra, and sent it flying next before he leaned forward and kissed her deeply.
Nina felt his need to go fast, to take from her one last time, and she wanted to take from him. It was desperation, to feel the power that combusted when their bodies were one.
She reached for his pants as he kissed her deeper. She shoved them down and held on to his cock, stroking it.
“Fuck,” he exclaimed after releasing her lips. He lowered to her breasts and began to feast on them.
He turned her around and stepped awkwardly toward the bed, pushing her down and making her chuckle.
He gripped her shorts and panties, tearing them down her legs, then stumbled out of his jeans that pooled at his ankles.
