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Em laughs. “Yeah, so did Elodie.”
Jessie and I fall into a fit of giggles as Rook turns right back around and heads back downstairs, slamming the door shut behind him.
“What are they doing down there anyway?” Em puts her boobs away and hands Elodie to me before she moves into the kitchen and pours herself a glass of water.
Jessie and I look at each other with trepidation.
They put Em on an antidepressant last night, and it should take a few days to kick in. In the meantime, she’s really trying to get herself in a better place, and I worry that what I’m about to say is going to cause her to spiral. The Em we’ve had today has been very different from the one I’ve been around for the past week.
“There’s some stuff going on that the guys are dealing with from the last op,” I tell her, hoping she doesn’t ask any questions but knowing Emerson well enough to know there’s zero chance of that happening.
She lifts her glass to her lips, watching Jessie and me as she drinks the entire thing.
Her hand shakes as she sets the empty glass down on the marble counter, and then she places both palms flat on either side of it and levels us with an icy glare. “What kind of stuff?”
“Honey.” Jessie moves to her side and rubs a hand over Emerson’s back. “Why don’t you sit down?”
Em shrugs her off, spinning away so fast her hair whips against Jessie’s cheek. “I don’t want to sit down. I don’t want to be coddled. I want one of you to tell me what’s going on. What do I not know?” Her face pales. “Oh God—” she breaks on a sob. “Does it have something to do with Linc?”
I consider putting Elodie in the swing, but I’m not sure if Jessie finished putting it together, so I shift her in my arms instead. “Em... I don’t think either of us knows everything yet.”
Jessie nods in agreement. “We don’t. Ford refuses to tell me everything. But what we do know is that Axel has gone AWOL. And he’s causing problems. I think that’s what they’re talking about.”
“No.” Em slaps her palm against the counter. “I’m not going to be kept in the dark in my own house. Especially not about something involving the death of my husband.” She marches over to the basement door, a furious red suddenly coloring her previously pale cheeks.
But she doesn’t have a chance to reach for it before it swings open and Ford steps through. He grabs Em’s shoulders, steadying her, as Rook and Cooper move out around him. “You okay, Emerson?”
“No. I’m not okay. One of you needs to start talking now. I want to know what happened...” She swallows and takes a beat to gather herself. “What happened to Linc? And what’s going on with Axel? This is my house, and you’re not allowed to keep something from me in my own damn house. I don’t care how big of an alpha male each one of you is. I will cut you down if I have to.”
A look passes between the three guys before Ford clears his throat and motions for the couch. “Why don’t you girls take a seat.”
Emerson opens her mouth to protest, but Ford stops her. “Em, this isn’t easy for any of us. If you want to hear this, you need to sit.”
It’s then that I see the fatigue on Ford’s handsome face—the lines around his eyes and the tight set of his jaw as he tugs on Jessie’s hair.
I move to the couch and sit down with Elodie, who’s wide-awake, her violet eyes staring at me. “Come sit with me, Em.”
Jessie moves next to Em and holds her hand as the two of them sit down next to me.
The guys follow them over, each choosing a different spot to stand. All are similarly posed with crossed arms and frustrated scowls.
My heart hurts, looking at them, as Ford speaks.
“There’s only so much I can share and not get court-martialed for. You need to understand that.” His eyes swing to Cooper’s.
Coop scowls but speaks all the same, “Right. Well, the Navy’s already kicked me to the curb, so I guess I’ll fill in the blanks. But keep in mind, my fucked up brain doesn’t remember any of this.”
Pain ricochets through me at his words, and as if sensing my hurt, Elodie nuzzles her soft head into the crook of my neck.
Cooper watches me as he fills in what blanks he can, while silent tears fall all around. It’s hard to believe any of us have any tears left to cry.
He fills in what he knows went down on the op and in Germany.
Then the way Axel approached me at the hospital.
But when he pauses and his eyes flare, I know there something else, even if he won’t say it.
Instead, Rook steps forward, adding, “We have something Axel wants back. But we can’t give it to him. We have connections trying to locate him, so he can pay for his crimes. But it could take a few days.”
