AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Picking up his coffee again, he glanced up to find Apollo standing in the kitchen. He didn’t like being analyzed, but he knew Apollo well enough to know he was picking him apart.
Apollo strode over to the cabinet and grabbed a mug. “You’ve got it bad, Overstreet.”
He swallowed the coffee in his mouth. “That obvious?”
He darted a sideways glance at him and poured himself a cup of joe. “Yes. I’m surprised you’re still holding a candle. You know Lena. She doesn’t make the same mistake twice.”
A growl burned in his throat. “What’s that mean?”
Apollo cradled the mug in one hand and swung to face Slade. “You two are divorced. I don’t see her reopening that door. In fact, I can give you a list of times she slammed a door and didn’t reopen it.”
She was a tough woman and wouldn’t take crap for long before casting it away from her. How many literal doors had she slammed in his face through the years? Every time he tried to get close to her, she threw up a barrier.
“Rookies test her because she’s a woman, and that lasts until she puts them in their place,” Apollo said.
Slade held up a hand to stop him from going on. “We’re SEALs. We don’t quit. C’mon, man. This is my mission. Operation: Win Lena Back.”
Apollo tilted his head with interest. “Why not Operation: Loving Lena?”
“Focus, Apollo.”
A grin cut a path through his normally stern expression. “All right, I see where you’re coming from.”
“You had to win Indika back after being away for three years.”
Apollo bobbed his head. “That’s true. But you know who’s the best at strategy?”
“Who?”
“Lena.”
Slade counted to five for patience because he was too impatient to count to ten. “Who else?”
Apollo set down his mug. “We’re definitely going to need backup if you’re going to be successful.”
Slade twitched his head for his friend to follow. “This is going to require an intense planning session. Follow me.”
* * * * *
Lena stiffly reclined on the patient bed, her heart tripping out of her chest.
Could she be any more awkward right now? Not only had her pregnancy just been confirmed by a professional rather than a cheap plastic stick, but the doctor hovered over her.
“This should be warm.” She held up a bottle of ultrasound gel and squirted some on Lena’s flat stomach.
What happened to all her muscle tone when she inflated like a bloated toad? She’d end up with sagging skin and blubber. Not that she was vain about such things, but her muscles were her tools of the trade, necessary for fighting.
Dr. Collins offered her a soft smile. “Relax. I’m going to place this on your stomach and move it around.”
Lena dragged in a deep breath that hitched at least five times on the way in and stuttered five more on the way out. She gave the doctor a nod of agreement.
When the wand hit her stomach, an image popped onto the blank screen. Little wavy lines that meant absolutely nothing to her. Then…
A low throbbing sound filled the office.
“That’s your baby’s heartbeat.” Dr. Collins stared at the screen while maneuvering the wand into a better spot.
Lena’s mouth dried out. “It sounds so fast.”
