Sweet Affliction [Sweet Awakenings 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  “This is Amber Sorensen reporting live from Isla Coronado just off the coast of Mexico. The Department of Defense and the United States Navy have released the name of the other SEAL killed in the ambush of two nights ago by a yet-to-be-named terrorist organization. Commander Nick Slater was found alive but later pronounced dead-on-arrival after being transported to a local-area hospital.”

  Adam closed his eyes in disbelief. Slater? What the fuck was going on? A recently retired SEAL and one who was set to get out in mere weeks?

  “What a simply awful blow to the Naval Special Warfare community, Amber.”

  “Indeed it is, Phil. In a sad and shocking twist of events, it seems that Commander Slater was also set to retire and had only a month left to serve. No official statement has been released, but it is believed that both men were unarmed and unprepared for the attacks that took their lives.”

  “Thank you, Amber. Please keep us posted with any more news as it becomes available.”

  “Certainly, Phil.”

  Adam hit the power button and set the remote down on the coffee table. The news of Drake yesterday had been a big enough blow, but Slater, too? He was a damn good operator. Hell, they both were. All three of them had been on the operation to rescue Jack and Rex all those years back when things went high and right.

  “Did you know him?”

  His sweet wife’s soft voice was like a drug to his restless soul. Her hand covered his, and she laced her fingers underneath, grabbing on tight. He looked to her and wondered how the hell he ever ended up with someone like her. She was so petite and dainty, yet on the inside had a strength like no one he had ever known.

  He squeezed her hand in return. “Yes. I knew him well.” Bringing her hand to his mouth, he gently kissed it.

  “I’m so sorry, Adam.”

  “Come here.”

  He pulled her into his lap and pulled her head to lay into the crook of his neck. The position looked as though he was shielding her from harm, comforting her from pain, but in actuality holding her like this was what calmed him. It was selfish to admit, but he needed her. Many nights she had been a comfort to him when he’d awoken from a nightmare as he recalled the night his one-time fiancée and mother of his unborn child was murdered. Chelsea was his world, his strength.

  Holding onto one another she asked, “What can I do?”

  “Come with me when it’s time to go?”

  She gave him a look of confusion. “Adam, I would go anywhere with you. You know that. But go where?”

  “Coronado Island.”

  Chelsea looked at him even more confused, but he appreciated her not pressing. If there was one thing his wife had learned about him, it was when to push and when to drop something. He was grateful for her smile.

  “Of course I will.”

  “Thanks, baby.”

  * * * *

  Jack walked into Rex’s house and gave his brother a knowing look of remorse. They were both thinking the same thing. Two men who’d helped ensure their future and saved their lives were now dead. It was fucked up on so many levels he couldn’t quite make sense of it.

  Rex gave Tamara his customary kiss on the cheek and kissed his godson, JJ, before she joined Shelby in the other room.

  “Adam and Chelsea here yet?”

  “No. Should be here shortly.”

  They both heard the sound of Adam’s Charger pull up and decided to meet him on the porch. They walked out and were greeted with a soft smile and a kiss from Chelsea before she retired inside to join Tamara and Shelby.

  “How you doing, man?” Rex asked, placing a comforting arm around Adam.

  Adam didn’t answer but instead walked in the house and went straight for Rex’s den. He and Rex followed him in there, and he shut the door.

  “You don’t look so good,” he told Adam. The two didn’t always see eye to eye, but he knew what the guy was going through.

  Adam only shrugged as he looked out the window into Rex’s backyard.

  There was an awkward silence in the room. None of them ever really knew how to deal with Adam when he shut down. No one except for Chelsea, but he assumed that she had already done everything she could. It was up to Adam now to decide if he wanted to talk or clam up.

  “One month. One fucking month!” Adam snapped.

  Jack knew he was referring to Slater being so close to retirement. The fact that both men were killed while not on a mission—Drake already retired—didn’t seem like a point that would be appropriate to make at this time. At the end of the day, both men were dead. Retired or not retired didn’t seem to be a deciding factor for whoever ambushed them.

  Again silence filled the room. Rex and he weren’t stupid. Adam’s statement hadn’t required a response. He was merely thinking aloud. Any further comment, even if agreeing with him, would only end in anger from their friend. They needed to let Adam deal with this in his own way. Adam and Nick were like brothers. Not team brothers but like real brothers. Having been swimming partners in BUD/S class and serving on the same team for most of Adam’s career, he knew this was hitting him harder than most.

  “I’d like you guys to be there.”

  Rex eyed Jack curiously before asking, “There?”

  Adam turned to the two men then. For the first time since he had arrived they were both getting a good look at his eyes. They were red. Not from tears but from no sleep. Jack hoped he wasn’t having nightmares again. Tamara had told him that Chelsea broke down months ago and turned to her for a shoulder to cry on. It seemed their friend suffered from post-traumatic stress. He didn’t ask too many questions, only listened to what little Tamara did tell him. From what he could gather it stemmed from watching his fiancée and unborn child being gunned down in front of him. He remembered thinking at the time that he was damn grateful that the shit they had seen in war hadn’t claimed sleepless nights of yet another brother.

  “To Coronado NAB.”

  Coronado NAB was just off the coast of San Diego and home to the United States Naval Amphibious Base. Jack cocked an eyebrow at Rex. The two had known each other for so long that they could communicate with the simplest of gestures. Rex shrugged his answer and shook his head. Clearly Rex didn’t know what Adam was talking about either.

  “Sure, we’ll be there.”

  Adam nodded and looked back out through the window. “I think he’d like that.”

  Jack motioned for Rex to ask him what the hell he was talking about because he had no clue. He assumed the funeral would be held at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, where Slater’s parents were buried. Rex and he had sent their condolences when Slater’s mother passed away several months back, but Tamara had been too pregnant to travel, and Rex and Shelby hadn’t wanted to miss the birth of their godchild in case she went into labor. Adam and Chelsea had attended the services though.

  “Brother, we’ll do whatever we need to. You know that. But um, why are we going to Coronado anyway? Isn’t he going to be buried at Miramar?” Rex asked.

  Adam took a long and deep breath. He walked closer to the window and crossed his arms. His movements were calm, but Jack could see the veins in his arms. He was tense and probably doing everything he could to not throw a punch at anything in his path.

  “The service will be at Miramar.” He turned around and faced them. “After his mother’s funeral he told me it was good his parents were reunited.”

  Jack knew that Slater’s dad was a naval pilot but didn’t know much else other than he had been killed in 1994 when his plane went down during Operation Desert Storm.

  Adam continued, “He never cared for the ground. Dirt, that is. Didn’t want to be buried in it.” A cynical laugh came from him. “Maybe that was why he became a SEAL. The son of a bitch loved the water, you know. Always around it, even when he wasn’t on assignment.”

  Neither he nor Rex said anything. He hoped Adam didn’t realize what he’d just said. Judging from the look on his face he knew all too well the irony of what his frien
d’s love for water had gotten him in the end.

  “Anyway,” Adam went on, “knowing his mom and dad were finally together again, he said when old age took him he wanted to be cremated and his ashes scattered out in the ocean where his SEAL instructors first beat the snot out of him.”

  Jack and Adam were never very close, but he had nothing but sympathy for what the man was going through.

  “Can you believe that shit?” Adam turned around then. The red-lined whites of his eyes were filled with anguish. “He thought he was gonna live to a ripe old age.”

  “I think we all think that, man.” Rex put a consoling hand on Adam’s shoulder.

  “He was tired of fighting in a war that there seemed to be no end in sight to. He wanted out.” Adam motioned toward the hallway. “After meeting Chelsea he razzed me, saying he wanted to get himself one of those little numbers.”

  Jack couldn’t help but smile at that. That sounded like Slater. The man had a way and a soft spot for all women. While he never saw Slater with a woman who wasn’t attractive, he didn’t seem to have a type, but rather liked all women.

  Rex echoed Jack’s thoughts. “Yeah, he loved the ladies. Even stole a couple gals who had my attention a time or two. Back in my bachelor days, of course.”

  “You mean before Shelby whipped your ass into submission?” Adam smirked at him.

  Even though it was a cover, Jack was glad to see a grin on Adam’s face. “Let’s go grab something to eat. Tamara made some sandwiches with some Greek salad or some shit like that. I don’t know, ever since she had JJ she’s become very domesticated, trying out all these different recipes.”

  All three of them walked from the den. There was still a sadness left lingering in the air. They’d lost two of their own. Any way you sliced it, it sucked to high heaven.

  Chapter 5

  He opened his eyes, or tried to. They were heavy, almost like they were being held down. He felt exhausted. The peaceful serene feeling that consumed him once before was now replaced with aches and pains. Hell. He had to be in hell. That was the only thing that explained the mind fuck that he’d been experiencing. Bliss then pain, peace then people arguing. Obviously the devil had a sick sense of humor, but I guess they didn’t call him the master of all evil for nothing. Thankfully he couldn’t feel flames licking at his feet, so at least it wasn’t as bad as all those books would have you believe.

  Suddenly a voice distracted him from his thoughts. He gave up the effort of trying to open his eyes and just relaxed. It was a woman’s voice. The same woman from before, he wondered. She wasn’t talking or even yelling this time. She was humming, almost singing really. It was a peaceful melody. It rang familiar to him. The tune seemed to be something he’d heard before. Actually it was something he knew quite well.

  He relaxed and allowed himself to soak in the soothing echo of her melody. It was as if it was reverberating around him, soaking into his achy joints and muscles, relieving the pain. He wished he could touch her. She sounded like an angel.

  “Hello?”

  Someone had come to visit her? Whoever it was, she was surprised to see them. A sense of panic washed through him as he worried that it might not be a good surprise. A man had upset her before, and he hadn’t liked it. He didn’t want anyone else causing her worry.

  “Can you hear me?”

  Oh. It dawned on him them. She didn’t have a visitor, she had a phone call. Bad connection, it sounded like. Well good, he thought, at least he didn’t have to worry about her being upset again. Maybe she would go back to singing. He prayed for the peaceful humming that she was doing seconds ago to return. He wondered if it was in bad taste to pray in hell, but he didn’t really care. It’s not like hell was filled with a lot of rule followers anyway.

  Wait a minute. What the fuck? Something wasn’t adding up. Granted he never paid attention in Sunday school when he was a kid, he was always too busy chasing girls around the classroom, which, in retrospect, was probably why he was always getting in trouble. All that aside though, he didn’t remember any mention of telephones in hell, let alone heavenly maidens singing to him while he lay in pain.

  Pain. He was in pain. The man that she had argued over before. The mention of morphine. He was exhausted. He was the man who caused her such worry. He wasn’t in heaven or hell. He wasn’t dead. He was alive.

  Just then he felt something. It was the softest brush against his hand, so gentle it barely even registered at first.

  “Can you hear me?”

  Her voice seemed so sweet. She had a softness about her yet seemed timid at the same time. He remembered all too well how she was able to let out her fiery side if she didn’t like something though.

  The sensation against his hand was getting stronger. He could feel warmth and something moving up and down against it.

  “What am I doing? Talking to myself like some kind of crazy woman. You can’t hear me. If you could you would open your eyes. Why? Why won’t you open your eyes?”

  Despite it being a question, her last sentence came out in frustration. He wished he didn’t upset her so much, but truth be told, he was too damn happy in the realization that he was still alive and not in some head-game hell to feel too much regret for her emotions. Maybe she was one of those emotional women who were all over the board with their mood swings. Be that as it may, she was still a woman, and he happened to like her kind.

  He could still feel the stroking against his hand. A sudden jolt of tiny needles shot through his arm at the same time and vibrated down to his fingertips.

  Fuck!

  A pain tore through him at that precise moment. He could feel fingers, her fingers lacing together with his and holding tightly.

  “Shh. Oh no, please don’t wake up in pain. I’m all alone here, and I don’t know how to help you.”

  Shit!

  He tried to ignore the excruciating jolt, which kept radiating up and down his arm, and focus on the fear he heard in her voice. What the fuck was it about him that scared her so much? It was really starting to piss him off!

  Driven by pain and a bad temperament, he put all of his energy into opening his eyes. He had to see the woman who he was causing such hardship to. Come on, open your fucking eyes, you pussy! Flashing back to days when he was still trying to become a SEAL, he thought of every instructor who had screamed in his face and told him he was a worthless sack of dog shit not fit to be lit on fire and stomped on. Every time one of those shouting sons of bitches came at him it only lit a fire under his ass and gave him an adrenaline boost.

  “Oh my God!”

  His eyes opened to see a tanned young woman with brunette hair. She had removed her hand from his and was covering her mouth in shock.

  “You’re awake.”

  Since obviously he was the cause of many of her mood swings he thought it was probably not best to spit out a smart-ass comment about her stating the painfully obvious. His mother always taught him manners, so he figured he should probably take that route despite her seemingly dumb yet innocuous question.

  “I...” Holy shit! He sounded like someone had taken broken glass and rubbed it against his vocal chords.

  “Oh my, water. You need water.” She jumped up from her chair and raced out of the room.

  She was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a white tank top. They were plain and ordinary, but they did nothing to hide her incredible figure. If he wasn’t in the worst fucking pain he’d felt in his life and still reeling from the news that he was alive and not rotting in the depths of hell, he could probably have some sort of a reaction to a body like that. Fuck it if he wasn’t just too damn tired to care right now.

  A minute later she came running back into the room, with a coffee mug and a spoon. What the hell did she make him, hot tea with honey? He wasn’t a tea man. Cold water and hot coffee were his main two beverages of choice.

  She sat next to him. “Open your mouth.”

  Again, he realized not the best time to make a crack about not f
alling for the old open-your-mouth gag, so he obliged. Surprisingly and thankfully she hadn’t made him tea but instead brought a spoonful of ice chips to his mouth.

  Heaven. Alive or not, he was now in heaven. The cold felt awesome on the inside of his mouth. And for some reason the small amount of moisture it provided him gave him a hint of a nasty taste in his mouth.

  What the hell? Had someone shit in his mouth? He could only imagine what his breath might smell like to her. No wonder she was fearful of him. She probably thought he was Satan himself. Smells like that coming from a human being just weren’t natural.

  He opened his mouth again when she brought another spoonful to his lips. He wanted to demand she dump the whole damn cup in his mouth, but he was afraid opening his mouth for longer than one word at a time would surely make her run for the room screaming while she looked for her bible and cross.

  Instead he laid there like a good little boy as she scooped in several spoonfuls of the greatest fucking thing on earth. Ice. It truly was fucking underrated. Unless you were on the Titanic, in which case you probably weren’t a big fan.

  His throat was finally starting to feel somewhat normal again and not like a scraped up piece of flesh after getting a nasty case of road rash. What he really needed was water. These ice chips were fantastic. And he’d be happy to thank her once his breath didn’t taste like the back of a dog’s ass, but he needed some water.

  “Water?” His voice was still scratchy but comprehensible.

  “I don’t know. You just woke up. He said only give you ice chips.”

  “Please.” The word struck him. Had he ever said please to a woman before? Ever? Huh. He’d have to revisit that at a later time.

  “You could get sick.”

  He was no rocket scientist and never claimed to be the genius of his team, but if his memory served him right he was pretty sure that he’d been shot. Somehow getting sick from too much fluid didn’t seem to be a real big problem and was definitely a risk he was willing to take.