Breaking Free (24 page)

She had touched him while making love, but it was different doing so in public. It was a possessive gesture for everyone to see.

Was he aware of that? Did he want that?

Was this all something physical that would burn itself out? Or would he begin to pity her and that would eat away at it until it ended?

His knee was only a few weeks from healing completely and he would go back on the active duty list. After that, he could be called back in at any time. Knowing that affected every experience she had with him. It was as though every moment she was with him, she was saying good-bye. Would she be strong enough to accept it when it really happened?

He turned to face her and squirted sun block out in his palm. “Turn around, Zoe.”

She did as he asked and reached up to hold her ponytail out of the way. She had never been so aware of a man’s touch as he rubbed the sunscreen over her shoulders and down her back. The texture of his hands was slightly rough, callused, their pressure gentle.

“I want to ask you something, but I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”

His tone, so subdued, sent anxiety slicing through her and she turned to look over her shoulder at him. “All right.”

“The injuries, other than your leg, there are no long term effects are there? I mean, down the road---”

The question, so unexpected both gave her hope and made her wary. “No. The rest of me is fine. And as long as I do my stretching exercises, I’ll be able to walk.”

The tension in his expression relaxed and he smiled. His fingers brushed back a long strand from her shoulder. “Your hair has gotten lighter in the sun since you got to California.”

“Yes, I know.” He touched her nose gently with the tip of his finger and spread sun block over the bridge. She smiled at him. For a moment his eyes settled on her lips with a heated look wiping away her tension.

He caught her hand. “Let’s get something to drink and wander down the boardwalk for a few minutes. We have time.”

They people-watched
as they walked down the concrete strip running the length of Mission Beach. Teenage girls and boys basked in the sun, or played Frisbee, families clustered together on blankets and towels. She had never seen so many voluptuous women and muscular young men all greased up and worshiping the sun. The air, sun-soaked and moist, caressed her bare skin. No one turned to stare or point and she began to relax.

“It’s not nearly as tough as you were expecting, is it?” he asked.

Zoe shook her head. “No.”

She fell silent for a moment. “Has there been anyone you wanted to settle down with?” she asked, her tone hesitant.

“I was tempted once. I couldn’t be there for her like I should have been and she broke it off.”

A dropping sensation struck Zoe’s stomach. There had been someone special. She caught her breath against the rush of jealousy that made her face burn. Who was this woman?

Her voice came out husky and soft. “I’m sorry.”

He was silent for a moment. “It’s hard for a woman to stick it out alone. She’s met someone else now and moved on.” He turned to look at her. “I couldn’t really blame her. We weren’t engaged, but we’d been talking about living together, then my unit got called up. It gets lonely and it takes a special woman who can stay faithful and who can carry the weight while we’re gone.”

“Like Trish and my mother.”

“Yeah.” He nodded

“She has her job and the kids. It helps when you have family around. You stay focused on what’s important.”

Hawk glanced at her. “Sometimes I forget you’re a Marine Corps brat.”

“It’s been a while since I was one, but the memories are still there.” Some good. Some bad. Being with him these weeks had dulled the sharpness of the bad ones, and the pain. It was clearer to her now why her mother had hung in there and kept things together while her father was overseas.

She looked up as a group of boys rollerbladed passed them.

Hawk caught her against his side as one teenager wheeled close with only inches to spare.

“We’d better head back,” he said.

While they waited for the crew to show, Zoe eyed the powerboat from which they were going to parasail. The thirty-one foot vessel looked sleek and fast. “Have you ever wanted to own a boat?”

“Yeah, but they take some upkeep, and I pretty much spend most of my time working on the house. Maybe once I get the remodeling job finished---”

She looked down the dock and anxiety dropped into her stomach like a lead weight. Dressed in bathing suits and t-shirts, Derrick Armstrong and Marjorie walked down the dock toward them.

Something in her expression must have alerted Hawk,
for he turned to follow her line of sight.

He gave her hand a squeeze. “Maybe they’ve just come to see us off.”

After his talk with Derrick the other day, she doubted it.

Hawk focused on the other man his gaze narrow and intent. His expression sent a shiver up her spine.

CHAPTER 18

“I called two days ago and arranged for us to go out with you guys,” Derrick said with a grin as he and Marjorie joined them.

“That’s great,” Zoe said.

Hearing the strain in her voice, Hawk gave her hand a squeeze. He wasn’t going to allow Derrick Armstrong to spoil their day together. If he said one thing about Zoe’s leg, he’d find himself backstroking back to the beach.

“How’s it going, Derrick? Did you get the car up and running?” he asked.

“Yeah. I had to have a new battery. The old one wouldn’t hold a charge.”

Marjorie commented on Zoe’s bathing suit and while the women talked, Hawk took the opportunity to ask, “What about the other problem we spoke about? Have you had time to check into things there?”

Derrick’s jaw tensed. “Yeah, I’m taking care of things.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” If he saw one hint he’d left another bruise on Marjorie, he was calling the MP’s.

“Marjorie’s wearing her bathing suit. You can check her out.”

Marjorie turned to say something to Derrick, and upon seeing his sullen expression, her smile died and her features took on a tight anxious look.

Hawk’s stomach tightened. He’d give Derrick time to decompress before they left them. That way he wouldn’t have an excuse for taking his anger at Hawk out on her later. Damn, this balancing act was the pits. He could only imagine what Marjorie had been going through.

“We’re here to shake off some stress and have a good time. No worries today, ladies,” Hawk said, his tone light. “What do you say after our adventure on sea and air, we look for a good restaurant on land and pig out?”

“What do you think, Derrick?” Marjorie asked.

Derrick smiled, seeming to put his anger aside. “Sure, sounds like a plan to me.”

The boat crew arrived, and after a brief introduction the three men did a safety check of the vessel, and handed out life jackets. Hawk guided Zoe to a seat on a wooden bench close by. Derrick and Marjorie sat down next to them.

One of the crewmembers approached, his hair streaked white by the sun. He flipped a baseball hat onto his head and adjusted his sunglasses. “We’re waiting for a couple and their twelve-year-old. They called and said they’d be a few minutes late. If it’s all right with you four, we’d like to give them ten minutes.”

“Sure, we’re not in any hurry,” Hawk said.

“Thanks. As soon as they get here, we’ll do a small run through of how everything works, and get underway.” He wandered back to the boat.

“How’s your brother?” Marjorie asked Zoe. The woman shoved her sunglasses further up her nose and tucked a long strand of brown hair behind her ear. Her windbreaker covered her modest one-piece bathing suit as well as her arms preventing Hawk from seeing how the bruise on her wrist was healing, or if she had any new ones.

“Brett is doing well. His vitals and brain activity are normal.” The brevity of Zoe’s answer had Hawk eyeing her.

If Derrick was the man responsible for Brett’s condition, and he found out they were trying to revive him with drugs, would he try something more to prevent it? Did Brett know something about one of his teammates that could threaten one of them or his career? The questions just kept circling in his thoughts with no answers. Damn it, why wouldn’t Cutter wake up?

“Has Lang got anything off the tape from the hospital?” Derrick asked.

Hawk said, “We’re supposed to go over to his house tomorrow and view the images he’s managed to freeze frame and enhance from the tape. There are none of the face, but we might be able to figure out who the attacker is by body type and movement.”

Derrick nodded. “Sounds like a plan. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

Hawk studied the man. Would he offer that if he were guilty? Or would he do so just to mislead them? Could they be suspicious of Derrick because of his anger management problems, and ignoring someone else who could be the real threat? Anxiety sliced through him at the thought.

They couldn’t guard Brett twenty-four hours a day. The nurses were still on alert. He’d be all right. And Derrick was here with them.

Tension tightened the muscles in Zoe’s body resting against his, and he looked down at her. He read worry and guilt in her expression. “You’re supposed to be relaxing today,” he murmured softly. “Brett will be fine, and he wouldn’t begrudge you one afternoon of pleasure, Zoe.”

Her smile was a little forced, but she nodded.

Marjorie touched her arm briefly. “He’ll wake up soon, Zoe.”

Zoe smiled at her. “I hope so. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, been busy at work. I have to go to San Francisco in a few days on a business trip. I’m hoping Derrick can get leave to join me. It’s just overnight, but San Francisco is really interesting, and I think it would be fun.”

How Marjorie could continue to try and build a relationship with someone who had physically abused her was beyond Hawk’s understanding. Where was her family when all this was going down? Why weren’t they trying to intercede?

“San Francisco sounds great.” Zoe said. “I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city.”

“Before you go home, you and Hawk need to make a trip there. It really is a special place,” Marjorie said, her tone enthusiastic.

“As soon as Brett’s back on the road to recovery, maybe we will,” Hawk said. “There are some fantastic restaurants there.”

“Have you thought about relocating here, Zoe?” Derrick asked.

The pounding of running feet shook the dock and echoed across the water and back. Both the noise and the late couple’s arrival delayed her reply.

Hawk studied her face. Would she want to relocate? Their relationship was so new they hadn’t even begun to consider that possibility. They’d just been so into each other, physically, and discovering each other in other ways, they hadn’t discussed anything serious. Did Zoe see him as someone she wanted to settle down with?

Every time his job came up, anxiety crept into her expression, her body language. After losing her father, and Brett being injured, he understood why. But could she love him despite what he did for a living? Did he want her to? Could he stick it out with her? What if something were to happen to her while he was “in the real world”? His stomach knotted.

The boat crew motioned them forward for a quick demonstration of how the parachute and harness worked and the safety procedures, and then they boarded the boat. Hawk kept his hand on her hip to steady her against the sway of the deck and guided her forward to a seat at the bow. Derrick and Marjorie followed with the other couple and the young girl.

A crewmember shoved off, and the captain turned the boat into the bay. They idled past several large multi-million dollar houses, their back yards facing the water. A pelican, perched atop a private dock piling, stretched with a ruffle and flap of feathers that only hinted at the length and breadth of his wingspan. He opened his beak as though suppressing a yawn.

Zoe laughed and pointed to him. “There’s the life. Hanging out in the sun all day, all the fish you can eat, and your only responsibilities are taking naps and impressing the lady pelicans in the neighborhood.”

Hawk smiled at the comment. “How do you know it’s a male?”

“He has that macho “come over to my post, baby,” look in his eyes.”

Hawk laughed.

On a jutting finger of land, two sea lions barked a greeting as they passed. The animals dove into the water, their brownish-gray bodies shiny, slick, and limber as they streaked through the liquid.

“It seems the wild life is coming out just for you today. It’s rare for them to come this far into the bay,” Hawk said.

“What are those bushes growing close to the water?”

“They’re sea grapes,” Marjorie answered. “Their leaves are usually light green but they’ve turned dark purplish-red because we’ve had a recent frost.”

“Marjorie knows all about plants,” Derrick said. “She’s been planting some flowers around the front of the house.”

Hawk heard pride in Derrick’s voice when he spoke about Marjorie. How could the man care for her and hurt her?