I just need to hear from him soon. Desperately so.
“What took you so long?”
“It’s a doctor’s office. You know how waiting rooms go.”
My head of security snubs out a cigarette, the odor hitting me harder than normal. “No more smoking around me,” I snap, and then dive for the bushes where I throw up.
The guys help me get to the Range Rover and we make our way back to the house, where I go up to my room and cry myself to sleep.
My tears alternate between sadness and joy and my dreams between nightmares and the most peaceful, happy visualizations I can ever remember. There is no middle ground, only the highs and the lows. And that’s what I’m facing because a life without Soren has proven to be hell. But with him? I’m in heaven.
I just hope he comes back. Soon.
12
Soren
Aday later
I straighten my tie and move from my short-term apartment rental to my leased car. I didn’t want to commit to a living arrangement or transportation this last month because I needed to focus on what’s important.
Her.
And to be with Sadie I need to have something going on in my life, something that brings in more income than just a military pension. Something that can support a family and everything a family wants to do. And not only that, a business that I can transfer to my children one day, something that’s lasting and that can remain in the family for years. I needed to lay the foundation for a legacy, and that’s exactly what Stevens’ Security will do.
I’m still small, only with three guys on the team, but they’re all special forces veterans. We’ve got another SEAL, a Delta Force guy, and even a Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance guy.
We’re not a big group, but we’re clearly elite. And that strategy has paid off as a couple of big wig rich businessmen have hired us to keep them safe, which we’ve done perfectly these last few weeks.
The best part is our group is already starting to get a reputation and more requests from other wealthy individuals. But I’m not able to service them yet. I’d rather have the demand there and hire slow, getting the best team members, than stretch myself too thin and risk brand damage.
The key is we’re cash flow positive, by quite a large margin, and heading in the right direction. Fast.
Now I have something I can show Rick. Let him know that I’ve successfully transitioned from military to civilian life and can support his daughter with the kind of lifestyle a princess, my queen, deserves.
Show him that I’m someone who can help a man like him.
Let him see with his own eyes that I’m head over heels for his daughter, and that hasn’t changed one bit this last month, and never will.
And worst case scenario, if all else fails…I’ll just take her from him. Because she belongs to me now. No one else.
But I don’t want it to come to that. I want Rick on my side, to see things my way. He’s going to be a grandfather someday, I’m going to make sure of it. And when that time comes I want everything to be smooth, for our children to have the best family structure possible, and that includes extended family and all their ‘aunts and uncles’ I’ll have on my security team at that time.
Rolling with us will be the safest thing anyone can do, including my family. Protected…that’s how they’ll always be, with me leading the charge front and center.
Moving to my car I take a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” Quickly I shelve that idea. “Here comes everything,” I say, changing my mindset. This feels a helluva lot like a mission, but the stakes are higher. This is personal. This is about my woman, my family, my everything.
And of course my friendship with the man whose family took me in all those years ago. I’ve got a lot of damage control to do.
And it starts right now.
13
Sadie
Ican hardly believe it when I hear my alarm go off, letting me know it’s time for class. I literally slept through the entire night. Why am I so tired? And why does my chest feel so sensitive? No more sleeping on my stomach I guess.
I peel myself out of bed, take a scalding hot shower to try and wake up and feel warm, and get ready for school.