Invincible

16.

Today was homecoming. All the other men would have their wives, girlfriends, kids waiting for their arrival on the dock. Not me. I hadn’t even bothered telling my mom when I’d be returning. Didn’t want her to fly down from Northern California. I’d take leave soon and go visit her. For now, I wanted peace and quiet. Time to finally put all that had happened behind me.

Vic stopped by my rack. “Hey, man. What you doing Saturday? My family is having a fiesta for us; carne asada on the grill, tequila, you wanna come?”

“Thanks, man. I’ll text you. Tonight, I just want to get home to see my dog.” Trigger had been staying with one of my SEAL buddies who was stuck on instructor duty, training BUD/S Phase One, for the wannabe SEALs.

“Okay. See you Saturday.” He gave me a man-hug.

I gathered my pack and gun. I just wanted to sleep in my own bed tonight.

Despite my best intentions, I hadn’t been able to resist keeping up with Annie’s return. Luckily, my name hadn’t been in the press and she had evaded revealing the details of her escape. San Diego had held a parade in honor of her return, and People Magazine had put her on the cover. There had been one interview with Oprah, where she mostly talked about the night she’d been kidnapped and her life for the past five years. When Oprah interrogated Annie about her rescue, Annie just teared up and said she wasn’t ready to talk about it. I was thankful for her omission. When asked if she had someone special in her life, she had said yes. Was she talking about me? Chris? It pissed me off that I even cared. After that interview, Annie and her family had asked for privacy and time to heal.

I walked down the plank after most of the sailors and Marines had dispersed. I wasn’t in any rush. We were docked at the 32nd street Naval Base. The beautiful view of the Hotel Del Coronado was behind me, and I marveled at San Diego waterfront. I was happy to be home.

A sailor in front of me ran toward his wife, then cradled his infant son, whom he was surely meeting for the first time. I couldn’t imagine having to come home to this new life, new baby, and trying to make up for all the time I wasn’t around. Being a stranger to my own family wasn’t something that appealed to me.

“Hey, Hero.”

My head turned. Annie stood before me, holding a painted “Welcome Home Patrick!” sign. What the fuck was she doing here?

She was stunning, and looked completely different than when I’d left her in the embassy. Her black hair was blown dry and had lighter highlights framing her face. Her hazel eyes now seemed more golden, set off against her purple eye shadow. She’d gained some weight and her body looked perfectly sculpted. I couldn’t take my eyes off the way her form-fitting pink sweater hugged her newly found curves. Curves that had my mouth watering.

“How did you find me?”

Her hair blew in the wind and she smiled. “You’re not the only one who can find people. My dad’s a retired Navy Lieutenant. He went to Annapolis.”

Why hadn’t she told me that before? Her dad was a ring knocker? Figured.

I wasn’t ready to see her. I had planned on finding her before I deployed again, but on my terms. I didn’t appreciate being ambushed. “What are you doing here? I told you I didn’t want to see you again—”

She bit her lip, her smile now sad. “Relax. I get it. Really . . . I just came to see you, because I wanted to tell you thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m sorry for the way I behaved detoxing and at the embassy. I was just paranoid. Don’t worry, I’m not going to stalk you.”

Maybe I wanted her to stalk me. Fuck, I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted. This new Annie wasn’t the same beaten down girl I’d left behind. She was now strong, sexy, confident which only made me want her more.

The wind from the Pacific Ocean blew up her skirt, and I glimpsed black lace panties. I wanted to take her right there on the pier, hike up her skirt and fuck her brains out.

“Need a ride?”

Did I ever. Mind out of gutter. I’d planned on taking the shuttle back to the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado where my truck was parked. “I guess.”

She paused for a second. “Can I take you to lunch? Just to thank you. Then I’ll leave you alone.”

“I could eat.” I followed her out to the parking lot. She pressed the button on her keys and a brand new deep purple Audi Q7 blinked its lights. “Nice ride.”

“Oh, thanks. My dad bought it for me. I didn’t want to drive anywhere by myself at first, but now I love it. Freedom, remember? Apparently it also comes on wheels.”

I opened the driver’s door for her. I came around to the passenger’s side and slid in. This luxury SUV had all the bells and whistles: navigation, MP3, seat sensors.

She drove off base. My body remembered that I hadn’t been with anyone since her. But she wasn’t my girlfriend picking me up after a long deployment. I had to remind myself that we weren’t a couple—I didn’t even know her. We were just deeply connected by this experience. This was just closure, for her, for me. And really, I was curious to see how she’d adjusted back to her old life. I wanted the truth, not lies fed from a tabloid. I needed to know she was okay. So I could move on and put her in the past. Finally.

She drove over the Coronado Bridge, down Coronado Avenue. We pulled up to my favorite non-SEAL watering hole, Leroy’s, and sat down at one of the reclaimed wood tables. I ordered a burger and a craft beer; she had ahi tacos and a lemon drop.

“So, how you been? Any relapses?”

She rolled her eyes. “No relapses. Good, I guess. I mean, nights are no fun—I get scared and have nightmares. Plus, I find it hard to do anything without asking for permission.”

“Are you healthy?”

She must’ve understood what I meant. “Yup. I repeated all the tests Vic gave me. Luckily, no STDs. Even in the brothel, I always insisted on using a condom. If the men refused to use one, I’d take the beating from my pimp rather than risk it. I always hoped one day I’d be able to escape.”

There was something about her now that I couldn’t figure out. A coolness. An air.

“That’s good. Are you going back to school?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe. I don’t know. There are book offers I’m considering, but I’m not ready to tell my story.” She looked at me. “Our story. I want to get into some kind of sex trafficking activism.”

“That’s cool.” Despite my desire to take her home with me, I kept my distance. She didn’t need me dropping in and out of her life. I’d be leaving San Diego to train again in a few weeks.

She reached across the table and touched my hand. “I need another favor.”

Why the hell not? It’d been months. I grinned and squeezed her hand. “Let’s go. I’ll take you back to my place.”

She blushed. “No no, not that. Next time I’m with a man I want it to be special, to mean something.”

Ouch. I just laughed. Figured. That ‘someone’ special she had mentioned during Oprah definitely wasn’t me. What the fuck was wrong with me, now I was referencing Oprah? Annie had probably already reunited with Chris. I doubted she wanted some SEAL who hired hookers hanging around her. “What do you want?”

“Uhm, so, you can say no. But my dad wants to meet you and personally thank you for saving me.”

Fuck no. I clenched my fist. “Not going to happen, Annie. I assume you already told him how we met? Hi, sir. Well, yes, I visited a whorehouse in Curaçao and hired your daughter to give me a blowjob. No way.”

“He’ll love you! All he cares about is that you saved me. He was in the Navy. He understands.”

“Sorry, Annie. But the answer is no.”

“Please. Just this once then I’ll leave you alone. I promise. He just really wants to thank you.”

“You’re not going to leave me alone until I agree.”

“Pretty much.”

I couldn’t say no to her. “Fine. When?”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Really? Thank you so much! Dinner tomorrow? At our house. Here’s the address.”

She had already written it down on a piece of paper. This full homecoming greeting was just an act to get me to do what she wanted. And I’d fallen for it, believing that she actually wanted to see me.

I’d meet with her family, alleviate the guilt they must have for not being able to save her. And then I was done. And this time I meant it.