One Year to Forever (Halos & Horns Read online

  He tapped the screen on his new e-reader, ordering it to proceed to the next page. He’d recently received the device in a care package, an early Christmas gift from Haley. He’d mentioned once that he loved to read on deployments and she’d sent him the reader, pre-loaded with several books for him. As if her looks and awesome personality weren’t enough to hook him, she had to be thoughtful as hell, too.

  “Stop it, you fucking assholes.”

  Ben glanced up from his screen to see their corpsman trying to sleep, despite a bombardment of pebbles. He chuckled under his breath. Poor Doc was navy personnel stuck with a bunch of crazy-ass snipers for a half-year in this dump. Fortunately, for all of them, he meshed well with their group and had proven, on more than one occasion, to be the go-to guy with any medical problems. The low rumble of a motorcycle passing their Patrol Base overrode the laughter of Doc’s torturers.

  The PB was an old abandoned Afghan compound. All that remained of the original building was a thick, seven foot tall mud wall encompassing the area. It wasn’t much, considering it was their only means of cover in the event of an attack, but it was sure as shit better than nothing.

  Marines with automatic rifles stood at each corner holding security so everyone else could get a little downtime. Each Marine stood post for a couple hours until his relief showed up. Personally, Ben detested standing post. He’d done enough guard duty during his first deployment. This time around, his sniper team’s single task assignment was to hunt the insurgents attacking the PB’s. So, no post for him, thank God.

  He released a sigh and tried to focus on the words floating on screen. As usual, one thought of Haley and his concentration turned to shit for anything as trivial as reading. He’d finished his Skype calls home, with hours to spare before departure for the PB. A good thing, too, since he’d received word that he wouldn’t be back for close to three weeks. That meant a quick word to her on the sat phone every now and then, but no glimpse of that gorgeous face. Well, shit.

  Tired of not being able to concentrate, he shut down and slipped the reader into his duffle before heading over to his team leader’s tent. Hopefully, his TL would have the mission info ready so Ben could start working on his billets, or jobs. Ben had three billets on this team: point man, assistant team leader, and sniper. As point man, it was his job to get them from Point A (patrol base) to point B (FFP or final firing position). This particular Point B is where they would set up their hide site, which is basically, a hole they’d dig under cover of darkness. If time permitted, it would be large enough to fit the entire four man team inside. If done correctly, it could be very effective. In the desert, with vegetation transplanted around the edges, it’s almost impossible to see, unless a hadji walks on top of them. If that happens, of course they’d be seen, and the whole team would be compromised. Then it’s an RTB—Return to Base. Shit happens.

  As it happened, his TL had the info ready. Once they’d discussed the mission, Ben grabbed the map and GPS to input the coordinates his team would need over the next three days.

  Job 1: Done.

  He left his team leader and made a bee-line for his own spot in this God forsaken home away from home for the next three weeks. He prepped his gear and cleaned his rifle—his baby. As Assistant Team Leader, it was his job to make sure the other guys were also ready to rock and roll. Ben walked over to meet Badgett, the radio operator, or RO, to make sure he was packed and ready. He made another stop at the second sniper’s digs to do the same.

  Job 2: Done

  As soon as the sun sank low enough, he lined up with the other three members of his team. They all wore chest rigs that held sapi plates, ammo, grenade, and a 153 radio. Ben adjusted his pack, filled with an ungodly amount of shit, and held his baby close, waiting for the okay to leave the patrol base on foot. He knew he was ready and took several seconds to pray that this three day mission would be a success and earn them 24 hours of R&R—Rest & Recover. Hopefully, he’d have a good enough signal to give his folks and Haley a quick call when he got back.

  They stood, tense and silent, as the team’s Radio Operator, or RO, requested permission to leave friendly lines. Once he got clearance, TL gave Ben the hand signal to lead them out. Within two hours he’d led his team to the proper GPS location. By sunrise, they’d set up their hide site on elevated terrain, and established a base line on the local village. For the next 72 hours, it’d be the four of them against the Taliban, who did a good job of blending in with the local populace. All that was left was to sit and wait until they caught one of them setting an IED. As soon as they did, take him out.

  Ben used his scope to scan the area for insurgent activity.

  Job 3: Kill the asshole trying to kill me. I bet I win … To be determined.

  CHAPTER 5

  Nut Crackers and Pole Dancers

  The door to Bo McAllister’s apartment flew open before Tex could even knock. He stood there with his fist in the air, staring at Mitch Hebert.

  “Shit brick. Glad you could make it.” Mitch leaned in closer. “Glad you didn’t let the old green-eyed monster override your good sense to keep you away. It’s gonna be an awesome fight, man.”

  “Me? Jealous? Of what?” Tex hefted the cooler carrying a couple of chilled six packs and a bottle of Louisiana distilled Bayou Rum he’d picked up as an afterthought.

  “Of the fact that Bo’s still hot and heavy with Niki, and you’re not.” Mitch lifted his hand to stop Tex’s comeback. “Don’t even try to deny you still want her, man. I know you better than that, remember?” He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him across the threshold. “Come on in here. No use you standing out there and freezing your nuts off.”

  Tex entered the apartment and looked around, immediately noting the lack of mess. “Damn, what does this guy do for a living? Clean houses?”

  Mitch grabbed the cooler from him and placed it along the wall with two others. “You mean because he doesn’t live in his own filth, like some people? Seriously man, I’ve seen your place, and I understand Haley’s comment about needing a tetanus shot to walk inside.”

  “Whatever, man. Where is Miss Merry Homemaker?”

  “He brought Buck to the store to pick up some kid-friendly snacks. Which reminds me; you need to watch your mouth tonight. I know how a few beers get your creative juices flowing when it comes to cussing. I’d appreciate it if my kid doesn’t go back to his mom with any new phrases added to his vocabulary, this time.”

  “I would never—”

  “You already have. Meagan caught him calling his pancakes and syrup ‘shit on a shingle’ after your last visit.”

  “I sure as hell didn’t teach him that.”

  “He overheard you, apparently. He hears everything, man, I’m telling you.”

  Tex hung his head. “Aw, for fucks sake, man. I’m gonna have to apologize to Megs.”

  Mitch cringed and slapped his hand on Tex’s chest. “Keep quiet with that stuff. That didn’t upset her nearly as much as him suggesting that Niki should take up pole dancing because it would build up her thigh muscles.”

  “Oh … are you shi … kiddin’ me?” Tex would have found it a hell of a lot funnier had the kid asked anyone but Niki. “Please tell me she doesn’t suspect where he heard that.”

  “She doesn’t suspect a damn thing. Buck told Niki to ask you about it ‘cause you knew some ‘pole dan-suhs’ … ‘puh-sonally’.”

  “Sshh-ut the f-f-fu-front door …” Tex removed his hat and scratched the back of his head with his other hand.

  “Not only that, but Niki told me to give you a message the next time I saw you.”

  “She did? What message?”

  “She said, and excuse my foul mouth, but I’m quoting here, ‘Tell that SOB he’s screwed, blued, and tat-the-fuck-tooed.’”

  Tex groaned, figuring he may as well start looking for a shovel. He was as good as dead as far as that particular voluptuous blond-haired, green-eyed beauty was concerned.

  Niki looped her a
rm through Meagan’s as they made their way back to her car. “That was so beautiful, wasn’t it? I hadn’t been to the ballet since I was a little girl.”

  “Me either, and I loved it. I’ve seen The Nutcracker, but this was my first time to experience the Moscow Ballet’s version.”

  Meagan unlocked the car and they climbed inside. While waiting for the heater to kick on, she pulled her phone from her purse to take a selfie of the two of them to record the moment. “Your guy did an awesome job with those seats, didn’t he? Sixth row—not too shabby.”

  Niki beamed at her friend. “I know, right? Bo is the absolute best guy, isn’t he?”

  “I can’t argue with that. I mean, I don’t know him as well as you do, but he seems very nice.”

  “He is, Megs. He’s generous, and thoughtful, great with kids—you see how he is with Buck, right?”

  Meagan nodded. “Yeah, Buck seems to like him.”

  “And he gets on good with Mitch, too, right? I mean, Mitch hasn’t said anything negative towards him, has he?”

  Meagan fiddled with her phone and shook her head. “No, not to me.”

  “What does that mean? Has he told anyone else anything?”

  Meagan met Niki’s gaze. “How should I know?”

  Niki twisted her fingers. “Well, I wondered if he may have said something.”

  Meagan’s left brow arched suspiciously. “No, not that I’m aware of.”

  “Oh, well good, then. I’m glad. Because Bo is the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. He’s so thoughtful.”

  Meagan’s brow lifted as she nodded in agreement. “And he’s large.”

  Niki pulled a pack of gum from her purse, offered Meagan a slice. “He’s so handsome, with those McAllister blue eyes of his, just like Red’s.”

  “And he’s large,” Meagan added.

  “He’s sweet, and smart, and nice—”

  “—and he’s tall.”

  Niki glanced over at her friend. “What? Yes, he’s every bit as tall as Tex. But he’s such a nice guy.”

  “And he’s large …”

  That last one kicked it for Niki. She turned to face her. “What the hell, Megs?”

  Meagan snorted with laughter. “You remember that Popeye movie Mitch made us sit through last weekend—the one where Shelley Duvall plays the character, Olive Oyl?”

  Niki gave a half-hearted nod. “Yeah? So?”

  “You sound like her when she’s trying to convince herself to marry Bluto.”

  “I do not, and who said anything about marriage? Oh God, you don’t think Bo’s that serious, do you?” She froze as Meagan snapped a flash picture of her with her phone. “Stop that. What are you doing?”

  “Proving my point, girlfriend.” She hit a couple of buttons then lifted the phone. “Look at this, would you?”

  Niki peeked at the photo, immediately cringing at the horrified look on her face. “Okay, if you show that to anyone else, I will suffocate you in your sleep.”

  “Pretty bad, huh?”

  “It’s horrendous, now trash it, please.”

  “Not exactly the face a girl should be wearing while discussing her boyfriend—aka the ‘best guy in the world’ should it?”

  “He is a great guy, but you shocked me with that ‘marriage’ statement.” She fanned her face with the ballet program, found the car stifling all of a sudden. “I don’t want to marry anyone.”

  “Niki—”

  “Not anytime soon, anyway. I’ve only known him for a month. It is way too early to be thinking about marriage.”

  “Niki—”

  “Besides, I—”

  “Nicole.”

  “What?” Niki faced her friend and waited.

  “Can you see yourself a year from now with Bo McAllister?”

  “M-m-aybe.” She chewed her bottom lip.

  “How about two years, or five years, or married to him for the rest of your life?”

  Niki closed her eyes and collapsed in the front seat, as deflated as a balloon in a room full of sparklers. She clapped a hand over her eyes and released a low groan. “No, dammit. No, I can’t see myself with Bo. Not a year from now, or two, and sure as hell not for the rest of my life. I’d be …”

  “You’d be what?” Meagan goaded.

  Niki heard her own prolonged sigh, hating herself for it. “Bored—I’d be bat-shit-crazy and bored out of my flipping mind.” She pushed out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout. “I never thought I could say this, but he’s too—nice.” She slapped both hands over her head. “What the hell’s wrong with me, Megs? Am I going to be one of those women who only want the guys who’ll treat me like crap?”

  Meagan gave her a bittersweet smile. “No, hon. I think you’re one of those women who can’t be with someone she doesn’t truly love, no matter how great of a guy he is.”

  Niki gave a low frustrated groan. “I want my hero, Megs. I want the fairytale—the knight in shining armor who’ll come in on his white horse an carry me away.”

  Meagan’s mouth dropped open, as she stared, dumbfounded at her friend. “I never thought I’d see the day when you, in all your audaciousness, would succumb to ‘Pretty Woman’ syndrome.”

  Niki burst into laughter. “How about my very own Nutcracker Prince? He could come in and rescue me from the Rat king, or in this case, the doldrums.”

  Meagan’s low chuckle surrounded them. “Yeah, that could work too.”

  “Pitiful, ain’t it?”

  “Not really. Not if he’s out there somewhere, waiting for you. Or even hoping to get back into your good graces?”

  Niki met Meagan’s smug gaze. “Oh, hell no. I am not ditching Bo McAllister for Tex Broussard.”

  “You know you’re crazy about him.”

  “He dumped me for a pole dancer, sweetie. Not high on the list of criteria for my Nutcracker Prince.”

  Meagan adjusted the heater and threw the car into drive. “Well, you’re probably not high on his list of fairytale princess material yourself, Snookums.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “You jumped into bed with him the first night you met him, Niki.”

  “Did not.” She thought of that pleasurably decadent first time with him, locked up in Red’s club—in the ladies room, no less—and again, later, in his truck. “There was no bed involved.”

  Meagan maneuvered her way into the line of traffic. “Semantics. You had sex with him the first night you met him. That was so irresponsibly slutty. Have you learned nothing from my situation?”

  “He wore a condom.”

  Meagan shook her head, obviously annoyed with her. “You’d do something like that, and then blame him for not taking you seriously?”

  “Are you condoning him sleeping with a pole dancer?”

  “I certainly am not. Just as I didn’t condone you sleeping—excuse me—having sex with Tex so quickly. I don’t need you to remind me there was no sleeping involved.”

  Niki scowled at her housemate, thinking if she wasn’t her very best friend in the world, and telling God’s honest truth, she could be really pissed at her right now. “If you don’t stop badgering me, I will never tell you any of my girl secrets again.”

  “I didn’t ask you to. It’s your own guilt-complex that made you want to tell me—the Sunday morning confessional after a Saturday night sexual encounter at a bar. I’m not your family priest, Nicole.” Meagan shook her head, looking every bit the disappointed mother to an unruly daughter.

  “Okay, okay … Mom. Geeze, you need to remember you have one kid, and it ain’t me.”

  Meagan pumped the brakes and came to a stop at the traffic light. “God, Niki—what were you thinking?”

  Niki dropped her head back against the headrest. “I know, Meagan. I know. I wasn’t thinking. That’s the problem with Tex. Being around him makes me forget myself. All my common sense flies right out the door. I can’t have that, Meagan. He’ll—he’s not good for me.”

  “You mean he’ll h
urt you.”

  “I mean he’s not good for me, for my plans. I’ll be finished with school in six months or so. I don’t have time for that.”

  “You don’t have time for dating, or for heartbreak?”

  Nicole gave her friend an irritated glare. “Either or both as far as Matthew Broussard is concerned. That man was put on this earth to break hearts.”

  Meagan gave her head a slow shake and accelerated through the green light. “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “Well, I am.”

  “I think there’s more to him than that.”

  Niki raised her left hand. “I am not talking about this anymore tonight.”

  “Aaall-righty, then.”

  Niki rolled her eyes at her friend’s motherly comment.

  Several minutes later, Niki knocked on Bo’s door to collect Buck from him. Meagan’s words of wisdom had forced her to examine both the situation and her conscience. The return drive had been mostly silent, amid atmosphere heavy with disapproval. Niki fully intended to tell Bo he wasn’t her type, but not tonight. Tonight she would simply thank him for the tickets and the chance for her and Meagan to enjoy a lovely evening. She chewed on her nail, wondering if she could get through the next few minutes without kissing him, or maybe offering just a simple kiss on the cheek. She knocked again and heard raucous shouting inside, before a built-like-a-brick-house figure pulled the door opened, instantly taking her breath away.

  “Well, hello there.”

  She stared up at the man, too stunned to speak for several seconds.

  Tex waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Nicole. You in there, honey?”

  She blinked and inhaled, catching a slightly spicy scent, and knowing, for a fact that nobody did a bottle of men’s body wash the justice that Tex did. “Mm—Is Buck here?” Of course, he’s here. Where the hell else would he be?

  “If he’s not, somebody’d be in big trouble, wouldn’t they?”

  Sweet Jesus, that voice—deep, with a hint of teasing, sent sex-filled messages straight to her girl parts. “Yeah, I guess so.” She pulled herself together by sheer will power. “I need to go. Where is he?” Another round of masculine cheers and jeers coming from the next room caught her attention. “What’s going on in there?”