Read Online Hold on Tight by Stephanie Tyler - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stephanie Tyler
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first mission,” Chris said finally, and Nick nodded, because he’d been there too. They all knew the story, but somehow telling it now seemed important.
It was a night Chris had a permanent reminder of. The bite that ran along the right side of his chest and back was due, in part, to an impromptu water escape in the shark-infested waters off the Ivory Coast.
The shark had grabbed him, but its grip on Chris had been thankfully awkward. Chris had slammed the thing hard on the nose with the O 2 tank, and by the fucking grace of God, he’d been dropped, and then dragged by Mark to the safety of the waiting boat.
Today, the set of scars from the tiger shark’s teeth looked like tiny white pearls that ran along his right side, both chest and back. The story had become something of a folklore among the new recruits, with the shark getting bigger and Chris getting stronger with each telling.
He didn’t have the heart to explain that it was luck, pure and fucking simple. That, at the time, he’d been pretty sure Mark had saved his ass from the rebel soldiers so he could die in the warm waters in Africa.
“When I was going through BUD/S, Mark found me outside—I’d catch my rack time on the beach instead of in the bunk with everyone else so if I woke up with a nightmare, no one would hear me,” Jake recalled. “He could’ve ridden me so hard for that. I know the master chief would’ve too, if he’d known. But Mark never said anything about it, to me or to the master chief. Didn’t ask me why until Hell Week was over.”
“He was good like that,” Nick said.
“He was,” Chris agreed. Nick and Mark were probably the most similar, background-wise, both from wealthy, fucked-up families. Chris wasn’t sure if the two men ever talked about their pasts, but they were probably as close as Saint and Mark were.
“Is Jamie Michaels really investigating you?” Nick asked finally. He leaned against the deck’s railing, his broad back turned away from the sun.
Chris nodded. He’d been attempting to be angry with her—and not succeeding, because he kept picturing his hand on her belly.
“I went to see her,” Chris told them, heard the defensiveness in his own voice. “Tonight—that’s where I was.”
“Great idea to hang out with the woman who’s trying to hang you,” Jake pointed out.
Nick, who’d been in Africa with him and Jamie, didn’t say anything for a long second, and then, “You fucked up, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Jake immediately leaned forward to take his brother’s hand. “We’ll fix it. Whatever you did—”
“I told her. About the thing … the psychic Cajun bullshit.”
“Okay, so she thinks you’re nuts. But she probably thought that before,” Nick reasoned.
“She’s pregnant.” Jesus, that was the second time he’d blurted out that information.
“She told you that?” Jake asked.
“I told her.”
Nick and Jake shot each other looks. When Jake spoke again, his voice was low and soothing. “Come on, you’ve been to hell and back. Let’s get you settled in so you can sleep some of this off.”
Chris shook his head. He wanted nothing more than to settle in and relax, but the thought of being on the fourth floor all by himself wasn’t something he could handle. “It’s already morning.”
But Nick motioned to him and he followed Nick into his own bedroom, which was on the first floor. He didn’t argue, crawled under the covers even as Jake plopped down next to him and Nick took a chair by the side of the bed.
“We’re here,” Jake told him. “Sleep now.”
“I haven’t spoken with Dad,” he mumbled when his head hit the pillow. His brothers knew that, didn’t say anything, didn’t tell him what he had to do. They never really did.
Right now, he appreciated that more than anything.
CHAPTER 5
PJ was on his deck, curled on one of the cushionless wooden chairs with an all-weather sleeping bag wrapped around her. It was unseasonably cold, and
It was a night Chris had a permanent reminder of. The bite that ran along the right side of his chest and back was due, in part, to an impromptu water escape in the shark-infested waters off the Ivory Coast.
The shark had grabbed him, but its grip on Chris had been thankfully awkward. Chris had slammed the thing hard on the nose with the O 2 tank, and by the fucking grace of God, he’d been dropped, and then dragged by Mark to the safety of the waiting boat.
Today, the set of scars from the tiger shark’s teeth looked like tiny white pearls that ran along his right side, both chest and back. The story had become something of a folklore among the new recruits, with the shark getting bigger and Chris getting stronger with each telling.
He didn’t have the heart to explain that it was luck, pure and fucking simple. That, at the time, he’d been pretty sure Mark had saved his ass from the rebel soldiers so he could die in the warm waters in Africa.
“When I was going through BUD/S, Mark found me outside—I’d catch my rack time on the beach instead of in the bunk with everyone else so if I woke up with a nightmare, no one would hear me,” Jake recalled. “He could’ve ridden me so hard for that. I know the master chief would’ve too, if he’d known. But Mark never said anything about it, to me or to the master chief. Didn’t ask me why until Hell Week was over.”
“He was good like that,” Nick said.
“He was,” Chris agreed. Nick and Mark were probably the most similar, background-wise, both from wealthy, fucked-up families. Chris wasn’t sure if the two men ever talked about their pasts, but they were probably as close as Saint and Mark were.
“Is Jamie Michaels really investigating you?” Nick asked finally. He leaned against the deck’s railing, his broad back turned away from the sun.
Chris nodded. He’d been attempting to be angry with her—and not succeeding, because he kept picturing his hand on her belly.
“I went to see her,” Chris told them, heard the defensiveness in his own voice. “Tonight—that’s where I was.”
“Great idea to hang out with the woman who’s trying to hang you,” Jake pointed out.
Nick, who’d been in Africa with him and Jamie, didn’t say anything for a long second, and then, “You fucked up, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Jake immediately leaned forward to take his brother’s hand. “We’ll fix it. Whatever you did—”
“I told her. About the thing … the psychic Cajun bullshit.”
“Okay, so she thinks you’re nuts. But she probably thought that before,” Nick reasoned.
“She’s pregnant.” Jesus, that was the second time he’d blurted out that information.
“She told you that?” Jake asked.
“I told her.”
Nick and Jake shot each other looks. When Jake spoke again, his voice was low and soothing. “Come on, you’ve been to hell and back. Let’s get you settled in so you can sleep some of this off.”
Chris shook his head. He wanted nothing more than to settle in and relax, but the thought of being on the fourth floor all by himself wasn’t something he could handle. “It’s already morning.”
But Nick motioned to him and he followed Nick into his own bedroom, which was on the first floor. He didn’t argue, crawled under the covers even as Jake plopped down next to him and Nick took a chair by the side of the bed.
“We’re here,” Jake told him. “Sleep now.”
“I haven’t spoken with Dad,” he mumbled when his head hit the pillow. His brothers knew that, didn’t say anything, didn’t tell him what he had to do. They never really did.
Right now, he appreciated that more than anything.
CHAPTER 5
PJ was on his deck, curled on one of the cushionless wooden chairs with an all-weather sleeping bag wrapped around her. It was unseasonably cold, and
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