“Are you hurt?” he asked
,
cupping
her cheeks.
“He slapped me around some, my wrists and ankles are bruised from the rope but nothing to
o
bad
.
H
e’s really
a
pussy
.
H
e wanted to play big man for the guys out there
,
b
ut eventually he would’ve made one of t
hem hurt me more,” she admitted and rushed on. “I’m so glad to see you, Stavros
.
I’
m
, so sorry about what I said. I love you and you weren’t being a coward. You
r
dad messed you up
,
and I should have understood that and been more patient. I made a promise that if I got out of this I was going to apologize to you first thing and tell you how much I love you
.
S
o much.”
Stavros kissed her hard. “You don’t have to apologize to me for anything. You gave me the kick in the pants I needed. I went
to
my team and we came
to
get you. I love you
,
too, my Amari, my mate. You gave me a reason to live
,
and I should kill him for even putting his hands on your skin.”
“Don’t worry
,
if he twitches I
’ll blow his arm off
.
W
ould that help
?” Kale asked.
Stavros laughed but never took his eyes away from Amari. “That sounds good, Kale
.
M
eet Amari. Honey
,
this is my buddy Kale.”
“Hiya
,
doll
.
” Kale winked.
“Nice to meet you,” Amari replied. “Um
…
shouldn’t you put some clothes on?”
“I will
.
Kale has my pack,” Stavros answered.
“
When we get out in the outer room
,
there’s a black bear out there
.
D
on’t be scared. That’s Malachi
,
and Zander is dressed like Kale here. The rest of the team is outside.”
“Heads up
.
H
ere’s your gear
.
” Kale kicked the pack
toward
him.
“Besides
,
we’ve seen his scrawny behind naked more than once. Still not impressed.”
“Bite me,” Stavros growled.
“
Do I talk smack about you in front of your wife?”
“You haven’t met her yet,” Kale pointed out.
Dr. Bascom
b
e took a chance at that very time when Kale’s attention was turned to roll away and scramble for the door. He was on his feet and running for his freedom.
Without hesitation
,
Stavros stopped the pack with his foot
,
and in one smooth movement pulled one of his knives from the sheath. He rolled and let it fly from his hands
,
and it sailed through the door and into Dr. Bascombe’s shoulder. He went down with a scr
e
am of pain and claw
ed
at
the metal blade in his
back
.
“Good shot,” Kale said.
Stavros shook his head. “Nope
,
I missed
.
I
was going for his spine. Now I can get dressed.”
By the time he
was clothed
and led Amari out
side,
the rest of the team was in the boathouse
where
they had the other two
thugs
secured. Zander was dealing with Bascombe’s wound and none to gently. Stavros introduced Amari around and then
she
stood in front of Casey with her hand
s
clasped.
“Amari
,
this is Casey, my beast friend,” Stavros said.
“Nice to meet you Casey
,
and thank you all for com
ing
to my rescue,” she said a little shyly.
“We alway
s come for one of our own
.
Y
ou’
re Stav’s ma
te
,
and
that makes you
part of us now.” Unexpectedly he pulled her into a hug and said
,
“Thank you for bringing our brother home.”
They worked to secure everyone and call the police to pick up the four men and Dr. Bascombe. The DA
arrived
and more charges
were
added to Dr. Bascombe’s arrest
record
. Kidnapping and attempted murder could not be washed away
,
no matter how much money his mother had. No one even seemed to ask why an elite team rescued Amari and the local police
weren’t
called. Knowing Casey and Cam
,
that little tidbit was taken care of when the talked to the DA outside.
As
they headed back to the SUVs
for the trip to the airport
, Stavros walked hand in hand with Amari and lagged behind.
He stopped
,
and wi
th a quick move pulled her
into his arms and wrapped
his
arms around her waist. “Marry me.”
“Ok
ay
,” she replied simply.
“That easy
,
huh?” he said
,
amused. “I thought I would have to fight more.”
“I was tied up on a cot and I thought I would die without seeing you again
,
without telling you I loved you
,”
Amari explained. “I’m holding on to what I found with you
,
and I’m holding on tight.”
He kissed her long and deep before caressing her cheek. “That’s good to hear.”
“Catch up
,
you guys
.
L
eave the kissie kissie until we get back to Georgia,” Casey called out.
“Do you mind living in Georgia?’ Stavros asked with a laugh.
“A
fter a
year of bone chilling cold in Hiko
…
U
m let me think.” She laughed. “I’m so there, where ever you are I’ll be.”
Stavros could ask for no more than that. He
found a love in the frozen plains of Alaska and he was reunited with his team and his best friend. Feeling Amari lay her head against his shoulder and link her fingers with his
,
h
e knew that
he’d
found his forever
in
her arm
s
.
* * * *
Four months later…
Summer was coming to
an
end in Georgia
,
and the Labor Day weekend was in full swing. The rolling lawns of the Army Beasts compound held a bouncy house, streamers and a cotton candy machine. More of the unit member
’s
wives were eating it as
opposed
to the kids. Most of them were too young to understand cotton candy. Stavros watched the wives in the bouncy house or eating the sweet treat and figured it was mostly for them. He looked around at the members of his team, their extended family and his Amari
,
who fit in perfectly. The move from Hiko to Georgia was flawless. Since then
,
he and Casey had some long talks and the tension that was there
for the first few weeks had slowly dissipated. Their bond as best friends was stronger than ever.
Kale was sitting on a picnic table feeding his wife April a hot dog. Her burgeoning belly was apparent under
her
loose pink top
,
and Kale ru
bbed her stomach gently.
Stavros
heard a squeal and saw Cam chasing
Sable
with a caterpillar on a stick. Zander stuck his foot out and tripped
Cam
while Sab
le stopped and laughed. Anya wal
ked over to Zander with her hand
s
on her hips and made him apologiz
e. Only Anya could make Zander into such a softie. He could kill a man in the blink of an eye, yet around Anya he was
mush.
There was a look he gave her, something soft and endearing
,
then he kissed her hand. Stavros had no doubt in a few weeks they would all hear the news another baby
was
on the way.
Malachi and Mae we
re
manning the grill and the food
.
N
o one could match her cooking and barbeque. But that didn’t
stop Malachi from pulling her close with barbeque ton
gs in his hands and kissing her a few times. Casey and Zane were trying to take pictures of Promise, Amari and Nia in the bouncy house. Promise and Nia were holding the babies by
their
small chubby hands and teaching them to jump. While his Amari was giggling like a teenager and jumping high.
Watching her made his heart swell with love. Watching his friends with their kids made him want to be a father too. A better one than his own father
in
ever
y
way
,
and he wanted to watch his child grow inside Amari.
He looked around with a smile on his face thinking how close he came to giving this all up and becoming a loner
,
shut off from society. Never again
.
H
e would cherish each day that came and went.
He was so busy with his own internal thought
s
he didn’t see Amari coming up until she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back. He turned in her arms and gave her along lingering kiss.
“Are you ok
ay
?” she asked gently.
“I’m perfectly fine
.
I’m more than fine, I’m happier than I’ve ever been and I have you to thank for that,” he replied. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”
“Yes you have
,
but I don’t mind hearing it again
.
”
S
he looked up at him with a smile.
“
What were you thinking about?”
“How everything we all went through in our lives
led
us to this point
,
together with the women we love and close friends by our side,” Stavros explained. “We’re some lucky bastards.”
“I think we all are,” Amari said with a smile.
“Food’s ready!” Malachi shouted.
Everyone began to move toward the big picnic table together. Men holding their kids and walking with
their
fingers linked with their wives
’
. Stavros took Amari’s hand and led her across the grass. Everything had come full circle and they had all come out stronger for it. The Army Beasts had braved the gauntlet and walked through the fire together. Even when their generation was gone
,
their children would take over and
what they built would carry on. They would stand united
,
and the Army Beasts would never die.
The End