Epic: Book 02 - Outlaw Trigger (6 page)

“
Ah well,” Becan said. “She was a little too flat-chested for me, annyway.”

Scott shot him a glare.

Becan stared back. “Wha’?”

“
I bet she’d appreciate you saying that,” Scott said scathingly.

“
Remmy, it was a joke. She was a nice bit o’ skirt.”

“
That’s not the point.” Scott sighed and walked on. “Never mind.” To even try and explain it to Becan would be useless. Becan saw only her body. He saw blond hair, blue eyes, and small breasts. He saw just what she consisted of. He didn’t see
her
. The Irishman was like that with every woman.

“
Didn’t mean to cheese yeh off. I’m sorry.” After several moments, he offered a small smile. “If it makes yeh feel anny better, I don’t think she was into me, either. The first time she saw me, she screamed.”

Scott tried not to laugh, but did anyway.

“
There yeh go. Laughin’s good!”

Becan genuinely was who he was. Genuinely superficial, usually, but genuine nonetheless. Scott supposed that was better than nothing.

“
So enough abou’ tha’. How abou’ Nicole?”

“
If you say one thing about the size of Nikki’s breasts—”

Becan raised his hands in defense. “Righ’, I’m not
tha’
dumb.” A moment later, he smiled. “Yeh must be excited.”

Excited didn’t even begin to cover it. Ecstatic was a more appropriate word. “I can’t wait. I almost can’t believe it’s this Friday.”

“
I can’t wait to meet her, either.”

Scott could definitely wait for Becan to meet her. Without guilt. “She already feels like she knows everyone. She’s heard stories about the whole crew.”

“
Yeh better not be tellin’ her lies abou’ me.”

“
Everything I told her was true. Like the time we were in Turkey, and you forgot to bring ammunition.”

“
Grand. Thanks for sharin’ tha’ one.”

“
And the time Jay crippled that canrassi, and you tried to ride it.”

Becan broke out in a laugh. “Class.”

“
I pretty much told her everything.”

Becan smiled for a moment, before he fell into purposeful silence. It lasted for several seconds before he spoke. “Did yeh tell her a date?”

Scott stopped in the hall. “What?”

Becan turned to face him. “Did yeh tell her a date? To get married. Did the two o’ yeh even talk abou’ it yet?”

Scott met him with a silence indicative of uncertainty. They hadn’t set a date. They’d barely even talked about it at all. In truth, he wasn’t even sure how to go about it. She was in North America, and he was in the middle of Russia. They were engaged, yes—but what did that mean in a relationship like theirs? It would work out. He knew it had to. But he still wasn’t quite sure how. “Not yet, but…I know we’ll talk about that when she gets here. We’ll figure it out, rest assured.” Some kind of way.

The Irishman smiled. “I know yeh will, Remmy. You’re a good man. Good men figure things like tha’ ou’.”

“
And we will,” Scott said. “We definitely will.”

Though that was the last time that day Scott spoke of Nicole, she played in his mind from then on. The same as she had all week. The two of them would surely figure it out. It wasn’t a choice. It was something the two of them had to do. Everything hinged on their faith.

And of that, they had plenty.

_{* * *}

2050 hours

Though night was beginning in Novosibirsk, it was 9:50 in the morning in Michigan. It was the perfect time for him to call. After Scott had punched in her number, he listened as the phone rang on the other side of the world.

The months since Scott’s transfer from
Richmond
had been lonely ones. Scott’s earlier conversation with Becan only served to remind him of it. He and Nicole had passed through every negative flurry that an engaged couple could have passed through. Confusion. Disheartenment. Bitterness. He still remembered the last thing he had said to her in person.
See you in Detroit.
How life had dramatically changed.

And yet, they held on. Love held on. He could still call, and she would still answer with that smile in her voice. That was all they needed.

The ringing stopped. The line picked up.

“
Hello?”

“
Dobry utra, my American princess.”

She was smiling. He could tell. “Hey there, handsome prince…”

It didn’t matter what she called him. She was there, and that was all that mattered. There had been several times when they’d almost lost it. They’d almost lost everything they’d built for six years. But they pulled through. The fires only served to refine them. “What’s going on?”

“
Not much. Just getting ready for
my
little trip
.”

“
Little trip?” Scott smiled.

“
Yesss,” she drawled. “I won a free vacation on a game show.”

He knew what the little trip was, and a game show had nothing to do with it. The truth was that they saved for months, and they split the cost of a round-trip ticket to Novosibirsk. God had opened the way. “Oh really?”

“
Mm-hmm.”

“
Where to?”

“
To the armpit of the universe.”

Scott laughed. “Congratulations, baby. You must be excited.”

“
I am. A handsome prince will be picking me up.”

“
I know. So who is he?”

“
Very funny!”

He chuckled. On many occasions, Nicole had told him that being corny was his greatest gift. At least she found it amusing. “Four days away, baby.”

“
I knooow. I’m so excited.”

“
What do you have planned for today?”

She sighed. “Not much—I’m taking it easy. Tomorrow I’ll be doing a lot of shopping.”

“
Sounds like fun.”

She laughed. “You know it. How about you? It’s late over there…”

He nodded absently. “It’s almost nine.”

“
Why are you up so late?”

He grinned. He couldn’t wait to tell her. He was about to meet their newest additions: a demolitionist and a scout. It was still so hard to believe. “We’re getting two rookies tonight.” His grin widened. “A demolitionist—and a
scout
.”

“
Oh, okay.”

His head drooped, and he closed his eyes. Deep down inside, her apathy didn’t surprise him. It was about as exciting to her as new shoes were to him. He laughed to himself and went on. “So yeah. They’re coming in about thirty minutes. A teammate and I are meeting them in the hangar.”

“
Sounds like fun,” she answered.

If she only knew. “It will be.” He couldn’t blame her for not caring. If he were in her shoes, he wouldn’t want to know anything about
Novosibirsk
either.

“
How’s David?” she asked.

“
He’s good. He still doesn’t know when Sharon is going to head out here. Hopefully soon, though.” He was surprised she hadn’t already. “He misses his kids like crazy.” It was amazing how David held himself together. Every time Scott asked him about it, David told him that Sharon was used to it. Scott thought it was a little tragic. David had his bouts of sadness, and Scott was usually the one to hear them, but overall he was handling the distance with poise.

“
His wife stayed in New York, right?”

“
Yep. She’s staying there with the kids.” The original plan was for Sharon to move to Richmond, Virginia, to be closer to David at that base. Russia had ruined that idea.

“
How are Jayden and Varvara?”

“
They’re good. It’s been about three months now.” That was perhaps one of the strangest things to Scott. In the four months that Scott had known Jayden, the Texan had Varvara for three of them. Yet he still thought of Jayden as the lonely cowboy. That mindset just seemed to fit.

“
I’m glad for him. I can’t wait to meet him. To meet everyone.” He heard her smile again. “I feel like I know them already.”

“
As long as I get some time with you, too.”

“
Mmm,” she said, “sounds sexy.”

“
It will be.” Of that, he was certain. But sex wasn’t part of the equation. They were both traditionalists when it came to waiting. As far as up close and personal, however—that was acceptable anytime.

He glanced at his clock and sighed. Galina would be there any minute. He had told her to meet him in his quarters, where they would set off for the hangar together. He knew she’d never be late.

“
Scott?”

His attention returned to Nicole. “Yeah, baby?”

“…
I’ve really missed you.”

His heart melted. In his world of grenades and assault rifles, words like those brought him home. They gave him hope in the dark night. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“
I can’t wait to see you again.”

“
I’ve been saying that for the past four months.” It felt like so much longer.

The conversation was halted by a firm knock on the door.

Scott closed his eyes and sighed. Galina was on time again. For the first time ever, he hated it.

“
What was that?” Nicole asked.

“
Hang on, sweetie.” Scott pressed his hand over the receiver. “One second, Galya!” He returned to the phone. “I’m sorry—that’s Galina. It’s time for us to go.”

“
You’re going with Galina?”

“
Yeah.”

There was a hesitation. “Should I be jealous?”

Scott chuckled. “Only if you want to be.” She had nothing to worry about. It wasn’t that he had anything against Galina. She just wasn’t Nicole.

Nicole sighed. “I’ll let you go then. Are you going to call tomorrow morning?”

“
You mean tomorrow night?”

“
Right. Whatever it is on your side of the planet.”

“
Definitely.”

“
Good.”

An exchange of
I love you
s took place, followed by a pair of goodbyes. Before he knew it, the phone was off, and he once again sat by himself.

He missed her already.

Galina was in the hallway, a wet umbrella folded in her hand. As soon as Scott opened the door, she looked up at him and smiled. “Was that your wife-to-be?”

Scott offered a grimace. “Yes it was, Galina, and thank you for not being just a
little
bit late tonight.”

She laughed. “I am sorry. She is still good, yes?”

“
She’s great. She can’t wait until Friday.” He couldn’t either. “You know who we got tonight?”

Galina’s smile remained. “Maksim and Esther.”

“
You ready?”

“
I am always!”

“
Let’s do it.”

Clarke’s forecast was spot on target, as merciless rain fell. Though the shower wasn’t heavy, it was constant. It was enough to get everything soaked. It even smelled like bad weather.

Scott and Galina trekked across the grounds, sheltered under the same umbrella, as operatives from other units dashed through the puddles. “There’s a lot of people out tonight,” Scott said. His eyes scanned the grounds. It was the first time he had seen so many operatives about at curfew. It was obvious why.

“
Yes,” Galina answered. “All the new alphas will be getting here soon. Maybe here already. These are probably the ones going to meet them.”

“
Think our rookies got ‘the speech’ yet?”

Galina laughed and looked at him. “You mean from General Thoor? I am certain.” Her gaze returned forward. “He was probably waiting there for them, like he always does.”

Scott remembered well his first encounter with the general. He remembered the flight from
Richmond
. He remembered the pouring rain. He didn’t know what to make of the man they called the ‘Terror.’ If not for Thoor,
Novosibirsk
would have been overrun by the Bakma. Thoor and his Nightmen had saved them. But did that justify everything else?

“
It was terrible weather when you arrived, was it not?”

Scott nodded absently. “Yes it was.”

She chuckled under her breath. “That is little
Novosibirsk
tradition. Show them the bad first.”

“
Ha,” Scott said with a snort. “I’m still waiting for the good to kick in.”

The hangar was packed. Wide-eyed rookies were clustered in every direction. Some stood alone, while others listened to the droning of their new unit leaders. Somewhere amid the controlled chaos, the Fourteenth’s new blood waited.

Scott peered ahead as he and Galina tracked closer. Rain pattered against their umbrella, as their feet splashed the concrete below.

“
Is there a way this is supposed to work?” Scott asked.

“
I do not know. I have never done this before.”

Scott realized it in that moment: he and his friends had lucked out. They had avoided the chaos of coming in with a graduating class. They’d come in as transfers. Just them, the technicians, and Thoor.

It made sense that this class was so large. Over three thousand soldiers had been lost in the
Assault
on
Novosibirsk
. They had to be restocked. But was this enough?