Authors: Aliyah Burke
Ernst barely got out of the way before the woman barreled past him
and grabbed Kacy in a big hug. ―Are you okay? I‘ve been calling you nonstop
since your meeting yesterday!‖
Hugging her back, Kacy nodded. ―I‘m sorry. You-know-who called
and I got the message when I got home from the meeting.‖
―That bastard called you?!‖ Her small body shook with rage.
―I‘m okay. I went to stay with Ernst,‖ Kacy said, pulling back from
her friend.
―Ernst?‖ A huge smile crossed her face as she spun around to look at
the man standing there in Kacy‘s entryway. ―You‘re the guy from Hawaii.
The Navy man, I recognize you from the pictures.‖
Ernst looked at the woman standing beside Kacy. She was dressed in
pink pants, a white shirt, and shoes. Her dark skin looked good with that
color. Her eyes were a rich brown and her wavy hair was held up with a pink
ribbon. She was short about five-two or so, and not very big. ―I‘m Ernst.‖ He
held out his hand.
―I‘m Ilanderae; you can call me Landi.‖ She winked at him. ―You
were right, Kacy, he is hot.‖
―Landi,‖ Kacy protested as a blush ran over her face.
―Well, he is.‖ Her sweet face grew serious. ―Are you going to kick the
shit out of this man who is bothering my Kacy?‖ Ilanderae asked Ernst.
―I just got done telling her she shouldn‘t be here alone,‖ Ernst said,
realizing he had an ally in Ilanderae.
C H A P T E R F I F T E E N
Kacy drove to her first job site of the day. She was almost running
late. Ernst and Ilanderae had been formidable together, but she had stood her
ground, she was
not
moving.
She did call the police and gave them the message on her machine.
Since the caller had never identified himself, they couldn‘t do anything, news
that didn‘t surprise Kacy at all but pissed off Ernst and Ilanderae even more.
After promising to call him once she had returned home for the day,
Ernst had left to go to the base, leaving her breathless from his kiss. Soon
after, Ilanderae left to get to work.
―He said his face would be the last thing she ever saw. That there
was nowhere she would be safe from him. He was coming for her. He said
she would pay for going with another man. Told her how worthless she was
and pathetic,‖ Ernst relayed his teammates as they sat around a briefing
table. ―There was a lot more but that‘s the overview.‖
The room was silent before Maverick spoke up, ―So when do we find
him and teach him a lesson?‖
Pale eyes were grateful as Ernst looked at Maverick. ―Thanks, man.
Believe me I want to kill him, but I don‘t want Kacy to view me in that same
way.‖
The men nodded. ―What about the police?‖ Osten asked.
―To them it was a crank call. The number was from a pay phone and
he never left his name.‖ Ernst paused. ―I still don‘t know that bastard‘s
name.‖
―But she came to you, so that must mean she trusts you. Even after
being warned about dating someone else,‖ Aidrian said in his Irish lilt.
Ernst shook his head. ―That was at the end of the message. She ran
before she heard it all. She used to hide in the garage. Kacy told me that‘s
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101
where she hid in the past.‖ He smacked the table in frustration. ―I hate that I
can‘t help her.‖
―Seems to me like you did,‖ Scott‘s deep voice added.
―I can‘t protect her in Suffolk, unless I kidnap her and move her in
with me.‖
―So move in with her,‖ Dimitri suggested.
―I don‘t want this guy to see that and come after her the next time we
are on a mission. Trust me; I thought about that.‖ Ernst looked around the
room at his friends. His teammates. His family. ―Thanks, guys.‖
―Okay,‖ Tyson interrupted. ―I have a bit of business that just came
down the wire.‖ All eyes turned to the Team‘s second-in-command. ―We
need to do some PR. You know, go to schools and talk with the kids. Volun-
teer?‖
For the second time that morning the room fell silent, this time for a
different reason.
―Well, don‘t everyone volunteer at once,‖ Tyson joked. ―Come on;
it‘s a few days of sitting behind a booth, answering questions.‖
Osten ―Baby Boy‖ Scoleri said, ―I‘ll do it.‖
―Thanks,‖ Scott said. ―Good news, now, we are all coming up on two
weeks down time. Apparently, we were a bit rough our last time out and we
need to rest. Scoleri, the PR thing is next month. I‘ll get you the details later.‖
―Okay, Commander.‖ Osten replied.
―Oh,‖ Ross spoke up. ―I forgot; there is a classic car show just over
the state line in North Carolina tomorrow. I‘m gonna go see Dezarae since
she has been avoiding me, if anyone cares to come along.‖
―Need backup, man?‖ Ernst teased.
―Hell, yeah,‖ Ross drawled. ―That woman is something else.‖
They were all in. Each man loved classic cars and was more than
willing to support Ross.
―That‘s all, men. See everyone tomorrow.‖ Scott said closing his file,
showing the room his wedding ring as the sun glinted off the gold.
One day,
Ernst thought,
my ring will do the same.
Walking to his truck,
Ernst realized that he still didn‘t know much about Kacy.
He spent the day at the base, but it wasn‘t until seven that his cell
phone rang. ―Chief Zimmermann,‖ Ernst said automatically.
―You‘re a Chief, huh?‖ Kacy‘s sexy voice asked.
A grin spread across his face as he sat down on the couch, turning
down the music. ―Yes, ma‘am, I am.‖
―See there, I learned something new.‖
―Come on over and I‘ll teach you something else as well.‖
She laughed. ―Sorry, I‘m at home. You said to call, so I am.‖
―I wanted to make sure you were okay; it wasn‘t a command,‖ he
said frowning over her choice of words.
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Aliyah Burke
―I know. And I thank you for your concern. Also, I wanted to hear
your voice.‖
―That‘s better,‖ he granted. ―What are you wearing?‖
―Oh, some small, silky, and exposing thing.‖
His body responded instantly. ―Teasing me,
schatzi
?‖
―Yep. I
just
got home. Actually just wearing torn jeans and a sleeve-
less shirt. I‘m feeding my fish and am about to order pizza.‖
―You haven‘t had dinner yet?‖ Ernst questioned.
―Nope. Long day. So I am going to eat pizza and watch the Braves.‖
He sat up. ―You like baseball?‖
―Love it,‖ she vowed heading to her bedroom to change.
―Want some company?‖
―Sure. What do you want on your pizza?‖
―Anything except sardines. Can I bring anything?‖
―Beer,‖ Kacy answered. ―Can‘t watch baseball without beer.‖
―Got it. Be there soon. Bye, sweets.‖ Ernst hung up.
Kacy ordered the pizza and turned on her television. She loved
sports, but that was about the extent of what she watched. If there was a
history thing on a poet she would watch that, too; otherwise, she wasn‘t a
television person.
Flipping through her mail, she straightened up her spotless home.
She put down fine china: paper plates, plastic silverware, and paper towels
for napkins. The order consisted of pizza, breadsticks, and wings, so she
figured they would be fine.
Padding through the house in Braves socks, she moved to the door
when the doorbell chimed. Opening it, the pizza guy stood holding her order.
She grinned at the familiar face. ―Evening, Randy.‖
―Evening, Kacy. Ordered more tonight,‖ he observed.
―Watching the game with a friend,‖ Kacy said, stepping back to let
him inside. Randy had been delivering pizzas to her for over two years. He
put the order down on the coffee table.
Handing him a check, she followed him back to the door. ―Thanks,
Randy,‖ she called as he went back to his car.
―My pleasure. It‘s always good to see you. Bye, Kacy.‖
―Bye, Randy.‖ Kacy closed the door and went back to her coffee ta-
ble. She arranged the food on the table and watched the television as they
went through the Braves lineup.
The doorbell rang again and her stomach flipped as she knew who it
was. Ernst. Running a hand down her jersey, she strolled to the door, appear-
ing much calmer than she really was.
Ernst stood there holding a case of beer in one hand and a dozen
purple lilies in the other. ―Evening,
liebling
,‖ he said, leaning in for his kiss.
―Evening,‖ she drew out as their lips separated.
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His gaze took in her black pants and Braves jersey. ―You look hot.‖
―Come on. Food is here and the game has started,‖ she said with a
blush.
He offered her the flowers. ―These are for you.‖
A stunning smile crossed her face. ―They‘re beautiful, thank you.‖
Taking them, she walked inside, leaving him to follow.
―So, do I want to know,‖ he began, trailing her after shutting the
door behind him, ―why you are wearing number ten?‖ Ernst put the beer in
her fridge.
Filling a crystal vase she responded, ―‘Cause he is my favorite play-
er.‖ Cutting the ends off the lilies, she put them in the vase and set it on the
table. ―That looks wonderful. Thanks.‖
A roar from the television grabbed their attention. Taking his hand,
she dragged him back into the living room. Soon, they had food on their
plates and beer to drink.
Side by side on her couch they sat. Kacy really got into the game, yel-
ling at the television, voicing her opinion. She drank her beer and complained
about the umpire‘s call.
―I think it was a good call,‖ Ernst commented matter-of-factly.
―What?!‖ she screeched. ―That pitch was nowhere near the strike
zone! It was a ball. That ump is blind!‖
His robust laughter reached her ears. ―You are so passionate about
this game, aren‘t you?‖
Her copper eyes swung to his face and narrowed at the glee she ob-
served. ―You just picking on me, aren‘t you?‖
Ernst nodded and tapped her on the end of her nose. ―Pretty much.‖
Rolling her eyes, she got up to grab them each another beer.
The end of the game had her at the edge of her chair. In the end the
Braves won, but it was nail-bitingly close.
Chatting about the game they began to clean up. Ernst carried the
boxes into the kitchen while Kacy searched for a container for leftovers.
―How long have you liked baseball?‖ Ernst asked, putting away the
wings in the tub she provided.
―For about as long as I can remember. Baseball, football, and hockey.
Mostly baseball and football,‖ she answered, snapping the lid on the contain-
er holding the pizza.
―And the Braves?‖
―It seemed right. The Braves and the Panthers, those are my teams.
Rangers for hockey.‖ She placed the recycling on one side of the sink before
putting the leftovers in the fridge. ―Did you want any of the pizza or wings?‖
―I‘m good,‖ Ernst said, admiring just how damn cute she was.
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Aliyah Burke
―I‘ll be right back; I have to put this in the recycling bin.‖ She
grabbed the empty beer bottles and boxes from dinner and went into her
backyard.
Ernst wiped down her coffee table and made sure the place was
clean. He‘d not dated a woman who loved sports as he did. They
were
perfect
for one another.
He was still straightening up when Kacy came back inside. ―You
didn‘t have to do that.‖
―I don‘t mind,‖ he told her, going back into the kitchen to wash and
ring out the rag.
Kacy turned on some slow music and joined him in the kitchen.
―Thanks for coming over.‖
Ernst leaned against the counter and drew her into his body. ―Thanks
for having me.‖
The only lights on were the two over the sink and they were
dimmed. Kacy wrapped her arms around his waist and let him just hold her.
His cheek rested along her temple and he closed his eyes, perfectly
content. ―When is your birthday?‖ he asked after a few moments.
―Want to see if we are compatible for one another?‖ she queried.
―
Schätzchen
, I already know we are. I just want to know more about
you.‖
―Let‘s go sit on the swing.‖
Ernst and Kacy cuddled up on the swing, talked, and made love into
the wee hours of the morning. As he tucked her into bed, he smiled as he
memorized her beauty. ―I will see you on Sunday,
schätzchen
.‖
―Have fun at the show,‖ she murmured, exhausted from her long
day and making love on her porch swing.
“I love you.”
He mouthed the words as he left the room, leaving her to
her slumber. ―I will.‖
C H A P T E R S I X T E E N
Six in the morning Sunday, Kacy‘s doorbell chimed. Drinking her
coffee, she ambled over to the door and swung it open. Ernst stood there
dressed in a tight Navy shirt and blue jeans. He had hiking boots on his feet.
―Morning, sweetheart,‖ he said as his eyes raked over her tight jeans
and tank top.
―Hey, Ernst, come on in. I just made a pot of coffee.‖ Kacy stepped
back to allow him entrance.
His tall body followed hers and he kissed her. ―Can‘t forget that.‖
She knew she tasted like coffee and mint. ―I brought bagels,‖ he said holding