THE CRAZY GOOD SERIES - Rachel Robinson Page 0,333

of the hour. Dax is a good guy, yeah?” I ask. Knowing what they’ll say, I only say the words to buy myself time. I don’t want to talk about her. It makes me upset and with a few drinks in me, I’m half in the mind to call her and tell her exactly why she shouldn’t marry the asshole. “He has to be if she’s with him,” I say, mostly for my own benefit.

“He’s a good guy.” They both say it at the same time. I wonder how good of a guy they would think he is if they knew what I know. How low he slipped to get what he wants.

I nod, lean my head back on this deliciously comfortable sofa, and close my eyes. “Some things just aren’t meant to be. I think she’ll be happy. Have a normal life. Our engagement ended on weird fucking terms. Dax is normal and I think that’s what she needs to stay out of trouble,” I explain. I stop before I say anything further. They have no idea that Lainey came to Virginia Beach in order to spy on Navy SEALs. There are countless women here for that exact reason. The guys are familiar with the tactics, but I don’t think they’ve ever seen one up close and personal. They wouldn’t take too kindly if they did know, either. In the beginning, Lainey gathered information about us. When we started work, where we took our training trips, where our private airport was located. All innocuous things that meant a great deal to the person she reported back to. I called her out right away, but I was keen with things like that. The house next door to Morganna? It was planned. Her friendships with the other wives and girlfriends? A scheme to get in good with them to get even more information about us.

She stopped spying when I asked her, straight up, and despite her reservations, she fell in love with me. Not that she had much say in that. When I fall in love, I make sure everyone around me knows it. She knew it and was helpless to repel my charms. By the time my fateful deployment rolled around she was putty in my hands, so in love with me that she agreed to be my wife. Slipping that diamond on her slim finger was one of the most memorable moments of my life. Now, I’m invited to watch another man marry my woman. That man happens to be the only reason why it’s not my wedding ring going on her finger. Talk about a fucked up situation.

Steve sighs. “I can’t say anything about what the fuck you guys have going on, but Dax is a good guy and Lainey seems hell-bent on marrying him. Are you two still fucking around?” So they know about the fucked up arrangement we had going on for a while. Who told them?

“No. I broke it off a while ago. It was too much trouble. How did you know about that anyways? Doesn’t seem like something a man would brag about. Sharing isn’t caring in this instance.”

“Pussy,” Maverick says, coughing to cover his insult. Then he says, “It was mentioned in passing. Trust me, I think Dax was drunk off tequila when it was revealed.”

I wrap my hands behind my head and look up at the expansive ceiling. There’s a peak in this room and the glass windows at the top make the lighting in here perfection. “I did what was best for her, dude. My life is too dangerous. Like yours, except I don’t have to answer to anyone, so shit is even more fucked up. The last thing I want is anyone hurt on my account.” They’re both nodding when I glance at them. At least they get it. “Imagine if it were Windsor or Morganna at risk,” I say, looking at both of them to drive the point home. No one says anything. They’re lost in thought, thinking of worst-case scenarios and how to stop them.

Steve speaks first, “Well, I’d say let’s hit the strip club and get some drinks, but we don’t do that anymore.”

My turn. “Pussies.” I smirk.

They laugh, but wouldn’t you know, those pansy asses don’t refute me. They’re happily pussies. I want to be the same. One day, maybe. When V is cold in the ground, when I’m finished with working contracts. Maybe I will move to the Hamptons house and settle down eventually. Vacation