things? Five books of torment …?
SUZ: Let’s just say that I have plans for all of you. I don’t want to make you any promises, because it could turn out to be seven books of torment and then you’ll be mad at me. Madder. (to Lopez) Hey, Jay, how’s Minnie? I heard she just got a terrific job offer in New York City.
LOPEZ: Ah, crap.
SUZ: Oh, come on. Don’t you want excitement and passion? Don’t you want to fall in love with that one person that you absolutely can’t live without?
LOPEZ: I kind of liked manicotti and clean laundry.
SUZ: Don’t be a baby. Learn to cook and buy a washer and dryer. (to Jenk) Are you happy? Tell them how happy you are.
JENK: I am almost insanely happy.
SUZ: (to the others) See? I gotta run. Later, guys. Thanks again for stopping by.
IZZY: (calling after her) But Jenk didn’t have five books of … (to Jenk, because she’s gone) What does five books translate to, time-wise?
JENK: Two, three years. But I’m pretty sure she was looking right at you when she said it was going to be seven books of torment.
GILLMAN: (to Izzy) Dude, you’re screwed.
IZZY: Well … you are, too.
GILLMAN: No, I’m not.
IZZY: Yeah, you are.
GILLMAN: Not like you.
JENK: Guys. Stop. (He closes the door tightly behind them.)
INTERVIEW WITH KENNY AND SAVANNAH
Early 2006
This takes place shortly after Into the Storm.
“So what’s been going on in your lives?” I asked, as we all sat down in my office.
Navy SEAL Chief Ken Karmody was dressed for work, which today meant desert-print cammie BDUs. He was going to spend the afternoon crawling around in the San Borrego desert, trying out some new gear.
“You want to tell her?” Savannah asked him.
“Tell me what?” I looked from one to the other.
Savannah was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, sneakers on her feet. It didn’t surprise me—she’d been dressing far more casually since she’d met and married Ken. Her blond hair was cut short and it wisped around her face. She looked far more like a college student than a high-powered attorney.
“Van had a little bit of a meltdown the other day,” Ken admitted.
I looked to her for confirmation, and she nodded, wincing slightly, embarrassment on her pretty face. “It was more like a big meltdown.”
“No, it wasn’t,” her husband scoffed. “Believe me, from someone who’s had big meltdowns a time or two—yours was very small.”
“A time or two,” I repeated. “More like ten.”
He laughed because he knew what I was thinking. No doubt he, too, was remembering the night he drove his car onto his ex-girlfriend’s lawn, music blaring from his stereo speakers, drunk out of his mind, hoping she’d take him back. Fortunately for him, she hadn’t, leaving him solidly single when Savannah came along.
“They all happened years ago,” Savannah pointed out.
But there had been a more recent incident—back when Ken was living in San Diego, and Savannah was still living in New York. They’d met in the middle, in Dallas or Denver, as often as they could, but spent far too many weeks apart.
It was hard for both of them—newly married, living on different coasts. Especially since Ken frequently went overseas with SEAL Team Sixteen. Days off for either of them were few and far between.
“Remember that time,” Ken told Savannah, “that you came to San Diego to surprise me, only I went to New York to surprise you?”
Savannah laughed. “Like I’m ever going to forget?” Shaking her head, she turned to me. “I walked into our house in San Diego at about three A.M. The place was quiet, it was obvious Ken was asleep, so I didn’t turn on the lights. It was a surprise—my being there. I was supposed to be in New York at some legal thing, a conference that was canceled. So I went into the bedroom, got undressed, climbed into bed and—” She cracked up.
“I had given my keys to Sam and his wife, Alyssa,” Ken said, far less amused. “They were painting their house, and the fumes were intense, so … I figured since Van and I weren’t going to be there, they could sleep at our place. Meanwhile, I was in New York, wondering where my wife was at three o’clock in the morning.”
“Having a ménage à trois with your best friend and his wife.” Savannah laughed. “The look on Sam’s face when he turned on the light … And Alyssa …!” She howled. “She got a little mad at Sam because she thought he was enjoying