I clean up while the girls head off to the great room, where they continue talking about the mission.
“Sounds like you had fun.” I put away the food while Ash tackles the dishes.
“Not sure if I should say it was fun, considering why we were there, but it really opened my eyes.” He glances toward the great room. “I’ve always been impressed by what Skye does. She saves lives every day, but to see her work with those girls.” Ash’s mouth twists. “What they did to those girls was horrendous. I want the band to do more for their rescues.”
“Like, what?”
“I don’t know. That Facility of theirs is well thought out. Noodles is already working with some of the kids.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, he teaches them how to surf. You know, normal kid stuff. I just wish there was some way we could all contribute.” Ash goes into details too dark to repeat about the abducted girls. They were rescued from a life of misery, and fortunately, their story ends well.
“So, they really rescued all twelve girls?” I’m still a little in awe.
“Yeah. Totally badass too. Infil was by air.”
“Infil?”
“Infiltration. They’re all ex-military special ops. Infil. Exfil—that’s extracting from a location—I felt like I was a part of it.”
“Sounds like it.”
“Dude, those Guardians are something else. They hooked up their zodiacs to parachutes, chucked them out the back of the plane, then parachuted after them. They landed in the water.” He gives a fake shudder. “I’m cool with water, but parachuting into the Gulf, at night, wearing full body armor? Dude, it was awesome.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“Me neither. It’s why I asked Skye if I could tag along. I want to understand what it is she does. And you know how I hate having her in harm’s way, especially now that she’s pregnant again, but she totally hangs in the back. I feel a little better about it. But those Guardians, they splashed down and somehow found the boats in the dark. They hooked up with the ship. Scaled the outside. I’ve never seen a more focused group of men. Lethal as shit. Saved the girls like it was a walk in the park.”
“Do you ever wonder what you would’ve done if Angel Fire didn’t take off?”
“Have you?”
“Yeah.” I scratch the back of my head. “It was a toss-up between enlisting and becoming a teacher. I figure I probably would’ve enlisted, ‘cause you know how I felt about school. I would’ve had to go to college to teach.”
Ash laughs. “Yeah, you hated school. Why the fuck would you want to be a teacher?”
“It’s funny, but I always thought I’d do a better job than my teachers. Not that it matters now.”
“Yeah.” Ash stretches his neck, making the spider web tattoo flex. The dragon catches my eye. I’ve got ink, but nothing like that.
“So, what would you have done? You know, if Angel Fire didn’t take off?”
“Don’t laugh, but I always thought I’d follow in my dad’s footsteps.”
My eyes widen. “Go to seminary? Become a priest?”
“Not a priest, but a pastor. I always looked up to my dad. I like the way he touches other people’s lives.”
“You were the wild child, bucking authority and driving your parents crazy. Can’t see you as a pastor.”
“I know, right? Different lives. Did you know Noodles wanted to be one of those Doctors Without Borders kind of people?”
“That’s less surprising than you becoming a pastor.” I finish putting the food up and help Ash with the rest of the dishes. “Just think how our lives would be different if we never formed the band.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Our success?” I blow out a breath. “Not really. We travel the world, and not that we’re saving lives or anything, but I like to think our music inspires others to do great things.”
“That’s how I see it too.” Ash folds the dishcloth and hangs it to dry. “I guess Bash would’ve been a teen dad. His life would’ve been hugely different if Valerie hadn’t skipped out on him.”
“Yeah, I still don’t really know what to make of it.”
“I don’t think he does either. He finds out he’s a dad, but instead of a baby girl, he gets a headstrong teenager. Whenever they’re in the same room, I swear it’s the beginning of World War Three.”
“Do you think he regrets bringing Angel here?” I certainly don’t. Or maybe I will when the guys find out about Angel and me. Life-altering is the understatement of the century.
“I think he regrets not being