from hers. He leaned forward and said softly, “You’re amazing, Gillian Romano. I’m in awe of your strength.”
Then he straightened and took a step away from her.
Gillian shivered, even though it wasn’t close to being cold.
She heard yelling, and turned her head to see at least a dozen men headed toward them wearing camouflage uniforms. She looked back at Walker and saw a mask had fallen across his features. He was back in business mode.
“Will I see you again?” she blurted. When he didn’t immediately respond, she awkwardly said, “I mean, I live in Austin, and I’m assuming you’re stationed at Fort Hood because, you know…it’s Army, and really big.”
She couldn’t interpret the look on his face, but she was relieved to see his expression change. Get softer.
“Go with the Venezuelan officials,” he urged. “Be safe, Di. You never know who might just show up on your doorstep someday.”
Everything inside Gillian relaxed. He didn’t come right out and say that he’d see her again, but he’d insinuated it. She’d take that.
“Thank you all,” she told the men standing around her. “I mean it. Thank you.”
They all nodded at her.
The last glimpse she had of Walker was him turning around and walking away with his six friends and teammates surrounding him.
Chapter Five
Three Weeks Later
“What is up with you, man?” Lucky asked impatiently. “You’ve been in a funk for weeks now.”
It was oh-six-hundred in the morning, and Trigger and his team were doing their customary five-mile warm-up run before starting the rest of their PT exercises.
“He’s been that way since Venezuela,” Grover added helpfully.
“Ever since he met her,” Lefty added not so helpfully.
“Fuck off,” Trigger muttered. He loved his friends, but they were a pain in the ass.
“Why don’t you just call her already?” Doc asked seriously.
“You know why,” Trigger said.
“No, I don’t,” Doc countered.
“Because of what we are,” Trigger told him.
“What? Men?”
Trigger stopped running and glared at his friends as they all stopped as well and stared at him in confusion. “We’re Delta,” he said simply.
“And?” Oz asked when no one else said anything.
Trigger blew out a breath in frustration. “You all know as well as I do what that means. Our lives aren’t our own. We could be called away this afternoon for who knows how long. We could be killed in action and no one would ever know how or where we died. We’ve all dated, and it never works out. Some women just want to screw a Delta. They love the idea of what we are and not really who we are as people. Not to mention, a lot of chicks get fed up with all the secrecy and eventually end it. I won’t do that to Gillian.”
“Ghost and his team have all made it work,” Brain said matter-of-factly.
Trigger tried to come up with an argument that would make sense, but he couldn’t. The fact of the matter was, he was jealous as hell of Ghost, Fletch, Coach, and the others. They had made relationships work. They had women who loved them, who they loved in return, and many of them even had kids now. Like Annie. The firecracker who had him and anyone she came into contact with wrapped around her little finger.
He sighed. “I’m afraid she’s too good for me,” Trigger said softly, hating to admit the truth. “I took a second look at the information we received from the FBI, and from what I can tell, she’s smart, extremely hardworking, and dedicated to her job.”
“And those are bad things?” Brain asked.
“Well, no, but you all know what military life is like. It’s hard. I’m afraid I’d somehow…contaminate her. She’s strong as fuck and independent to boot. She’s got a loving family and friends who would do anything for her. I don’t want to mess that up. You all know as well as I do that getting involved with us means the possibility of moving, and that means taking her away from her support network.”
“Seems to me,” Lefty drawled, “that’s exactly the kind of woman you should want. That we all want. We need a partner who won’t crumble when we’re deployed. Someone who can mow the grass and figure out how to call for a fucking plumber when the toilet overflows. It’s a good thing that she has a support system. And even if we do get moved out of Texas, she’d make a new support network, with other Delta wives. Besides, no one’s saying you have to marry this chick. You like her, she