Greeley's Spyce (17 page)

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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103

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