Chapter 14 The following week was surreal for Kelli. She was plunked back down into her life, and while she felt as if she was a changed person, nothing else around her seemed to change. Her annoying next-door neighbor still played his music too loud, her mom, while happy she was all right, hadn't really asked much about what happened and was back to being consumed with her own life. Traffic still sucked, the weather was still beautiful, and bills still needed to be paid. One thing that had changed...Kelli had indeed been fired for not calling in and missing work. It didn't matter that she'd literally been buried alive in a foreign country. Apparently, policies were policies. But she wasn't upset about it. She'd done what she told Flash she was going to do...she went to the community college not too far from her apartment and met with an academic advisor. She wasn't any closer to deciding what she wanted to do with her life, but it still felt as if she'd made a positive step forward. She also seemed to have an entire girl posse of friends. That was definitely new. She'd received either texts or emails each day. Remi was the first to check on her, letting her know that if she wanted to talk about what happened, she was there. After all, she'd been through something similar, even if she was buried only a tiny fraction of the time Kelli had been underground. Wren and Josie had also texted. Out of the blue, Addison offered to bake her cookies or a cake. And Maggie, even though she was dealing with some morning sickness, had emailed and said she'd love to get together the next time she headed up to LA for a meeting. Apparently, that was where her biological father and brothers lived, and where she had to attend meetings every now and then for her job. And it wasn't only Flash's teammates' women who'd contacted her. Caroline, Julie, Jessyka...she'd gotten occasional texts from all of the older former SEAL wives, as well. Having so much support and friendship felt like a dream come true. Kelli wasn't sure why everyone was being so nice to her, but she wasn't going to do anything that might make them change their minds about being her friend. But the best change was that, every night, she talked to Flash for about three hours...or more. One evening while they were FaceTiming, they'd talked so long she'd fallen asleep on him. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she looked at her screen and saw that Flash had propped up his phone on the table next to his bed and left his lights on, so she could watch him sleep. Some people might think that was weird, but for Kelli, it was...intimate. She liked it. A lot. She'd ended the call and sent him a text apologizing for falling asleep, and making a comment about how empty his bed looked with only him in it. It was a risky move, but given how much they talked, and how often Flash reminded her of the hours left in the week before he was taking her on a date, she felt pretty confident that what she'd said wasn't out of line. Today, Flash had a meeting that he said would run a little late. They were in the middle of planning their next mission, which, honestly, kind of worried Kelli. But she refused to let what he did for a living discourage her. After all, him being a SEAL was the sole reason they'd survived their ordeal. Without his survival knowledge, their situation would've been a lot worse. And they certainly wouldn't have been rescued as quickly as they had without the resources and knowhow of his friends. If she wanted any kind of relationship with Flash, she'd have to figure out how to live with him being gone on dangerous missions. She decided talking with the women who'd been through it already, and who obviously had wonderful relationships with their men, would be a good place to start. She had a lot of questions. But she was also jumping the gun. Flash was right. They'd been through something extreme and traumatic together. More for her than him, he was used to that kind of situation, but still. She had every intention of dating Flash. Doing normal guy-girl things. Dinners, movies, hanging out, getting to know him even more. She wasn't going to jump into a relationship simply because she was grateful he was with her when the worst had happened in Jamaica. But...the man ticked all her boxes. He was kind, patient, hot as hell... Kelli wrinkled her nose, a little disgusted with herself for that last thought. Honestly, looks didn't matter as much as other positive traits. It was possible he could go bald, or get fat, or his ears would grow three sizes as he aged. Giggling, Kelli put the bags of groceries she'd bought today on the counter. She was being stupid. Thinking about what Flash may or may not look like as he aged was ridiculous. What mattered was the kind of man he was. Did he have a temper? She didn't think so, but time would tell. Was he possessive? Or overly so? Would he get annoyed that she had plenty of money in the bank and didn't need to be "taken care of"? Deep down, regardless of the answers, everything in her was screaming that Flash was the real deal. That he could be the man she spent the rest of her life with. It was too fast, they'd just met, but circumstances being what they were, they'd gotten to know the important things about each other very quickly. Flash made her feel protected. He paid attention when she spoke and didn't look at his phone or everywhere around him, as if trying to find something more interesting to do. When she was with him, she felt as if she was the center of his world. And she hoped he felt the same way. She wanted any man she was with to have no doubts that she was right where she wanted to be. Which she knew was why he was giving them both a week's time-out. She smiled at that. Was it really a time-out when they talked for hours every night and constantly texted each other to ask how the other person was doing? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she missed Flash. Even talking to him didn't feel as if it was enough. She wanted to see him. Touch him. The feel of her hand in his was the ultimate in comfort for her now. Just as she'd finished cutting up vegetables and chicken and arranging them on a cookie sheet to bake, her phone vibrated. Looking at the counter, she saw Flash had texted her. Flash: Bad news, won't be able to call until late. New intel just arrived and we're staying later than planned to analyze it. Disappointment hit Kelli, but she pushed it down. She had no idea what information he'd received, but she was proud of him for doing what he could to keep the world safe. Kelli: It's okay. I don't have any plans tonight. Am going to think a bit more about what kind of career I want, maybe watch another episode of Alone so we can talk about it later. Flash: Can't wait to see what you think about who taps out tonight. And it's been six days. I'm going to come up and take you out tomorrow night...if that's okay with you. Think about where you want to eat. Kelli's nipples immediately hardened. Apparently, when Flash said something, he was serious. He'd said a week, and tomorrow was a week. She was more than ready to see him again. To see if the connection they had was real. She thought it was, but she'd find out for sure tomorrow. She couldn't wait. Kelli: It's definitely okay with me. Flash: Good. I'll text when I'm done here. If you're asleep, not a big deal. We can talk tomorrow. It was a big deal to Kelli. She hadn't realized he might be that late. She liked her sleep, but lately she'd been staying up later because of their calls. Kelli: Okay. I'll miss talking to you. Flash: Not as much as I'll miss talking to you. Gotta go. Getting the stink eye from Kevlar. Kelli: Later Flash: Later Kelli sighed. She wished it was tomorrow already. There were plenty of amazing restaurants she could take him to, she'd just have to wait and see what he was in the mood for and what he liked. The rest of the evening went by fairly quickly. Her dinner was delicious, even if it was a bit lonely. She'd gotten used to eating while talking to Flash. The episode of Alone was exciting and she couldn't wait to discuss it with him. She was amazed at how resilient the contestants were. They made it seem as if camping outside in negative temperatures wasn't a big deal. Not to mention hunting and killing squirrels and other animals and attempting to fish when conditions, frankly, sucked. She supposed some people would say what she'd done was just as amazing, but she'd been with Flash, who'd done all the work. She could probably survive living in sub-freezing temps if Flash was with her. She could sit in the shelter-that he made-and cook the animals he caught and skinned. Kelli laughed at herself. No, she'd hate that. Wouldn't like feeling as if she wasn't pulling her weight. Looking at her watch, she was surprised to see it was nine o'clock. Not terribly late, considering what time she'd been going to sleep this past week, but late for Flash to still be at work. Kelli turned off the TV and headed to her bedroom. She put on the long-sleeve top and boy shorts she wore to bed before padding back into the hallway, to the only bathroom in her apartment. When she was finished, she climbed into bed, crawled under the covers, and put her phone on the nightstand. She grabbed her tablet and brought up the book she'd been reading. She didn't think she'd be able to pay much attention, since she was waiting to hear from Flash, so she was pleasantly surprised when she got lost in the story. Flash eventually sent a text over an hour later, saying he was exhausted and heading home to bed. But he promised to call early tomorrow so they could arrange a time for him to come over and take her to dinner. Instead of going to sleep herself, Kelli continued to read. She wanted to find out who the bad guy was in her book. And that was why she was still awake around midnight...when an out-of-place sound from the front of her apartment caught her attention. Kelli froze, tilting her head, as if that would make it easier for her to hear. The tell-tale squeak of the hinges on her apartment door had her adrenaline immediately spiking. She'd locked the door, she knew she had, but had she thrown the dead bolt? Put the chain on? She didn't think so. Her hands had been full of the bags she was carrying. She had a feeling she'd forgotten. No one except her mother had a spare key to her apartment, so whoever had just entered wasn't anyone she'd want to come face-to-face with in a dark apartment in the middle of the night. She was moving before she thought about what she was doing. Kelli leaped out of bed, looking around frantically. Where should she go? If she left the bedroom, whoever had broken in would see her immediately. It wasn't that big of a space. The bathroom was in the hall, so that was also out. Not that anywhere in there would make a good hiding place. And she couldn't hide under her bed because it was a captain's bed...there were drawers filling in the space. For a second, she panicked-then Kelli swore she heard Flash's voice in her head. Telling her to take a breath. To be smart. Whipping around, Kelli quickly and quietly remade her bed, pulling the covers up so it looked like she hadn't been there at all. Of course, the sheets were still warm, but she couldn't do anything about that. Grabbing her phone, she went to the only place that was an option. Her closet. It was fairly large, something she'd been thrilled about when she first rented the place. She had two racks of clothes against one wall-her shirts on the higher one, her pants on the lower. She could hide behind the pants, but there wasn't much room and whoever had broken in would surely spot her. Her frantic gaze finally landed on the suitcase she'd unpacked a week ago. It was lying in the back corner where she'd left it, too lazy to so much as zip it closed, much less put it in the hall closet where it was usually stored. Moving instinctively, and thanking her lucky stars that she was only five-two, she opened the top, stepped inside, and crouched down. She curled into a fetal position, lowered the lid, then fumbled with the zipper. Whoever had broken in was moving down the hall. She could hear their footsteps coming closer and closer. Finally, she was able to get hold of the tab and partially close the zipper around the suitcase. She held her breath when she heard a male voice swear as he entered her bedroom. Kelli had never been so scared. Not even when she'd had a gun pointed in her face. And she realized it was because at least then, Flash had been there. His presence hadn't made it any more or less likely that she'd be shot, but simply going through that experience with someone else made it not quite as terrifying. Lying in the dark, curled into a ball, hearing whoever was in her apartment throwing things around, was more than terrifying. It almost paralyzed her with fear. Feeling her hand throbbing, Kelli suddenly realized that she was gripping her phone so tightly, it was surely leaving marks on her palm. Her phone! In her panic, she'd completely forgotten she'd grabbed her cell from the table next to her bed! She was about to dial 9-1-1 when the intruder entered her closet. The light came on and Kelli realized she was seconds away from being discovered and probably raped and maybe killed. The man-she could definitely tell it was a guy now, because he was constantly swearing and muttering under his breath-shuffled through her clothes. Then a large crash made Kelli flinch in her hiding place. She felt a weight settle on top of the suitcase. He'd pulled one of the entire racks of clothes off, and it had obviously landed right where she was hiding. But that was good. Not the destruction he was wreaking on her belongings, but that she was buried under clothes. It meant he had no reason to believe she was there, in that suitcase. Right under his nose. She still refused to risk moving even an inch while he was in the same room. The light from the phone screen might show through the open portion of suitcase. Or he'd see the clothes moving if she shifted even a fraction. No, she had to stay completely still and silent. Of course, right then, her nose started to itch. If she sneezed, she was as good as dead. Closing her eyes tightly, Kelli did her best to suppress her body's involuntary reaction to her surroundings. To her immense relief, the man left the closet. She could still hear him throwing things around in her bedroom. So the danger was still very real. Taking a chance, Kelli looked at the phone she still held in a death grip and tapped the screen. The light made her wince, but she quickly turned it down, brought up her recent calls, and clicked on Flash's name. It was stupid. She should call 9-1-1. But the first and only person she thought to call was Flash. He'd help her. He knew where she lived. He wouldn't hesitate to come. Of that, she had no doubt. Awkwardly, she brought the phone up to her ear, because there was no way she could put it on speaker, not if she wanted to stay hidden. It rang twice before Flash answered. "Kelli? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Opening her mouth to tell him that, no, she definitely wasn't okay and she needed him, she froze when the intruder reentered the closet. "Kelli?" His voice sounded loud. Too loud. But once more, Kelli was afraid to move even one muscle. Why had the man come back? Did he know she was there? Had he figured out there was literally no other place for her to hide? "If you don't answer me, I'm coming over. Understand?" Yes, she understood, and she closed her eyes as a tear escaped. Kelli's breaths were coming faster and faster. She felt as if she wasn't getting enough air. Flash must've heard her hyperventilating through the speaker, because his voice calmed and his tone lowered. "I've got you, Kelli. I'm coming. Slow your breathing down. You can do this." She couldn't. She couldn't do this! Panic was taking hold. At one point, whoever was in her closet actually kicked the edge of the suitcase. She was certain he'd figure out that it was much too heavy and he'd find her. But he simply swore some more, then left again. "I'm in my car now. Hold on, Kelli. Hold on." Kelli thought for sure whoever had broken in would leave now, but instead, she heard him continuing to stomp around her apartment, smashing more stuff. It would take Flash almost half an hour to get to her place. Maybe less since it was the middle of the night and traffic was probably light. But so much could happen in thirty minutes. Or even twenty. "Scared," she whispered in a voice so low, she was sure Flash wouldn't be able to hear her. But somehow he did. "I know. I can hear how fast you're breathing. What's going on? Did you have a nightmare?" "No. Break-in." "Fuck, someone broke into your apartment? I need to call Dude, he lives closer to where you are." Panic almost overwhelmed Kelli. He couldn't hang up! If he did, she'd completely lose it. He was the only thing keeping her from springing out of her hiding place and running screaming through her apartment, trying to reach the door. "I'm going to patch him into the call. I'm not hanging up. Hang on." Relief made her dizzy. Or maybe that was lack of oxygen. She wasn't sure. All she knew was that he wasn't going to hang up. "Dude? Flash. I need you. Someone's broken into Kelli's apartment. She's hiding." "Address?" Flash recited it to his friend. "Where are you?" Dude asked. "On my way but I've still got fifteen miles or so." "Right. I can be there in ten minutes." "I may or may not beat you there. Kelli?" "Yeah?" she whispered, feeling so much stronger knowing someone-two someones-were on their way. "Is he still there?" She paused and strained to hear something, anything. Then, to her surprise, she didn't hear the intruder...but she smelled something. Bacon. The asshole was cooking? She had some of that microwaveable bacon in her fridge. She preferred the real stuff, but when she had a hankering for bacon, it was easy and less messy to cook a piece or two in the microwave. "Kelli?" Flash's agitated voice brought her back to the conversation. "Yes," she said. "All right. Stay where you are. Stay quiet. We'll be there soon. You're doing good. So good, sweetheart." She didn't feel as if she was doing good. Her nose still itched, her body felt as if it was cramping because of the position she was in, and breathing still wasn't easy, especially now that she'd gone and started crying. "Do we know who it is?" Dude asked. "No." That had Kelli thinking. Who was in her apartment? What did they want? She was on the fourth floor. In the middle of the hall. Not exactly a prime position for someone to choose to break in. Had they watched her? Did they know she was a woman living alone? She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean much. She was no Navy SEAL, she wasn't trained to look for anyone who might be casing her apartment. It could be the maintenance guy. He was kind of strange. Or the manager, he had a master key as well...but unlikely at this time of night. The question of who could be in her apartment, who'd trashed it, who was in her kitchen even now, microwaving bacon of all things, was a complete mystery. "I'm hanging up. I'll see you shortly," Dude said succinctly. "Kelli?" Flash asked after a moment. "You still there?" "Yes," she whispered. "One of my favorite memories of Jamaica was Fred the grasshopper. Remember?" She did. It had been her turn to come up with a fairy tale. She'd made up the silly story about Fred, and Flash had laughed so hard. "I think you should write it down. It would make a great children's book. Have you thought about doing that for a living? Telling stories?" She knew what he was doing. Trying to distract her. Amazingly, it was working. Flash continued to talk to her in an even, calm tone as he made his way toward her. She couldn't hear anything from her bedroom or beyond now. And the smell of bacon had diminished. There was no telling if the person who'd broken in was still there or if he'd left. Suddenly the image of Flash bursting through the front door, only to be met by a guy with a gun, had her shaking almost uncontrollably. "I don't know if he has a gun," she whispered. "I didn't see him." "It's okay, Kelli. I've got this. Don't worry." Don't worry. Yeah, right. Kelli was one big ball of worry at the moment. "I'm going to be there in three minutes. No matter what you hear, I want you to stay hidden. Don't come out until I give the all clear. I can't do what I've been trained to do if I'm worrying about you getting hurt. Okay? Will you stay put until you hear me call out Fred? I figure that's as good a code word as any." His words ramped up her stress level, but Kelli managed to say, "Yes." "Good girl. This will be over soon. I promise. You've been so brave. So smart to hide where he couldn't find you. I'm impressed. Okay, I'm pulling in. Dude just arrived too. I'm going to hang up, but I'm here. You'll see me soon." Kelli swallowed hard. "Be careful," she whispered. "I will. I have a hot date tonight that I'm not going to miss for anything. Soon, sweetheart." The line went dead. Shockingly, Kelli found that she was smiling at his date comment. How the hell had he done that? Made her smile in the middle of what was a truly terrifying situation? He was stressed, she could hear it in his voice. And yet he was still focused and calm. Much as he'd been in that bus in Jamaica. Flash was always in control-and that's why Kelli could smile. Because he was good at what he did. And that was the reason she'd called him instead of the police. If whoever had broken in was still there, Flash would take care of him. Subdue him. Hold him until the police could arrive and arrest him. She just had to stay quiet and hidden until he said the code word. Taking a deep breath, Kelli strained to hear anything from her hiding spot. The suspense was killing her, but she wouldn't move, not one inch, until Flash said it was all right. She trusted him with her life. Period. In a romance-themed observation show, several participants undergo a series of interactions and conflicts filled with love, misunderstandings, and power struggles. In the end, one couple rises to over...