“You’re a chef?” Pid asked with a frown.
“I am,” Elodie agreed. “But where in the chef handbook does it say you have to like everything you cook?”
“She’s got you there,” Mustang said with a smile. She’d stepped away from him as they’d talked to his teammates, but he kept his hand on the small of her back. A part of him felt as if she’d disappear once more if he didn’t keep her within reach. It was ridiculous, but he was so relieved to see her again, to have her there, that he wasn’t going to fight his instincts.
She was still dealing with something, and until he knew what it was, and what demons he needed to slay, he’d stick as close to her as he could. There was always the possibility she’d up and leave again if she got too scared, so he wanted to do what he could to mitigate that possibility.
Despite no contact whatsoever, the two months since he’d seen her had somehow made him feel even closer to Elodie. It made no sense whatsoever. But he’d played back their entire encounter on the Asaka Express over and over in his mind. And he’d become even more impressed with what she’d done. How she’d acted. It was crazy, but he’d always been a man to act on his instincts, and right now they were telling him Rachel Walters—or Elodie Winters—was a woman who would be worth getting to know.
“Are we gonna stand out here baking in the sun all day or what?” Slate grumbled.
Mustang couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. Leave it to Slate to get them all moving. Whoever he ended up with would have to have the patience of a saint.
As natural as breathing, Mustang took Elodie’s hand in his and started walking toward Aleck’s car. He said goodbye to the rest of his teammates and opened the back door to Aleck’s yellow Jeep. They’d given him shit about it, but Aleck always said that he liked the color, that it kept others from hitting him because there was no way they could miss him driving alongside or in front of them. He probably had a point, but they still liked to rag on him about the bright color.
Once he had Elodie settled, Mustang walked around to the other side of the Jeep and climbed into the back seat next to her.
After Aleck put their bags in the back storage area, he got behind the wheel and grumped, “Great, now I look like a chauffeur or something.”
“Home, James,” Elodie quipped, then blushed as if she’d forgotten where she was and who she was with.
Mustang loved that she felt comfortable enough around him and his friends to tease. Her personality seemed different here. Bigger. More relaxed. He’d always thought Hawaii was good for the soul, and that was obviously the case for Elodie. She was still stressed and still had some pretty deep secrets, but he liked this side of her. The sun and sand fit her much better than the dark and dank lower decks of the cargo ship she’d been hiding out on.
Mustang couldn’t keep his gaze from flicking repeatedly to Elodie as Aleck drove toward his apartment. He was grateful his friend kept the conversation flowing, as he couldn’t do much beyond staring at the woman next to him.
By the time they pulled up to his place, Mustang had no idea what they’d talked about, but since Elodie seemed relaxed and happy, he didn’t really care.
“Mustang? Can I have a minute?” Aleck asked.
He really didn’t want to leave Elodie alone for even a second, but he nodded anyway.
“I’ll just wait over there,” Elodie told him, indicating a patch of shade under a tree near the entrance to the apartment complex.
“Okay. Elodie?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t worry.”
She snorted. “Scott, I’ve been one big ball of worry for months now. I’m not scared of what you and your friend are going to talk about. I’m more worried about you—any of you—getting involved in my issues and having it come back to bite you in the ass.”
Her words just made him like her all the more. A lot of people would jump at the chance to let a team of Navy SEALs take on their problems, but not Elodie. He had a feeling she’d do what she could to downplay whatever was going on just to try to keep them safe.
Fuck that.
She didn’t give him a chance to respond, but turned to Aleck, thanked him for the ride, then strode over to the tree to wait for him.
The second she was out of earshot, Aleck turned to him and the easygoing smile he’d had on his face disappeared. “You gonna find out what the fuck is going on?” he asked.
“Yes.” Mustang’s answer was immediate and determined.
“Good. Because I like her.”
When Mustang scowled, Aleck chuckled.
“Not like that. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that you guys are into each other. I just like her gumption. I don’t know why she didn’t contact you, but I’m willing to bet she’s got a good reason. Find out what you can, and Pid can use his skills to find out what we’re really dealing with. If he needs to, he’ll contact Tex.”
Mustang held up his hands. “Easy there. I’m thinking we don’t want to invade Elodie’s privacy the day after we meet up with her again.”
“We won’t be. Pid will,” Aleck said, completely serious.
“Just give me some time to talk to her,” Mustang said sternly.
Aleck sighed. “Fine. But you know Slate is gonna want information like, yesterday.”
“I know. But I have a feeling I need to tread carefully. She’s afraid.”
“She is,” Aleck agreed. “She does a good job trying to hide it though. Okay, fine. Find out where she’s been the last two months, why she didn’t call you, where she’s been living, and if she’s been in contact with the other employees from the ship or anyone else. We’ll need to know how well she’s hidden her tracks. If she is on the run, we’ll also need to know when we might expect company.”
Mustang freaking loved that his teammates had no problem wading into whatever was going on with Elodie. It was obvious that he’d been preoccupied the last couple months worrying about her, and now that she was here, they were one hundred percent devoted to solving whatever problem she had.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” he told Aleck.
“Good.”
“But you need to give me today and tomorrow. I’ll talk to everyone at PT on Monday.”
“Well, shit,” Aleck pouted. “We have to wait that long?”
“You do know that you sound like Slate, right?” Mustang said with a grin.
“Damn, I do. Okay, she’s been all right this long, another day and a half probably won’t make a difference,” Aleck said on a sigh.
“Let the others know, would ya?” Mustang asked.
“I will. Mustang?”
“Yeah?”
“I think she’s good for you.”
Mustang blinked in surprise. “You’ve known her for what, twenty minutes?”
“Maybe, but we all know what she did back on that cargo ship. How she didn’t hesitate to save your and Midas’s lives. Not everyone would’ve done that. And she’s funny. And it was obvious she was just as glad to see you as you were her. That kind of connection doesn’t come along every day. My suggestion is that you just go with it. See where it leads you.”