Elodie sat down on a rock and watched as her boyfriend and his team reverted to being teenagers once again, having the time of their lives as they climbed up to the top tier of the waterfall and jumped into the cold water over and over again.
At one point, Pid came up and sat next to her. He pulled his pack over and produced two bottles of water, handing one to her. They drank in silence for a while until Pid said, “You did the right thing.”
Confused, Elodie looked over at him. “Pardon?”
“You did the right thing,” he repeated. “I’m sure Mustang has told you, but I’m the electronics expert on the team, and I’ve been looking into the Columbus family. You were smart to get out when you did.”
Elodie wasn’t sure she wanted to think about her past right now, not when she was so relaxed and having fun, but she was also curious as to what Pid might have learned. “Thanks,” she said.
“There’s been a lot of internal unrest in the Columbus family over the last few decades. Lots of people wanting power and killing their own family members to get it. Drug trafficking, extortion, and loansharking are their main methods of making money. Not to mention murder. That seems to be their go-to way of dealing with people they don’t like, or who don’t do what they want. If you’d have used that poison to take out whoever Paul Columbus was mad at that night, you’d have ended up right where they wanted you. They would’ve blackmailed you to continue doing what you were doing, and if you refused, I’m sure you would’ve ended up just like all the other people who they couldn’t control.”
Elodie shivered and brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I might’ve done the right thing, but why does the right thing have to be so hard…and scary?”
Pid leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder affectionately. “The only easy day was yesterday.”
She looked at him in confusion. “What?”
“It’s a SEAL motto. It means that every day you’ll need to work harder than the last. But when you work hard every day, and see what you’ve accomplished and what you’re now capable of, yesterday seems easy.”
“I’m not sure that’s all that comforting,” she told him with a small snort.
Pid wrinkled his nose. “Okay, yeah, when I think about it from your point of view and situation, maybe it wasn’t the best motivational quote to use.”
It wasn’t, but Elodie felt better anyway. This man was trying to help her. He didn’t know her, didn’t have any loyalty to her, and yet, he was helping anyway. She put her hand on his arm. “Thanks, Pid.”
“For what?”
“For trying to help me.”
“Here’s the thing,” Pid said. “You’re with Mustang, and he’s one of the best men I’ve ever met in my life. He’s saved my life too many times to count. I’d do anything for him. Being with you makes him happier than I’ve ever seen him, and I want that to continue. We were already impressed with your actions back on that cargo ship, so helping you isn’t a hardship. Threaten one of us, you threaten all of us. That’s the way it’s always been and how it will always be.”
Elodie loved that Scott had the kind of bond and friendship as he did with these men. She didn’t care if they were helping her only because she was with Scott.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable with all that mud on you?” Aleck asked from behind them.
Elodie startled so badly, she would’ve fallen off the rock she was sitting on if Pid hadn’t grabbed her arm. She looked behind her and saw water dripping off Aleck’s hair. He’d taken off his shirt, and she couldn’t help but admire his physique. She wasn’t attracted to him sexually, but she could appreciate a well-built man when she saw one.
“I’m okay.”
“You don’t have to jump, but I’m gonna feel guilty if you walk all the way back to the cars all muddy like that. The water’s chilly but it’s refreshing. Please?”
Elodie sighed. How could she refuse? And Aleck was right, she was sticky and the mud was starting to itch on her legs. “Okay, but if an anaconda drags me under, I expect all of you to come and save me.”
“Deal!” Aleck exclaimed happily. “Come on.”
She once again took his hand and let him lead her to the edge of the swimming hole. He immediately plunged into the water, while Elodie bent down to take off her shoes.
“Leave ’em on,” Jag told her.
Elodie looked up. Jag hadn’t said much thus far, and not just to her, but anyone. She didn’t think he was being rude, so much as it was just his personality. He was the silent but deadly type. At least that was the impression she got. He was also the shortest of the men on the team, but still taller than her by a few inches.
“There are some sharp rocks at the bottom, and it’ll be easier to walk with them on. Not to mention it’ll clean them off,” Jag said.
Elodie nodded and decided to wade in with her shorts and shirt on. Yeah, she wore her suit underneath, but she’d wash off the mud first, then take off her clothes. She was very thankful at that moment that Scott had insisted on throwing in an extra set of clothes for them both in his pack. She’d thought he was being overly prepared at the time, but he’d obviously known what he was doing.
She waded in cautiously—then shrieked with laughter when Scott came up behind her and hauled her up into his arms. He strode into the water, holding her above it.
“Don’t drop me!” she yelled, latching her arms around his neck.
He smirked at her.
“I mean it,” she threatened, but she didn’t think she sounded very adamant.
He walked out into the water until she could feel it lapping against her ass. She tried to arch her back to get away from the cold, with no luck.
“Hang on,” Scott told her.
She wasn’t about to let go of him, and Elodie closed her eyes in anticipation of him dropping her—but instead, he kept hold of her and plunged them both down into the water.
It was freezing. The guys kept saying it was “chilly” but they’d totally lied.
After dunking them both, Scott immediately stood back up, and Elodie gasped in air. “Holy crap, it’s like ice!” she told him.
He laughed. “It’s not so bad.”
“Right, I forgot, you’re a big bad Navy SEAL and impervious to cold.”
He backed up closer to the shore, then lowered himself again, sitting on a big rock in the water. When he settled, the water came up to around the middle of his chest. “You’ll get used to it in a second.” Then he propped her ass on his knees under the water…and used a hand to inch his way up her body. He caressed her thigh, then her stomach, then her chest.
Elodie’s eyes widened as his touch turned intimate.
“Scott?”
“Just cleaning the mud off,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
Elodie looked around nervously.
“No one’s watching,” he said. “And I’d never do anything inappropriate in front of my friends, or anyone else, that would embarrass you.”
She had to admit that, thanks to his touch and being immersed in the water, she was warming up. Elodie relaxed, trusting Scott to hold her up in the water. “Thanks for suggesting this today. I’m having a good time, and it’s nice to get to know your friends.”