She and Scott said their vows on the top deck as a beautiful sunset bloomed behind them. Everyone was there—well, everyone except Baker. He’d declined but said he was happy for both her and Scott.
Kai and his mother, Perry and Kahoni and their families, Scott’s team, of course, and Scott had even found Manuel and flown him out as well. She hadn’t seen him since she’d left the Asaka Express. She wore a replica of the first dress she had on when she’d gone out to dinner with Scott, after they’d accidentally run into each other again.
Scott had gone crazy and bought as many duplicates of the dress as he could find. Not only that, but he’d bought them in different sizes, saying he wanted her to be able to wear the dress no matter if she gained or lost weight in the future. It was a beautiful gesture, and she loved him all the more for it.
The dark purple dress with white and hot pink petals was as far from a wedding gown as she could get, but she wouldn’t have wanted to wear anything else. Scott had on a pair of black board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt that matched her dress almost perfectly. They both had leis around their necks, as did all the guests. The mood onboard was jovial and relaxed, and Elodie loved that she was sharing her special day with her new friends.
“Happy?” Scott asked as he hugged her body from behind. Elodie never felt safer than when she was in his arms. Being in the ocean would never be her thing, not anymore, but since she was now married to a man who practically had gills, she’d need to get comfortable being around and on the water.
“Very,” she told him.
They stood there, listening to the party going on behind them and enjoying the view as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
Then Elodie gasped as she saw two dolphins frolicking in the bow waves. “Look!” she told Scott.
“I see them. Did you know dolphins swimming by a boat are a sign of good luck?” he asked.
“When I was out there, a shark started swimming around. I was so scared, but then a pod of dolphins surrounded me, keeping me safe. And toward the end, right before you found me? There were two that stayed right by my side. I could even touch them, they came so close. Do you think they’re the same ones?” Elodie knew the chance of that was slim to none, but she could dream.
“I don’t know, but dolphins are smart. Many people think they’re even smarter than humans. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d known exactly what they were doing when they helped you. And that they know you’re here now.”
Elodie sighed in contentment and watched the pair of dolphins playing in the water. Then she turned and looked up at her husband. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” he replied. He leaned down and kissed her long, slow, and deep. It had taken a while for Elodie’s libido to return after her ordeal, but lately she’d been even hornier than she’d been before everything had happened.
“The only bad thing about a reception on a boat is that we can’t sneak out early,” she said between kisses.
Scott smiled against her lips. “Who thought of this idea anyway?” he complained.
“Um…you did.”
And he had. Scott had practically planned their entire wedding himself. She’d been in charge of the menu, but otherwise, he’d done everything else.
“I’ll make up for it when we get to the hotel.”
He’d even rented the honeymoon suite at the Halekulani Resort, complete with a home theater and plunge pool in the bathroom of their suite. It was over the top and totally unnecessary, but Elodie couldn’t wait to experience it.
“I’m gonna hold you to that,” she said with a smile.
“Hey, you guys gonna come and shove cake in each other’s faces so we can eat it yet or what?” Aleck called out from nearby.
Elodie smiled.
“We’re comin’, jeez, keep your pants on,” Scott grumbled.
“That was gonna be my line,” Aleck joked before disappearing.
“Such a fucking smart aleck,” Scott griped, but he smiled as he said it.
She laughed. “I like your team. All of them. I’m glad you guys have each other’s backs.”
“We do,” Scott agreed. “Come on, let’s get this cake thing done, then the first dance, then I’ll bribe the captain to take us back early.”
Elodie knew she should argue, tell her husband that she wanted their guests to be able to stay and party late into the night, but she wanted to be alone with Scott. She couldn’t wait to start the rest of their life together.
“Shit,” Mustang swore again as they waited for their commander to arrive to the emergency meeting he’d called.
“Sorry, man,” Midas told him. “Sucks that you’re still officially on your honeymoon and we get called up for a mission.”
Mustang shrugged. “Par for the course, I suppose. And Elodie and I weren’t doing anything other than hanging out at my place anyway. It’s not like we had a trip planned or anything.”
“Riiiight. Hanging out at your place,” Aleck joked.
“Shut up,” Mustang told him, throwing a pencil at him from across the table.
They were all waiting for their commander to arrive to tell them more about the mission they’d be leaving on the next day. Sometimes they had weeks to plan, other times, in the case of emergencies, they were sent out almost immediately.
Midas leaned back and listened to the team give Mustang crap. The truth of the matter was, they were all thrilled for their team leader. Elodie was amazing. Down-to-earth and funny. She didn’t seem to resent the time her new husband spent with them, and she was a hell of a chef to boot.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” the commander said the second he entered the room. He was passing out folders before he’d sat down. “This mission is very time sensitive. As you all know, there was an American and a Danish aid worker kidnapped from Somalia about three months ago. The kidnappers have been demanding ten million dollars to release them. The Danish man’s brother has raised half that, but says there’s no way he can get any more. The State Department has been trying to negotiate with the kidnappers, without luck. We’ve had several proof-of-life videos, but intel’s come in that the Danish man is very sick, and time is running out for them both.”
“We’re going in?” Pid asked, the excitement easy to hear in his voice.
“Yes. You’ll go in under the cover of darkness to retrieve the hostages and kill the kidnappers. The information we have on the hostages is in the folders I just handed out.”
Midas flipped open his folder and saw a still shot from one of the proof-of-life videos that had been sent. The woman had brown hair that looked as if it hadn’t been brushed or washed in ages. Her face was sunburnt and her hazel eyes were filled with fear. The man had blond hair and blue eyes, and he looked pissed and defiant, even in the photograph.
He’d heard their names were Dagmar and Elizabeth, but that was about all Midas knew. He perused the file—and froze when he read the information listed for the woman.
Elizabeth Lexie Greene. Age thirty-three. Graduated from Grant High School in Portland, Oregon.
Fuck. He knew her.
Lexie had been in his graduating class. She’d moved to Portland their senior year. They were in different circles—Midas had been on the swim team and was very popular, and being a newcomer, Lexie had mostly hung out on the fringes of their class. Midas had been in the top ten academically, and the information in front of him said that Lexie had been in the bottom twenty percent.