She couldn’t look away from him. Cole’s hair was falling in his eyes and his beard seemed even bushier than it had just a day ago, but to her, he was absolutely gorgeous. And if he wanted her to have this pin, then she’d be an idiot to refuse it.
“Thank you,” she said, not taking her gaze from his.
Then he shocked the shit out of her by leaning forward and kissing her forehead.
Avery closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, the scent of Cole filling her nostrils, and her soul. He smelled so good. Even after traveling for as long as they had, she could still smell the soap he’d used the last time he’d showered on base. It smelled so much better on him than it did on her.
Then Cole peeled her fingers away from the pin and picked it up off her palm. “The clasp on this is a bit tricky. Be careful not to prick yourself when handling it.” A thought struck Avery as he undid a few buttons on her camo top and gently pinned the Budweiser to her T-shirt underneath, careful not to touch her inappropriately in the process. She couldn’t help but ask, “Is this yours?”
It was as if they were the only two people on the plane at that moment. He finished attaching the pin to her shirt, then pulled her uniform top closed and buttoned the front once again.
“It was. Now it’s yours,” he told her. “Phantom and I played rock, paper, scissors to see who got the privilege of giving you their pin. I won.”
“He cheated,” Phantom grumbled from nearby, but Avery barely heard him.
“I can’t take your pin,” she protested. “I know how much these things mean to you guys. They’re sacred.” Unconsciously, her hand came up and covered the spot on her uniform where the pin lay underneath.
Cole placed his hand over hers and said, “I’m here because of you. Phantom is here because of you. Nothing’s more sacred than that.”
Avery didn’t want to cry, but she knew if he said one more word, she was going to lose it. She squeezed her eyes closed and willed herself to get her emotions under control. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“No, thank you,” Cole returned softly.
“You’re all set,” the pilot announced loudly, breaking the intense moment.
Before she knew it, Avery was being hustled off the plane. She walked across the tarmac toward the building. As they walked, Cole said, “If it’s okay, I’ll stop by your apartment around eleven tomorrow to pick you up and bring you to the police station. That should give you some time to sleep in and chat with your parents. All right?”
“Do you know where I live?” she asked as she looked over at him.
He shrugged. “No, but I’ll figure it out before eleven o’clock tomorrow.”
She grinned and shook her head.
They arrived at the door to the hangar, and Avery knew that, in a second, she’d have no more time to talk to Cole. It felt weird knowing she wasn’t going to be with him later. They’d been together every minute of every day since he’d removed that last rock. He’d been the first person she’d seen after being buried alive, and for some reason, she felt extremely uneasy at the thought of separating from him.
She put one hand over the Budweiser pin on her chest and the other on his arm, digging her nails in. “Cole?”
“What’s wrong?” Cole asked, immediately looking around for whatever had spooked her.
“I just…I don’t know how to get in touch with you,” Avery said lamely.
His eyes gentled, and he pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. “Give me your number. I’ll send you a text so you have mine. No matter what time it is, if you need me, all you have to do is call or text me. Okay?”
It was silly, but knowing she’d have even that small connection with him made her feel one hundred percent better. She gave him her number and watched as he dialed it. Then he pocketed the phone again and reached for her.
Avery willingly went into his arms. She turned her face into his neck and felt the warmth of his skin against her lips. His hold on her felt good, intimate. They held each other for a moment, then he pulled back. “You ready?”
Taking a deep breath, Avery nodded. “Ready.”
“I’m always just a few clicks of your phone buttons away,” he reminded her.
“I know. And I’m going to see you in,” Avery looked at her watch, “fifteen hours or so.”
“Right. And it’s fourteen hours and fifty-one minutes,” he corrected her.
Avery relaxed a little. Relieved that she wasn’t the only one who seemed to be struggling with the strange circumstances they’d found themselves in. How in the world could she have connected so quickly and so deeply with Cole after such a short amount of time?
But it was a stupid question. She knew how. They’d already had intense chemistry between them before she’d been deployed. They’d been eyeballing each other for months. And him saving her, then her saving him, then fleeing together with danger literally on their heels had cemented that connection. Saying goodbye to him, even if only for the night, was extremely difficult.
“You guys comin’?” Ace asked, holding the door open.
“Yeah,” Cole said, but didn’t take his gaze from Avery’s. Then he reached up and, using his index finger, traced a light line from one cheek, across her nose, to her other cheek. “I can’t get enough of your freckles,” he said softly.
Needing to lighten things up, Avery said, “It’s a good thing, since my entire body is covered with them.”
His eyes lit up with interest. “Yeah? Everywhere?”
Knowing she was blushing again, Avery nodded. “Yeah.”
“Fuck, sweetheart. You’re killin’ me.”
She chuckled. “Now you know how I feel wondering about those tattoos on your arm…and if you’ve got any others hidden under your uniform.”
He smiled. “Guess we’ve both got things we want to discover, huh?”
“Guess so,” she agreed, then pulled back and headed through the door.
The second she entered the large hangar, she heard her mom cry out her name in happiness and relief.
The sound of her mom’s voice was a balm to Avery’s soul. She rushed toward her mother and, when her arms went around her, neither woman could hold back their tears.
Rex hated seeing Avery cry, but knew she needed the emotional outlet. Seeing her and her mother together made everything they’d been through in the last few days more than worth it. The two women looked a lot alike. Avery was taller than her mom by a few inches, but they both had the same red hair and green eyes. Her dad hovered nearby, one hand on his wife’s back, and the other on his daughter’s shoulder. He had blond hair and was several inches taller than Avery.
Both her parents looked to be in their late fifties, but he knew from talking to Rocco that they were actually in their mid-sixties. It was obvious they’d suffered over the fate of their daughter, and he loved being able to witness their joyful reunion.
However, he couldn’t help but remember the look of panic on Avery’s face when she’d realized that their time together was coming to an end. He hated it. Hated it. He wanted nothing more than to bring her back to her apartment and set up camp there, making sure she was safe, that she ate what she needed to, and so he could watch over her while she got some sleep. But it wasn’t his right. Not yet.