Rex stared at his friend. Phantom was incredibly insightful. He would’ve felt jealous if he didn’t know Phantom had absolutely no interest in Avery as a man would a woman. He respected her, and frankly, he owed her a hell of a lot. And his insight was spot-on.
“I’ll keep my eye on her,” Rex said.
Phantom nodded.
“We’ve got the next few days off…if you need us, just yell,” Rocco told Rex.
“I will. And thanks.”
They all stood, and Rex went to help Phantom up. The other man waved him off. “Gumby’s got me. Go on, go see Avery. I’m sure she has to be worried about today.”
Rex nodded his thanks and turned on a heel. He’d been anxious to see Avery again, wondering how in the world he was going to make it to eleven o’clock. It was crazy, especially since he’d managed to get through his days before he’d gone to Afghanistan just fine without seeing her. But things were different now. He knew it, but wasn’t sure what Avery thought. He’d called her his girlfriend, and she’d agreed, but maybe with a little time apart, she’d start second-guessing how fast they were moving.
Rex still wanted to date her. To get to know every little thing about her, and he wanted to do that while being by her side as much as possible.
If he thought he was slightly obsessed with her before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now.
Once outside, he jogged to his dark blue Chevy Malibu and headed for Avery’s apartment. He’d gotten her address that morning from his commander. When he pulled up, he was impressed. It was in a nice part of town and the landscaping was immaculate. Rex approved of the abundance of lights in the parking lots as well. Not that he’d thought she’d be living in a rundown, dangerous complex, but he was happy to see the place seemed to be relatively safe.
For some reason, Rex was nervous as he made his way to her apartment. It was on the third floor of the building, which he approved of. There were several apartments on each floor, and as he walked up the open-air stairway, he noticed that most had some sort of welcome mat and other homey touches that, again, reassured him that Avery was living in a community apartment complex, and not one where people came and went more often.
He had a nosey neighbor who had lived near him for years, and while some people might complain, he was glad. She always took in his packages if he wasn’t home, and had no problem reporting anyone lurking around who she didn’t know. He’d take a nosey neighbor over one that didn’t care any day. He wondered if anyone was right now peering out their peephole to get a good look at him.
Rex was wearing his NWU, naval working uniform, with the four-color—deck gray, haze gray, black, and navy blue—digital camouflage pattern, and figured the residents had seen their share of sailors come and go from the complex.
He knocked on the door and, after waiting only a short moment, it opened. Amy Nelson stood there smiling at him. “Hi! It’s good to see you again. Come in.”
Rex nodded and stepped into Avery’s space for the first time.
There was a short entry hallway, which led into a good-sized living room. A galley-style kitchen was located off to the left, and a glass sliding door overlooked a small balcony along the far wall, with a view of the ocean just visible in the distance. To the right of the living area was a hallway, which Rex assumed led to the bedrooms.
Avery had stood from the leather couch she’d been sitting on the second he stepped in—and with his first glance, Rex knew something was very wrong. He opened his mouth to ask, but her mom interrupted him.
“Would you like something to eat or drink? I made Avery’s favorite breakfast this morning, cinnamon apple pancakes, but she didn’t eat as much as I thought she might, so there’s leftover batter. I can easily whip some up for you.”
“Mom, he doesn’t want to eat. I’m sure he’s really busy,” Avery said with a slight shake of her head.
“Are you sure?” the other woman asked. “It’s no trouble.”
“I’m good, thank you for the offer though. Did everyone sleep all right?” Rex asked, hoping to discern why Avery had dark circles under her eyes and it looked like she’d been up all night.
“Like a log,” Bob said from his seat in an armchair next to the couch. He’d also stood when Rex arrived, but had settled himself back down with a newspaper in his lap. “I swear this was the first good night’s sleep Amy and I have had since getting the news that Avery was taken captive.”
Avery’s mom chimed in her agreement, but Rex tuned her out when she started talking about how she and Bob were going to play tourist while Avery did her thing today.
He stared at Avery and willed her to look at him, but her eyes roamed everywhere except to his face. His thought that something was wrong solidified when Avery lifted a hand to push her hair behind an ear and he saw it was shaking.
“I’m going to go and braid my hair. I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for his agreement, she spun and disappeared down the hallway.
Rex saw Amy frowning at her daughter’s back.
“Is she okay?” Rex asked softly.
Amy met his eyes, her demeanor instantly changed from breezy to serious as she said, “No. But she’s stubborn and refuses to tell us what’s wrong. I’d hoped when she called her sister last night that she’d talk to her, tell her what was going on in her head, but when she came out of her room after talking, she looked just as stressed as she did before the phone call. I miss the days when she was six, and all I had to do was cuddle her on my lap and she’d tell us everything.”
It was a scene Rex could easily picture. He gestured toward the hallway. “I’m just going to go and check on her…if that’s all right.”
“Of course it is,” Bob said. “She’s my baby girl, but I’m well aware that she’s a full-grown adult. She’s hurting, and we can’t do a damn thing to help her. But you were there with her. She had nothing but complimentary things to say about you last night. Please, we’d be in your debt if you could get her to talk to you.”
“I’m not promising anything, but rest assured that I have nothing but Avery’s best interests at heart. This probably isn’t the time or place, but I really like your daughter. She’s amazing. One of the most interesting and fascinating women I’ve ever met. Not to mention strong, brave, and completely capable of handling any kind of situation that might be thrown her way.”
“She said the two of you were dating,” Amy replied, leaning a hip against the counter and watching him carefully.
“She did?” Rex asked.
“Yes. But also that it was new.”
“It is. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t already respect her, or the people who raised her,” Rex said honestly.
“Appreciate that,” Bob said. “Now, if you know my daughter at all, you know that it doesn’t take her long to get ready. So if you’re going to talk to her before you head out today, you better get to it.”
Rex chuckled. “Yes, Sir.” Then, putting Avery’s parents out of his mind, he walked down the hall toward her bedroom. He knew immediately which was hers, simply because of the delicious scent coming from one of the rooms. He pushed open the door and saw an unmade bed that looked like a wrestling match had taken place there recently. The comforter was hanging off the end of the bed, a blanket was askew, and the sheet was pushed off to the side, half lying on the carpet.