Angelo: A Second Chance Navy SEAL Romance Page 14

  Frank picked up a pen and clicked to open and closed three times. That was a nervous habit she hated. But it was the least of her concerns at the moment. “No. Just you.”

  “Shit.” She didn’t swear at work, ever. It wasn’t professional. With her being the only one reporting the issue, the situation evolved from a nuisance to a far more disturbing one.

  He leaned back and assessed her with a sharp gaze. “Are you all right, Catherine?”

  “How can I be?” Her voice came out at a higher pitch, and she struggled to keep it level. She couldn’t come across as being hysterical. After taking a deep breath, she exhaled and continued in a slower, rational tone, as if presenting the results of a study at a conference. Facts were rational. They would stop her from floundering.

  “This man seems to have escalated his approach with me in particular. I thought Security was going to get involved, but I haven’t seen any indication of that.” So much that she didn’t want to go home alone.

  And if she wasn’t so defensive Saturday, Angelo would’ve been there with her tonight. Who better to protect her than a Navy fucking SEAL?

  Frank nodded. “Let me make some more calls.”

  That wasn’t enough. Not anymore. “And I’m also going to be proactive. I’ll talk to the police in my town.” Since Trent had sent a letter to her house, she wanted the police in her jurisdiction to know what was going on.

  “I’ll make a note of it.” Frank clicked his pen three more times.

  When she returned to her office, she saw the package. Her pulse quickened.

  Why? It was only small box no larger than a jewelry box left outside the door. It could be office supplies or something innocuous.

  Then, why did her skin crawl as if suddenly infected with scabies?

  With shaky hands, she entered her office. It took a solid two minutes of debate before she braved opening the package.

  And then regretted it.

  Inside was a mouse’s head and a note with the familiar tiny handwriting.

  Here’s another brain you can destroy.

  Half an hour later, two university officers sat on the visitor chairs in her office, taking notes. It seemed they asked her the same question in various ways.

  When did this start?

  How often?

  Do you feel threatened?

  Do you have any idea who it might be?

  Do you have any ex-boyfriends who might have an issue with you?

  Anyone else you think might have a problem with you?

  They said they’d coordinate with the police in her area. After they left her office, she sagged in her desk chair. She had two more things she wanted to cross off her to do list but had zero motivation to do so.

  Damn this guy for interfering in her life like this. Interfering with her work. He needed mental help and the sooner the better, so they could each move on with their lives.

  Two more cups of coffee helped her push through to the end of the day. On the upside, the conversations kept her from thinking about Angelo.

  As she drove home, she tried to convince herself she did the right thing. Not just for her, but for him.

  After all, he had zero interest in having a relationship with her. With anyone. He’d made that clear. Her rule for hooking up with him meant not getting attached. It was supposed to be sex, pure and simple, to ditch ten years of regret. To forget about what ifs. To not pine for someone she couldn’t have.

  She stopped at a red light. A family of four walked by in the crosswalk—two parents and two boys. With beach towels poking out of the bag on the dad’s shoulder, they were probably returning from a day at the beach. A family on vacation.

  That’s what Angelo was on—a well-deserved vacation. If anybody needed a break, it was a SEAL.

  But he chose to spend time with you. Doesn’t that count for something?

  Those questions wouldn’t help. She had to let him move on with his life and she with hers. That way nobody would get hurt. Because if the past was any indication, that person would be her.

  That evening, two local police officers met her outside her place.

  “We’re going to take a look inside, okay?”

  “Yes, please.” She unlocked the door and stepped aside so they could walk in.

  Her kittens ran up to them. Strange new people were irresistible. They sniffed at them and rubbed against their legs, but the police had things to do and moved through the apartment swiftly. How different from when Angelo knelt and gave them all the cheek rubs they could handle. She pictured it and a smile spread on her face. She swallowed the regret in her throat.

  When the officers finished their search, they said, “No sign of any attempted break-ins. We’ll notify the night detail, so they check in on you.”

  “Thank you.” She exhaled. At least the intrusion hadn’t gotten any further than her mailbox.

  A twinge of discomfort in her stomach made her question what she was doing. Perhaps she was being overcautious, but if the police offered their services, she sure wasn’t going to turn it down.

  Angelo

  Angelo greeted his mother and brothers in the dining room. The scent of his mother’s homemade tomato sauce filled the room. “Smells delicious.”

  “One of your favorites—your father’s chicken parmesan.” His mother motioned with a wave. “Grab a plate and join us.”

  Once he retrieved one, he sat with them. “Where’s dad?”

  “He’ll be right back. You can start with salad.” His mother put a bottle of wine on the table.

  “You’re having dinner with us again, Doc?” Matty’s eyebrows shot up. “Something’s up.”

  “Yeah, what happened to your days with family, nights with Cate plan?” Vince added.

  Family. Although he loved them, he didn’t love how they stuck their noses in his business—especially now. “Plans change,” Angelo replied. “That’s why you need to be flexible.”

  Matty exchanged a look with Vince. “Nah, I bet there’s something more to it than that. Did she smarten up and toss you out on your sorry ass?”

  Angelo stiffened. That was pretty much it. He’d questioned he was losing the mental sharpness and his overreaction to the situation with Catherine had confirmed it. If he couldn’t even function like a normal person in the civilian world, how could he keep his mental focus as part of his team?

  “Shit,” Vince said. “What did you do? Or say?”

  “Language!” His mother raised the wooden fork she was using to mix more oil and vinegar to a salad. She then handed the bowl to Angelo.

  “Sorry, Ma,” Vince said with a sheepish smile.

  “I didn’t do anything.” Angelo clenched the fork as he scooped some salad onto his plate. “We had our fun, and that’s it.”

  Matty studied him. “You may be able to sell that story to most people. But we know you better that than.”

  Angelo groaned. His spine was straight, body stiff, and he forced himself to shake out some tension. “What’s the point of getting involved with someone? I’m going to be leaving in two days.”

  Matty coughed and muttered, “Bullshit.”

  Damn family. They could read him too well. His father walked in from the front door and greeted them with a box of cannoli. Angelo might as well wait before he announced the news. Saying it once was enough. After his father washed up and joined them at the table, Angelo took a deep breath.

  Angelo loaded his plate with the chicken and pasta, as if he could smother his feelings with the comfort food. He took a bite. The delicious flavors were marred by the bitter words on his tongue.

  He swallowed. “It’s over. And it’s for the best.”

  “What did you do?” Vince persisted.

  “Why do you assume it was me?” Angelo raised his eyes to Vince.

  “Because I’ve been on the receiving end of your big brother pushiness for many years.”

  Shit. Was that it? Yes, he’d pushed her too hard about the situation, and then had invad
ed her privacy. Bad, intrusive fuckin’ move.

  He didn’t blame her for ending it. He fucked up. Her declaration was like a blockade that separated them. Trying to make it move might be as difficult as trying to move an armored vehicle.

  “You’re saying I’m pushy?” Angelo addressed Vince.

  “You can be—overbearing,” Vince replied. “When you think you know what’s best for people.”

  “Well, maybe that’s because I do—” he stopped himself. Talk about being stubborn and overbearing. “I only wanted to help her.”

  Hell, he spent his life helping people. The eldest brother and a corpsman, that’s what he did. But maybe she didn’t want someone to take care of her that way. She was smart and independent and didn’t need the temporary attention of a SEAL to interfere in her life.

  “What happened?” His mother asked in a sympathetic tone.

  Angelo gritted his teeth. His usual mode would be to shut down the conversation and shove his emotions inside into a little compartment where it wouldn’t affect him. But those little compartments weren’t as securely fastened lately. It was if somebody had shaken his internal file cabinet, knocking it off center, leaving drawers half open and files scattered about.

  Perhaps he needed to clear things out of his head and start with a clean slate.

  Angelo dropped his fork. “I pushed her too far, and she pushed back. And out of her life.”

  His family stopped eating and stared at Angelo with interest. Damn. Nothing would get a DeMarchis to stop eating unless it was something big.

  “I don’t understand how anyone in the military can make a relationship work. You’re separated from each other for long periods of time.” Angelo faced his parents. “How have you made it work for so many years?” He didn’t dare bring up the rough patch when they had separated when he was twelve. It wasn’t like that was something any of them would forget.

  His parents exchanged a meaningful glance.

  “For me, there was no doubt your mother was the one,” his father said. “It took months of pursuing before she agreed to marry me.” He laughed. “How many times did I have to propose before you said yes, Marissa?”

  “Three. And a half.” She gave him a warm smile and turned back to Angelo. “I wasn’t ready to take on such a role. I loved your father but knew it wouldn’t be easy to be in a marriage where he’d be out at sea for months at a time. I always thought family life would be like the one I grew up in. My father was home for dinner at six every night.”

  “What made you change your mind?”

  His mother’s smile turned wistful. “Your father was worth it. Even if our marriage wouldn’t be what I’d grown up picturing. It was better for us to be together for short periods of time than to be apart permanently. When you find the right one for you, all those ideas of what you think you want in your life vanish. Your heart recognizes what you need.”

  His mother’s words swam in his head. Did he have a clue about anything he wanted anymore? He’d always thought that being a SEAL was everything he could ever want, and it had been for many years. Doubts had crept in. Maybe it was repeated missions taking a toll, and he needed a break. But something had changed in him. It could be part of growing older. Thirty wasn’t far around the bend, and he didn’t have that youthful gung-ho attitude that still floated around Matty like an exuberant glow.

  Angelo had sworn off relationships because of his career. But being around Cate again had made him question that attitude. He’d had many flings over the past decade, but in truth, there never was anyone like her. The way he could talk to her about anything and delve deep into a topic, drew him to her as much now as it had when they were in high school. He’d even confided some of his innermost secrets to her, opened the doors to some of his tightly locked compartments deep inside his mind. Talking to her had made him feel better about those things that bothered him.

  Would it be so wrong to have a relationship with her? Even if they had limited time, they’d still have time together.

  He suppressed a groan. Fat chance of that happening since she’d booted him out directly as if giving him shipping orders to a new duty station.

  “Angelo?” his mother said.

  He pulled his gaze up to meet hers. “Yes.”

  Her look was understanding. “If you don’t like how things are, why don’t you do something about it?”

  “It’s too late. I fu—I mean, I messed up.” He fixed his gaze on the chicken parm, but remorse stifled his appetite.

  His father’s eyes twinkled. “If I’d listened to your mother the first time she turned me down, you wouldn’t be here today.”

  Angelo took a sip of wine. “What did you mean about a half proposal?”

  “The fourth time I started to propose, I bent down on one knee and pulled out the ring.” His father gestured with a grin in his eyes. “I started to speak, but your mother cut me off.”

  “I already knew what he was going to say as I’d heard it three times already,” his mother added with a wave. “So, I said, ‘Yes, you crazy fool. Now shut up and kiss me.’”

  His father laughed. “So I did.”

  Angelo watched them. They gave each other a warm look. After all those years, all the bickering, all the hard times, and all the struggles, they still loved each other. Despite all the obstacles, they made it work.

  He couldn’t give up on Catherine yet.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Catherine

  Catherine woke on Tuesday morning engulfed with uncertainty and regret. She went down into her kitchen to make coffee. Usually, she’d trip over the kittens on the way in, as they were anxious to have their breakfast. Where were they?

  If she ever attempted to sleep in an extra hour on the weekends, they’d make their displeasure known and would pounce on her. Aurora would sit on Catherine’s prone body to communicate her demand—Breakfast. Now, human.

  Yet, no four-legged creatures scampered about this morning, rubbing their furry little bodies against her leg and meowing for attention. It was already 7:45am.

  “Aurora. Ruby,” she called.

  No signs of them. Maybe they’d somehow locked themselves in a room. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d closed a door. She looked inside the bathroom and closets. No meowing.

  She searched their usual resting spots in her house. The pink and gray cat beds in front of the sunniest window. The sofa. The cat tree in the office so they could watch her as she worked—yet, just as often, they’d jump on her computer chair, keyboard, or all over Catherine to play.

  A tightness seized hold within her chest cavity. Where were they?

  She took a deep breath to relax the tension before she checked with Maria next door. “The kittens are missing. Did they happen to come visit you?”

  They weren’t outdoor cats but had escaped more than once. Usually, they’d find a way to outnumber her by running for it together when she opened the door—often while her hands were full of shopping bags.

  “I haven’t seen them. Want me to help you look?”

  Maria’s company might help keep Catherine’s imagination from descending to a dark place. “That would be great. Thanks.”

  Maria closed her door and walked with Catherine into the parking area out front.

  “Aurora. Ruby.”

  They searched anywhere a cat might hide, behind bushes and under cars.

  Nothing.

  “Let’s check the courtyard,” Maria said.

  They cut through Catherine’s townhouse, where she grabbed a plastic container of treats. Shaking that container would never fail to make them run for a serving.

  Catherine and Maria exited through the glass doors leading to the shared courtyard. That area was open space with bushes at the perimeter near the residences. They peered under bushes and behind lawn furniture. A few neighbors saw them searching and asked what was going on. After Catherine told them, she asked them to keep a lookout for the kittens.

  “Now where?” Cat
herine asked. With every minute that passed, not getting any closer to finding Aurora or Ruby, her anxiety spiked.

  “They might have made it out onto the main road,” Maria suggested.

  Catherine’s heart sank. They’d never been that far from home, as far as she’d known. “I hope not. They don’t have any street sense.”

  They spent the next half an hour or so combing the neighborhood and notifying any passersby of the missing cats. As the search yielded no results, an unsettling tingle started at the back of Catherine’s neck and intensified. What if they were out there somewhere lost and frightened?

  “I’ll go back and make flyers.” Catherine would tape them to every telephone pole in the area. She’d post photos of the cats in every local group.

  She couldn’t make Maria stay out all day searching for her cats. “Thanks for helping me look. I guess they found something more exciting to do today.” Catherine forced a smile. “They’ll probably be back later for food.”

  Maria nodded. “I’ll tell the neighbors to keep a look out. I’m happy to help look some more or hang up signs? I know what it’s like. When my fur babies went missing, I was frantic.”

  Exactly. Catherine’s ribs squeezed and every nerve seemed frayed. She forced herself not to panic. Sure, she was friendly with Maria, but that didn’t mean Catherine would allow herself to fall apart in front of her.

  She entered her house and took an involuntary sharp breath. Something wasn’t right. The pillows on the sofa were not where she arranged them. She had a particular way of putting things, everything was lined up just so. She liked order. Everything had its proper place. She would never have left the pillows off center like that. And if the cats had moved them, they would’ve knocked them over, right? The contents on her desk were also askew. Pens not lined up in parallel made her skin itch.

  Had someone been in there? Catherine exhaled and let out a shaky laugh.

  Angelo. He had a key, remember?

  No. He’d placed it on the counter before he’d left.

  Maybe he’d found another way in. He was a SEAL, after all.