Chapter 3: Chapter Three

Tanner stood and watched her go, more intrigued than ever. He had easily read the indecision marked loudly with her changing facial expressions. Yet, in a heartbeat, she had shut him down. She’d appraised him just as he had with her earlier, and he felt confident she liked what she saw. Must be the timing. That would explain her reaction. She didn’t trust him, having just met him, and didn’t want to roll the dice. Mentally, he shrugged. She would come around. They always did. Even the shy, naïve ones.

He glanced down at the scrap paper, pondering his impulsive response when she mentioned the upcoming race and who would benefit from the entry fees. Helping kids get a new pair of shoes that they might not receive otherwise had caught his attention. He’d never considered that people raced for reasons other than to win prizes. The idea that some just did it to raise money for charity made him consider the world a marginally better place.

Upon heading indoors, he locked up for the evening, purposely leaving the curtains open in case Oakley reappeared. She provided scenery. He’d give her that.

After sitting down at the kitchen table, he pulled the laptop in front of him. He fired it up, and soon located the event’s website, entering the five-k with a few quick mouse clicks. The deed felt right, and the run would do him good.

He stayed in shape out of habit and necessity. Ever since high school, he had striven to stay in tiptop form. Sure, he might have slowed a hair over the years and suffered a few injuries that would certainly haunt him with arthritis later, but he’d managed to survive the intense rigors of his job. Much like the Marines, slackers didn’t make it in his line of work. Only, with his current status, ‘didn’t make it’ meant a funeral and being buried six feet under. Not that dying frightened him. He no longer feared death since that harrowing day when he’d watched buddies and teammates fall before an onslaught of bullets and explosive power. Tanner lived on borrowed time and one day, just like his fallen comrades, he would meet a violent end in the line of duty. Maybe then he could find peace.

Forcing aside those somber thoughts, he quickly checked through his email and financial accounts, catching up and checking to make sure everything appeared legitimate, free of hacking and fraud. He snorted while deleting the typical male enhancement spam. Not like he needed help in that department.

One email he immediately opened and typed a quick reply. His mother. He smiled at the thought of her struggling with new technology, learning computers just so she could communicate more often with him, her only son. She’d even taken a class to help her understand the workings of software programs. That was years ago, when he’d first joined the Marines right out of high school. Now, she worked on computers daily, a requirement for any accountant. Each chance she got, she would send him a note, reminding him of her love and how much she missed him. He yearned for those emails. They helped him through the roughest times when he couldn’t be home to personally soak up her attention.

Everything else looked up to speed, so he powered down the computer, softly closing the lid. No hot date. No pressing job to drag him away. No food in the house. Tension filled his body despite the lack of sleep. The outlet drew precedence over food. That meant a sexy young woman naked in bed. He knew just the place. Township Bar. After checking his wallet, he grabbed the car keys and headed out the front door to the waiting solid black SUV.

* * * *

Mid-morning the next day, he jumped out of the car, grabbed up both sacks of groceries and headed toward the front door. After a long night with one hot tamale of a woman wrapped all around him in all sorts of flexible positions, he finally felt sated. He smiled slyly at the memory. Perhaps he would track her down again…or not. Spending too much time with one girl really wasn’t an option with his career choice. In reality, he was gone more than he was home and the chances of him dying in the line of duty ran high. Not to mention any family attached to a Wind Warrior bore their own hazards if one of the perpetrators managed to locate them. Thus, attachments weren’t for him. A roll in the hay and a kiss goodbye in the morning more closely described his style.

He yawned. With his needs fulfilled, tiredness came to the fore. His Marine training allowed him to function well on just a couple of hours of sleep per night, but between the job he’d just finished and a long night of sex, his energy reserves had hit empty. Maybe now he could fall into bed exhausted and sleep without horrid dreams interrupting. He hoped so.

Tanner had no more than got his door unlocked before Oakley stuck her head out, appraising him with a practiced eye.

“There you are. Your friend stopped by about an hour ago. Wanted you to call.”

Suspicion and immediate concern stiffened his back, his mind kicking into action. “Which one?” There shouldn’t be any tails from their last mission. Every one of those vipers had been disposed of. For the life of him, he couldn’t recall anyone else that might be gunning for him. However, someone could have managed to slip through the cracks. Despite the precautions he took, the chance still existed.

“You would ask me that.” She dashed inside for a second while he headed toward his kitchen, placing the grocery bags on the countertop.

She followed a moment later, carrying a piece of paper. Her sable ponytail swished behind her with each step, luring his attention to her nicely-shaped rear.

He stared down at her and the crumpled reminder. “Poor memory?”

She snorted. “More like too many blundering names for a single person. Here we go. Justin Adam Christian Kendall Aaron Sterling Smith.”

Quickly deciphering the basic common code, Tanner relaxed. J-A-C-K-A-S-S. His lips twitched. “Spoon.” His best buddy and fellow Wind Warrior had obviously stopped by for a visit and decided to be his typical prankster self.

“Thank goodness.”

He arched his eyebrows at her odd response. Intrigued, he waited for her to clarify.

She shrugged. “By the time you finished saying his name, you’d have already missed the off ramp.”

Tanner chuckled. Interesting sense of humor. Something nice to look at and entertaining. A neighbor worth keeping.

“I made strawberry muffins this morning. I gave your friend a couple. Then Hercules ate yours.” She grinned up at him. Her green eyes flashed with mischief.

“Leaving me to starve, huh?”

She nodded. “Yep.” Taking a step closer, she sniffed. “The bar scene?”

Startled by her accurate guess, he remained mute while unloading the groceries, setting each item on the counter.

“Tomcats. Every one of them,” she mumbled under her breath as she turned to leave.

Not willing to argue when she had obviously hit the nail on the head, he called after her, “Don’t you work?” He’d expected her to be away from home this morning—it was a weekday, after all.

“I teach online classes at Hilltop Junior College,” Oakley said over her shoulder as she sashayed out of his door.

A moment later he heard a click, signifying she had returned to her side of the condo.

Oakley taught junior college? The more he thought about it, the more it fit. The online classes she could manage from home, which explained why she seemed to be around all the time. Not a bad deal, he would imagine—saved on gas money and allowed for great flexibility for her running. Smart woman.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on putting away the newly purchased food items so he could hit the shower. After that, sleep called.