Cupid’s Surprises (A Valentine’s Day Romance Anthology Book 2), page 94
Fate was against us when we were almost there. The night skies opened up, and a deluge saturated us, cloaking us and our enemy, who was well aware of our whereabouts, it seemed.
They found the rainfall to be working for them and attacked us, taking us down one by one, until all six of us had been captured. Buried in something that seemed a hell of a lot like a mineshaft, we were imprisoned in the cages they had made. Kept apart from one another, the other SEALs and I had no way to form an escape plan. A diet of bugs and filthy water did little to keep up our strength. It was enough to keep us alive, but nothing more than that.
Not very long after we were captured, one of the men in our group, who wasn’t feeling well when we’d started the mission, was dragged through the dark chamber that ran in front of our cells. I shouted at him, but he didn’t respond. The asshole escorting the men who were moving him spat at me, then said in broken English, “Useless, pigs. Oink!”
It was my guess, then, that we were supposed to be kept alive. Maybe we were being traded for some of their soldiers who had been captured. It gave me hope that I’d see Blyss and Tatum again.
I couldn’t lose hope, no matter what!
Time isn’t something one can keep when locked away in the dark where you can’t hear anything that’s going on outside. I had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like an eternity, though. The best way to tell that not much time had passed was the length of my hair and the growth of my beard. I’d been clean-shaven and my hair had been cut in the typical military style right before we left. My hair was still short and my beard wasn’t too shaggy yet. With those clues, I thought it had been a few weeks since I’d left home.
As I sat on the ground in my cell in the dim light, I found a crack in the cement. It was near the back wall I was glad my fingernails had grown and began to dig at the crack. Over time, I made a hole in the floor. I found dirt there, and then I dug. I took my shirt off to cover the hole as I was working on it. There was no cell next to me—only open ground. I could dig myself out, save the other men, and get home to my family.
With that in my head, I forged on. Blyss had to be staying strong for Tatum and our unborn child. That’s what I prayed for the most. I knew Mom and Dad would help her, but I was worried about her. Blyss was still fragile. She’d pulled it all together for Tatum, but how long would that last with me gone and her heart broken?
If I allowed myself to give up and perish in the dungeon, I’d have only hurt Blyss exactly the way she had always feared I would—leaving her alone. On top of that, with my children to care for, it was worse than anything she ever thought of.
I couldn’t do that to her. She needed me, and so did my kids.
So, I dug and dug until I couldn’t anymore.
After much digging—it seemed days had to have passed—I made it to the other side. The time was near. My pulse increased, as I knew once I reached the outside, I had a shitload of things I had to do. Getting my team out was the number one priority. And there would be men to fight before I was able to do that.
My inner thoughts were interrupted when a commotion began and three men came down the corridor. One pointed at me, and I shook my head. “Take one of the others.”
I knew they were coming to get a bargaining tool. One of my team to put on television to show they had a live person to trade. I didn’t want to be that tool for them. I had other plans. And if they let me out, they’d make me put my shirt on and find the hole I’d made. I’d be good as dead.
I had to think of a way to get them to leave me right where I was. Nothing was coming to mind as they tried key after key to unlock my door. My plan was about to be blown to pieces, as was my body, no doubt!
It was over for me. I knew it was. If I couldn’t take all three of them—men with guns—then I’d be killed. I had one thought on my mind.
Why did I dig that fucking hole?
Blyss
I could’ve stayed in that bed forever if I had been alone. But I wasn’t. I was both thankful for that and annoyed by it. Why couldn’t I be left there to die and join Troy on the other side? Hope was gone for me. I was sure he was dead. I was sure I was left behind. Left with his bun in my oven and his little girl, who had a dead mother and probably a dead father too.
It was her sweet voice that called out to me after I’d spent too much time wallowing in my sorrows. “Mommy, you’re scaring me. Can’t you please get up?”
Could I get up? Could I face the world without Troy?
He was the first person I’d ever loved. Then Tatum came along, and I found I loved her too. I even loved the little baby in my stomach. I loved Troy’s parents and Tatum’s grandparents. How had that all happened in such a short amount of time? I rolled over and saw Tatum’s little face so full of worry. It tugged at my heart strings and had me sitting up. I held out my arms and she came running to me.
Picking her up, I cradled her and rocked us both, trying desperately to comfort both of us. “I didn’t mean to scare you, honey. I’m not used to thinking about other people. I hope you can forgive me.”
“I forgive you, Mommy.” She buried her face in my neck, and I felt warm tears.
“You don’t have to cry. I’m going to get up and be what I’m supposed to be. Your mommy. I got lost in self-pity for a little while. Boy, your daddy would be telling me some things right now if he was here, wouldn’t he?” I laughed to stop myself from crying.
If he were there, he wouldn’t be saying a thing. My mouth would be all over his. Troy’s mother had come in each of those three days I’d hid from the world, leaving me soup and water, and making sure I at least ate a little and drank a little. But she couldn’t pull me out of my pit of despair. Only little Tatum could do that.
She’d become mine. In a small amount of time, I saw her as mine. I was her mother and I had to get my ass out of that bed and be that for her. Especially if Troy was never coming back. I had to be mother and father to her, and I would damn well do it.
Come hell or high water, I’d take care of Troy’s kids!
I looked at my cell and saw it was nine in the morning. As far as I could recall, it was Saturday. “Wanna go to the zoo?”
She nodded, enthusiastically. “Can we?”
“Yes. I’m going to shower and get ready. Can you go see if any of your grandparents want to come too?”
She hopped off the bed, wiped her eyes, and ran out of the bedroom, shouting out that we were all going to the zoo. When I got out of bed, I found my legs were weak and vowed that wouldn’t happen again. Troy was always calling me fragile, and there I was, proving him right. What was wrong with me? After a long shower, I put on shorts, running shoes, and a T-shirt. My hair was in a high ponytail, sunscreen was on, and I was ready to get out of my own head for a while.
The first thing I did when I got downstairs was hug Troy’s mother and father. “Sorry for being so depressed. I have loads of excuses, but none of them matter. What matters is that I’m a mom. Thanks for taking up my slack. I got it from here.”
His dad gave me a pat on the back and a wink that told me he was happy with me. His mom smiled at me with a twinkle in her eye. And we all were on the same page—keep up Tatum’s spirits and keep the baby inside of me healthy. They might be all we would had left of a very wonderful man, so they needed to be taken care of.
Everyone went that day. Troy’s father drove us all to a drive-through safari park and we had a day we’d never forget. The sadness and worry about Troy never left me, but I was able to put it in a place where I could visit it when no one else was around. Tatum needed me and soon so would the baby I carried.
That night, when we got back, the cook was watching the television in the kitchen when we came in from the garage. She spun around to look at us, then went to grab the remote to shut it off.
I grabbed her arm before she could do a thing. “Wait!”
It was a news report about some dead American soldier who was found in a dump outside Kabul. We all waited for the name to come, but the reporter said the family hadn’t been contacted yet. They’d release his name after that.
I had no idea if it was Troy or not, but his father knew for sure. “If it was him, they’d have come to us and told us. It’s not him. He’s still alive. I know he is. We cannot give up hope. Not one of us!”
Mr. Sandoval hugged me. “It’s okay. I know how you feel. Believe me, I do. This brings back such tortuous memories about when we waited to hear about our daughter.”
“I’m so sorry that you have to go through this again,” I mumbled, as that hadn’t even occurred to me. The Sandovals and Tatum had been through the same thing, only that outcome was devastating. Would they have to face such devastation again?
It was then and there that Troy’s mother sat us all down at the dining room table as dinner was about to be brought in. “I haven’t lost hope about my son coming home. That said, I want you to know, Mr. and Mrs. Sandoval, that things will not change if he doesn’t come home. You still have a home here, as does Tatum.” She looked at me. “And you too, Blyss. You and the baby have a home here. We’re not going to split this family up. We owe it to Troy not to do that.”
Silently, we all nodded, and Tatum clutched my hand. “You’ll always be my mommy, right?”
“Always.” I kissed the top of her head. “You can’t get rid of me, Tatum Masterson.”
Her grandfather cleared his throat. “This should be said. Her grandmother and I are no spring chickens. I know Troy is on her birth certificate now, but Tatum has no legal connection to you, Blyss. Would you like to adopt her?”
“I’d love nothing more?” I smiled and kissed her cheek. Then I remembered that my last name wasn’t Masterson. Our marriage was fake.
It was a thing that Troy’s parents knew, too, and the looks they gave me told me it was time to be truthful about everything. “Blyss, I think it’s time,” his father said.
“Mr. and Mrs. Sandoval, I love Troy with all my heart. But he and I lied. We lied to you so you’d bring Tatum here. The stipulation of him being married made Troy feel he had no choice. He and I were seeing each other. We had been for a few months. But we weren’t married. The marriage isn’t real. My last name is Danner. But I would still like to adopt Tatum, with your blessing.”
I could hardly stand to look at the people I’d lied to. And the way Tatum let my hand go hurt like hell. Had I lost all their support? Did Tatum no longer consider me her mother?
“So what?” Tatum said as she stood up on her chair. “I don’t care ‘bout that.” She crossed her arms as she watched her grandparents shake their heads. “I love her. She’s my mommy. I don’t care what her name is.”
With a weak smile, I took her hand and helped her sit back down. “It’s okay, sweetie. They have a right to be mad at me.”
They did. Who was I to think they’d accept what we’d done? Of course they disapproved of lying to them to get what we wanted. What we did was wrong.
“Well, I can’t speak for my husband,” Mrs. Sandoval said. “But I understand. That was a stipulation that should’ve never been made.”
Mr. Sandoval growled, “But it was made.”
“Yes, sir, it was,” I agreed. “It doesn’t change the fact that we both fell hopelessly in love with Tatum. And he and I were going to get married, for real, when he got back. We told his parents about that. You can ask them.”
“They are going to get married when our son gets back,” his father said, then gave me a wink. “When, honey, not if.”
I nodded, then said, “We will get married as soon as he’s able to do that.”
“Let’s give him some time to get back to us,” Mr. Sandoval said. “If he’s not back in a year, then you can adopt Tatum if you both want that. If he comes back and you do get married, you can adopt her as soon as you’d like to.”
Tatum clapped and giggled. “Yes! We won, Mommy! We won!”
“Yes, we did. You’re going to stay mine, no matter what. And let me just say, I love the weight of that lie off my shoulders. It’s good to have the truth set free.”
“I do have one more thing to ask you, Blyss,” Mr. Sandoval said.
“Anything.” I wanted to be an open book with them now that the lie was over.
“How are you going to take care of these children if Troy never returns? How are you going to make money?”
“I have my own money. And I get a recurring payment from a settlement. Plus, I’ll have income from my career as a psychologist, once I graduate. There’s no need to worry about finances, sir.”
Troy’s father added, “Plus, Tatum and the baby will be heirs to the winery and their father’s part of it. Money is no concern at all.”
Tatum’s grandfather looked relieved. His granddaughter would end up a rich woman and never know the pain of poverty. His smile made me happy. The way they cared for their granddaughter was inspiring. To think that one day I’d have grandkids of my own was a thought that had never crossed my mind.
I’d have worries over other people for the rest of my life. It was crazy how awesome that felt. It should’ve felt like a burden. Instead, it felt like a blessing. I was sitting at a table full of people I had never known before. I would’ve never known even one of them without knowing Troy. That man had shoved me right in the middle of an entire family.
If I’d been able to see it all coming, I wonder what I would’ve done. Run away, I bet. Back before I knew how great love was. Before Troy forced me to accept it.
Wherever the man was, he was and always would be my angel.
Troy
Before the men could get in to get me, I made myself puke all over the floor. Somehow, I managed to choke up more than I knew was inside of me. They were grossed out and stopped trying to get me. They had no intention of taking a sick man to trade for anyone. I’d figured out a way to get them to leave me alone. But I still had to wait for them to get one of my SEAL mates. And I couldn’t let them take him with them either.
One member of our team had already died. I wasn’t about to leave without the other four members. I knew two men guarded the outside. They’d drop our food and water in the cells, then walk back out. I was the closest cell to the entrance; I knew that too. Three men were inside. They all had guns and knives. I had to take them out, maybe with the help of one more SEAL. If I waited until they got another one out, I’d have another team member to help me.
Sliding through the hole I’d made, I took my shirt with me and put it on as I headed through the corridor. It was twisty as I made my way down it. I stopped as I heard the sounds of the men yelling at the man they were planning on taking.
“You sons of bitches won’t get me out of here alive!” It was Sanders’ voice I heard.
I made one sharp whistle to let him know someone was coming. He was quick to shut up as the other men kept shouting. Easing along the dark wall, I found them at his cell. Their backs were to me, and Sanders saw me. I gave him a thumbs up as he put his hands behind his head. The cell door was pulled open and two of the men grabbed him. Their guns were held over their heads with their free hands—a stupid thing for them to be doing.
I was hidden in the shadows as they walked past me. They were so busy screaming, trying to intimidate Sanders, that they never saw me. Making swift movements, I slide the knife out of the holster that was on the hip of the man nearest to me. One quick jab in the side of the neck had him quiet and dead.
“One down, two to go, Sanders.”
“I got shorty here.”
I made short work of the taller man as Sanders took the short guy into a choke hold, then gave him a quick snap, breaking his neck. Three down, no shots fired. We were good to go.
Sanders and I looked at the three dead men in a pile at our feet. “Think OJ can fit in the short guy’s clothes?” I asked.
“He’d better,” Sanders said. “They’ll be expecting only four people to come out of here. Three of them and one of us. Any ideas on what to do with the fifth man, Masterson?”
“I think we’ll have to take out the men at the entrance. One of us can come up from behind after the other four walk out. I’ll do it.” I clapped him on the shoulder, then we began the arduous process of getting the clothes off the dead men. That’s never an easy thing to do, no matter how many times you’ve done it.
A short while later, we had our guys and were heading out. CJ was the prisoner with his hands behind his head as they walked out, leaving me in the shadows behind them. Greetings from the two guards were answered with short bobs of their heads. It took no time for the guards to realize their comrades weren’t speaking back to them.
One of them grabbed one of my men, spinning him around. I had no choice but to spring into action before a single bullet could be fired. The sound would alert others and we’d be shot down before we had the slightest chance to escape. I popped one of the men in the head, knocking him forward as I grabbed his gun. Using the butt of that gun, I knocked the other guard in the head while my team took them out quietly with knives.
We’d pulled off another miracle. Now all that was left to do was to figure out which way to run. And the sun was beginning to come up. Time was against us.
We took off to one side of the entrance, which looked like that of a cave. Sand was all we saw. The other side was sand too. “Fuck! There has got to be some kind of transport!” I said between clenched teeth.
We stepped back and found an old car was parked on top of the cave. “Check your pockets for keys,” Sanders said to the men who’d changed into the enemies’ uniforms.
“Got ‘em!” OJ said as we raced to the tiny car. “Man, these guys roll like clowns.”
We piled in, and the shortest of us, OJ, drove, speeding out of there. We still had no clue where we were headed. We needed to get to a phone and make the call that would get us out of there. It felt odd. We were so close, yet so far away. Sure, we were free from the prison, but would we get to a rescue point before we were gunned down? The sun would be up soon. The guards were left looking as if they were sleeping in the chairs by the entrance. They’d be discovered in an hour or so. We had to hurry.
