Free Away From You (Back To You Book 2) by Jessica Mastorakos Page A

we’re used to it.”
    Brooks
cocked a brow. “Excuse us for being a little concerned about the rocket attack
in progress.”
    Brooks was a
big dude. At six and a half feet tall, most people had to look up to him. Including
me, standing at an even six feet. The fact that he worked out constantly and
his biceps were bigger than my head made most people avoid pissing him off.
Apparently, this guy hadn’t gotten the memo. I couldn’t decide whether I was
impressed or whether I was looking at the biggest idiot I’d seen all day.
    “I thought
you Marines were supposed to be all big and bad.” His tone and posture were
aggressive, so I decided he was an idiot.
    A lot of
Marines talked down on the other branches because their training wasn’t as
rigorous as ours. It wasn’t my style to do that. We were all serving, after
all. A little bit of competition between branches was normal, but this guy was
trying to be insulting. The stereotype that all Marines were just a bunch of
Jarheads annoyed me to no end.
    I crossed my
arms over my chest, hoping that my body would convey that it was time to shut up.
“I thought all you Air Force guys were supposed to be smart. Clearly, you’re
not.”
    The airman
snorted. “I joined the right branch. At least I’m not a bullet sponge like your
dumb ass.”
    If Brooks
hadn’t swung, I would have. His fist connected with a loud crunch as blood
spurted out of the airman’s nose. His buddies, who were watching this exchange
as if it were a championship tennis match, were frozen in place. They stared
slack-mouthed at Brooks as he swung again and again. It all happened so fast
that Brooks had gotten in three solid punches before we could get them apart. I
grabbed his arm and hauled him into the concrete wall behind him. His
adrenaline was pumping and it took all of my strength to pin him there on my
own. If I was being honest, he was probably letting me. I was pretty strong and
all, but I doubted I could hold Brooks by myself if he really wanted to get
passed me.
    “Enough,
enough,” I growled as he tried to break from my grasp.
    I checked
over my shoulder and saw the airman’s buddies helping him off the ground. His
nose was clearly broken and there was a gash over his left eye. They shot us
wary looks as they ushered him to the other end of the bunker. There were about
a dozen other guys around us in the small space, some of whom I recognized as
sailors from our ship. No one moved to approach us. Brooks shook me off and
began to pace the width of the bunker. He looked like a caged animal.
    A new voice
came over the speaker. “Message from the J-Dock. The situation is ongoing.
Please remain in your shelters.”
    I groaned
inwardly. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Chapter
Nine

 
    Olivia
    “Hey, Mom.” I walked into the kitchen
of my mother’s house and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s Dad?”
    “He’s
working late.” She bustled around the kitchen preparing dinner for us. It
smelled amazing. I watched as she stirred the chili that I knew had probably
been simmering on the stove all day. My mom was a fantastic cook. She’d been
encouraging me to help her with dinner for most of my life, and Matt benefited
from that practice now that we lived together.
    “Bummer.
Well, I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been able to come by for dinner.
School has kept me really busy.”
    Mom smirked
at me. “Honey, you were here three days ago.”
    I crinkled
my brow. I could’ve sworn it had been at least a week. “Wow. Time is just flying by.”
    “I know it
sometimes seems like the days are going slow, but Matt will be home before you
know it. Trust me.”
    I did trust
her. After being an Air Force wife for the majority of her life, my mom was no
stranger to deployments. In fact, neither was I. But it felt different being
the wife rather than the child of a deployed service member. I hoped to one day
be as calm about it as she was. This first one was kicking my