Free Serving the Soldier - Part 3 (An Alpha Military Romance) by Helen Grey Page B

the dustpan. I dumped them into the trash can under the kitchen sink, and then took another turn of the kitchen, this time making sure I got all the small pieces. Only then did I gesture that it was okay for him to sit down at the table.
    Again, I tried not to focus on his nudity, although I did allow myself one comment. “Do you plan on eating all your meals naked?” He sat, forearms resting on the table, grinning at me.
    “How many times have you seen me naked since you arrived?”
    “More than I probably care to count,” I said, immediately turning toward the kitchen cabinet to carefully retrieve two more plates.
    “Really?” he asked. “I don’t remember you complaining too much on the beach last night.”
    I heard the humor in his voice and refused to be drawn into his teasing. I gave him all but two slices of the bacon and most of the scrambled eggs.
    “Oops,” I said, glancing at him. “I forgot to make toast.” I had just about sat , but as I rose to return to the counter, he gestured for me to sit down.
    I did so and watched as he dug into the scrambled eggs with what I could only term as gusto. On the contrary, I picked at mine.
    “You still upset about last night?” he asked, his mouth half-full. He picked up a piece of bacon and ate half of it in one bite. “This is good. It’s been a long time since I was able to enjoy a homemade breakfast.”
    “You need a balanced and nutritious diet to help you heal faster,” I said, nibbling on my own strip of bacon. “And to answer your question, I guess I am. After all, it’s not every day that things like that happen to me. I can imagine you’re probably pretty used to it.”
    He shook his head. “Like I said last night, no one’s ever tried to run me off the road before. Still, if it’s the same people that Michael was telling me about, it seems to be their modus operandi.”
    “Modus operandi?” I asked, not familiar with the term.
    “Method of operation, or status quo,” he explained, digging again into the scrambled eggs.
    He ate quietly for several moments and then glanced up at me.
    “I meant what I said last night, Angie. I won’t hold it against you if you don’t want to stay. In fact, even the thought of you being in danger makes me uncomfortable. I think it might be better if you left.”
    My heart sank. “You want me to leave?” I blurted out, cringing at the sound of my own disappointment.
    He stared and then offered a shrug. “Well, not personally,” he said, his lips pressing into a thin line. “But my common sense tells me that that attempt last night was only the first.”
    “Why are you and your squadron being targeted in the first place?” I asked. “I just can’t imagine it. What could you have done to cause this type of retribution?”
    He said nothing for several moments, but quickly finished off the bacon before replying. “I can’t give you the details, Angie, but let’s just say we really pissed off a certain family in a certain part of Afghanistan that had connections not only to Al Qaeda, but the Taliban. They seem to be taking it as a personal affront to their sense of pride. To their way of thinking, somebody’s got to pay.”
    I shook my head, my scrambled eggs growing cold as I place the fork on the plate, having lost my appetite. “But to put out a hit on you guys? How did they even find out who to go after?”
    “And that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”
    He was looking at me, but I don’t think he saw me. I think his mind was back in Afghanistan, or trying to figure out exactly who was after him, and how they had found out where members of the squadron lived.
    “Michael’s going to be coming over later on today. A couple of others might come along as well. Do you think you could prepare a pot of something so I can offer them something to eat? I’m not sure when they’ll be here though.”
    I nodded. “Sure, Jax, I can do that. I’m also going to repeat my statement from