Hunter's Heart by Rita Henuber Page B

into the van and executed a successful escape and evasion. Their plane home was going wheels down as they arrived at the airfield. A few 10th men helped them load gear and they were gone.
    On board, Doc checked for broken bones. None, only a bent nose which made LT happy. Doc spent the flight sewing and taping them up. Hunter spent it thinking about Celia.

Chapter 7

    Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

    He punched in Celia’s number and listened to it ring. Four times before he heard her voice.
    “What do you want?” She was breathing heavy. In the background he heard Bruno Mars singing and a soft clicking. He figured she was on the elliptical he’d seen in her office.
    “To see you.” A very long silence followed. If he hadn’t heard Bruno singing about running away, he would have thought she’d hung up. He waited.
    “Fuck off.” She hung up.
    Ah hell . He pressed redial. Four rings and it went to voice mail. He pressed redial again.
    After the fourth ring she answered. “Leave me alone.” Her voice was like dry ice.
    “Don’t hang up.” It was close to a yell. “Why won’t you see me?”
    “You’ve got to be kidding. You do a fuck-and-go and I don’t hear from you for…” She paused. “Two weeks.”
    Before he could say anything, she disconnected the call. He called back. He’d been gone twelve days and seven hours but from her tone, he didn’t think he should point that out. “I’m going to keep calling,” he said the moment she answered.
    She hung up.
    Geeze. He called again. She picked up immediately. “I’m a Navy SEAL,” he said fast enough to make an auctioneer proud. “We don’t quit.”
    “And I’m not a disposable fuck.”
    Knowing she felt like that, stung. “Let me apologize in person,” he said softly.
    Another long silence then an exasperated exhale.
    “When? Where?”
    “Now. I’m standing outside.”
    He waited for what seemed like hours. Finally, the door swung open. Celia stood there in an old T-shirt and shorts, and no makeup, one hand resting on her hip, the other gripping the door. Her blue eyes bored into him like glass shards and she was none too happy. Upstairs Bruno sang about having really nice sex.
    From the look on her face, really nice sex was not in his future. That was okay. Well, it wasn’t, but he understood. He gave her his best smile and hoped the extra few days’ growth of facial hair sufficiently hid his split lip. His glasses covered his purple eye and the stitch holding his eyebrow together and he decided to leave them on.
    “Well?”
    “You have to know I couldn’t tell you.”
    “That is not an apology.” The door was closing.
    “Wait.” He smacked his palm on the door. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you.”
    She looked from his hand to his face with one on those withering looks only a really pissed off woman can give. He moved his hand and thought about going to plan B. The sympathy play. Showing her his bumps and cuts and begging forgiveness.
    “How long were you gone?”
    “When I left here I went straight to base and got on a plane. Came back yesterday.” He’d waited a day to allow the swelling on his eye and hand to go down.
    “You knew you were leaving that morning?”
    He nodded and stepped back to avoid a slamming door. It didn’t. She released the door and stepped back. That was a plus.
    “Okay to come in?”
    She shrugged. He stepped inside, closed the door and removed his cap. “You know who I am. What I do. I thought you’d…realize…I deployed.”
    Her head moved side to side.
    “You really thought I…just disappeared?” She nodded and her eyes challenged him. Fuck. He paused to frame his words and considered, very carefully, what he would say next. “I couldn’t say I’m going away and I’ll be back such-and-such day. I don’t make the rules.” He clenched his jaw. “I do follow them.”
    Hearing the hurt in her voice, seeing the look on her face, was exactly why he’d begun to feel