Page 94 of Protecting Maggie
With all the horrible things Roman had done coming to light, Maggie and everyone else had been relieved to discover the rear admiral hadn’t been the one to send Blink’s team on that ill-fated mission. So while he had a lot of things to answer for, the deaths and injuries of Blink’s teammates wasn’t among them.
How one man had been able to pull the wool over so many people’s eyes was confusing. How had he gotten so much power in the Navy? He seemed to have no soul, took delight in tormenting others, and his favorite thing to do was blackmailing those he considered beneath him.
Tex’s friend Ryleigh had also found Maggie a new lawyer, who was doing her best to get the felony conviction overturned. The phone call Maggie had recorded—where Roman had threatened to put “another” stash in her car—was clear proof that her ex had set her up, as far as her lawyer was concerned.
It wasn’t an easy or quick process to get the charges dismissed. But while her case was churning through the courts, and because of the extenuating circumstances, herprobation had been knocked down from one year to six months. So she only had a couple more months left to meet with her PO, then she was done.
Even if the felony convictionwasoverturned, Maggie didn’t think she’d go back to being a pharmacist, but strangely, she was all right with that. She felt like a completely different person than who she’d been a few years ago. She didn’t want to go back to her before life. Maggie wanted to move on. Put her past behind her.
“You look like you’re thinking really hard over here,” Shawn said as he came up beside her. He handed her a glass of water and wrapped an arm around her waist. “You good?”
Maggie nodded and took a sip of the water. In the last week, Shawn had hovered. Constantly asking if she was all right, offering to take her to a psychologist if she felt she needed it, driving her to work and picking her up…generally being a perfect partner. Of course, she’d reciprocated. After all,shehadn’t been the one to kill Roman. Even though Shawn said it didn’t bother him in the least, she still worried about the long-term ramifications on his psyche.
She’d pretty much moved into his apartment at Jane Hillman’s house, but since most of her things were still in storage, she didn’t have a lot to move in. Adina would be coming back from her deployment in a couple months, and Maggie was happy her friend would have her apartment all to herself when she returned.
Things were going surprisingly well in Maggie’s life…but she needed to talk to Shawn about something. And she couldn’t do that in the busy bar, where they were surrounded by their friends and would likely be interrupted every few minutes.
As if her thoughts conjured her, Caroline walked toward them.
“You look happy,” the older woman said as she approached.
Shawn took a step back, reaching out and plucking the glass of water out of her hand but not walking away entirely. He was giving her space, but still hovering nearby in case she needed anything. Maggie loved him all the more for it.
She hugged Caroline and said, “I am.”
“Good. You also look like you wouldn’t mind leaving.”
“Oh, but?—”
Caroline chuckled and held up a hand. “I remember the days after Matthew and I first got together. All I wanted was to be alone with him, and yet we were constantly hanging out with his team here at Aces. Don’t get me wrong, I love this bar and I love the guys, but after everything I went through, being alone with my man fed my soul in a way nothing else could. Go on…sneak out the back. I’ll cover for you.”
“I shouldn’t leave without saying something,” Maggie argued, wanting more than anything to take Caroline up on her offer. Shedidwant to be alone with Shawn, and not simply because she loved him. They needed to have aserious discussion. “I don’t want anyone to think I disappeared again.”
“They won’t. They know Preacher is stuck to your side. Go. I’ll talk to Remi, Josie, and Wren, and will make sure no one else freaks and heads out on a rescue mission.”
Maggie chuckled. “Caroline?”
“Yeah, hon?”
“Thank you.” There was more Maggie wanted to say, but she wasn’t sure where to start. Everyone had been so great in the aftermath of her near-death experience…well, hersecondnear-death experience. But Caroline had picked her up at My Sister’s Closet a couple days ago and driven her to a busy beach, not too far from the naval base. Not the one she and Shawn had visited, andnotthe one Roman had tried to kill her on. Just a busy, apparently popular stretch of sand full of people enjoying the warm weather and calm water. She’d encouraged Maggie to take a walk on the shore. Somehow, she’d known how uncomfortable she’d become with beaches.
They’d walked together, not saying a word. And by the time they’d gotten back to her huge SUV, Maggie felt ten times better.
“The water and sand aren’t your enemy,” Caroline had said once they were back in her car. “I’ve been where you are. I almost died in the ocean, and I had a hard time getting anywhere near it for the longest time. But after a while, I realized that it’s not the beach that tried to kill me. It was a man. That’s who I should project my negative energy toward, not the beautiful water. Not that it’s goodto have negative energy at all, but…shoot, you know what I mean.”
Caroline had been wise and funny at the same time, and Maggie was grateful for her insight and help.
They hugged again, then Caroline turned Maggie around and gently pushed her toward Shawn, who was standing patiently not too far away. “Get,” Caroline ordered. “That’s an order.”
Maggie rolled her eyes but didn’t hesitate to walk into Shawn’s arms.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“If you are,” he told her. He placed the glass of water on a nearby table, then steered Maggie toward the front door.
“Caroline said we should go out the back,” Maggie said.
“No way in hell. The last thing I want is a SEAL contingent breaking into the house because they think you disappeared again,” Shawn said with a chuckle.
