Page 77 of Finding Elodie
“No, you don’t,” Scott told her. “Are you sure you don’t want to jump?”
“Very sure. But you go on. I know you want to.”
She realized exactly how much he’d been dying to do just that when he absently kissed her, then raced up the trail toward the top of the waterfall.
Elodie sat down on a rock and watched as her boyfriend and his team reverted to being teenagers once again, having the time of their lives as they climbed up to the top tier of the waterfall and jumped into the cold water over and over again.
At one point, Pid came up and sat next to her. He pulled his pack over and produced two bottles of water, handing one to her. They drank in silence for a while until Pid said, “You did the right thing.”
Confused, Elodie looked over at him. “Pardon?”
“You did the right thing,” he repeated. “I’m sure Mustang has told you, but I’m the electronics expert on the team, and I’ve been looking into the Columbus family. You were smart to get out when you did.”
Elodie wasn’t sure she wanted to think about her past right now, not when she was so relaxed and having fun, but she was also curious as to what Pid might have learned. “Thanks,” she said.
“There’s been a lot of internal unrest in the Columbus family over the last few decades. Lots of people wanting power and killing their own family members to get it. Drug trafficking, extortion, and loansharking are their main methods of making money. Not to mention murder. That seems to be their go-to way of dealing with people they don’t like, or who don’t do what they want. If you’d have used that poison to take out whoever Paul Columbus was mad at that night, you’d have ended up right where they wanted you. They would’ve blackmailed you to continue doing what you were doing, and if you refused, I’m sure you would’ve ended up just like all the other people who they couldn’t control.”
Elodie shivered and brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I might’ve done the right thing, but why does the right thing have to be so hard…and scary?”
Pid leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder affectionately. “The only easy day was yesterday.”
She looked at him in confusion. “What?”
“It’s a SEAL motto. It means that every day you’ll need to work harder than the last. But when you work hard every day, and see what you’ve accomplished and what you’re now capable of, yesterday seems easy.”
“I’m not sure that’s all that comforting,” she told him with a small snort.
Pid wrinkled his nose. “Okay, yeah, when I think about it from your point of view and situation, maybe it wasn’t the best motivational quote to use.”
It wasn’t, but Elodie felt better anyway. This man was trying to help her. He didn’t know her, didn’t have any loyalty to her, and yet, he was helping anyway. She put her hand on his arm. “Thanks, Pid.”
“For what?”
“For trying to help me.”
“Here’s the thing,” Pid said. “You’re with Mustang, and he’s one of the best men I’ve ever met in my life. He’s saved my life too many times to count. I’d do anything for him. Being with you makes him happier than I’ve ever seen him, and I want that to continue. We were already impressed with your actions back on that cargo ship, so helping you isn’t a hardship. Threaten one of us, you threaten all of us. That’s the way it’s always been and how it will always be.”
Elodie loved that Scott had the kind of bond and friendship as he did with these men. She didn’t care if they were helping her only because she was with Scott.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable with all that mud on you?” Aleck asked from behind them.
Elodie startled so badly, she would’ve fallen off the rock she was sitting on if Pid hadn’t grabbed her arm. She looked behind her and saw water dripping off Aleck’s hair. He’d taken off his shirt, and she couldn’t help but admire his physique. She wasn’t attracted to him sexually, but she could appreciate a well-built man when she saw one.
“I’m okay.”
“You don’t have to jump, but I’m gonna feel guilty if you walk all the way back to the cars all muddy like that. The water’s chilly but it’s refreshing. Please?”
Elodie sighed. How could she refuse? And Aleck was right, she was sticky and the mud was starting to itch on her legs. “Okay, but if an anaconda drags me under, I expect all of you to come and save me.”
“Deal!” Aleck exclaimed happily. “Come on.”
She once again took his hand and let him lead her to the edge of the swimming hole. He immediately plunged into the water, while Elodie bent down to take off her shoes.
“Leave ’em on,” Jag told her.
Elodie looked up. Jag hadn’t said much thus far, and not just to her, but anyone. She didn’t think he was being rude, so much as it was just his personality. He was the silent but deadly type. At least that was the impression she got. He was also the shortest of the men on the team, but still taller than her by a few inches.
“There are some sharp rocks at the bottom, and it’ll be easier to walk with them on. Not to mention it’ll clean them off,” Jag said.
