Page 24 of Finding Lexie
Getting used to his abrupt change of topics, and secretly finding it cute as hell, Lexie just went with it. “It’s what your friends all call you. Do you not like it?”
“Elodie calls Mustang by his name, Scott.”
Lexie wasn’t sure what his point was. “Would you rather I call you Pierce?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I want you to call me what you want to call me. I have to admit it would be weird to hear my real name, though. I know it doesn’t faze Mustang to hear his name, but the only people who call me Pierce are my parents and brother and sister.”
“I know teachers all called you Pierce, but it’s hard for me to think of you that way. I guess it’s because I’ve seen you in SEAL mode. And a SEAL named Pierce just doesn’t seem to fit.”
He chuckled. “Your first name isn’t Lexie, but that’s what you go by,” he said. “There a reason?”
“My mom chose the name Elizabeth. When she left, my dad decided he hated that name and told me in no uncertain terms that he was going to call me Lexie, and that I should get used to that name instead. I was too young to really understand or care. And when I did get old enough to understand… I agreed with him. So I kept Lexie.”
“It’s a pretty name. Unique.”
Shit. This man was killing her. She knew she was probably reading more into the situation than she should, but they’d definitely been through some intense moments in the last half a day, which made her feel even closer to him than she might’ve otherwise. “So what happens next?” she asked.
“We wait,” he said immediately.
“No, I mean, after we get out of here and meet up with your team and leave Galkayo?”
He shook his head. “There’s that positivity you have going on again,” he muttered.
“What? You’d rather me lie here and believe someone will find us, kill you, and drag me off into the desert again to ask for a ransom they’ll probably never get, so eventually they’ll get tired of having to feed me and bring me water and they’ll either sell me off to someone else to use and abuse or just kill me outright, leaving my body in the desert to be picked off by flesh-eating birds and sand fleas?”
“Good God, woman. No! Shit.”
“I tend to be positive, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be negative,” she told him.
“Obviously. So, right, when we get out of this hole, meet back up with my team, and get the hell out of here, we’ll do what we’d planned all along. Fly to the Navy ship. You’ll get some food, be looked over by another doctor, then arrangements will be made to get you back to the States. Food For All will be contacted, and I’m assuming they’ll be thrilled that you’re all right, and they’ll arrange for you to go back to the States to recover from your ordeal. You have a home base?”
Lexie sighed. At no point in Midas’s description of what was ahead of them did he mention keeping in touch. She kind of expected that. She was a job for him. But it still stung a bit. “Not really. I mean, I guess Oregon is as much a home base as anywhere. When I got my first overseas assignment, I didn’t have much in the way of furniture. I left most of my stuff—you know, extra clothes, books, knickknacks, things like that—at my dad’s house. The landlord basically got rid of everything after he died. I never really missed any of the stuff I left with my dad though. I’ve collected some things over the years, but Food For All packs up and moves my belongings when I switch locations, kind of like the military does when service members go to a different post.”
Midas nodded. “Makes sense.”
When he didn’t say anything else, Lexie closed her eyes. She didn’t know what she’d expected him to say. That he wanted her to move to Hawaii? That was ridiculous.
“Do you think it would be all right for me to close my eyes for a while?” she asked, doing her best to keep any emotion from leaking into her voice.
“Sure. It’s probably a good idea. I don’t know how long we’ll be down here. It’s probably smart for us to lay low until the sun goes down. Then we can head out under the cover of darkness. You going to be okay without something to eat for that long? I’m kicking myself for not making sure you got something in the hospital.”
“I’m fine.” And she was. Because of her time in the desert, she was used to going long stretches without food. And the water she drank and the fluids she’d gotten before having to escape the hospital would be enough to keep her going until nightfall.
“Then go ahead and sleep,” Midas said.
“I’m not too heavy against you? I could probably move off you a bit,” she offered, kind of hoping he’d agree. She desperately needed space from this man. He’d gotten under her skin, and she had an awful feeling it was going to break her heart when he left her on the Navy ship.
“Too heavy? Not a chance, Lex. Stay. I like having you here.”
Shit. No one had ever made her feel as safe and special as he did. Could a thirty-three-year-old woman have a crush?
Yes, she decided. Definitely.
Without another word, Lexie closed her eyes. The man under her smelled like sweat and gun oil and leather, but for some reason, it didn’t bother her. Probably because she knew she was also sweaty and not so fresh at the moment. But she much preferred Midas’s scent than that of someone who wore too much cologne and smelled like processed perfumes.
“Midas?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
