Playboy (The Trident Series II: BRAVO Team #4)

CHAPTER TWO

After hours of debriefings, paperwork, getting her face and lip checked by another medic, and a nap, Gabby finally made it to the locker room. She was in desperate need of a hot shower.

She still felt like she was carrying the weight of the mission with her. The guys had waited for her while their base medic looked over her injuries. After that, they all split up to do their own post-mission tasks. Gabby had promised to meet them later that evening for drinks at Bayside. She’d thrown on her best “I’m totally fine” smile.

Now, though, she wasn’t sure everything was fine.

Her hip wasn’t just throbbing. It was downright painful. Every step she took was excruciating. She was now regretting being stubborn.

For the first time in hours, she allowed herself to really assess how her body felt after the altercation on the yacht. It wasn’t good.

As she peeled off her pants, she froze. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” she mumbled, looking down at the monstrous bruise on her hip. It was already purple and black, and it covered her entire hip like a grotesque, ugly flower, swelling around the center. She pressed on it lightly and winced. The slight pressure made her eyes water.

She limped to the shower and set it as hot as she could handle. When she first stepped under the hot spray of water, she felt the tension in her muscles slowly unravel. However, when she turned, the water hit her hip, and a jolt of pain shot through her so sharply that she nearly cursed out loud.

“How did I even walk back here?” she muttered to herself. She’d been running on adrenaline all day, and now that it had worn off, her body was reminding her just how much she’d taken a beating.

After a painful but needed shower, Gabby slipped into a pair of loose navy blue Coast Guard sweatpants and a white long-sleeved t-shirt. Comfort was key right now, but even the soft fabric brushing against her hip made her wince.

“This is so much worse than I thought,” she muttered, gingerly lowering herself onto the bench in front of her locker. She should’ve said something earlier, but she’d been too stubborn and too focused on pushing through, thinking it would be fine. Now, with the pain increasing by the minute, she knew there was no way she could hide it.

She sighed as she pulled her phone out of her bag and dialed James’s number, biting her lip while she waited for him to pick up.

“Gabby?” James answered on the third ring, his voice groggy. Clearly, she’d woken him up.

“Hey, you still at the base?” she asked, trying to sound casual despite the fact her hip was screaming in agony.

“Nah, we left about an hour ago. Got some sleep to catch up on before Bayside tonight,” James replied. “We swung by to check on you but saw you were passed out on the couch in the rec room, snoring, so we didn’t bother waking you.

She scrunched her nose up at his comment. “I don’t snore.”

He laughed. “You sounded like a mix between a dying lawnmower and an angry walrus.”

Her mouth gaped open, and she went to respond to his insult when he started laughing again.

“I’m just messing with you. But you were dead to the world, and we didn’t want to bother you. Anyway, what’s up? You need something?”

She decided not to tell him over the phone. She’d talk to them tonight.

“No, no. It’s nothing. I was just checking in. I’ll see you guys at Bayside later like we planned.”

James went silent for a beat, and Gabby could practically hear him raising an eyebrow through the phone. “Gabby, it doesn’t sound like nothing.”

She forced a laugh, trying to brush it off. “Everything is fine,” she lied, knowing she was going to regret it later once they found out.

Another pause. “You sure? You’ve got that ‘I’m hiding something tone.’”

“James, I’m fine,” she lied smoothly, though the sharp pain in her hip was anything but fine. “Seriously, I’ll see you guys tonight.”

James still didn’t sound convinced, but he let it go. “Alright. But you know if you need something, we are here for you, right?”

“I know,” she said, her voice softening for a moment. “I’ll catch you later, okay?”

“Later, Gabs.”

Sighing, Gabby slipped her phone into the pocket of her sweats and slowly stood up, wincing as her hip reminded her it was far from happy. If she didn’t handle this now, she’d be in worse shape later. She grabbed her keys and headed out of the room, making her way down the hall toward Capitan Graham’s office.

She chuckled. “I feel like I’m walking like a lopsided penguin with a serious limp,” she muttered.

When she got to her CO’s door, she knocked lightly and leaned against the frame.

“Come in!” Grahm’s voice called out.

Gabby stepped inside, trying to keep her limp as subtle as possible, which was laughable considering how much pain she was in.

“Hey, Captain,”

Captain Graham was in his late forties. He was tall, had light brown hair and matching brown eyes, and was physically fit. However, above all else, he was the best commanding officer Gabby had ever worked under.

Captain Graham looked up from his desk, one eyebrow shooting up in suspicion. “What now, Gabby? You look like you’re about to drop a bomb on me.”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a bomb. But, uh, there’s something I probably should’ve mentioned earlier.”

His expression didn’t change, but his eyebrow quirked up. “Go on.”

“So, you know that little altercation I had with that guy earlier during op?”

“Little altercation?” Graham repeated, his tone full of sarcasm. “Gabby, from what I heard, the guy was like three times your size and put up a hell of a fight, though you did kick the guy’s ass.” A small smile tugged the corners of his lips.

“Well, I did. But, uh, it turns out he kind of kicked mine, too,” she admitted, shifting awkwardly. “I’ve got this, um…bruise on my hip. It’s a little worse than I thought.”

He leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply as he rubbed his temples as if she were giving him a headache. “Of course you do. Why didn’t you say anything about it earlier when you were with the medic?”

She sighed. “Because, at the time, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I’ve had bruises before. But now…well, I think it is sort of a big deal,” she smiled sheepishly.

“Are you able to show me?” he asked, looking a bit uncomfortable with asking her that.

It didn’t bother her. It was her upper hip, so it wasn’t like she would have to show him her ass. Now, that would’ve been a little weird, though she trusted Graham and knew he would never cross that line. But if someone else saw, then it would spark rumors, and that would lead to shit she didn’t have time for.

Gabby gingerly pulled the waistband of her sweatpants just enough to reveal the massive contusion. The dark coloring and swelling were hard to miss.

She heard him suck in a breath.

“Holy fuck!” he exclaimed. “That’s not a bruise, Gabby. That’s a damn road map of destruction!” He said, taking in the extent of the injury.

“Yeah, it’s not exactly pretty,” she muttered, pulling her pants back up. “But it’s fine! I mean, it’s painful, but—”

“Fine? You’ve got a bruise the size of a watermelon, and you’re walking around like a wounded duck,” he snapped, though there was more concern in his voice than anger. “You should’ve mentioned this earlier.”

Gabby shrugged. “I honestly thought it wasn’t that bad. I thought it was one of those things that I could just walk off. And, I’m telling you now.” Gabby flashed him her best innocent smile.

He groaned, shaking his head. “You’re lucky you’re good at your job, or I’d bench you right here and now.

“I mean, it’s just a bruise—”

“It’s a monster of a bruise,” he cut her off, his tone half-amused, half-annoyed. He then stood up, grabbed his keys off his desk, and motioned toward the door. “Let’s go. Hospital. Now!”

Gabby winced again, partly from the pain and partly from guilt. “It’s not that bad, Captain. I think a little ice might help.”

Graham gave her a look. “Gabby, you’re sitting there like a contorted pretzel, and you’ve got a bruise the size of Texas. It’s bad. Trust me. Now let’s go.”

She let out a defeated sigh, realizing she was definitely not winning this argument. “Okay, fine. I might’ve underestimated the situation. But are you really gonna drag me to the hospital over a bruise?” Gabby groaned as she started to move. She felt like a child following after her parent.

“Oh, you bet I am,” Graham replied, giving her a sideways glance. “Because if I don’t and something’s seriously wrong, it’ll be my ass. Plus, it’ll give me something to hold over your head the next time you decide to downplay an injury.”

Gabby couldn’t help but laugh, limping toward the door. “Alright, alright. But don’t tell the guys. They’ll freak out.”

Graham smirked as he opened the door for her. “Oh, I won’t say a word. When they find out, you’re on your own. Aren’t you supposed to meet them for drinks later tonight?”

Gabby laughed, limping out of his office. “Yep. And I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it when they find out.”

As Gabby hobbled out of the building, she looked at Graham and smiled.

“All joking aside, thank you, Captain,” she told him, and he grinned, shaking his head.

“I swear you eight are going to force me into early retirement.”

“Wouldn’t be nearly as fun without us, though, right? Come on, you love us,” she said, her smile widening.

“No comment,” he said, his lips twitching as he got in the vehicle.

◆◆◆

About an hour and a half later, Gabby pushed the door to the waiting room open and slowly hobbled toward where Captain Graham was sitting, looking at his phone.

As soon as he saw her, he stood up and hurried over to her.

“What’s the damage?”

“Nothing broken, just a bad contusion. I need to keep icing it and stay off of it for a bit.”

Graham’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, that’s good.” Then he quirked his eyebrow. “I guess it is desk duty for you.”

She groaned. She hated desk duty. But she nodded in defeat. “Two weeks,” she grumbled.

His eyes then widened. “What about Saturday? Do you think you can still compete?” he asked nervously.

Shit! She had completely forgotten about the competition happening on Saturday.

She raised her eyebrows, pinning him with a “Are you kidding” look. There was no way in hell that a bruised hip would keep her from competing in the Annual Armed Forces Sniper Challenge.

“Do you really think a bruise is going to keep me away?”

Graham chuckled. “I didn’t think so, but I had to ask.”

She snorted a laugh.

He eyed her face again. “At least the swelling around your eye has gone down.”

She had noticed that, too, while she was in the exam room. She was also grateful that her lip didn’t look too bad either. It was now just a little scab.

“Are you all set?” He asked, and she nodded.

As they walked slowly towards Graham’s vehicle, he asked, “Did they give you anything for the pain?”

“They asked me if I wanted anything, but I told them no. I try to stay away from that stuff. The over-the-counter works just fine for me.”

He nodded in understanding.

“Have you thought about how you’re going to deliver the news to the guys? You can’t really hide it now that you’ll be tied to a desk for two weeks.”

She groaned. “No.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a very telling story for them,” he said sarcastically, and she laughed.

“You’re probably right.”