Page 26 of Protecting Vera

Before leaving, he sent Vera a quick note, telling her he loved her. Leaving on a mission so soon after getting involved with Vera was weird. Trip, Kevlar, and Safe weren’t having a difficult time leaving so he shouldn’t either. He wondered if it was only him. Could he keep his position on a SEAL team? What if he couldn’t adjust to the pressure of leaving his family behind?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Vera tried to sleep, but she couldn’t drop off. Close to eleven she picked up her phone and saw that Ellis had sent her a text. She sent back a note to Ellis asking her if she was available on Friday evening.

Her phone rang seconds later, and she answered. “Hey, Ellis. What’s up?”

“I’m feeling sorry for myself. I got a note from Remi. Kevlar’s team is going, too.”

“Oh. Is that normal?”

“I don’t know. But Remi asked if we wanted to get together this weekend.”

“I’m sure Ben, well Hop, wouldn’t mind if we got together here. We have the extra room, and the couch pulls out into a sleeper.”

“Oh, let me text Remi and Wren if that’s okay.”

“I haven’t met Wren yet.”

“She’s nice. I’ve met her once. She is with Safe.”

“Oh, not sure I remember who he is.”

“You may not have met him. But I know they’d appreciate spending time together with the guys gone.”

“Sure. It would be great.”

“Awesome. I’ll send you a note in the morning. I’m finally feeling good enough to get some sleep.”

“Sounds good. I’ll chat with you tomorrow.”

Vera ended the call and realized she was tired, too. Talking to Ellis had helped. This weekend, she could have the women over and then the weekend wouldn’t seem so long. She wished Frizz lived closer. So far, nothing bad had happened to Frizz. She’d been worried that Logan would keep after her, but he hadn’t shown up here in California or at Frizz’s place in Austin. Maybe her ex was done trying to get back at her, and she could relax.

Hop triedto sleep on the plane but worry had him. Trip came over and sat next to him. They both grunted but didn’t say much for a while.

“You doing okay?” Trip finally asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m worried about Vera.”

“Same, but for Ellis. I hate leaving.”

Kevlar took a seat beside Hop. “Missing your woman?”

“Yeah. How do you do it?”

He shrugged. “I know she’s smart. And I’ll be home in a few weeks. The first time out was tough, but I know she’s solid.”

Hop nodded. “I worry about her ex.”

Kevlar nodded. “It has been a while, right?”

Hop shrugged. “It has. Maybe he’s given up. We haven’t heard anything in a few weeks.”

“I’m sure your woman will be fine. We have guys at home who will keep up with things going on.”

Trip tapped his leg. “She’ll be good. Ellis said she would check in on Vera. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Hop nodded as he tried to push thoughts of Vera to the back of his mind. He was a SEAL, and that took all of his concentration. She would be okay. She had to be. He trusted her to seek help if she needed something.

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