Page 9 of Rescuing Sadie

Chapter Four

When Sadie went to stand up, Chase stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Stay put. I’ll get it.”

He waited until she nodded, then headed for the door. Chase couldn’t believe he’d told her about the incident overseas. He still hadn’t recovered from it; knew he was a different man as a result. He also knew a lot of competent female soldiers who would kick his ass if they suspected he didn’t want them anywhere near a combat zone, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how easily they could be tortured and abused if they were captured, and the lengths to which men like the dead Delta Force team would go to rescue them.

But he also heard what Sadie was saying. He knew the reputation of the operatives at McKay-Taggart. The women were just as impressive as the men and he knew they would, and had, gone to the same lengths as the Delta Force teams he’d been imbedded with to rescue fellow soldiers and civilians alike.

Running a hand through his hair, he knew at some point he was going to have to tell Sadie she was right. Women were more than capable of kicking ass, and just as likely to go out of their way to protect the men they were serving with. It was a new way of thinking for him, but Chase was willing to be open minded if it meant getting closer to Sadie.

He looked through the peephole and blinked at who he saw on the other side of the door. He’d expected Fletch, or maybe even his sister, but he should’ve known he’d be seeing this visitor sooner or later.

Chase straightened and instead of immediately opening the door, gestured to Sadie. “You need to experience this for yourself.”

Perplexed, she stood up and practically ran to his side. Chase opened the door with a flourish and smirked when Sadie’s mouth fell open.

“Hi!” Fletch’s little girl said brightly when she saw them. “I’m Annie. I live next door. Fletch is my daddy. I wanted to come over and see if you were using your TV.”

“Uh…” Sadie looked at Chase.

He took pity on her and kneeled down so he was at eye level with Annie. “You remember me, right, squirt? Rayne is my sister.”

Her eyes got huge. “Oh yeah! Are you younger or older?”

“Younger.”

“Did you like having an older sister?”

“Yup.”

“I want a little brother. Like, bad, but Mommy says I have to have paycents. But I want him now so I can play with him. Mommy’s got a baby in her belly, but we don’t know if I’m having a brother or a sister.”

Chase swallowed his laughter. Annie was so earnest. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that by the time Emily had the baby, when he or she was old enough to want to play, she’d probably want nothing to do with him, as she’d be in her teens. “It’ll be a nice surprise either way,” he told the little girl.

“I guess. Now…are you using your TV?”

Chase looked up at Sadie. “Are we using the TV?”

“Uh…no. We were just finishing up lunch.”

“Cool.” And with that, Annie walked by Chase and went straight to the little living room. She picked up the remote control from the coffee table, clicked on the TV, and surfed through a few channels before settling on an episode of the Power Rangers. She climbed onto the couch, pulled her knees up to her chest, and lost herself in the cartoon.

“Well, all right then,” Sadie said, staring after the little girl. “Should we call her parents and let them know she’s over here?”

Chase shut the door then turned to face her. “No need. They’re aware she’s here.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if that was my little girl, I’d know every step she took outside my house. There’s no way I’d let her wander around otherwise. Besides, Fletch has cameras all over this property.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember you saying that.”

“Right. I was going to suggest earlier that we call my sister and see if she wants to join us on a short shopping trip. I know your aunt packed more stuff for you, but I’m thinking you wouldn’t mind going shopping anyway. And I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t like shopping with me, because I don’t shop, not in person. I buy everything I need online. But since Annie is here for who knows how long—and I’m not about to interrupt Fletch to ask him, because I’m guessing he’s taking advantage of his daughter being out of the house and is otherwise preoccupied, which is exactly what I’d do in his shoes—how about we hang out, watch the Power Rangers, and when Annie leaves, I call my sister?”

Sadie looked up at him in shock. “You want to go shopping? With me? I thought we had to stay under the radar so Jonathan couldn’t find me?”

“When I said we’re going shopping, I didn’t mean we’re gonna skip around Temple, opening ourselves up to whatever Jonathan might want to lob our way. I know you hate to be confined, and the last month hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone here…let you get out of the house for a bit while at the same time making sure I have your back. Unless you want to talk, that is. We can talk about whatever you left out of your recounting of what happened between you and Jonathan…” He let his words trail off.

“Shopping sounds great,” Sadie exclaimed in a fake cheerful tone.