Learning to Stand by Claudia Hall Christian Page A

their bedroom, they were
hit with a blast of cold air.
    “ NO HEAT?!?”
    Alex ran to jump under the covers.
    “ You weren’t due back until
tomorrow.”
    “ Lemme guess, long
story?”
    “ I know how to warm
you.”
    Slipping under the covers, he did just
that.
    F

CHAPTER SIX
     
    Three hours later
Wednesday early-morning
March 26 – 1:00 A.M. MDT
Denver, Colorado
     
    Alex woke with a gasp. Her abdomen cramped
and her mind flooded with images and emotions. In her sleep-induced
stupor, she stumbled to the bathroom. She splashed water on her
face to clear the nonsensical images. She startled when John
spoke.
    “ What is it?” John asked. He
was standing in the door. “It’s freezing, love. Come back to
bed.”
    He wrapped her in a blanket then guided her
back to bed.
    “ Nightmare?” he
asked.
    “ I don’t know.
Maybe.”
    “ Your PTSD
has...”
    Next to the bed, a telephone rang. Rolling
on his back, John reached for the phone.
    “ When was that installed?”
Alex asked.
    “ Yesterday,” John said.
“Shall I answer it? We don’t have an answerphone yet.”
    “ They’ll call back. What
were you saying?”
    “ Your PTSD has been in
remission for a while. Do you think you were triggered by your
adventures?”
    “ Maybe,” Alex said. “I don’t
remember having this kind of… experience.”
    The phone stopped ringing then began ringing
again.
    “ Sorry, love. I know you
hate the phone. I wanted to make sure you could get me if… anything
happened, you know? Shall I answer it?”
    She nodded. He kissed her nose then picked
up the phone.
    “ It’s Ben.”
    John gave Alex the phone.
    “ Alex,” Ben said. “There’s
been a kidnapping. The president asked for your help. He
specifically requested ‘the Fey.’ Do you know the
president?”
    “ Of course not.” In an
attempt to get warm, she pulled the covers over her head. “The boys
and I received the Presidential commendation last year. I mean
Major Drayson did, not the Fey.”
    “ Well he’s asking for the
Fey.”
    “ The Fey is on temporary
duty. He won’t be back until sometime tomorrow.”
    “ Very funny,” Ben said. “We
don’t have a choice here. The President of the United States
requested our help in finding and rescuing his friend.”
    “ Who’s the friend?” she
asked.
    “ Cee Cee Joiner,” they said
in unison.
    Fuck.
    “ No thanks.” She hung up the
phone.
    “ What was that?” John
asked.
    “ A nasty situation I don’t
want to be involved in,” Alex said.
    Rolling to her side, she stroked his naked
chest. She slipped on top of him when the phone rang again. She
kissed John’s lips. Moving, she kissed his neck. She continued
working her way down his body with her lips until the phone was
silent.
    “ It’s going to be okay,”
John said when the phone started ringing again. “I’ll stay right
here.”
    John spooned around her and she answered the
phone.
    “ Alexandra Hargreaves,” Ben
said.
    “ I’m kind of busy
here.”
    “ Get up. I’m sending the
intel to your computer then I’m in the air. I’ll be there in a
couple hours.”
    “ No,” Alex said. “No, not
this time. No. Cee Cee Joiner. My plate is full. I’m supposed to
put together this team and... Please Benji, no.”
    Ben fell silent at her use of the name
‘Benji,’ her acknowledgement he was her father.
    “ You cannot refuse a
presidential order,” Ben said. Switching to French, his voice was
gentle. “You just can’t.”
    She wasn’t sure how to respond.
    “ Raz has left for a
briefing. It’s my expectation that you, and your men, will be ready
to go. You have six hours.”
    “ Until what
happens?”
    “ In six hours, you will need
to function as a team.”
    Alex’s hand flew to her mouth. Jogging to
the bathroom, she managed to make the toilet before her anxious
stomach voided its contents. She looked up when John gave her a wet
washcloth.
    “ Thanks,” she
said.
    “ Your hip is off,” he said.
“I didn’t notice