Masters at Arms (Rescue Me Saga, #0.5)(4)

Karla Paxton’s stomach got all weird and fluttery. Her hands began to shake. Then the soldier turned around and looked down at her. The shaking grew worse. What was the matter with her?

At first, she’d been afraid they were going to fight it out right in front of her, but the creep just got up and walked away. Well, she couldn’t blame him. The tall soldier had huge muscles—and obviously knew how to use them.

The soldier had sprung at that skaggy jerk like a mountain lion on a mouse. She’d never seen anyone move so fast. Especially someone his age. He had gray hairs at his temples, although the rest of his hair was dark brown—clipped very short, but not as short as Ian’s was now. His eyes were bloodshot and kinda sad looking. He must not have had much sleep lately.

Her gaze took in his wrinkled khaki shirt. If Ian’s uniform had been wrinkled like that, he’d have gotten in trouble. She looked at his ring finger. Married. His wife must not be nearby to take care of him. Of course, her mom would have made Ian—and probably her dad—iron his own shirt.

When he sat down where the jerk had been a few minutes ago, she shook even more, despite the fact he didn’t get into her personal space like that skag had done. Then the heat coming from his body made her feel warm and her hands stopped shaking after a little while.

“You okay, hon?”

Oh, my God. Did he just call me hon?

Not trusting her voice and not too sure about how safe he was, she just nodded. He reminded her of Dr. McNeil on Chicago Hope. She and her Mom had watched the series all the time until the show got canceled. Karla thought Mark Harmon looked hot, but didn’t tell Mom that. Mom was always pushing her to notice the dweebs in her class. But they were so immature.

“Where you headed?”

He pulled her back from her thoughts. “New York City.”

“Family there?”

Karla looked away. What’s with all the questions? “No. I need to get away from family right now.”

“Someone expecting you in New York?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Sure.” No.

“When does your bus leave?”

“Six forty-five.”

He looked at his watch. “That’s another seven hours.” He sighed as if that was a problem. What was it to him? She didn’t need a babysitter.

Then she glanced around at the men nearby and asked him, “What time does yours leave?”

“Four-thirty.”

Damn. Why did that make her feel scared again? Well, he wasn’t going to talk her out of going. She could take care of herself.

Yeah, like you did with that pimp.

Suddenly, Karla wasn’t so sure she wanted to talk with the soldier anymore. No one was going to talk her out of making this trip. She’d saved money all year, working at a bakery near her home all last summer and babysitting until she had enough for a bus ticket and almost fifteen hundred dollars to spare. When she got to New York, she’d get a job at one of the clubs. Someday, she was going to be a star, recording her own CDs and everything.

But she wouldn’t tell him that. He’d just nod and say something condescending like “that’s nice,” and not believe she could do it at all. She was tired of dreaming. It was time to make her dreams come true.

Her stomach growled. She pulled the book and backpack closer to try and shield his ears from the embarrassing sound.

“Have you had anything to eat lately?”

“Sure.” Her stomach called her a liar, even more loudly.

He chuckled and his green eyes lit up for the first time. The corners of his eyes crinkled into tiny lines. Then she felt those funny butterflies in her stomach again.

She must really be hungry.

“How long ago?”

She tilted her chin up. “I had pancakes for breakfast.”

“Come on,” he said, laughing. “Let me buy you some dinner.” He stood next to her, as tall as the Sears Tower, but didn’t grab at her like the creepy man had. He just waited, as if she had no choice but to stand because he had ordered her to go with him. Well, no way was she going anywhere with a stranger. He was too big. She wouldn’t be able to fight him off.

Even if I did want to.

Whoa! What was the matter with her? He looked as old as her uncle, who was forty-three.

“No, thanks. I’m not hungry.” She opened her book again, hoping he’d take the hint and go away.

When he did just that, she didn’t understand why her heart squeezed tight. She looked up and watched him leave, rounding the ticket counter and heading for the exit. Gosh, he didn’t even say goodbye. And where was his coat? Didn’t he know it was freezing cold out there?

Looking around, she noticed a lot of scary people watching her—mostly men. She guessed women were too smart to catch a bus in the middle of the night. None of these guys had eyes that crinkled when they laughed. They didn’t smile like they cared about her. They just leered, especially when they stared at her boobs, making her skin crawl as if a bunch of ants had taken over.

She looked across at where the soldier had been sitting and saw a large duffel bag that must belong to him. One of the boob-leering men started to reach down slowly as if to hide the fact he was about to take the bag.

“Leave it alone!” Karla wasn’t sure where that voice came from, then realized it was hers. The man stopped dead. Wow! “He’s coming back soon and, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave his things where he left them.”