Bobby tugged nervously at the cuff of his black jacket, and the lower half of JoAnne’s white wedding dress trembled. Seeing that they were more nervous than he was calmed Chris’s nerves. He tried to help them relax by allowing his inward calm to rise to the surface, forming a smile. The groom smiled back, and he stopped tugging on his sleeve, but the bride’s dress continued to quiver. During the previous night’s rehearsal, Chris had advised the bride and groom not to lock their knees, but he wondered if now in all the jitteriness, the bride had forgotten.
“Are you bending a little at the knees?” Chris whispered to her.
The whole congregation seemed anxious for him to begin the wedding vows, but Chris’s mind blocked them out — just as he’d blocked out distractions while focusing on his rifle scope. There could be no ceremony without the bride and groom. He met her eyes.
“I am now,” she said.
The groom reached out and held her hand, and she stopped shaking.
“Ready?” Chris asked them.
They both smiled and nodded.
Chris had read the wedding vows over and over again, even late last night when he was unable to sleep. But even so, this was his first wedding ceremony. What if I mess up? He swallowed, pushing down the anxiety, and banished the thought.
“Dearly beloved…”
Chris made it smoothly through the ceremony, and he let out a sigh of relief as Bobby and Joanne faced each other, ringed fingers intertwined. “By the authority vested in me by the state of Texas,” he said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
They kissed, sealing their vow, and Chris couldn’t help but smile. They stepped down from the altar and strolled out of the chapel to loud applause. The bridal party, family, and guests followed, Chris waiting until everyone was gone to go join in the outdoor reception himself.
Pastor Luther, whom Chris worked for, reached out to shake his hand when he entered the reception area. “I would’ve never guessed this was your first wedding,” he said. “You handled it like a pro. And more importantly, you put Bobby and Joanne at ease.”
Chris smiled. “Thank you. Coming from you, that means a lot.”
Pastor Luther stepped away to mingle with the others, and a line of guests formed at a nearby table for hors d’oeuvres. Chris grabbed a bottle of water from a large bowl of ice and quenched his dry throat.
“Hey, stranger,” a sultry voice said from behind.
Chris turned around to see who it was, and his breath caught. Hannah…
The sight of her lit him up like a white phosphorous bullet, but he tried not to let it show. She was a chameleon who could look like a geek one moment or the girl next door, but when she turned it on, like she did now, heads turned. Roses blossomed and faded, but Hannah’s beauty was amaranthine.
He wanted to kiss her but remembered he was still wearing his clerical suit and was within sight of his congregation. He hugged her tightly.
“I thought we’d agreed to just be friends,” she said with a raised eyebrow.
He was unable to control his smile. “And that was a friendly hug.”
Then she kissed him on the lips, searing into him like a habanero. Her skin smelled of vanilla and oranges, and he breathed her in.
“I thought we’d agreed to just be friends,” he said playfully.
“That was a friendly kiss,” she said.
He chuckled. Though he hoped no one in his congregation had noticed, he couldn’t fathom regretting a kiss from her. “Very.”
But no such luck. Bobby and Joanne were supposed to be the center of attention, yet all eyes had shifted to Chris and Hannah.
“You sure do know how to crash a party,” he said to her.
She flashed him a sly grin. “You speak with the voice of experience.”
Although she lived in Virginia and he in Texas, they had dated when they could over the past year. He wished she could be the marrying kind, and she wished they could live together, but both were too stubborn to change. That left them here.
“You know, this setting suits you,” he said.
“Not really,” she said. “Not at all, actually. Isn’t that part of the reason we decided to just be friends?”
“Well, I think it suits you.”
“Because you believe in fairy tales.”
“I believe in believing,” he clarified. He offered her a drink of his water.
She held up her hand. “No, thanks.”
He took a sip before going on. “I’m hoping you’re here because you have some time off, but my instincts tell me you’re here for business.”
“You’ve got better instincts than any shooter I know.”
“Flattery gets you everywhere.”
“Flattery hasn’t brought me all the way out to Dallas to see you,” she said, keeping the playful tone in her voice.
“I’m happy to help you any way I can,” he said.
“I left a message on your answering service and texted you.”
“I was so busy with the wedding and all. I’m sorry I missed your messages.”
Her tone became businesslike. “We don’t have much time, so I’ll get to it. The White House Chief of Staff’s son-in-law was kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?” His mind switched into SEAL mode, and he forgot about his current job as pastor.
“A jet loaded with our gear is standing by at Addison Airport to fly us out.”
Chris nodded, then remembered he was still in his clerical garb. “Do I have time to go home and change?”
“Everything you need is on the plane.”
“Okay, give me a minute.” He walked over to Pastor Luther and quietly pulled him aside. “Do you remember last fall, after I returned from my most recent assignment, I mentioned that sometime in the near future I might be needed again?”
Pastor Luther glanced at Hannah, then back at Chris as if he already understood.
“Thank you. I’m sorry this is such short notice.”
Pastor Luther hugged him. “I’ll cover for you, son.”
The man was like a second father to Chris, and he couldn’t be more grateful. “Please tell Bobby and Joanne I’m sorry I couldn’t stay.”
Pastor Luther nodded. “I will.”
Chris rejoined Hannah amid numerous stares, and she led him to the parking lot where, instead of her yellow Mustang, she walked up to another vehicle, probably a rental. They hopped inside, and she fired up the engine and pulled out onto the street.
She had brought Chris back into the terrorist-hunting business less than a year ago, when they’d been racing down this same road. Back then, he had struggled with keeping the light of a preacher while immersing himself in the darkness of black ops, but he’d somehow found validation in both, saving souls and lives. Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d struggle again.
Pushing his concern aside, he focused on the mission. “Where was the Chief of Staff’s son-in-law last seen?”
“At a US embassy party in Athens, Greece,” she replied.
“Has anyone claimed responsibility?”
She turned the steering wheel and accelerated around a corner. “A Greek terror organization calling itself 21D.”
He didn’t recognize the name. “21D?”
“They’re a pro-Marxist group with a history of attacks in Greece, opposing Greek ties with NATO and the EU.”
“Any demands?” he asked.
“21D wants Greece to reject plans to create the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.”
He furrowed his brow. “Why?”
“European plans are for TAP to carry natural gas from Turkey to Greece and then to Albania, ending in southern Italy,” she explained. “21D denounces TAP as another capitalist invasion into Greece.”