Calculated Vendetta

It felt like a punch to the throat.

A double punch when Travis stood and the woman threw her arms around his neck like he was her long-lost best friend.

She was as gorgeous as they came. The slim jeans she wore with high-heeled sandals made her look leggier than she already was. And she’d probably been schooled in how to apply makeup to achieve a look both natural and flawless.

Casey sat on her hands to keep from reaching up to check how wild the wind had made her own short blond hair, which wouldn’t shine like that even if she dumped olive oil on it. She probably looked as though she’d been spit out of a hot dryer halfway through the cycle. No competition here.

“Meredith.” Travis’s shoulders squared more than usual, and he watched the front of the shop warily as though he expected a gunman to burst through the door at any second. “Is Phil with you?”

For the barest second, the other woman’s expression dropped, but she caught herself and smiled, waving a hand behind her. “Parking the car.”

“And how’s Gus?”

She grinned, her smile truly genuine for the first time, the joy radiant. “Gus is great. He’s a good dog, Travis. You should come by and see him. Phil would love if you visited.”

“It’s too hard to see him.” A shadow ghosted Travis’s face then vanished, almost as though regret winged by and he’d mentally swatted it away.

He didn’t retake his seat but stood by the table. He took a step away from Meredith and nodded toward Casey. “Meredith, this is Casey Jordan. Casey, this is Meredith Ingram. She and her husband, Phil, adopted my dog Gus. She was Gus’s vet, and when it came time for this last deployment, they took him in. It’s better for him to have a stable home with them than to watch me leave every time the army needs me elsewhere.”

“Adopted your dog? There’s so much more to...” She pivoted her entire body toward Casey, surveying her with the kind of interest usually reserved for famous athletes or rock stars. “Wait a second. Casey Jordan?” She glanced over her shoulder at Travis. “The Casey Jordan?”

Before Travis could speak, a deeper voice intruded. “My turn to say hello to the prodigal.” A man Casey hadn’t noticed reached around the woman to clasp Travis’s shoulder. He was as tall as Travis and as well built, too, his biceps peeking out the sleeves of a red polo shirt that sported an NC State University logo on the right chest. Deep brown eyes crinkled with a smile. “How long’s it been, man? Three months?”

Three months. Casey’s jaw slackened. Whoever these people were, they were close to Travis, yet they hadn’t seen him in three months. The same time he’d walked away from her.

The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence.

She shoved her chair from the table with a scrape on the concrete floor. This was a chance to edge closer to the truth. Smiling, she extended her hand to the woman. “Yes, I’m Casey Jordan.”

Travis stared, wearing one of those slightly guilty expressions, as though he’d gotten caught at something Casey couldn’t quite puzzle out. The wheels turning in his head were practically audible.

“So good to finally meet you. This is my husband, Phil.” The woman took Casey’s hand warmly, but then her grip tightened and she pulled Casey toward her, her eyebrow arching in amusement. Her smile widened and she glanced at Travis as she wrapped her other hand around Casey’s. “Do tell, Travis. I thought the two of you had split.”

Casey arched her own eyebrow at Travis and smiled. Rarely did he get rattled, but he was right now. This could be interesting and definitely better than everything else they could find to discuss this afternoon.

Yes, Travis. Do tell.

* * *

So this was what it felt like to be pinned to the wall.

The moment was surreal, as though the past three months hadn’t happened and he’d somehow time warped into his old life, with Casey by his side and Meredith and Phil as his friends.

It was one thing to run into Meredith. She was merely Phil’s wife, not a key player in everything that had happened three months ago.

But Phil? Phil was another story. One he definitely didn’t want brought up in front of Casey. After the way the other man had acted the night Travis and Casey had split, he couldn’t even look at the friend who had once walked with him through some of the hardest moments in his life.

But the way Meredith and Casey were both watching him now, they expected him to start talking.

He cracked a smile and crossed his arms, digging his fingernails into his palms. He’d honestly never expected to make this introduction. “Nothing to tell. Meredith and Phil, and yes, this is Casey.”

“Just Casey? Not my friend Casey? My acquaintance Casey?”

Man, Meredith was pushy. She couldn’t let this go? Couldn’t stand there like her husband and be silent? No, she couldn’t. He’d known her since high school in Florida. Even then, she was a talker driven by the need to know everything. Meeting Phil at North Carolina State and settling into marriage with him hadn’t dimmed her nosiness.

Casey’s cheeks reddened, and she looked at the table as she extracted her hand from Meredith’s. “Some of Travis’s former teammates are helping me with an article I’m writing.”

True, but he hated the way her voice quieted, like she wasn’t quite worthy of being here unless there was a practical reason. He hazarded a glance at Phil, who was watching Casey with an expression Travis couldn’t read.

Phil caught Travis looking and scratched his chin, his fingers crisscrossed with fresh scratches and bruises. “I remember Travis saying you were with Public Affairs. What’s this story on?”

“Someone I interviewed a while back gave me an idea for something else to chase, so I’m pursuing some leads.” Casey’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she tilted her head and let her gaze fall to Phil’s fingers. “You look like something chewed you up there.”

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