Marcus

Chapter Fifty Five

Caroline ~

It had been four weeks since the teams had returned from Syria and Caroline was finally starting to feel normal again.

She had fallen into Marcus' routine seamlessly, loving the new relationships she had formed with his teammates and the women they loved.

Caroline was closest with Lainey and spent a couple hours a day up at Knight Security, helping Lainey with various intelligence projects. But she had formed a special connection with all of the women of Knight Security.

They were no strangers to trauma and were experts at healing - being each other's strength when they needed it and that's exactly what they did for Caroline.

Lexi dropped off meals and met Caroline for lunch whenever she needed to talk. Lexi had a calming presence that made Caroline feel like she could open up and be vulnerable without judgment. Natalie organized girls nights and made sure Caroline felt accepted and welcomed, providing comic relief with her sassy one liners and witty comebacks. Lastly Claire's bubbly personality always put a smile on Caroline's face and made everything seem less dark and scary.

These women welcomed Caroline into their little family with open arms which made the healing process easier.

"Got all your bags packed baby?" Marcus asked, emerging from the bathroom with a towel around his waist and beads of water clinging to his chest.

"Packed and ready to go." Caroline said brightly as Marcus gave her a quick peck on the top of the head.

Bravo and Delta team had just wrapped up a small stateside job involving a cartel ring and had earned some leave time which they were about to use on a Vegas trip to celebrate Declan and Lexi's engagement. It was a joint bachelor / bachelorette party and Caroline couldn't be more excited to celebrate her friend.

A loud knock sounded from the door before the knob twisted and Pierce let himself in.

"Anybody home?" Pierce yelled into the house as Marcus got dressed.

"Did you not lock the door?" Caroline chuckled.

"I did but Hollywood picks locks for fun just to prove he can. At least he knocked." Marcus said, pulling his shirt down over his head and rolling his eyes at his teammate.

"Y'all fuckin?" Pierce said with a laugh.

"This is breaking and entering Pierce." Natalie scolded from the doorway.

"She's got a point you know." Marcus grumbled as he put his and Caroline's bags over his shoulder and emerged from their bedroom.

"What? You gonna call the cops on me, Mac?" Pierce snickered.

"Nah, but you better be careful. Next time Red might shoot you." Marcus said with a grin.

"Red would never shoot me. She loves me too much." Pierce said, wrapping Caroline up in a hug while Marcus hugged Natalie.

"It's okay, Caroline you can shoot him. Just make sure he lives because I need him functional tonight." Natalie said, shooting Pierce a wink.

Pierce clapped his hands and rubbed them together before he rushed Natalie at the door, throwing her small body over his muscular shoulder.

"Let's get this show on the road, I got big plans for this girl tonight." Pierce yelled as he headed toward his truck with Natalie laughing and squirming over his shoulder.

"Remind me not to sit next to them on the plane." Marcus chuckled.

*****

The group met in the terminal with Lexi and Declan being the last to arrive.