Page 11 of Keeping Penny

“What more do you need?” he asked after he stood.

She looked confused. “Need?”

“Bowie said there was a shirt, pants, and socks in the bag. Not much else. What do you need?”

“Nothing.”

Pyro lifted a brow.

“Honestly, we’re good. We don’t need much. As long as she’s safe, I’m happy.”

Pyro realized she was completely serious.

In that moment, he recognized something in her that felt familiar. The insistence that she was good, didn’t need anything from anyone, even though it was more than obvious she and her daughter had literally nothing. No belongings. Just the free handout from the US government and the clothes they were wearing.

How many times had he told social workers the same thing? That he was fine. Didn’t need anything. If you took something from someone, they usually wanted something in return. And he didn’t like to be anyone’s debt.

It had been a long time since he’d felt that way, especially now that he had his fellow Night Stalkers at his back, but he remembered the feeling all too well.

“Give us a minute?” he asked Chaos and Edge.

They didn’t hesitate to take his not-so-subtle hint that he wanted a moment with Penny.

“It was nice meeting you and your daughter,” Chaos said immediately.

“We need to get going and catch a few Z’s before we head out. You’re raising an amazing young lady, Penny. You should be so proud of her,” Edge said.

“I am. And thank you.”

With that, his friends turned and headed for the door that led out of the hangar.

Now that he was alone with Penny, Pyro felt tongue-tied. He’d had all sorts of intentions of asking her the million questions he had about her past, what she’d do when she got back to the US, how her husband had died…but he couldn’t seem to ask a single one.

“You’re going back out tonight? In the dark?”

He smiled a little at that. “We’re not called Night Stalkers for nothing,” he quipped.

But she didn’t even smile.

“We’ll be fine. It’ll actually be safer in the dark. It’s harder to hit something you can’t see.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Pyro regretted them—mostly because Penny frowned and looked even more worried than she had seconds before.

“I just…I’ll worry about you.”

Pyro blinked, flabbergasted. He’d just met this woman, and yet she’d worry about him?

He couldn’t remember anyone worrying about him in the recent past. Hell, in his life. He’d always been kind of a loner, and it wasn’t as if any of the families he’d lived with had cared too much what he was doing. As long as he was respectful, followed their rules, and didn’t rock the boat in their household, they’d left him alone.

Meaning, they didn’t really pay him much attention.

And when he’d joined the Army, he didn’t have anyone to worry about how he was doing in Basic Training, or while training to become a pilot, and then going through Night Stalker training.

When he’d started going on missions, there was no one at home to say “be careful” or “stay safe.”

This woman knew him for, what, a couple of hours? And she was worrying about him doing what was pretty much a routine evacuation? Yes, they’d been shot at earlier today, but that was nothing new.

Pyro made a decision right there and then. He’d make sure this woman and her child were safe and settled, wherever they ended up back in the States. He’d find out what the plan was for the evacuees, and he’d help Penny and Bowie get to wherever she wanted to go.