Safe Harbor 2: Hiding in Plain Sight by Cassandra Carr Page B

the door and then opened a cabinet to what he assumed was the pantry. Also loaded. He recalled Russia still often experienced shortages, even after the fall of communism, and he wondered if Vlad was unconsciously stocking up. He would imagine that kind of thing would be hard to let go of.
    After assessing what he had to work with, Joe pulled out English muffins, cheese, ham, and eggs. He loved Egg McMuffins, and given the opportunity to copy them was a breakfast idea he could get behind. Hopefully this wouldn’t mess with whatever Vlad’s in-season diet was, but hey, the guy had all this stuff in the fridge—surely he intended to eat it at some point. Just perhaps not in this particular configuration.
    He got busy scrambling the eggs, since he didn’t have one of those round things McDonald’s used to put the egg inside, while he warmed the ham up in the microwave. After the eggs were done, he slid the ham into the pan and gave it a little color, and then went about assembling the sandwiches, finding plates right in front of him in the cabinet.
    Joe heard Vlad coming down the stairs, one light step and one heavier one as Vlad tried to keep weight off his injured ankle. When he arrived in the kitchen, he heaved himself onto a stool in just his sweat shorts.
    “You made all of this while I was in the shower?”
    “It wasn’t hard. Can you eat it? I figured if you had all the stuff in your fridge, it was okay. I assume you guys are supposed to eat healthy, but this really isn’t bad.”
    Pretending to study it, Vlad said, “Carbs, protein, delicious. Yes, I can eat it.”
    Joe pushed the plate toward him with a smile. “I made coffee. Or would you like juice? I noticed you had some orange juice in there.”
    “Both, please.” Vlad bit into the sandwich and groaned. “I think I will keep you,” Vlad said around the mouthful.
    “Glad my skills are good for something.”
    He swallowed and took a drink of the juice Joe handed him. “Oh, they are.”
    Joe poured them both coffees. “Do you take anything in yours?”
    “Milk.”
    Joe grabbed it from the fridge and handed it over. “I’ll let you do up your own coffee. I hate it when people screw mine up, though I’ll drink it black too. When we were lucky enough to get coffee in the sandbox, it was usually black and thick as mud. Not a creamer or a sugar packet in sight.”
    “Eww…not a very nice picture.”
    Vlad made a face, and Joe tried not to laugh. Considering where the guy had grown up, Joe was a little surprised at his reaction.
    “It’s the military life.”
    “I am so glad my hockey playing meant I didn’t have to do my required time in the Russian military. My brothers did. I never agreed with the politics of the country anyway, so being part of something I did not believe in wasn’t something I was excited to do.”
    “I understand.” He recalled some of the hellholes he’d been to during his time in Delta Force. Joe had seen the worst of the worst. Sometimes he was shocked he hadn’t come out the other side more screwed up than he was.
    “Hey, Joey.” Vlad waved his hand in front of his face.
    Joe blinked. “What?”
    “Where did you go? You stopped eating and were staring off into nothing.”
    “Just remembering some things I’d rather forget.”
    “Do you…” Vlad’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he persevered. “Do you have that thing soldiers sometimes battle with when they get back from being overseas? Where they have nightmares and stuff?”
    “Actually, no. I mean, occasionally I’ll dream about something, but do I go apeshit when a car backfires? No. Do I think I’m being watched all the time? No. I’m pretty okay. Considering my background, I consider myself pretty lucky to have escaped with my sanity intact at all.”
    “Yes, that’s good.” Vlad popped the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. “Eat yours. It’s getting cold. I am going to make a protein shake. I have to keep the weight on, but I can’t do