“What?” he asked, catching the expression on her face.
“Oh, I’m just around military guys all day long. Most are polite but some are a little too persistent.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “I hope I wasn’t coming on too strong. Tell me to back off, and I swear that I will.”
“You’re fine,” she assured him. “Believe me, you’ve been nothing but a perfect gentleman.”
He smiled down at her, even though she could tell he was itching to join his team and get in on the action. Another group had rushed by them toward the front gate, and she suspected Grayson was exactly the type of man who’d want to help no matter the situation.
“I don’t have a cell phone with me on this trip, but I’d like to come check on you tomorrow if that’s all right. We can make plans for later this week.”
“I thought you just said you were busy tomorrow.”
His lips quirked as she looked up at him. “I am busy, sweetheart. That doesn’t mean I won’t have time to swing by later on. I mean, unless all hell breaks loose. If the general’s in a piss poor mood, that should clue you in. Then just know that I didn’t stand you up. I am here for a job with my teammates, but I’ll do everything in my power to come by when it’s over and check on you so we can make plans.”
“Okay. Be careful,” she said quietly.
It was silly. Of course he had a dangerous job. He was a soldier. Or possibly a sailor. She never had determined that actually. And now they’d arrived at her building. He needed to go help out and do whatever it was he did. She needed to get inside and stop keeping him from his job.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he assured her. “My team is well-trained, and believe it or not, we’re used to dealing with dangerous situations like this. You’re sure that you’ll be okay?” he asked, his voice deep.
Her heart fluttered slightly as she looked up at him. It was silly. She didn’t need to develop a crush on a man she’d never see again. She didn’t doubt his word on stopping by tomorrow, but after this week?
He’d be gone. Flying back around the world and off on whatever other missions he had. He might be interested in her right now, when she was literally standing right in front of him, but she knew nothing would ever come of it. He’d fly home and forget about her, and this night would probably be the most exciting thing that happened to her all year.
“I meant what I said earlier,” Grayson continued in a low voice when she didn’t immediately answer. “I’d like to get to know you more. You were the prettiest woman in there.”
“There were hardly any women in there,” she teased.
Grayson reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, keeping his hand there just a beat too long. Electricity coursed through her, and she shivered. “Go inside, Hailey,” he said softly. “I need to know that you’re safe. I’ll come by tomorrow.”
She nodded, unsure what else there was to say. It felt intimate standing there in the darkness, even though she hadn’t even met him more than thirty minutes ago. He’d walked her back like they’d actually been on a date or something. Like it was a perfectly normal thing to do here on base in the middle of Afghanistan.
He hesitated a moment, watching her, and she got the feeling he didn’t want to leave either. Grayson had a slight woodsy scent to him that was masculine and appealing. She didn’t want to move away from the warmth and safety that she felt standing there with him, but that was foolish. He wasn’t her boyfriend. She barely even knew him.
It was silly to feel sad about leaving a man she didn’t even know. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight,” she said quietly. “Be careful.”
“I will be, sweetheart. Stay safe.”
He turned and walked off quickly without another word, suddenly all business. She watched him for a moment, looking at his broad shoulders and the way he filled out his uniform, then turned and walked into the building. Despite being surrounded by people, she suddenly felt lonelier than she had in years.
“WHO WAS THAT?” HER friend Kim asked as Hailey walked inside. A small group was standing around by the front doors talking, looking over in the direction of the front gates. They couldn’t see what was happening from where their housing was located, but that didn’t stop the tension coursing through the air.
Hailey smiled, shaking her head as she walked over. She shouldn’t be smiling at all given what had just happened, but Grayson looking at her the way he did had butterflies filling her stomach and heat coursing through her. “A guy I just met. He was standing in line behind me in the cafeteria and then practically tackled me to the ground when the sirens went off.”
“Holy hell. He was hot,” Kim said, waggling her eyebrows. “I need to find me a Superman type, too.”
Hailey laughed as she looked at the other woman. Kim was an Army reservist who also worked for the Defense Department. She was only here for a few weeks on TDY, but they’d met when they were both working in Arlington. She was tall and slender, with dark wavy hair and blue eyes. The two women looked like total opposites, but they’d hit it off immediately when they’d first met. They’d bonded over work and dating nightmares and had readily kept in touch during Hailey’s year here.
“Yeah, he is. He was trying to talk me into having dinner with him before all hell broke loose.”
“And?” Kim asked.
Hailey rolled her eyes. “And then there was a huge explosion at the front gate. Plus, he’s here for a few days or something then flying back to the States.”
“Well, you’re almost done,” Kim prodded. “You’ve got what—a month left?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Oh come on, I can tell you like him.”
“Like him? I mean, I don’t even know him. Sure, he’s attractive and he didn’t think twice about protecting me when we heard the explosion, but we only talked for a couple of minutes. He ran off with his friends to help at the gate.”
“This is crazy!” another woman said, interrupting their conversation. “They should have better safety protocols in place to prevent things like this from happening. It was a suicide bomber!”
“It’s disturbing,” Hailey agreed. “They check identification multiple times before allowing entry onto base if you’re not in a military vehicle.”
“Well how’d they get in then?”
The women all looked at one another, none of them liking the possibilities. Was it someone who’d been cleared to enter base? An Afghani who worked here? A U.S. traitor? It’s not like it would be easy to simply walk in to Bagram and blow yourself up.
“I’m supposed to be in briefings all tomorrow morning,” Kim said. “I wonder if the schedule will change after this.”
“Probably,” Hailey said with a frown. “I might need to go back in tonight. Someone else will prepare the incident report, but I’ll have to make sure it’s disseminated to the proper channels.”
“Damn. That sucks.”
“All of it sucks. And I never even got to eat dinner. I think I’ll head back to my room and see what I can scrounge up. I’m sure I’ll be called in sooner rather than later.”
Kim nodded. “I need to check in, too, and see what’s on tap for tomorrow. Let me know if you hear anything else about what happened.”
The women said their goodbyes, and Hailey took the stairs up to her room on the second floor. She was feeling more and more rattled about what happened now that she’d had time to process everything.
What if she’d been walking near the gates when the explosion had happened?
What if someone had entered base during the chaos and come near here?
None of it should have ever happened, and she was concerned about what it might mean for security. She was already nervous walking around alone sometimes given the very male-dominated environment. Usually she went most places around base with a friend just to be safe.
And how crazy was that?
Everyone here was serving their country. She was separated from the sol
diers and sailors in general because she was a civilian, but she knew the female soldiers in particular were concerned about their safety being around so many men.
That was the least of her concerns though. The military men she worked with kept things professional, and working in the general’s office afforded her some protection.
She didn’t have to deal with the types of things the female servicemembers did.
Walking all the way to the end of the hall, she unlocked the flimsy lock to her room and went inside. She was fortunate to have it to herself, but again, she wasn’t an enlisted soldier. Being a civilian on base certainly had some advantages.
Sighing, she sank down onto her bed. Grayson walking her to her building should not be still sending goosebumps coursing over her skin. If he was indeed a SEAL or a Delta, like she thought, he was probably used to women crawling all over him. It’s not like something could happen here, in the middle of a warzone, but she didn’t need to be just another woman in a long string of them.
Maybe she’d see him tomorrow. Maybe not. But life would move on either way. She’d finish her month here, move clear across the country, and start her new job out in California.
If she ran into the muscular guy with hazel eyes who made her feel safe?
Well, then so be it. She was too old to believe in fairy tales though.
Chapter 3
GRAYSON JOGGED TOWARD the front gate, muttering under his breath. What the hell had gotten into him? He’d stood there in the dark staring down at Hailey like she was his or something. A woman he’d never even set eyes on before earlier this afternoon.
When he’d pushed her to the ground in the cafeteria, he hadn’t even thought twice. They’d heard the alarm sounding, and he’d acted. He hadn’t even gotten to enjoy the feeling of her soft curves beneath him or her silky hair beneath his hand, he’d been so focused on keeping her safe and assessing the situation.
Of course he’d noticed how attractive she was—that was why he’d introduced himself in the first place. But he’d been more worried about shielding her from any harm than acting on his feelings in that moment. When he’d locked eyes with Blake, he’d known they both had the same thought—Sayed.
Which meant that tomorrow, they’d be going door to door through the village, finding that bastard if it was the last thing they did.
Adrenaline coursed through him as he moved, and he frowned as he saw the chaos out front. There were three people lying on the ground, a medic tending to one of the injured. He saw Ethan and the rest of his team hovering over another body, his teammate performing CPR on the injured soldier.
Fucking hell.
“SITREP?” he asked as he jogged up.
“One casualty, aside from the suicide bomber.” Blake nodded to the right, and Grayson cursed as he saw a sheet being draped over a body. “Three injured. The base is on lockdown.”
“Any word on tomorrow?”
“I’m going to meet with the general in fifteen minutes. I don’t expect he’ll want us moving in before dawn.”
Grayson nodded, watching the heavily armed soldiers guarding the blown-apart checkpoint. Additional barricades were already being moved in, and he clenched his jaw, looking at the carnage. It could’ve been worse—so much fucking worse than this.
And oddly enough, relief coursed through him that Hailey had been nowhere nearby. That she didn’t have to see this scene. He didn’t even know the woman but felt protective toward her. Yes, she was beautiful, but there was something more. An unexplained connection and chemistry that just was. Somehow they’d clicked in the brief time they’d talked, and he wanted to sit down with her and see if anything else really was there between them.
Ethan stood as a medic team rushed over to the injured soldier where he’d been performing CPR, taking over for him. “Are we sure the suicide bomber was working alone?” he asked, wiping the blood from his hands on a towel someone shoved at him. He grabbed a sterile wipe and began cleaning his hands off.
“That’s the current assessment, although you know as well as I do, someone could’ve slipped in during the explosion,” Blake said.
“They’d have been blown up, too,” Grayson said with a frown.
Blake lifted a shoulder. “Most likely. It’s good you got Hailey back to the housing though. It’s safer than walking around out here.”
“Agreed. And I don’t think she had any interest in hanging around the chow hall after that.”
The men moved aside, watching as another medical team came rushing over with a stretcher. “How can we help?” Jackson asked, all business.
“Get him on here,” one of them barked.
Jackson nodded, and he and Troy lifted the injured soldier onto the stretcher while the first two medics continued their lifesaving efforts, one of them continuing CPR, another trying to stop the bleeding. They hurried over to a truck that had pulled up, loading the injured man inside so they could rush to the hospital on base.
“This is bullshit,” Logan said. “We should’ve fucking gone after Sayed this afternoon.”
“That wasn’t our mission,” Blake ground out. “We were doing recon. No one knew he’d disappear from the insurgents’ camp by the time we flew in from the States.”
“That’s still eating at me,” Grayson said. “It’s just too much of a damn coincidence.”
“The whole thing is FUBAR if there’s an informant here. But nabbing Sayed tomorrow could also flush him out. Either he’ll give us a name of the mole or the guilty party will accidentally expose him or herself.”
“Or we just have the worst fucking luck in the world,” Logan said.
The men watched as the injured were taken away, and Jackson and Troy walked back to their group.
“Hell,” Troy said. “Never a dull moment.”
“You guys should head back to the barracks and change,” Blake said. Both men had blood and dirt on their uniforms from helping carry the injured soldier. Ethan was a mess as well. “I’ll meet with the general and fill you in later. We’ll need to go over our plans for tomorrow.”
“Yeah, let’s head back. I don’t think they need any more help here at the moment,” Grayson said.
“Looks like its MREs tonight after all,” Logan quipped.
Grayson grunted, glancing around. There was one lone figure moving off near the side of base, and he frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Troy asked.
He saw another person walk over and talk to the man who was there alone, and Grayson relaxed his stance. “I don’t know. I just feel like whatever happened isn’t over.”
“It sure as shit isn’t over until we bring in Sayed,” Ethan said.
Grayson turned with his teammates, ready to head for the barracks, when another small explosion rumbled from the other side of base. He froze as the hair on the back of his neck stood up, realizing that it was coming from the direction he’d just left Hailey in. That didn’t mean much at the moment, because there were multiple buildings between there and here. The thought of her in danger made his stomach clench though, which was unsettling. He barely even knew the woman, and she was the first thought in his mind when he sensed danger.
“What the fuck?” Ethan muttered.
A second, louder explosion followed the first as the men hit the ground, and the night sky lit up with fire.
“God damn it!” Grayson shouted, and then he jumped up and was running straight toward the explosion without thinking, his teammates hot on his heels.
“There was a second suicide bomber!” Blake yelled.
They crossed base in record time, Grayson cursing the entire way. When he reached the building he’d left Hailey at, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The front part was completely engulfed in flames, fire and smoke rising skyward, and the side of the building had partially collapsed from the explosion.
His heart pounded in his chest as he watched some of the women coming out the doors. They were covered in soot and ash, some of them bleeding and injured. Blak
e began barking commands to his men as they rushed to help, and Grayson could hear more sirens headed this way.
His mind was on Hailey though. He’d just left her here. He’d told her it would be safer getting her back to her housing, not waiting out here in the open, and the building had been fucking bombed. Stepping over some of the rubble, he hurried toward the doors.
He didn’t even know Hailey’s last name to ask about her.
Surprisingly, the damage inside wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected. The bomber must have been standing outside of the building. Smoke filled the air though, and he knew the fire outside would soon come in. The crumbling side of the building was extremely dangerous as well—women could be trapped inside, injured, or killed, and the building was on fire.
They needed to get everyone out as quickly as possible.
“Hailey!” he shouted, knowing he was being foolish. She wouldn’t hear him over the noise and commotion. He didn’t even know where in the building she lived. The fire alarms were blaring, people were shouting and yelling, and he moved forward without thought. He helped a woman who’d tripped and fallen over, handing her off to someone else.
He looked around again, not even knowing where to start.
“You need help, Ghost?” Blake asked, rushing up to his side.
“I need to find her,” he said.
Blake nodded, understanding passing between them. Blake had met his girlfriend Clarissa on an op. As improbable as it had seemed, they’d bonded immediately. Instantly. He’d helped her through the Colombian rainforest after rescuing her from a terrorist camp. They’d been separated from the rest of the team, and by the time they’d met up the next day, the two of them had practically been inseparable.
It was fast and crazy and unexpected, but their relationship had continued. Clarissa had moved in with Blake for the summer, and Grayson wouldn’t be surprised if his buddy married her one day. He’d never thought his SEAL team leader would settle down, but it was like as soon as he’d met Clarissa, that had been it.
Grayson wasn’t foolish enough to think he was going to marry Hailey—they hadn’t even been out on a single date. The woman had instantly caught his attention though, and he felt protective instincts rising within him at the thought of her in danger.
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