The Crazy Good SEAL Series: Books 1-3

by Rachel Robinson

  Marissa shakes her head, a disgusted look on her face. “That’s not nice.”

  Dagger smooths the hair on the sides of his head back behind his ears. “No one said our lives were nice. Speaking of nice, tell me about you.” The way he speaks paired with how he’s looking at my friend makes it seem like he’s asking her something completely different. Naughty. Marissa ignores his glare and starts talking about her job in intelligence. By the time my food arrives I’ve drained my martini and it’s standing room only outside on the patio. Some of Luke and Dagger’s Teammates are lingering near our table or have pulled up chairs. They look at me curiously, like the newest exhibit at the zoo. Without our uniforms on, I have no idea who these men are, what their ranks are, or how long they’ve been in the Navy. I am out of my comfort zone.

  I chug a glass of water to balance out the martini and excuse myself to the restroom that I noticed when we first walked in. It’s down a dark hallway covered in tattered band posters. They have a small stage here at Mayton’s and I try my hardest not to let Henry come to mind, but it’s difficult because this is exactly his scene. Or it was, before he blew up. Yanking the jumpsuit down my shoulders to expose my entire body to pee gives me a chill.

  I’m reading a sordid love story about Noelle H and how much she loves cock scratched into the stall when I hear the door creak open. Dressing, I exit to wash my hands. A woman is standing there. Waiting for me. She’s wearing all black, with her hair slicked back into a bun. She works here.

  She clears her throat and crosses her ballet flats at the ankle, watching me fiddle with my hair. “You’re the woman who made it through SEAL training.” Her voice is clear, concise.

  “I am,” I reply.

  “You’re also Henry Durnin’s ex.”

  I lose my breath. There’s no sense in denying it. “That will be an unfortunate confirmation. Yes.”

  “I knew it. I knew it!” she exclaims. “No one believed me, but I recognized you when you walked in and put two and two together when I saw who you were hanging with. A quick google proved me right. You are so much prettier in person.” Women’s intuition. People downplay it far too often. This hostess pegged my life with a swift study and one internet search. “Way prettier in person.” She raises her brows as she glances at her phone, presumably to look at whatever ugly photo of me is there.

  I wince. “Thanks. I think?”

  “I read all of the tabloids,” the woman says, pausing to look at me closer. “You’re really beautiful. They made you look like a sewer creature in Pink Flash.” I hate that tabloid the most. They were horrifyingly mean toward me. Made up stories constantly. My stomach tenses. “Congrats, by the way,” she says. “I was rooting for you before I knew who you were.”

  The media picked up the story of the first female Navy SEAL candidate about halfway through my training. Lt. Williams has been a shark in protecting me in all ways. She has a law degree and a pension for women’s rights. Having her on my side is one of my greatest benefits. She’s also the reason all of my teammates are afraid of me. I’m never certain what side of the double-edged sword I should fall on. “Thanks for that,” I reply. “Could you ah, not say anything tonight?” I was warned by my mom that it was going to get pretty crazy when word got out about my completion of BUD/s and pinning as a SEAL. My mom runs the CJJ Public Relations office in San Diego and she’s going to try her best to control everything possible.

  “Of course,” the girl says, lying. “I won’t say a word.”

  Smiling, I thank her and exit the restroom. I pull out my phone and text my mom to whine about being recognized. It’s hard enough trying to fit in with a bunch of alpha males without people hounding me to see what I look like and where I came from.

  She texts back immediately, as I lean against the wall in the dimly lit hallway. Come to the office tomorrow so we can get ahead of it. We planned to give them a story in a week, might as well do it a little earlier than that. Just a small post about you with a photo. Maybe that will appease the masses for a while. It’s a big deal, Aara. It’s your life, so you don’t think anything of it, but people are always going to be curious. It’s the nature of the beast.

  Sighing, I recognize the truth in her words. I reply that I’ll see her soon and tell her I love her. Mom’s reply is swift. Forever and ever. There’s a lump in my throat when I push off the wall and let another girl slide past me and into the restroom. Four men are looming where I need to pass to get back to my table.

  “Hey there,” one says. He’s has blond hair, greasy skin, and a death wish. The way his eyes roam over my body I know nothing he says next is going to be pleasant. It’s an awful fact of life as a woman. We know immediately when there’s a threat in the atmosphere. Lucky for me, I’m not a normal woman. “Let me buy you a drink,” he says, his buddies chuckling, standing down behind him.

  “No thanks,” I say, keeping my chin held high.

  Big nasty dude replies, “That’s not nice. Why don’t you give me a smile, thank me for my offer, and have a drink with me? That’s what a good girl would do.” Okay, so this is where my eyes should bug out of my head. The part where my stomach sinks. Reality sets in. But I’m Aarabelle Dempsey and I might need my friend here tonight for confidence, but I don’t need help with this.

  I step closer to him, my shoulders tight and body humming. “Excuse me? Did you just tell me what to do? No one tells me what to do.” It’s crowded in Mayton’s now. I bet the place is packed beyond code. This tiny hallway conceals me from my friends outside.

  The man moves toward me, unfazed by my words and hostile posture. “Come on, sweetie. One drink. I’ll make sure you have a good time.” He steps toward me, his left foot forward, his right-hand snaking around my waist. The same time his sweaty hand meets my body, Luke appears, a brawny, commanding presence that morphs the atmosphere—ignites it with danger.

  “Need anything Little Dempsey?” Luke drawls. His voice holds a bit of sarcasm, but his eyes are like loaded guns as they take in the man with his damn hand on my fucking body.

  Clearing my throat, I say, “Nope.” With my right hand, I take his filthy arm from my waist and circle it so it bends an unnatural way, forcing his back to me, and his knees to hit the floor. I bend his arm behind his head and circle his neck with my left arm. “I can take care of this,” I finish speaking once I know I have him locked. He isn’t moving. He can’t.

  Luke laughs, folding his arms across his chest. Dagger is now next to him causing a scene with his cackle. “You mother fuckers best be on your way before Little Dempsey dispatches of you, too,” Dagger says to the friends. They back away, and slink around the guys, not taking their eyes off me. My glare is unsympathetic—a promise to do to them what I did to their filthy, hideous friend. They apologize as more of my teammates circle around, now a hoard of muscular men who look like they deliver evil as a profession. Tattoos lick up their necks, their jaws are sharp and their gazes glint just enough to let everyone know what they’re capable of.

  Even though he stinks like stale beer and unwashed hair, I lean down and whisper into the asshole’s ear. “Don’t ever touch a woman without her permission.” I put my foot in the center of his back and kick him forward unexpectedly. He doesn’t catch himself. He lands on his chest, arms splayed on the cement floor in front of Luke’s feet.

  My heart is hammering. Not because of what I just did, I’ve done that before, unfortunately. The nerves are because I’m surrounded by people who I desperately want to consider me an equal. I don’t see how it’s possible when I have to fight off lechers during a night out. I breathe out long and hard and realize my shoulders are lifting and lowering with each breath. Luke’s stance is wide and commandeering as he peers down at the dude on the floor. He tilts his head to the door.

  The jerk gets up, palms facing Dagger and Luke, and now Sanders and Hoffer. He explains he’s here on vacation and was looking for a good time.

  Marissa barges in, a huge bite of food stuffed in her
cheek. “I miss everything,” she exclaims throwing her hands up. “You okay?”

  I nod at my friend. Dagger fidgets with his perfect hair and tells the guy, “Bro, it’s 2020. Don’t fuck with women. They fuck back. If they want a good time, they’ll ask for it.”

  That brings a smile to everyone’s face, and the asshole storms off, the woman from the bathroom behind him. Did she do this? Did she set this up? My mind floods with the possibilities. I should apologize to the guys. For ruining their night. The music dies down, and it’s probably security—dealing with the three men who Marissa chased toward the guard. These guys have me in their world now, and they’re now experiencing a taste of what it’s like to be in my realm. I’ll report this ass to the police for touching me. I will make him rue the moment he laid eyes on me, and that’s one more burden I have to bear.

  Sanders comes over and extends his hand to shake. “You’re a badass, Little Dempsey.”

  I scoff. “Shut up, Sanders.”

  “I mean it,” he counters, eyes earnest.

  “He’s right,” Luke says as Dagger drains another beer. “You’re a badass.”

  Dagger wipes his mouth, belches, holds his empty mug in the air toward me. “A dime who is down to commit some crime. My type of chick.”

  Luke cringes. “That’s probably not too PC either.”

  I laugh though, shaking my head. “It’s not PC, but it’s okay. He’s not trying to grope me.” Swallowing hard, I let my eyes skirt away from Hart’s. A camera flash makes me retreat a few steps. The bile rises from my stomach up to clog my throat. The ping of horrific familiarity forces me to wrap my arms around my stomach. The guys turn to where the loud flashes are originating. Big cameras, trained on me. “Fuck,” Luke whispers. “Block her,” he orders, positioning his wide body in front of where the group of cameras are facing.

  They do. Even though I need their help, and I don’t like feeling this way, it means I’m part of something. They’ve accepted me. The guys form a tight circle around me to block the camera’s view. There are SEALs surrounding me who I haven’t met yet. Men who have no skin in my game. My stomach flips when Luke turns to glance at me over his shoulder as we walk as a group toward the exit.

  “They won’t fuck with our woman,” Luke says. “You’ve done enough fighting tonight. We got this.”

  He smirks. Dimples. My heart skips a beat. Not good.

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  OTHER TITLES BY RACHEL ROBINSON

  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

  CRAZY GOOD SERIES

  CRAZY GOOD

  SET IN STONE

  TIME AND SPACE

  THE REAL SEAL SERIES

  BLACK AND WHITE FLOWERS

  HERO HAIR

  LIFE PLUS ONE

  BRONZE BAY SEAL SERIES

  KEEPING IT

  TOSSING IT

  STEALING IT

  HARBOUR POINT SEAL SERIES

  LUST IN TRANSLATION

  ALMOST HAD YOU

  NEVER ALWAYS

  ROMANTIC COMEDY

  FROG HOG NOVELLAS

  Frog Hog – Valen and Hutch

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  THE DOM GAMES

  Visit Rachel Robinson online

  http://www.racheljrobinson.com/

  https://www.facebook.com/racheljeanrobinson