SEAL INVESTIGATIONS: A 5-Books SEAL Romance Series

by Lola Silverman

  “I can’t leave him.” Jai shook her head.

  She had been snatching bits of sleep resting her cheek on his arm during the night. If she weren’t afraid that climbing into bed with him would somehow worsen his condition, she would have done that as well. Her terror at the thought of losing him was overwhelming.

  Bones chuckled. “I told her you would say that.”

  “It was worth a try.” Marina cast a dirty look over her shoulder at her SEAL. “Even though I don’t think I’d be able to leave if that was you in the bed.”

  Jai was grateful for the understanding. She offered what she hoped was a friendly smile, but just felt tired.

  Marina pursed her lips. “Yates’s father got through to his contact at the IRS. There’s an investigation going ahead full throttle. The men on that list have had their assets frozen. The clubs are shut down all up and down the East Coast.”

  “I’m glad.” Jai spoke the words, but somehow they felt hollow.

  “You’ve brought so much information to our investigation,” Marina said hesitantly. “We want you to know how thankful we are.”

  Now Jai’s smile felt brittle. What good was success in this investigation if it cost Sparks his life? There was nothing worth that. Nothing.

  SPARKS FLOATED SOMEWHERE between dreams and reality. Everything was insubstantial, and he felt as though the universe itself were at his fingertips. He thought about Bhatia, and about the last thing he remembered. Then he recalled a soft voice and an even softer touch.

  The thought of that touch seemed to prick his consciousness. He was aware of the slight pressure and feather-soft sensation of Jaipriya’s fingers gently tracing the veins in his left hand. Even in that half-life state he had to pause a moment to savor her presence. The woman was everything. He could not imagine a better partner in life. Not even one of his SEAL brothers. It did not matter that he had commitments elsewhere that would challenge his ability to take on a relationship. He didn’t care. If he ever managed to leave this—place—he wanted to beg Jaipriya to be with him forever. He would never let her go.

  “Sparks.” The whisper seemed to drift out of the ether. “Sparks, please come back to me.”

  He turned in a slow circle. It was so odd to see his body as though his mind were outside his physical self. He saw a crossroads. To one side, at the end of a long, winding path, he saw the light once again. The other side held a road that led to darkness. He sensed a menacing presence at the end of that path and turned away.

  That was when he saw it. It was like a movie playing on a screen as big as the world. He took a few hesitant steps in that direction. The picture got clearer. The images were sharper. Suddenly he could smell Jaipriya’s spicy feminine scent. She was there. He could feel it.

  He started walking faster. Then he was running. The images started to move with more distinction. He saw Bones and Marina. But it was Jaipriya who consumed his focus. He was moving so quickly that he tripped and fell. He plunged forward, and suddenly he was there.

  Everything hurt. His shoulders were on fire, but they were immobile. There was wrapping on his feet, and they were thankfully numb. His side was tender, but not unbearable. He felt the unmistakable buzz of morphine in his system. It made his face itchy.

  “Sparks?” Jaipriya’s soft voice was so hesitant it nearly broke his heart to think of how much angst his condition had caused her.

  He took a deep breath. His throat was scratchy, probably because he’d been intubated at some point. Then he licked his parched lips.

  “Water,” Bones rumbled.

  His old friend put a cup to Sparks’s lips and he took a sip. Finally he could speak. “Love you,” he croaked. “Jaipriya.”

  She burst into sobs and buried her face against his side. He put his arm around her as best he could and held her tight.

  JAIPRIYA COULD NOT stop crying. She felt ridiculous. Bones and Marina quietly excused themselves. The door clicked shut, and Jai tried to swipe the tears from her eyes. Soon her nose would run, and then she would look ridiculous. She could not imagine how she was supposed to impress him with her sexiness and desirability when she looked like a red-nosed, weepy mess.

  “Don’t cry, baby,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m going to be fine. Just fine.”

  “I was so scared.” She felt as if she were confessing a horrid sin. “I thought—I watched you die in the ambulance. I was so afraid! And then they used those paddle things. It was horrible. And finally you came back to me, and then you’ve been unconscious ever since. I know that I’m not the kind of woman that you want for your life. I know this. But please don’t leave me like that again.”

  Jai felt utterly naked in her grief and desperation. She could not imagine how she would survive if he told her that she was right. He had no interest in her as a woman or a partner or a permanent fixture in his life. She had nothing to give him but herself, and yet she wanted nothing but him.

  “Jaipriya Bhatia,” he began. His fingers gently touched her cheek. “How could you ever believe that you are not the kind woman I would want? How could you think that? You are the only woman I want. You are the only one who has ever touched me so deeply. How could there be anyone else?”

  She felt as though he had handed her the moon, and she didn’t know quite what to do with it. Her tongue was tied and her heart was flying. Finally she felt a smile begin to spread across her face. “I just want to be with you,” she whispered. “It is all I want.”

  “I know you expected your life to be all about arranged marriages and bringing your family honor,” Sparks began in a rough voice. “But let’s face it, sweetheart. Your family is insane, and there is no way in hell I’m letting any of them make even the most remote decision about your future.”

  She laughed. It had been so long since she’d felt so light! There were still dark things hanging over them. The missing women, Hasim’s true intentions, and his career as a Navy SEAL were all going to be difficult things to resolve. Yet she felt as if they could overcome any obstacle as long as they were together.

  “You’re right about my family,” she told him. “In the last week I feel as if any loyalty I felt toward them has been eclipsed by all of the horrible things they have done. They cannot be trusted, and they have proved over and over again that they were willing to trade my safety and happiness for their financial gain.”

  “So marry me, Jaipriya Bhatia.” He took both of her hands in his. “I came too close to losing everything to take a chance with what I really want. So marry me as soon as we can find someone to perform the ceremony, and let’s not waste another second.”

  She didn’t even have to consider it. “Yes!” It looked as if things were finally starting to turn around.

  Epilogue

  The dank scent of the container was tinged with the musty scent of damp earth. She wrinkled her nose and wondered what had changed. Sometimes she thought that she could not remember a time before this place. The six walls of this prison, riddled with sharp edges, divots, and scars, were the only constant in her reality. Nothing else mattered.

  She stood up, daring to stand at her full height. The top of her head barely brushed the ceiling. Strands of her lank hair caught on the sharp edges of wood. She wondered if the matted mess could ever be combed out, and then simultaneously decided that it was never again going to matter. Her life was over. Even if she were to escape this prison she would never be the same. She could not even remember that woman.

  A sound from outside made her sink into a crouch once again. There were boots on the crunchy gravel outside. She quivered with fear. There was no place to hide. Standing up, she paced a quick circle before retreating to the farthest corner of the container. She squatted down once again to wait.

  The door hinges shrieked in protest as someone opened them from outside. A sliver of light trickled through the doorway to paint one tiny line on the floor of her prison. The sight briefly distracted her. She had not seen light in so long, except through the tiny crev
ices of her prison. It was almost dazzling to see it now.

  She couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and see the light against her skin. She drew her hand back quickly. She was so dirty. The light only revealed her filth. She could remember a time not so long ago when she would have never been caught looking anything less than perfect. She had matched her shoes to her handbags, and then she’d made sure her friends all wore matching jewelry. She had been petty and spoiled, and she regretted that wasteful existence now more than anything else.

  “Hello, Rachel.”

  The voice was so familiar. Why was it so familiar? Of course, it was only familiar to a portion of her brain that still lived in her former life. The rest of her knew this man intimately. He was the one who came to administer beatings. She quivered with fear before managing to gain control of her emotions. She would not break. It was the only thing that kept her going these days.

  “What?” he taunted. “No screaming?”

  “Go. To. Hell.”

  “No, thank you,” he whispered. “I don’t think you need any company.”

  She groaned as he grabbed her body and wrenched her hands over her head. He slipped a rope around them and hung them from a hook in the ceiling. She knew what was next. She’d taken it so many times that she no longer feared the pain.

  The first lash made her whimper. She made no sounds for the second. Only when he had reached thirty did the man seem to grow bored. Then he unbound her and dropped her on the floor of her prison. Rachel Trapp struggled with the desire to die. Perhaps none of this was worth it. Or perhaps—as she had been trying to convince herself—surviving was her final act of rebellion.

  ~~~

  ALEXANDER

  Chapter One

  Isabella Rockwood flung herself into her desk chair and spun around and around in slow, lazy circles. Perhaps lazy wasn’t the right word. Lazy denoted a lack of anything to do or an active desire not to do assigned tasks. That didn’t really apply to Isabella. She was just sick and tired of coming up against solid walls of denial and secrecy that made it seem as if the entire universe was trying to prevent her from stamping the world SOLVED on her current case.

  “Hey Bells.” Carlos stuck his head inside her office. “Some guy is here to see you.”

  Isabella frowned. “Some guy? Could you be a little more specific?”

  Billions of dollars spent under the Patriot Act in order to identify just about everyone in the country and Carlos comes up with “some guy”? Isabelle struggled not to roll her eyes. As a partner Carlos Brazos was more than a little lackadaisical in the way he went about his work. At least she knew she could trust him at her back.

  Carlos affected a shrug. “I don’t know. Some guy. Big dude, probably Navy.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  All she got was another shrug. “Just a feeling? And the haircut maybe.”

  “Okay. Did he say why he wants to talk to me?”

  “Something about that human trafficking case you were bitching about at the staff meeting last week.”

  Isabella shot out of her chair. “What? And you’re just now getting around to mentioning that? Are you insane? I’ve been waiting for a break in that case for months!”

  “Told you that you’d want to talk to him.” Carlos shot her a dirty look. “You’re just so damn bitchy these days. You need to get laid or something.”

  “You’re an ass.” She made a face. “Get out of my office before I lay something on you that won’t get you off.”

  “Whew!” He gave her a sarcastic little wave as he sped off in the opposite direction.

  Isabella practically sprinted toward the reception area. She had visions of some military higher up in official uniform congratulating her on not giving up on this case as he provided her with enough missing information to make Homeland Security take her seriously. She was practically skipping by the time she reached the end of the hall. Then she realized that she at least needed to pretend that she could be dignified when necessary.

  Smoothing her black pencil skirt and tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her left ear, she patted her bun and sucked in a deep breath. Then she plastered a pleasant smile on her face and strode confidently into the reception room. There was a man standing there with his back to her. He definitely looked military though she couldn’t understand why Carlos had assumed Navy. The guy reeked of Spec Ops. She could see no detail other than that he was dressed neatly in fatigues and his black hair was cropped close around his ears.

  “I’m Isabella Rockwood,” she offered in her husky voice. “You said you wanted to speak with me about a case?”

  The man turned around and Isabella’s stomach dropped right into her black kitten heels. “Hello, Bella.”

  “Alexander.” She forced herself to be pleasant. “What are you doing here?”

  THERE WAS NO doubt in Alex’s mind that Isabella was anything but glad to see him in her office. Her tone was flat and her smile was brittle. In fact, he figured she probably would have shot him if she thought she could get away with it. Not that he would really blame her. That night in Marrakesh had been incredible, but they hadn’t exactly parted on the best of terms.

  Alex raised his hand as she opened her mouth to say something else. “Please. I just want to discuss this trafficking case with you. All right? I have information that I know you could use. And I’m hoping that you might be able to help me.”

  “Help you?” she asked incredulously.

  That was fair. He had sort of cut her out of a different case years ago. In fact it was essentially the same case they were both working now except they hadn’t realized at the time how things were connected.

  “Can we please just go to your office and chat?” He opened his hands wide, spreading them in supplication. “I really do need your help. But I think I’ve got some answers that you’re not going to get anywhere else.”

  Oh she bristled at that. He could see it plain as day. She tossed her head. “Meaning you’ve gotten answers that didn’t come through the regular channels, right?”

  “Does any good information ever come through the regular channels?” he pointed out.

  She grunted. The sound was oddly feminine coming from her. “I guess you’re right.”

  “So?” he prompted with raised brows.

  “Oh right.” She turned on her heel. “I guess you may as well follow, but I’ll warn you not to be staring at my ass. I’m not going to tolerate any more of your bullshit.”

  Alex hid a smile. She wouldn’t have appreciated it. The truth was, Isabella was a woman in a class all her own. Nobody could ever compare. In fact he had not been with another woman since that night in Marrakesh nearly eight months ago. Some of it was his assignment. Hanging about in the Middle East didn’t exactly help a guy’s sex life. But the idea of taking some casual lover to his bed and finding out that he was going to spend all night long comparing this fictitious woman to Isabella was an unpleasant thought at best.

  They finally rounded a corner and entered a wide corner office. It was well lit and airy. The windows were open to a view of the mall below and there was an aquarium with a good selection of tropical fish swimming about. Her desk was neat as a pin and even her bookshelves appeared to be alphabetized by subject.

  “It’s nice,” he offered as he entered. “You’re about as OCD as it gets. You know that right?”

  “Fuck off,” she growled. “Get to the point or I’m going to pull my gun out of the drawer and shoot until you either die or decide to leave.”

  He couldn’t help but notice that she said die before leave. That pretty much told him where he stood with her. He’d better get to the point before she lost her temper completely. “My younger sister Rachel was kidnapped about three weeks ago.”

  “What?” Isabella’s blue eyes went wide with alarm. “How?”

  “She was taken from a club, drugged after being lured into a VIP room. Her roommate saw it happen, but the Richmond police weren’t interested
in the case.”

  “Of course not,” Isabella murmured. She crossed her arms and her expression settled into thoughtful lines.

  “So Cassidy contacted me and I contacted some of my SEAL team.”

  The Isabella started laughing and Trapp wondered if she’d already decided he was full of shit.

  ISABELLA SHOULD HAVE known that Trapp and his SEAL buddies were responsible for the havoc up and down the east coast regarding what she regarded as her case. Nobody did pain in the ass like Trapp and his SEALs. The five of them put the ass in asshole. She couldn’t help but wonder what they might have discovered though. They didn’t have to adhere to the same rules as she did, which meant they were apt to get further when the perpetrators were protected by so many layers of secrecy and political cover ups.

  “Glad Homeland Security considers a SEAL team to be such a laughing matter,” Trapp grunted.

  Isabella hid another smile at his response. It was so obvious that she’d pricked his pride. God knew the man had plenty. Not that it wasn’t deserved. Trapp was one of the most proficient SEAL team commanders in the Navy. His teams made a success out of ops that would have other units crying like babies. She could not fault his men. She was just no longer surprised at the trail of exposed dirty laundry she’d been finding all over the east coast.

  “So.” She took a seat in her chair and then gestured that he should do the same.

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll stand.” He made a face. “I’ve been on a plane since yesterday morning.”

  “Suit yourself.” She resisted the urge to probe him for information about his latest adventure. Trapp was involved in things that someone like Isabella could only dream about. “Why don’t you start with the skeletons in the incinerator at Hansen Pharmaceuticals in Baltimore?”

  His shoulders rose and fell as he sighed. “Why don’t we cut the crap and just talk about what you need to know?” His dark brow arched high in silent challenge. “I can sit here and assuage your curiosity all afternoon, but that isn’t going to get us anywhere.”