by Jade Alters
"Surma?"
"Jeanine?"
Jeanine stared at me with heat in her eyes with her hands on her hips.
"Why is my friend in your room naked?"
"Don't answer that," said Kane with a smirk. "Your answer will be used against you."
"And not in a court of law," said Gunner.
She faced me with her eyes blazing. "And what about Surma?"
"Not my idea," I said.
"That's true," said Surma, who acted a good deal soberer now than when she walked in my room. "Dr. Melkot brought me here."
"Bastard," said Jeanine. "Have they gotten that creep yet?"
Kane spoke to another man, who spoke into a radio at his shoulder and nodded.
"They found him in a closet. He's in custody now," said Kane.
"Good," said Jeanine. She spun toward me. "Just what did you do to Surma?" she said fiercely.
I held up my hands. "Nothing. I swear."
"He made me go into the bathroom and shower," said Surma. By now, she had wrapped the blanket from my bunk around her.
"Was that before or after?" said Jeanine. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.
Gunner laughed, and then Kane and Ryker did too.
"What?" said Jeanine, whipping around to face them.
"Gentleman," said Ryker. "Our mate is jealous."
"I am not!"
I wrapped my arms around her. "Go ahead, darling," I said after breathing in her scent. "Be as jealous as you want. We can take it. We're SEALs, and we are up for any challenge, obtain any mission objective."
"Any?" she said.
"Yes," said Ryker. "Including getting our mate home."
Jeanine pulled away. "Now wait a minute. You make it sound like you have plans for me. I have a job. And a life."
"Yes," said Ryker. "We have a lot of talking to do."
Jeanine
One year later
"Okay," I said staring at my iPad, "the last client paid us, and the new client put down a good deposit, so we're in good shape."
We're in the Caribbean again, even though I vowed never to come back. But we're in the U.S. Virgin Islands, miles from the island that brought us together. Not that I minded Dominica, I'm sitting on a lounge chair at a gorgeous luxury resort. Hurricane Maria left its mark throughout the island, and the rebuilding lent to upgrading systems. The hotel chain who hired Shadow Security sent us here to install a new security system, and we traveled here just as we did for the past year, to take up temporary residence until our next job.
The past year saw lots of changes. The first few months were stressful as my guys, as I call them now, disengaged from military service. The higher ups didn't like it, and the service may recall them to active duty, but officially Team Shadow now was Shadow Security Service.
Gunner pulled the iPad from my hands.
"You are looking stressed," he said. "I don't like that. And the guys won't like that."
"What am I supposed to do? How can I work from here?"
"And why can't you? We have an international phone plan. Why can't you make sales calls poolside?"
That was another change. Following Team Shadow's rescue, the Navy insisted I signed a ton of legal agreements with words like "non-disclosure," and "Miss Lee will not divulge," sprinkled through it. The biggest story in my life was a national security secret. My boss was furious with the cover story Special Ops gave me and fired me for misappropriating company funds for my "vacation." And since the world of newspapers was a surprisingly small one, getting a job in my former field was, as the guys say, a no-go. Fortunately, I found I had a talent for sales.
"Jeanine?" said Gunner.
"Because it's too romantic and my thoughts wander. When are you guys going to finish the work? You promised me a vacation. Some alone time? You've all been so busy."
Gunner took both of my hand and kissed them.
"We're almost done. Just another day or two."
"A day or two!"
"You tell us all the time that establishing a new business is hard work. Do some shopping.
"Why?"
"Buy a new dress."
"No. I don't need a new dress."
"Are you sure?" He smiled.
"Gunner, what are you going on about?"
"Nothing," he said.
"You're hiding something."
"Nope," he said. But he smiled, which tipped me off. Gunner's face hides little.
Gunner's phone chimed, and he looked at it.
"That's great," he murmured.
"What?"
"The Dominica justice system has spoken. They sentenced Dr. Melkot to thirty years for kidnapping."
"Wow."
"The maximum term is seven years per count, and since we found four other women besides Surma, that added up. I'm glad they aren't letting him serve his sentence concurrently."
"They let him skate on five years," I said sourly. "After what he put Surma through, he deserves every year."
"He's not a young man. He'll be seventy before he gets out."
I huffed, but he was right, but I didn't have to like it.
Another text commanded Gunner's attention, and he nodded.
"Let's go," he said.
"Where?"
"You'll see."
"Is this a surprise?"
"Yes."
"I knew it. You guys have been sneaking around for days looking all suspicious."
"We do not sneak," said Gunner. "We deploy."
"And what did you 'deploy' this time?"
Gunner smiled and put my iPad in my straw bag and held out his hand.
"You'll see."
"You won't tell me, will you?"
"Nope."
I huffed, but I wasn't angry with him. I didn't know what to expect, but the guys' surprises were always fun.
But I didn't expect this.
We drove out to shore, which was a beautiful ride, and I enjoyed the sun and the wind through my hair. This was a beautiful place, almost paradise. But then Gunner pulled into a driveway and stopped at the side of the house. From here, I saw the ocean, and the crystal blue waters placidly washing on the shore. The house stood two stories high, as many island homes do, with a wraparound veranda. It looked boxy from this perspective, but then Caribbean homes had more on the inside than the outside.
"Why are we here, Gunner?"
"It's kinda of a party."
"What do you mean? Gunner!" I said with exasperation.
"Now keep an open mind. It's unfortunate, but Hurricane Maria opened the real estate market. And we had to do some work on it, but—"
"Gunner?"
I got out of car, and Ryker walked from inside the house onto the veranda.
"Hi, doll. Come on up."
"What did you guys do?"
"Let me show you."
I walked up the steps to the veranda with Gunner behind me.
Ryker smiled and put his arm around my waist and shepherded me into the house. There Kane and Damon stood in the kitchen. Champagne flutes lined up on the granite counter that separated the kitchen from the large living area. Champagne chilled in an ice bucket.
"Welcome to your new home," said Damon.
"Now," said Kane, "before you say no, we got it at a great price because of the hurricane. It needed a new roof, but we took care of that right away."
"And repaired the water damage," said Gunner.
"We replaced nearly every wall," said Ryker.
"There are five bedrooms upstairs," said Gunner, "and a small apartment downstairs we can rent as a vacation rental."
"Or not," said Ryker. "We can use it as an office."
"Or not," said Gunner. "And three bathrooms upstairs and it should be large enough."
"Well, yes," I said. "It is. But five bedrooms?"
"In case," said Ryker nuzzling my neck, "we want to expand our little family."
I swallowed hard. "Expand?"
"Sure. We're not going anywhere," said Damon. "And the idea of
little SEALs running around has a certain appeal."
"And this way, three of us can do jobs and rotate who stays with you," said Kane.
"That is when you want to stay home," said Kane.
Home.
Why didn't it hit me before this? Was it our nomadic lifestyle? The going from one job to another without a break? I looked at Damon, Gunner, and Kane, all with a hope twinkling in their eyes. But it hit me.
These men were my family—forever.
"Dammit," I said. "You should have talked to me about this."
"I told you," said Gunner to Ryker.
"Then we'll just have to persuade her," said Ryker. He nibbled on my neck. I can see where this is heading, right to the bedroom. While I'm not opposed, I want to make one thing clear.
"No," I said.
"What, we can't persuade you?" said Kane.
"No. You don't need to persuade me. Wherever you guys are is my home. So let's open that champagne."
A Note from Jade
I hope you enjoyed Mated to Team Shadow. If you did, the good news is that there’s more to come in this Reverse Harem series. If you want to be the first to hear about my new releases, promotions and giveaways, I urge you to join my Paranormal Reader’s Club.
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Other Books by Jade
Mated to the Clan
Mated to the Pack
Protected by the Pack
Claimed by the Pack