Her Treasured SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 11)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  Her Treasured SEAL

  Midnight Delta

  Book 11

  Caitlyn O’Leary

  Her Treasured SEAL

  Copyright © 2017 by Caitlyn O’Leary

  ISBN # 978-1-64204-491-1

  Cover Art Copyright © 2017 by Caitlyn O’Leary

  Published by Passionately Kind Publishing

  Cover Art by LoriJacksonDesign.com

  Created in the United States

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living, or dead is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each person.

  If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Synopsis

  A Wedding. A Baby. But Will His Enemies Destroy Their Happiness?

  Drake Avery has not gone out on a mission with his Navy SEAL team in months, instead he stayed by his woman's side as she fought for her life. Now Karen is home and recovering and it's time for Drake to go back to work. Joining his team to stop the Boko Haram in Africa, Drake faces his ultimate challenge.

  Karen is happy to be home with her precious baby boy, but she soon discovers that planning a wedding with a newborn is a lot harder than she ever imagined. She's determined to be as strong as her man and hides how exhausted she is until it's almost too late.

  As Karen and Drake attempt to fulfill their promise to honor, cherish, and love one another forever, powerful enemies have targeted them and the men of Midnight Delta. Will this couple ever get their happily ever after or will they be on the run for the rest of their lives?

  Dedication

  To the men and women who serve.

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Books by Caitlyn O’Leary

  Chapter One

  “DRAKE, IT’S FINE.”

  Why the hell was Karen trying to reassure him, for fuck’s sake? He kept what he hoped was a loving smile, plastered on his face as he brushed back her hair and kissed her forehead.

  “Of course it’s fine, Honey,” he whispered.

  “You’ll feel just a little pressure, Karen,” the doctor said from behind the draped area. Karen tried to hide her wince, but Drake spotted it.

  “She’s in pain,” he roared.

  “Drake,” Karen gasped. “I’m okay.”

  “We’re almost there,” the doctor said.

  A piercing wail startled Drake, yanking his gaze away from Karen. What the hell?

  He pushed up from the wheeled stool and peered over the curtain where they had performed the Caesarean section on Karen. In Dr. Freeman’s hands was a squalling red baby boy.

  “Here’s your healthy son, Mr. Avery.” The doctor smiled up at him.

  My God, had he ever seen anything more amazing in his life?

  “Karen! Can you see him, Honey? Look up in the mirror.” Drake grinned like a madman.

  The wiggling, squalling scrap of life had him captivated. His son. He had a son. They had a son, my God, Karen was a miracle worker. “Listen to him, Karen, he’s got a pair of lungs on him.” He smiled broadly.

  “Would you like to cut the cord?” Dr. Freeman asked.

  In the excitement of the moment, he’d forgotten that part. He watched intently as they clamped off a section of the umbilical cord. A smiling nurse handed Drake a pair of scissors. Solemnly, he took them, and he looked at his son, who really was a bit of a mess, but he had that trademark Avery black hair, and God love him, he sure could yell.

  Love swelled as he went to cut the cord, but then he hesitated.

  “Will it hurt them?”

  “No. Neither one of them will feel a thing.” The doctor reassured him.

  Like he was on a mission, he swiftly cut the cord. The crying stopped. He calmed. Almost as if he knew he was now part of a new world.

  “Welcome home, Andrew,” Drake whispered. A monitor started a shrill beeping behind him. It sounded worse than a fire drill on a ship.

  What the fuck?

  Drake’s head whipped around. Karen was white as a sheet. Almost gray. Her eyes were closed.

  He turned to ask the doctor what the hell was going on and saw the nurse beside Dr. Freeman whisk his son out of her arms. The doctor stood up and yanked back the drape that was separating Karen’s head from her belly.

  “What’s her pressure?” the doctor demanded.

  The nurse called it out.

  “She’s crashing, get Drake and the baby out of here,” Dr. Freeman demanded.

  “I’m not leaving,” Drake said as he grabbed Karen’s limp hand.

  “Drake, I need you out of here,” Dr. Freeman said firmly. “I need to take care of Karen. You’re going to be in the way.” Dr. Freeman leaned over Karen’s stomach.

  “Tell me what’s going on. Now!” Drake was going out of his mind. Nothing could be wrong with Karen, he wasn’t going to allow it. Not ever.

  “Get him out of this room, now!” Dr. Freeman’s entire demeanor changed, now she sounded like an admiral. Her tone brooked no argument.

  “Karen’s going to be fine, but you need to let Dr. Freeman do her job.” A little nurse grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the door.

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “You have to,” she said firmly.

  The door swung open and a man in scrubs rushed in. He barely spared Drake a glance except to say, “Leave. We need to attend to your wife.”

  All of Drake’s focus was on Karen, the woman who by all rights was his wife, even though it still wasn’t official.

  “Please, Mr. Avery,” the nurse pleaded. “Come with me. You’re in the way. You’re making things worse. You have to let them do their job.”

  He looked around the room. It was controlled chaos. The small woman tugged at him again. He walked out the door without any more trouble.

  As soon as he was on the other side of the door, his fist hit the wall, going through plaster.

  The nurse took three steps backward. Fuck.

  “I won’t hurt you,” he said in a rough voice. It didn’t seem to help. She turned and bustled down the hall. Probably to get security. He needed to...to...

  He looked up, and there on the wall he saw a sign. The sign.

  Drake strode down the hall where he had seen the stairs and took them three at a time to get to the second floor. Once he was in the chapel he hit his knees.

  “God, it’s me, Drake. I know we don’t talk much, but don’t hold that against Karen. Please don’t, you can’t, I’m begging you.” He clasped his hands so tight they turned white.

&nbs
p; “You made something perfect when you made her. She’s in trouble.” He gulped, trying to get his words just right, knowing he couldn’t, then he just poured out his heart. “Please take me. I’m begging you, don’t take her. I never deserved her. My life is nothing compared to hers.” Drake didn’t feel the tears on his cheeks as he bowed his head.

  “Karen is precious. She shines. Our baby needs her. Please, don’t take her. Let her live. I’ll do anything, just let her live.” He folded his arms against the bench in front of him and rested his head. “Let her live, take me,” he chanted under his breath. “I’m begging you, let her live.”

  He was lost in his prayers, unaware of where he was, or how much time had passed, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He turned and saw his best friend. Before he could form a question, Mason provided an answer.

  “It’s all good,” Mase said immediately. Drake slumped with relief.

  He shut his eyes and whispered a word of thanks. Then scrubbed his face and got up.

  “How’d you know where to find me?” Drake asked.

  “It’s where I’d be, if it was Sophia,” Mason answered simply.

  “Do you know what room she’s in?” he demanded as they bolted toward the stairs.

  “Five-fifteen,” Mason answered. They made record time before crashing through the fifth-floor door. They received the evil eye of an orderly. Drake didn’t give a shit. “Which way to room five-fifteen?” he demanded.

  “Huh?”

  He ran past the ignorant man and headed to the main nurse’s station. “Room five-fifteen, where is it?” he demanded once again.

  “Are you Drake Avery? We’ve been searching for you,” a middle-aged woman answered. “Come with me. She’s sleeping. Do you want to see your son?”

  “I want to see Karen,” he bit out. He’d seen his son. His son was healthy. He needed to see Karen more than he needed his next breath.

  “This way.”

  He willed the woman to walk faster. Finally, she pointed to a room, he stopped himself from shoving her aside and slamming open the door, instead he gently pushed it open. His eyes zeroed in on Karen. She didn’t have a breathing tube. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? He rushed over to her, his hands hovering over her still form. He turned back to the nurse.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Nothing, now. She’s sleeping off the anesthesia they gave her. The doctor said she should wake up in another hour.”

  “What happened to her? Is she going to be all right?”

  “I’ll get the doctor to come in and talk to you.”

  “Is she going to be all right?” Drake carefully enunciated each word in his most menacing tone.

  “I’ll be right back with Dr. Freeman.” The nurse quickly left the room.

  He turned to Mason. “Why wouldn’t she answer me?”

  “Steady. Your woman needs you to keep your shit together.”

  Drake took a deep breath. His friend, his lieutenant, was right. He sucked in a deep breath. When the door opened, and the doctor came in he didn’t blast her. Especially since she was smiling.

  “Drake. Karen’s fine. She just had a little distress.”

  “What do you mean little distress, y’all were in emergency mode. You said she was crashing. She lost consciousness, the monitors were beeping. Don’t tell me it was a little fucking distress.” So much for keeping his shit together.

  “Her blood pressure dropped significantly from the spinal anesthesia. We had to work fast to get it under control, otherwise there could have been...consequences.”

  Drake didn’t want to think about the consequences. “But she’s fine now?” he persisted.

  “We got it under control. I can assure you, she’s perfectly fine. This is only going to result in one extra day in the hospital. Maybe two.”

  “She’s staying as long as she needs to! I don’t want you sending her home before she’s fully recovered from this trauma,” Drake ordered.

  Dr. Freeman gave him a mild smile. It was clear she was used to overbearing fathers.

  “I’m serious,” Drake growled.

  “Drake?”

  He spun around, all thought of Mason and Dr. Freeman totally forgotten. “Karen! You’re awake.” He was on his knees beside her bed in an instant. He touched the fingers of her right hand. It was the best he could do, since her arms and hands were all connected to IVs, blood pressure cuffs, monitors and other things he didn’t recognize.

  “Drake, quit giving Dr. Freeman a hard time,” Karen whispered weakly.

  The doctor chuckled.

  He touched his mouth to hers, wanting, no, needing that connection. His eyes remained opened as he assured himself she was alive and safe. Her fingers fluttered against his, he felt her try to move her hand, even though it should remain immobile. He pressed it down.

  “I’m here, Honey,” he said roughly, his voice choked with emotion. “Stay still.”

  “Where’s our baby?”

  “He’s healthy. He’s good.” He turned to the doctor, who immediately stepped toward them.

  “Your little boy is in the nursery. I’ll have him brought in immediately.” She smiled.

  Karen’s eyes drifted closed. “That’s good. I want to see him,” she said softly. Then she fell asleep.

  “Is she okay?” Drake demanded.

  “She’s more than okay. She woke up sooner than expected. Your fiancée is a strong woman. She’ll recover like a woman who had a normal C-Section, this is only going to add a day or two to her recovery. But like any woman who has undergone surgery she’s going to need to take it easy when she gets home. Not just because of the C-Section, but because of all the time she spent on bedrest beforehand for the pre-eclampsia. It’s going to take her awhile to get back up to speed.”

  “Trust me, she’ll be wrapped in cotton wool.”

  He heard Mason cough behind him. He glared at his friend, knowing that was his way of saying he was going to have a hard time keeping Karen resting. Well, Mason could suck it. He would take care of his woman, even if he had to tie her to the bed.

  “You don’t need to go that far,” the doctor smiled. “She’ll recover at her own pace. Tomorrow, she’ll need to get up and moving.”

  “Only if she feels like it,” Drake qualified.

  “No, you don’t understand, moving around is necessary for her recovery,” the doctor countered. “I’ll be back in an hour.” She left.

  “We’re going to go get some dinner. Text us when we can come back and visit Karen and the baby,” Mason said as he headed toward the door.

  “Mase.” Drake stopped him.

  “Yeah?”

  “Before we’re surrounded by people, Karen and I wanted to tell you something. Since she’s asleep, I guess it’s up to me.”

  Mason gave him a quizzical glance.

  “We decided to name the little guy Andrew Mason Avery.”

  Drake saw his words sink in. Mason’s eyes said everything worth saying. Drake understood all that Mason couldn’t say. How could he not? They were brothers of the heart.

  “I’m honored, Drake.”

  “You damn well should be.” Drake grinned, lightning the moment.

  Mason barked out a laugh, then immediately stopped, looking at Karen.

  Drake peered over at her as well, she was still out like a light. “I’ll text you when she and Andrew are ready for visitors. Thank everybody for hanging around. Are Jack and Beth still cool with picking up Karen’s mom from the airport?”

  “Do you really have to ask?”

  “That was a stupid question,” Drake agreed. His teammates always had his six. Karen’s water had broken late last night, a week sooner than the planned C-Section, which is why Karen’s mom wasn’t here from Alaska.

  ANDREW.

  Andrew Mason Avery.

  His son.

  Drake stared down at the small scrap of humanity in his arms. He looked at his exhausted woman lying in the hospital bed. Had she ever lo
oked more beautiful? Antsy, he stood up holding his small son. He knelt beside the bed and placed the baby next to Karen, wrapping his arms around the two most precious people in his world. He kissed the top of her head, willing her to wake up.

  KAREN SURFACED IN A whirl of confusion, until finally she zeroed in on one thought.

  Andrew.

  Andrew Mason Avery.

  She had a son.

  Her eyes snapped open. Where was her baby? It hurt to move. She carefully rolled her head on the pillow and saw two dark heads beside her. She desperately wanted to touch the delicate lips of her son. She wanted to make sure he was breathing. If not that, then she wanted to place her palm against his chest and feel the flutter of his heartbeat. Unfortunately, she found both of her arms were bound to her sides, connected to wires and tubes. Her eyes filled with tears of frustration.

  “Karen, what’s wrong?” Drake asked quietly. His chocolate brown eyes were filled with love and concern.

  “I can’t even lift my arms to touch Andrew,” she whimpered softly. She hated that she felt tears coming on, but the fact that she couldn’t touch her own baby was breaking her heart.

  “Shhhh, Honey, I’ve got your back.” Drake gently picked up the sleeping baby and moved him down next to her hand. She lifted her fingers and stroked his downy cheek.

  “He’s so soft,” she marveled. Then she pressed her fingers against his small bow mouth like she’d wanted to, and she felt a tiny puff of air. She sighed with contentment. “He’s perfect, Drake. Look at that head of hair. He looks like you.”

  “He has your eyes,” Drake said softly.

  “Are you sure? Most babies have blue eyes, maybe they just look green.”

  Drake raised an eyebrow and gave her an amused glance.

  “You wouldn’t have made a mistake.” She laughed. Then she winced.

  “Dammit, you’re in pain. I need to call the doctor, or the nurse.”

  “It was nothing. Just a twinge.”

  “Bullshit. You never complain.”

  Karen laughed and winced again. “What are you talking about? I complained all the way to the hospital. Labor pains hurt.”