“It’s a safe house in Columbia.”
“I see.”
“We’re going to transport you back to States, shortly. We just wanted to talk a little about the sensitive nature of your husband’s work.”
“I’ve talked about it, sir. Devyn understands that she can’t discuss what happened with anyone.”
“How am I going to explain this to your mother, Brody?” I wasn’t really paying attention to what they were discussing. All I could think about was how dangerous this job was for Brody, and how my kids were at home, not knowing where I was. Or where Brody was.
“Brody was called on a mission. Devyn, you had a family emergency.”
“But…”
“Your grandfather died.” I frowned. I didn’t even know where my parents were, let alone if I had grandparents out there or not. My family was never up on getting together, or visiting, or pretty much talking to each other. Master Chief explained further. “Actually, he died a year ago, according to our records. But we felt it would provide a good alibi for your absence now.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t really sad about my grandfather dying. I didn’t even know the man. But Brody’s job knew about my family. That… was a little creepy. “So, you did a background check on me, I assume.”
“We did.”
“Well, that explains why you know things about my family that I don’t.” I sighed. “Look, I’m not going to say anything about any of this, because it’s nuts and I’m losing my mind just sitting here. I just want to go home and forget everything.” I wanted to hug my girls.
“SEAL Team Thirteen does not exist in the eyes of the United States. After this breach of security, it’s even more important that this remains true. We do the dirty work. We are boots on the ground where there’s no military presence. We keep the US safe when its hands are tied.”
“But the Giroux family found you out.” I turned to Brody. “This is what you do? I mean, it’s dangerous. Much more than I ever thought it could be. When did this happen? This Thirteen business?”
“I was recruited right out of BUD/S. They put our pictures on a wall, and then we went out to the beach. The members of Thirteen went through and marked a green check, or a red X. I was one of three that were selected from my graduating class of twenty-five. I could have said no, but it was just you and me then. I thought, this team would be where I could do the most good.”
“Great,” I whispered. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Hey.” His hand squeezed mine again. “It’s going to be okay now. You’re safe.”
“What if someone else comes after us again? They knew who you were, Brody. They knew your name. They knew who I was and the girls…”
“I will not let anything happen to the girls, Devyn. Know that.”
“You can’t control that.”
“This was a one-time breach of security, Mrs. Battles. It won’t happen again.” The master chief was an older man, with thinning hair, but still dark. His body was incredibly fit, which made me think that maybe Master Chief was still an active member of the team.
“With all due respect, Master Chief Collins, you can’t know that. You didn’t even know about Jane… Marie… whoever she was. And she was in and out of my house for over a year. She was around my children, hell… she babysat them several times alone. I left my children alone with her. And look what happened.”
“Dev, it’s okay. I’m here. They’ll be safe.”
“And what happens if you leave again?” My voice cracked under the control I was trying to keep. “And someone else comes? How can I trust anyone now?”
“Oh, Dev…” The truth was… Brody didn’t have an answer for me. There wasn’t one. Well, there was. It just wasn’t an answer I’d like. He would leave again. It was the nature of being a SEAL. And I would suck it up, because that was the nature of being the wife of a SEAL.
“Your family is safe. I promise that.” The lieutenant spoke. I didn’t remember his name, and really I didn’t care.
“Really? Can you guarantee that? Because I’m pretty sure you can’t.”
“Dev,” Brody wrapped his fingers around both my hands, pulling my attention from the other two men in the room. “Trust me. It’s going to be okay.”
“Is it?”
“Trust me?”
I didn’t want to. I wanted to scream and cry and throw a tantrum like a three-year-old in a grocery store. But the fact of the matter was… I did trust my husband. He’d done everything he could to keep me safe. He’d saved my life as completely as I’d saved his.
I looked deep into his amber eyes, wanting an answer I knew he couldn’t give. But in the end, I took the leap of faith. “I trust you.” I turned back to the other two. “What happened to Addison?”
The two looked at each other then back to me, but it was Master Chief Collins who spoke first. “She’s safe. She had a bullet in her leg, but it missed major arteries so we think she’ll make a full recovery in a few weeks.”
“Good. That’s good. She saved my life. I couldn’t have made it to Brody without her.”
“We are keeping that in mind, Mrs. Battles.” The lieutenant looked at Brody. “Perhaps your wife might like to go home now.”
There was a clear unspoken message in that sentence I wasn’t supposed to understand or see, and I really didn’t. But I knew there was more to this Addison situation than they were saying. But in that moment, I was willing to let that go in order to go home to my children.
*
I flew back to the States with Brody, but he had to stop by the base before coming home. So I went home without Brody. That afternoon, I walked into my house for the first time in days. The smell and comfort of home enveloped me, with the addition of what smelled like sugar cookies. Sometimes I loved my mother-in-law.
Riley’s operatic voice reached my ears, even from the kitchen. Vera stepped out of the kitchen. “Oh, you’re here! Brody said you’d come today.” She grabbed me in a deep embrace. I almost started crying again, but I’d been doing a lot of that lately. I wanted to be done with crying.
“I just took the cookies out. You let them cool about an hour, and then dig in, okay?” She took my hand and led me to the kitchen.
Jackie cooed. “Mama!” Her little arms outstretched toward me. I couldn’t stop myself. I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms. Toddler hugs made everything better. Almost everything.
Vera paused as I put Jackie back in the high chair, a curious frown on her face. “You look miserable, Devyn. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I am. I will be.” I turned my lips upward in a half-assed smile. “I really appreciate you staying with the girls while I was gone.”
“Well, I understand when emergencies happen you have move quickly.”
“Do you want to wait until Brody gets home? I’m sure he’d love to see you.”
Her gaze wandered over my face. She shook her head. “I’ll see him later. I have… an appointment.” She gave me a big hug. “I know military men can be hard to love. They’re never around. But the good news is that they retire and then they stay home more to drive you crazy.” She smiled and pulled away, leaving me surprised.
“I don’t understand.”
“Brody’s father is ex-Navy. He takes after his father so much.”
“Oh.” This was the first I’d heard of this. It made Brody’s Navy career choice make more sense. Of course, I’d never really asked about his father.
“He retired a year before Brody was born. He was always on the ship. Six months in port, ten months traveling aboard the ship. The main reason we waited so long for children was because he was never there. And you have it worse, because you have two beautiful girls who need their father.” She cleared her throat and walked toward the door. “But I really should go. I’ll call you later, sweetie.”
With a whirlwind of movement, she left the house. I didn’t know what to think over her words. I didn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. I glanc
ed at the girls playing on the floor and relief swam through my body. They were safe. I was safe. And Brody was safe.
I sat down on the floor with Jackie and Riley. They were playing with blocks, so I helped them build up a tower, and then Jackie knocked it down with a laugh. We repeated that a few more times, taking turns with who would knock down the tower.
I didn’t even notice when the door opened and closed behind me. Or when Brody walked across the living room. It wasn’t until he sat down on the floor beside me that I registered his presence.
“Hey,” I said, smiling. It was still a forced smile, because as soon as I had seen him, the memory of the blood spreading on Jane’s shirt flew back into my head. The look of surprise on her face played center stage in my nightmares this week.
“How are you feeling?” He asked.
“Good now. Your mother made sugar cookies.”
“Oh, I love those!” Brody started to hop up, but Jackie gripped his thumb and pulled his hand toward the blocks. “Dada, tow’r.”
Brody looked at her perplexed.
I chuckled.
“You think this is funny? What is she saying?”
“She wants you to knock the tower over. It’s our game.”
“Oh!” The smile brightened on his face as Jackie took his thumb and hit the middle of the blocks with his hand. The blocks tumbled down and both girls giggled and squealed like it was the best thing ever. Then we all rebuilt the tower so we could do it again. And again.
But it wasn’t long before he turned quiet and withdrawn. I put my hand on his leg to catch his attention while Jackie and Riley built the tower back up. “Something wrong?”
“Jackie’s never called me Dada before.” His eyes watered, the sharp amber color of his eyes darkening. In that instant, all the bad things that had happened vanished because this big, burly SEAL was damn near tears because a toddler called him Dada. It made everything worthwhile.
“They are your children,” I whispered. “They should call you Dad.”
“I know.” He cleared his throat. “Can we talk a minute? In the kitchen.”
“Okay,” I replied. He stood up and held his hand to me, so I let him pull me to my feet. I glanced at the girls. “Not too far. They’re troublemakers if we leave them on their own.”
“Just over here.” He pulled me to the kitchen and continued in a low voice. “I asked to leave the team.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. Um… I can’t take the idea that you or they might be hurt because of me.”
“What did they say?”
“I’m in a permanent billet. I can’t be reassigned because of my security clearance. It’s too high, so now I’d be a risk if I left.”
“Oh.” I tried to contain my disappointment. The idea of Brody being home more appealed to me. Actually, him leaving again would break my heart. But I’d accepted that this was the nature of his job. He saved lives. I couldn’t fault him for wanting to do it.
“But… I was able to get reassigned to the auxiliary team. With the new structure of Thirteen, I’m a… handler for undercover assets.”
“Like for spies?”
“Kind of. I’m still military. I’m still a SEAL, and I will get called to deploy on occasion. But Thirteen isn’t part of the SEAL command structure anymore. So the rules have changed. I’m not completely sure how yet… but I’m not on the field team.”
“What does that mean?” I whispered, afraid to think of what it could mean.
“It means… I’m going to home more. I’m still a SEAL. I can’t change that, and honestly, it’s part of who I am. But… this could mean that I get to be here for you and the girls more.”
My throat closed up and tears sprung from my eyes. “Really?”
“I’ll still have to leave sometimes, but no more two year deployments for now.”
I threw my arms around him, overjoyed. “Oh, my god! I can’t believe it!”
His arms were warm around my waist, squeezing me as tightly as I was him. “I love you, Devyn. I know it’s been rough with me gone so long. I missed everything and you’re so strong. I never realized just how strong you were until I put you in danger.”
Everything came crashing down. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Relief poured from my body. The tension I didn’t even know I was feeling melted away. I pulled back and stared at him. “You didn’t put me in danger. Marie did. But that’s over now. She can’t hurt us anymore.”
I surprised myself saying that. I’d spent the better part of the last week struggling with nightmares where I saw her face all the time. The same look of shock she’d given when I shot her. I understood why Brody had had problems now. But with him, all my worries over killing another person vanished while I was in his arms. He could make everything in my world better. All I needed was him to be there.
“You know, I’m proud of you, right? I know I haven’t said it. You are part of something big. You keep the world safe for me and for Riley and Jackie.”
“I didn’t protect you well enough.”
I hadn’t realized he was carrying so much guilt around with him. I cupped his face so he had to look at me. “You couldn’t know about Marie… She was good. She fooled us all.” I lifted up on my toes, and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. “You do what you need to do to accomplish your job. I’ll handle the house and we’ll meet in the middle to be a family.”
“What about the girls?”
“I’ll have you know, they’re accomplished bulldozers.” As if on command, Riley shrieked and knocked the newly built tower down. Giggles ensued between the girls.
Brody smiled. “I love you.”
“And I love you, sir.”
“I’m not a sir,” he replied. “I work for a living.” He wrapped his arms back around me, this time so I faced the girls on the floor. He laid his chin on my shoulder and together we watched the girls play until they were bored of the blocks and went in search of more trouble to get into.
The End
Did you enjoy Killing Honor? The story continues with Wounded Courage in June 2014.
The next two books in the Lucky Thirteen series are now available for pre-order at your favorite retailers!
Wounded Courage (Lucky Thirteen #2)
Dying Commitment (Lucky Thirteen #3)
About the Author
S.M. Butler is a new adult romantic suspense and military romance author with a penchant for Dr. Pepper, ice hockey, and world domination, but not necessarily in that order. She lives in Texas under a not-so-secret identity (Suzan Butler, who writes adult romance) with two monsters, writing books and planning the next step in her evil plans into the twilight hours of the night because that’s when it’s quiet in the house. She loves to hear from readers.
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Coming in Hot
SEAL EXtreme Team – Book 1
Kimberley Troutte
www.kimberleytroutte.com
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Coming in Hot is dedicated to Anne Marsh. Thank you for loving Mack as much as I do, and helping me to bring him to life.
Chapter One
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The Harmonds were late. Nail-chewing, stomach churning, where-in-the-heck-were-they late. Didn’t they understand how dangerous it was to be a rich American family in South America? They couldn’t just wander around out there. It wasn’t safe.
Jenna Collins had hired reputable guides and posted undercover employees on the highway to escort the Harmond family to the yacht club. But she worried it wasn’t enough. The
Harmonds were unpredictable, the weak link. They were still poking around buying trinkets in Otavalo, the Ecuadorian outdoor market, instead of boarding a yacht to the Galapagos.
Jenna rolled her neck, stretching out the kinks, and glared at the phone on her desk. She hated being out of control with a white hot passion. “Ring already!”
Being Admiral Jeffrey Collin’s daughter meant that being prepared for every scenario was embedded in Jenna’s DNA. It was also a job requirement. As the top travel agent for EXtreme Adventures, she arranged exciting and sometimes dangerous trips for her wealthy clients. Want to trek to the top of the Himalayas and parachute-ski down? Call Jenna. Care to kayak the Amazon River to lunch with native tribes? Jenna’s your girl.
She loved her job, even if the rich and famous were notorious for spur of the moment changes to her carefully planned itineraries. Andrew Harmond, recently retired CEO of North America’s largest bank and lover of all things spontaneous, was turning out to be one of the worst offenders.
“They’re in the car now,” Kat, her assistant, reported from her desk. “The driver says they want to take the scenic way.”
“Of course they do. Tell the driver not to veer off the mapped route. Our guys are in place on the road.”
Her phone rang.
“Andrew. Everything all right in Ecuador?” Get on the dang yacht!
She was surprised when a little voice came on the line. “Hey, Jenna, it’s me, Jacob. My sister got you a gift, but she didn’t want me to tell you. It’s a surprise. I don’t think you’re gonna like it. It’s too girly. I’m getting you something way better, so don’t worry.”
Jenna couldn’t help but smile. Ten-year old Jacob was a freckle faced sweetheart. His sister, Anna, was thirteen and more of the “all adults are lame and why do I have to go on this stupid vacation anyway?” variety. “Ah, that’s nice. I’m sure I’ll love whatever you and Anna get me.”
The phones her company had given the Harmonds to use were so clear she could hear him let out a breath thousands of miles away.
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 80