by Katie Knight
They kissed again, this time more deeply, but still aware of the sleeping child nearby.
Jed broke away at last, his cheeks now flushed a healthy pink. “Oh, I want you all right. Once I get out of this hospital bed and get you home, I’m going to show you how much. Until then, you’ll have to take my word for it.” He winked then nudged a sleeping Nala awake. “Hey, sweetie. My arm’s going numb and it’s almost time for my next pain meds. Why don’t you take Tess home and make sure she gets some sleep. You guys can come back up tomorrow and see me some more, okay?”
Nala sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her braids were standing out at odd angles, but she looked completely adorable and Tess couldn’t have loved her more. “Are you really going to be my new daddy, Jed? Or did I dream that?”
“I am.” He kissed the top of her head then held her hand as she climbed down off his bed. “Your daddy was a special man, and I know I can never take his place, but I’d be honored to call you my daughter, sweetie.”
The little girl nodded and Tess walked around the bed to take her hand again. Nala gave them both a tired smile. “Then I accept. On one condition.”
Tess gave Jed a side glance before asking, “What’s that?”
“I want a kitten. A golden-colored one that I can call Aslan, and he’ll grow up to be big and strong and honorable, just like in the Narnia books. And maybe we could get a goat too. Just a little one, like the kind I see in those videos. They’re so cute and they could help mow the lawn and….”
As Nala chattered on about the veritable zoo of animals she wanted to have at home, Tess couldn’t help laughing, a mix of joy and peace and to release all the stress bottled up from their ordeal. She looked over to find Jed grinning from ear to ear too.
Dr. Chen poked his head around the door, brows raised. “Sounds like you all are having too much fun in here.”
“Sorry.” Tess did her best to sober up, but her smile refused to be dimmed. After all this time, the past few years of heartache and sorrow, she finally felt like she’d found her place again, found her footing. And no, it wasn’t where she’d expected to be or how she’d expected things to turn out. It was better. So. Much. Better. “We’re just leaving.”
She leaned over one last time to kiss Jed goodbye, surprised when he cupped the back of her head and held her close to whisper, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She kissed him one last time then straightened.
“See you tomorrow?” he asked, his icy gaze bright with affection.
“See you always,” Tess said before leading Nala from the room.
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
“Okay, sweetie,” Jed said, glancing over at Nala in the passenger seat of his SUV. “Remember what we talked about at home. Shoulders back, head high, don’t take any crap from anyone.”
Nala stared out the window at the gothic revival-style granite buildings of Ryder Academy then looked back at Jed, rolling her eyes. “Tess went over it all with me. I’m good.”
Hard to believe she’d be thirteen in just a few days, almost a teenager. Jed suppressed a shudder at the thought. Soon there’d be boys and dating and all sorts of things he’d rather not contemplate. Being a dad was hard. It was also the most rewarding thing he’d ever done in his life, and he cherished every second that he got to be Nala’s father.
The adoption had gone smoothly six months ago, and he was so thankful. After the trauma of the abduction and the subsequent trials for Steenman’s cover-up conspiracy, they’d been through enough drama to last a lifetime.
“You got all your stuff?” Jed asked, for lack of anything else to say. Weird, but now that they were parked here at the curb in front of the school, he was reluctant for Nala to go. She’d come so far under Tess’s patient and kind homeschooling the past year. Her stutter was gone and she’d excelled academically. Enough to earn a full scholarship to this prestigious, all-girls academy. Many of the students here went on to Ivy League colleges and stellar careers. It was no more than Nala deserved. Her parents would’ve been so proud, and Jed had no doubt that Martin and Ayesha were looking down from heaven on their daughter and smiling today.
“Yes,” Nala said, with the put-upon tone only true teens could muster. She smoothed her hand down the blue plaid skirt and white button-down shirt that were the cornerstones of Ryder Academy’s uniform, topped with a navy blue cardigan. Droves of girls dressed identically were milling about on the lawn outside or walking in clusters into the school. Nala had worn her hair down today, pulled back from her face with a matching blue plaid headband. She looked so mature and independent that Jed’s heart squeezed with an odd ache.
He was so glad for Nala to be here, but also he would miss her. He’d gotten used to grabbing lunch with her most days, since he still worked from home frequently. He and the guys from his SEAL team had partnered up to form a new security business and had rented out office space, and with all the construction going on there, it was easier to make phone calls and handle business meetings from his home office at this point. Someday, though, Tremayne Enterprises, Inc. would be a major player in the security industry of Baltimore and DC. That was his goal anyway. And a SEAL never stopped until he’d reached his goals.
A twinge of residual pain zinged through his leg from where the bullet had lodged in this thigh. The surgery had removed it, but he still went to PT once a month to help keep his body healing the way it should. The slight limp bothered him, as did the cane he used when his thigh muscles fatigued faster than he’d like, but the doctor had assured him that neither would be permanent as long as Jed stuck with the program and worked hard on his strengthening and stretching exercises.
Jed had no problem with hard work.
The bell inside the school rang once more and Nala reached for the door handle. Jed’s heart gave an unexpected skip. Tess had warned him before he’d left the house that this moment would probably be way harder on him than it would on his daughter. She’d been working toward this moment for months now. Jed had only recently allowed himself to picture life beyond their happy little trio in his home. Not that he wanted to hold either of the women in his life back. He just wanted to keep them safe. Always.
“Dad?” Nala said, hesitating with the door half open. Her using that name for him meant the world. She’d switched from calling him Uncle Jed to Dad shortly after the adoption all on her own, telling him that she now felt like she had two fathers—one in heaven and one here on earth. Jed still teared up thinking about it.
He blinked back the sting of tears now and cleared the constriction from his throat. “Yes, sweetie?”
Before he knew what was happening, Nala threw herself across the console of the SUV and into his arms, hugging him tight. “Thank you.”
Stunned, Jed wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her close. “For what?”
“For everything.” She pulled back and smiled. “I told Tess back at the house before I left, but I’m telling you now. Without you guys, I don’t know where I’d be. I love you, Dad.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek then scooted back to her own seat and looked up toward the roof of the car. “Love you too, Mom and Dad. Wish me luck!”
Jed opened his mouth to answer, but Nala was already out of the car and heading up the sidewalk to the front of the school. Several girls stopped her along the way and shook hands. Before she was even inside, Nala seemed to have made at least a few new acquaintances, if not friends.
He wasn’t naïve enough to think that it would all be rainbows and butterflies for his daughter from this point onward, but Jed felt more optimistic than he had in a long time, watching Nala disappear inside Ryder Academy. He sat there at the curb for long moments afterward, knowing deep in his heart that this was all thanks to Tess. Her love, her caring, her openness and her bravery. Without her, both he and Nala would be lost. He owed her his life, his love, his everything.
As Jed slowly pulled away, his smile widened into a grin.
And he could
n’t wait to show the woman he loved his gratitude as soon as he got home.
End of The SEAL’s Ward
Blurb
Jack Williams has never felt so lost. For him, being a Navy SEAL wasn’t just a job, it was a way of life. Protecting people had always been his strength, until a career-ending injury forced him into retirement. He’s struggling to start over when he stumbles across a car in a ditch, springing him back into action. Only this is no random citizen in distress. He knows the pretty face behind the wheel. Intimately. In fact, there’s a good chance the baby in her arms is his.
One year ago, Samantha Engel was forced into witness protection to escape her ruthless mob-boss father. Jack had been her protector, and seeing her again now, in desperate need of help, stirs up a flood of emotions that catch Jack off-guard. Scheduled to testify against her dad, Sam is now on the run. Her father’s offering a pretty penny to anyone who can silence her for good. Jack may not the protector he once was, but he knows one thing for sure: if Sam and her baby are in trouble, he’s not letting them out of his sight.
With tensions running high and temptations running higher, Sam readily puts her life in Jack’s capable hands. Once the only person she could trust, she’d feared her daughter would grow up never knowing the man she owed her life to. But being back in Jack’s arms—and his bed—makes her heart pound like no time has passed. With the mob threat closing in, Jack knows failure isn’t an option. But even if they survive, Jack will have to fight to find a way to keep Sam and her daughter under his protection, or risk having to say good-bye again—this time for good.
1
Undisclosed safehouse.
Costa Rica, fifteen months ago…
Jack Williams drew an even breath and stared down at the bedraggled woman standing next to him while he waited for orders. His brain immediately catalogued her appearance. She was maybe five-five or five-six, with dark hair in a no-nonsense ponytail, pretty face, no makeup. She definitely was not what he’d expected to find in the daughter of one of the most dangerous gangsters in the world much less find her hiding in a tiny Costa Rican village in the middle of nowhere.
“Get her out of here!”
The order screeched through his Bluetooth earpiece and Jack Williams didn’t wait for further instructions. Adrenaline flooding his system, he grabbed the young woman’s hand, tugging her along behind him through the poorly lit parking lot. It was typical Costa Rican weather—hot, humid, with a slight hint of rain in the air. They were surrounded by rainforest, on the outskirts of the city. A steady wind blew around them, stirring the weeds sticking up through the cracked asphalt and carrying the scent of dirt and sweat and the jungle in the distance. They ducked behind a battered old boat of a car from the 1970s and Jack pulled the woman his SEAL team had been brought in to protect down beside him.
Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he leaned in close to whisper, “We need to get out of here. Ready?”
She nodded, her dark eyes huge in her pale face.
Brave despite her fear. He could respect that.
“Good. Okay. Remember what I said. Stay close. Stay down. Stay safe.”
The woman swallowed hard, closed her eyes and made the sign of the cross over her chest, then fixed him with a steady stare. “Let’s do it.”
Taking her hand again, he crab-walked toward the shuttered bodega. She stuck close behind him, dogging his footsteps. The sudden rat-tat-tat of rapid gunfire split the air. SEAL Team Twelve was laying down cover so they could escape. His cue to move.
After a quick scan of the area, Jack spotted an old pickup parked around the corner of the brick building. Wasn’t that just a godsend? He happened to know this model was notoriously easy to jumpstart. The hunk of junk couldn’t have appeared at a better time. Careful to shield the woman behind him with his body, they sprinted for the truck, enemy fire pinging off the ground around their feet, sending tiny tornados of dust into the air. With a mighty tug, Jack wrenched open the truck’s rusty driver’s side door, then shoved her inside first. She had to scramble over the stick shift to get to the passenger side, but they were both still upright and breathing. He considered that a win. Now all they had to do was get out of here in the same condition and they’d be all set. He reached inside the truck and released the emergency brake, then slowly pushed the truck forward, his muscles straining, sweat rolling down his back as he used the door as meager protection against the gunfire raining down around them. Thankfully, the bodega sat atop a small hill, so they had gravity on their side. Once the truck was moving downward at a decent clip, he hopped in behind the wheel and pumped the clutch, saying a silent prayer himself that the old beast would start. Reaching under the dusty dashboard, he fiddled with the ignition wires.
“Take the wheel,” he said to the woman before ducking down to see what he was doing.
She gave him a startled glance.
“Want to end up in the jungle and break your neck?” he asked, his tone harsher than he’d intended but needing to break her out of the obvious shock that was setting in. She was even more pale than she’d been before. Finally, she reached a shaking hand over to take the steering wheel. “Good. It won’t take me long, but I can’t do this and see where we’re going.”
He yanked the wires out, then grabbed the two he needed. Using his teeth to fray the ends, he touched them together as they careened down the hillside toward the rainforest below. Pulse pounding and chest tight, he squeezed his eyes shut.
C’mon, baby. C’mon.
At last, the wires sparked and the engine sputtered then caught, chugging to life.
Grinning wide, Jack dropped the wires and straightened, taking the wheel as he spoke into his Bluetooth headset. “Alpha, this is Romeo, come in.”
“Alpha here.” The response crackled over the wireless connection, as sweet as any sound Jack had ever heard.
He glanced over at his passenger, her big dark eyes staring back at him with hope and more than a tad of admiration. He couldn’t help patting her knee in reassurance. “Package has been acquired. Awaiting further instructions.”
“Sit tight, Romeo,” his team leader said. “Pickup location has been compromised. Keep package safe and await new instructions.”
“Understood, Alpha.” He scowled, weaving their vehicle around a hairpin turn in the road, narrowly avoiding a palm tree. More time in this country meant more chances for something to go wrong. He wasn’t happy about the situation. And it was a helluva way to spend New Year’s Eve. Still, he was a SEAL and SEALs followed orders. “Over and out.”
The vehicle slowed to a more reasonable speed and Jack turned his attention to the woman beside him. “You okay, Ms. Engel? We’re almost out of here.”
“Was that your team you were talking to just now?” she asked, her voice tremulous. Rescuing civilians was always more difficult. They never understood the protocols, which meant they needed to have everything explained and required constant reassurance. Still, he imagined she might have more experience with that than most, given her father’s line of work. That seemed borne out by the way she had faced a firefight without flinching. “Is everything okay? You don’t look happy.”
“Everything’s fine.” Jack stared out the windshield again, lightly applying the brakes for fear he’d lose the engine if they slowed too much. “Unfortunately, we’re going to be here longer than I anticipated. If you’d like to go get cleaned up, I’ll find us a safe place to hide out in while we wait. Get you some clean clothes too.”
Samantha Engel looked down at herself, frowning, as if just then realizing how dirty she was after their run through the gauntlet back at the bodega. “Oh, um, yes, please. I’d appreciate that…”
“Jack,” he said when she gave him an inquiring look.
“Right. Jack.” She nodded, her small smile growing. “Pleased to meet you, Jack. And please, call me Sam. After all you’ve done for me. Thank you.”
He gave a curt nod and turned down a side street into the small villa
ge at the base of the hill, heading toward one of the safe houses his SEAL team kept in the area. Moonlight bathed the area in shadows. A few minutes later they pulled up in front of a nondescript white cottage. Wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but it had indoor plumbing, plenty of hot water, and was well-stocked with food. He fiddled with the wires under the dashboard again to shut off the engine, then glanced over at Sam. “Stay here while I check the area, then we’ll go inside. We’ll be safe here until we can get out of the country.”
After he’d walked the perimeter of the property and done all the security checks, they walked into the sparsely decorated home and Jack secured the door behind them, then gave her a quick tour of the place—one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen, small living room with a couch and a TV—securing the area as he went. “If you want to take a shower, I’ll see what I can find around here to fit you and leave it outside the door.”
“Thank you,” she said, disappearing into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
The sound of water running soon echoed around him, and Jack grabbed a soda from the fridge, gulping down half before setting it aside. The water here was fine for bathing and washing clothes and cooking, but not so much for drinking. Besides, he needed the caffeine to take the edge off a bit.