SEAL’s Secret
A NAVY SEAL ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL
_______________________
A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS, 24
FLORA FERRARI
CONTENTS
Copyright
A Man Who Knows What He Wants Series
SEAL's Secret
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Epilogue
Extended Epilogue
Police, Pooch, and Smooch
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2017 by Flora Ferrari.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The following story contains mature themes, strong language and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers.
A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
SEAL’s Secret
If you like J.D. Robb's In Death Series starring Eve Dallas, or Jack Reacher by Lee Child, you'll love SEAL's Secret.
Detective Donna Davis has worked long and hard to earn her rank and respect within the testosterone-filled world of big city undercover work. She’s not about to let anyone or anything jeopardize that...especially not a hunky, mysterious stranger in town. A stranger who’s suddenly the lead suspect in the case she’s investigating, and one she’s starting to fall for.
As a Navy SEAL team leader, Cain O’Connor knows how to overcome any obstacle in his path. But this challenge isn't on the battlefield, and he isn't sure if Donna is a friend or foe. And when an enemy from Donna's past resurfaces, it's not just Cain who's wondering who can be trusted.
Cain and Donna are torn apart, but as the enemy continues to strike, Donna realizes that if she’s going to save the town she’s been trusted to protect, first she’ll have to trust the one man no one else does. The only man who can protect her.
*SEAL’s Secret is a fast-paced standalone romantic suspense with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
Get your FREE extended epilogue of SEAL’s Secret by signing up to my mailing list. You’ll receive an email as soon as it’s ready.
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CHAPTER 1
“Hands in the air or I shoot!”
It was the third voice command Detective Donna Davis had issued, each one more urgent, and severe, than the last. They both knew there wouldn’t be a fourth. The only question was could she hit what she couldn’t see.
Her eyes stung from the salt water. Her body shivered and ached from the drenching and pounding it took from the ocean. Her fingers numbed from the chill of the air at nearly fifteen minutes after three in the morning.
The external challenges were more than enough, but it was that one lingering internal challenge that threatened her the most. A dull constant hum in the background of her thoughts like the noise from a television coming in from the other room.
Her subconscious was doing everything it could to try and pull her back to that dreadful night from so many years earlier. She was determined to will herself, no matter what it took, to keep herself focused and in the present.
The black-clad figure stood no more than twenty feet in front of her and fifteen feet above her. It had scaled the rock cliff and was facing out and away from her. In between the two of them was a thin strip of ocean that made its way in twenty feet from the rest of the razor sharp shoreline. The shadow-like figure was trapped. They both knew it.
The figure slowly lifted both hands from waist level. The full moon which so violently pulled the tides, reflected off the water showing the pistol that was securely fastened into a concealed shoulder carry. Not so discreet when worn on the outer side of ones clothing.
The tide brought the water level back in, a difference of over ten feet from peak-to-trough. In a matter of seconds the water level in the thin strip of ocean would be flush with the top of the rocks on either side of it.
As soon as the shadow’s hands reached their peak, they darted down and back up and the shadow sprung forward from bent knees into a forward dive.
Donna fixed her aim on the point of entry and watched as the water receded. She waited to see a panicked head breach the surface and hear the gasp for air, or even worse to see the floating body.
Nothing.
As the tide rejoined the ocean her mind drifted. Her body froze in the correct tactical position, but her mind was anything but right. Her stare deepened and he
r thoughts began to wander.
Help me, mommy! Help me!
The river’s swift current tossing and turning her like she was trapped in a washing machine. Unable to swim. Unable to breathe.
Where was her mother when she needed her most?
The tide crashed again, but Donna didn’t even notice the seaweed, which slapped her face as if to warn her to come back to the present. Foam from the impact bubbled at her waist as the salt water reached its high point. An oh-so-brief moment of calm in between periods of intense violence.
The tide violently returned to the ocean, washing back and over her lower body, knocking her off balance. Her mind shot back to the present, but it was far too late. The rocks cut her back as she was dragged feet first towards the deeper water of the open ocean. The ocean had claimed its second victim almost as easily as it had claimed its first.
CHAPTER 2
Navy SEAL veteran Cain O’Connor sprinted along the rocks eyeing the woman’s body just beyond his footfalls.
I got you, girl.
Three … two … one.
Cain jumped just as the cliffed coast ended. He rolled a quarter turn in the air allowing his left hand and arm to meet and latch onto the woman’s torso just as he broke the water’s surface. He kicked immediately, preventing his momentum from pulling them down into the dark abyss and over into the tide pools that lurked, promising to spin them around like a carnival ride before spitting them out into the ocean.
Cain looked out and saw a large wave preparing to break. He spooned the woman, using his body as a human shield, and braced for impact.
It took every bit of intestinal fortitude not to be flung head over heals by the impact of the wave, or worse yet, pummeled against the cliff face’s knife edges.
Cain felt barnacles slash into his back and the weight of the woman pressed against his chest. And then suddenly, the tide turned and the ocean tried to pull her from his grasp. It was a battle with the ocean, and he was not going to lose.
He strengthened his grip and they remained as one. They were pulled further out. Cain kicked hard to keep them from being pulled under.
Cain took a look and saw another wave inbound. He looked back at the thin strip of ocean. He grabbed ahold of the woman with his dominant right side and pulled them through the water with his left. Two strokes were all he asked for. As he pulled through the second stroke the wave hit.
Cain felt them being thrust in and under as he spooned the woman from the back. He grit his teeth, preparing for the impact of the barnacles against his back, but felt nothing. The two strokes had been enough. They had been pulled into the passage of the thin strip of ocean.
Cain kicked hard, propelling their bodies from underneath back to the surface. As he breached he shook his head left to throw the salt from his eyes. Three hard kicks later and they neared the edge of the rocks. He took a long stroke on his left side, followed by two more. On the fourth stroke his left hand grabbed onto the rocks. He locked his grip. They weren’t going back again. His will wouldn’t allow it. He pulled their bodies to higher ground, keeping his weight underneath hers. His body served as a buffer against harm.
He looked out to the ocean and saw that the waves had calmed … for now. The set waves that had threatened to destroy them had quieted. For how long was anyone’s guess and he wasn’t about to tempt fate a second time tonight.
Cain’s quads fired as he squatted up, rotating the woman over his shoulder into a fireman’s carry. Within seconds he had quickly and carefully navigated the cliffs and found a spot of sand that was out of reach of the waterline. He gently laid the woman on her back and performed CPR.
There was no way he was losing another one.
CHAPTER 3
Water erupted from her mouth. She coughed, gagged and wheezed.
Cain kept his hand gently cupped behind her head. He could tell she was going to be all right.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in shock. Try and relax.”
“Relax? Who are you? Where am I?”
“You’re lucky to be alive. That’s who you are.”
“You’re under arrest.”
“Charged with what exactly?”
“Resisting arrest for starters.”
“You’ve got me confused with someone else.”
“That’s what they all say.”
“Wow, you are a feisty one. Look, you’re in bad shape. We need to get you cleaned up.”
“I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. Three minutes ago you were underwater and unconscious. We need to get you looked at by a professional. I’m taking you to the ER.”
“I’m not going to the ER.”
“Ma'am. You don’t have a choice.”
Donna started to stand up.
“Whoa, there. Let me handle this.”
“I can handle—”
Cain reached down and swooped Donna right up off her feat. He stared deep into her eyes. She had a feistiness to her. Even the way she looked at him. He liked that. He liked a girl with a certain resilience to her.
Carrying her made him feel like a hero again. He missed that feeling. It brought back a certain kind of pride in him. A void that had existed since he separated from the SEAL teams. It wasn’t just that though. He like the way she fit in his arms. She felt sturdy, not fragile. She was firm, without being too muscular. He was sure she was the type of person who stayed active. Maybe not an athlete, but certainly a weekend warrior or more.
“Where are you taking me?” Donna was still suspicious of her white knight, but her thoughts of suspicion were quickly turning to curiosity. She didn’t want to let her thoughts be that easily read.
“We’ll be on the main beach in just a few minutes. From there it will be easy to grab a cab. Another seven or eight minutes and we’ll be inside Mission Hospital getting you looked at.”
“Mission Hospital? Are you joking me? I’m fine.”
“Sorry, but this isn’t up for discussion.”
Donna considered arguing, but knew she would be fighting a losing battle. Not only that, she enjoyed being in his arms. She felt safe. She felt protected. She felt small and womanly.
Working as a detective she was surrounded mostly by men and was too often treated as one of the guys. She didn’t mind and knew it came with the territory but this was a very, very welcome change. She wasn’t about to fight it anymore.
She couldn’t remember the last time she felt something like this. And there was no telling when, if ever, she might have the chance to feel it again. Better enjoy it while it lasts.
CHAPTER 4
“You still haven’t told me who you are.”
“I’m O’Connor. Nice to meet you—”
“Davis.”
The doctor had requested Donna stay the night, but she wiggled out of his line of sight when he attended to more pressing matters. Donna had tried to let O’Connor know that she was more than capable of making it home all right, but O’Connor insisted on escorting her.
Donna wanted to thank O’Connor, but her ingrained lack of faith and trust wouldn’t let her. Childhood trauma plus a career as a detective were to blame for that. Trust no one until proven otherwise, and even then don’t give them too much benefit of the doubt.
“I just wanted to say…” Donna paused. “You know.”
“Don’t mention it. We all get in over our heads sometimes, and when we do it’s nice to have somebody there to help us out.”
“Really?”
O’Connor looked confused.
“I almost drown and you come up with that?”
O’Connor cocked his brow and rubbed his chin as he realized the meaning of his words. “I didn’t even notice the double meaning.”
“Sure?”
“Positive.”
The faintest of smiles made its ways from O’Connor’s face. Donna couldn’t hold back. She burst out laughing, and O’Connor soon followed.
“Good night, Davis.”
; “Good night, O’Connor.”
As corny as it had sounded, Donna had wanted to admit it was true. As much as she wanted to admit it, her pride and her past wouldn’t let her.
“Wait a second.”
O’Connor stopped, slowly turning his head until his eyes met hers.
“I should get your number.”
“It’s—”
“In case I think of any loose ends that might need tied up.”
O’Connor didn’t respond. He wished she hadn’t added that afterthought. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. In case anything needs tied up.”
Neither spoke. Neither broke eye contact. The tension hung over them engulfing them in totality, like the early morning marine layer that was beginning to take hold of the coast.
SEAL's Secret: A Navy SEAL Romantic Suspense Novel (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 24) Page 1