by Dale Mayer
Chapter 29
She clung to Evan as he lowered her to the wheelchair.
“Welcome back,” he whispered, crouching down beside her. “You’re in the same hospital as Ice and Levi, and we’ve had your stitches checked over and X-rayed your foot.”
“And?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eye. “Is it broken?”
“No idea but it’s in pretty rough shape.”
“It feels it. But I don’t want to stay in the hospital.”
“Not much choice at this point.”
She clutched at his hand. “No, we can’t risk making this place a target,” she pleaded. “These people are safer if we don’t stay.”
She turned to look at Dane and Chase, both standing guard at the doorway. “Tell him that. We can’t have innocents involved in our mess.”
Dane pursed his lips as he stared at her. “And where do you suggest we go?”
Her head lolled to one side as she tried to think about the options. “I just need a safe place to rest and heal.”
“And that’s a problem, remember? They seem to be able to track us.” Chase looked at Evan.
“Then ditch your phones as Levi and his group did for that exact reason,” Dane said. “Benji brought new ones for them.”
Evan pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “It hasn’t been anywhere but on me in days.”
Megan opened her eyes to find she was back in the waiting room and realized they’d been surrounded by the rest of his team. Evan’s words tugged at a memory. And she froze. “Not quite. Remember in the hangar – your phone dropped and one of Fred’s mechanics handed it back to you.”
“One of Fred’s guys?” Mason asked from somewhere in the crowd. “Evan, explain.”
“I went looking for Stone’s lucky piece and while scrambling around the machine I lost my phone somewhere. When we were leaving one of Fred’s men brought it to me.” Evan was already taking his phone apart and held up the interior with the tiny tracker inside. “God damn it.”
“I’m contacting Fred,” Mason said in a hard voice. “Did you recognize the man?”
“No.” Evan looked at Megan.
She shook her head. She didn’t think so either.
Approaching them, the doctor said, “We have the X-rays and the foot is in pretty rough shape. She–”
But the group raced to the front door. Evan pushed Megan with the others surrounding them, protecting them. They opened the front door and raced outside.
Shots rang out.
The men scattered.
Evan picked her up out of the wheelchair and raced to the side of Dane’s truck. He opened the door giving them a partial shield but scrunched low to peer around the front of the truck.
She wrapped her arms around him, her hand landing on his holster. “I wish I had a weapon,” she said.
“I’ve got one,” he admitted. “Can’t reach it like this though.”
She tried to shift but he held her firm. Tucked up as she was there was no way he could get at it.
“Don’t move,” said a low ugly voice – from inside the truck.
She stared at Evan in horror. Dear God. So he had been tracking them. And caught them.
Evan stiffened beneath her. A muscle pulsed in anger along his jawbone. He was pissed. He wasn’t going to be able to reach his gun given their positions.
“Now get into the truck quietly,” the voice continued. “You call anyone or bring any attention to the two of you and she gets the first bullet in the back of her head.”
Evan gave a curt nod.
Megan could feel the holster under her fingers. She worked to get it free as Evan stood and turned toward the truck. She managed to pull the weapon out, twisted in Evan’s arms and fired – one clean shot – in the center of the asshole’s forehead.
“How about you get the first bullet, asshole?” She lowered her arm. “You know something, maybe I should go back inside. I’m starting to not feel so good.”
And her head lolled to the side.
*
Evan raced her back inside the hospital. He didn’t know why but she was unconscious again. Mason met them at the door and opened it. “She shot him in the head then collapsed,” he cried, racing inside. “Help her.”
The doctor came running, and she was taken back to the examining room.
Evan was unceremoniously pushed out and the curtains closed in front of him.
He stood and stared at the white cloth wall in frustration. Chase walked over and slapped him gently on the back. “She’ll be fine.”
“I don’t even know what happened,” Evan said, running a hand over his face. “Damn, I know she’s exhausted and her ribs and her damn ankle, but what might have just happened, I have no idea.”
“Maybe nothing,” Chase said. “It could be just a cumulative effect and she collapsed.”
That made as much sense as anything. Evan turned and walked back outside to find most of the men standing and studying the dead man.
“That’s Levi’s informant,” Mason said. “Levi just ID’d his photo. He can rest now.”
“No, he’ll heal and go after the Mexican half of the operation.”
There was a contemplative silence.
“Can we count this as over now?” Hawk asked, standing between Swede and Shadow. Evan was glad to see him and the others. At least they were all safe.
“Yes,” Mason said. “Now for the cleanup.”
Evan turned to face the hospital. “I need to see how she is.”
“Go,” Mason said. “Find out and let us know.”
Evan walked back inside to find the doctors waiting for him. “How is she?”
“She’s fine,” the doctor reassured him. “The foot is in rough shape, several stitches on the ribs have ripped and she’s banged up. She’s exhausted and extremely dehydrated. But she will be fine.”
“Thank God,” he whispered. “Is she awake?”
“Yes, but we’d like to keep her overnight.”
“No,” came Megan’s thin voice from the other side of the curtain, but there was an edge of steel running through it.
Several other men came into the hospital to see what the verdict was. Megan was still behind the curtain so couldn’t see. “If the doctor wants to keep you here then you should stay,” Evan snapped.
“Too bad. He can cast my ankle or whatever is required but I’m not staying.” And she ripped the curtain back and glared at them.
The doctor tried to interject. “It would be best for your health if we kept you in bed for a day or two.”
She snorted. “If someone is going to keep me in bed for a day or two it will be Evan.”
Silence.
Then raucous laughter. She stiffened as if realizing what she’d said, but she stuck out her chin and glared at the men filling the room – all sporting big grins.
Evan gave her a beaming smile and said, “I accept.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “Accept what?”
“The honor of keeping you.”
She stared at him in confusion. Then flushed bright red as she connected the men’s Keepers nickname to the conversation.
“Temporarily?” she asked in a low voice, locking her gaze onto his and trying to ignore their fascinated audience. “I’m not a prize.”
“Neither am I, and you already know I want you for as long as you are willing to give me. If that’s temporary or forever then that’s what it is. No pressure.” He gave her the most loving smile he could muster. She looked so lost. So alone and so damned scared as she studied his face.
“What if I can’t?” she whispered, her gaze locked onto his.
“I suggest we walk that path and find out,” he said in an equally low voice. Hating the insecurity in her eyes, he’d do anything to make her feel better. To help her make this choice. To have her feel – know – the truth inside herself like he knew inside himself. They were right together. So damn right.
She just need
ed to see it too.
“But make a choice.” He took a deep breath and whispered in an even lower tone of voice, “Just know that I love you and I trust in you. In us.”
It took a moment as she searched his gaze. Then a smile bloomed from deep inside the back of those wonderful eyes and when it dawned fully on those plump lips it was breathtaking. The doctor beside them gasped when her smile widened.
“Then I choose forever,” she whispered. “It was always you.”
And damn if his heart didn’t melt in a big sopping puddle. He swooped down, snagged her up in his arms, spun her around then crushed her gently against his chest. He lowered his head and kissed her with all the joy and pent up longing in his heart. “Finally.”
She smiled up at him and tugged his head toward her, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
Cheers broke out all around them.
This concludes Book 8 of SEALs of Honor: Evan.
Book 9 is available here.
Mason’s Wish: SEALs of Honor, Book 9
Buy this book at Amazon.
SEALs of Honor Series
Mason: SEALs of Honor, Book 1
Hawk: SEALs of Honor, Book 2
Dane: SEALs of Honor, Book 3
Swede: SEALs of Honor, Book 4
Shadow: SEALs of Honor, Book 5
Cooper: SEALs of Honor, Book 6
Markus: SEALs of Honor, Book 7
Evan: SEALs of Honor, Book 8
Mason’s Wish: SEALs of Honor, Book 9
Chase: SEALs of Honor, Book 10
SEALs of Honor, Books 1–3
SEALs of Honor, Books 4–6
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Evan: SEALs of Honor, Book 8! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter. And if you are interested in joining Dale Mayer’s Fan Club, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
COMPLIMENTARY DOWNLOAD
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Touched by Death
Adult RS/thriller
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Death had touched anthropologist Jade Hansen in Haiti once before, costing her an unborn child and perhaps her very sanity.
A year later, determined to face her own issues, she returns to Haiti with a mortuary team to recover the bodies of an American family from a mass grave. Visiting his brother after the quake, independent contractor Dane Carter puts his life on hold to help the sleepy town of Jacmel rebuild. But he finds it hard to like his brother’s pregnant wife or her family. He wants to go home, until he meets Jade – and realizes what’s missing in his own life. When the mortuary team begins work, it’s as if malevolence has been released from the earth. Instead of laying her ghosts to rest, Jade finds herself confronting death and terror again.
And the man who unexpectedly awakens her heart – is right in the middle of it all.
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death
By Death Books 1–3
Vampire in Denial
This is book 1 of the Family Blood Ties Saga
Get this book at Amazon.
Blood doesn’t just make her who she is…it also makes her what she is.
Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn’t hard enough, Tessa’s throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can’t get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the…blood.
Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle—high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He’s smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa’s dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.
Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one. Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?
Warning: This book ends with a cliffhanger! Book 2 picks up where this book ends.
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial – FREE
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Vampire in Conflict
Vampire in Chaos
Vampire in Crisis
Vampire in Control
Vampire in Charge
Family Blood Ties Set 1–3
Family Blood Ties Set 1–5
Family Blood Ties Set 4–6
Family Blood Ties Set 7–9
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
Broken Protocols
Get this book at Amazon.
Dani’s been through a year of hell…
Just as it’s getting better, she’s tossed forward through time with her orange Persian cat, Charmin Marvin, clutched in her arms. They’re dropped into a few centuries into the future. There’s nothing she can do to stop it, and it’s impossible to go back.
And then it gets worse…
A year of government regulation is easing, and Levi Blackburn is feeling back in control. If he can keep his reckless brother in check, everything will be perfect. But while he’s been protecting Milo from the government, Milo’s been busy working on a present for him…
The present is Dani, only she comes with a snarky cat who suddenly starts talking…and doesn’t know when to shut up.
In an age where breaking protocols have severe consequences, things go wrong, putting them all in danger…
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
Connect with Dale Mayer Online
Dale’s Website – www.dalemayer.com
Twitter – @DaleMayer
Facebook – facebook.com/DaleMayer.author
Also by Dale Mayer
Published Adult Books:
Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday’s Child – FREE
Hide’n Go Seek
Maddy’s Floor
Garden of Sorrow
Knock, Knock…
Rare Find
Eyes to the Soul
Now You See Her
Shattered
Into the Abyss
Psychic Visions Books 1–3
Psychic Visions Books 4–6
Psychic Visions Books 7–9
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death
By Death Books 1–3
Secon
d Chances…at Love Series
Second Chances – Part 1 – FREE
Second Chances – Part 2
Second Chances – complete book (Parts 1 & 2)
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
Broken and… Mending
Skin
Scars
Scales (of Justice)
Broken but… Mending 1-3
Glory
Genesis
Tori
Celeste
Glory Trilogy
Biker Blues
Biker Blues: Morgan, Part 1
Biker Blues: Morgan, Part 2
Biker Blues: Morgan, Part 3
Biker Baby Blues: Morgan, Part 4
Biker Blues: Morgan, Full Set
Biker Blues: Salvation, Part 1
Biker Blues: Salvation, Part 2
Biker Blues: Salvation, Part 3
Biker Blues: Salvation, Full Set
SEALs of Honor
Mason: SEALs of Honor, Book 1
Hawk: SEALs of Honor, Book 2
Dane: SEALs of Honor, Book 3
Swede: SEALs of Honor, Book 4
Shadow: SEALs of Honor, Book 5
Cooper: SEALs of Honor, Book 6
Markus: SEALs of Honor, Book 7
Evan: SEALs of Honor, Book 8
Mason’s Wish: SEALs of Honor, Book 9
Chase: SEALs of Honor, Book 10
SEALs of Honor, Books 1–3
SEALs of Honor, Books 4–6