Rescuing Gracelynn (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Bravo Series Book 1)

by Anna Blakely

  The smile he gave her made Gracie feel like the luckiest woman in the world. She was about to tell him that when his phone rang from behind her.

  “Ignore it,” he whispered, staring at her intently. His fingertip gently caressed the side of her face as he brushed a few wild strands behind her ear.

  Recognizing Kole’s ringtone, she sighed. “It might be work related.”

  With a scowl, Nate wrapped an arm around her back to keep her from falling and reached for the phone.

  Sounding superbly grumpy, he answered with, “Swear to God, if this isn’t important, I’ll—”

  Nate stopped talking to listen to whatever it was Kole was saying. The fingers still gripping her hips held her a bit tighter and Gracie wondered if he even realized he’d done it.

  “He did?”

  Nate waited as Kole said something else. A funny, almost nervous look flashed across Nate’s face, but it was gone before she could be sure.

  “Now?” he blinked a couple times. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Give me five to clean up and I’ll be there.”

  Gracie eased herself off his lap, enjoying the groan he almost held in as their bodies separated. Nate narrowed his eyes at whatever Kole was saying now and responded with, “Keep laughing, asshole. Not like you and Sarah have any room to talk.”

  Snickering as she walked past, Gracie yelped when Nate’s hand landed on her bare cheek. It didn’t really hurt, of course, which made her laugh even harder as she went back into the bedroom to change.

  Donning a comfy pair of yoga pants and a sports bra and tank, Gracie found Nate by the door, lacing his boots. Her chest tightened.

  Nate hadn’t been back out on an op since they’d brought her to the hospital. None of the guys had. According to Nate, Alpha Team was back, so Jake had given Bravo this time off, along with her.

  She knew Nate would have to go back out into the field at some point, and she trusted every single guy on his team to protect him while they were gone. Still, Gracie worried.

  With her heart in her throat, she did her best to sound casual when asking, “Do you know when you’ll be back?”

  Nate finished tying the last boot and stood to grab his keys. “Half an hour. Hour tops.”

  “Oh.” Yeah, no way could he miss the relief in her voice.

  With a lopsided grin, he walked over and rested his hands on her hips. “I’m just meeting Kole for something. Did you think we’d been called out for a job?”

  Embarrassed, Gracie shrugged a shoulder. “I wasn’t sure.”

  Nate pulled her to him so her breasts were pressing up against his chest. “Bravo isn’t officially available for another big job until Monday, so you don’t have to worry about that for a few days yet. But,” his brow furrowed. “I will get called out at some point. Is that something you’ll be able to handle?”

  She realized he was asking if she could be with a man whose job took him away as his would.

  Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his. “Of course I can. I mean, I’ll worry every minute until you get back, but I trust the guys to keep you safe. And I trust you.”

  Relief filled his eyes. Taking her mouth in his, Nate gave her the sweetest, softest kiss. “I’ll worry about you, too, you know. But just remember, my one goal, aside from keeping my team safe, will always be to come back to you.”

  “Good.” She smiled, knowing in her heart of hearts, he meant it. “Now, go,” she shooed him with her hands. “Take care of whatever you need to with Kole and I’ll cook us up some dinner while you’re gone.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He gave her a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose then her lips before heading out the door.

  Gracie turned to head to the kitchen, and began an easy meal of spaghetti and meatballs. While the sauce was simmering and the meatballs were baking, she decided to go freshen up a bit before Nate got back home.

  She started past the living room toward the hallway, but Nate’s closed computer caught the corner of her eye. She stopped.

  He’d acted so strangely when she’d first come in to the room earlier. Almost as though he hadn’t wanted her to see what he’d been doing.

  Gracie glanced at her watch. He’d been gone nearly forty-five minutes. She looked at the door and then back to the computer.

  “I really shouldn’t,” she whispered to herself. It would be a major violation of his privacy. Still…

  He’s hiding something from you.

  Biting her lip, she waited two more seconds before giving in and rushing over to the couch. Sitting down, she took a deep breath and nervously opened the lap top and waited.

  When the screen came back to life, Gracie was confused and hurt by what she saw.

  Houses. Nate had been looking at a real estate site, and the last page he’d looked at was for a listing nearly an hour out of the city.

  Gracie’s heart sank. For the past few days she’d been imagining what it would be like if they lived together for real. During that same time, he’d apparently been considering moving farther away from her.

  For a second she thought maybe he was thinking of asking her to move in with him, but they’d spent nearly every minute together for the past three weeks and he’d said nothing.

  An old, familiar pain filled her chest.

  Though it was only an hour away this time, she felt even worse than she had when her ex had told her he was moving to Florida without her. She was still sitting there, dumbfounded when she heard the jingle of Nate’s keys in the locks.

  Hurrying, Gracie closed his computer and shot up from the couch. She was half a second too late.

  Already through the door, Nate’s gaze moved from hers, to his computer, then back again. Disappointment shadowed his expression.

  He quietly turned and closed the door, re-engaging the locks before setting his keys onto the small table next to him. With a deep sigh, he faced her.

  “What were you doing?” he tipped his chin toward his computer.

  “Nothing,” she lied, a reflexive response she instantly wished she could take back.

  He remained quiet, a raised eyebrow his only reaction.

  Not quite sure why she felt guilty when he was the one who’d been keeping things from her, Gracie stumbled to find a plausible explanation.

  “I-I was just checking my email.”

  Nate frowned. “Why didn’t you use your own computer?”

  Shit. “Um…I-I forgot to charge it. Battery’s dead.”

  Studying her a moment, Nate surprised her when the corners of his mouth slowly began to curve upward. “I just realized something else you and your sister have in common.”

  Gracie didn’t even try to guess. “What’s that?”

  He walked over to her in almost a predatory manor and wrapped his arms around her waist. Leaning in closely, he whispered in her ear.

  “You’re both terrible liars.”

  Gracie hid her embarrassment at being caught snooping by addressing the reason she’d felt compelled to do so in the first place. Pushing against his chest, she worked her way loose from his embrace and took a step back.

  Arms crossed, she lifted her chin and said, “Well, at least I’m not keeping secrets from you.” She let out a frustrated breath. “You’re moving?”

  Nate closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking at her again with a resolved expression.

  “I might be. And I was going to tell you.”

  “When?” She turned toward the kitchen, only then remembering she still had food on the stove and in the oven.

  “Soon. I promise. I was just waiting for the right time.”

  Head in the oven, Gracie pulled the tray of meatballs out and set them on the cooling rack.

  “And when would that have been?” she asked without looking at him. “At your open house party?”

  Gracie cringed inwardly, not liking herself very much at the moment. Yeah, he should have said something sooner, but that didn’t mean she needed to be a total bitch about it.

&
nbsp; Unfortunately, her mouth had other thoughts.

  “You know, Nate. When you said you loved me, I thought that meant we were going to give this thing between us a real try.”

  She grabbed the spatula and began scooping the meatballs off the pan and placing them onto a plate.

  “And we are,” he stated with certainty from somewhere behind her.

  “Then why are you looking at houses almost an hour away from here? And why haven’t you said something before now? It’s not like there weren’t plenty of opportunities.”

  Still refusing to look at him, she began stirring the sauce with a little more gusto than was necessary.

  “I mean, I get that you’ve probably just been staying here because you feel responsible for what happened to me. Which, by the way, I’ve made clear on several occasions that it was not necessary for you to do so, nor was anything that Yavuz and his goon did to me your fault in any way.”

  “I do feel responsible for what happened to you, sweetheart. I always will. But that’s not why I’ve been staying with you.”

  Still unable to look at him for fear she’d break down into a blubbering mess, Gracie began straining the pasta over the sink.

  “I just don’t understand,” she tried to explain her feelings. “If you want to move away from here, that’s fine. But why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Like I said, I’d planned to. I just really wanted to talk to you about something else, first.”

  “What?” She poured the drained noodles back into the large pot.

  Nate’s voice softened. “This.”

  Feeling frustrated and hurt, Gracie practically slammed the pot down onto the stove and spun around.

  Inhaling sharply, her knees began to shake so suddenly, she had to grab onto the counter’s edge to keep from falling.

  Nate was in the middle of her living room. And he was down on one knee.

  In one of his hands was something small and shiny. She didn’t have to see it clearly to know what it was.

  “Oh, my God.” Her hands flew to her mouth as his image began to blur.

  “I didn’t tell you about my thoughts on moving yet because I wanted you to have this first.” Looking adorably nervous, he gave a little shrug and said, “Kole knows this jeweler who designs one-of-a-kind rings. That’s where I went just now. Kole called to tell me the ring I’d had made for you was finished.”

  And here she’d been ranting on and on about him keeping secrets from her. Gracie was speechless.

  “I was trying to plan something really special,” he said, still kneeling before her. “I wanted the proposal to be perfect for you. And just so we’re clear,” he smirked. “This isn’t a façade like our last marriage. This is a real engagement ring and I’m really proposing.”

  “It is perfect,” she managed to whisper from behind her trembling fingers. “It’s absolutely perfect. Nate, I-I…”

  Gracie was so stunned, so full of love and excitement, she could barely speak.

  He looked up at her and smiled. “I never believed in love, Gracie. Not really. Then, I met you. You were sunshine and happiness and love, all rolled into one. I couldn’t get enough of you.” He shrugged. “Never will.”

  Nate stood then and came to her. Wrapping his fingers around her wrists, he gently pulled her hands from her mouth and kissed her knuckles.

  “From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew my world would never be the same.”

  Gracie thought back to that day at Kole and Sarah’s. It seemed a lifetime ago, but she remembered it as if it were yesterday.

  Nate was sitting there with that ball cap, looking at her behind those mirrored Aviators and wearing that cocky smile.

  Despite having tried to pretend otherwise, deep down she’d known right then that this was a man she needed in her life. She just hadn’t realized how much.

  Releasing one of her wrists, Nate cupped the side of her face, his thumb caressing her in the most gentlest of touches. Tears welled in his eyes, his words filling her with more love than she’d ever thought possible.

  “I can’t imagine my life without you, baby. You’re everything I never even knew I needed.”

  Tears poured down her cheeks as he slid the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen onto her finger.

  The round stone in the middle was the color of honey and it was surrounded by several small diamonds. It had a vintage feel and it was perfect. Just like him.

  “Oh, Nate. It’s beautiful.”

  “I picked that color stone because it matches your hair.” He looked down at her with a soul-consuming love and asked, “Gracelynn McDaniels, will you please make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”

  More tears of joy escaped as she grabbed his face and kissed him. And she kept kissing him until Nate pulled away long enough to ask, “So, is that a yes?”

  Laughing and crying all at the same time, Gracie stared back at her future and whispered, “Yes.”

  Matt Turner sipped his beer as he watched the couple in the middle of the dance floor.

  He was happy for Kole and Sarah, glad they’d finally tied the knot. The pair actually seemed ridiculously perfect for each other.

  Though, they only had eyes for each other, he raised his glass to them anyway, silently wishing them nothing but the best in their future.

  Matt glanced over at Nate and Gracie, who were also engaged to be married. That one had shocked him a little, considering the recent trials and tribulations those two had been through.

  He’d even mentioned his concerns to Nate last month when he’d announced their engagement to the team while shooting at Jake’s private range. Of course, being a man ‘in love’, Nate had simply smiled and patted him on the back, giving Matt a speech that still haunted him, all these weeks later.

  Life’s short, Matt. When you find the woman you want to spend it with, you need to grab on tight and never let her go. Even if you have to stand and fight death, itself, for her. Because when you truly love someone, you’ll realize she’s worth every drop of sweat and every tear that may fall. You’ll also figure out pretty damn quick that, without her in your life, everything else seems meaningless.

  Earlier tonight, after Sarah and Kole had vowed to love one another forever, Matt received one final piece of Nathan Carter wisdom.

  Trust me, Turner. Your time is coming.

  Matt looked back over at Nate and his fiancée. The two were snuggled up at a table in the corner, laughing about who knows what.

  He shook his head and swallowed the last of his beer.

  Normally, he would’ve spent the night trolling the crowd for a hot bridesmaid to give him a night of empty, meaningless sex. Tonight, Matt surprised even himself by wanting to get as far away from the scene as possible.

  Standing, he made his way to the reception hall’s exit. Nate’s damning words were still rolling through his mind as he left without so much as a goodbye to anyone.

  He understood Nate had meant well with his little talk a few weeks back, but what Matt’s buddy didn’t know was that he’d already found the perfect woman.

  She was soft and sweet. Funny and cute. And smart. God, she’d been so fucking smart.

  It had blown him away when he found out she had a crush on him, too. From that point on, Matt had been on cloud nine and before long, he was planning his own happily ever after.

  But that was all before.

  After, Matt had vowed never to give that much power to another woman again. Now, he had rules when it came to the fairer sex. The first and foremost being to never, ever, let it become serious.

  If he did, he’d risk dropping his guard down. Maybe even find someone he could really care about.

  Fuck that. He already knew how that turned out.

  Now, Matt got in and out, and then he moved on. Never again would he let his guard down. Not for any woman.

  Because Matthew Turner wasn’t someone who made the same mistake twice.

  Get the next book in the ser
ies, Rescuing Katherine, Available to download NOW!

  About the Author

  Author Anna Blakely brings you stories of love, action, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. As an avid reader of romantic suspense herself, Anna’s dream is to create stories her readers will enjoy and characters they’ll fall in love with as much as she has. She believes in true love and happily-ever-after, and that’s what she will always bring to you.

  Anna lives in rural Missouri with her husband, children, and several rescued animals. When she’s not writing, Anna enjoys reading, watching action and horror movies (the scarier the better), and spending time with her amazing husband, four wonderful children, and her adorable granddaughter.

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  Also by Anna Blakely

  Other Books by Anna Blakely

  Bravo Team Series

  Rescuing Gracelynn

  Rescuing Katherine

  R.I.S.C. SERIES:

  Book 1: Taking a Risk, Part One (Jake & Olivia’s HFN)

  Book 2: Taking a Risk, Part Two (Jake & Olivia’s HEA)

  Book 3: Beautiful Risk (Trevor & Lexi)

  Book 4: Intentional Risk (Derek & Charlotte)

  Book 5: Unpredictable Risk

  Book 6: Ultimate Risk

  Want to read Kole & Sarah’s story for FREE?

  Click below to sign up for Anna Blakely’s newsletter and receive your FREE copy of Unexpected Risk-A Bravo Team Novella

  https://dl.bookfunnel.com/u3zicn7yhu

  *Unexpected Risk was originally released as part of the Because He’s Perfect charity anthology. It is now only available through this link, and brings you Kole & Sarah’s trying experience while dealing with shocking news and a malevolent stalker.