“I’ve got a lot on my plate right now,” Caitlyn said, looking around her living room. The TV was on low in the background. The last rays of the sunset were peeking in through her windows. A yummy scented candle was lit on her coffee table. And yeah. She was alone. The same as every other Sunday night. Her last serious relationship had ended over a year ago. She’d dated a few men since then who’d mostly turned out to be not worth her time. And she had her event planning business. She didn’t need another man to come along and break her heart.
“Call him. Oh, that’s my doorbell. I ordered Chinese tonight. Give the man a chance, will you? You deserve someone good, hun.”
“Yeah, I guess. Enjoy your dinner.”
They hung up, and Caitlyn blew out a sigh. Maybe she should give him a chance. She’d wait a few days and then shoot him a text. She didn’t even have to invite him to dinner; she could just say hello. Then he’d have her number at least. He could ask her out, and if not? Oh well. Life would go on.
She reached over and grabbed her iced coffee, taking another sip. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she knew she was being silly. There could be a million things wrong with Troy. She could text him and find out he’d be deployed for a month or longer. He could meet another woman this week. She could get up the nerve to call him and never hear from him again.
That didn’t stop the tiny kernel of hope filling her heart.
***
Troy climbed out of his SUV and strode across the parking lot on base, frowning as his SEAL team leader Blake “Raptor” Reynolds caught up to him. “What do you think this is about?” Troy asked.
“Not sure. It could be a number of things. I know Ethan’s hoping we’re headed back to Bagram to round up the rest of those assholes who kidnapped Kimberly. Hell, I’m sure Kim would like to join us on that mission if she could. Seems doubtful though.”
Troy scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Agreed, and it’s a damn shame we never got them. We could’ve just headed back up that damn mountain and smoked them out.”
Blake grunted. “Never say never, but who the hell knows? We’ve been monitoring multiple situations. Something big must’ve happened to require a meeting tonight.”
“Yep. There’s always some new asshole out there for us to chase down. For every terrorist we take out, ten new ones spring up in his place.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Blake muttered.
The men walked into the building and headed toward the bullpen. There was less activity than usual, but it was a Sunday evening. Everyone who worked regular hours was at home with their families. Or hanging out on the beach, Troy thought wryly. Hell. The image of the redhead was still burned into his brain. He needed to get his mind back on track. “You got here quickly,” Troy noted. “I figured the rest of you guys would be dropping off your women.”
“K-Bar drove Taryn and Clarissa back,” Blake said, referring to their teammate Jackson “K-Bar” Clinefield. Jackson and Taryn lived in the townhouse next door to Blake and Clarissa. Troy knew the two women appreciated having each other close by when the team got sent out on an op. It had just been a coincidence that Jackson had started dating Blake’s neighbor, but they seemed pretty damn happy now. “Commander Hutchinson asked to meet with me before he briefs the team, so I needed to get here ASAP. K-Bar didn’t mind, and Clarissa knows the drill. But speaking of women, you looked pretty cozy with that redhead earlier.”
Troy’s lips quirked. “She was beautiful. Sweet, too. I felt bad she was on those damn crutches. I can’t say I exactly minded carrying her up and down the stairs on the beach. She wouldn’t give me her number though. And I rolled out of there so quickly after the CO called, I didn’t even get her name.”
Blake chuckled. “That’s not like you.”
“Yeah, well, believe me I asked. She seemed a little shy. Or maybe she was just reluctant to tell me. She’s an event planner and was there with a bride scouting out wedding locations. I did give her my cell number though.”
“Then I hope she calls you, man,” Blake said with a smirk.
Troy nodded as their CO came down the hallway to talk to Blake and headed into the bullpen alone. Hell. It felt like half of his teammates were getting married soon. Most of them were in relationships. Blake and Clarissa would have a beach wedding this summer. Grayson and Hailey were expecting a baby. They’d probably get married immediately if Ghost had his way. Not that Hailey seemed opposed to the idea.
Meanwhile, Troy was perpetually stuck in first date hell. He wasn’t into one-night-stands anymore, preferring to actually know something about a woman before he took her to bed. He’d date a woman for a few weeks, attempt to wine and dine her, and then things wouldn’t work out for one reason or another. How many ladies had he introduced his teammates to over the past year? Too damn many. It felt like a steady stream of women on his arm, and things went exactly nowhere with all of them.
It’s not like he was looking to rush down the aisle or something, but he sure wouldn’t mind having someone to come home to. Or to go to bed with every night. Damn. It wasn’t like him to feel so unsettled. Having his teammates in happy relationships just reminded him of what he was missing.
He nodded at Ethan “Everglades” Flannigan as he come striding into the bullpen. “Where’s the CO?” Ethan asked, grabbing a chair.
“With Raptor. Hell. I don’t know what this is about, but I’ve got a bad feeling. He wanted to talk to Raptor before he briefs the rest of us.”
“Damn,” Ethan said with a frown. “Usually, we have a clue if something is on the horizon. And it’s not like he said we’re heading out tomorrow. I wonder what’s up.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Troy said.
The rest of the men came filing in, followed by Blake and Commander Slate Hutchinson. Older than Troy and his teammates, he still looked like he could hold his own in a fight. He was in his early forties and fit. At six feet, he was shorter than some of the guys—if six feet could be considered short. He intimidated the hell out of half the people on base, but the team was used to his gruff ways.
Logan was the last one to arrive, but since he’d been walking on the beach with the women, Troy wasn’t surprised. He’d needed to get back to the parking lot and then drive all the way here.
Their commander looked around the room, his green eyes alert as he took in the men seated at the table. “We’ve got a few things on the horizon that have come up in the past twenty-four hours,” he said, his voice terse. “The first is an op that you’ll be heading out on this week. There’s a high value target that’s sprung up on the radar, and the Pentagon has asked us to move in. He’s been located in Somalia, and I’ll be briefing you on the situation shortly. We’re waiting for final confirmation of his location before you’re sent out. The other more pressing issue is we’ve received some information that the admiral is being threatened. NCIS is fully aware of the situation and investigating. However, we need to be vigilant.”
“Shit,” Ethan muttered. “Threatened?”
The commander eyed him. “He’s received some threatening mail and a suspicious package at his private residence.”
“At his private residence,” Blake echoed, letting out a low whistle. “God damn. What were the threats?”
“Someone is attempting to blackmail him. They’re demanding classified information and threatening to release some private info and photographs.”
Troy scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “That’s bullshit.”
Their CO’s lips quirked. “You know that, and I know that, but someone thinks they have something on him. They’re going to extreme lengths to intimidate and extort the admiral.”
“So let them release it,” Ethan said with a shrug. “The photos. If it’s nothing, can’t he just ignore it?”
Their commander nodded. “To some extent. And if it just involved him, no doubt he would. But his wife and children were mentioned as well, and we have to take that seriously. Despite the admiral and his wife being ol
der, they do have a young child. A teenage daughter as well. He’s not going to let someone threaten to release private details about his family or harm any of them. The photos were the first item mentioned, but if he still doesn’t comply, they’ve implied that they will come after his family.”
“Hell,” Jackson said, his eyes flashing in anger. His girlfriend Taryn had been stalked by her ex-husband, and Troy knew he didn’t take a threat against a woman lightly. “I assume security has been beefed up around his home?”
“Affirmative. The Navy has a protective detail on both him and his family.”
“What type of information do they want?” Blake asked. “That’s a hell of a vague request.”
“Codes to access the nuclear warheads. They’re blackmailing him. They seem to think he’ll give up the intel because of whatever information they have on him.”
“So how do we come in, sir?” Troy asked. No doubt he and his fellow SEALs would do whatever was necessary to protect an officer and his family. That wasn’t something they’d normally be tasked with, but hell if they’d let someone threaten or intimidate one of their own.
“I need you to stay vigilant,” he stressed. “You’re being sent out soon on a mission, but you need to be even more aware of your surroundings than usual when you’re stateside. So far, the threats have been directed to the admiral, and we’re not certain how they found out his home address. Or what photographs and private information they think they have.”
“Hell. I assume his wife knows about this?” Blake asked.
“She does. The teenage daughter was briefed about the situation as well.”
“What’s she do?” Grayson asked, raising his eyebrows. “High school student?”
“She’s in college,” Commander Hutchinson said. “She just turned nineteen a few months ago. Although she was away at school, for the moment, she’s back home and doing her courses virtually. At least until this is settled.”
Grayson nodded, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “Think she released any private information on the admiral, either intentionally or not? Or put up her own incriminating photos? College kids have all those social media accounts these days. They post damn near everything online.”
“We don’t have any reason to believe she’s involved in something unsavory. That’s all being investigated of course. The teenager could very well have social media accounts we’re unaware of.”
“And they could’ve put her in a compromising position,” Grayson said.
“Maybe she got tired of daddy’s strict rules,” Logan mused. “She certainly wouldn’t be the first college kid who turned ‘girls gone wild.’”
Troy smirked but looked around at his teammates. “It sounds like anything’s damn near possible. That’s got to be hell on the admiral worrying about his family.”
Their CO spoke again. “It’s a major concern for him. In addition, Admiral Rice and his wife are celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary soon. It’ll be a big event, and the admiral wants this shelved before then.”
Blake’s eyes flicked to their commander. “You think that’s possible? My understanding was that the anniversary party is next month.”
“Affirmative. And we have no idea who this involves or how long a complete investigation will take. NCIS is guarding the family, but we’re not spreading word to the rest of base in the event someone here is involved. They might not be sending the threats, but they could’ve leaked his home address.”
“Hell,” Jackson muttered. “A potential traitor here? We just dealt with that shit in Bagram.”
Ethan stiffened beside him. The traitor in Bagram had resulted in a suicide bombing at the gate, Ghost’s fiancée Hailey being badly injured in a building explosion, and Ethan’s girlfriend Kimberly being kidnapped. The guys hadn’t even known their women when it happened, but life had a damn strange way of working out. Troy was happy for his buddies, despite the circumstances that had led to them meeting their significant others. Both men seemed happy as hell.
“We don’t know who’s behind the threats. The information I’m sharing with you stays in this room,” Commander Hutchinson said. “Ace’s team will be informed as well,” he said, referencing Everett “Ace” Walker and another SEAL team on base. “Aside from several officers in my chain of command, the investigators, and the admiral’s family, most people are unaware of the situation. We want it to remain that way for now. If the threat is coming from one of our own, hopefully they’ll out themselves.”
“And if it’s not?” Blake asked.
“The investigation will continue. The perpetrators haven’t revealed themselves yet. It could be a known U.S. enemy demanding the information and access to our nuclear warheads. It could be a servicemember hoping to sell the highly classified intelligence to the highest bidder. For some reason they think he’ll cave given the threats. If you notice anything suspicious, come directly to me. His family’s safety is a top priority for the Navy.”
“Understood, sir,” Blake said.
“Ace could look into it,” Troy said. Ace headed the other SEAL team on base but was also a computer whiz. He could’ve easily gotten a career in cybersecurity. He was strong as hell though and seemed to enjoy the physical side of being an operator.
“We’ll explore all our options. If NCIS needs assistance, Ace can step in on the computer forensics side of things. That guy is a goddamn computer genius. But for now, we need to table this discussion. We’ve got another pressing matter to discuss regarding Somalia.”
Chapter 3
Three days later, Caitlyn hobbled on her crutches toward her office. She had another dress on over her purple cast. Maybe she should’ve purchased some wide-leg pants or something, but dresses were working for her so far. And there was no way she was sacrificing her skinny jeans for a cast that would be off in another week.
“Hey girl!” Harper called out, hurrying up behind her. “I’ll grab the door.”
“Thanks,” Caitlyn said appreciatively, handing her the key. “You’re here early. I thought you were coming by at nine?”
“Yep. I’ve got a meeting with a client then though. I wanted to drop off the brochures with my updated pricing list. I so appreciate you keeping a stack of them here.”
“Of course. Believe me, most of my clients are happy when I refer them to vendors and already have the info here for them. It saves them a lot of work.”
“And brings me new business,” Harper said with a wink as she held open the door. Caitlyn moved inside on her crutches, glancing over at her best friend. Harper had on skinny ripped jeans, a black tank top, and long cardigan. She looked trendy, while Caitlyn still felt awkward with her crutches. She couldn’t wait to get her cast off and wear jeans, leggings, and whatever the heck she felt like. Dressing around her cast was getting old.
“I’ll put on the coffee,” Harper said when they were inside.
“Awesome, thanks,” Caitlyn said as she moved toward her desk in the back, rested the crutches against the wall, and sank down into her chair. She had a desk with seats in front of it to consult with clients, as well as a small lobby area with a sofa. There was a large coffee table in case she needed to spread things out for planning purposes, and she could easily rearrange furniture depending on the number of people she was meeting with. It was a small office space but suited her perfectly, and she was thrilled her business had grown enough to allow her to rent it in the busy area.
“I’ll be so relieved when I get this cast off,” she said.
“How many more days?” Harper asked.
“Five. Next Monday, and we can say goodbye to Barney.”
“Barney?” Harper asked with a chuckle as she scooped some dark-roast coffee into the coffee maker. Caitlyn also had one of those single-cup brewers for her clients, but considering the amount of caffeine she consumed, she kept a full pot in her office as well.
“My cast is purple,” Caitlyn explained. “You remember Barney, the big purple dinosaur, right? This thing is c
lunky and bright.”
“I remember. I just didn’t know you’d named your cast after an imaginary character.”
“Ha ha,” Caitlyn said, turning on her laptop. “Geez, I hope that bride gets the papers back to me. She still hasn’t signed the ones I sent over for the beach wedding. That was a few days ago, and she promised she’d sign them right away.”
“Maybe she’s too busy having hot sex with her fiancé,” Harper joked.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “I never even met him—just the bride and her sisters.” She set her cell phone on her desk while the coffee brewed, her eyes going to the phone every once in a while.
“What?” Harper asked. “You’re looking at your phone like it’s going to bite you or something.”
She snorted. After getting Troy’s phone number on Sunday night, Caitlyn had flip-flopped every day about calling him. She was oddly nervous about it—not that drinks or dinner with a guy meant anything. They could have fun, share a few laughs, and that would be it. She was probably just getting herself worked up over nothing. And now that three days had passed, he probably thought she was blowing him off. He’d told her to call him and she simply hadn’t. Even if she did call him now, he probably already had plans for the weekend. Or he’d be busy with work stuff. He’d been headed to his military base the other night, hadn’t he?
“I still never called that guy I met on the beach,” she admitted.
“What?” Harper shrieked. “You were supposed to text him the other day.” The coffee finished brewing, but she held up a hand. “Don’t get up. You can wait on me hand and foot when you get your cast off, but I’ll bring you a mug now.”
“How sweet,” she joked.
“Now spill. Why didn’t you call him?”
“I just didn’t want to get my hopes up I guess.”
Harper rolled her eyes as she crossed the small office space and set Caitlyn’s mug down on her desk. “Not every guy is an asshole. He must’ve been mostly nice for you to get his number. Oh crap,” she said, rushing over to grab her cell phone from her purse. “I need to answer that. Text him right now.”
SEAL's Promise (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 5) Page 3