SEALs of Honor: Markus

by Mayer, Dale

  “And they were planning on more than one bank.”

  “Right, so go into town, hit several, one after another and get out.”

  Markus nodded. “Until they kidnapped you and we took the team down for something completely unrelated and screwed up their plans.”

  Mason walked over. “Barry has been released.”

  Swede snorted. “Great. So he’s free now and what do you want to bet that there will be a series of bank robberies in the next few days to weeks as the brothers regroup and find a couple of men to fill the missing spots.”

  “They wouldn’t need much,” Bree said. “Just a getaway driver. Even then, they could have the vehicle parked outside and make a run for it. If they are fast, they’d be halfway across town before they’d been spotted.”

  “The banks have contingency plans in place for robberies now,” Evan said. “Robberies happen all the time, but they don’t get much cash at each branch.”

  “Right and times that by how many banks, and two men at a time and there could be a nice haul out of Anchorage.” Markus stared down at Bree. “The question is, what do we do to keep her safe now while we get to the bottom of this?”

  “How about the same solution as always?” she asked hopefully, “Somewhere safe where I can get something to eat and some sleep.”

  “And where is that?” Markus snapped. “Seems like every time we tried to do that, something went wrong and someone got hurt.”

  “Exactly,” she said smoothly. “So the answer is to stop stashing me somewhere and keep me with you.”

  She gave him a beaming smile.

  Chapter 24

  Bree watched the expressions cross the men’s faces. Markus had a glimmer of a smile in his eyes, but his face was otherwise stalwart as if waiting for the others to weigh in. She knew instinctively she had to win them over and likely Mason first. To that end, she looked at him and said, “Would it be a hardship to keep me safe for a day or two?” She glanced at the other men. “I’m trying to go home to California, but I’m not going to make the several days of bus rides in this shape,” she admitted.

  Then she decided she sounded like she was whining. “Well, I will but it won’t be pleasant. Of course as you’ve saved my life several times, I should be focused on the fact that at least I’m alive enough to feel the discomfort of sitting for hours.” She took a deep breath, shuddered slightly at the sharp pain spiking through the system in her mid-section, and said, “Never mind. I’ll be fine. You’ve done enough for me.”

  And considering that, what the hell was she going to do. She had a bag with her somewhere. “Markus, do you know where my bag is? My wallet. I’d really hate to have to go through all that again.”

  She tried to identify the vehicle she’d arrived in, but they all looked the same. Her shoulders slumped. Damn it. She couldn’t even do that much on her own.

  “And if I give you your bag, where are you going to go?”

  She stared up at him. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I can’t go back to the bed and breakfast now. Maybe you could give me a lift to the bus station, and I’ll find out how to get home.”

  A thunderous cloud spread across his face. And she knew he was going to be difficult. “There’s very little options left for me.”

  A vehicle came ripping up the block. Well look at that. The cops had arrived. The two officers hopped out and walked over.

  They nodded a greeting to Mason as the group gathered around him.

  “Thank you,” the sergeant said. “Been a shitty night so far, but at least it’s a good ending.” The sergeant looked over at her, then at his damaged building and shook his head. “Shit. Like we needed this.”

  She agreed with him.

  He pushed his hat back and said, “We need you to go into Anchorage. We need your statement and Mason here said you might be able to identify the last man.”

  She didn’t know if she was supposed to be happy as she’d be saved the bus fare from here to Anchorage or pissed that Mason had told him about her memory. “I might be able to,” she said, the fatigue hard to keep at bay. “But no promises and I’m going to need some sleep first.”

  He opened his mouth to protest but she shook her head. “I might be able to get the information, but at the same time I might not. The more tired I am the worse it is.”

  Markus walked over to join Mason who was speaking with the sergeant a few feet away.

  She didn’t know what he was up to but figured he was on her side so it couldn’t be bad. She slumped in place, then gasped and straightened again. Damn it, her ribs hurt like shit.

  “Not fun is it,” one of the men asked, walking closer. He was huge in a different way from Swede. Then they were all big. He quickly introduced himself as Cooper.

  She smiled. “Thanks for my life,” she said in a low voice.

  “Now to make it one worth living,” Shadow said, standing beside Cooper.

  She studied him quietly. “Isn’t that the truth? I honestly thought I was doing just that.”

  “You were but life changes us so it’s up to us to change with it,” Shadow said. “And you’re doing that. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished so far. Sometimes the battle to beat is survival.”

  How true and prophetic. His words helped and reminded her that others could judge her all they wanted but until they’d been through what she’d been through, their opinion held no weight. She was the one who counted and what she’d done, she’d done well.

  “Thank you,” she said simply. “You’re right. And the battles that come to us are often the ones we’re the least prepared for.”

  “Therefore surviving has all the more joy in it,” he added seriously. “You have a wonderful future ahead of you. Do your best to keep it.”

  “I’d like to. These last few days…well…they’ve been tough.”

  “And they are over. When you’re back in California, you’ll forget all about this.”

  The corner of her mouth turned down as she caught sight of Markus. “Some things I don’t want to forget about,” she admitted.

  “And some things you won’t have to,” he said, a charming twinkle coming into his eyes. “Markus is a good man.”

  She flushed. “That obvious, was I?” She sagged in place, shuddered and straightened immediately. “Apparently I’m a slow learner.”

  “You’re exhausted. And no, it’s not that obvious,” Cooper said. “But we’re a little better primed to look for it than others.”

  She didn’t understand. Primed for what? Attraction between people? Why would they have any training for that? Confused but willing to shelve it for the moment, she watched as Markus and the sergeant walked back toward her. The sergeant studied her for a long moment. “So are we keeping her or are you men keeping her?”

  Instantly the crowd of men around her said, “We’re keeping her.”

  The sergeant looked confused at the enthusiastic response from the others. That was the way she felt but even more so when she saw Markus rolling his eyes. What did any of this mean?

  He walked closer. In a low voice, she asked, “Do you want me to stay with you?” She struggled to keep the hurt inside. Even his teammates seemed to like her, although she suspected there was more to this than she understood. “Or do you want me to go with the cops?”

  *

  “You’re staying with me,” he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. He could feel the chill in her skin. “Where’s my coat?” he asked.

  She frowned, trying to hide her relief at not being separated from him again. “I left it in the truck.”

  He walked around to the back of the truck and found it on the footwell behind the front seat. He pulled it free, gave it a good shake and walked over to wrap it around her shoulders. “Keep it on this time.”

  She sighed. “I will.”

  He hated to see the black circles under her eyes, the translucent skin and the huge wells of pain in her eyes. She’d been through so much, and she didn’t need
these new developments.

  She huddled deeper into the jacket, tucking her knees up against her chest. With her arms wrapped around her knees his jacket completely engulfed her. She looked like a twelve-year-old.

  “We’re taking you and the prisoner in to Anchorage as they are short on officers. They could call in the State Troopers for the prisoner transfer but that would take time and we’re here,” Mason said. “The building is damaged too badly to hold him here, and now with the bank robbery connection he needs to be transported to the station in Anchorage. And of course they want to talk to you.”

  She nodded but there wasn’t any fire in the movement. “Any chance of grabbing a hotel and sleeping?”

  “On the list,” Markus reassured her.

  “Thank God.”

  He walked to Mason. “I’m leaving now. I’ll let you know where I’m going to be when I get there.”

  Mason nodded. “Evan, Cooper, and Brett are going with you.” He turned away. “I’m going to be ten minutes behind.”

  Right. Without giving her a chance to protest, not that she looked to have any energy to protest anything, he sat in the back of the rig with her beside him. Cooper hopped in to drive. Evan took up the shotgun spot. Brett sat beside Bree. Chase and Brett were the new kids on the block. Good men but still less comfortable with everyone.

  There were dozens of SEALs in Alaska right now. He wanted all of them watching over Bree.

  This had gotten personal in a big way and too damn fast.

  The sooner he got her home to California, the better.

  Chapter 25

  She hadn’t considered the possibility but when the truck rolled to a stop, she woke up with a start to find she’d actually slept. She was warm and tucked up against someone’s chest. She didn’t want to move. Especially when she was cradled in Markus’s arms.

  How special.

  She yawned and shifted so she could look out the front window. They were at a hotel. One of those two story high surrounding a pool type of building. A bed. Lord, she could use a bed.

  Before she realized it, she was being led to the second floor and the first door on the right. Markus unlocked the door and let her inside. “Do you want a shower first or just to crash?”

  “A shower. I slept in the truck so that will hold me long enough to get a shower.” She dropped his jacket and walked through to the bathroom. And laughed with glee. “They have shampoo and conditioner.”

  She stripped to her skin and stepped under the hot spray. Talk about heaven.

  “You okay in there?” called a voice from the other side of the bathroom door.

  Markus.

  She smiled. “I am. Loving the hot water.”

  “Well, you might also like to know we have some food coming.”

  “Really? What did you find at this hour?”

  Her stomach was so damn empty she’d hated to bring it up knowing that no place would be open at this hour.

  “An all-night pizza joint. And they had pasta as well.”

  “I’m calling dibs on the pasta.”

  “Not if you don’t finish in there first. The rest of the men will be arriving anytime.”

  She shampooed her hair twice then applied conditioner. By the time she was done, her arms were shaking and her hands trembling. Hopefully, the food had arrived. She got dressed again, a clean t-shirt this time, although the housecoat hanging on the back of the door had been tempting but not if there were more men than just Markus out there. When she opened her door, she walked out to find Cooper, Chase, Markus, and Brett eating pizza. Her eyes lit up, then fell when she saw the empty box. “You didn’t eat it all did you?” she wailed.

  The group of men laughed.

  Markus shook his head. “No, we didn’t. Come sit down.” He patted a spot on the bed beside him. “I saved the pasta for you.”

  “Even though I wanted it,” Evan whined. “But Markus wouldn’t let me have any.”

  “I’ll share,” she said, sitting down on the bed. “This looks great.”

  “It’s food. Anything looks great when you’re hungry,” Markus said laughing. “Remember those protein bars?”

  She winced. “Yeah, I do, they sure hit the spot then.”

  He handed her a round, tinfoil pie plate looking container. She opened it and the smell of lasagna wafted through the air. The other men raised their noses and sniffed, their eyes locking onto the pan in her hand.

  “No, you’re not sharing. Eat it all,” Markus said, glaring at the guys. “These three would eat anything, including the box.”

  “And Swede isn’t here yet.” Cooper sniggered. “Wait until he finds out you ate his meal.”

  “There are nine more pizzas,” Markus said. “That’s even enough for him.”

  “Wow, does he eat that much?” Bree asked. “I was thinking that a piece of pizza on the side would go great.”

  The men looked at her lasagna then at her and back again. “If you can eat all that then you can have one of my pieces,” Cooper suggested. “But your eyes might be bigger than your tummy.”

  “Except I’m filling up right to my bottom toe,” she said with a small grin. “I’ll see you at the bottom of this pan. Save me a piece.”

  *

  Markus laughed at the look on the guys’ faces. Then again, they hadn’t been at the restaurant with her plowing through the big breakfast. She’d eaten almost as much as he had.

  Mason would be here soon. He had Hawk and Dane with him. They’d taken the prisoner into the station. Markus had deliberately circumvented the station, not wanting them to expect Bree to have anything to offer at this time. She looked better after the nap in the truck and the shower and food. More sleep should put her back on top. Ready to face what came next.

  Shadow and Swede were standing guard outside.

  The door opened letting in Swede and several others. Markus’s gaze was on Bree at the time, catching the nervous look she sent to the men then his way. It would take a few weeks for her nerves to calm down. But time was a great healer. “Bree, this is the same group of men you’ve met before. There are just a lot of faces to recognize. All good friends of mine.”

  Then her nervousness changed to mock alarm. “Are they going to eat my pizza?” she cried.

  The men turned to stare at her in shock.

  The new arrivals studied the almost empty pan of lasagna on her lap and the boxes of pizza stacked around the room. With a flashing grin she reached forward and snagged two pieces out of the closest box. She waved at Swede. “I just had to make sure I got a piece before he started in.”

  Swede’s face broke into a huge smile. With a gusty laugh he grabbed up two unopened boxes and jumped over to where Bree sat and plunked down beside her. “A woman after my own heart.” He opened the first box and the smell of anchovies filled the room.

  Swede reached in to grab the largest piece only to find Bree’s lightning quick fingers had snagged it first.

  “Markus, you’re going to need a second job,” Swede said blithely and bit into the first piece he came to. He closed his eyes, seemingly unaware of the sucked in breath at his side.

  Markus knew. And knew Swede knew. He just couldn’t resist pushing things along. Then he had Eva and wanted the whole world to be as happy as he was.

  Not a bad wish.

  And Bree? She was studying her piece of pizza. “You know, if I went back to work at my old job, I could afford to make Markus a kept man.”

  Several men choked on their pizzas. Grins flashed and disappeared. Silence reigned.

  Swede settled back to watch the sparks fly.

  Typical of Bree – she dove in where angels fear to tread. But as he’d already told her, he was no angel. He shook his head gently. “Sweetheart, I’ll be keeping my job because we already know what the stress of your job did to you.”

  She sighed. “Good point.” She smirked at him. “Besides, pizza is cheap.”

  Markus kept an eye on her as she worked on eating her way thr
ough the food in front of her. Movements were getting slower, her eyes heavy. He cleared a spot on the bed behind him and removed her plate from her lap as her head nodded forward once again. She tucked up beside him with a grateful smile and closed her eyes.

  Within minutes her breathing slowed.

  “Is she badly hurt?” Shadow asked.

  Markus shook his head. “No, nothing that won’t heal.” He reached over and stroked her shoulder. “A good night’s sleep tonight and she’ll be much better tomorrow.”

  “You okay with this?” Shadow asked as he got up to leave.

  “I have to be,” Markus said. “I think I’m past the point of having a choice.”

  Markus closed the door behind the last of the men. Bree slept quietly on the far side of the bed, curled up at the top by the pillows. His coat lay over her shoulders. The rest of the room was a mess. He quickly stacked the pizza boxes and napkins that they’d all used. The takeout coffee cups went in the same direction. Within minutes the small room was as clean as he could make it lacking a vacuum. His pack was here and her small bag. He took a quick shower. It had been a long day for him too. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he returned to the room.

  She hadn’t moved.

  He reached over and removed his jacket then gave her a shake.

  A mumble escaped.

  “Bree, wake up. Let’s get you under the covers.”

  A grumble was his response this time.

  He grinned.

  And decided the easiest way was to do this himself. With an efficiency that surprised him, he stripped off her shirt and jeans and socks. He left her underwear on. Frowning at the colorful ribs, he ran a gentle finger along the cracked one. She sighed and rolled over onto her belly, her arms and legs spread wide.