When she voiced her concerns to Owen, however, he still seemed skeptical. She came upon the man sitting bare chested at the kitchen table, honing the edge of a wicked-looking butterfly knife into a fine, clean line. In that moment, she could see the SEAL everyone respected and feared. The man who killed when ordered, and would do anything for his country.
The man Owen was meant to be.
Owen put the knife away when she’d finished speaking, his scowl still firmly in place. “Genny…” His lover could fairly see the struggle going on behind his eyes. “I’m not alright with you taking Jonas on as a patient, and you know that. Getting so close to him was the kind of risk I don’t want you taking.”
“But Owen, what if Kant abused him? Scarred him? What if he’s not pretending?”
“And what if he is?” Owen fired back. “You’re still in a very vulnerable position, and it would be negligent of you to forget it.” His words were biting and sharp, making her wince at their intensity.
Her reaction, however, only made her lover sigh. As Eddie whined beside them, the statuesque man took her into his arms, pressing his mouth hotly against hers. Genny shuddered as he nipped and sucked at her lips expertly, effectively working all the tension from her body. “Genevieve, I just don’t want you to be caught off guard.” He murmured lowly against her lips. “I can’t have anyone else I care about die on my watch. I don’t…I don’t know what it would do to me.”
It must have killed him to admit it. Reassuringly, Genny wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. “I know, Owen. I swear, I’m being as careful as I possibly can.”
The former SEAL sighed, stroking up and down her back leisurely. “I guess that’s all I can ask for.”
The next two weeks passed rather uneventfully. Compared to the commotion caused by the unmarked packages, all was quiet. Genevieve was finally beginning to get used to her hectic new schedule, so much so that she was coming home before nine every night. Not that Owen saw that as an excuse not to call him before she came. His lover noticed that even as everyone around him relaxed, Owen still remained on high alert.
She herself remained a bit on edge in the two subsequent sessions she had with Jonas Kant. Despite her own nervousness, however, the man barely did anything more than sob and tremble. It was like the very sight of her was enough to make him draw into himself and revert to an almost childlike state.
Genny spent the majority of their sessions simply trying to get a history out of him and giving up when all she received was nonsensical blabber. She began to think that perhaps Riperton wasn’t the proper place for him. Maybe the man needed to be institutionalized. Of course, he wouldn’t be put with anyone dangerous. The object was just to get him the round the clock care that he needed to eventually be able to live a normal life. When she discussed the prospect with both Stella and Director White, they agreed. If Jonas went an entire month without making any progress, they would commit him on a short term basis – just to see how he did.
It was on the heels of her third unproductive session with Doctor Kant’s son that she found herself at Gina’s, sipping a glass of white wine her friend provided for her while the pregnant woman herself merely looked on wistfully.
“It pains me to admit it, Gina, but I don’t think I can help him.” The Latina woman took a bite from the pint of ice cream she held, her expression empathetic.
“Don’t blame yourself, Genny. You tried. For God’s sake, the man’s father was out to make millions off the backs of our hardworking veterans and you’re still trying to help his son. That seems pretty selfless in my book.”
“Well,” Genny sipped her Pinot Grigio, thoughtful, “Just because Daniel was a bad egg doesn’t mean his son has to be.”
“True.” Gina agreed. “But come on, Genevieve, no one comes out of having a father like that unscathed.”
She had a point. As the elder woman spoke, she stroked over her rounded stomach errantly, and Genny knew she was thinking of her own child. Gina was due in a little under a month now, and though she tried not to show it, she was nervous about giving birth without Sean around. Though the captain had promised her that he would be on the phone with her if he could, it just wasn’t the same.
Gina and Sean’s situation was a painful reminder of what Genny and Owen’s future would be like if he again took up the mantle of an active duty SEAL. They had no idea when they’d be apart, and who knew how that would affect their feelings for each other, let alone any prospect of starting a family.
As much as she loved Owen, and as much as Genny planned to stick with him for as long as he would have her, she couldn’t help but worry that the man’s sense of duty to the SEAL title might very rapidly eclipse any feelings he felt for her. After all, Owen talked about being back in the field every day.
He couldn’t even tell her he loved her without choking.
When she voiced her concerns to Gina, the ebony-haired woman just pursed her lips, shaking her head. “Hija, Owen has always been difficult. He’s stubborn and he’s a handful. Hell, the only way Sean got him to obey orders off the bat was to deck him. He’ll come around with time, trust me.” Reading the concern in Genny’s eyes, Gina’s own expression softened. “He loves you. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
Slowly, Genny nodded.
Owen was fast progressing with his therapy. Now he came to every session ready to show her his journal entries and hardly flinched when she asked him to record in front of her. Another eight months or so and who knew where they’d be?
As Genny started on her second glass of wine, her phone ringing distracted her from the reruns of Bridezilla she and Gina were currently absorbed in. She excused herself quietly, going to the foyer to answer so she wouldn’t disturb Gina. At the sight of the unknown number, she frowned. “Hello?”
For a moment, she heard nothing. Then, when Genny listened harder, she slowly became aware of the sound of soft breathing on the other line. “Hello?” She tried again, this time more insistently.
“Three twenty two Maple Wood Way.” Genny blinked at the statement. The words were distorted, as if someone was trying to disguise their voice. “That’s where she lives. Three twenty two Maple Wood Way.” When she realized what the voice was saying, the young woman’s eyes widened in shock.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“I’m going to pay her a visit.” The voice came again, more sinister this time, the inflection tainted with malevolent intent. “She’s going to pay your debts for you, since you’re too scared to pay yourself.” And then the line went dead.
For a moment, Genny just stared at her phone, horrified. Who the hell had called her? And more importantly, how had they gotten her number?
“Genny?” She was jerked from her breathlessness back to reality when Gina appeared in the entryway, extending her a full glass of wine. “Everything ok?”
Slowly, the young woman shook her head. “No. It’s not.” She stared at her phone again, beginning to tremble. “They have my mother’s address.”
**
Owen was in the midst of a series of pullups, letting the burn in his muscles blot out anything else that might be troubling him.
Though he knew Genny had told him not to put himself on a timeline, and he constantly impressed on his own mind that there could be no rushing back into duty, he’d already begun to prepare his body. Of course, he had never let himself get too out of shape. Sean had prevented that by inviting him to the gym for boxing matches and lifting sessions even when he’d been at his worst.
Now that he was on his way to recovery, Owen usually worked out three hours a day. There was little else to do when Genny wasn’t around. Eddie grew tired of him after he accidently threw his toy into the next yard when they were playing fetch. At the thought, Owen grinned, hoisting his chin over the bar for his twentieth pull-up. Twenty more to go.
Errantly, he glanced at the clock. It was close to ten thirty. The realization made him frown as he froze mid-motion.
Genny had called him to tell him she was leaving around eight forty, her usual time. She mentioned that she was going to stop and check on Gina, and then she’d be straight home – probably no later than ten.
His mouth set into a hard line, Owen continued his pull ups. He was supposed to be trying to get better with this. Just because Genevieve was a half hour late didn’t mean that she was in trouble. The cops had noted no one strange following her in the last few weeks, and aside from the sudden appearance of Daniel Kant’s son at Riperton, all was quiet on the western front.
Which meant he should continue his work out and swallow his anxiety. Genny was fine. She’d be home any minute.
Owen finished his pull-ups and transitioned into push-ups. For the first one hundred or so, he did a pretty good job of not worrying about his girlfriend. By the time he’d reached one hundred and fifty though, the clock read eleven fifteen, and his stomach had begun to churn.
Straightening, Owen summoned Eddie to the kitchen where he fed the pup a late dinner before he trudged to the shower. He told himself that if Genny hadn’t called by the time he was done, he was going to call her.
His shower was probably the quickest in recent history, lasting just under ten minutes. The moment he stepped out, he grabbed his phone from the bedside table. The device had been on vibrate, and to his surprise, he found he had five missed calls from Genny in the past five minutes.
His heart dropping into his stomach, Owen quickly called her back. Every time the phone rang he was worried she wouldn’t pick up – and when she finally answered just before it went to voicemail, he exhaled a sigh of relief. “Owen?”
“Genny. Where are you? It’s almost eleven thirty-”
“Owen, I’m at my mom’s house.” The SEAL’s relief began to bleed away as he registered the raw fear in his lover’s voice. Her voice was hushed, as if she were frightened someone might hear her and there was dead silence in the background. If she were at her mom’s house, he would have expected Martha to grab the phone and demand immediately to talk to him. “I got a call from an unknown number while I was at Gina’s, and whoever it was had my mom’s address. I had to come over her and check on her and she’s…she’s unconscious.” There was a low banging in the background and Genny inhaled sharply in terror, making every muscle in Owen’s body tighten immediately. “She’s unconscious and she’s bleeding. Someone knocked her out, Owen, and the power’s out in the house.”
Fuck. Fuck. “Where’s Gina?” He immediately demanded, lowering his own volume to match hers.
“She’s in the car. She insisted on coming with me but I made her stay inside and lock the doors. Owen…someone’s in here with us. The person who attacked my mom is still in the house.”
The SEAL felt as if he might be sick. Martha’s house was a half hour away. That was a whole thirty minutes in which he would be helpless to do anything. “Genny, I’m coming.” He promised her, keeping his fear in his gut and his tone resolute. “I’m coming right now. Stay on the phone with me.”
He was already yanking on a pair of jeans, paying no mind to his still-soaking body.
“My phone’s dying. I’m at two percent.” Genny exhaled a shuddering breath. “Owen, I’m scared. I’m so scared.”
“I’m coming for you. Sit tight, Gen. Just sit tight.” Owen raced to his truck even as the phone began to crackle, a sign of a wavering signal. Genny’s plea for him to hurry was distorted for a precious few seconds before the line finally went dead. Cursing, Owen shoved it in his back pocket, getting ready to start the truck.
Before he could pull out of the drive, however, his phone buzzed again, signaling a text message. Thinking Genny might have used the last of her juice to send him something, he yanked the device free to look at it.
He was horrified when instead of a text message, he was greeted with the sight of a picture of Genny and Gina sitting in the Latina woman’s living room. The image had obviously been taken with a zoom lens, by someone sitting a safe distance away. The women were smiling, oblivious that they were being watched as they laughed together. Within seconds, Owen received another photo. This one was of Genny putting her ear to Gina’s stomach to listen to the baby move. The next image was slightly more blurry – one of Genny grinning at Stella as they took their lunch break. As if in a nightmare, Owen’s inbox was barraged by no less than ten different images, each one showing Genny in her day to day affairs, with no clue at all that she was being watched.
That she was being hunted.
The last image showed the psychiatrist leaning against her locked car door, speaking to Gina through the glass. The car was parked in front of Martha’s house, and the time read 11:14 PM. While he’d been doing push-ups, the stalker had been setting a trap for Genny.
One that she’d fallen for hook, line and sinker.
Taking only an extra minute, Owen headed back into the house. Once in his bedroom, he barely hesitated before removing a pistol from his bedside table. It seemed like a lifetime ago that Genny had put it there, convincing him that he didn’t need it.
It tore him apart to prove her wrong.
Owen thanked whatever deity that existed that there weren’t any cops on the road so late. He made what was normally a thirty minute drive in just under fifteen. He parked three houses down from Martha’s before killing the engine.
Then, he took a brief moment to steel himself.
It had been two years since he was in the field, but he had to draw on the calm he’d once been able to harness on covert missions. Somehow, he had to forget that his heart was pounding out of his chest and that he didn’t know if the woman he loved was alright.
Not only had whoever was stalking her hurt her mother and lured her here tonight, but he or she had also been watching her while they’d believed the police had everything in hand.
Apparently, things could not be more out of hand.
Owen left his truck, careful to close the door quietly. He had worn all black, which would help him hide his presence on the already dark street. As quickly as he could, the SEAL made his way down to three twenty two Maple Wood Way.
As Genevieve had mentioned, there wasn’t a single light on in the house. The young woman’s hybrid was parked in the driveway, and Owen approached it without a sound, his pistol held at the ready. His grip was steady, and he was calm.
It took him less than two minutes to ascertain that Gina had left the car, making him curse inwardly. What the hell had she been thinking? The woman was eight months pregnant and she wanted to put herself and her baby into a potentially dangerous situation. When he found Gina, he fully intended to chew her out in the manner that she so enjoyed doing to him.
That was after he made sure that she and the baby were alright.
And then there was Genny to worry about as well.
Wary that whoever was in the house might have accomplices, Owen stuck to the shadows. He reached the door quickly and turned the knob, finding it open.
The house was eerily silent. Usually even at this hour, Martha would be bustling around in the kitchen, making something or other. But Genny had told him that the intruder had assaulted her mother. The notion turned his stomach. There was a special place in hell reserved for those who hurt the elderly and children, and as far as he was concerned, he was about to send the perpetrator there.
Owen made his way through the first floor, slowly but surely. He cleared the entryway, then the living room and dining room before heading into the kitchen.
The room was a complete and utter mess. Pots and pans had been overturned, spilling half-cooked food over the floor. There were obvious signs of a struggle and, Owen noted with dismay, droplets of blood on the floor.
Martha had been hurt badly.
There was enough blood to make a partial print from where the intruder had stepped into it, and from that print, Owen was able to learn more about the identity of his enemy. It was a man, perhaps a little over six feet, maybe two hundred pounds even. That would mean that he was fai
rly fit. He was wearing standard issue military boots, but as said boots were distributed around the world, there was no way of knowing the predator’s nationality.
Still, it was nice to know that he had at least six inches and sixty pounds on the man.
Owen moved soundlessly from the room, checking his corners before he made his way upstairs. He couldn’t help the creaking of the wooden steps in the old house and instead merely did his best to step as lightly as possible.
Though he was strongly tempted to call Gina and see if she answered, he didn’t want to put either woman in a compromising position. He also wanted to keep the element of surprise. The first door on the left was the guest bedroom, and Owen opened it in a smooth motion, sweeping the room with the barrel of the pistol.
It was empty.
The guest bathroom and sewing room were as well, which led him to the end of the hall and the master bathroom. As Owen lowered his hand to the knob, a low thud emitted from behind the door and he tensed.
Occupied.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, ready to face his enemy.
“Owen!” Instead, he was greeted by the sight of both Gina and Genny huddled around the immobile form of Martha on the bed. The moment her eyes fell on him, the psychiatrist leapt to her feet, throwing herself into his arms. Owen barely had a split second to thumb the safety on the gun before he caught her, crushing her warmth against him.
She was alright. Thank fucking God. “Genny.” He cupped her face, finding her frightened gaze. “Are you alright? Are Gina and the baby alright?”
“We’re fine.” She returned in a hushed tone. He noticed then that she was trembling like a leaf. “But my Mom’s been out for a while, and she’s got a head wound. She needs an ambulance. Gina left her phone at home.”
Of course she had. Owen bit back a groan before extracting his own phone to call nine one one. Within minutes, the cops announced that they would send someone over and Owen hugged Genny to him tightly once more before shooting Gina a warning glance. “The two of you stay here and lock the door. I’m going to search the rest of the house.”
Saving the Seal 2: A BWWM Navy Seal Interracial Romance Page 7