“Maybe we should head back?” he asked, giving her a wink. He signed the meal ticket, and then stood to help her from her chair.
Gina had to admit, she liked the little courtesy. She liked even better how the other women in the restaurant watched him with admiration, and her with apparent envy. Yeah, bitches, he’s with me.
A sentiment that left her feeling amused with herself, because she never felt possessive over the men she dated.
On their way back through the hotel lobby, Carson suddenly stopped. She bumped into him, and then looked up at his face. His attention was on a couple coming through the entrance. Another tall, buff man with a very pretty and pregnant woman.
Carson pulled Gina along with him as he approached the man then dropped Gina’s hand and opened his arms.
The men gave each other a big, back-slapping bear hug. Suppressing a smile, she guessed they knew each other.
“Trevor, good to see you, man,” Carson said.
“Damn, Beach-boy. Small damn world.”
When they pulled away from each other, Trevor introduced his pretty wife Lana, and Carson introduced Gina.
The two women grinned at each other.
“So, Carson,” Trevor said, “I got a message from Chase. Said he and a woman he knows are having a bit of trouble.”
Carson nodded, and then waved an arm toward the elevators. “I’ll tell you what I know while we head back to the room.”
On the way up to the girl’s hotel room, Carson filled Trevor in what he knew about the previous evening when Maggie and Chase met, with Gina piping in to give relevant details, like the fact that somehow the couple had acquired an enemy somewhere along the way. She left out the bit about them getting married, because, well, she was feeling a little embarrassed for her friend.
Trevor shook his head. “Jesus. Looks like I missed a hell of a party.”
As they approached the door, Gina pulled out her key card then pulled down the door handle. She entered the honeymoon suite, followed by Carson, Trevor, then Lana.
She spotted Maggie and Chase the second she was inside. “Look who I found,” she said smiling as she dropped her purse on one of the sofas and sat. “Seems SEALs are like magnets. They gravitate toward each other. Carson spotted Trevor from across the lobby.” Her gaze went to Maggie who was smiling faintly but looked a little pale.
“Hey, Chase.” Trevor guided Lana with a hand at the small of her back to the other end of the sofa. “Gina tells me you’ve made an enemy.”
Chase explained that they’d discovered they might have run awry of a local cartel leader the evening before, but he was reluctant to draw Trevor into the mess because he had a baby on the way.
Trevor frowned. “Cartel trouble, huh? Why don’t you skip the meeting altogether?”
Chase shook his head. “I can’t trust that Raul Delgado will leave her alone.”
At that point, Trevor looked across at Maggie. “Pardon my friend’s rudeness.” He reached out to shake her hand. “I’m Trevor Anderson, and this is my beautiful wife, Lana.”
His wife blushed and gave Maggie a little wave.
“Nice to meet you,” Maggie said, her smile more natural now.
“Did you say Raul Delgado?” Carson asked.
He stood behind Gina and had been resting his hands on her shoulders. When his fingers tightened on her, she glanced behind her.
Something about Carson’s expression made her sit straighter.
“As in the Jalisco cartel’s leader, Raul Delgado?” he asked slowly.
Chase nodded. “The one and only.”
Carson whistled. “I’ve been here long enough to know you don’t piss off anyone in the Jalisco cartel.”
Gina glanced at Maggie, whose pale skin blanched whiter as Chase described something that had happened the night before. Relieved he’d finally remembered something pertinent, her stomach dropped as he went on the tell them how Raul had hit on Maggie at a local bar, and how he’d been forced to intervene. Only his intervention hadn’t been very polite. He’d kicked Raul’s ass and then tore into his henchmen.
“Holy shit, man,” Trevor said. “All that in one night? I can’t leave you alone for one minute, can I? What are you going to do when I’m not around to bail you out of jail or trouble?”
Chase frowned and told Trevor he thought the trouble he was in was too much for the two of them, when Carson raised his hand. Of course.
“You can count me in, if that helps. I’ve been bored since I got here. I could use a little action.”
“Thanks, but even three of us can’t go up against an entire cartel.”
When Chased started pacing with his head down, Gina aimed a glare at Carson. “Seriously?” she whispered.
Carson winked at her, like his sexy daredevil look and smile would somehow make her feel better about the fact that what he contemplated was suicide.
He cleared his throat. “One of my specialties in the SEALs was explosives. I can make things go boom with practically nothing.”
Again, seriously dude? She slapped one of the hands still resting on her shoulders. She wished she was standing because every time he opened his mouth, she wanted to press a finger against his lips to shush him. She’d just met him, and she wasn’t ready to let him go sacrifice himself on the altar of SEAL-bro-comradery. Think! There had to be a better suggestion she could offer before they went all John Wayne on Raul’s sorry ass.
Carson pinched her earlobe, which distracted her. “You don’t meet him until midnight, do you?” Carson murmured.
Chase nodded. “Midnight. But we’d have to sneak in, plant the explosives—”
Carson’s hands bore down on her shoulders. He must have intuited that she was ready to bounce out of her seat.
“—and hope we didn’t hurt anyone else. He’s asked to meet behind La Casa Loca. That’s a pretty popular tourist spot. We could create a lot of collateral damage if we go around blowing up shit.”
Finally, someone was thinking. She ignored Carson’s iron grip and cleared her throat to get the guys’ attention. “Not to mention, if you kill civilians and tourists, the Mexican government would lock you up and throw away the key.” She shot Carson another glare. She hoped he realized he was risking never having another booty call for the rest of his life.
Maybe he read her growing concern for his booty, because he patted her shoulder. “Or the government could turn you over to the cartel.”
“Without weapons, we don’t stand a chance,” Chase continued. “From what I’ve heard, the cartel has everything from semi-automatic rifles to submachine guns. They aren’t afraid to employ them in crowded areas, either.”
The men continued talking, but all Gina could think about was all those big guns and the fact that three SEALs actually thought they stood a chance against a larger force. She knew they weren’t crazy. SEALs were an extreme breed of warrior, like ancient Spartans. But she remembered the Gerard Butler movie. Three hundred Spartans may have held off thousands of Persians, but not a one of them lived do brag about it.
One of Carson’s hands lifted from her shoulder. “I might know where someone, who will remain unnamed, might have a stash of illegally acquired weapons…”
Unnamed? She snorted. She’d bet her favorite vibrator his name started with a C and ended with a “son” of a bitch.
“Yeah?” Chase’s expression turned from dour to suddenly hopeful. “Like what?”
Carson rattled off a very specific list of weapons, adding, “Some C-4 explosives and remote detonators, to name a few.”
Maggie’s eyes widened as she locked gazes with Gina. Yeah, her girlfriend had just realized that Gina’s hook-up was the “unnamed” source.
“Holy crap. Sounds like we might be in business,” Chase said.
Maggie shook her head. “Just remember, even if you have weapons and ammunition, there are only three of you who know how to use them.”
Nope, four, but she didn’t blame Maggie for overlooking the fact Gin
a had been a soldier. With her lack of stature and full curves, she didn’t inspire anyone to think of her as a combat-ready badass.
“When Delgado shows up, he’s not coming by himself,” Maggie reminded them.
Carson cracked his knuckles. “We can handle a few more.”
“How about thirty or forty more?” her best friend said, arching an eyebrow.
“And remember, you’re in a tourist town,” Lana said, scooting to the edge of her seat. “When the bullets start flying, there will be civilian casualties.”
Gina was proud of her sex. The women were the only ones thinking logically. “Lots of bullets means lots more injured.” She raised her hands to stop the men from poo-pooing their concerns. “Just sayin’.”
“The more I think about it,” Chase said, frowning, “the more convinced I am that I need to go alone and unarmed.”
“Or not at all.” Maggie strode toward him. “You don’t stand a chance of coming out of it alive.”
Gina almost sighed at the look on Chase’s face as he curved a hand around the back her best friend’s neck. There was no mistaking that strong emotions already bound the two together.
“Would you miss me if I didn’t come back?”
Maggie scowled. “You haven’t even given me a chance to secure a life insurance policy on my new husband. I can’t let you die, now.”
Gina grinned.
So did Chase. “And there I thought you might be remembering why you married me last night.”
“Actually, I do remember,” she whispered.
Gina stopped herself from giving a fist pump. Maggie was definitely equally as into Chase as he was into her. She hadn’t failed her friend after all.
“Yeah?” he whispered close to her mouth.
Gina noted the sparkle in her friend’s eyes.
“I did it to piss off my father.”
Gina snickered. “That’s rich. Chase, you don’t know her father, but I fully expected him to be here by now to drag her ass back to the States, where he’d stand behind her ex-fiancé with a shotgun or a lawyer to see that wedding through.”
Chase drew back. “Is that true? You married me to piss off your father?”
She moved backward and lifted her chin. “Why else would I marry a stranger I barely knew?”
Gina groaned. She’d almost been redeemed, and now Maggie was being stubborn. No way were the sparks that flew every time Chase drew near Maggie based on revenge.
“I’ll fix this for both of us,” Maggie said. “I’ll go back to the States on the next plane tonight. Then you won’t have to meet with Delgado and his thugs. They won’t be able to use the threat of hurting me to make sure you show up. No one gets hurt, and you can go on with your vacation.”
“Whether or not you leave, I’ll still have to deal with the cartel leader. He’ll come after me unless I leave.”
“Then leave,” she said simply. She touched his chest. “Leave with me.”
Feeling as though she’d been the one who’d run the gamut of emotions as the couple had almost admitted they cared about each other, Gina was too restless to sit. She pushed up from her seat as they continued making plans.
She moved toward Carson and leaned sideways against his arm. “So, you have an arsenal in your beach shack?” she whispered.
“I didn’t say that,” he whispered back, his gaze staying on Maggie and Chase as they talked.
She leaned closer, and he slung his arm around her shoulder. “You know, they’re totally in love.”
His mouth curved. “Totally. Head over fucking heels.”
“Now, that’s a position I’ve never tried.”
His body shook against hers as he chuckled softly.
Chase clapped his hands together, which made Gina jump and glance his way again.
“Let’s get our stuff and get to the airport. We can make our flight arrangements there.”
Whoa. What? She’d obviously missed a detail or two of the conversation.
Maggie headed to her room with Chase following on her heels.
Carson turned her inside his arms. “Do you need to pack, too?”
She looked into his face but couldn’t tell if he’d be disappointed if she said yes. No guts nor glory—and definitely no head over heels for her if she didn’t at least try to put herself out there. “You know, this suite’s paid for through the end of the week. It would be a shame to waste it.”
“Damn shame,” he said, then waggled his eyebrows.
She walked her fingers up his neck to his just under his chin and dug a fingernail into his skin to pull him closer.
His kiss wasn’t a peck. No, it was deep and included tongue.
When they both pulled back, they grinned.
“I’m guessing you two had a hell of an interesting night, too,” Lana drawled.
Gina pressed her lips together to keep from blurting a “Hell, yeah” then cleared her throat and moved out of Carson’s embrace. When she turned to Lana she gave her a coy look, “I didn’t get married. Maggie has me beat in the wild night category.”
“Huh,” Carson said, then crossed his arms over his manly chest.
Lana laughed.
Chapter 4
When Maggie came back into the sitting room, Gina said, “I think it’s the right thing to do. I hate that you’re leaving me so soon.” But I’ll probably get over it the second Carson and I are alone. “Are you sure you’re up to facing your father?”
“I wasn’t the one to walk out on the wedding,” Maggie said, narrowing her eyes. “If my father doesn’t understand that, I’ll keep moving. It’s about time I left his house and his corporation and went out on my own.”
Good girl! Gina felt as though her work was almost done. “I’m surprised he didn’t bust a gasket when you left the church before he arrived. I’m sure he was hot when he had to tell the guests you’d left.”
“I just couldn’t stay and face all of them. It was too humiliating.”
“Wait.” Trevor shook his head.
Yeah, Gina got how this conversation might be hard to follow. Certainly, everyone in the room was hanging on every word. Well, except for her because right about then, Carson wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“What church?” Trevor asked, staring at Maggie. “The one you two got married in last night?”
“No, the one she didn’t get married in back in the States,” Chase said, his expression very self-satisfied. As though he’d have it no other way.
Gina glanced at Lana and noted her mouth was hanging open just a little.
“I’m glad you roomed with Maggie,” Carson said next to her ear. “Or things might be really awkward right about now.”
She snickered, picturing Carson holding Lloyd and whispering naughty things in his ear.
“What woman?” Maggie asked, drawing Gina’s attention back to the conversation.
What the hell had she just missed? Her bestie was giving Chase the stink-eye. Uh-oh.
“A woman whose name I don’t remember.” Chase did the smart thing and cupped her elbow to guide her out the door. “She doesn’t matter. What matters is getting you to the airport and out of Mexico before Delgado has a chance to figure out we’re making a run for it.”
“Do you think he’ll follow us and shoot up the plane? I couldn’t live with myself if other people were caught in the crossfire.”
Gina’s humor at the situation vanished as reality settled in again. She hugged Carson’s arms, and he squeezed her. Somehow, his warm embrace made her feel stronger.
“I wouldn’t put it past Delgado to start a war at the airport,” Carson said. “He’s really bad news. Only last week, he hung five members of an opposing gang from a bridge at the southern end of Cabo.”
Revulsion formed a hard knot in the bottom of Gina’s belly. Shit was getting real again.
As Maggie kept speaking, her emotions clear in her pale, strained features, Gina shivered.
“I hope you don’t think everything t
hat’s happened is bad luck,” Chase said.
Gina drew a deep breath and stepped outside of Carson’s arms. She didn’t want to appear to need his support to remain standing. “He’s right, Maggie,” she said, reaching for his hand. “If you hadn’t come to Cabo, you wouldn’t have met Chase, had the party of your life, gotten married, and had sex with one hunky SEAL. And I wouldn’t have met Carson.” She hoped she hadn’t just scared the hell out of him with that. She gave him a glance and lifted her face.
He growled and dropped a kiss on her mouth. “That’s right,” he said, then glanced at Maggie. “We wouldn’t have crossed paths if you hadn’t come to Cabo when you did. I’ve been considering moving back to the States for a while. Had you and Gina waited much longer, we wouldn’t have met.”
Oh, what a sweetie. Even though a telling heat filled her cheeks, she held his gaze. “More importantly, Maggie wouldn’t have met Chase,” she said, nodding as she looked at her friend. “I think he’s much better for you than Loser Lloyd.”
Maggie sighed. “I’m not looking forward to going back to the States and facing my father. He’ll find a way to make this all my fault. He thought Lloyd hung the moon.”
Gina snorted. For all his business smarts, Maggie’s dad didn’t have a clue who his daughter really was. “You’ll just have to convince him that Chase is the right man for you.”
“Why would I do that?” she said, tilting her head. “We’re getting an annulment.”
Gina shook her head. Maggie was still fighting the inevitable. “That might take longer if you don’t stay in Mexico to take care of it.”
Maggie grimaced. “On the other hand, I won’t need an annulment if I’m dead.”
Her bestie’s hero husband gave a fierce, scary frown. “We’re not giving Delgado that option. Ready?”
When Chase opened the door, a big booming voice called out, “Maggie, girl!”
Gina’s jaw dropped. Could this day get any worse?
“You don’t know how hard you were to find,” Maggie’s dad said as he stepped through the door and gave his daughter a giant hug.
“Daddy? What are you doing here?”
Gina wished her friend’s voice hadn’t gone all girly and small like that. Show him you’re nearly thirty, not thirteen!
Hot SEAL, S*x on the Beach (SEALs in Paradise) Page 3