A SEAL Always Wins
Page 29
“Phantom, do your job. You know what needs to be done.” Elena made eye contact with him, and Phantom’s gut clenched. She was going to do something, and it terrified him. One false move, and Jonas would shoot her dead on the spot.
He wanted to shake his head at her, to tell her to forget about whatever she planned to do, but he couldn’t give anything away to Jonas. He held his breath, watching her and searching for any open spot where he could shoot Jonas, but the man cowered behind Elena, using her as a shield. Jonas cocked the gun and time seemed to stand still.
Elena flung her head back hard, obviously aware that Jonas hid behind her, and the back of her head cracked into his nose and forehead with a crunch. Jonas roared in pain as Elena threw her body forward and down, breaking free of Jonas’s hold as his hand flew up to his bloodied nose. Instantly, Phantom fired a round into the man’s shoulder.
Jonas seemed unfazed by the shot, and Phantom knew the man had to be pumped full of adrenaline-powered strength as he lifted his arm, his handgun pointed directly at Elena. Phantom fired at the same time as Jonas, striking him directly in the heart, and he fell backward, landing hard on the concrete floor.
Santo advanced rapidly toward Jonas, while Phantom fell to his knees and pulled Elena into his arms as she began to push herself up from the floor. “Do you realize the risk you just took? He was going to kill you!”
She trembled in his arms and stared at him with tears in her eyes. “Will you please just hush and kiss me already?”
Emotions tightened his throat as he captured her face in his hands, pressing his lips to hers tenderly. “I thought I was going to lose you,” he murmured against her lips. He kissed her more intensely, overjoyed to have her in his arms again.
“I couldn’t let him succeed,” she whispered when he finally pulled back from her. “I knew there was a good chance I would die, but I couldn’t let him get away with his crimes. And I was so afraid that after he shot me, he would try to shoot you and Santo.”
Phantom shook his head at her, his thumbs wiping the tears that had slipped down her cheeks. “I knew we could stop him. One way or another. I just hadn’t expected you to be the one to take matters into your own hands.”
She gave him a wobbly smile. “Being with you has given me courage to do things I never thought possible.”
Phantom glanced over at Santo, who stood nearby. His eyes dropped to where Jonas lay unmoving, and Santo shook his head. Jonas was dead. Elena began to turn to look, but Phantom turned her face back to him. She’d been through enough trauma already. She didn’t need to see Jonas’s body on top of it all.
“Looks like we missed the party,” Stryker said from behind them. “Elena, are you all right?”
Elena nodded. “I am now. The hostages… Are they okay?”
“They’re being tended to right now,” Lobo said. “The admiral coordinated with a local shelter before he got here. They’ve got blankets and are being assessed by a couple of medics who came with him. Buzz is already coordinating transport for them to a facility where they’ll receive the care they need.”
Elena smiled at them. “You all did it. You saved them.”
Phantom couldn’t take his eyes off her as he brushed her curly locks away from her face. A deep red against her pale-blue shirt caught his attention, and he sucked in a deep breath. “You’ve been shot.” His hands shook as he lifted the sleeve, and she winced slightly.
“I think the bullet just grazed me. It burns, but it doesn’t hurt.”
Phantom examined it closely and realized she had indeed only been grazed by the round. “We’ll have one of the medics clean it and bandage it for you. Do you have any idea how lucky you are?”
Her gaze swept over his face and she smiled at him. “Yes.”
As a group, they exited the barn and Brusco and Snap rushed over to them, tenderly embracing Elena with relief. Phantom hovered over the medic as he tended to her arm and only took his eyes off her when he heard someone approach. Admiral Haslett nodded to him. “You did one hell of a job, Phantom. I knew I could count on you to see this through.”
“The team made it possible, sir. Thank you for trusting me.”
“I heard everything you said to Jonas about the Puppet Master. It’s obvious that name means something within this criminal community, and we need to find out more.”
Santo, who had been standing nearby, stepped forward. “I agree. I think Judge O’Connor may know more than she’s told me so far.”
Haslett raised his eyebrows. “So you agree with me that she’s keeping secrets from us?”
“Possibly. I don’t know what her reasons would be. I want to press her harder about this Puppet Master and see what kind of reaction I get.”
Haslett nodded. “Good. Run with it. Make it happen. We need answers as soon as possible. If there really is anything to this terrorist theory, we need to get ahead of it now.”
Phantom turned back to Elena, who had been conversing with the medic while he, Santo, and Haslett had spoken. “Elena, I’d like you to meet Admiral Frank Haslett. He’s my commanding officer.”
Elena smiled at him and extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir, though I wish it could be under different circumstances.”
Haslett smiled at her as well. “I’ve heard great things about you, and you’ve certainly impressed me with your actions tonight. I’m glad you and Phantom found each other. He’s a good man.”
Elena’s eyes drifted over to Phantom and her smile broadened. “Yes, sir. Yes, he is.”
“Are you all patched up and ready to go home?” Phantom asked.
She glanced down at her arm. “Well, yes, I’m all patched up, but…I don’t have a home to go to. Jonas made certain of that, and I don’t know if the Bells will even want me to be their tenant any longer. My apartment is a crime scene. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back there.”
“Walk with me? I need to get away from this chaos for a moment.”
Elena nodded and slid her hand into his. Phantom nodded to Haslett and Santo before turning away from them and slowly walking away from the large building and the chaos around it. “I’ve been on some incredibly difficult missions and seen some frightening things. But I’ve never been more afraid than tonight when Jonas had you. The thought of not having you…” He paused and turned to face her, holding both her hands in his.
Elena looked up at him, her beautiful brown eyes shining in the moonlight. “I knew you were going to do everything in your power to save me. I never lost faith in you.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m grateful every day that you are in my life.” He leaned down and kissed her gently, then pulled back slowly, searching her face. “What I’m trying to say is I can’t bear the thought of not having you in my life. Every day. For the rest of my life. I love you, Elena. I love everything about you. I want to help you achieve your dreams, and I want to be able to always come home to you.”
Elena’s eyes became moist with tears. “Oh, Phantom, I love you too. You know that. I love you more than anything.”
“Will you do it, then? Will you join our crazy family of SEALs and live with us at the ranch with Anya and be mine forever?”
“Yes. Forever, Phantom. I’m yours.”
About the Author
Holly Castillo grew up spending many lazy summer days racing her horses bareback in the Texas sun. But whenever she wasn’t riding her horses or competing in horse shows, she was found with pen and paper in hand, writing out romantic love stories about Texas heroes.
Today, Holly lives in a small community just south of San Antonio with her husband and two children. On the family’s ranch, surrounded by cattle during the day and hearing the howl of coyotes by night, Holly has endless inspiration for her writing. Her current romantic suspense series about heroic Navy SEALs is set in her own backyar
d of south Texas.
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