Her Tempting Protector: Navy SEAL Team (Night Storm Book 2)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “Gee thanks, Dad. Like I haven’t figured that out.”

  “Well, Dad’s here to help.”

  God, I hope so.

  Carys had all four doors of the truck open so that Shada could get some fresh air. She’d also climbed in to do more of a thorough check on her abdomen. He’d offered to hold Adam, but now that Shada was alert she was reticent about having the strange man holding her child.

  “How sturdy is the truck you’re in? And I mean how sturdy? Can you go four-wheeling?” Kane asked.

  “Oh, hell yeah, it’s one of them there Unimogs.”

  “Well, shit, boy, you could climb Mt. Everest in that thing.”

  “The problem is my cargo. Carys has been clear—I can’t be rocking her patient around.”

  “You don’t have much of a choice, man. I need you to go east, totally off-roading, then circle back towards civilization. It’s the only way to keep you off the bad-guys radar but get you someplace where you can get some petrol. You need to determine how many klicks you can make on the turn based on the fuel you have—just go far enough that you’re out of sight. I’ve got the satellite imagery right here in front of me. You’re not dealing with any big obstructions, but just a lot of rough driving. Since the truck has the clearance and isn’t a total piece of shit, then I can get you three klicks outside of Wad Gala.

  “You don’t want to drive into the city, they’ll be looking for you. You’re going to have to do your thing, Subterfuge Man. Somehow, you’re going to have to circumvent that city and get over to the main highway that will take you directly into Khartoum without having any of the rebels spotting you and pulling you over. It’s simple.”

  “I want a new father,” Cullen whined.

  Kane didn’t say anything for so long Cullen almost wondered if he’d lost the connection, but he knew his friend; he was just letting him digest all the shitty news he’d just laid on him.

  “I’m good with everything but the four-wheeling adventure. I think Shada could end up dying, Kane.”

  “Talk to Dr. Adams. I’m betting she might end up in bad shape, but if she can survive, she can be cared for when she arrives in Khartoum. If you’re caught out there with your dick waving in the wind doing nothing, she’s dead for sure.”

  Cullen closed his eyes. Kane was right. That’s what he got paid for, making the hard decisions.

  “Help me out, Kane, give me the longitude and latitude of where I’m heading.”

  “I’m sending it through to your phone right now.”

  “Carys,” Cullen called from the front of the truck. He was always careful to make sure that Shada couldn’t see him. He wanted to protect her modesty in this situation as best as he could. Carys backed out of the back seat and Cullen couldn’t even work up the energy to admire how her butt looked as she wiggled backward. She took one look at his face and turned back to Shada.

  “I don’t want Adam to get too much sun, I’m going to shut the back doors, okay?”

  The woman must have nodded, because Carys went and shut both back doors. She then joined him at a slow pace. She knew that he didn’t have good news.

  “Just give it to me straight, I’m already imagining the worst.”

  “We don’t have enough gas to make it to the next town by this road. The only way we’re going to make it is if we cut across through the trees out toward the desert. The area through the trees is going to be really rough, it’s not going to be as bad through the desert, but I’m not going to lie to you, that will be rocky as hell without some kind of path or road.”

  “And this is the best decision possible, Cullen?”

  “It’s the only decision.”

  Cullen watched as Carys took a slow breath and shut her eyes. Then she opened them. This time, her eyes looked bottle green, as if they were powered by steel.

  “Okay. Let me set some things up in the back seat. We are down to my last bag of saline, so we need to get our butts to a real hospital quickly, so I’m determined to look at this as a good thing.”

  It was then that it really hit home that Carys was a doctor, a woman with a will of iron who made life and death decisions. She would have made a damn fine SEAL.

  “Carys, about Adam,” he started.

  “I know, he needs to keep up with us. Shada isn’t going to be in any shape to take care of him back there. I’m going to have to make sure she’s comfortable with pain meds, and what’s more I’m going to have to make sure she doesn’t move around much, so I’m going to swaddle her down as much as possible.”

  “You mean tie her down?”

  She shrugged.

  “I think I can rig something up with the seatbelts back there.”

  Carys shook her head. “Wait until I administer the morphine, then see what you can do.”

  He gritted his teeth and nodded. Somehow, she caught onto how he was feeling—how, he’d never know.

  “Cullen. This isn’t your fault. However, this works out, you’ve been our hero.”

  He snorted.

  “Serious to God. You have gotten us further than we should have gotten. And I know, deep down inside, you’re the only man in this world who has a chance to get us safely to Khartoum.”

  “Thanks for the pressure, Babe.”

  “I can’t help but notice your huge grin. I know SEALs, you thrive under pressure.”

  His gaze narrowed. “Just what SEALs do you know, and how well do you know them?”

  “Get us to the next town and I’ll dole out more information. How’s that for incentive?”

  She looked tired. Beautiful, but tired, and there she was trying to make him feel better about a freakin’ lousy situation. God love her. He cupped the side of her face and smiled. “I’m going to be looking forward to something a little more substantial than just a story.”

  He watched in fascination as a blush creeped up her throat to suffuse her face.

  “Carys, I know you’re going to ensure Shada and Adam are taken care of, but scrounge through my pack, make sure you grab some food for yourself and stay hydrated.”

  She nodded. “I’ll get some for you too.”

  Of course, she would.

  10

  “How many Christmas carols do you know?” Cullen asked her.

  “Six, just these six, and they don’t seem to be working anymore, he keeps crying.”

  “Okay, it’s my turn.”

  She gave him the side eye. She’d been around enough soldiers and she didn’t think that AC/DC was really going to soothe the baby. But maybe she’d get lucky and he would be into country, and let’s face it, she was sick of hearing her own voice and Christmas carols. One day she would have to listen to the radio.

  When Cullen started the first bar of the old song Summertime, she thought she was falling into a bucket of honey. Adam stopped mid-cry, he was just as enthralled as she was. When the song got to the part where it was ‘hush little baby don’t you cry’, Carys would have sworn that Adam smiled, but she knew better, it was gas. Still, it was a nice thought.

  Cullen continued to sing in his deep baritone, the only jarring note was talking about daddy and mommy watching over him, and there wasn’t anything good about Adam’s daddy. But still, Cullen was watching over him right now, and that was good.

  As Cullen finished with the last notes of the song, little Adam’s eyes drifted shut.

  “You did it,” she whispered. “He’s asleep.”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right,” Cullen laughed softly. “I try to entertain someone and I end up putting them to sleep.”

  She chuckled. In her opinion there wasn’t anything about Cullen Lyons that bored her.

  “I’ve had some shut eye over the last few forty-eight hours, you haven’t. Do you want me to drive for a while? I’ve been four-wheeling, and driven snow mobiles in Montana.”

  His head turned slowly toward her, his lips pursed. “Well thank you, ma’am,” he said in a Southern drawl. “That’d be a, ‘no’.”

  “And
here I was just thinking to myself how much I was liking you. I guess that just went up in a puff of smoke.”

  Carys couldn’t decide if Cullen’s burst of laughter made her angry or tickled her because he sounded so darn sexy.

  She sighed. It had been worth a try, but she’d known the answer before she’d asked.

  SEAL’s!

  “Doc, I thought you were busy crusading around the world, when did you have time to snowmobile in Montana?”

  She sighed. “It was with Peter. He and Alex tried to get me to go skiing, but I just didn’t see the appeal. However, after driving through Cambodia, I was definitely willing to give it a try.”

  Why in the hell had he just assumed she was single? Why hadn’t they discussed their status?

  “Who is Peter? When was this?”

  Shit, was she even interested in him? She hadn’t asked him if he had a girlfriend.

  Fuck me, am I totally misreading this whole situation?

  “Peter is a reconstructive surgeon that I worked with in Haiti. He does everything, but he volunteers at least two weeks a year going around the world fixing cleft palates.”

  “That’s very noble.” He wondered just how much money a reconstructive surgeon made. He probably had a mansion in Montana.

  “I wouldn’t call it noble. He’s another man a lot like you. However, unlike you, he knows I’m capable of driving a vehicle, and would also know that he isn’t Superman, and would get some shut-eye while I took a turn driving.”

  Cullen couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

  “Lady, you’re a surgeon, this guy is a surgeon, I’m a SEAL. I’m thinking every single one of us has a big enough sense of self and our capabilities that we would know how far we could push in order to get a job done. If I didn’t know I could make it safely to Wad Gala, I would be pulling over…to rest. I am not finding fault with your abilities, Carys, I’m not. But, would you let me loose in the operating room if you were tired? Hell no. Same goes. Driving and watching out for the three of you is my job, and I’m damn good at it.”

  “SEALs.”

  “And that’s another thing, just how many SEALs do you know? And how close are you to Peter? Are you seeing anyone?”

  Did all of that just come out of my mouth?

  Her laugh might sound like liquid sunshine, but he really didn’t appreciate it being aimed at him. Cullen waited.

  “Seriously, you can stop laughing at any point now, Carys,” he grumbled.

  “Come on, Cullen, besides listening to you sing this has been the only thing that has lifted my spirits since we’ve started on this bumpy trip.”

  He heard the worry in her voice. She unclipped her seatbelt and, holding the baby close to her with one hand, she reached over the seat to touch Shada.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked.

  “She’s breathing okay, which is the best I can hope for right now.”

  “Then buckle back in.” He knew his voice was rough, but he hated it when she wasn’t securely fastened. “Then answer my damned questions.” He snarled the last part on purpose knowing it would make her giggle again…and it did.

  “I know a lot of SEALs. I’ve been to a couple of barbeques down in San Diego with a team called Black Dawn. It’s been a couple of years since the last time I went, but I’ve gone. On that team there are two men, Jack Preston and Aiden O’Malley. Both have invited me to their homes when I’ve been stateside. Now before you get all growly again, they are both happily married men, and I consider their wives friends of mine.”

  “And the paragon otherwise known as Peter?”

  “I think you’re saying you like me.” He heard the smallest amount of wonder in her voice. Was she kidding? Had she been living under a rock?

  “Not only do I like you, I would definitely be handing notes to you in class. I would also be kicking Peter’s ass to the curb. Now tell me who he is to you.”

  “First, you tell me if you’ve got someone special in your life, and I’ll answer your game of twenty questions.”

  He really liked that question. A lot.

  Adam snuffled and she pressed her nose to his neck and crooned to him. Silent Night again. Seriously, the woman couldn’t carry a tune.

  “No, Carys, not seeing anyone. Haven’t for a while. I’m finding I’m getting particular in my old age.”

  She continued to rock the baby, but she looked at him sideways. “Old age my Aunt Fanny. We already agreed you’re young.”

  “Not in SEAL years. I’m old. I’m also betting I’ve got you beat relationship-wise. Who’s Peter?”

  “Peter and his husband Alex have been happily married for six years, you have nothing to worry about. I’m not sure you have me beaten on the relationship front. I’ve been married and divorced, what about you?”

  She really didn’t play the boy-girl games well. She led with her heart, she played at a deeper level than most of the women he knew. He’d bet his bottom dollar that she married and divorced young and had been gun shy ever since.

  He wished he could hold her hand, but the road was too rough.

  “When were you married? How old were you?”

  “Cullen.” Her tone was snippy. He guessed she used that tone when she was talking to newbies at the hospital. “The rules were that you were going to answer some of my questions.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He smothered a smile when she frowned at him. “Never been married, never been engaged, nor have I lived with a woman. I’m not afraid of commitment. My dad saw my mom one day when he was at the garden center in Akron—she didn’t know a perennial from an annual and she was driving the teenage clerk up a wall. Dad fell for her like a ton of bricks, or as he tells it, a bag of sod. Mom took a little longer to warm up.”

  “So, you’re looking for a relationship like your parents?”

  “Yep. Kids, pets, laughter, and a love that never stops. Our house will be Grand Central Station for the neighborhood.”

  “And how do you see this working with you gone all the time?”

  “Totally depends on my wife and what we figure out. What’s her career like? What are her priorities? I’m not going to do Spec Ops forever, this is a young man’s game, and I’ve been recruited for a desk job. Or I might retire. All I know is that my family is going to come first. That’s how it was for my parents, and that’s what I want as my kids start growing up. I don’t want them saying I wasn’t at their soccer games.

  “So, do I get to ask more questions? Did I pass?” he asked.

  She was silent for a long moment.

  “I think I might need to take a bit of a rest. When we stop at Wad Gala, I’m going to need to really examine Shada. Even with her restrained, this rough ride hasn’t been good for her.”

  Cullen spared a glance from the rough terrain to Carys. She looked pale. She could say what she wanted about needing to rest up, but he knew what the problem was. It was his big fucking mouth. But to hell with it. He’d never been this drawn to a woman, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to put his cards on the table. He was planning on coming out of this alive, and maybe, just maybe, she was someone he could explore a future with.

  She gave a big ole fake yawn, then gave him a fake smile. “I’m just going to rest my eyes for a bit.” She made sure the sling holding Adam was secure, then she leaned back and pretended to sleep.

  Lyons, ever hear of subtlety?

  “Wake up. We’re getting close to the city,” Cullen said quietly.

  Carys sat up and wondered how she’d slept through the smell of Adam’s bowel movement. The boy sure could stink up a diaper.

  Cullen chuckled softly. “You should see your expression. Adam let loose an hour ago, but you just slept on through. I was amazed.”

  She immediately put her lips to the baby’s forehead and was not happy. He felt hot. She checked his fontanels, to see if he was dehydrated. She saw Cullen looking at her curiously.

  “I’m checking his soft-spots, where the bones on his skull still h
aven’t fused. If they’re a little sunken in, he’s dehydrated.”

  “Is he?” Cullen was worried.

  “A little. Honey?” She shifted his little body back and forth and his eyes slowly opened. Too slowly. “There’s my boy.”

  “Oh shit, I should have realized Bubba would have been hollering. I screwed up.” Cullen smacked the steering wheel.

  Adam jolted at the loud noise and his little face screwed up in protest and he let out a cry. Carys smiled. He struggled in his swaddling and she unwound him so that he could move his tiny little fists. She sighed in relief. Anger was good. Very good.

  “Are you going to stop soon?” she asked Cullen.

  “Just looking for a good place,” he said.

  She looked around and realized they were out of the desert and back amongst some trees. Off in the distance she saw lights indicating a city. “Is that Wad Gala?”

  Cullen nodded as he parked the truck and turned it off.

  “How far are we from Khartoum?”

  “About a hundred kilometers.”

  She unbuckled her seatbelt. “You need to change Adam, I’ve got to check on his mom. She and I are going for a potty break,” Carys sighed.

  He put out his arms, “You got it. Come here, Bubba. Uncle Cullen wants to see what kind of present you got for him. I’m betting it’s messy, foul and green. You could be a cook for the Navy, now couldn’t you?”

  Shada should have been awake by now. Adam definitely felt feverish. She was out the passenger door and opening the door to the back before she had a chance to process Cullen’s words. Laughter was bubbling up when she deftly unstrapped Shada. The man was just a little too enticing for her piece of mind.

  Seriously? Enticing? Don’t go there. He just talked about his parent’s marriage.

  Be cautious. Be wary. Heck. Be scared.

  She looked at Shada’s swollen face and thought about her husband.

  Bastard. She might be a doctor, but she wanted to kill him.

  Then she thought about Cullen again. Okay, how could she be scared?