Her eyes darted around occasionally out of habit, but even if someone did show up to harm her, she knew Jackson would never stand for it.
It was such a complete change from her old life, she couldn’t quite believe it.
“It’s beautiful down here,” she said softly. “I love walking near the beach.”
“Me too. We can still go for a walk on the beach tomorrow morning if you want.” They were on the boardwalk now, and the ocean breeze lightly ruffled her dress. She shivered slightly, wishing she’d brought a sweater. She should’ve known that it would get cool on a fall evening here in San Diego.
Jackson’s hand brushed against hers, and he gently pulled her closer to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You looked cold,” he murmured.
“I am,” she said. “I should’ve brought a sweater or something.”
“We can head back to my car.”
“That ice cream place was amazing,” she said as they turned around. “I can’t believe how many flavors they had. And that mocha fudge crunch? Oh my God.”
Jackson laughed quietly. He probably didn’t realize she never bought treats like that for herself. She’d been too upset to eat most of the time with Austin around, and now she simply couldn’t afford to waste money on expensive ice cream. Goodness. Even the ground coffee she now had at home felt like a luxury.
“That little mom and pop ice cream shop is the best around,” Jackson agreed. “I actually haven’t been there in a while. I go out for a couple of beers with the guys sometimes but otherwise try to eat healthy to stay in shape.”
“I’d say it’s working,” she said, glancing over at him.
He chuffed out a laugh. “We do PT every morning, train for hours on base, and are physically active almost 24/7 when we deploy on ops. It’s grueling sometimes, but I love it.”
“I’m more content to sit at my computer designing things,” she admitted.
“That’s a good thing. I wouldn’t want you going on dangerous missions like me,” he joked. “I’d worry too damn much.”
“How often are you guys gone? I haven’t seen Blake leave in a while. When I first moved in, it seemed like he was gone more.”
“It varies a lot,” Jackson admitted. “Sometimes we’ll go on back-to-back missions, and sometimes we’ll be home training for a while. It just depends on what’s unfolding.”
“That’s kind of terrifying.”
“We train for everything,” he assured her. “I know what every man on the team is thinking when we move in on an op. I’m closer to those guys than my own family.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” she asked.
“I’ve got a younger brother. He’s still in high school, so he’s a hell of a lot younger than me. If I ever have kids, I’d want at least two, so they have a sibling. Hopefully a bit closer in age than we are.”
“I’m an only child, and it was lonely a lot of the time.”
“Do you want kids?”
“Maybe. Someday. I mean, I always did, but I told you about my pregnancy and miscarriage. It was hard. I just don’t know if I’d get married again after all that.”
“You never did say where you were from,” he commented.
“Well, I’m from the East Coast. And I met Austin in college. We moved to a really small town after we got married.” She didn’t give Jackson any more details than that and wondered if he was mad. It was safer not telling him where exactly she’d run from. What if he tried to track down her ex-husband?
Jackson had seemed angry when she’d told him Austin had hit and hurt her. Would he go after the guy? Get himself in trouble and risk his Navy career? She couldn’t allow him to do something like that for her. And even though she was only getting to know him, she had a feeling he’d want to hurt her ex-husband. He was the type of man who’d want to avenge her, and it wasn’t worth him getting into trouble over it.
“You’re not going to tell me where you lived before this, are you?” he asked quietly.
“No. At least not right now.”
Jackson clenched his jaw, not saying anything for a moment. “I hate that he hurt you.”
“Part of me just wants to let that part of my life go—forget it ever happened.”
“I get that,” he said as they walked up to his SUV. “You’re not really letting it go though. You’re still living in fear, running from him. Your entire life is under an assumed name.”
“I know. I just feel like I can’t deal with that yet.”
Jackson clicked his key fob to unlock the doors, opening the passenger side one for her. He was always so attentive, the total opposite of how she’d been treated in the past. “I’ve got a sweatshirt in the back,” he said, noticing she shivered again.
“Okay.”
He closed the door and went around to the back hatch to grab it before climbing in beside her. “Here you go, sweetheart.”
She gratefully put it on, inhaling the clean scent of it. “This smells like you,” she said shyly. “Soap and…pine, I think.”
“You smell like roses,” he said with a grin.
“It’s my lotion. I love floral scents, but roses have always been my favorite.”
He started the engine, seeming to tuck away her comment for later use. “Huh. I kind of like you in my clothes,” he said, his eyes sparking with interest as he looked over at her.
“Be careful what you say. Maybe I’ll decide to keep it,” she joked.
He smirked but didn’t disagree.
“So where’s your apartment anyway?” she asked as Jackson began to drive. “Are you near base?”
“Pretty close. Ghost has a place near me. We’re not far from the beach, which is awesome. It’s about twenty minutes from your townhouse. That’s why I’m glad Raptor’s right next door to you—not that I expect you to have any trouble,” he assured her. “But I couldn’t get over there as fast as I’d like in an emergency.”
She swallowed, knowing he was right. She was safer with the cell phone he’d bought for her. If she continued to be careful, she wouldn’t need to worry as much. She could use the phone if something ever happened.
She knew in her gut though that Austin would stop at nothing to find her. Would she ever truly feel safe without him locked up?
They drove back to her neighborhood in comfortable silence. She was tired, she realized. She hadn’t had a busy day like this in so long, and the reality was, they’d done next to nothing. She hadn’t been eating well, hadn’t been sleeping well, and now with Jackson here, she felt as if she could fully relax.
“You look tired,” he murmured.
“Yeah. Sorry. It’s been a long few weeks I guess.”
He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he pulled off the freeway when they reached her exit. “And you haven’t been eating enough. I want you to promise me that you’ll reorder some food when the groceries I got start to get low.”
“You bought me more than enough.”
Jackson shook his head. “They won’t last forever. I know you’re working hard, but I think you should save that money. I’m serious. I saved my credit card info to the grocery store’s website. You can reorder when you need it.”
“We’ll see.”
He chuckled, and she had a feeling this was an argument that she wouldn’t win. If he noticed she hadn’t reordered the groceries, he’d probably just do it himself. Or ask Clarissa and Blake to drop off some things for her. Sure, it was a bit bossy, but she couldn’t argue that she needed to eat.
Jackson liked to take control of the situation, but unlike her ex-husband, he wanted to solve her problems. Fix things. It was quite a shock having someone in her court for a change. Taryn was so used to doing everything on her own, she almost didn’t know what to make of it.
“I got a few emails yesterday about new design work.”
“Really? That’s awesome. New clients or new projects?”
“Both. One is a baker who needs a website for her business. The other
just needed another logo designed. Hopefully the website will be something I can maintain. If I build up enough clients like that, I’ll have steady work in addition to any new projects I take on.”
“How do they find you?”
“I’ve got a website. Don’t worry, it’s totally different than what I used to work under. It sucked leaving my old design work and clients behind. Since I work remotely, I could’ve kept them, but I basically had to cut all ties with my old life.”
“That sucks, Taryn.”
“It does. But now you see how I ended up struggling to get by. I’d been working my way through college and kept up with the clients I had even when Austin and I moved. I could’ve continued from here, but it just wasn’t safe. I just put up the new website a week ago, and I’m on some of those freelance type of websites.”
“And the new clients are okay not reporting the work you’re doing to the IRS? I’m not sure how that all works, but you said the payments were under the table, so to speak.”
“Well, yeah. I just invoice them when the work is done. I ask them to pay me over an app.”
“That’s tracked though, right? Through the banks or something?”
“It is, but I opened an online bank account under my new name. I transfer the funds there.”
Taryn heard Jackson mutter under his breath. “I don’t want you to get into trouble, Taryn. Technically, that’s illegal. Opening fake bank accounts and things like that could catch up to you eventually. You don’t want them to freeze your money.”
“Shit, you’re right.” She saw Jackson’s lips quirk in amusement. “What? I can’t swear?”
“I don’t care if you swear, sweetheart. Hell, I’m around a bunch of Navy guys all day. That was pretty mild in comparison.”
“Maybe I should keep some extra cash on hand. I had to do that before in order to leave Austin. But like I told you, I ran. Unless I turn him in and deal with the police and possibly the courts—I don’t know. I just don’t think I can handle that. Until I can be sure he won’t come after me, I have to use an alias. And that means I can’t use my real name.”
“We’d all be here for you—me, my buddies, their women.”
“I know. It’s not right to drag other people into my problems though.”
“We can handle it,” he assured her. “Plus, there’s safety in numbers. You may not want to tell the others about your ex-husband, but wouldn’t you feel better having six Navy SEALs at your back instead of just me?”
“You’re impossible to argue with,” she joked.
“Because I’m right.”
“Maybe,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll think about it. This is the first week in a long time I haven’t been absolutely terrified. I know it’s because of you, Jackson. I’d be crazy to deny it. I’ve been so scared for the past couple of months, I’m not ready to open up and tell everyone my story yet.”
He reached across the seat and lightly clasped her hand, his thumb running over her skin as he drove. “I don’t like that you’ve been scared, but I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to help you. To protect you.”
“I know you will.”
They pulled into her neighborhood, and she was surprised to see Blake and Clarissa pulling into their driveway. The fact that that shocked her was silly. Just because she usually stayed home Friday and Saturday nights didn’t mean other people were hiding. And who was she kidding? She was at home every night. Every day. It was a lonely existence.
Once upon a time she’d had friends and a life. She’d go places without constantly looking over her shoulder.
Did she want to hide here forever?
Part of her longed to call her parents tomorrow and tell them where she was and that she was safe. What would Austin have told them? She’d fled so quickly, she hadn’t thought much about anything but surviving. She’d slowly lost touch with most friends over the past year, and her parents had assumed she was a happy new bride.
Were they worried they hadn’t heard from her in months? Angry?
Had Austin spun some story about why she didn’t contact them?
Taryn had been so busy just trying to survive, she hadn’t had time to worry about them. The more settled she became out here though, the more her past would catch up to her. She couldn’t ignore her old life forever. But what if reaching out to them somehow led her ex-husband here?
She didn’t trust him.
And despite Jackson’s assurances that he’d protect her, she knew if Austin wanted to find her, he’d stop at nothing to do so.
Chapter 10
Jackson took a swig of his beer later that week, glancing around at his teammates as they sat at their favorite bar, Salty Sunset. He’d convinced Taryn to come along for a night out, and he was happy that she’d seemed to be enjoying herself for the most part. He knew she didn’t go out much, but she was comfortable with the other women who were there, especially Clarissa. She wasn’t scared of his friends.
Now that the size of the crowd in the restaurant was growing, however, she was much more wary than when they’d had the place to themselves. He absolutely hated the way she looked nervously at every man who walked by—like she was frightened they were someone who could harm her. Like her ex would suddenly show up here, clear across the country, and hurt her.
Raptor had noticed earlier, and the two of them had kept an eye out to make sure no one inadvertently jostled her or otherwise got into her space.
Jackson was worried though. He knew Taryn preferred the comfort and safety of her townhouse. He wanted her to be able to relax and enjoy life, not constantly live in fear. It sounded like she’d had friends, been in college, and otherwise had a relatively normal life before she met Austin. He’d love for her to have that again.
“Yo, K-Bar,” Ethan said, grabbing the barstool beside him and sinking down onto it.
Taryn had gone to the ladies’ room with Clarissa, Hailey, and Troy’s date. He’d seen Blake murmur something to Clarissa, and he assumed his buddy was telling her to watch out for Taryn.
“No woman tonight?” Jackson asked with a smirk.
Ethan shrugged. “Nah. I went out with that one chick a few times, but it fizzled out pretty fast.”
“There are lots of women here,” he commented.
“I noticed. I also noticed you only have eyes for Taryn,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “So what? Are you two dating now?”
“I wouldn’t call it that exactly. I kissed her once, but we’re taking things slowly.”
Ethan’s lips quirked up. “And yet here she is with you tonight. She seems a little nervous. Every time someone walks by, she’s looking up like they’re a potential threat. I swear she’s more alert than we are.”
“I know, and I don’t like it,” Jackson ground out. “She ran from her ex. Taryn’s terrified that he’ll show up someday and hurt her again.”
“Shit. That’s fucked up. Did she go to the police?”
“No. I’m trying to convince her that she needs to report him. Apparently, this guy is a cop though, and she doesn’t think anyone will believe her.”
“Where does he live?”
Jackson frowned. “She won’t say. I know she came from somewhere on the east coast and that she moved to a small town. She’s afraid I’ll go after him or something.”
“Damn straight,” Ethan said. “None of us will put up with that kind of shit. And if he’s a cop, he needs to lose his badge. What if he tries something like that on another woman? He’s probably all sorts of crooked.”
“No doubt. Hopefully I can persuade her to turn him in. It’s going to take time though. She’s scared, and right now, I just want her to feel safe.”
“Here come our ladies!” Troy whooped, watching as their women walked back over. He jumped up to go get his date as the other men ribbed him. Troy ignored his friends and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hard in front of everyone. His date didn’t seem to mind though, and Jackson shook his head at the scene they were making.
<
br /> Taryn was somewhat shy and sweet. She’d never like a public display of affection like that.
Grayson wrapped his arm around Hailey as she sat down beside him. “Well, that was quite a show,” she said.
“I don’t think his date minded,” Grayson joked.
“Yeah, they’re in their own little world,” she agreed.
“How’s the new job going?” Logan asked, taking a pull of his beer. “I assume things have mostly settled down now.”
“It’s good,” Hailey assured him. “We had extra security there for a couple of weeks, but now it’s business as usual.”
“And it better stay that way,” Grayson muttered.
When Hailey had transferred to a DOD position in San Diego, someone from her old office back in Afghanistan had targeted her. After surviving the bombing in Bagram, she’d been kidnapped right here in San Diego from her office parking lot. The entire team had been looking for her, and they’d followed along on details of her new assignment once things had settled down. All the guys on the team felt protective toward her now, Jackson included.
“I heard that asshole got ten years,” Logan said, referring to her kidnapper.
“That’s not nearly long enough,” Grayson said. “They should’ve locked that bastard up for life.”
“He won’t be allowed anywhere near a Navy base or Federal building after his actions,” Jackson assured him. “And I’m glad he’ll be serving time for that stunt he pulled.”
His gaze flicked over to Taryn, where she stood talking with Clarissa, Troy, and his date. She brushed her dark hair back from her face, and he was happy to see her smiling. For the moment at least, she appeared relaxed. The navy-blue sweater she had on set off her fair skin, and it dipped slightly on one side, revealing a creamy shoulder.
Taryn was sexy and beautiful, and even though they’d only kissed that one time, he’d love the opportunity to pull her close one day and kiss her thoroughly. To press her body against his as he held her.
Who knew if she’d ever be comfortable enough with him to let Jackson take her to bed, but for the moment, he appreciated every chance he had to simply touch her.
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