Blake moved beside him, grabbing his own knife, and then Jackson yanked on the gate, the two men bursting into the tiny backyard. There was no movement, nothing amiss, as Jackson’s gaze swept the perimeter. It looked overgrown, and he silently cursed that he hadn’t offered to help her clean up the space.
Blake took a step to the right, looking on the ground for any clues. A low moan caught their attention though, and both men looked toward the deck.
A woman lay battered on the ground, and then Jackson was running toward her without thought.
Taryn.
“Fucking hell. We need an ambulance!” Blake yelled. “Hurry! She’s been hurt!”
Jackson heard a commotion as Clarissa, the police officer, and some of the neighbors began rushing into the backyard. Sirens sounded in the distance as more police and emergency vehicles were called. But all he could see was Taryn. She was crumpled on the ground with a black eye and dried blood at her temple, plus bruising around her throat. She moaned again, clutching onto her ribs, as Jackson knelt down beside her, tears smarting his eyes.
That asshole had hurt her. Beaten her. Tried to strangle her, judging from the bruises around the tender skin of her neck.
He sheathed his knife and gently reached out to touch her, afraid even the brush of his fingers across her skin would hurt her more.
“Taryn, sweetheart,” he said, his voice catching.
“Jackson,” she croaked, barely able to speak.
“Shhh, I’m here, baby. I’m here.” He lightly palmed her head with his large hand, frustrated he couldn’t even see the extent of her injuries. She was whimpering in pain, and he was afraid to even hold her.
The police officer was talking again into his radio as Clarissa started to cry behind them. He heard Blake murmuring to her, guiding her a few feet away from where Taryn lay hurt on the ground.
“What happened?” he asked softly, already knowing the answer.
“Austin,” she managed to say. “It was Austin.” And then Jackson helplessly watched as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she passed out.
Chapter 15
Jackson cursed as the team convened on base the following morning. Clarissa had offered to stay at the hospital with Taryn, and after a quick debrief, he had permission from their commander to head back there. The team would handle the other meetings, but he needed to be at his girl’s side.
“How is she?” Blake asked in a clipped tone as they walked toward the bullpen. He had dark circles under his eyes, and Jackson knew he hadn’t slept well the night before either.
“Four broken ribs, a fractured eye socket, and swelling in her neck. It’s hard for her to talk or eat. She was scared out of her mind when she woke up in the hospital. Luckily, I was there with her. They let me spend the night, and I headed here as soon as Clarissa arrived this morning.”
“She’ll be okay,” Blake said. “She’s a fighter.”
Jackson clenched his jaw. “She will be, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less to know what she went through. What if we’d gotten back the day before? Or a few hours earlier? She could’ve been fine.”
“Or he could’ve seen you and shot her immediately,” Blake said calmly. “Didn’t he have a gun?”
“Fucking hell. I don’t even want to think about that,” Jackson said.
“As bad as it was, she’s alive. She’ll recover. And right now, that’s what you have to focus on.”
Jackson scrubbed his hand across his jaw, frowning. It was true—the situation could’ve been even worse. He could’ve shown up and found her dead body there. His stomach roiled even imagining it. No woman should’ve had to endure what she did. The police figured he’d planned to rape her as well but had been spooked off by neighbors arriving home.
“Austin hasn’t been caught yet,” Jackson said in a low voice. “The police put out a BOLO for him, and he can’t very well go back home. His career as a police officer is over. I’m worried he’ll find out she’s alive though and come back to finish the job.”
“She can stay with us,” Blake said.
“Like hell. I’ll bring her back to my place. You live right next door. If Austin comes back looking for her, she’d be right there.”
Blake nodded, and they entered the room, gathering with the rest of the team.
“How is she?” Ethan asked.
Jackson explained to the others what he’d just told Blake.
“God damn it,” Troy said. “Let’s go find this asshole right now. He doesn’t get away with hurting one of our own.”
“You think I don’t want to?” Jackson asked. “I’ve been with Taryn all night. I’m headed back to the hospital as soon as the debrief is over.”
“What did the police say?” Logan asked, crossing his arms.
“They’ve alerted the airports. He flew in yesterday morning but won’t be able to leave by commercial airline. That asshole was using his real name. He could’ve rented a car and driven back.”
“He’s got connections though,” Ethan pressed. “What if he had a fake ID? Then couldn’t he catch a flight?”
“They have his picture,” Logan pressed. “He’s probably still around here lying low.”
“Hailey was so worried about her,” Grayson said. “The women were all supposed to meet up last night. Hailey got stuck late at work and hadn’t made it over yet. She found out about Taryn at the same time that I did.”
“I’m glad the other women are okay,” Jackson said, looking around at his teammates. “It doesn’t make seeing Taryn any easier though. She’ll be even more terrified now.”
“It’s almost over,” Blake assured him. “The police will find Austin, and he’ll be arrested and locked up. Taryn won’t have to look over her shoulder anymore. It fucking sucks that she went through that, but now we all know his name and what he looks like. The police already have a report on him.”
Jackson heaved out a sigh. “True. She won’t necessarily have to report him for his abusive behavior in the past. I know she didn’t want to relive any of that.”
The men all looked up as their commander stormed into the room. He looked madder than hell, and Jackson raised his eyebrows. “I’ve been dealing with an issue regarding one of the other SEAL teams,” he muttered. “How’s Taryn?” he asked, eyeing Jackson.
“Recovering. She’ll be okay.”
Their CO nodded. “Then let’s get down to business. We’ll debrief over the op in Algeria and discuss a few other situations unfolding.”
The team exchanged glances with one another.
“A new leader has already taken over in Afghanistan for Sayed.”
“No surprise,” Troy muttered. “Those terrorist groups are like a bunch of cockroaches. You crush one and a hundred others are scuttling around.”
Their CO’s lips quirked. “Affirmative, but this one is personal. There’s been video footage of the two missing Americans.”
“They’re still alive,” Ethan said, pounding his fist on the table. “Then let’s fucking move in.”
“Easy Everglades,” Blake cautioned.
“It hasn’t been broadcast over the media yet, but we intercepted the communication. They’re alive and planning to show the video footage of the two women soon.”
“And their condition?”
Their commander eyed Ethan. “They were sitting up and able to talk.”
He nodded, relaxing his stance slightly.
“Are we going to go over the Algeria op?” Jackson asked, suddenly feeling impatient. He didn’t like the fact that two women were being held hostage any more than the rest of them, but it sounded like they still didn’t have a location.
The CO met Jackson’s gaze. “Go back to the hospital, K-Bar. I’ll get your After-Action Review later. The other men can fill me in for now.”
Jackson jumped up so fast, his chair fell over. “Thank you, sir,” he said as Blake leaned over to right it. Jackson was already moving out the door, ready to rush back to the hospital.
He needed to be with Taryn. Nothing else mattered at the moment.
***
Taryn smiled as Jackson walked into her hospital room. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming, but no, he was really here. He had dark circles under his eyes and was in his camo uniform. She wasn’t sure what time it was and if he’d stopped here on his way to or from work. She’d dreamt he’d been with her last night, but when she awoke, Clarissa had been asleep on the chair in her hospital room.
But now it really was him, and relief flooded through her.
“Hi sweetheart,” he said, crossing over to her hospital bed. “I had to go into base for an hour or so, but my CO sent me here.” He set a cup of water down on the table beside her. “I just told Clarissa to head home.”
“How long have I been here?” she croaked as he sank into the chair beside her bed.
Jackson helped her to take a sip of the water, and she didn’t miss the look on his face as she grimaced in pain. It hurt to move and even to swallow. Jackson looked like he was in pain himself watching her hurting. It was caring and sweet, and once again, she could hardly imagine why this amazing man was so worried about her.
He helped her get settled back into her bed again, nothing but gentle with her despite his strength.
“Jackson?” she asked when he hadn’t answered her.
“Shhh,” he said, running a hand over her hair. His dark eyes met hers, and she could see the concern and love in them. He hovered at her bedside like she was the most important thing in the world to him. Her. A woman who’d just been beaten and nearly killed by her crazed ex-husband.
Jackson cleared his throat, seemingly needing to pull himself together before answering.
“Just one night. I got home with the team yesterday and headed straight to see you. Clarissa was outside your townhouse with a police officer and—”
He cut off as tears filled her eyes.
“It killed me to find you like that,” he said in a choked voice. “When I saw your body lying there, I thought—” He lifted a hand to his face, unable to even finish.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He shook his head, looking near tears himself, then leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to thank me. I didn’t do a fucking thing. I’m pissed as hell that asshole wasn’t still there when I showed up. I would’ve beaten him to a pulp and then killed him myself for daring to touch you.”
“What happened to him?” she managed to ask.
Jackson got her another sip of water, running his hand over her head again.
“It sounds like you’ll be here for a couple of days, but I want you to come stay with me after you’re released. Austin hasn’t been caught yet.”
Her eyes widened.
“The police have a BOLO out on him, and the guys are going to do some searching on their own later after they’re done with their briefings. Blake’s house has one of those doorbell cameras. I wish we’d have gotten one set up for you—then we might’ve had an even clearer picture. They have the car he was driving and are trying to enhance the images to get the license plates.”
“He’s still here,” she croaked.
“It’s possible. We have a couple of days off since we just got back. I’ll be with you, but the other guys will be looking for him. We’ve got the model of the car he rented, and we’ll be checking the nearby hotels.”
“What if he comes here?” she asked, suddenly feeling frightened. She’d been in a light sleep before Jackson had walked in. What if Austin came back to finish the job?
“The hospital has security and has been informed of your situation. There’s a police officer stationed in the hallway right now.”
“Good.”
“They think Austin got spooked off yesterday when one of your neighbors got home.”
Tears filled her eyes. He’d pushed her to the ground and hit and hurt her. She hadn’t been raped, as far as she could tell. She wasn’t sore there, and certainly they would have told her that, wouldn’t they? She remembered him choking her and then everything went black.
“He’ll come back looking for me.”
Jackson nodded. “There’s a chance of that. A damn good possibility considering he tracked you down and came all the way across the country. I’ll be here at your side in the hospital. That asshole is crazy.”
“My whole body hurts,” she said.
Jackson reached out and gently took her hand, his other remaining on her head. “I hate that he hurt you—that he even touched you. I’m going to find him, and I swear to God, Taryn, you’ll never have to worry about him again.”
She squeezed her eyes shut as a few tears formed.
“What’s wrong? Should I call the nurse?”
“I don’t want you to risk your job for me. You can’t chase after Austin.”
“Shhh,” he murmured. “Don’t talk too much and hurt your throat more. You let me worry about that. I’ll make sure that you’re safe and that he can’t ever touch you again.”
Her tears did fall then, and Jackson looked almost helpless as he sat at her side. She was so thankful he was there, but it hurt with every word that she uttered. She’d talk to him more when she had recovered. She’d tell him how much he meant to her and how she didn’t want to live without him.
But at the moment?
She just wanted to sleep, with the man she was falling in love with right there at her side.
Chapter 16
Two days later, Jackson helped Taryn up the steps of her townhouse. He’d wanted to bring her back to his apartment, but she’d insisted that he take her home. And stay with her, of course. Blake had agreed that it was safer since he was right next door.
Jackson hadn’t wanted to take Taryn back to the place where Austin had attacked her, but when she’d teared up saying she wanted her own room and bed, he hadn’t been able to deny her anything. He’d ordered a ton of groceries since he’d be staying there, too, and the team had cleaned up her backyard while she’d been in the hospital.
It might’ve been fall, but they’d laid sod down, trimmed the bushes, and planted some seasonal flowers. Clarissa and Blake had even hung a hammock up under the deck. Now when Taryn went back there, hopefully she wouldn’t be immediately reminded of Austin. Jackson knew it would take time, but he hoped to eventually persuade her to spend some time in the backyard with him. He wanted good memories to take away the bad.
He’d bought a grill for her deck, insisting that he’d be doing a lot of the cooking since he was staying with her.
They hadn’t discussed exactly how long that would be, but Jackson had brought over a suitcase and duffle bag full of things. He wasn’t planning to leave anytime soon—not as long as Taryn wanted him there.
And who was he kidding?
Her townhouse was a hell of a lot more spacious than his apartment. He wouldn’t mind living there with her permanently, not that they’d specifically discussed it.
He certainly didn’t want her out of his life now, and she’d been so happy she’d cried when he said they could stay at her place instead of his.
“How are you feeling?” he asked later that night.
“Tired. Sore. But better than a couple of days ago. Do you have work tomorrow?”
Jackson shook his head no. “The rest of the team is, but I was able to get a few more days off. I might go run early in the morning, but Raptor and Clarissa said they’d come hang out here with you before he heads to PT with the rest of the guys.”
“Okay,” she said. “You won’t get in trouble or anything for missing it?”
“No, sweetheart. I arranged for a few extra days to be here with you.”
“Okay,” she said again, smiling. For how shy and hesitant she’d been before his mission, Taryn seemed more confident of herself now. It was strange. He’d figured she’d be even more terrified after Austin had attacked her, but maybe, deep down, she realized that it was almost over. He’d be caught, and she’d be safe. She wouldn’t need
to look over her shoulder forever. And Jackson wasn’t about to leave her side. The police had gotten a couple of tips, and he hoped the asshole would be in jail before the weekend.
“I thought I could grill some steaks later on,” he said as he carried Taryn’s small bag of belongings into her bedroom. He’d brought a few things to her while she was in the hospital, and now they were already back at her house. Taryn had a small, queen-sized bed, which made him smirk. He was a big guy, and if he did end up staying here longer, they’d have to see about getting a larger bed for them. At the moment, nothing sounded better than curling up with Taryn in his arms though. He wouldn’t mind having to hold her close. Not at all.
“I don’t have a grill,” she said, pulling some clean clothes out of her dresser. The moment they’d gotten home from the hospital, she’d said she wanted to shower and change. He had his own bags to carry up, so he’d leave her to it while he unpacked a few of his things and made sure the groceries he’d ordered had arrived.
“I bought one,” he said with a shrug. “I figured I’d be staying here a while. Logan and Ethan picked it up for me yesterday—Logan’s got a pick-up truck. They even set it up for us, so we’re good to go.”
“Wow. Well okay then.”
“You’re not going to protest?” he teased, raising his eyebrows.
“I’m done fighting this—us. When you left on your mission, I realized how much I wanted to make this work. How I hadn’t told you that I was falling for you. I know I wanted to take things slow, but Jackson, I just want you.”
Jackson nodded, watching her closely. He wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss her, and then take her to bed and hold her tight. He knew she wanted to clean up though. And he wasn’t about to make love to her while she was recovering. “It makes me happy as hell for you to say that, sweetheart. Go shower and change. I’ll unpack a few things and be here when you’re done.”
He carried his suitcase and duffle bag upstairs from her living room, listening to the sound of the shower still coming from the bathroom. Hell, she could stay in there for hours if she wanted. As long as she was happy and safe.
SEAL's Honor (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 3) Page 14