Hot SEALs: Through Her Eyes (7 page)

“Wouldn’t do me any good if it wasn’t.” She turned back toward the door.

Wolf snaked an arm around her waist to hold her still. “The woman who owns the house next door will be here in seconds. A vehicle with three armed men is on her tail. She might not know. We have to move fast.”

Deke had already moved to the window, pulling aside the curtains. “Wolf, you need to stay here. There’s a TAK-50. Watch for your shot. Jax and I will go over there.”

“Hey, I’m coming, too,” Piper said, frowning. “This is my case. My collar.”

“Pretty
and
knows her way around guns,” Deke murmured, lifting an eyebrow.

“She’s a bounty hunter.” Wolf’s arm tightened on her waist. “Don’t suppose you’d stay with Suri? Let them handle it.”

“I have the security code to get inside. And Alana knows me.” She angled against his hold. “Let me do this.”

He released her and bent to pull a rifle from the cupboard. “Don’t get between me and my targets. I’ll take them out. I’m good, Piper. Let me do what I’m best at.”

The eerie calmness of his tone nearly brought her to tears.
Who is this man?
The peace he’d found with her was shattered. Now, he was back in sniper mode.

No time now for regrets about what she’d brought down on him. “Let’s go.” Then leading Wolf’s two friends, she ran for the stairs.

WOLF HAD ALWAYS hated the waiting, but this time, the passing minutes were pure torture. Every scenario possible flashed through his mind. And since, he’d pretty much seen battlefield carnage at its worst, his imagination painted pictures of the worst possible outcomes.

He had to get a grip. Had to calm down. With the rifle stock propped on his hip, he strode back to his room. He wrapped a tee around his hand and hit the window glass. It fell in jagged spears to the ground. Next, he dragged his comforter and folded it several times, listening for any sounds from the house next door, as he knelt and got into a kneeling firing position.

As soon as he stared down the scope, he expected to feel calmer, but his blood still pounded in his ears. Like he’d done so many times before, he drew in several deep breaths, forcing them to be even and long, but he couldn’t get hold of the tension gripping his body.

The sound of the garage door lifting sounded just as he saw Piper and his two buddies at the side door. She quickly punched in the code, and they were inside. Because the lights were still blazing, he had full view of everything. Deke and Jax took up positions, concealing themselves from the view of the kitchen door leading into the garage.

Piper held her Glock against her thigh and stood in front of the door.

The door opened, and the bottle blonde’s eyes widened. Her smile froze when her gaze dropped to Piper’s weapon.

He could only imagine what was being said. Alana was talking fast. The woman’s mouth opened around a gasp, and she looked fearfully behind her.

Then Piper turned her head and jerked it.

Both men stepped out from where they were hiding. They pointed to the stairs and the blonde rushed up them. Then, they turned to Piper, bodies stiff, jaws firm. They must have told her to get her ass up there as well, because she frowned, but gave a nod, and then glared through the window in his direction.

He almost smiled, but the men were turning off the downstairs lights, and again moving to concealed positions. Lights went off upstairs.

Piper pushed Alana through her bedroom door, pointed to the closet, then turned off the bedroom light. With tears streaming, Alana dashed into the closet while Piper hid behind the bed, her Glock resting on the mattress. But she was careful to keep out of his direct line of sight for the door.

“Good girl,” he muttered.

He never heard a sound. Not of a car door. Not of attempted entry. Not the pops of the first shots fired. Lights flashed from muzzle-protected weapons. The glass of the window facing him shattered. Then he heard a loud explosion and saw a quick burst of light. They’d dropped a stun grenade into the living room. He didn’t have to time to wonder why the gunmen would need that kind of ordinance to take out the blonde.

Dark figures entered the room, and Jax and Deke returned fire.

But Wolf couldn’t be sure all three of the enemy were engaged in the gun battle. Confident his buddies could handle themselves, he trained his gaze on the bedroom, lit only by the sliver of light from the bathroom, that earlier Piper had used to begin her tease.

The bedroom door burst open. He closed his eyes as another flashbang grenade was dropped. When he opened them again, he saw Piper firing wildly toward the door, no doubt blinded by the blast.

But from where he knelt, he could see perfectly. He aimed for the head, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

The large round shattered the window and exploded against the man’s forehead. He sank to his knees and fell forward.

Piper scrambled over the bed, rolled the man to his back, and took off his ski-mask. Her head turned toward the closet door.

Alana peeked out and shook her head.

Piper stood and dashed out the door.

“Son of a bitch.” Wolf jumped to his feet and ran past Suri who stood outside his doorway, a hand at her throat. He leapt down the steps, swung open the door, and ran for the gate.

From inside the living room still came the pops of rounds going off. By the time he reached the shattered window and cleared the last shards of glass to step through, the battle was over. He raised his weapon to his shoulder just as the lights came back on.

Deke and Jax stood facing him, then lowered their weapons. Two men wearing masks lay on the floor, both wounded, although not mortally by the amount of cussing coming from them.

The garage door burst open, and a large black man stepped through, quickly raising his handgun above his head as he spotted the ex-SEALs.

“Don’t shoot him!” Piper shouted, stepping out from behind a corner. “He’s with me.”

“Son of a bitch,” Calvin said, breathing hard and placing a hand over his heart. “I’m too damn old for this shit.”

AFTER PIPER LOADED Alana into a taxi—she was too shaky to drive herself—she went back inside the beach house. Destruction was everywhere, and she winced as she took in the damage. Windows shattered. Furniture and walls riddled with bullet holes. Pérez had targeted Alana because he was cutting connections, preparing to run, because he knew it was only a matter of time before the bounty on his head proved too attractive to everyone around him. Without Diego Guzman’s influence to scare people away, he was a hunted man and Alana knew his habits too well.

The Policia were still taking pictures of the crime scene and giving them all glares. The long, bloody streak mark on the carpet was evidence that they’d moved someone.

By now, Calvin, with Deke’s assistance, was aboard the small plane they’d chartered, heading to Brownsville where they’d turn Gustav Pérez, who’d been among the gunmen, into the authorities to stand trial. Best part was, Charter group wouldn’t claim any of the reward money despite their agents’ involvement. One of their suits was already on the scene, smoothing ruffled feathers with stacks of American money.

“Why would Charter do that?” Piper said, rubbing her arms against a sudden chill. She’d changed out of Wolf’s underwear, and now wore jeans and a long-sleeved tee, but she was still slightly chilled by the sea breeze wafting through the gaping windows. The adrenaline was wearing off. “This has to be costing them an arm and a leg.”

“The price is worth it to them if they get me,” Wolf said with a shrug.

“And will they?” she asked, raising her gaze to lock with his.

He nodded. “I like the way they handled this. Quietly. No questions past the initial phone call Jax made. No bullshit.”

“You’ll have to thank them for sending Deke along with Calvin.” She narrowed her eyes. “I could have gone with him.”

“That wouldn’t have worked well for me.” He smoothed a hand down her arm. “And they’re eager to please me.”

“Must have something special planned.”

He shrugged. “Won’t be in Mexico.”

Piper felt a painful knot lodge inside her chest. He’d be going somewhere dangerous. Somewhere in the world, a location she’d never learn. And she’d have no clue whether he lived or died. Did he have people who would mourn him?

Jax wandered off to talk to the suit from Charter. Suri sat on a couch with fluff hanging out of bullet holes, not looking particularly concerned or frightened. Which made Piper wonder how that could be so.

“Suri and Jax are going back with Reynard,” Wolf said, pointing his chin toward the suit.

“You staying?” Who would want to after all this drama?

“Depends,” he said softly.

The way he said that single word, then the way his hand gently closed around hers to pull her closer, had that knot inside her chest loosening and melting away. “On what?” she whispered past the lump in her throat.

“Whether you’ll keep me company. I know your work here is done.”

“Yeah, it is.” She lowered her gaze to his chest, half afraid to read his expression. Would it be one of his shuttered masks, or his sexy look—that hard, intense expression that managed to set her heart aflutter?

He tipped up her chin then gently pinched it to keep hold of her gaze. “Stay with me.”

“So you can finish your To Do list?” Not that she had any qualms about his sexual experiments, but she really, really hoped he wanted more. If he wasn’t feeling anything stronger than lust, then maybe she needed to walk now. For her own sake. Although, she thought it might already be too late.

Wolf stared down at her, unblinking.

Not knowing was killing her. If she said anything, would she sound clingy? She couldn’t help the reaction, and her eyes began to tear up. Her mouth trembled. “I better go.”

“No.”

His voice sounded as rough as sandpaper. “Just no?”

He closed his eyes, and his shoulders dropped an inch. “I’m not good with words.”

“You do just fine when we’re fucking.”

His mouth pulled into a grimace, and he rolled his eyes. “Can you keep your voice down?”

She hadn’t realized she’d said it so loudly until she looked around. Suri bit her lip—no doubt to keep from laughing. Jax was grinning. She frowned at them both, then deepened her scowl when she glanced back up at Wolf.

Now, he was smiling. One of his one-sided smirks.

“I don’t want you to stay with me, because I still have sex acts to check off my list.”

He spoke loudly enough that Jax started laughing.

Piper’s cheeks heated, but she kept staring, challenging him to finish. She had to know where she stood before she gave her answer.

“I want you to stay, because I want to get to know you better. Want to see if what we have is something…lasting.” By the time he finished the sentence, he was whispering.

And looked damned uncomfortable. He’d better get used to the feeling. Piper moved in closer until her chest met his and she had to tilt back her head to hold his dark, glittering gaze. “I don’t want to stay here.” At his quick inhalation, she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “But I want to be with you. For as long as you need until you realize we were meant for each other.”

“That what you think?” His eyes narrowed to a slit.

His voice was quiet, but tense. Which told her he was pleased with what she’d said. “It is. You watched me through your Hensoldt. I watched you through my Bushnell binoculars. We both have a list that will take a lifetime before we’ve explored each other thoroughly. And I…” she paused to gather her courage, “I haven’t learned nearly enough about you, but I want the chance to find all your flaws.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “You think I have flaws?”

“You snore.”

His head jerked back. “You mewl like a cat in heat.”

“That’s not a flaw,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“No, it’s damn cute.”

That sounds promising
. She dropped her gaze to the middle of his chest. “What if I fall in love with you? Will that scare you off?”

He shook his head. “You just tell me when.”

“Not if?” she asked, her heart beginning to lighten.

His hands clamped around her buttocks. “By the time I get to number fifteen on the list, you’ll be mine.”

*

WOLF WAS A man who didn’t allow himself many regrets. But the biggest would happen the following morning when he stepped aboard the transport plane with the rest of the team Charter had assembled for their next mission.

He didn’t have a clue where he was going, but he’d spent the last week being inoculated for just about every possible African and Asian disease. So he knew the team wouldn’t be in this hemisphere.

His regret would be leaving Piper without telling her he loved her.

Other than very brief requirements Charter had made, like the inoculations, they’d been together since they’d stepped off the corporate jet shared with Reynard, Jax, and Suri. Both Calvin and Piper had decided to take some “alone time.”

Tomorrow, Piper would be heading to Dallas to hunt for office space. Piper and Calvin would at last have a home. She said she’d live out of a hotel room until Wolf got back, because she wanted him to suffer through searching for just the right digs.

He’d told her to look while he was gone. Whatever she chose would be good with him. So long as the place had room for a California king and a Jacuzzi tub.

“What about a yard?”

“You ready to mow it?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’ll look at something xeriscaped. We won’t even have to water it.”

He loved how unfussy she was. Game for anything. Now was a great case in point. She stood bent at the waist, her wrists restrained at her ankles with black leather straps and metal clips. He had her completely at his mercy.

“The blood’s rushing to my head.”

“It’s rushing to mine, too,” he murmured, glancing down at his cock.

Piper snickered. “I’m not sure this will work for me. I understand how you’ll get off—seeing me all tied up, and you can move, but—”

“Trust me?”

“Of course,” she said, sounding breathless.

“Comfortable?” he asked as he walked to his go bag and pulled out the package he’d stopped for after his last round of shots. He upended the contents into his palm and smiled at the sight.

“Comfortable as any woman bent like a pretzel, I guess. What are you doing?”