Protecting Caroline (SEAL of Protection Book 1) (19 page)

“We talked about
what happened at the cabin.” Wolf winced. He didn’t remember any of it. He only
remembered the fire and trying to breathe, and then nothing else. Since the
only people that had been there were Caroline and Mozart, he hadn’t known what
had happened to get Caroline kidnapped, except that he hadn’t protected her. He
hadn’t done his job. He was having a hard time getting over the guilt of that.

Abe gave his
team leader a quick rundown of what Mozart had told him went on when he
arrived.

“After Mozart
shot the two terrorists waiting at the window to kill anyone that came out, he saw
Ice. He tried to get her out, but she wouldn’t leave without you. She dragged
you to the window and made Mozart get you out first. He asked her what the hell
she was thinking and she told him that SEALs don’t leave SEALs behind.”

Abe let Wolf
absorb that, then continued. “She was in a house that was burning down around
her. Instead of getting out as fast as she could, she made sure
you
got
out first. She wouldn’t leave you. She fought as hard as she could, and when
she realized the only way to protect you was to go with that asshole
willingly…she did.”

Abe watched his
team leader struggling with the truth of Caroline’s actions for a moment.

“The way I see
it Wolf, is that if she wouldn’t leave you behind in a fucking burning
building…why are you leaving her behind now? You
know
she doesn’t like
hospitals. Remember when we tried to make her see a doctor after she got hurt
on the plane? Remember how she’d reacted? Jesus, Wolf, we all know you two are
crazy about each other. We know she’s yours. Why are you doing this to Caroline
and to yourself?”

“She’s in there
because of me,” Wolf admitted out loud for the first time.

“Bullshit,” Abe
said immediately, surprising Wolf with his emphatic assessment.

“She’s in there
because she’s one tough chick. Most women I know would’ve given up and died.
Hell, most women I know would’ve cowered in the back of that plane and done
nothing. Think about it. If I
ever
find a woman who puts me first, who
looks out for me before she looks out for herself, I’m grabbing her and never
letting go. If Ice wasn’t as tough as she was, she would’ve died five different
ways. But she didn’t. She’s still alive and wishing you were there with her. You
have one hell of a woman, and you’re throwing her away. She’s loyal as hell and
doesn’t take any shit from anyone. Just the kind of woman you need. You’ll
never find another like her. She’s yours. You just have to be brave enough to
go and take what you want for once in your damn life. There’s no guarantee any
of us will be around tomorrow. We could fall down a flight of stairs or be hit
by a car walking across a street. There are no guarantees in life, but I can
guaran-damn-tee if you don’t go to her now, you
will
regret it the rest
of your life.”

Abe waited and
let that sink in. Then he continued. “Benny, Dude, and Cookie went to meet her
yesterday.”

At that, Wolf
looked up quickly. He didn’t want to ask, but then again he didn’t have to. Abe
knew what he wanted to know.

“She looks like
hell. She’s beaten up and depressed. Cookie gave her his Budweiser pin. Said
she was a part of this team.”

Wolf clenched
his teeth.
He
wanted to be the one with her.
He
wanted to be the
one welcoming her to the team with his pin. But he couldn’t. It was the only
way he could think of to protect her.

“She asked a
favor of them,” Abe told him. “She wanted their help in getting her out of the
hospital.”

“She’s not ready
to be released!” Wolf burst out furiously. “What the hell is she thinking? Tell
me they didn’t!”

Abe continued
calmly, ignoring Wolf’s outburst. “Did she ever tell you why she didn’t like
hospitals?”

Wolf shook his
head, remembering back to when Mozart had stitched her up in the plane, she’d
told them she didn’t like hospitals.

“While you’ve
had your head up your ass, I’ve had Tex do some digging for me.” Abe told him
testily. “When she was twenty two she was in a car accident. She spent three
months in traction in the hospital. Her parents couldn’t come to her because her
dad had just started a new job and wasn’t able to take any leave. They were
older, and her mom didn’t feel comfortable traveling by herself. Besides, Ice
told her she was fine. Unsurprisingly, she downplayed her injuries to her mom. Apparently
she had a lot of complications, but the hospital was overcrowded and busy. She
had
two
visitors the entire time she was there. One was the lawyer of
the guy that hit her, and the other was a man she’d been dating. He came once,
and never returned. She sat in that room day and night and suffered through bed
sores and other ‘minor’ ailments because no one was there to fight for her. No
one cared about the single, ordinary woman sitting alone in her room day after
day.” Abe fell silent, letting what he’d said sink in.

Wolf clenched
his teeth hard. No wonder his Caroline was so strong. She had to be.

Abe could see
Wolf was hurting. He hadn’t meant to upset him, but he had to make him see what
he was throwing away.

“The guys sprung
her from the hospital and took her back to her apartment. She told them she’d be
fine, and they left. Then they came to see me.” He paused. “A SEAL doesn’t
leave a SEAL behind. Ever, Wolf. Would you really leave her behind and go back
to San Diego thinking that she means nothing to you? Would you really leave
here letting
her
think she was a burden to you...to us? Because that’s
what she thinks. She thinks the same thing that you do, that it’s
her
fault we were even involved in anything that happened. I
can
tell you this;
if you don’t want her, that’s fine, but know that the rest of the team will be
keeping in touch with her. We like her. We respect her. We’ll take care of her
if you don’t.”

“Don’t
want
her Abe?” Wolf said incredulously, not able to stand the harangue anymore. He
stood up abruptly and paced the room. “God there’s nothing I want more. But…”

Abe interrupted
him. “But nothing, Wolf. If you want her, you’d better go and get her.
Otherwise she’ll find someone else.”

Abe clasped Wolf
on the shoulder in the way that men did, and walked away. He’d said what he had
to say. If Wolf didn’t listen to him, he’d request a transfer to another team.
He couldn’t work for a man that wouldn’t do what was best for himself and the
woman he loved.

Ten minutes
later Abe watched as Wolf left the building and got into a rental car. He sure
hoped Wolf was going to get his woman. Abe had done everything he could; it was
up to Wolf now.

* * *

Caroline heard
the ringing of her doorbell, but she ignored it. She snuggled down deeper into
the couch. She didn’t want to see anyone. She didn’t want to talk to anyone.
She’d even put off calling her boss. She had no idea if she still had a job or
not, but she didn’t feel good enough to deal with anyone yet. All she wanted to
do was close her eyes and forget the last few weeks ever happened, well most of
it at least.

When the ringing
of her front door bell didn’t stop, Caroline drew the blanket up over her head
gingerly. She figured it was probably someone trying to sell her something,
because she couldn’t imagine who else would be at her door. Hell, she didn’t
know
anyone other than the SEAL team, and she’d sent Hunter, Kason, and Faulkner
away the day before firmly. She told them she was fine, felt great, and that
she’d keep in touch with them.

The fact was she
wasn’t okay. She was depressed and still in quite a bit of pain. She wasn’t
hungry and hadn’t bothered to get dressed. Finally the ringing of her doorbell
stopped. Thank God. She closed her eyes, maybe if she slept long enough, the
pain, both emotional and physical, would go away.

Wolf made quick
work of the lock on Caroline’s door. She really needed to get better security.
Anyone who knew anything about picking locks, like him, could get in. No wonder
the damn terrorist had been able to get in so easily. He closed the door softly
behind him and walked into Caroline’s apartment. Everything was quiet. He
walked through her kitchen into the living room and saw Caroline bundled up on
the couch. The blanket covered her from head to toe; all he could see was the
top of her head. He went over and kneeled down next to her.

“Caroline,” he
said softly.

Caroline wasn’t
quite asleep when she heard her name. She opened her eyes and sat up quickly.
She saw Matthew as the blanket slid off her face, then groaned and fell back
onto the couch. Damn. That hurt.

“I’m so sorry
sweetheart,” Wolf fretted, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“How’d you get
in here? Oh, never mind,” Caroline whined petulantly. He was a SEAL; a locked
door wouldn’t keep him out. “What do you want?”

“You,” Wolf said
simply. He was sick of beating around the bush with this woman.

Caroline opened
her eyes and looked at the man kneeling next to her. “What?” She questioned,
not believing what she’d heard.

“You. I want
you.” Wolf repeated. “I’ve been an idiot. Every day since I left you in that
hospital I’ve been kicking myself and wanting to get back to you. I’m not the
most romantic guy you’ll ever meet, but you won’t meet one more devoted to you.
I’m sorry I was a jerk, but I’m here now and I don’t want to let you go.”

Caroline lay
there stunned. Matthew was saying everything she’d ever wanted a man to say,
but was he serious? Of course he was. He wouldn’t have said it if he wasn’t.

“I thought you’d
left,” she murmured sadly, looking Matthew in his eyes.

“I couldn’t,” Wolf
told her honestly. He stood up and gathered Caroline carefully in his arms, sat
on the couch, and settled her onto his lap. He rejoiced when she didn’t
complain, but instead curled up into his chest and shut her eyes.

Caroline thought
he smelled so good and she was so tired.

“It’s okay, go
ahead and sleep, baby, I’m not going anywhere.”

Caroline
realized she must’ve said that last bit out loud about being tired. She nodded
and was out within seconds.

Wolf sat with Caroline
on his lap for about an hour just watching her sleep and stroking her hair. He
was so thankful she hadn’t thrown him out yet, but he also knew she was
exhausted and probably not thinking straight. Finally he laid her back on the
couch carefully, brushed his finger down her still healing face, took off his
jacket, and went into the kitchen to get to work.

When Caroline
woke up she smelled something delicious. She sat up slowly and groaned. Jesus,
she was sick of feeling helpless. Suddenly Matthew was there, he was actually still
there.

“You need to eat
Caroline,” he told her gently. “I’ve made you some soup.”

“You’re still
here.” The words popped out without her even thinking about them.

“I’m still here.
Now, come on. Up you go.” He helped her up and into the little dining area off
the kitchen. He settled her into a chair and shook out two pain pills.

“I don’t like
taking those,” Caroline told him petulantly.

“Doesn’t matter,”
he retorted. “You need them, you’re in pain.”

“They make me
drowsy and I feel weird when I take them,” Caroline whined feeling grumpy and
out of sorts.

“Ice. You need
them. Please. I’ll be here to help you, and you can sleep as long as you want
to.”

“What do you
mean?” She asked him carefully.

“I mean I’m here
for as long as you need me.”

“Then what?” She
asked Matthew sternly. “What about when I’m all better and don’t need you here
anymore?”

“I’m hoping you’ll
always need me as much as I need you.”

Caroline sat in
stunned silence. Her heart lightened a little bit. He
sounded
serious,
but was he really?

Wolf continued
as if his words hadn’t just changed her life. “I know we’ll have to work some
things out with our jobs, but all I know is that I don’t want to let you go. I
want to spend all my time with you when I’m not working. I want to come home to
you, and only you, after a mission. Please say you’ll give us a chance.”

Wolf stopped and
waited. She held his heart in her hands.

A tear slipped
down Caroline’s face. “Yes, Matthew. I want that too. I’m scared. I know what
you do is dangerous as hell. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t lose
me. I won’t allow it.”

Caroline smiled.
She had no idea how they’d make things work, but she knew she’d do whatever it
took. She loved this man.

“I love you,
Matthew.” She suddenly realized she’d never told him.

“I love you too,
Caroline. And you’ll give Cookie back his damn Trident. If you’re going to keep
anyone’s Budweiser pin, it’ll be mine.”

Caroline smiled.
She knew the pin was a big deal, but obviously she hadn’t worked out in her
head just
how
important it was. “Okay, Matthew,” she told him
contentedly. Caroline knew everything would all work out. Matthew would make
sure of it.