SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle (90 page)

G
rey pulled into
the driveway of the pediatrician office Reganne worked at. Only one car sat in the parking lot. A blue hybrid he recognized as Reganne’s. Her call had sent him running out of the house. She had sounded upset and his instincts told him something had happened besides her car breaking down. She would call a tow truck for that.

Glad she’d called him since he couldn’t think of anything besides her, he pulled up next to her car. The moment he saw her face he knew something was wrong. He turned his truck off, climbed out and walked around to her door. On the ground next to her front tire lay a distributor cap.

What the hell?

Reganne’s door opened and she got out. Not only had her face lost all color, there was bruising on her neck.

“What the hell happened?” He reached for her but she jerked away. Forcing his temper down, he said, “Who did that to you?”

Her hands went to her neck, covering the redness. “Nothing. I…” She swallowed and winced. “Please just fix my car.”

The hell with that. Someone had choked her and he sure as shit would find out who and why. Then he’d find them and kick their ass for hurting a woman.

She looked ready to fall apart, barely hanging on by a thread. On impulse, he reached out and took her in his arms, wrapping her gently against his chest. That’s all it took. She came willingly, her arms circling his waist. Sobs wracked her shoulders, surprising him.

He held her close, absorbing her tears, wanting to kill the bastard who had done this. He stroked her hair, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, hating that she suffered and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Thunder cracked in the distance, causing Reganne to jump. Her head lifted from his chest and she swiped the wetness from her cheeks.

“I’m sorry.” The sadness in her eyes created an anger in him to hurt whoever had scared her.

“Don’t be. I’m glad you called me.” With his thumb he wiped a stray tear off her cheek. “Why don’t you get in my truck while I fix your car?”

She nodded and stepped out of his arms. He helped her into his truck before grabbing the distributor cap off the ground and popping the hood of her car. How the hell did she drive a vehicle so small? He’d never fit. At least not comfortably.

Bigger question: who had removed her distributor cap?

He put the cap back on, moved to the driver’s seat and pressed the button to start the engine. It purred to life. Returning to the hood he closed it and turned to see Reganne staring at him through the windshield, confusion mixed with fear on her face.

She climbed out of his truck. “What was that you used to fix my car?”

“The distributor cap. Someone removed it so your car wouldn’t start.”

Disbelief crossed her features. “He planned this.”

Thunder burst overhead. Reganne jumped. She looked more together, but still spooked. In no condition to drive. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. Malloy answered on the first ring.

“Hey, Chameleon. Need a favor. Grab Mikey and pick up Reganne’s car at her office, will ya?”

“Sure thing. Everything okay with the lady doc?”

Grey glanced at Reganne. “Rough day.”

“Copy that. Want us to drop it off at her place or yours?”

“Hers.”

“On our way.”

“Thanks.”

He hung up and dropped his cell in the pocket of his cargo shorts. “I’m taking you home.”

“You called someone to bring my car home?”

“You met them at the party. Jace and Mikey. They’ll get your car home safe.” And, make sure no one followed. Whatever was going on, he wasn’t taking any chances. Sure as hell wasn’t letting Reganne go home alone.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” He strode to her side, guided her back to the passenger seat of his truck and helped her in.

“Thank you.” He closed the door and went around to slide into the driver’s seat.

They arrived at her house minutes later. Reganne hadn’t spoken a word during the drive. He didn’t press. Not yet, anyway.

After she unlocked the door he put a hand on her arm. “Let me go in first. Wait here.”

He did a quick recon of the house, making sure no one lay in wait. Finding nothing, he returned to find Reganne still standing in the doorway.

“All clear.”

She entered and he closed and locked the door. All the windows were shut, not tampered with that he could tell. Leaving them that way, he put his hands on Reganne’s shoulders. “Got any whiskey?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “What? No.”

“Beer? Wine?”

“Is there something you need to tell me?”

He chuckled. “I’m not an alcoholic if that’s what you mean. Thought maybe a drink would calm your nerves.”

Thunder rumbled outside. Reganne stiffened beneath his grasp. “Trying to make me talk, huh?”

Remembering her joking about her loose tongue when she drank, he grinned. “Busted.”

Some of the tension left her shoulders. “How about a cup of coffee?”

“Deal.”

“I’m going to change out of my work clothes first.”

He nudged her toward the stairs. “You go. I’ll make the coffee.”

With a look of gratitude, she went upstairs while he found the supplies to make a pot of coffee. By the time it poured into the pot Reganne had returned, wearing a pair of jeans and t-shirt. She met him in the kitchen.

“Cups?” he asked.

She pulled two out of the cupboard and he filled them. Together they walked into the living room. He let her sit first, then chose the opposite end of the sofa.

They sat in silence for a moment. Reganne spoke first. “I don’t want to drag you into my problems.”

“I’m volunteering.”

She sighed. “Why couldn’t I have met you two years ago?”

“What happened two years ago?”

Her hands tightened around her cup. “I met the most charming, handsome man I’d ever known.”

Jealousy shot through him. Not what he wanted to hear. Or what he expected.

“His name was Carsen Dyne. He’s a neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai. Very respected in his field.”

Grey stifled a growl. “He sounds perfect.”

“He was. In the beginning.”

His chest tightened. “What happened?”

“We started to date. Got serious really fast. Faster than I was comfortable with, but Carsen had a way of blinding me to the truth.”

Lightning flashed, followed by a crack of thunder. Reganne continued. “Within months we were engaged and without even realizing it I had alienated myself from my friends. I stopped going out with the girls, stopped returning calls or texts. The only time I left my apartment was with Carsen or to go to work.”

She took a sip of her coffee. “I caught him checking my phone, going through my mail. He always had a good excuse and like a sap, I fell for it. Every time. Until I worked late one night—I was working at Mount Sinai, too—and one of the residents walked me to my car. We were co-workers, nothing more. Little did I know, Carsen had been following every move I made for months. Stalking me, although we were engaged. When he saw us walking out together he…” She trailed off with a shudder.

Grey scooted closer to her, set his cup on the table. “Go on.”

Her shoulders lifted and fell. “He assumed we were having an affair. Snapped. He put me in a coma for three days, and the resident in ICU for a week. Neither one of us knew what happened, he attacked so fast. I don’t know how he convinced the resident not to go to the police, but to this day he hasn’t said a word.”

She drew in a deep breath. “That snapped me out of my haze. I gave a statement to the police, but they didn’t believe that Carsen was responsible. I had no proof and the resident wasn’t talking. Who would believe that an esteemed neurosurgeon could do such a thing? Especially to his fiancée?”

Grey cursed beneath his breath.

“Carsen came to visit me the day I woke from my coma. My rose-colored glasses were gone and I saw the monster he really was. One that would never let me go. I’d thought that sentiment endearing when he’d promised it so many times before. Never thought he meant it literally. I signed myself out of the hospital that day, put in my notice and disappeared. I didn’t hide well enough, though, because Carsen found me. Only this time he stalked me. I got a restraining order against him, but it didn’t do me any good. He still managed to get to me. That’s when I realized he truly would never let me go. I erased my digital footprint the best I could. Cut up my credit cards and switched to a cash-only system. Closed every bank account I had and moved here. Thousands of miles away. I even buried my name among two other doctors at the practice so anyone looking would find them, not me.”

She set her cup on the table next to his. “That’s it in a nutshell.”

“Damn. So your ex has found you again? That’s who took the distributor cap out of your car and left those bruises on your neck?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t sure until he showed up at my office today.”

Anger raged through him when he thought of this man hurting her. “Did he do anything else to you?”

“Just small things like leaving notes on my car. Peeking in my window the other night. But, that’s what he does. He stalks me until I’m looking over my shoulder every second of every day, waiting for him to make a move.”

Grey ground his teeth together. “One thing is different this time.”

“What’s that?”

“Me.”

‡

“N
o. I won’t
put your life at risk,” Reganne shook her head.

Rain began to pelt the windows. Grey put his hand over Reganne’s. “I’ve dealt with more dangerous people than a neurosurgeon who likes to hurt women.”

Her gaze met his, full of hope and regret. “You don’t know him. What lengths he’ll go to.”

“I know the type.” Terrorists, stalkers, criminals, they all shared one trait. They were ruled by their ideals, however demented.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you won’t be here long. Your leave will end soon and you’ll be gone.”

Like he’d been slapped in the face, he pulled back. Hadn’t his mother said the very same thing to his father when they almost lost the house? He’d left her behind to deal with digging them out of bankruptcy while his dad went off to fight someone else’s war.

Had Grey really thought he could set things right? Change the past. Do what his dad hadn’t been able to. What had begun as a challenge to prove he wasn’t his father just knocked him on his ass. Fool. He thought keeping women at a distance, being the best SEAL he could be, would erase the fact his mother had committed suicide when she couldn’t do it anymore. That, somehow, he could redeem her faith in men, in him, by being there for her when she needed him. When in reality having her only son go into the military had pushed her over the edge. Regardless if Grey had paid off her house, took care of her bills and called every chance he got. Things his dad had never done. His dad went radio silence the second he walked out the door. Grey stayed in contact, had a backup plan in case his mother needed anything, and always called home.

But, none of that had mattered. She had swallowed a bottle of pills during one of his deployments. In the end, he hadn’t been there for her either.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound crass.” She rubbed her forehead. “It’s been a long day.”

Agreed. He didn’t want to think about the past anymore. Didn’t want to admit he may not be here long enough to help her deal with her ex. Damn it, he never should have let Darci set him up on a date.

“How about I make us something to eat?” he asked, rising to his feet.

She sent him a relieved look. “I’m not sure there’s much in the fridge.”

“I’ll make do.”

He strode into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Rummaging through the contents, he pulled out what he needed to make a pasta salad. Reganne appeared at his side.

“Can I help? I’m not much of a cook. In fact, that chocolate cake is the only thing I can make that I’m willing to share.”

The cake had been delicious. He handed her a pot. “Fill that with water for the pasta.”

“Something I can do,” she joked, carrying the pot to the sink.

Lucky for him Reganne liked healthy foods and had a fridge full of fresh fruits and veggies. While she put the water on to boil, he deveined and cooked a half-pound of fresh shrimp. Then scored and sliced a cucumber. With ease, he chopped a red pepper, carrot and some green onions.

“I’m glad you’re using up that shrimp. I’d planned on cooking it, just never found the time.” Reganne stirred the pasta that now boiled.

Snatching a lemon from the bowl on the counter, he zested it and squeezed the juice into a bowl. He added dill and sour cream to the mayo and whisked it together to make the dressing.

“Run that pasta under cold water,” he instructed when Reganne drained it into a colander. She did as told, then poured it into the serving bowl behind her.

Grey put all the veggies in with the pasta, then poured the dressing over top and mixed it. He stuck it in the fridge to chill while he mixed up some cheddar biscuits using pre-made mix, shredded cheddar cheese and herbs.

Reganne set the table while the biscuits baked. Outside, the storm cranked up. Heavy winds shook the windows. Lightning flashed in rapid succession, followed by booming thunder. The lights flickered.