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GRAYSON JOGGED TOWARD the front gate, muttering under his breath. What the hell had gotten into him? He’d stood there in the dark staring down at Hailey like she was his or something. A woman he’d never even set eyes on before earlier this afternoon.
When he’d pushed her to the ground in the cafeteria, he hadn’t even thought twice. They’d heard the alarm sounding, and he’d acted. He hadn’t even gotten to enjoy the feeling of her soft curves beneath him or her silky hair beneath his hand, he’d been so focused on keeping her safe and assessing the situation.
Of course he’d noticed how attractive she was—that was why he’d introduced himself in the first place. But he’d been more worried about shielding her from any harm than acting on his feelings in that moment. When he’d locked eyes with Blake, he’d known they both had the same thought—Sayed.
Which meant that tomorrow, they’d be going door to door through the village, finding that bastard if it was the last thing they did.
Adrenaline coursed through him as he moved, and he frowned as he saw the chaos out front. There were three people lying on the ground, a medic tending to one of the injured. He saw Ethan and the rest of his team hovering over another body, his teammate performing CPR on the injured soldier.
Fucking hell.
“SITREP?” he asked as he jogged up.
“One casualty, aside from the suicide bomber.” Blake nodded to the right, and Grayson cursed as he saw a sheet being draped over a body. “Three injured. The base is on lockdown.”
“Any word on tomorrow?”
“I’m going to meet with the general in fifteen minutes. I don’t expect he’ll want us moving in before dawn.”
Grayson nodded, watching the heavily armed soldiers guarding the blown-apart checkpoint. Additional barricades were already being moved in, and he clenched his jaw, looking at the carnage. It could’ve been worse—so much fucking worse than this.
And oddly enough, relief coursed through him that Hailey had been nowhere nearby. That she didn’t have to see this scene. He didn’t even know the woman but felt protective toward her. Yes, she was beautiful, but there was something more. An unexplained connection and chemistry that just was. Somehow they’d clicked in the brief time they’d talked, and he wanted to sit down with her and see if anything else really was there between them.
Ethan stood as a medic team rushed over to the injured soldier where he’d been performing CPR, taking over for him. “Are we sure the suicide bomber was working alone?” he asked, wiping the blood from his hands on a towel someone shoved at him. He grabbed a sterile wipe and began cleaning his hands off.
“That’s the current assessment, although you know as well as I do, someone could’ve slipped in during the explosion,” Blake said.
“They’d have been blown up, too,” Grayson said with a frown.
Blake lifted a shoulder. “Most likely. It’s good you got Hailey back to the housing though. It’s safer than walking around out here.”
“Agreed. And I don’t think she had any interest in hanging around the chow hall after that.”
The men moved aside, watching as another medical team came rushing over with a stretcher. “How can we help?” Jackson asked, all business.
“Get him on here,” one of them barked.
Jackson nodded, and he and Troy lifted the injured soldier onto the stretcher while the first two medics continued their lifesaving efforts, one of them continuing CPR, another trying to stop the bleeding. They hurried over to a truck that had pulled up, loading the injured man inside so they could rush to the hospital on base.
“This is bullshit,” Logan said. “We should’ve fucking gone after Sayed this afternoon.”
“That wasn’t our mission,” Blake ground out. “We were doing recon. No one knew he’d disappear from the insurgents’ camp by the time we flew in from the States.”
“That’s still eating at me,” Grayson said. “It’s just too much of a damn coincidence.”
“The whole thing is FUBAR if there’s an informant here. But nabbing Sayed tomorrow could also flush him out. Either he’ll give us a name of the mole or the guilty party will accidentally expose him or herself.”
“Or we just have the worst fucking luck in the world,” Logan said.
The men watched as the injured were taken away, and Jackson and Troy walked back to their group.
“Hell,” Troy said. “Never a dull moment.”
“You guys should head back to the barracks and change,” Blake said. Both men had blood and dirt on their uniforms from helping carry the injured soldier. Ethan was a mess as well. “I’ll meet with the general and fill you in later. We’ll need to go over our plans for tomorrow.”
“Yeah, let’s head back. I don’t think they need any more help here at the moment,” Grayson said.
“Looks like its MREs tonight after all,” Logan quipped.
Grayson grunted, glancing around. There was one lone figure moving off near the side of base, and he frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Troy asked.
He saw another person walk over and talk to the man who was there alone, and Grayson relaxed his stance. “I don’t know. I just feel like whatever happened isn’t over.”
“It sure as shit isn’t over until we bring in Sayed,” Ethan said.
Grayson turned with his teammates, ready to head for the barracks, when another small explosion rumbled from the other side of base. He froze as the hair on the back of his neck stood up, realizing that it was coming from the direction he’d just left Hailey in. That didn’t mean much at the moment, because there were multiple buildings between there and here. The thought of her in danger made his stomach clench though, which was unsettling. He barely even knew the woman, and she was the first thought in his mind when he sensed danger.
“What the fuck?” Ethan muttered.
A second, louder explosion followed the first as the men hit the ground, and the night sky lit up with fire.
“God damn it!” Grayson shouted, and then he jumped up and was running straight toward the explosion without thinking, his teammates hot on his heels.
“There was a second suicide bomber!” Blake yelled.
They crossed base in record time, Grayson cursing the entire way. When he reached the building he’d left Hailey at, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The front part was completely engulfed in flames, fire and smoke rising skyward, and the side of the building had partially collapsed from the explosion.
His heart pounded in his chest as he watched some of the women coming out the doors. They were covered in soot and ash, some of them bleeding and injured. Blake began barking commands to his men as they rushed to help, and Grayson could hear more sirens headed this way.
His mind was on Hailey though. He’d just left her here. He’d told her it would be safer getting her back to her housing, not waiting out here in the open, and the building had been fucking bombed. Stepping over some of the rubble, he hurried toward the doors.
He didn’t even know Hailey’s last name to ask about her.
Surprisingly, the damage inside wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected. The bomber must have been standing outside of the building. Smoke filled the air though, and he knew the fire outside would soon come in. The crumbling side of the building was extremely dangerous as well—women could be trapped inside, injured, or killed, and the building was on fire.
They needed to get everyone out as quickly as possible.
“Hailey!” he shouted, knowing he was being foolish. She wouldn’t hear him over the noise and commotion. He didn’t even know where in the building she lived. The fire alarms were blaring, people were shouting and yelling, and he moved forward without thought. He helped a woman who’d tripped and fallen over, handing her off to someone else.
He looked around again, not even knowing where to start.
“You need help, Ghost?” Blake asked, rushing up to his side.
“I need to find her,” he said.
Blake nodded, understanding passing between them. Blake had met his girlfriend Clarissa on an op. As improbable as it had seemed, they’d bonded immediately. Instantly. He’d helped her through the Colombian rainforest after rescuing her from a terrorist camp. They’d been separated from the rest of the team, and by the time they’d met up the next day, the two of them had practically been inseparable.
It was fast and crazy and unexpected, but their relationship had continued. Clarissa had moved in with Blake for the summer, and Grayson wouldn’t be surprised if his buddy married her one day. He’d never thought his SEAL team leader would settle down, but it was like as soon as he’d met Clarissa, that had been it.
Grayson wasn’t foolish enough to think he was going to marry Hailey—they hadn’t even been out on a single date. The woman had instantly caught his attention though, and he felt protective instincts rising within him at the thought of her in danger.
She’d been scared in the cafeteria when he’d shielded her with his body. What was she thinking now? His stomach roiled at the idea of her injured or in pain. He could handle whatever happened to him, but knowing that she might’ve been harmed? It was unfathomable.
Blake grabbed a woman rushing toward the exit. “Do you know a woman named Hailey? General Murphy’s administrative assistant?”
“Hailey? Yeah. She’s on the second floor. I haven’t seen her though.”
Blake nodded, and he and Grayson were instantly moving. The smoke was thicker as they took the stairs, and Blake stopped to help an injured woman as Grayson rushed forward. “I need to carry her out,” Blake yelled.
“I’m going for Hailey,” Grayson replied, running up the last few steps.
He knew Blake would never leave an injured woman alone on the stairs. And Grayson was more than capable of searching for Hailey by himself. He pushed open the door from the stairwell to the upstairs hall and gasped as he saw the destruction on the second floor. The walls had partially collapsed at one end and flames were licking upward.
The smoke was growing thicker, and he covered his face with his arm.
“Hailey!” he shouted again.
One woman glanced at him in surprise as she rushed out. “Last door on the left!”
“Shit, shit, shit!” he muttered, running toward it. She was right by the collapsed section. Hopefully she’d already gotten out, but what if she’d been injured? What if more of the building began to crumble and cave in?
The heat and smoke were overwhelming, but he’d never forgive himself if he got this far only to leave here there. She could be trapped inside, and he was so close. He tried her door, finding it locked, and then began to pound on it with his fist. “Hailey! Are you in there?” he shouted.
He tried to listen for an answer, but between the fire alarm and roaring fire, he couldn’t hear anything else. “Hailey!” he shouted again.
It was beginning to get hot as hell up here, and he knew the air wasn’t safe for him to breathe much longer. Not waiting for her to answer, he backed up and then breached the door. He’d been trained with his team, and although he usually had weapons with him when he broke into homes of people they were after, Grayson had no trouble kicking the door down with his combat boots.
“Hailey!” he shouted again.
He moved further into her space, gasping when he saw her lying on the floor, a cut on her head. She must’ve fallen in the explosion and hit her head on the bedframe or something. It looked like she’d been in the middle of getting changed. Her shirt was off, but she had a camisole on, revealing some of her creamy skin.
Her auburn hair stood in stark contrast to it, and blood ran from her forehead, matting some of her hair. He knelt down beside her, trying to ignore the swells of her breasts beneath her top. She was so fucking beautiful—like a damn angel or something. She looked fragile and innocent, and he immediately took her into his arms.
Mumbling slightly, she came to as he lifted her.
“Grayson,” she murmured, blinking as she looked at him.
“Yes, it’s me, sweetheart,” he said, standing up as he cradled her body to his. He turned and walked back the way he’d come. Hailey fit in his arms perfectly, and holding her to his chest as he walked toward the door, nothing had ever felt more right. She smelled faintly of vanilla, and even with smoke filling the air, it was the sweetest damn thing he’d ever noticed. He grabbed a piece of fabric from the top of a pile of clean clothes, smirking as he realized it was a pair of green satin panties.
Not caring what he’d grabbed hold of, he pressed it to her forehead, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Hold this to your head so I can carry you out.”
“What happened?” she asked in confusion.
“There was another explosion,” he said grimly. “We have to go.”
“How did you find me?” she asked.
He kicked the remnants of her door aside, moving into the hallway.
“Oh my God!” she gasped.
He kept walking, his gaze looking into a few open rooms to make sure no one else was there. The fire alarms continued to blare, and the smoke was growing thicker. The fire blazed all around them, moving closer to her side of the hall. He talked loudly above all the ruckus as he rushed her away from the danger. “I ran for your building with my teammates,” he said. “Raptor and I came inside to look for you. It was chaos downstairs, but I called out your name, and someone knew you.”
“You came and found me,” she said, looking at him in shock.
“Of course I came for you. Your goddamn building was on fire.”
He hurried into the stairwell, jogging down with Hailey held tightly in his arms. She wasn’t applying enough pressure to her head wound, and he cursed. He realized she was barefoot, only wearing pants and a camisole. Thank God he’d gotten to her when he did. She’d been knocked out, and who knew how long it would have taken for fire and rescue personnel to search the entire second floor. She was all the way at the end of the hallway, and by the time they’d searched every room, it could’ve been too late.
Firemen were moving up the stairs now with hoses and equipment, and Grayson hurried into the lobby and out the front doors.
“Shit, is she all right?” Ethan called out, jogging over toward them.
“She needs stitches,” Grayson assessed.
Jackson’s lips quirked as he realized Grayson was holding satin panties to her forehead but didn’t comment. “We need a medic!” he yelled out.
Two people came running to her with a stretcher. Grayson briefly gave them an update, setting her gently down as she whimpered. “Hell, did I hurt you?” he asked, looking into her green eyes.
“My head hurts. And my ribs.”
“You have a cut, maybe a concussion,” he said, gently smoothing his hand over her hair. His gaze dropped to her camisole. He didn’t see any other injuries, but maybe she’d hurt herself when she’d fallen. “You’ll most likely need stitches, but we got you out of there.”
“You got me out,” she said, looking up at him.
He searched her green eyes, aware of the people all around them. Hailey felt like the most important person in the world right now, crazy as that was. He’d known his teammates for years; he’d literally lay down his life for them, but right now, she was his only concern.
“That I did, sweetheart. I got you out of there.”
Blake came jogging over to his team. “Ghost! Everglades! The general wants to meet with us ASAP.”
Grayson frowned, looking at Blake and then back at Hailey. The medics were already tending to her, pressing gauze to her forehead and taking her pulse. One of them began rattling off some stats, and then they were ready to move her.
Grayson had rescued countless people over the years—men, women, children. It didn’t matter. He went in with his team and had seen it all. They’d dealt with horrific injuries and all sorts of situations. He’d rescued people from the worst of humanity and never even looked back. But leaving her made him pause for some reason. He frequently came to people’s aid and then moved on to the next part of his mission without thought, but something didn’t feel right about leaving Hailey.
He wanted to stay with her, to watch over her. He wanted to hold her hand or pull her back into his arms, to make sure she was okay. And he couldn’t because he had work to do. Besides, she wasn’t his damn girlfriend or something. What right did he have to hold her and ensure she was okay?
“I’ll check on you later,” he said in a low voice. “Tomorrow.”
She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, and he felt his chest clench. Unable to stop himself, he ducked down and lightly kissed her forehead, away from where the gauze covered her wound. She gasped in surprise, but then the medics lifted her stretcher, ready to load her into a truck and drive to the base hospital. He wanted to say something else but, maybe for the first time ever, was at an absolute loss for words.
He had no right to feel the way he did, but at that moment, he wanted her. Grayson wanted to go with her to the hospital, to make sure she was safe. He wanted to talk to the doctors about her injuries and make sure she had the best care and wasn’t in any pain. The tears in her eyes slayed him, and knowing that she was injured and hurting made his chest ache.
They carried her into the truck, Hailey wincing at the movement, and then Grayson turned and exchanged a glance with Blake.
“They’ll take care of her, Ghost. We’ll check on her tomorrow after our op.”
Grayson tensed. “I don’t like leaving her.”
“I know. But she’s in good hands.”
The doors to the truck slammed shut, and then it began to pull away. He watched it for a beat and then turned, nodding at his team leader. They jogged off toward the general’s office, and with each step further away, Grayson knew he was leaving a small piece of his heart behind.
