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GRAYSON CLENCHED HIS jaw as he paced his living room, on the phone with his teammate. His blood was boiling as he recounted the story of everything that had happened earlier, ending with the latest text Hailey had gotten.
“That’s fucked up,” Troy muttered. “Who the hell would be sending her threatening texts? Did you tell Raptor yet?”
“Negative. He and Clarissa were going camping this weekend,” Grayson said in a low voice. “I didn’t want to bug him unless it was an emergency since we just got back last night. I know how he was looking forward to seeing her. This changes things though.”
“Shit. We should probably notify the commander.”
“Yep. I’ll give him a call. My gut is telling me this is related to everything that went down in Bagram. I don’t like that Hailey is somehow involved in this. She’s already been through hell. But with the investigation continuing, things might only escalate from here.”
“How’s she feeling?” Troy asked.
“She’s sick with the flu or something but seems to be recovering from her injuries just fine. She’s got a scar on her forehead, and I know her ribs have to still hurt. She’s a trooper though—not complaining or anything.”
“I can’t believe she flew out here a week early.”
“Yeah. I guess to train with the person who’s leaving. It makes sense, but I hate that they even asked her since she’s still recovering. She should’ve had another week at home to rest, not to move here early and head into her office each day.”
“Yep. Maybe they didn’t know,” Troy said.
Grayson muttered a curse. “The whole damn reason she’s back stateside early is because of the bombing. There’s no way in hell they didn’t hear about that.”
“You’re right. Some idiot just wasn’t thinking. Is she staying with you all week?”
“Until we figure out what’s happening, absolutely. I already thought she’d be here a few days since she was sick, but damn. I can’t leave her alone when some asshole is threatening her. She doesn’t even have a car yet. She was in her hotel room where anyone could get to her.”
“You sounded worried enough earlier on base, but the threatening texts add an entire new layer of problems to this.”
“Exactly. It’s not safe for her to be in a hotel if she’s being harassed and someone claims to know where she is. One text could’ve been a wrong number, especially since it just said to be careful. But three of them? No way. Someone knows who she is, possibly where she is, and seems to think she knows something about the bombing.”
“We should meet tomorrow with the team,” Troy said. “Go over what we know and how to keep her safe until this blows over.”
“Yeah, thanks man. I know we’re all supposed to be off for the next few days, but this isn’t sitting well with me. Oh, I hear Hailey coming,” he said, glancing up. The hallway was empty, but she might’ve gone back to the bedroom to grab something.
“I’ll call the rest of the guys. Raptor, too, because he’ll want to be updated. Let us know what time you want to meet, and we’ll be there.”
“I appreciate it,” Grayson said with a frown. “I hope Raptor isn’t pissed.”
“He’d want Hailey to be safe,” Troy said. “You’re doing the right thing, Ghost. We’ll figure out what’s going on, hopefully find whoever was leaking intel, and then you and Hailey can live happily ever after.”
Grayson smirked. “It feels right having her here at my place.”
“Another one bites the dust,” Troy joked. “Hell, I’ve got sisters. I know how this shit works. She’ll move in with you and never leave. In another year or two, they’ll be some mini Ghosts running around.”
“Do you hear me complaining?” Grayson asked with a chuckle. “I like having her here. Hey, sweetheart,” he said as Hailey came padding back down the hallway barefoot at that exact moment. His cock instantly hardened as he looked at her, and he tried to get his mind out of the gutter.
She was injured and sick, not coming to drag him off to bed and let him kiss every inch of her body.
“Catch you later,” Troy said.
“Yeah man. Bye.”
Grayson looked back at Hailey and smiled. Her auburn hair was damp, hanging around her shoulders. She’d put on a clean sweatshirt that he’d loaned her, and his chest swelled with pride at seeing her in his clothes again. At knowing she’d be sleeping in his bed tonight. Maybe he wouldn’t be with her intimately—yet. But he had no problem with waiting. He wanted to date her and get to know her more before they finally made love. Whether that took weeks or months didn’t matter—he already knew he’d wait however long she wanted.
The fact that she’d be in his bed though left him harder than steel. A deep satisfaction rolled through him. His woman was here. Safe. And he’d do everything in his power to protect her and keep it that way.
Hailey had used some sort of floral shampoo, and the scent was sexy as hell as she got closer to him. She’d put on some soft-looking shorts, and seeing her bare legs was sending his mind wandering to all sorts of places it shouldn’t.
It might’ve been a little early to get ready for bed, but he knew she was sick and exhausted. Hell, he was still a little wiped out himself from just getting back from his op. Still, he needed to get back on California time since he’d be back on base in a few days. Staying up late with Hailey wouldn’t be any sort of hardship.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” he asked, looking down at her.
“Only if you like chick flicks,” she teased.
Grayson’s lips quirked. “Hell, with you here in my apartment, I’ll watch whatever you want.”
She sank into the sofa, relaxing. “You don’t have any tea, do you?”
His smile faded. “No, I should’ve grabbed some when I was buying groceries earlier. Soup, tea—that would’ve made sense because you’re sick. I’ll go out and get some.”
“Grayson, no,” she said, grabbing his forearm before he could go. “I’m fine.”
He looked down at her, her hand still resting on his bare arm. Her skin was soft and smooth, gentle against him. Her hand looked so small and feminine against his muscular arm, his chest ached. She was so much smaller and more fragile than him, it appealed to all his base instincts. He certainly had preferred petite women in the past, but Hailey here sent all his protective instincts roaring to life.
He wanted her. Not that anything was about to happen, but his body immediately responded to her touch.
“I want you to be comfortable here,” he said. “I can run out and pick up a few more things. I’ll have one of the guys come by to wait with you so you’re not here alone.”
She took her hand away, and he instantly regretted the loss of her touch.
“I am comfortable,” she assured him. “We can just get some tea next time we go out, or I’ll grab some if I run any errands. I don’t have a car....”
“I’ll drive you if you need to go anywhere.”
“Well, you’ll be at work in a few days. I can take a cab. I’m planning to buy a car soon anyway. I sold my other one before my year in Bagram. It seemed silly to store it and then have it moved across the country.”
“I can go car shopping with you sometime if you want. Are you comfortable to test drive one with your injured ribs?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Not yet. I want to wait another week or two. I’ll just take a cab or use public transportation.”
“Hell no. I’ll drive you,” he countered. “And before we pick a movie, I wanted to let you know that I just got off the phone with T-Rex. Troy,” he quickly added.
“T-Rex?” she asked, her lips quirking.
“Every guy on the team has a nickname,” he said with a chuckle. “Blake is Raptor, because he can move in on the enemy totally unnoticed. He’s legendary at getting in to places sight unseen. And Troy’s nickname T-Rex came about because of Raptor. He can be a scary son of a bitch—only to those who deserve it though.”
“So what’s your nickname?” she asked.
“Ghost,” he said.
“Let me guess—because of your haunting good looks,” she teased.
Grayson chuckled, moving closer to her on the sofa. “Something like that. Nah, I just was always good at moving around places unnoticed,” he said modestly. “We’re all trained to blend in to our surroundings, to be aware and alert. I can move through areas without being detected—grab whatever we need, get out, and nobody even knows I was there.”
“You are observant and intuitive,” she said. “Look how you managed to find me.”
“We have to be in my line of work. But what I was saying about Troy is that the team is going to come over tomorrow. Hopefully the texts you’re getting are nothing to be worried about, but my gut is telling me it’s a problem. I don’t think it’s some sort of dumb prank. You’re being targeted.”
“I never got texts like this before. I mean, sure, I’ll have the stray spam message or something that everyone else gets, but nothing like this. It’s creepy.”
He nodded. “We want to get to the bottom of it. I can’t tell you about what we do on our missions, but you saw us there in Bagram.”
“You’re involved with the bombings,” she said. “Not responsible for them,” she hastily added. “Just there looking for the bad guys.”
Grayson pressed his lips together and nodded. It killed him that he couldn’t say much about it, especially given the fact that she was a DOD employee that had been working there. She had a clearance. But the investigators would probably bring her up to speed soon enough if necessary. And hell. He’d already told her they suspected it was someone in the general’s office given the things that had happened. She’d be asked about her colleagues soon enough.
“Well, enough depressing thoughts for the night,” she said. “We’ll meet with your teammates tomorrow.”
“Yes. And you’ll be fine here, in case you’re worried.”
“I trust you,” she said. “Why don’t we watch that movie. I’ll probably fall asleep or something, but we could start one at least.”
“It’s fine. Sleep, relax, whatever you want. I’m just still in disbelief that you’re here in my apartment after all those nights of talking on the phone. The last thing I expected when I got home from my mission was for you to already be in San Diego. I was looking forward to just hearing your voice, but to see you in person?” He smiled gently at her. “That was a hell of a surprise.”
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” she admitted. “I wasn’t planning to come early, but I guess it worked out in a strange sort of way.” She yawned, and Grayson chuckled as she pulled a blanket up and over herself.
“You’re cute all cuddled up like that,” he teased.
“Just what all women want to be—cute,” she scoffed.
“Hell, sweetheart. You’re beautiful—injuries and all. But I like having you here.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and Hailey willingly relaxed into him. His dick twitched at her closeness, but he ignored it. Hailey was here. Safe. He loved how right it felt just to hold her. She was safe in his arms, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep her that way.
