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GRAYSON GLANCED AROUND his living room at his teammates. All five other men were there, Raptor even coming back early from his camping trip. He’d brought Clarissa along, too, and she and Hailey were sitting on the balcony sipping cups of tea. Grayson didn’t even know if she was usually a tea drinker like Hailey, but she’d seemed to want to put the other woman at ease and had immediately started talking to her about San Diego and life out here on the west coast.
He shook his head, stunned for a moment as he watched them. A couple of months ago every guy on the team had been single. They’d head out to bars on the weekends, maybe take home a woman for the night. It had been a few months since he’d been interested in that. After his last fling had fizzled out almost immediately, and he’d seen what Raptor had with Clarissa, he knew he’d eventually want something more.
And then—bam. He’d seen Hailey when they were in Bagram and felt like he’d been hit with a bolt of lightning. Sure, he’d been instantly attracted to women before, but this was different. She wasn’t like the types who chased after the guys on his SEAL team and bedded every man they met. She was special—intelligent, independent, maybe a little shy, with the way she blushed as he flirted with her, but damn. Something inside him had immediately stood up and taken notice.
It was crazy how fast it had happened, but he was falling for her. Hard.
He’d taken more time to get to know her than just about any woman he’d been with in the past. And he hadn’t even slept with her yet.
“They seem to be getting along,” Blake said in a low voice.
“I’m glad,” Grayson admitted. “Hailey could use some female friends out here. She doesn’t know anyone. And of course I’d want her to get along with your woman.”
“Yep. I take it things are already getting serious if she’s staying here with you.”
Grayson blew out a breath. “It’s crazy fast.”
“And when you know you know,” Blake replied.
“She seems happy chatting with Clarissa though. It’s always tough not knowing anyone.”
“Same for Clarissa,” Blake said. “I know she’s befriended some of our neighbors, but she left everything behind in Texas.”
“Is she moving out here permanently?” Grayson asked, eyeing his teammate.
“If I can convince her to. She’s talking about teaching classes online this fall. If she’s happy, I’m happy. I guess she could teach at a university out here, but for now, she seems to like the idea of keeping her old job and doing the virtual class thing.”
“Well damn. Good for you guys,” Grayson said.
He set his plate down on the coffee table, five empty pizza boxes scattered around. The men had all shown up hungry, and Grayson had been happy to order lunch for everyone since they were here to help Hailey. They may have just gotten back from a mission, but his friends had dropped everything to be here.
“So what’s the latest?” Troy asked, getting down to business now that everyone had eaten.
Grayson filled them in on the texts, including the most recent one this morning.
Ethan glanced over at him. “She looked scared out of her mind,” he said in a low voice. “I hate that some asshole is terrorizing a woman.”
“And we’re sure it’s related to Bagram,” Troy said, frowning.
“It seems most likely,” Grayson said. “Shit goes down there, she’s injured and flown home, and then suddenly a week later she’s getting these texts?”
“It’s suspicious as hell,” Blake said. “I assume someone is looking into the numbers?”
Grayson nodded. “I spoke with the CO, and the IT guys on base are aware. They’re spoofed though—all random numbers. It doesn’t give us a damn clue about where they’re coming from.”
“Do you think whoever is sending them knows she’s here?” Jackson asked, leaning closer. “If so, that poses a whole new layer of problems. She shouldn’t be alone.”
“Which is an issue in and of itself because she’s starting her new job,” Grayson said. “She can stay here with me as long as she needs. I told her we’d get her apartment set up so it’ll be ready for whenever it’s safe. Hailey’s lease starts next week, and she has movers, but I’ll go with her to supervise.”
“So we’re assuming this is tied to the traitor,” Logan said, glancing around. “Did the CO give any indication that they’ve narrowed that down?”
“They haven’t. The investigation into the bombing is still ongoing. Two women are still missing. It sounds like Hailey will be interviewed soon, along with everyone who was working in the general’s office.”
Troy let out a low whistle. “That’s a hell of a lot of people.”
Grayson nodded. “Unless they’re using a computer, they’re not texting her from Bagram though.”
“So you think they’re working with someone?” Jackson asked.
“Maybe. Or they were there for a short period of time, like us, and already home.”
“Or their deployment was up,” Blake commented. “They could’ve been there all along but were part of a team coming back stateside.”
“This is fucked up,” Troy muttered. “All of it—the bombing, the tip-offs regarding our op, the text messages.”
“I think it’s all tied together,” Grayson said.
“Maybe something will come out of the interviews,” Jackson mused. “Someone will know something or have noticed someone acting suspiciously.”
“That’s my hope,” Grayson said. “But in the meantime, I need a way to protect Hailey.”
The men sat around discussing strategy for the next half an hour, going over how to best protect her now that she was out in San Diego. By the time he’d finished meeting with his teammates, Grayson felt somewhat better. They all had his back, which meant, they had Hailey’s as well. He didn’t like that he’d met her under these circumstances, but he’d do whatever he needed to make sure she was safe.
