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COLTON MUTTERED A CURSE as Hunter and Camila left, leaving him standing alone in the front office. Hell of a way to welcome her to the U.S.—by sending her to live with his teammate.
What the hell did he expect?
It’s not like she’d fall into his arms and bed after she realized what had happened in Miami. Sure, he’d rescued her down in Bogota—he’d never regret that. If anything, it killed him that there were other women out there missing. Helpless.
But Camila?
Helpless was the last word he’d ever use to describe her. Maybe they’d get back on good terms—eventually. It was possible she wouldn’t even stay near Little Creek though. It was a damn big country. Maybe she wouldn’t move back to Colombia after everything that had happened, but Miami? The west coast? There were a hell of a lot of options that didn’t involve living anywhere near him.
He shoved open the door to the office and stalked down the hall to the locker room. Maybe an hour or so of lifting weights would help clear his head. At least give him something to focus on aside from her.
He jogged down a set of steps and turned the corner and spotted the Alpha SEAL team coming into the building, gear in hand, just back from their deployment to the Middle East. He nodded at Patrick, the leader of the Alpha SEALs, and Evan “Flip” Jenkins, who was walking beside him.
“Ice,” he said as the other team’s leader came to a stop in front of him. “Good to see you guys are back.”
“Heard you just made it back from Bogota,” Patrick said, dropping his heavy duffle bag to the ground. He looked tired but happy as hell to be home. And who wouldn’t be in his position? He had a wife, couple of kids, and new baby on the way any day now.
“Affirmative. We didn’t get Miguel but ended up with his daughter instead.”
Patrick’s cool blue eyes gazed at him. “I heard. Look, we’ve dealt with all kinds of crazy kidnapping situations between the men on our team and their girlfriends. If your woman needs anyone to talk to, let me know. I can connect her with one of the other wives or girlfriends.”
Colton resisted the urge to groan. “She’s not my woman. Hell, she’s staying with Hunter and Emma because she won’t even talk to me.”
“Been there, done that,” Patrick assured him with a chuckle. “Seriously. If Camila needs anything, give me a call. Rebecca and the others will be more than happy to chat with her. Well, maybe not Rebecca since the baby is due any minute. But Lexi, Ella,” he said, naming the girlfriends of some of his SEAL team members. “They’d be more than happy to help.”
Both women had been kidnapped in different situations. Lexi when she was tracking down hackers attempting to infiltrate Little Creek’s Top Secret databases, and Ella when she’d worked as a cocktail waitress down in Florida.
It was almost damn hard to believe the amount of trouble the Alpha team had been through if Colton hadn’t witnessed some of it with his own eyes. He hadn’t been here at Little Creek when Lexi was taken, but when Ella was still in Florida, Colton had been stationed in Pensacola. Some of the guys on the Alpha team had come down, and when it turned out that Brent “Cobra” Rollins had a thing for Ella, he’d come down to bring her back to Virginia with him, never knowing she’d been kidnapped by some men her sleazy boss had dealt with.
There was never a dull moment with either of the SEAL teams.
Evan cleared his throat. “Maybe you didn’t know, but Ali works at the hospital where Camila was taken when you arrived in the U.S. I only chatted with Ali briefly while we were gone, but she went to check in on Camila when she was there.”
Colton nodded. “I appreciate it. She’ll need some friends here to lean on if she decides to stay.” He eyed all the gear they were hauling in. “Get going. I’m sure you’re both ready to get home to your wives and kids. Girlfriend, I mean,” he said, glancing back at Evan.
“Fiancée,” Evan said with a grin.
“No way!” Colton said, clapping him on the back. “Congrats man. Another one bites the dust, huh?”
Patrick chuckled. “Hoorah. Some of the guys were giving Evan a tough time on the flight back, but hell, you know we wouldn’t have it any other way.” He said goodbye before turning and walking away, no doubt eager to get home. Evan grabbed his buzzing cell phone from his pocket, talking quietly to Alison as he also left, and Colton was left standing there alone in the hall as the other men moved on to go about their lives.
He pushed open the door and walked into the locker room, changing from his fatigues into his PT gear. An incoming text on his phone had him doing a double take.
Camila’s a mess. I give it 24 hours before she’s calling you.
Colton thumbed a response to Hunter.
Is she okay?
His phone beeped with Hunter’s reply a moment later.
She’s scared of her own shadow. Can’t say that I blame her after what she’s been through.
Colton muttered a curse. He pressed the “call” button beside Hunter’s name on his phone.
“Hell man, is she all right?” Colton asked. “What do you need me to do?”
Hunter cleared his throat. “It’s tough to say. She burst into tears as soon as Emma gave her some clothes. Maybe she’s overtired and overwhelmed from it all. I’m just saying—she’ll probably be more comfortable around you than Emma and myself.”
Colton felt his chest tighten. Damn it. Should he go to her? He was trying to give her space. She’d been mad as hell on the flight back to the States. The last thing she needed was another man pushing his way into her life—not that he hadn’t already done exactly that down in Miami.
“Call me if I should come over,” Colton instructed. “I’d like to give her a little space, but hell. If she’s upset and needs someone, you know I’ll be on my way.”
“Roger that,” Hunter said.
The two men said their goodbyes, and Colton slammed his locker door shut before stalking off to lift. If she needed him, he could be there in minutes. There was no sense in upsetting her more than she already was though by showing up unannounced on her doorstep.
Making more of a mess of the situation
It was amazing how something so simple could be so fucking complicated at the same time.
***
CAMILA GLANCED AROUND the spare bedroom, taking in the bags of clothes Emma had purchased for her. They were piled atop the floral bedspread, but aside from a dresser and nightstand, the room was relatively bare.
“I hope you’ll be able to use some of this,” Emma said in her British accent, brushing a strand of red hair back behind her ear. With her pale skin and green eyes, she was as opposite in looks from Camila as one could be. She moved around the room with practiced efficiency, sorting what she’d bought and carrying another bag into the bathroom.
“Toiletries are in there,” Emma said, pointing to the counter. “There are spare towels for you to use as well if you’d like a nice long bath.” Camila watched her mouth in fascination as she pronounced the word. Camila had an accent as well of course when she spoke English. It was amazing how the same language could sound so very different depending on who was talking.
“Thank you,” Camila said, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
She had literally nothing to her name at the moment. No clothes. No money she could access. No home.
“I’m used to traveling light for archeological digs,” Emma said. “I don’t do as much of that anymore of course. Hunter said you’re used to a quite different lifestyle. As soon as everything is sorted, I’m sure you’d like to purchase your own things. This is just to tide you over.”
“I don’t have anything right now, so this is perfect,” Camila assured her. “I need something to wear, no?”
“That’s absolutely right,” Emma said. “So, let me know if you need anything else. We can pick up some foods you like at the market—grocery store,” she amended. “But if you’d like a nice cup of tea now or biscuits, let me know.”
“Biscuits?” Camila asked in confusion.
“Cookies,” Hunter said from the door with a chuckle. He took a step into the room, taking a swig of the beer he was holding. For some reason it reminded her of Colton, and tears smarted her eyes. She was intruding on Hunter and Emma’s life—a stranger with nothing to her name at the moment. It seemed that they’d just gotten this house together. And now she was barging in because she had nowhere to go.
“Everything all right?” Hunter asked.
“I think she just needs a moment,” Emma assured him, walking over and taking his hand. Hunter towered above her petite frame, and Camila watched as they walked away. Hunter pulled out his phone to text someone, and Camila’s gaze fell on the phone sitting on the nightstand.
Colton was just a phone call away if she needed him. Not that she needed a man in her life, but despite her anger toward Colton, she still felt like he’d protect her if she needed him. He’d protect her life, she thought as she considered it. He didn’t seem to have any reservations about trampling right over her heart though.
