| |
––––––––
RYAN SAT DOWN AT THE desk in his home office later that afternoon, frowning. He pulled up the surveillance footage from yesterday afternoon on his computer and scrolled through, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
There was the usual traffic on his suburban street as neighbors came and went. His lips quirked as he watched Sarah pull in the driveway when she arrived home and hop out of her Mini Cooper in her scrubs. She blew a kiss at the camera and sashayed inside.
Hell.
Even when he wasn’t around, she was thinking of him.
He didn’t like that she was alone in the house for days on end when he was stuck on base during an op, but that was life. Having her here was a hell of a lot better than worrying about her in Norfolk. And his men dealt with far worse when they deployed on dangerous missions, leaving their families behind.
He certainly should be able to handle his girlfriend—no, fiancée, he thought with a smile—safe in his own home. He had surveillance cameras. Locks on his doors. He lived in a safe area.
Hell. He had no right to complain when his men literally put their lives on the line.
Ryan sped up the footage, eager to put whatever was bothering him to rest. The only thing appearing out of the ordinary was a dark gray car slowing in front of his house at around eighteen hundred. The vehicle didn’t stop, just slowed enough to make him notice.
Pausing the footage, Ryan zoomed in to see if he could get the license plate. It was most likely nothing, but he couldn’t dodge the feeling that he was being watched when he first got home yesterday.
His phone buzzed on his desk, and he saw Patrick’s name flash on the screen.
“Captain Mitchell,” Ryan said as he answered.
“Sir, sorry to bother you.”
“Is everything all right, Ice?” Ryan asked, frowning.
“When I got home earlier, I mentioned to Rebecca that we all need to be more cautious right now. I didn’t go into much detail, of course, but she mentioned she noticed a car driving around the neighborhood yesterday.”
Ryan’s senses heightened. “A car?”
“It’s probably unrelated to any of what we were briefed on earlier, but I wanted to update you. She’s more aware than most after her stalker incident.”
“What did it look like?” Ryan asked, eyeing the gray car paused on his computer screen.
“A red convertible.”
Ryan nodded, continuing to play the footage. With the gorgeous weather, it was probably someone just cruising around enjoying the sunshine. “Did they stop at the house or do anything out of the ordinary?”
“Nope, she just mentioned it driving around. Are we tracking incidents?”
“Damn it,” Ryan muttered. “We’ll have to. Although I hope none of our families are in jeopardy, we’d be foolish to ignore anything unusual given the circumstances. I don’t like that your names were leaked.”
“Roger that,” Patrick said. “I don’t like a damn thing about it either.”
They ended the call, and crossing his arms, Ryan leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving the screen as he resumed reviewing the surveillance. He hadn’t even changed out of his uniform since arriving home from base, but something was niggling at the back of his mind.
He fast forwarded through the footage, finally seeing the same dark gray car slowly driving by his house an hour later.
It didn’t stop and continued out of the neighborhood.
The sound of the front door opening had him looking up, and a beat later he heard Sarah. “Hi baby, I’m home!” she called out.
He stood, walking out of his office to meet her, and a moment later she was throwing herself into his arms.
He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head as he held her. She smelled of salty ocean breezes, and he wondered if she’d met Morgan for a drink again at their favorite oceanfront bar. “Did you go back to base?” she asked, pulling away to look up at him. “I figured you’d be out there grilling or something since you were supposed to be off this afternoon.”
Ryan scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’ve been home, but I wanted to go over the surveillance footage.”
Her face fell. “Is everything okay?”
Ryan immediately collected her in his arms again. “Everything’s fine, baby girl. I just wanted to make sure. Remember yesterday when I thought someone might be watching the house?”
“Damn,” she said, pulling back. “You’re serious?”
“I’m serious, but I’m just reviewing the footage as a precaution. I had some news on base that made me want to check on things.”
Sarah raised her eyebrows. “What kind of news?”
A beat passed, and he didn’t say anything.
“Ryan, come on,” she said. “You’re freaking me out here.”
“Let’s sit down,” he said, glancing at his computer screen once more and guiding her over to the small loveseat in his office. The footage continued to play on his screen, and he wanted to curse at the damn awful timing. He’d just proposed to Sarah this morning. He wanted to take her into his arms and make love to her all night, not tell her they needed to be extra careful.
She watched the footage from across the room for a moment and then looked up at him.
“Did you find anything?”
“One car driving slowly by the house, but nothing too out of the ordinary.”
“You should’ve told me you were worried,” she said softly, curling up beside him. With Ryan in his crisp uniform and Sarah in her scrubs, her hair pulled up in a messy twist of some sort, they looked as different as night and day. “I would’ve come right home after work,” she continued. “Last night you seemed pretty casual about it all—I mean, we were out naked in the backyard, not hunkered down inside the house or something.”
“Yeah. I should’ve texted you. There’re some things on base going on. The guys just got back from an op yesterday, as you know. They were working with the Mexican government. I can’t provide you with many more details, but the point is, their names were leaked.”
“Leaked?” Sarah asked, looking confused.
“There’s a dirty player down there. We were working with the Mexicans, and one of the officials leaked the names of the SEAL team to the bad guys.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” he asked, crinkling his brow.
“Do they have your name, too?”
Ryan reached over and brushed a stray piece of hair off her face, loving the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingertips. He wanted to duck down and kiss her, to trace along her jawline and maybe kiss that tender spot behind her ear and suck those tiny earrings she had on into his mouth, making her squirm.
Hell.
He was already growing hard imagining her reacting to his soft kisses. Sarah was sensitive everywhere, and he loved touching and teasing her, giving her pleasure.
He cleared his throat, pinning her with a gaze. “They have all our names, baby girl. The government official most likely sold them to the men we were tracking down.”
“But the mission is over, right?” she asked, quirking her brow. “I mean, you caught them and finished whatever you were doing.”
Ryan nodded. “We did. Patrick and the men completed what they were there for. Two of the men escaped from jail though—mostly likely bribed the guards. They’re on the run.”
“So you’re worried they’ll come after us?”
“It’s a possibility, unlikely as though it sounds. We ruined their entire operation. We just all need to be more careful now.”
Sarah drew back, looking confused still. “But you said they were down in Mexico. They’re not just going to fly up here and find us. Even if they know your name, there are lots of military bases around. How would they even know where to begin?”
“I’m just being cautious, Sarah,” he assured her. “I don’t want you to worry. We’ll be a little more vigilant for the time being, but it’s not like we need to stop living our lives.”
“Besides, we need to focus on wedding planning,” she said, relaxing a little.
“Umm-hmm,” he said, leaning closer and loving how her breathing hitched. “We’ll definitely focus on that. And maybe practice a little so our wedding night is unforgettable.”
She giggled but then surrendered to him as he collected her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly, ensuring the only thing on her mind was him.
