Bound & SEAL'D: A Bad Boy Navy SEAL Romance (9 page)

I laugh lightly at him because the whole situation, as tense as it is, cracks me up. I’m still holding my dick, propping myself up against the tree. I zip my pants up and ask “Or what? What could you possibly do to hurt me?”

“You think I’m some weak, low-life loser. You don’t know anything about me. And you sure as shit don’t anything about Lena and I. We had something good. It was perfect. An editor and his writer, ready to take over the journalism world, ready to uncover some of the deepest and darkest truths in our society,” he says.

“Is that before or after you fucked her sister?” I’m walking closer to him and he’s falling backwards. “What is it you’re after with me?”

“I was drunk. But now things are clear. I know exactly where she stands. And I’ve been digging. I’m going to find out
everything
about you. I know something happened over there in Kabul. I know about your leg. I know about your little secret mission and how you left your friends to die back there. It was you and that Bowen guy, right?” When I move forward, he knows he’s gone too far.

I grab his shirt and pull him against me, so he knows just who he’s dealing with. “You’re fighting against the United States Navy, buddy. It’s advisable you stay the fuck away.”

He’s shaking and stuttering his words, but he’s not backing down. He’s seemingly ready to lose it all. “I’ve got informants. You hurt me, they’ll go to another journalist. There’s no running from your past,
Colt.
” The way he says my name is like a slithering snake. I throw him on the ground and walk away. It’s not worth the fight.

“You can’t run!” He yells, “It’ll all come out, sooner or later.” He’s laughing and brushing the leaves off his shirt.

Sooner or later.
Our faces will be strewn across the front pages of every newspaper in America. We’ll be vilified and thrown to the wolves, all because of a misconception. There weren’t cameras, no way to prove what we saw and encountered.

It was a fucking trap out there, and we walked right into the thick of it. Now I’m back in my hometown and it turns out, I’ve walked right back into another set-up.

My phone vibrates and I check to see that Lena’s sent an emoji. A kiss face.

Life is…
Fantastic.

M
y job
, as important as it is, is soul-sucking and mindless at most intervals of the day. I’m stuck behind a cubicle, the sound of a dozen writers clicking away as the clock in the front of the room counts down the minutes and hours of the workday. I took this job so I could break open cases. I wanted to expose all of the hidden bad of this world, to take down those dirty politicians, and end the corruption that lies in the heart of our homeland.

Instead it’s
click
and submit, pray that your story is accepted, and move on to the next. The editors and staff don’t want you to push the envelope because if you do, all of the sponsors will pull out the next day.

“What do you mean I’m off the story?” I exclaim inside of Peter, our bureau chief’s, office. Everyone can see us in here, behind the glass walls. My exaggerated gestures and his calm demeanor. It’s obvious what everyone’s thinking:
don’t tempt the lion. He’ll bite your fucking head off.

But I’m furious. This was supposed to be
my
story and now it’s been stolen from me. “Look, Lena. The story is good, but it needs more. A lot more. Elijah is the editor-in-chief here and he’s got a good lead.”

“Big fucking deal, Peter. I had a lead too remember? Is a veteran who lost his leg fighting insurgent forces not enough for you? What else could you possibly want?” I’m fuming. Cut from my own story. Once again, Elijah has taken everything away from me.

“Are you talking about that same veteran you’re in a relationship with? What’s his name again? Colt? It’s a conflict of interest, Lena. Elijah is writing the piece. End of discussion.”

“Fine, whatever. I guess I was wrong to think this place would ever actually change. You know, what? I’m out of here. Fuck this.” I don’t even wait for his response. One second I’m inside the building with my whole life intact. The next, I’m out on the streets holding my box of things.

Fuck. That may have been the wrong thing to do, but I’m not a girl who runs from her convictions. If they don’t want me to give them my all, then I won’t. I can figure out my own path.

“Wait, Lena! Where the hell do you think you’re going?” It’s Elijah and he’s out of breath from chasing after me. I unlock my car and open the door, setting my things down on the leather in the back.

“What the fuck, Elijah? Can’t you just leave me alone for one god damn second? Or is everything about you?” I ask him. I’m tired. I want to go home and sleep forever in the house I can’t even pay for now that I don’t have a God damn job.
Oh, Jesus. I’m so fucking stupid. How could I be so stupid?

“I just wanted to say… Well, I wanted to say I’m sorry. Okay?” He’s standing away from my door, breathing rapidly. All I can think of is slapping his stupid face. So I do. I actually slap him.

“Okay,” he mutters, holding his reddened cheek. “I guess I deserve that. I probably deserve more too. You can slap me all day if you want.”

“Yeah, you’d like that,” I spit out angrily. I get back in my car and start the engine, but he stops me from closing the door.

“Look, I’ll talk to Peter. You can get your job back. I’m sorry for ever messing with you. What I did the other night wasn’t fair to you. I know that now. I fucked up.” He’s playing some game, but for the life of me I can’t figure what his angle is.

“You mean face-fucking my sister? God damn it, Elijah! When will you realize it’s not always about you? I quit because this job sucks. It’s a huge strain on my passion and it doesn’t allow me to push any kinds of boundaries. This place is a dead end for me.
That’s
why I quit. Happy? You got your way.” I’m practically pulling the hair out of my head. I'm so angry that I'm spinning. Like that carousel the other night, the night I felt so free and happy with Colt, I'm actually spinning. Only this is much more serious.

“This isn't what I thought would happen. This isn't how it’s supposed to go.” He actually has the nerve to start tearing up.

“Yeah, well. That's life. Deal with it.” I am beyond caring about his childish, selfish ways. I'm not his mom. I'm not his caretaker. I'm not going to let him walk all over me like everyone else. I close the car door, put the car in reverse, but he's still not moving out of the way. I honk my horn and roll down my window. “Move it, Elijah.” I'm calm. This time I don't let my anger get the best of me.

That’s when he yells, frantically clutching at my car. “I know you'll see it my way. I'll get you back if it’s the last thing I do.
I love you, Lena Skye!
”

All I want to do is to escape this. I want to run into Colt’s arms and have him protect me. I feel so stupid for acting like he was nothing, like he was just some friend to rest my shoulder on. He was more than that. It's so obvious to me now. Why did I act like such an ass?

I back out and drive away, seeing Elijah’s body disappear into the distance. My breathing quickens to a frightening pace and my chest feels so heavy, like its caving in. It's at this point, I realize I'm having a panic attack. My vision starts to blur and that's when it happens. I lose control.

My car skids off the side of the road and the sudden jump I feel inside my heart, nearly pushes me over the edge. I can't think and I can barely even act. My car smashes into a metal mailbox and rolls into the side of a ditch. Everything turns black.

B
eeping all around me
. Tubes above me. The sound of shuffling feet. From far away, I can hear a man screaming “I need a doctor, God dammit!”

Beep. Beep. Beep.
And then a blinding light flashes in my eyes. “Honey, can you hear me? My name is Doctor Watkins. How are you feeling?”

Confusion sets in. My mind races to figure out what happened with me. Am I dying? Is my body intact? “Doctor? What? Where am I? What happened?”

She glances at her clipboard and writes something down. “Patient is disoriented,” she says to herself. “That's normal. Don't you worry. Everything is fine. You were in a car accident, but you only suffered a minor concussion. You're lucky. He found you in a flipped over vehicle.”

I try to get out of bed, but she hurriedly stops me and tells me I need to rest as much as possible before she can let me leave. “
Who
found me? What're you talking about.
Ouch
, my head.”

I stop struggling, already feeling completely exhausted. There's no use in fighting. I crashed my fucking car. It's probably totaled now. I'll have to pay a fortune. My insurance will go through the roof.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!

“He found you,” she says, pointing at the window to the room.

Colt. That handsome face stared back at me and he gave me a short wave. “You're lucky he did too. He's a smart guy. He knew exactly what to do and carried you in here. Is he your husband? We couldn't find your information.”

“No,” I groggily say. A smile pushes its way onto my face. “He's a…” I want to say the word friend, but decide against it. “He's the guy I'm seeing,” I admit.

She smiles and raises her eyebrows at me. “Well, you both are lucky to have each other. He's pretty savvy. Don't hate me for saying this, but he’s—”

“Hot?” I interrupt her. “Yeah, he's smoking.” We both laugh and she taps her clipboard again.

“Well, I think everything looks okay. We just need you to rest for a bit. Do you feel good enough for that right now?”

“Please. Send him in,” I say, smiling even though my head is throbbing.

“Okay. Don't get too naughty in here. The key word here is ‘rest.’” She laughs and opens the door, calling Colt in the room.

He walks in with a few large shopping bags. “How you feeling?” he asks, as the doctor closes the door on us. “You really gave me a scare back there.”

“I'm okay. My head hurts a little and I'm kind of disoriented. More than anything, I'm just embarrassed. I can't believe I flipped my car. I don't know how you found me,” I say. I'm just grateful I'm even alive. It seems like a blessing just to be able to talk to Colt again.

He reaches out and touches my hand. “I was headed to the hardware store to pick up some parts for my welding. I saw your car and did what I had to do. It was lucky, that's for sure.”

“You weld? Is that for real?” I laugh and clutch at his hand. He's hot and all, but this is the first time I actually feel something more. It feels good. And also makes me kind of sick to my stomach.

He can feel it too. I can tell when he squeezes back. Three times, like it’s Morse code. Our own language. “What? Is it weird that I weld?”

I place my hands over my mouth and try not to giggle too loud. “Kind of. I mean, not really. Like, you make
art?”

He lets go of my hand and gets defensive. “First you think it's weird that I read, now you think it's weird I make my own art. I guess now you know. I'm a total anomaly. A true outsider. Anyway, I got you something. It was for us tonight and I didn't want to let it go to waste.” He reaches into the bag and pulls out a big container of fresh cooked food. Pulled pork, biscuits, and collard greens. It smells delicious, but I don't think I can stomach anything right now.

“Shit,” I mumble, “our date. I forgot. I'm so sorry, Colt.”

“So it
was
a date? I knew it. I knew you had a crush on me!” He gives me a devious grin and suddenly I feel like a giggly school girl all over again.
Keep it cool, Lena,
I have to tell myself.
Can’t let him get too cocky.

“Before you say anything,” he continues, “I have a feeling you'll be a bit too dizzy to eat anything. So I thought ahead and got you this.” He reaches into the bag again and pulls out a
huge
box of assorted chocolates, complete with a teddy bear and single daffodil.

My mouth hangs open and I start to tear up. I can't say anything, so he clears his throat and says, “I know. It’s kind of cheesy. Flowers and chocolates. And I may have picked that daffodil over at the park, but I was kind of rushed and thought you might like it.”

My cheeks flood with tears. There's no holding me back now. I'm way too emotional. “That's… The… Nicest… Thing anyone’s… Ever… Done for me!” I say in between sniffles. Outside the room I can see Julie cheering me on. I have no idea when she even got here, but my heart feels strangely full for once.

“So, how ‘bout we break you out of here. Don't worry, you can get all the rest you need. But I figure you'd be more comfortable in a nice bed,” he says, smiling. “My bed.”

“Colt!” I laugh, but grab his hand. “Yes, get me the hell out of here.” He looks around and makes for the door. Julie knows exactly what's going on and immediately distracts any doctors around. She's yelling some lie about her not getting the right treatment and suddenly all eyes are on her as we make our escape out of the hospital.

“Let's go!” Colt lifts me into his arms and I curl my hands around those bulging shoulder muscles of his. He's so damn hot, so perfect that I find myself kissing his neck. He doesn't say a word but as he sets me gently into his truck, I see his bulge against his jeans. “Alright, pretty lady. Hold on tight. We’re out of here!”

It wasn't long before we were winding through the woods, making our way to his elusive cabin. “Here we are,” he mutters softly. Of course, that’s when the memories hit me straight in the stomach.

“Oh, God,” I moan.

He looks at me, seemingly perplexed. “Shit, did I mess up again? Should I have brought you to your house?”

“No, you're fine,” I shake my head in distress. “It’s Elijah.” I gulp loud enough for him to hear. The look in his eyes is fear, mixed with complete and total frustration.

All he said was “Tell me what happened.”

“It's fine, I’ll deal wit—” He cuts me off before I can even finish my sentence.

“Tell me what happened. I'm not trying to be overbearing. I'm done with that, okay? I just want you to be safe,” he says. “Besides, I saw him last night. He's off his head, Lena. Seriously.”

“What?” I ask. “You saw him? Why didn't you tell me?”

“I was going to tell you during our little interview but I ended up saving you from a flipped vehicle. Sorry,” he laughs and opens his door. “I was walking home last night from Bowen’s and the guy completely stalked me. He came out of nowhere and started talking to me about my tour over in the desert. He's the one, Lena. He's the guy who left the note.”

I get out of the car, but nearly stumble over the weight of what he's telling me. “God. I should have known it was him. He's psychotic!” I scream.

“Yeah, well. Don't worry about him too much. I'm going to take care of everything.” He opens the door for me and I quickly fall onto his comfortable bed.

“I want to sleep forever. To just close my eyes and never wake up.” My mouth’s buried in the pillow as I utter those words.

He sits down next to me and strokes my hair, putting his other hand on my shoulders, tickling in circles. “It's going to be okay. I promise you that.”

“You don't understand,” I say, flipping around to face him again. “I quit my job.”

His expression hardly changes. I thought he would grow angry or silent, but he’s just continuing to make me feel better. “Good. You can take the story elsewhere. You've got an inside scoop right here.”

“But I'm in so much debt. I've got the house and Julie, who's also apparently losing her mind, and now my car. I'm so fucked, Colt,” I sigh loudly. “I used to have my head on my shoulders. Now I don't know what to do anymore. I've lost it. I've completely lost all control.”

He gently kisses the top of my forehead and whispers “Sometimes you have to lose control to figure it all out again.” I look at him like he has no idea what he's talking about. Lose control? Me?
Never
. “I'm serious. What happened in Kabul almost made me lose it forever. I came back and hid out. I built this cabin and hardly went into the city. Bowen is my only fucking friend and his wife pities me. But then I met you and things got a little brighter. It'll all work out soon enough, Lena. Until then, you've got me to fall back on.”

How does he know exactly what to say when I'm down? Does he really like me as much as he lets on? I grunt and place my hands on his chest. “You're a bastard, Colt. You know that? A genuine bastard,” I laugh. “But I like you. A lot.”