Defender (Navy SEALS Romance Book 4) (7 page)

“
B
ird is in the air
,” Michael said through his headset. Knox nodded grimly, watching the helicopter’s progress via GPS on one of his screens.

“Roger that, be careful out there,” he responded. “Head to the same coords as the last call. The wreckage site has some shifting debris, though, so don’t think you’ve overshot it or anything. You’ll find the boat taking on water over the site.”

“Copy that. How many victims?”

“Four crew members, two divers. The divers are surfacing but have to take their time to acclimate on the way up. Should be up by the time you get there. Just deploy them a raft and hold your position ‘til another vessel makes it to your twenty.”

“Roger.” Mike switched his mic to the channel in his team’s headsets, relaying the information.

“So a cake walk?” Tanner asked with a smirk. “Great. Now that we’re in the life raft delivery business, we could just branch out into dropping off more sunscreen for fishermen who forgot theirs. Oh, maybe we could start bringing fresh ice and cold drinks to tourists who forgot to pack a cooler!”

“Cute, Tanner. Don’t get silly, we don’t know what we’ll see out there. If those divers recovered the flight recorder from the downed plane, they may want us to bring that to land.”

“So nobody’s injured? Then why am I here?” Madison mouthed, turning to Angel and covering her microphone.

“You gotta log so many flight hours to stay under the insurance,” he answered with a grin. “Besides, you get to hold my hand the whole time. That makes it all worth it, right?”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help laughing as she went back to watching out the window for any sign of their target.

* * *

J
ake flew around his apartment
, throwing on yesterday’s clothes in his hurry to get to S&R. Veronica sat up in bed and pulled the sheet up around herself, watching him scramble to get out the door.

“Should I just… let me get out of the way,” she stammered, not wanting to slow him down but not presuming to be in his apartment when he wasn’t home.

“No, take your time,” he said, coming over to her side of the bed and kissing her quickly. “Just do whatever you do, and I’ll call you later. Lock the door whenever you leave, okay?”

“Got it,” she answered, nodding as he left. She looked around his apartment and felt awkward all of a sudden, wondering how she’d gotten herself in so deeply in such a short amount of time.

All the way to headquarters, Jake’s mind raced with thoughts of Veronica. He noticed the change in himself immediately; racing to a call he’d always felt this grim sort of adrenalin rush, but today he felt a sense of focus like he hadn’t experienced in ages.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Knox said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet on the desk when Jake finally raced into the office.

“Where’d they go? I can take the boat and be on the water in three minutes,” he said, panting and reaching for his gear locker.

“No need, it wasn’t a high priority call. Just one of the salvage boats taking on water. Our guys are already within visual range.” He tried to sound bored, but Knox knew that every call had the potential to turn fatal in the blink of an eye. He tried to sound disinterested when he asked, “So what was the holdup? Couldn’t find your keys? Or was the traffic bad out there?”

“Cut the shit, Knox, you know I was at home… and you know why,” Jake replied, shooting him a look. “I never miss a call, you know that, I just needed some slack today—”

“I know, I’m only giving you a hard time. And hey, we practically threw you in that girl’s arms the other night, so we don’t have any right to complain that it turned out better than we thought!”

“Yeah… if only that was true.” Jake paused and looked around, then sat on the bench across from the command station. He unloaded the truth before he even realized what he was saying.

“So that’s it? She’s gonna relocate, and this is all behind us?” Knox asked, gauging Jake’s reaction. Jake only nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice and tidy, and maybe we’ll get back in the field as a result. Too bad I don’t give a shit about that if it means you’re unhappy.”

“What? I’m not, I’m not unhappy. I want to go back to duty.”

“Right… but the only way that happens is if you drop Veronica and let her take the heat for this.”

“Yeah, but it’s for the best, right? Everybody gets back to work, she goes on to a new commission somewhere, and that’s it.” But even as he spoke, his voice trembled slightly until he had to cover his emotions with a cough that didn’t fool Knox.

“Dude, you can’t lie to me. I’ve known you for too long. And you’ve got it bad for this girl! If the only way the team goes back to work is if you have to rip your own heart out and leave it behind, I would say forget it. We had a good run, we’ve got a good thing going now with S&R, and that’s the end of it. And I know the other guys would say the same thing.”

“Are you kidding? For the chance to get back in the field, I would physically remove
your
heart and leave it behind!” Jake teased, but Knox saw right through him.

“You wouldn’t have to. Because I wouldn’t ask it of you, and none of the guys would, either. We’ve all got a good thing going, and if any one of us had to sacrifice our families or our girls for a job, we wouldn’t do it. So if this thing between you and Veronica turns out to be serious… then that’s it.”

Jake was silent, processing not only the thoughts swirling around in his head, but the sentiment from his own team. Knox was right; the others were happy, and Jake was staring that same kind of happiness in the face. All along he’d fought against what he thought he wanted but couldn’t have, but now that the chance was within reach, he realized it might not be the only happiness out there.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Jake reached to pull it out. He read the text from Veronica with mixed emotions:
It’s done. Report submitted. New assignment requested. Dinner one last time?

He typed back:
Yeah, but it won’t be the last time. I promise.

T
he weeks
of waiting had been brutal for the team members at S&R. All of their lives were in limbo—waiting for word from the Navy, waiting to see where Veronica would be transferred, waiting to see what this meant for Madison and all the other important women in their lives—and tensions were high as a result.

With Tanner serving as crew chief that week, he issued a stark but welcomed command: “There’s no training this week. Sleep in, walk somebody’s dog, go feed the ducks at the pond, have lots of sex, whatever. Just don’t be here at 5AM. You’ve earned a break and we’re all ready to snap.”

The first threat to come unraveled was the status of the SEAL Team. There was no official word, only an offhanded reply sent at the bottom of one of Veronica’s emailed reports:
Good intel, glad to see they’re together and keeping up their training. No status change at this time.

“I’m so sorry, guys,” Veronica said when she told them over dinner. “I did everything I could.”

“We know,” Angel finally answered, patting Madison’s leg reassuringly. “And we appreciate it. But hey, if it’s not in the cards right now, we just keep doing our thing and giving it our all.”

The others nodded dejectedly, trying to look on the bright side. Madison, Hannah, and Taylor tried to look supportive, all while secretly feeling the rush of relief from knowing that their lives weren’t going to be thrown into upheaval, at least not soon.

“But, I’ve got just the thing to lighten the mood,” Angel said, clearing his throat and looking around at his teammates’ somber expressions. He signaled the waiter to bring over a tray with glasses that he’d already prepared, no matter how Veronica’s announcement turned out.

“As you guys know, Madison and I go way back. We dated for years, and we knew that someday we’d get married, and with our genes we’d have a lot of gorgeous kids. And then the Navy kind of changed our plans. But I am absolutely the luckiest guy on Earth for finding her again.”

Madison smiled, her vision blurring slightly as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.

“And I gotta say, S&R is damn lucky to have found her, too. You’re kind of incredible, Maddy, and I don’t know where any of us would be without you on our team. But as for my team, my own personal team, there is no team without you on it.”

Angel reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box, and set it on the table in front of him. No one moved or made a sound, not even to breathe.

“It’s taken a really long time to come full circle, but Madison… I love you, and I would be the happiest man alive if you would agree to be my wife.”

All eyes turned to Madison as she stared back at the table full of her friends’ shocked expressions. The tears she held spilled over as she nodded.

“Yes! I will!” she whispered, unable to catch her breath. The others broke out in applause as the waiter set a glass of champagne in front of each of them.

“Oh, thank god, ‘cause that would have been really humiliating if you’d said no!” Angel laughed before pulling Madison in for a kiss.

After their celebration, Jake and Veronica left the restaurant hand in hand, walking along the beachfront back to her apartment. The waves crashed softly in the background and the lights from the pier shone ahead of them, making the perfect backdrop for a nighttime stroll. Veronica rested her head on Jake’s shoulder, enjoying the perfect bliss for as long as she could before she had to ruin it.

“The announcement from higher up wasn’t the only message I got,” she began, waiting for Jake to figure out her meaning.

“Your transfer,” he simply said.

“Yeah. I got my new orders, I report for duty next week.”

“Okay, give it to me straight. Just how far do I have to go when I go AWOL and show up unannounced?”

“You would do that?” she replied, standing up taller and looking at him. “You would want to come see me?”

“Of course!” Jake answered, stopping and turning to face her. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time, I can’t even remember feeling like this. The last few years of my life have been a blur of gun shots and killing and trying to save people and not always succeeding… you’re the best thing that’s come into my life in a long time. I just hope that wherever they send you, we’re still possible.”

Veronica kissed him for a long time, the reassurance she needed to hear wrapping around her as tangibly as Jake’s arms. She finally stepped back and smiled up at him proudly.

“I’ve been assigned to Point Loma.” Veronica waited anxiously for Jake to react.

“Point Loma? As in, half a mile that way?” he asked, pointing to the ocean. Veronica laughed and grabbed his arm, redirecting it towards the bay.

“Well, that way. But yes, about half a mile.”

“Why didn’t you say so? I’ve been worried sick but trying not to be a jerk about it in case you got assigned somewhere really far! You’re gonna be stationed straight across the bay?” He was torn between excitement and irritation.

“It’s complicated,” she admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t want to be ‘that’ girl, bouncing into your office one day and announcing that you’re stuck with me… if that’s not what you wanted.”

“Not what I wanted? Why wouldn’t it be? This is the best news I’ve gotten in a really long time!” he answered, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before crushing her against his chest. “Of course it’s what I want… because you’re what I want.”

“Even if you’re a selfish driver who parks wherever he wants, and I’m an idiot who keeps hitting you with my car door?” she teased.

“Yes on the parking, no on the car door. And you really only hit me that one time. The other time was barreling into me while I was running.” He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leading her further down the beach towards home.

“I’m not exactly saying you didn’t deserve either of those things…” she began, then stopped.

“But?”

“No buts. I’m just not saying you didn’t deserve it,” Veronica said haughtily. She screamed with laughter when Jake scooped her up and threw her over his shoulders, heading straight for the water. “Noooo! Don’t you dare! Put me down!”

“Oh, put you down? Okay!” he said all too happily, letting her fall almost to the surface of the water before holding her back up and cradling her close to his chest. “Sorry, I was just doing what you said. I thought you wanted me to put you down.”

“Never,” she answered, turning serious. “Never let go of me.” Jake leaned down and kissed her softly, holding her even tighter.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

C
opyright
© 2016 by Rachel Hanna

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