Her Loyal Seal (16 page)

“We have two Marshalls who patrol the house outside and two who are inside. I’m upstairs with Lydia’s parents. I’m the last line of defense. It always came down to how well they’ve kept things under wraps. What the Marshalls didn’t know is that I had put motion sensors on all of the entry points around the house, as well as one at the bottom of the stairs, since the Hidalgos and I stayed upstairs.”

“Trust issues much?” Clint asked.

“Grogan seemed like a decent guy, but his organization is too big for him to know for sure he still didn’t have bad apples.”

“Okay, so you have the motion sensors. Then what?”

“I have the alarm set up on my phone. I knew as soon as we were breached. I got the Hidalgos into the bathroom tub. Two men were on their way upstairs by the time I got them secure. One was Mike, I didn’t recognize the other. I dispatched them. When I got downstairs, I saw the other Marshall, Law Henson, were dead. I went outside. There was a van waiting. I took those motherfuckers out. They had already killed the other two Marshalls who patrolled outside.”

Clint heard the fatigue in Finn’s voice.

“Are you going to be able to rest?”

“Soon. Where are you headed?”

“Orlando.”

“Okay, I’ll text you with your accommodations.”

“Bullshit. I’ll figure it out. You just rest.”

“Hey, you figure out the computer shit, I arrange things. We all have our strengths, me I’m the team’s version of Hotels.com. After I’m done I’ll get back on the road, and then when we get to Minneapolis I’ll get some shut eye.”

Clint relaxed. Letting Finn take care of these types of things made life better.

“Hey, Clint? Let’s wait for a couple of days for Lydia to talk to her folks, okay?”

“I agree. Thanks Buddy.”

****

Clint paced the floor of the suite at the Four Seasons in Orlando when a soft knock finally came. He glanced at the closed door where Lydia was sleeping before he answered the knock.

Darius and Drake nodded as he ushered them in.

“Nice digs. Who did you have to rob?” Drake went to the window and pushed back the curtain so he could look down at the view below.

“You have to ask? This is definitely Finn’s doing.” Darius opened the suitcase he brought in.

“Finn had to spend some time assuring me he wasn’t compromised and this reservation was secure.” Clint hated to question his team mate, but after the shit that went down in Tampa, he couldn’t be too careful.

“Where’s Lydia?” Drake asked as he peered over Darius’ shoulder.

“She’s sleeping.” Clint pointed towards one of the closed doors in the suite.

“Are you sleeping double?” Drake asked as he took out one of the guns from the suitcase.

“Jesus, Drake, is nothing sacred?” Darius exclaimed. Then he lowered his voice and looked at Clint. “So are you?”

“You two are nothing but gossipy old ladies.”

“Inquiring minds want to know.”

“I asked her to marry me and she said yes.”

Drake pulled out his phone and tapped on it. “Fuck!”

“What?” Clint asked.

Darius laughed. “Drake just realized he lost. Mason won the pool, right?”

“Yep. He called it.”

“You guys were betting on my love life?” Clint looked at his laughing team mates as they checked out the guns and ammunition they were pulling out of the suitcase.

“Yep, it was Drake’s idea,” Darius said.

“You bet I was going to propose?”

“Fuck yeah. There wasn’t a doubt in any of our minds, it was just a matter of when.” Drake put the Beretta in the holster he was wearing.

Clint shook his head in wonder. “Where did you get the hardware?”

“Finn arranged it. A retired SEAL met us outside the airport.” Darius shut the suitcase and walked over to the table where Clint had his computer set up.

“So walk us through what you have planned.”

“I’m sick of being on the defensive. We need to take this to them. Lydia knows these guys. As soon as her father told them he contacted the DEA she started her own investigation. Everything was lost when she was kidnapped. Then the Marshalls kept her off the net while in the safe house, but since we’ve been together she’s been able to put it all back together and then some.”

“So how do we go on the attack?” Drake asked as he rubbed his hands together.

Clint shared a grin with Darius.

“Ricardo Hidalgo is set to testify against two DEA agents. The DA is still hoping one if not both of them will agree to turn and implicate Guzman. Once we have Guzman, we should have the link between him and the Congressman.”

“And that’s the reason Guzman is trying to wipe out the Hidalgos. Because he knows if the DEA agents turn, both American and Mexican officials will have what they need to take him down. We know this, so tell us something we don’t know,” Drake demanded.

“Lydia damn near did a colonoscopy on Guzman.”

“She couldn’t have gotten more than the task force they’ve had in the US and Mexico,” Darius protested as Clint started to pull up files on his laptop.

“What she has is remarkable, and trust me, it was more.” Clint’s fingers flew over the keys.

“How is that possible?”

“They had people on the inside who were on the take. They were sabotaging the investigations. Lydia might have launched quite the analysis, but she didn’t hack into the Mexican and US files. When I did, she was easily able to point out the missing information. It’s obvious there is someone in each government who is tampering with the accumulation of evidence against Guzman’s cartel.”

“So what do you want to do?” Darius asked.

“I want to topple Guzman’s organization. I want to make it so not everything depends on the DEA testimony.” Clint turned his computer around so both men could see the pictures of Guzman and Sylvan Carter, the Congressman from Texas.

“But won’t they still want the testimony so they can implicate those DEA agents?”

“Yeah, it will still necessary, but there won’t be worries of reprisals if Guzman is out of the picture. So no more shit about the Witness Protection Program for Lydia’s family.” Clint slammed his finger against the image of the drug lord.

“What about Lydia?” Drake asked. “Were you going to join her in the program?”

“If I had to, I would. There is no way I would live my life without her. But we talked, and she wants to live a life outside of the program, even if she has to give up seeing her family. Damn guys. She’s willing to give up her mom, her dad and her sister, to stay with me.” Clint’s voice broke.

They were all silent for a moment.

“Obviously the woman is touched in the head,” Drake said, trying to lighten moment.

“Don’t hate,” Darius said. “One day some woman might be able to put up with your brand of bullshit.”

“What are you talking about? Women love me.”

“We’re not talking the ones who hang out near the base and trip you to the floor. I’m talking about a woman with self-respect and a brain. Trying to get someone like that to overlook your archaic beliefs about a woman’s place is going require a miracle.”

“What the fuck are you talking about Dare?” Clint watched as Drake took actual offense to Darius’ teasing. He tried to smooth things over.

“Look, you’re my wingman when it comes to understanding a woman’s mind. You know how they tick. You can cajole them out of the worst mood, and most times get them eating out of your hand. But you have to admit you tend to want women to stand behind you, not beside you.”

“Fuck yeah, I do!” Drake pulled on Clint’s shoulder and he shoved from his chair to stare at his friend.

“What’s your problem, Drake?”

“There’s nothing the fuck wrong with me wanting to protect women. I don’t care whether it’s my sisters, my mother God rest her soul, Mason’s fiancé Sophia, your Lydia or the woman I’m going to marry. Women need to be protected. They are the most precious gift on Earth.”

“Jesus Drake, I’m not disagreeing with you, Lydia is my world.”

“Well then, you need to find someplace for her to hide, a hole so deep she can never get out until all of this over. She should not be trying to find Guzman! She’s not fucking trained!”

“Drake, it’s so good to see you again.” They all looked up to see Lydia standing in the open doorway. She was wrapped in the bed’s down comforter, her black hair tumbling all around her. She looked young, delicate, and in need of protection. Maybe Drake was right.

“Baby, I’m sorry we woke you.”

“You didn’t, Drake did.” She walked over to where Drake was standing, the comforter dragged on the floor behind her.

“I can’t decide if you need to be kicked in the nuts or need a hug.”

Drake just stood there with a cold and forbidding look on his face.

“I’ve been listening to the shit you’ve been spouting. I don’t know what happened to a woman you loved in the past, but you can’t wrap all of us in cotton wool.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Drake snarled at Lydia.

“Drake, I will happily pay the hotel cleaning charges to beat the hell out of you if you don’t start speaking to Lydia with the utmost respect.” It took everything Clint had not to take a swing at his friend, but he knew Lydia would kill him.

“All I’m saying is I know you mean well.” Lydia continued staring at Drake. “If I didn’t know your intentions were good and honorable, I couldn’t stand being around you. But you
do
mean well, so that means we are going to have to figure out how to work together.” She gripped the comforter even tighter. “I might not have military training, but I’m capable of assisting in this investigation. My father is the reason you all are involved, and I demand to be part of the solution.”

“Lydia, you almost died yesterday,” Drake’s voice was pained, almost pleading. “Clint loves you too much to deny you anything. But I have more perspective. You stay here, and we’ll go to the front lines so to speak.”

“No.” Her voice quiet and firm.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘no’?” Drake looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language.

“I mean where Clint goes, I go.”

“You’ll be a liability.”

She turned all of her attention to Clint. “Will I? Because if I will, then I’ll do what Drake suggests. I would never let my pride put you in harm’s way.”

He pulled her into his arms, carefully making sure the comforter stayed in place. He was pretty sure she was naked underneath, and he sure as hell didn’t want to share all of that beauty with Darius and Drake. He used the moment to formulate his answer.

“Lydia, as long as you listen to what I say, and stay put when I need you to, then this will work out fine. You already know I think all the information you provided is invaluable. What’s more, as things start to escalate I think you staying on top of your network of sources will be critical.”

She pressed closer to him.

“You are so fucking pussy whipped, Clint.” Drake groaned.

“You are so fucking jealous, Drake.” Darius laughed.

****

Lydia watched out of the corner of her eye as Clint let himself into the room they shared.

“Why are you getting dressed?”

Lydia stood up straight and tried to unobtrusively adjust herself into the cups of her bra. Apparently it wasn’t working, because Clint was staring.

“I’m getting dressed because we have guests.”

“Huh?” How in the hell could a big man move as fast as he could? He was suddenly in front of her staring down at the light blue silk of her underwire bra. Men were obsessed with breasts, that’s all there was to it.

“I’ll be out in a minute, why don’t you go back out there with Drake and Darius.”

“They’ve left.” He slipped the straps of her bra down her arms.

“I thought they were staying in the suite with us.”

“According to Drake, Finn knew we would want privacy.” She leaned her forehead against his chest. She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or thankful. She’d figure it out later. She tried to lift her arms to start unbuttoning his shirt, but her arms were bound to her sides by her lingerie. Lydia began to unlatch her bra, when Clint stayed her hands.

“Leave it.” He bent and picked her up and placed her on the huge bed. He had a wild look in his eyes. She’d seen it on and off since the shooting. There was no hint of her playful lover.

After the conversation with Drake it all made sense. Clint was holding on by a thread. He had the exact same instincts as Drake, he wanted to hide her away someplace safe. He just hid his caveman side better than Drake did. Last night probably terrified him.

She tried to lift her arms to offer him solace, but once again realized she was trapped by the straps of her bra.

“Please let me take this off.”

“On one condition,” Clint said. She never heard his voice so deep before. It was as if it was coming from a place deep in his core.

“What?”

“You do whatever I say tonight. I almost lost you and it’s eating me alive. Will you do this?” Damn, she could see he was unsure, and it about killed her.

“Clint, we’re still new to one another. But know this. Whenever it is within my power to give to you, I will always provide what you need.” He framed her face, his eyes assessing, finally he nodded. Peeling off her bra, he took her hands so they touched the suede headboard.

“Keep your hands there, okay baby?” Lydia swallowed and nodded.

Clint got off the bed and stripped, then slid her panties down and off her legs. He stood beside the bed and looked down at her for long, long moments.

Lydia’s nipples tightened and her mouth watered as Clint’s erect flesh came into view. She was pretty sure tonight wasn’t just about making love for Clint, it was about him needing to claim her. For her, it was an affirmation of life.

She never saw men battle before. Hearing the gunshots, seeing the dead body in their bedroom, and then having Clint go outside had frightened her to death. Intellectually she knew he was a capable soldier, a SEAL, but she was scared out of her mind he was going to die. This was their first time to really be close again, and she needed everything he could give her.