Hot SEALs: SEAL's Ultimate Challenge (7 page)

“I don’t need help.”

“Well, maybe I do.”

Reaper snorted and stared across the table at Jon. “How can
I
help
you
?”

“Good to see you’re staying in good shape.” Jon nodded toward Reaper’s left arm. “How’s your aim?”

“Are you kidding me?” He waved his stump. “Gone.”

Jon didn’t rise to Reaper’s angry response, continuing with a calm tone, “What about your left hand?”

Surprised by his question and a little curious for the reason, Reaper shrugged. “Not as good.”

“With practice, do you think you could fire expert?”

The image of the paper target passed through his mind. He shrugged. “Maybe.”

Jon’s jaw tightened and he leaned toward Reaper. “I need a
yes
or
no
answer.”

“Yes,” Reaper answered, suddenly sure. The short practice on the range the night before assured him he could do it in a relatively short amount of time. He just hadn’t been ready to admit the fact, still somewhat unsure of his full capabilities. Like Leigha said, he had a lot more going for him than not.

Jon nodded and leaned back in his seat. “I have a proposition for you. A potential job offer.”

Reaper raised his left hand. “If it’s anything requiring me to sit behind a desk forty hours a week, thanks.” He gave a definitive head shake. “But I’m not interested.”

“I don’t need a secretary. Already got one. What I need are trained SEALs who’ve experienced combat and aren’t afraid of being shot at.”

What in hell is he talking about?
“For what purpose?”

“To provide security services to the clients of GAPS. Guardian Ang—”

Again, Reaper raised his hand. “I know what it stands for. But what would I do for GAPS? Mow the lawn, clean the gutters. I can’t see where I’d be dodging bullets while trimming the shrubs.”

Jon laughed. “You wouldn’t be doing lawn maintenance. I need men like you as my agents.”

Anger flared inside Reaper. Jon had to be playing a really cruel joke. “Are you forgetting something?” He waved his stump. “Nobody wants to hire a one-armed bodyguard.”

“Let me handle the assignments. You concentrate on functioning as adeptly with one arm as most men can with two, and I’ll put you to work.” Jon stood. “I don’t have time to stay and chat. I’ll give you a ride back and then I have to head back to Little Creek. You don’t have to give me an answer now. All I ask is that you think about it.”

Reaper climbed into Jon’s vehicle and rode back to his quarters in silence. He barely remembered what he said as he got out of the vehicle. For a long time, he stood on the curb and stared into the distance.

Bodyguard?
Could he do everything a two-armed man was capable of? He thought back to the night before and how he’d fumbled to load rounds into the magazine. Yeah, the movements had been awkward, but he’d done the tasks on his own.

Leigha hadn’t offered to help, and she hadn’t stood by to laugh at his attempts. She’d left him in his booth to sink or swim.

And he swam. Awkwardly at first, but with increasing confidence as he learned how to work with his left hand.

Hope blossomed inside, and he quickly tamped it down, afraid to get too excited until he could prove to himself, he could do it. The only way he would, was to try. He hurried into the building, hoping to catch Leigha before she left for the day.

The rehab center was deserted, the benches clean, and the dirty towels picked up and put away. Disappointed he’d missed her, he stepped out in the hallway and ran into a petite blonde. He reached out to steady her.

“Reaper?” Leigha rested her hand on his chest and stared upward. “You really need to watch where you’re going.”

“Sorry.”

“Did you need something?”

“I need you,” he said, the scent of cotton candy wafting around him.

“You do?” she asked, her brows lowering. “Why?”

“I want you to take me back to the indoor range.”

“Tonight?” She shook her head. “Can’t you find someone else? I might not be the right person to hang out with.”

“Has to be you. You’re the only person who doesn’t let me get away with crap.”

She laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a great recommendation.”

“It’s what I need.” He took her hand in his. “Please. This is important.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she bit her bottom lip. “As long as you promise me one thing.”

Relief shot through him. “Anything.”

She glanced around the hallway before lowering her voice and saying, “You can’t kiss me.”

“Done,” he agreed. “I’ll be strictly business.”

Her gaze narrowed even more, her brows drawing together. Finally, she sighed. “Okay. Let me change into something besides scrubs. I’ll meet you at my Jeep.”

“Deal.” He headed outside to wait. As he looked for her Jeep, he spotted a dark sedan drive out the other end of the parking lot. When the sedan’s tires hit the main road, they squealed, and the vehicle raced away.

Someone was in a hurry to go home.

“I’m ready.” Leigha appeared at his side, dressed much as she was yesterday in jeans and a dark T-shirt with the DCPD logo printed over the left breast in gold. She’d removed the elastic band and let her hair flow around her shoulders in long golden blond tresses.

When she smiled up at him, the realization hit him like a punch to the gut. Damn, she was beautiful, and he was a fool to think he could remain unaffected. Still, he needed her assistance to get him into shape for Jon’s job offer. “I have a huge favor to ask.”

“As if going to the shooting range two nights in a row isn’t big enough?”

“Sorry. You’ll understand when I tell you what the favor is,” he said.

“Come on, you can tell me as we walk.” She took off across the pavement, her strides shorter than his but no less determined.

“I got a job offer.”

She stopped walking and looked up at him, eyes wide. “That’s fantastic. Who? What? Where? When do you start?”

Reaper laughed, feeling hopeful and yet more afraid of failing than he had been going through BUD/s brutal training. “A buddy of mine has a security firm. He said if I can do anything with one hand as well or better than a man with two, I’ve got the job.”

Her brow wrinkled. “Security. Like a bodyguard?”

With a nod, Reaper took off toward her Jeep. “Yeah. If I can drive, shoot, and provide protection as well or better than other members of his team, he wants me to go to work for his company.”

“What kind of men does he have on his team?”

“They’re all former Navy SEALs.”

Leigha whistled. “Wow.”

His stomach clenched. “I think I can do this, if I can learn to use my left hand as well as I used my right.”

“Starting with the shooting,” she finished. “Other than taking you to the range, what did you want me to do?”

He cast a glance over his shoulder. “I want you to be my personal trainer.”

“Wouldn’t you be better off with another SEAL? Does your buddy have agents nearby you could pair up with to work out?”

His jaw tightened as he neared her Jeep and came to a stop. “I’m not ready to run with the pack.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “What kind of training do you want?”

“Full body. Running, squats, weights. Exercises to get me in shape and to get my left arm and hand ready to handle anything.”

“Again, why me?”

He reached for her hand and held it in his palm, staring down at delicate, yet capable, little fingers. “You’re the one who showed me I could do things on my own. You didn’t coddle me, and you won’t let me get away with wallowing in self-pity.”

“A good personal trainer would do the same.”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t look as good as you do in jeans and a T-shirt.” Reaper winked. “I trust you.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “We’d have to work out after I get off duty at the rehab center.”

“Every day.”

“You’ll also need practice driving, if you want to go into bodyguard work.”

“Exactly. I can have my truck brought up from Little Creek as soon as I get clearance to drive from the doc.”

“I don’t know. This arrangement borders on crossing that line between therapist and patient. I could lose my job.”

He held up his hand, palm out. “I promise not to kiss you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Damn right you won’t.”

“So, will you do it?”

She sighed and muttered, “I should have my head examined.”

“Will you?”

“Yes.”

He swept her into his arm and hugged her tight. “Thank you.”

Leigha smiled, her face flushed and pink. “You promised.”

“I didn’t kiss you.” He grinned. “You didn’t say anything about hugging.”

“You’re a tricky bastard,” she said, ducking her head to dig in her purse for her Jeep keys. Once she found them, she moved her thumb to activate the remote locks.

Before the button was pressed, something inside Reaper clicked. He grabbed the key fob, wrapped his arm around her waist, and ran backward with her clutched to his chest. When he was twenty yards away, he set her on her feet.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“Maybe nothing.” He held out his hand. “Let me have your keys.”

She laid the keys in his palm.

He could be crazy but his gut told him better to be cautious than dead. Had he been more cautious in the village in Afghanistan, he might still be part of the SEAL team and digging sand out of his cracks in the Middle East.

The parking lot was nearly empty with only a few vehicles scattered across an acre of spaces and nothing within a hundred feet of Leigha’s Jeep.

“Back up and get down,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Just do it.” His body tensed, his concentration focused on the Jeep.

Leigha took several steps behind him, stopped, and dropped to one knee.

“Lower.” To demonstrate, he got down on his knees and dropped to his belly. “This low.”

Reaper held up the key fob, sucked in a breath, and depressed the button to unlock the doors.

From the distance, he heard the door locks pop up. A pause of two seconds, and then the Jeep exploded in front of them, spewing debris as high as fifteen feet.

Chapter Six

THE CONCUSSION SHOOK the ground. Reaper squeezed his eyes shut, dug his fingernails into the pavement, and waited for the ground to stop shaking.

The scent of desert dust filled his nostrils. The fog of debris surrounded him, and he could hear the shouting of his teammates. Tuck leaned over him. What was he shouting? Reaper couldn’t hear him over the ringing in his ears. And the ground wouldn’t stop shaking beneath him.

“Reaper!” a softer, gentler voice called out, piercing the persistent whining sound. Gentle hands pulled him over onto his back. “Reaper, you’re okay, sweetie. You’re okay. Open your eyes. You’re in Maryland, not the desert. You’re home. Open your eyes.”

He drew on every last bit of his strength to open his eyes. The blue skies above contained no fog of dust. The face peering downward wasn’t Tuck or Big Bird. It was Leigha, her brows puckered, her lips moving.

“You’re okay,” she said.

As the smoke and dust of his memories cleared, he realized the ground wasn’t shaking but he was.

Leigha’s hands smoothed over his left arm and cupped his face. “You saved my life.”

Then everything came back in a rush. He sat up and pushed to his feet, ready to fight.

Sirens sounded, growing closer. People ran out of the hospital and rehab center. Soon, they were surrounded by a crowd.

A fire engine pulled into the parking lot, and firefighters dropped to the ground. Within ten minutes, they had the fire in what was left of Leigha’s Jeep extinguished. Paramedics checked over Reaper and Leigha and didn’t find anything more than minor scuffs and bruises.

Everyone congratulated them on averting a tragedy.

All the while, Reaper stood among the crowd, his head reeling, breathing rapidly, desperate to get away.

Leigha leaned close and whispered, “Come with me.” She took his hand and led him to the edge of the crowd.

A taxi pulled up in front of them and the driver leaned out the window. “You Ms. Fields?”

Leigha nodded. “I am.” She opened the back door and motioned for Reaper to get in, and then she got in beside him. After giving the driver her address, she leaned against Reaper’s arm, holding his hand in hers. Neither said a word. The entire journey to her apartment was conducted in silence.

By the time they got out and Leigha paid the driver, Reaper could breathe normally and the ringing in his ears had quieted. “Why did you bring me here?”

She hadn’t let go of his hand the entire ride, and she wasn’t letting go now. “After what happened, I don’t think I can stay alone in my apartment. And I’d bet you wouldn’t fare any better alone in your room.” Leigha turned toward her building and walked away.

He didn’t move, his hand pulling her to a stop. “You don’t have to do this for me.” God, he was mortified. She’d seen him lying on the ground, shaking like a frightened child. “I don’t need your pity. I’m not afraid to be by myself.”

“You might not be afraid, but I am.” She turned back to face him. “What happened scared the shit out of me. I don’t want to spend the night alone. Please…” Her blue eyes stared up into his. “Stay with me.”

His chest tightened. How could he say no? “I can’t stay.” Reaper felt his resistance crumbling. He had to think of O’Connell. “I’m engaged.”

“I know. I respect that. I’m not asking you to sleep with me. We can keep this purely platonic. I won’t ask you to do anything you would be ashamed of tomorrow.”

“Can’t you call one of your brothers?”

“They have their own lives, three-and-a-half hours away. If whoever sabotaged my Jeep decides I’d be an easy target because I’m alone, my brothers couldn’t get here in time.” She stood for a long moment, staring into his eyes.

Reaper remained standing in the parking lot.

Leigha sighed. “You know, you’re right. I’m asking too much of you.” She gave him a weak smile and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call the cab company and have the dispatcher send around another car. You should go back to your room and video chat your fiancée. I’ll be fine. I sleep with my gun beneath my pillow. I’ll be f—”