Saved by a SEAL (Hot SEALs Book 2) (11 page)

CHAPTER 13

Missy
opened her eyes and tried to see the time on the bedside clock. It was later than she’d thought, but that wasn’t a surprise really, considering. She stretched and the pull of sore muscles reminded her of the time she’d spent with Zane the night before.

The only thing that could have made the night better would have been if she’d woken with him next to her this mornin
g. Maybe next time . . . which would hopefully be tonight.

T
hey’d have to find somewhere they could spend the whole night together.

The fantasy of what that might be like played out in her mind. She imagined waking
to the feel of Zane’s hard body pressed against her.

Of course, s
he’d be late for anything she had planned for the morning were she to wake in a bed with Zane, but that was fine with her. Missy had begun her leave from work a week early to get ready for her trip so she had no schedule to keep.

The thought of leaving had her saddening for the first time since she’d planned the trip she’d been so excited about. That had been before Zane. Now, the three-month separation seemed like an eternity.

The memory of his goodbye kiss had her sighing. The subsequent memory of their time together in the bathtub jolted her into an even stronger reaction as desire coiled low in her belly.

He
had done things with her, to her, she’d never dreamed of. And all in her boss’s house . . . and bathtub. Missy felt her cheeks heat, but the shame didn’t last long. Zane had cleaned up behind them. Her boss need never know.

The fact Mina
was also a friend as well as her boss made Missy itch to call her, to interrupt her friend’s vacation and tell her everything, like a schoolgirl.
That
Missy couldn’t do. Not without revealing how she’d used her key for purposes other than watering the plants.

She wante
d so badly to talk about Zane to someone, anyone, but even better would be talking
to
him. The solution to fulfilling that urge was simple. Missing him already, Missy reached for her phone.

He’d dropped her off after midnight.
He’d kissed her, said goodnight, and waited for her to open the front door before speeding away into the dark.

At that time of night
, it would have been crazy for him to drive all the way to Virginia Beach where his base was. He must have gone back to his parents’ house to sleep.

That would be perfect. Then they
could spend the day together . . . and hopefully the night.

His number was still in her incoming call
s. As soon as she hung up with him, she’d have to remember to save his number to her contacts list. Just the thought had her smiling. She was obviously easily pleased, even with the most mundane things when they had to do with Zane.

She hit
the button to make the call and waited for him to pick up.

He did after just a couple of rings.
“Alexander here.”

His very official-sounding greeting, delivered in a deep voice he must reserve for his Navy business, had her smiling. Just hearing his voice warmed her. She resisted
the urge to giggle like a girl.

It didn’t matter how you
ng or old a person was, the first blush of a new relationship, when love was new and exciting and held boundless potential, was the best feeling in the world.

“Hi. It’s Missy.”

“Missy.
I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize the number.”

“That’s okay.”
This was all so new for both of them, he obviously hadn’t saved her number to his phone yet either. “So how did you sleep?”

“For the few hours that I actually slept? Very well, thank you. You?” he asked.

“Fine. I just woke up. What are you doing right now?”

“Right now
, I’m in a meeting.”

That explained his very formal, official sounding tone of voice.
“With your father?”

“No. I
came home . . . I mean home at the base, not at my parents’ house.”

Missy frowned, not liking that answer. “Oh. I didn’t think you’d want to drive so far last night. Or did you go back early this morning?”

“I drove back right after dropping you off. I’m pretty good at functioning on little to no sleep. That comes with the military.”

She didn’t know what to say in response, she was so thrown by the fact he’d left without telling her. Yes, he’d mentioned he was leaving when he
’d picked her up before they drove to the river, but she’d assumed that after what happened between them, his plans would have changed.

“So what’s up?” he asked. She had been silent for so long, he must have felt the need to prompt her.

“I just wanted to see what plans you had for the day. I leave in four days.” She felt the need to remind him of that fact.

There wasn’t very much time for them to spend together before she left. If he wanted to see her, it would have to be now, or at least during the next few days.
Of course, maybe he didn’t want to see her. That doubt had her feeling sick.

So did the overly long pause in the conversation before Zane spoke again.
“Missy, you’re going away for three months.”

“Yes. I know.”

“I’ve been through this kind of thing before. Between deploying and training, it seems as if I’m always leaving to go somewhere, sometimes for months at a time.”

“Okay.”
What was he saying to her? That three months would fly by and she shouldn’t worry?

“
Chances are you’re going to have spotty communications where you’re going, if any at all.” She opened her mouth to contradict him. To tell him that the school had told her that they had both a phone and internet, but he didn’t give her a chance. “I really think it’s better if we just agree to say goodbye now and not prolong it into a long drawn out thing.”

Wow. No more beating around the bush.
His words were like a sledgehammer to her skull. His feelings as clear as day. What they had had been a one night thing and now it was over.

“Oh.” She was in such shock
, Missy couldn’t come up with any other response.

After another long
, uncomfortable lull in the conversation where neither of them said a word, Zane said, “I’ll talk to you when you get back. Call me when you’re stateside again. We’ll catch up.”

Catch up meaning go back to just being friends? Or, in true Zane Alexander fashion, see if he’s in the mood for a repeat
of their one-night stand?

So that was what it
felt like to be on the receiving end of one of Zane’s booty calls. Missy now had the honor of joining the many other women in the not-so-elite group of Zane’s past lovers. It sucked.

“Okay. Bye, Zane.” A glutton for punishment, she hung on, waiting for him to say something
. To take back all the hurt.

“Bye, Missy.” He disconnecte
d the call without another word as Missy sat with the phone in her hand, still reeling.

~ * ~

Zane put his cell down on Jon’s kitchen table and glanced up at his friend. “Sorry about that. Okay, so back to options for possible financing.”

Jon raised a brow. “Wait a minute. Give me a second to recover first.”

“Recover from what?”

“That phone call. Damn, that was harsh.
I’ve never been witness to this end of one of your relationships before.”

Zane frowned
, particularly annoyed at Jon’s emphasis of the word relationship. His friend should know by now that Zane didn’t do relationships. “What are you talking about?”

“I’v
e been around to watch you sweet talk women right into your bed, but I’ve never been there for the big dramatic finish at the end. You know, the dumping afterward.”

“I wasn’t dumping her. There was
no relationship to end.”

“She know that?”
Jon sent him a doubt filled look.

“Of course
, she did.” Zane answered Jon, but in reality, he wasn’t so sure.

He’d never promised Missy anything, but w
omen with far less of a personal connection to him than Missy, had in past assumed that one night together meant they were on the road to happily ever after.

Zane had
made the assumption that he and Missy were on the same page, but he’d never spelled it out for her. Between her initiating their kiss in the car, and then her undressing him at her boss’s house, there really hadn’t been a good opportunity to discuss expectations or the future.

In his experience, those kind of discussions tended to be a mood killer. Bastard that he was, Zan
e usually didn’t want to risk ruining what could be a hot night. It seemed easier to just clear things up the next day, if necessary.

That had always worked for him before, but
none of those women had been a childhood friend. He sighed. Yes, he was a dickhead. Maybe Missy would realize that and be happy she’d dodged a bullet. She’d only be bound for heartbreak by trying to build something lasting with him.

Zane was
incapable of being one half of a happy couple. With no experience, and no interest in getting any, what hope did he have of making a long-term relationship work?

None.

He glanced up at Jon. “Do you want to talk about my track  record with women or about finding the money to get GAPS off the ground?”

“
Can’t we do both?” Jon’s grin made Zane want to knock the cocky expression right off his face.

“Joke all you want, but w
e’re both running out of time, you know. We’ve got to either turn in our separation papers or reenlist, and soon.”

Getting out
of the military without a firm plan of what to do next didn’t sit well with Zane, but neither did re-upping, which would push their plans for GAPS out for years while they waited out the new contract.

The wh
ole situation was starting to give Zane a headache. “Fuck.”

“Was t
hat in reference to the company or the girl?”

Zane let out a frustrated breath
at Jon’s question. Truth be told, it was a little of both, but to fix the mess he’d created for the company, he’d have to forget about Missy. He pushed the guilt and memories away, put Missy out of his head, and grabbed the pad of paper and pen on the table.

“There’s only one thing that’s important. Funding GAPS. Is it after ten yet? I’m calling the firm that handles my trust fund. We need some expert advice on financing.”

“Trust fund?” Jon’s eyes popped wider.

“Don’t look so excited. The principal is
locked down tight. I can only draw on the interest, but I’m hoping by some miracle there’s a loophole about borrowing against it.”

Jon drew in a breath. “Dude, I really owe you for all you’re doing.”

“Shut up. We’re equal partners. I’m doing it for me.” Besides, Zane hadn’t done anything yet except fuck up his father’s investment and break an innocent girl’s heart.

He reached for his phone
to call his lawyer. Maybe he’d be able to fix one out of two problems he’d caused.

CHAPTER 14

Missy drew in a swallow from the bottle of water. It had already been a long day and
she wasn’t done yet. It felt good to be able to take a break for the basic necessities, such as cold water and a trip to the bathroom.

“Thank you so much for helping
me monitor the exam today.” Diana, a volunteer from Great Britain, sat opposite Missy in the teachers’ break room.

Missy waved her coworker
’s thanks away with the flick of one hand. “Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”

“No, it certainly is
not. You came here to teach English, not proctor a physics exam for your desperate friend.” Diana was about Missy’s age and they had indeed formed a friendship over the past weeks.

Missy laughed. “As long as you don’t need me to teach physics, we’re good.” Besides,
it wasn’t as if she was otherwise occupied. Certainly not with contacting Zane.

Nearly a month aft
er the fact, that sore spot now caused more of a dull ache than the sharp pain it had immediately after that night . . . and that phone call.

“I was surprised so many girls missed the exam
, though.” Missy focused herself back on work, which was what she’d been doing since she’d arrived at the school in North Eastern Nigeria.

“Sadly, I’m not.”

Missy frowned. “You’re not?”

“No. There’s a lot of unrest in this region. There has been for years,
but recently it seems to be escalating. It’s not surprising more and more parents are opting to pull their daughters out of school.”

“Escalating how?”

“Abubakar Skekau, the leader of the Boko Haram, put a video on the internet a couple of days ago saying girls should not be in school. That they should be married instead . . . at age nine.”

Missy couldn’t believe her ears.
“Nine? That’s crazy.”

“
Believe me, I agree. Unfortunately, he has a legion of followers in the organization who believe he takes his orders directly from Allah, and they are willing to do whatever Shekau says, including killing and kidnapping. Fear of the Boko Haram is enough to frighten many people.”

“What
exactly is this Boko Haram?”

“They’re an
Islamic organization against the Westernization of the country.”

“T
hey sound like nut jobs to me.”

“Well
, they’re jihadist nut jobs—as you say—who have the backing of Al Qaeda.”

Though she hadn’t heard of this Boko Haram before today, Missy had
most definitely heard of Al Qaeda. No wonder Zane had acted so concerned about her coming to Nigeria. At least, he’d pretended he was concerned on the date he’d been required to go on with her in exchange for his father’s deal.

That memory brought with it a good dose of anger, which
helped with the hurt. Knowing the history and the issues between Zane and his father, and that he’d backed out of the deal rather than lie to her, she would have had no problem forgiving him had things worked out with them. But now, after he’d had sex with her and then given her the big heave ho on the phone, that initial deception seemed like just one more mark against Zane.

Missy
had made the decision that day in her bedroom to put the mess with Zane behind her. Lesson learned, albeit one that took her a bit too long to grasp. The cutest boy at the country club did not grow up to be the best match for the starry-eyed young girl who followed him around like a puppy. She’d finally learned that lesson and learned it well. Zane was one scar she’d carry forever. Missy only hoped it would continue to fade with time.

A
s far as her decision to come to Nigeria, the reality was there were small groups of violent radical factions in every country, including the United States. Missy had volunteered to teach at a government secondary school located in a Christian village. It seemed unlikely the school or the village would even be on the radar of some Islamic terrorist organization. Besides, she’d been there almost a month and nothing more exciting than the ever changing weather had happened during that time.

C
oming from winter in Virginia to Nigeria, where temperatures topped ninety degrees with eighty percent humidity and lots of thunderstorms, had been pretty eventful. Then there had also been Missy’s first attempt at learning how to tend the beehives the school maintained. But even that had ended uneventfully, with not even a bee sting.

Diana glanced at her watch. “Ready to go back?”

“Yes.” Not really. Proctoring an exam had to be one of the most boring jobs on earth, but it was time to get back to work.

The aft
ernoon was rapidly ticking away and the students had yet to take the second half of the test. The one consolation was that Missy was sure the girls, all in their final year of schooling, were less anxious to get back to the testing room than she was.

Boredom. That was th
e main danger in Chibok, that and insanely frizzy hair from the humidity. Otherwise, Missy expected that would be all she had to worry about for the remainder of her stay.