Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii Book 3)

by Susan Stoker

  “He was being helpful,” Carly insisted.

  “You can protest all you want, but it’s obvious you guys are more than friends,” Kenna said.

  Carly sighed. “I’m the worst judge of men. The worst. I thought Shawn was amazing when we met, and look how that turned out.”

  “So, what, you think if you don’t actually date Jag that he won’t turn out to be a jerk?” Lexie asked.

  “Something like that,” Carly said a little defensively.

  “He won’t,” Elodie and Lexie said at the same time.

  Everyone laughed at how they were on the same page.

  “It’s just that I hate having to constantly look behind me. To see if Shawn is following me,” Carly said.

  “Is he?” Kenna asked with concern.

  “Not that I can tell. But I did see his son on the beach at Duke’s the other day.”

  “Wait, wait, wait! Shawn has a son?” Kenna asked.

  “I never mentioned that?” Carly asked.

  “No, you certainly have not. How old is he?”

  “Twenty-two.”

  “Wow, so almost your age,” Kenna said.

  “Yeah. And I think that’s why he definitely did not like me dating his dad. I guess Shawn was married briefly when he was twenty or so. They had a son, his wife dumped him and left him with Luke, and Shawn raised him. I was impressed with that when I first met him. Until I realized they don’t have the healthiest relationship.”

  “In what way?” Elodie asked.

  “It’s just…odd. Like they’re best friends, rather than father and son, yet really close. Which I don’t have a problem with, but Luke still lives with Shawn. And they do everything together. I can’t really explain it, but it’s just…weird.”

  “Should you report Luke?” Lexie asked.

  Carly shrugged. “I don’t have a protective order against him. And he didn’t even look my way. He was just sitting by the pool.”

  “Which is odd in and of itself,” Kenna said.

  Carly shrugged. “Anyway, that’s why I’ve given up men. I don’t want to live the rest of my life thinking that one of my exes, or their children, are waiting for the right moment to leap out at me with a machete or something, since I’m clearly the worst judge of character. I’m done with dating.”

  “You aren’t the worst judge of men,” Ashlyn said. “I could give you a run for your money. I moved to Hawaii because of a guy I met in a bar. I thought he was awesome. I uprooted my entire life by coming here. Then I found out he was looney tunes. Trust me, you don’t own the market on hooking up with crazy men.”

  Ashlyn and Carly shared wry, commiserating smiles.

  Kenna took a deep breath and held up her wine glass. “A toast!” she said, probably a bit too loudly, but she didn’t give a shit at the moment.

  “A toast!” everyone else said immediately, holding up their glasses.

  “To good friends. To our men—and yes, they’re all our men, no matter what you two will admit to or not,” she added, giving both Ashlyn and Carly the stink eye before continuing. “And may the bad guys hurry up and die or give up or whatever so our SEALs can come home.”

  “I’ll toast to that!”

  “Amen!”

  “Hear, hear!”

  “Drink up, bitches!”

  Kenna almost spit out her drink at Ashlyn’s words. She swallowed, then laughed along with everyone else.

  After polishing off another three bottles of wine, and long after the sun had set, they all decided it was time for sleep. They wandered inside and headed off to their respective beds for the night.

  Other than Marshall not being home, Kenna was happy as she prepared for bed. She had a group of friends she’d really bonded with, a job she enjoyed, and nothing had come out of the note that was left on her car. It had been over a month, and she hadn’t heard hide nor hair of the asshole who’d smacked his son at Duke’s. Like most bullies, he’d gotten his jollies over trying to scare her, then had slunk off into the night.

  Yeah, things were definitely going well…except for missing her boyfriend.

  Kenna lay in Marshall’s bed, cuddling his pillow—which still held the slight scent of him—and stared out at the stars she could see through the windows. She had no idea what time it was where Marshall and the rest of his team were, or what they were doing, but she prayed they truly were all right. This being with a SEAL stuff wasn’t for the faint of heart.

  The women in the condo certainly made the deployment easier, and once more, Kenna kicked herself for not getting them all together before now. Next time, she’d be sure to suggest a sleepover sooner.

  Next time…

  Would there be a next time?

  Yeah, Kenna was pretty sure there would be. Unless something drastic happened, she had a feeling she and Marshall would be together for the long haul.

  “Please don’t let anything drastic happen,” she whispered, then closed her eyes. The room was spinning and she already had a headache, but Kenna wouldn’t change anything about the night.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Fuck,” Aleck muttered as he and the rest of his teammates stumbled toward the plane in Germany that would take them back home. It had been six weeks since they’d left for Iran. Six long, hard, frustrating, and grueling weeks.

  They’d been dropped miles away from where intel on the American they were sent in to rescue claimed he was located. They’d done a HALO parachute drop, high altitude, low opening, into the Iranian mountains. From there, they’d hiked through the wilderness for days, doing their best to stay off anyone’s radar, which meant moving a lot slower than they might have otherwise. They’d finally located their target and had extracted him without any issues—but at the last minute, they’d been spotted.

  They’d had to flee with the civilian they’d rescued back into the mountains. It had been another couple of weeks before they were able to make their way across the border to Iraq. Which didn’t mean they were clear to head home. They’d had to lie low for a while, then there were video meetings with their superiors and intel they’d needed to pass on about Iran.

  The entire team had been on guard for six weeks, their adrenaline on overload. By the time they’d finally been able to start preparations to head back to the States, everyone was more than ready to go home.

  But they’d done what they’d set out to do, rescued a fellow American. Not that the man was very grateful. He’d bitched and moaned the entire time they were on the run, trying to get out of Iran so they wouldn’t all be tossed into a prison cell with the key thrown away. The man had slowed their escape considerably—not that they hadn’t expected that part—and hadn’t muttered even one thank you before he was taken away by medical personnel to be checked out.

  Aleck and the rest of the team didn’t do what they did for thanks. They did it for their country, because it was the right thing to do…but a tiny bit of appreciation, or at the very least respect, would’ve been nice.

  Now, they were simply too exhausted to be overly bitter that the man hadn’t been grateful for their efforts.

  They’d been flown to Germany, where they were switching planes before heading to Hawaii. No one had wanted to stay overnight, even though it would mean a comfortable bed and a shower. They just wanted to get home.

  Aleck couldn’t fucking wait to see Kenna. He’d worried about her more than he probably should’ve, considering the focus required for his job. He’d been gone much longer than he’d expected. Was she okay? Had she decided she couldn’t handle dating a SEAL?

  Feeling so unsure about a relationship wasn’t something he’d really dealt with before, and Aleck didn’t like it.

  He collapsed into a seat and Mustang grabbed the one next to him. The plane wasn’t crowded, which Aleck appreciated. Hell, the other military men and women headed home probably did too, considering his team had come straight from the field after not partaking in a proper shower for the last six weeks.

  “You okay?”
Mustang asked as he got settled and after the plane had taken off.

  “Exhausted, dirty, impatient to get home and see Kenna, but yeah, otherwise good,” Aleck said honestly, no hint of the smart aleck in evidence.

  “Same,” Mustang said with a nod. “Except I want to see my wife instead of your Kenna.”

  Your Kenna. Damn, that sounded good.

  “Though, you don’t look all that happy for a man who will get to see his girlfriend soon,” Mustang observed.

  “Can I ask you something?” Aleck asked.

  “Of course. You can always ask me whatever you want.”

  “Things were pretty intense between me and Kenna when I left Hawaii. We went from one to a thousand really quickly. I mean, I was thrilled about it, and I think she was too. But we hadn’t slept together yet—damn Huttner and his bad timing.” Aleck paused to snort and shake his head. “But anyway, I haven’t talked to her in six weeks. The first week was the hardest, because I’d gotten used to texting and calling her every day. Hearing her laugh and listening to her talk about work somehow made my day better.” He paused for another moment.

  But he didn’t have to even ask Mustang what he was worried about. He knew.

  “And now you’re worried that because you’ve been gone so long, things won’t be the same when you get home,” Mustang finished.

  “Exactly,” Aleck said with a relieved sigh that his team leader had pinpointed exactly what was bothering him.

  “You want me to be honest, or do you need me to tell you what you want to hear?” Mustang asked.

  “Honest. Always.”

  “Right, so there’s a chance that both of you got caught up in the heat of the moment. That your hormones took over. You might get back and things won’t be the same. She’ll seem distant. You both got used to not talking, and it might be hard to pick up where you left off. Hell, she could’ve met someone else in the last six weeks, for all you know. Someone who isn’t in the military and won’t leave without being able to say where they’re going or how long they’ll be gone.”

  “Damn,” Aleck breathed.

  “You told me to be honest,” Mustang reminded him.

  “I know. And I appreciate it. But that sucks.”

  Mustang chuckled. “It does. But I wasn’t done. I was going to add that you might find you’re even closer because of the time you spent apart. They do say that absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

  “Who the hell is ‘they’ anyway?” Aleck muttered.

  Mustang laughed again. “Who the hell knows. Do you trust Kenna?”

  That was easy. “Yes.”

  “And how do you feel about her, now that you’ve been gone?” Mustang asked.

  “I miss her. She has a way of making me see the positive aspects of life. And she’s made me really think about some of my beliefs. I grew up without having to worry about money in the least, and while I try really hard not to let that affect me now, it obviously still does. She calls me on my bullshit, in a nice way. I also like that we never run out of things to talk about.”

  “Well, you did only know her a few weeks before we left,” Mustang said with a snort.

  “You know what I mean,” Aleck told his friend.

  “I do. Because I feel the same about Elodie. I don’t really have any great advice other than to see where things between you stand when you get home. Are things awkward? Is she thrilled to know you’re back? Does she make excuses as to why she can’t see you? Does she seem reticent? All the worrying in the world isn’t going to help. You’re just going to have to assess the situation when you see her again.”

  “Shit. I was hoping you had some awesome advice that would magically make me feel better,” Aleck grumbled.

  “Wish I did, man,” Mustang said. “Here’s the thing. I like Kenna. And the chemistry between the two of you is obviously electric. I have good vibes about her. I have a hunch the second you see each other, you’ll know if her feelings have changed about you…and yours about her.”

  “I hope so. And for the record…thanks for taking out that tango before he could put a bullet in my brain. I don’t think Kenna would’ve been too happy about that,” Aleck said.

  “Fuck you. You know you don’t have to thank me for that,” Mustang said. It had been right after they’d liberated their target and were slipping away from the prison where he’d been stashed. They’d been spotted, and Mustang had taken out a guard before he could get off a round—straight into Aleck’s skull—and alert the rest of security.

  Aleck knew he didn’t have to thank his team leader, but now that he had a pretty damn good reason to get back to Hawaii in one piece, he felt the need. “You sound like Tex,” Aleck said with a grin.

  Mustang burst out laughing. “God forbid. That old bastard never can take thanks, can he?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then you’re welcome,” Mustang said, still grinning.

  “You know who else reminds me so much of Tex?” Aleck asked.

  “Who?”

  “Baker.”

  “Shit yeah, he does,” Mustang agreed.

  “You heard from him lately? After going to New York on Elodie’s behalf, has he said anything else about that?”

  “Nope. As far as I know, the mob is content to stay in their corner of New York and Elodie’s still in the clear. Baker is hanging out at his place on the North Shore, surfing as much as he can as he tries to outrun his demons.”

  “Do we know what happened with him to make him such a hermit?” Aleck asked. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but I think it had to do with his SEAL team. Something happened, the team broke up, and he retired not too much longer afterward. And I think he likes being alone. But I also truly believe that helping others is what’s keeping him sane.”

  “Midas said he thinks there’s a woman he’s interested in,” Aleck said.

  Mustang whipped his head around to stare at Aleck. “Really?”

  “Yeah. He doesn’t know her name or anything, but when he brought Lexie up to the North Shore to meet him, a woman pulled up in a VW van, and Midas said it was like a switch was flicked. He totally ignored him and Lexie and headed for her.”

  “Interesting,” Mustang mused. “I hope it works out for him. I’ve never met anyone who needs someone in his corner as much as Baker does. He knows everyone, has some pretty scary contacts, yet he doesn’t seem to let anyone get too close. This may sound sappy as fuck, but now that I’ve got Elodie, I know firsthand how a good woman can be life-changing.”

  Aleck couldn’t keep the amused grin off his face.

  “Fuck you,” Mustang said with no heat. “Just wait. When things get even more serious with you and Kenna, you’ll understand.”

  Aleck’s smile dimmed. “I already do,” he said softly.

  “It’ll get worse. Wait until after you’ve been inside her,” Mustang said, without sounding lecherous. “There’s something about being with the woman you love that completely changes you. And in my case, having Elodie in danger seemed to flip my switch. I know it’s cliché to feel like she was a damsel in distress who I rescued, but…there it is. She’s mine. Body and soul.”

  “Well, I can do without having to rescue Kenna. Hell, she’d probably just rescue herself. She’s pretty self-sufficient,” Aleck joked. “But I’m totally down with being inside her.”

  Mustang nodded, then sighed and rested his head on the seat back.

  “Thanks, Mustang,” Aleck said. “I’m just so impatient to get home and see her, and it occurred to me that she might not feel the same.”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. I’ve found that sleeping makes the time go by faster,” he said as he closed his eyes.

  “Wow, you aren’t being subtle at all,” Aleck told his friend.

  Mustang grinned again, but didn’t open his eyes.

  Deciding to follow his lead, Aleck did his best to get comfortable on the not-so-comfortable seat. He closed his eyes
, and even though he hadn’t slept more than four hours in a row throughout the last six weeks, he couldn’t seem to make himself do so now. He was too keyed up. Too anxious. He prayed Kenna would be glad to hear he was back.

  After way too many hours traveling, Aleck was finally in Honolulu. He and the rest of his team had debriefings they needed to take care of, but for the rest of the day, they were off duty. Tomorrow afternoon, they’d go to the base for just a few hours, and the next few days after, they’d be working eight-hour days until every single minute of their mission had been accounted for. Then they’d finally get a few days of R&R to decompress before starting their usual routines all over again.

  As he walked through the parking lot to his car, Aleck had only one person on his mind. Kenna. He hadn’t called her yet—he was scared to. Him, a deadly Navy SEAL, was fucking terrified to call his girlfriend to let her know he was back safe and sound.

  If she said she was too busy to see him, or that she hadn’t handled his deployment well and wasn’t interested in a relationship any longer, it would destroy him.

  Looking at his watch, Aleck saw that it was three in the afternoon. She might be heading to work, anyway. He also wanted to look his best when he saw her. And right now, he was anything but. His beard was even longer than it had been in the picture he’d shown her, and he felt as if he had sand and dirt ground into every pore. He needed a long, hot shower, a shave, and something to eat that wasn’t a damn MRE.

  His bright Jeep wasn’t hard to spot in the small parking lot reserved for military personal and civilians with access to the base, and simply seeing it made Aleck smile. He and the rest of the team had retrieved their keys and phones out of storage, and he clicked the fob to unlock the doors as he approached his Jeep.

  Something caught his eye on the windshield. After stowing his duffle bag in the backseat, he reached for the piece of paper that had been stuck under his wiper. Annoyed that someone had come through the parking lot and left advertisements on the cars, Aleck unfolded the paper.