Protected in His Arms: Elite Texas SEALs

by Castillo, Holly

  “You think there’s some leader of the entire thing that is only leaving the site functional so his or her clients will be unaware of what’s transpiring?” Phantom leaned forward, his brow furrowed in concentration.

  “Exactly. But on top of all of that, David told someone else—someone he knew would have a vested interest in pulling the hidden rooms for both David and this mystery person. They must have critical data on the site that could destroy them if ever revealed. This person also wants the site shut down, but not until he or she has the data they want so much.”

  “Everything becomes even more convoluted if you look at the recent messages Buzz discovered on another site earlier today.” Santo ran his hands through his hair in frustration. So much had to be done, and quickly. Evie looked at Buzz expectantly.

  “I intercepted a message that appears to have come from David. The news of Francis’s death, and now Judge Mitchell’s is causing chaos in this criminal community. Questions are bouncing around about who authorized such actions, why decisions have been made without including certain people—people I have yet to identify—and the proverbial shit has hit the fan. I didn’t understand David’s message at first, but now, with your theory, it makes sense.”

  “What does he say?” Santo noticed Evie seemed to be shivering and squeezed his hand into a fist. They were pushing her too hard too soon. She had already given them valuable information. He needed to put a stop to their conversation so she could rest.

  “David instructs the recipient of the message to exercise extreme caution and not do anything to draw attention to them any further. He indicates enough damage has been done, and things will be terminated within the next week. We assumed he meant the termination of someone’s life—most notably yours—but with what you’ve revealed, he may be talking about the site.”

  “Does this mean the other judges in the state are safe? They aren’t targeting anyone else?” The hope in Evie’s expression made Santo want to pull her to him and wrap his arms around her, shielding her from all the evil in the world.

  “Maybe. We aren’t taking anything for granted, though. There’s a deep investigation going on right now because of insinuations certain judges have been corrupt. We suspect the leak came from David, but at this stage, we don’t know. If the allegations are true, they may be able to work out a plea deal to target someone higher on the list, or they may face charges of treason.” Stryker also leaned forward in his chair, uncrossing his arms, and watched Evie closely.

  “Treason? What on earth did they do?”

  “They aren’t empty threats, Evie.” Santo rubbed her back again, trying to ease the shivers that seemed to be getting worse. “Buzz has found evidence most of the judges’ names leaked were active on the dark web, and quite possibly on the site you’ve been playing. Some are already confessing to crimes—taking bribes to look the other way on drug and human trafficking charges, creating false alibies for criminals, and even arranging some of the auction locations for the human traffickers. All in the name of money.”

  “How-how deep does it run? Is it only within Texas?” Evie clenched her hands together so tightly, Santo could see her knuckles turning white.

  Stryker shook his head. “It’s widespread. Multiple states, from the county, to the district, and even a few state judges have been implicated so far.”

  Evie swallowed hard. “This nightmare just keeps going.”

  “Do you think you’re going to be able to crack into the administrative side of this game you’ve been playing?” Santo asked. Their next steps hinged on Evie being able to retrieve the information so they knew who wanted her dead and how to stop them.

  Evie frowned. “If David hasn’t been able to make changes to the site, I think I can.”

  Buzz stood. “We might as well see how far we can get.”

  Evie nodded and pushed back from the table, but when she stood, her legs didn’t support her weight, and she would have fallen back if Santo hadn’t grabbed her, steadying her. “Evie, are you sure you’re up to this? You’ve been hit with a lot of information fast. Why don’t you take the night to absorb everything and we can pick this up again in the morning?”

  Phantom rounded the table quickly and Santo shifted his hold on her so Phantom could check her. He pressed the backs of his fingers to her cheek, then forehead. “Shit,” he muttered. “She’s burning up.”

  * * *

  Santo had been concerned about how unsteady she had been. The fever explained everything. They had tried so hard to stay ahead of it but had clearly failed.

  “Is everything okay?” Stryker asked, watching their interaction closely. His comment drew the attention of the rest of the team.

  “She’s developed an infection,” Phantom answered.

  Santo lifted Evie in his arms and she protested weakly, but he ignored her. “She’s done for now.”

  Stryker nodded in agreement. Buzz held the door open as Santo marched through, carrying Evie who still attempted to convince him she didn’t need any help and could take care of herself. “It’s not anything unusual.” Even though her words were muffled against his chest, Santo could hear humor in them. “Santo always makes me feel hot.”

  Santo wanted her to be better immediately. He wanted to lock her up in his room and show her in intense detail how much he treasured her and not stop until she couldn’t handle any more pleasure. She’d managed to have a sense of humor and strength through everything, and it continued to amaze him.

  The team groaned at her words. “Now I think I’m going to be sick.” Buzz chuckled.

  “Maybe Phantom can give you some medication for that condition, too.” Stryker patted Santo affectionately on the back.

  Santo headed for his room with Phantom not far behind with his medical bag. Once he had her on his bed, he tried to be as gentle as possible pulling his large t-shirt up over her head.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?” Santo asked, rubbing her cold hands in his large warm ones.

  Her lips pulled into a tight smile. “I’m not that sick. You’re just overreacting.” She caught one of his hands and squeezed it tight. “But, seriously—I need to help.”

  Phantom stepped between them and reached for the bandage covering her wound. “You think you haven’t helped us yet?” he asked as he pulled back the tape. “Do you realize how critical the information is that you shared with us tonight? You’ve given us entire new theories to flesh out.”

  Santo walked around the edge of the bed to get a better look at her stitches. It seemed it had been days instead of just hours earlier when Phantom had last checked, but in that short time, the flesh had become red and angry, and a light amount of pus had created a thin, dried crust across the stitches. Santo had seen far worse and knew Phantom had, as well, but seeing it on Evie bothered him deeply.

  Phantom shook his head, removing the bandage completely. “Will you grab Anya? I’m going to need her help.”

  “Why?” Evie asked suspiciously.

  “The infection is in the area of your sutures. The tissue is red and swollen, and…” He pressed his fingers gently to the inflamed skin and her breath hissed out of her. “As I thought, painful and hot to the touch.”

  “Why do you need Anya? I still don’t understand.”

  “We’re going to need to remove your stitches, thoroughly clean your wound, and put new stitches in. I’m going to numb you, same as I did yesterday, but that won’t remove all the discomfort. It will be nice to have Anya’s extra set of experienced hands to get you through this as fast as possible.”

  Santo didn’t need to hear anything else. He hurried in search of Anya and quickly explained the situation as he brought her back to his room. Phantom had already started giving her the shots and she clutched the sheet with her fists.

  Drawing in a deep, steadying breath, Santo took the same position he had held the day before at her head, holding her right hand clasped between both of his. She looked up at him with her bright
blue eyes and squeezed his hand. “At least you can’t say it’s ever boring around me.”

  He smiled down at her with tenderness. “That’s an understatement.”

  “I’ve been thinking about what Anya said life is like with a Navy SEAL.”

  Santo braced himself. He knew the life didn’t work for most people and he wouldn’t fault Evie for wanting to run away before she became too invested. “You don’t have to tell me anything now. It’s a lot to think about.”

  Evie squeezed his hand, forcing him to focus closely on her as she spoke. “I would wait for you a thousand breaths, a thousand moments, a thousand days, a thousand years. Waiting to welcome you home, no matter how long you’re gone, doesn’t scare me.”

  Chapter 28

  Cleaning her wound hadn’t been as invasive as Evie had imagined. Though Phantom did flush the wound with a syringe of water, which created an ache unlike anything she had ever felt before, he didn’t aggressively clean it as she had pictured would happen. He gave her another shot of antibiotics and she barely noticed them carefully stitching the wound closed again.

  She sighed with relief when Phantom and Anya stepped back from her and realized she had been gripping Santo’s hand so hard she had nearly broken the skin with her fingernails. Phantom handed her two more Tylenol. “Stay in bed and rest, Evie. I’m not telling you this to make you miserable. It’s so you can heal the way you need to.”

  “I never thought you were.” She swallowed the pills quickly with the cup of water Santo handed her. “I’ve never been good at staying still for long.”

  “Will you do it for my sanity, if for no other reason?” Santo smiled at her as he took the cup back.

  I’m beginning to believe I’d do anything for you. “Yes. I will. How long, though?” She blurted out the question when Phantom began to leave the room.

  Phantom glanced back at her, shaking his head. “Do not get out of bed until I give you the okay to do so. I want to be certain your infection is gone and you don’t push yourself too hard before you do anything else.”

  Evie sighed in resignation and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments. A part of her feared looking at Santo. She knew her earlier words had caught him by surprise. She had seen him watching her reaction to Anya’s description of what it meant to love and support a SEAL, and she knew her expression had shown her surprise and uncertainty.

  Santo’s mind must have been on the same topic. “When you decide to tell a guy how you feel, you don’t hold back, no matter what gets thrown in your path.”

  She smiled. “Do you take me to be such a pushover for any bump in the road?”

  He brushed strands of her hair back and hooked them around her ear. “Having a serious relationship with a SEAL, or any soldier for that matter isn’t an easy thing to do. But with a SEAL, you have to be comfortable living this life of ambiguity, and as structured as your world is, how will you be able to handle that?”

  “I asked myself that question as we sat at dinner. Ultimately, I realized being able to have you in my life for any amount of time made it worthwhile. Plus, I’ll have Anya and Elena to lean on when I worry and fret about you. That is—if we ever get to that point.”

  “You may be facing it far sooner than you expected,” Santo sighed.

  “Why? Are you going to try to help with the judges?” She couldn’t help the thread of worry that wove its way into her voice.

  He chuckled and shook his head at her. “See? You’re already trying to find out what my mission is.”

  “Oh.” Evie grimaced. “I didn’t mean to. How soon do you have to leave?”

  “We’re still getting all of the information pulled together. But probably in less than a week.”

  Evie chewed on the inside of her cheek. “How long will I need to stay here? I’ve got to take care of my apartment and start figuring out what I’m going to do for a job. I can’t put my life on hold indefinitely.”

  Santo sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, clasping his hands together. “Evie, you aren’t safe right now. If you go out there and try to do things without us, you could get yourself killed. You need to stay here until we work through everything and bring down the men ordering your death.”

  “I won’t let them scare me away from living my life. They’ll have won if I do.”

  “Don’t you understand how compromised your safety is? Do you want to get killed?” His voice rose slightly with frustration.

  “No. I don’t. But I don’t want anyone else dictating my life for me, either.”

  Santo sighed heavily and she noticed for the first time how exhausted he looked. Everything happening had taken a steep toll on him, the same as it had on her. “I just want you safe, Evie. That’s all I want.”

  “You’ll never be able to protect me from everything bad in this world. But I won’t rush out there and try to get shot again, either.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. “Will you come to bed? It’s late and you need your sleep as much as I need mine. Besides, I rest better when you’re holding me.”

  A weak smile crossed his face. “Anything to help you feel better. Even if I do get some benefit from it, too.”

  * * *

  The power came back on in the middle of the third night. The brush of cool air over her skin as the ceiling fan turned on stirred her out of sleep, and she heard a slight hum as the air conditioning kicked into full-power instead of the low level they had kept it.

  For nearly thirty-six hours she had battled her fever and nightmares that came with it. She had never been left alone, with Santo, Anya, or Elena at her side at all times, and Phantom frequently popping in to check on her. She had thought it would barely impact her and she could power through it as she so often did when she got sick. This time, though, the infection had been in control, and Santo didn’t have to remind her to stay in bed and rest.

  Earlier that afternoon her fever had finally broken, though she felt as strong as a limp noodle. Snap had made her soup and the tension around Santo’s eyes let up when she felt strong enough to sit up in bed and work on a crossword puzzle with Elena and Anya. He had spent a lot of time with the rest of the team, and she didn’t know if it had been to discuss the details around her bizarre situation or the mission he told her he would be leaving for soon. She didn’t ask, because she knew he couldn’t tell her anything, anyway.

  Even though her fever had broken and she could finally rest comfortably, Santo didn’t want the room to be dark in case he needed to get something for her in the middle of the night. The battery-operated lantern still gave off a faint glow in the space, and she sat up slowly and quietly to turn it off and adjust the sheet and the light blanket over Santo and herself.

  She smiled faintly as she snuggled back in close to Santo and his arms instinctively circled her and pulled her close, though not tightly, as he still had hyper-awareness of her injury. Had she been asleep for only a few hours or could the sunrise be just minutes away? She had slept so much lately, she couldn’t tell.

  “I could have turned off the lamp.” His deep voice rumbled from his chest.

  “Mmm. You pretended to be asleep. I should have known you were just trying to sneak a peek at me.”

  His hands moved up and cupped her breasts. “And sneak a feel.”

  She drew in a shaky breath. He hadn’t tried to touch her intimately since the first night they had arrived when she had tried to take things too far. The sensation of his calloused hands on her sensitive skin felt incredible. “You never have to sneak a feel from me,” she murmured.

  He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, placing kisses along her shoulder, pulling her back closer against him. “You tempt me far too much. You’ve just barely started to recover. Get some sleep. Morning isn’t far away.”

  She nestled against him, her head resting on his arm. She felt his breathing ease slowly as he slipped back into slumber, but she found it harder to get back to sleep. With her fever behind her and the discomfort of her wound barely
even requiring Tylenol any longer, she had a lot of work ahead of her.

  Much to her surprise, the cool, comforting air and the soft sound of electricity once again running through the house lulled her back to sleep. When she woke, the room had brightened with the light of day, though the sun hadn’t been able to fully come out from behind the clouds since the hurricane had hit the coast. The rain didn’t pour down as hard as it had been but fell in a steady, constant drizzle.

  She had been considering how much trouble she would get in if she got out of bed when Santo came in, followed by Phantom. Santo smirked at her and shook his head. “I can tell by the look on your face you were scheming, weren’t you?”

  Evie gave him a wide-eyed innocent expression. “Whatever do you mean?” She fluttered her eyelashes for effect.

  Both men chuckled. “It’s good to see your spirits so high,” Phantom said, grabbing the item he used to check her fever from his medical bag. He ran the silver part across her brow and grinned when it beeped with a number. “You still don’t have any fever. I’d say you’re well on the road to recovery. Just let me check your stitches and then I think you can get up a little as your strength builds. The key to that being just a little. None of us want you to overdo it.”

  Evie thanked him when he left, then grinned at Santo. “As much as I’ve enjoyed the little baths you’ve given me I desperately want a shower.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “Only if you intend on joining me and letting me have my way with you.”

  Santo chuckled and kissed her quickly. “I would enjoy that. But it’s a little chaotic right now. I’ll have Elena come stay in here to help you in case you get too weak while you’re in there.”

  “And here you got my hopes up. It’s not fair to torture a poor, injured woman.”