That didn’t mean Hailey was as interested as he was though. Sure, he’d held her close as he’d carried her out of that burning building and lightly kissed her forehead, but she’d been scared and hurt. She probably would’ve been grateful to anyone who’d come to her aid.
He needed to slow his roll before he scared her off.
He’d see her, yes, but he couldn’t just waltz in there and pull her into his embrace, no matter how badly he wanted to feel her in his arms again.
The men dropped off their gear, and Grayson quickly showered and changed before heading toward the hospital on base. It seemed relatively quiet as he got closer, and he wondered if Blake had been right about moving patients out. He’d expected a lot more commotion here.
His teammates had gone to the cafeteria to grab some food before they had their briefing, and he wondered if he should’ve gotten Hailey something to eat. Hell. Shouldn’t you bring a person in the hospital something? Flowers? Food?
Shaking his head, he walked to the nurses’ station. It was too late for any of that now. He could ask Hailey if she needed anything, and he’d grab it before their meeting. He didn’t even know Hailey’s last name. How the hell was he supposed to find her? Hopefully they’d be able to help him out. He wasn’t above going room to room looking for her.
He spoke in a low voice to the woman at the nurse’s station, frowning when she said that a woman named Hailey had been flown out earlier today.
“Damn it,” Grayson muttered. “I wanted to see how she was.”
“Hailey—oh yes, wait a second,” another nurse said. She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a folded slip of paper. “She left this for you.”
Grayson raised his eyebrows but took it from the nurse, turning and stalking away from the desk. He was tired, hungry, and worried about Hailey, but at the moment, this felt like the most important thing in his life. He unfolded the paper, looking at her neat handwriting on the small piece of paper.
Grayson,
I can never thank you enough for rescuing me. They’re sending me to the hospital in Germany, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye in person. My friend Kimberly Turner is missing. I know you have more connections than me. Please let me know if you can find out anything. My cell phone was destroyed in the fire but look me up in the DOD email directory.
I hope to see you again.
xoxo
Hailey Fletcher
Grayson stared at the small slip of paper for a beat. Jesus. She’d given him her last name and asked him to contact her. But it was the little “xoxo” that she’d written that was making his heart beat erratically, which was crazy.
He gripped the note tighter in his hand. He regretted like hell that he’d just missed her, but his chest swelled as he read the note again. She knew he’d come back. She’d clearly felt the same connection he had with her yesterday. She sure the hell wouldn’t have written that if he’d just been some random man she had absolutely zero feelings for.
And her friend was still missing after the explosion? Holy shit.
His SEAL team hadn’t gotten word of any missing people, but they’d most likely been injured or killed in the explosion. It’s not like his team would be sent to the bombed-out building when there were plenty of available hands to aid in the search and rescue and they had a highly classified mission to conduct.
His stomach clenched at knowing Hailey’s friend was missing. At the thought of Hailey being worried. The scene yesterday had been chaotic, and he hoped it was just a misunderstanding. Women had been moved to new buildings; some had been hospitalized. Her friend could very well be fine and just unaccounted for. He’d ask around and see what he could find out.
Hailey hadn’t even mentioned how she was feeling. Clearly it was somewhat serious if she was flown out. If she’d been fine to return to work in a matter of days, she’d still be here. He remembered her ribs hurting yesterday and wondered if she had internal injuries.
“Damn it,” he muttered, stuffing the paper in his pocket.
Would the nurses here even tell him anything? He wasn’t her boyfriend. Medical records were kept tightly sealed. If he wanted to see or talk to her, he’d have to find a way to get ahold of her in Germany. Sure, he could look up her work email, but damn. It’s not like she’d be checking it in the hospital.
Cursing to himself, he nodded at the nurses and then moved back out the front doors.
He had a lot on his mind, and for the first time ever, he had something else as important to worry about as his assigned mission.
Chapter 6
TWO DAYS LATER, HAILEY woke up in her hospital bed in Landstuhl. Amazingly, some of her smoke-damaged belongings had been recovered and were being shipped back to the States. Although her clothing and such had to be trashed, her purse, wallet, and identification had been boxed up, according to the nurse who’d updated her.
Blowing out a sigh, she looked around her hospital room. She’d spoken with her family and a friend back home in the U.S. They’d all been horrified and had wanted to rush to Germany ASAP. She’d assured them she’d be home within a matter of days though.
It made no sense for her parents to rush here when they could get things ready at home for her.
Hailey’s ribs still ached, and she looked positively ghastly. The black stiches in her wound stood out against her pale skin. She’d have another surgery later this afternoon, where they’d remove the original stitches and put in a dissolvable kind. Hopefully her wound would heal nicely after that, but Hailey had the feeling she’d have a scar as a reminder of her time in Bagram.
She’d been able to shower that morning and carefully wash her hair. It had been painful with her ribs, but she’d managed. It was hard to even imagine another long flight just to get home and then eventually to move across the country.
How could she move into her new apartment when it hurt just to comb her own hair?
Sighing, she looked down at the magazines piled around her. Someone had loaned her an iPad, but she wished she had her own cell phone and belongings. The U.S. embassy was issuing her a new passport before she returned home to the States. And despite several emails and calls, she still hadn’t been able to find any word on what had happened to Kim.
“Knock, knock!” the nurse said, walking into the room. She looked excited about something, and Hailey looked at her in confusion. “You have a guest downstairs. A very attractive guest, I might add.”
“A guest?” Hailey asked, baffled. Who on Earth would come see her here? The military men and women assigned to her office in Bagram certainly would still be at work. They wouldn’t fly here just to pop in and chat. Her friends and family were at home—not that any of them would necessarily be described as “very attractive” by the young nurse.
“Yes, ma’am. Can I send him up?”
“Him? Do I know this person?” Hailey asked, mystified.
“Well, he seems to know you. And if not, let him up anyway. He’s hotter than sin.”
Hailey flushed, suddenly wondering if Grayson had shown up here. That was crazy though—he’d been in Afghanistan with his buddies and would fly back home to California, wouldn’t he? He couldn’t just leave his mission to check on her. It’s not like they were married or something. They weren’t even dating.
She couldn’t imagine who else would come see her though.
Suddenly, her stomach was filled with butterflies. She looked and felt awful. Her stitches were scary-looking, and she was in a hospital gown. The only thing going for her was that she’d showered and washed her hair earlier. But she had no makeup on, and everyone knew hospital gowns were about as unflattering as you could get.
Before she had time to worry even more though, Grayson was standing at her door, a grin on his face and bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Her blood pressure spiked just seeing him, and she hoped he wouldn’t notice since she was hooked up to a million different monitors.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said in a deep voice.
&n
bsp; “Grayson,” she said, a flush spreading over her cheeks.
“Can I come in?” he asked, his voice husky. He was in a desert camo uniform, but she could still see his muscular physique. No wonder the nurse had said he was hotter than sin. There were plenty of military men around here, but goodness. Grayson put them all to shame. His beard was slightly longer than before, but she could still see his chiseled features and raw masculinity. It was those hazel eyes that did her in though. They practically smoldered when they locked with hers.
“Yes, of course,” she said, gesturing for him to step inside. He smiled, and his gaze tracked over her. She knew he was taking in everything. Her stitches. The hospital bed. Her entire appearance.
Grayson always seemed alert and attuned to his surroundings, but right now, that intense focus was solely on her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked happily, heat blooming across her skin. Despite being injured, lying in a hospital bed, having Grayson cross the room toward her was somehow still sexy as hell.
He set the flowers down on her bedside table and sank down into a chair beside her. “I take it the blush spreading across your cheeks means this a good surprise?” he asked, smiling.
“Yeah, absolutely. Wow. I’m just in shock,” she said with a laugh. “And I look awful.”
“No,” he countered. “You look beautiful.”
“I do not,” she scoffed.
He leaned over and took her hand, his thumb lightly caressing her skin. His hands were muscular and calloused, but he held hers so carefully, she didn’t want him to let go. Ever. He smelled faintly of soap and the woodsy scent she’d noticed a few days ago. Pure Grayson. It was masculine and arousing as hell.
And with the way he was currently looking at her? Heat coiled in her belly.
She flushed, knowing she was barely covered in her hospital gown. Her body instantly responded to his presence, and she hoped he couldn’t see her nipples pebbling through the thin material. What would it feel like having a man like Grayson kissing her, moving over her? She could barely even imagine a guy like him caressing her body, kissing her everywhere, and then making love to her.
This was crazy.
She never fantasized about men she didn’t even know. She was the type of woman who didn’t even sleep with a guy until they were seriously involved with one another and had been dating at least a month or two.
But Grayson?
She had thoughts racing through her head that she’d never entertained before.
“You do look beautiful,” he said, his voice gruff. “Your eyes are sparkling, your cheeks are pink—you’re alive and well, sweetheart. I was scared as hell when I heard that explosion, and then when we ran across base and saw your building on fire? Jesus,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I go into dangerous situations all the time with my teammates, but I was fucking terrified that something had happened to you.”
“Thank you for finding me,” she whispered.
He lifted her hand to his lips, lightly brushing his mouth over her as shivers raced down her spine. His short beard tickled her skin, and she wondered what it would feel like moving over other areas of her body.
“I wouldn’t have rested until I did,” he assured her. “Nothing would’ve stopped me.”
He lowered their hands back down but held onto hers, leaning close. “You ran into a burning building to save me,” she said in disbelief. “I still can’t believe you did that—we’d just met.”
“You thought I would leave you there?”
“No,” she countered, shaking her head. “Not leave me, exactly. But I never would’ve expected you to come looking for me. To find me in that mayhem. You didn’t even know where my room was.”
He stared at her a beat, an unreadable expression on his face. She couldn’t deny the chemistry and connection she felt with Grayson. Goodness, she’d noticed him and his team coming in her office the afternoon of the explosion. But it seemed crazy to be so attracted to a man she didn’t know. Judging from the way he was looking at her right now though? He seemed to be feeling the exact same thing.
She sobered, thinking about all the implications of that night. “Did you get my note?”
He nodded. “I did. I came to check on you the next day at the hospital, but you’d already been transferred out. I wish I’d gotten a chance to see you before you had to go,” he said softly. “I would’ve come first thing that morning, but we had to work.”
She smiled as he gazed down at her. “How did you even get here?” she asked, unable to take her eyes away from his face.
His lips quirked. “The same way as you. I flew.”
She shook her head. “No, really. And don’t tell me you went AWOL or something.”
“No, nothing like that,” he assured her. “We finished our mission and were on our way home. Sometimes we fly through Germany, like we did today. I convinced our commander I needed to see a special patient in the hospital though before we headed back to the States.”
“You did not!” she said, looking at him in bewilderment.
His lips pressed together, and she frowned. “Wait, what’s wrong? Why did you need to see me?”
She tried to pull her hand away, but he resisted, still gently holding it as he sat at her bedside.
“I needed to make sure you were okay, but I did want to discuss something that happened back in Bagram. You already guessed my buddies and I are Special Forces,” he said in a low voice. His thumb lightly rubbed back and forth over the back of her hand, sending electricity coursing straight through her. “I came because I wanted to see you, but there is something else. We were there in Bagram for a mission, and let’s just say it didn’t go as planned.”
“I’m not surprised, what with the suicide bomber and explosion at my building. Was that a suicide bomber, too?”
Grayson shook his head. “No. They found traces of explosives that had been planted there.”
She gasped. “What? How is that even possible? Was it someone on base? You can’t just sneak in....”
He met her gaze, not saying a word. Doctors and nurses continued moving in the hallway, machines beeped around them, and she had a feeling there was a lot he wasn’t telling her. He probably couldn’t, but that didn’t make her feel any better.
“This stays between us, all right?”
“Of course,” she assured him.
“We’re concerned there is a mole on base. A traitor. The enemy knew we were coming, what my team and I were there for. And with the two bombings—it’s too much to be a coincidence. The enemy isn’t that damn lucky.”
“So how does this involve me?” she asked in confusion. “You said you told your commander it was important for you to see me?”
He frowned. “We’re concerned that the traitor might be someone in the general’s office. The high level of information they seemed to know about our operations narrows down the field quite a bit. When you’re home and recovering, you’ll probably be questioned. Not that you’re suspected in anything,” he assured her. “But you see a lot of people coming through that office. You know the people who work there. They’ll be questioning everyone who worked for the general.”
“Holy crap,” she muttered.
Grayson released her hand, clasping his own together as he leaned closer. The intensity on his face scared her a little. He’d come to see her because he liked her—that much was obvious. But he’d come because of work, too. This entire afternoon was starting to feel surreal—like she was stuck in a movie or something.
She inhaled his woodsy scent, wishing that he could pull her close and keep her safe. She couldn’t ask him to hold her—Grayson wasn’t her boyfriend. Maybe they did both like one another, but this was the very beginning of their relationship, if she could even call it that.
“I just wanted to tell you to be careful. We don’t know who was behind this or even if there is in fact a traitor. It’s all being investigated as we speak.”
“But it could be some
one I know,” she whispered.
Grayson nodded. “You’ll be off for the next month as I understand, which is a good thing. Whoever it is, most likely is still at Bagram. You’ll be across the ocean.”
“But what if they were hurt, too?” she asked. “Couldn’t they be here in the hospital?”
“Shit,” Grayson muttered. “Yo, K-Bar!” he called out.
Hailey nearly gasped in surprise as a huge man strode into her room a beat later. She recognized him from the cafeteria on base. He seemed to be big and brooding and was pretty much just scary looking. Attractive, she supposed, but too intimidating for most women to immediately gravitate to.
“What’s wrong, Ghost?” he asked, eyeing Grayson.
“Get with Raptor. Hailey just suggested the bomber could’ve been injured and brought here.”
The other man’s eyes narrowed, looking between Grayson and Hailey. He pressed his lips together and nodded, looking somewhat impressed with her assessment.
“Oh, and Hailey, this is Jackson, one of my teammates.”
“Hi,” she said weakly, still a little intimidated by the large man standing in her hospital room.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said in a deep voice. “Gray’s a good guy.” His gaze landed back on Grayson. “I’ll find a phone and call Raptor.”
Grayson nodded, signaling him about something, and then Jackson left the room.
“What was that about?” Hailey asked.
“We don’t know who could be listening to our conversation,” he said in a low voice.
“I don’t like this,” she said, shivering.
Grayson reached down and pulled a blanket up over her. It felt intimate and sweet. For such a macho guy, he definitely had a softer side. “The other thing I wanted to talk about is your friend.”
“I still haven’t heard anything about her,” Hailey said, sitting and wincing slightly as she held her ribs.
“Shit, just lean back,” Grayson said, helping her to get settled again. It was weird how safe she felt with him tending to her. He seemed completely attuned to her emotions. He adjusted her blanket again and waited for her to continue.
SEAL's Embrace Page 6
