The Crazy Good SEAL Series: Books 1-3

by Rachel Robinson

  Dax takes a deep breath and I feel his back relax against mine. It’s not time for that yet, bro. “Jesus, Lainey. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Why did you let it go this far?” My ankles and hands are numb from the fucking zip ties. I wonder how many zip ties I can fit down V’s throat.

  She sits back on the floor and pulls her knees up to her chest. “You were my shot at a normal life. That woman I just told you that story about doesn’t exist anymore. I’m still an interior designer, Dax. We just have more in common that you knew,” Lainey says. V grunts, groans, and tells her to finish chit-chatting. I’m surprised he’s humored her this long.

  “You realize what you did was against the law? You could go to prison for the rest of your life. I mean, hell, Lainey. I’m a Navy SEAL. My morals were about as loose as I can permit back when I didn’t know any of this. Knowing this changes everything. Everything,” Dax says, hanging his head. I can’t help but feel sorry for the man. I bet his uniform is pressed and her wedding ring is sitting on top of his nightstand.

  “Morals? You gave him information about Vadim’s whereabouts in exchange for my love. Don’t say that’s not how it went down, because it was. Phones were tapped and conversations were heard. What would happen if the Navy found that out, oh righteous one?” Lainey says. Her eyebrows rise in question and the rest of her body tenses.

  “I fucked up because I wanted you so badly,” Dax replies. This is getting unbearable. If I had access to my gun I’d put him out of his misery.

  I sigh heavily. “How much more of this fucking shit do I have to listen to?” There’s only minutes before the shit show starts. I need to get my head on straight and listening to this love fest is making me nauseous and uneasy. I keep eyes on V and listen for footsteps around us. I may have let them cuff me for Lainey’s safety, but I sure as shit am not going to die for it. Not after this.

  Lainey ignores me completely. “You have never considered what I wanted, Dax. Therein lies the problem. I tried to tell you so many times and you talked your way around it, trying to convince me otherwise. Going as far as you did to keep me isn’t love. It’s obsession,” Lainey says. She stands, walks backward toward Vadim and holds out her hand. Vadim laughs. It’s a maniacal sound that reverberates in the large vacant house. “And now you both must atone.” My fucking stomach lurches. Atone?

  “Got everything off your chest, honey?” V asks Lainey. She nods, swallows, and grabs my gun that he’s dangling off his finger in the air in front of her face. Fuck. What the hell is happening right now? “Go ahead and take care of business so we can get on with our night. We need to celebrate your freedom and your return to me,” he says, pulling her close under his filthy arm. His mere presence makes me murderous, reminding me of all the things I work hard to forget. The dripping returns, as do the memories of days filled with blackness and pain, hunger and boredom so severe that it handicaps the mind. The years of life he stole from me in the name of revenge are worth more than my own revenge plot against him. Death is easy. Living like he forced me to is agony in comparison.

  Lainey weighs the gun in her right hand, balancing it on her palm. She flips it over and checks out the other side, and then makes sure it’s loaded and ready to fire. I shake my head. Dax tenses and starts trying to pull away from me. Yep, this is the woman you don’t know. She’s a real stunner. Literally. I wish I could see his face, to try to gauge his reaction to this. It’s not every day that you find out your fiancée is skilled in espionage and has the means to murder you. It should be a book or something. Lainey would make for one hell of a character. Her huge, blue eyes find mine and hold steady. I stare back, willing her to hear my thoughts. She turns away.

  “Which one will you choose, Elena?” V asks. She narrows her eyes at Dax and bites down on her perfect, pillowy bottom lip. These could possibly be my last moments on earth and I’m getting a boner from her fucking mouth. A mouth attached to a woman who has the means and the desire to kill me. My vision takes on a surreal quality, almost like a dream.

  She aims the gun at us, huddled on the ground. Dax has stopped scooting and has started pleading with her. It’s interspersed with swearing at her, because after being a lying bitch she owes him more than this. He makes solid points. She owes me even more. She knows it.

  Her hand shakes as her gaze flits back and forth between our faces. What must we look like? A couple of huge, burly men reduced to a pitiful heap. And all for love. Fucking love. Cities fall because of it and lives are deconstructed in the name of it. If I outlive this night, I’ll swear it off for the rest of time.

  V chides. “You know the deal, Elena. You have to kill one. That’s what I want to earn your trust back. So pick. It should be easy. The man who holds your heart or the one who repaired it after it shattered. It’s a dilemma for sure, but one man has clearly already paid his dues.” V aims his gun at me and Lainey aims my own goddamned gun at Dax. In a twist so fucked up that not even I saw it coming, I understand that nothing matters anymore. Not revenge, or what I’ve been through, what Lainey’s been through, not what Dax has dealt with. None of it matters because this is the fucking end.

  V groans when Dax begins threatening. I don’t hear specific words, just the tone of his hysterical voice and the word ‘fuck’ laced throughout. “You know why nice guys finish last? They’re never the ones holding the fucking gun,” V says, playing Ghandi. We’re always the ones holding the guns. That’s why this whole situation is so laughably stupid. I’m not a nice guy. Neither is my cuff mate.

  Lainey glances at me. Her eyes fill with unshed tears. She mouths a single word. A word that tells me everything I need to know. You. I blink twice and give her an imperceptible nod. This is it.

  She takes a step closer and focuses her aim on my head, right between my eyes.

  The kitchen sink drips.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Lainey

  “I NEED TO be alone with them,” I say, my voice shaking. It matches the rest of my body that seems to be in the middle of some sort of shuddering panic attack. I’ll never get this vision out of my mind. Dax and Cody sitting on the floor of this vacant house, looking horrified because of me. Cody’s beautiful face in the crosshairs of his own fucking weapon—all of it is of the wildest caliber of macabre. Handling this situation requires more finesse than I’m capable of. I called them here and told them I needed them.

  When V doesn’t respond I clear my throat. “Just for a second. To say goodbye. I owe them that,” I say, flicking my gaze to Vadim. I smirk, the confident one that lets him know I’m in control and ready to do as I’m asked. He looks nervous, leery, but I’m holding a gun. What choice does he have? I’m on his side, remember? I return my gaze to my gun, not to what I’m aiming at. If you aim a gun, you should be prepared to fire it. It’s the number one rule of gun ownership. Uneasiness mixes with my nerves and it’s about as unpleasant as a UTI and a yeast infection at the same time. The black gun blurs in my vision. I can’t fucking pass out now. Don’t you dare pass out, bitch, I tell myself.

  “Do it quickly. The mark of a good agent is the speed in which you make life or death decisions,” he says, eyeing me up and down. He has so many of his goons in this house that I’m not sure exactly how I’ll get out, or how we’ll manage, but I’ve stalled as long as I can. He’s right. We’re alone on this side of the house, so my only hope is that I can be quick enough to do what needs to be done. Sucking in a deep breath, I try to calm my nerves. It’s been a while, but I can do this. I don’t—can’t—make eye contact with Cody or Dax again. I feel too much when I do. They make it worse. V begins his exit.

  Sweeping the gun right, with my finger on the trigger, I stop when I have Vadim in my sights. His back is to me. It’s a low blow move, but too much is at stake right now. Way more than I anticipated. With my hand steady, my aim perfect, I pull the trigger and watch as the bullet flies and enters V’s back. He slumps first to his knees and then onto his stomach. I have seconds. Maybe even less. This is
it.

  I still don’t look at the men in the face. I stoop down, pull a kitchen knife out of the back of my pajama pants, and cut off the zip ties on their ankles and then their hands. From shooting Vadim to cutting them free it takes less than ten seconds. I catch a quick glimpse of Dax in my peripheral and notice he’s staring at my face, like truly staring, wondering who the fuck I am. Cody isn’t wasting any time wondering who I am. He knows. He’s pulling another gun out of his leg holster and preparing to pepper whoever comes blasting into this room next. Dax backs away, looking down at V. He’s moaning, not dead yet, but it’s a grave injury. I made sure of it. No words are exchanged, but we’re all on the same page. Cody drags Vadim behind a kitchen island, leaving a trail of blood as he goes. I imagine he wants to mutilate him with a dull spoon and a hot pan, but currently there’s no time. There will never be enough hours in the day for him to inflict the type of pain he deserves. I swallow down the guilt and try to remember to breathe. It’s unfortunate and fortunate at the same time.

  “You got any more fucking guns on you?” Dax asks, an unwitting, sarcastic smile playing on his lips. “I would have brought my kit if I knew I’d be working tonight.” It’s a joke, a really bad one at the moment. Cody responds in the negative, so I toss him my vegetable knife and Dax hurries to grab Vadim’s weapon from the floor. “I should have known better. It’s always a battle if Lainey has anything to do with it,” Dax mutters. His words are dry, emotionless, and I know that our relationship is damaged beyond repair. Funny how it takes a gun fight with mobsters to make him understand. Or it could be the fact that I shot a man in the back when he was in the same room. Either option doesn’t make for good wife material.

  That’s when gun shots echo in the air. Hard pops sound and grow closer. We slink behind the island. While texting with one hand, Cody takes a towel he pulled from a cabinet and shoves it in V’s loud ass mouth. He’s getting blood everywhere. The smell makes me want to vomit up all the bourbon I spent all night drinking.

  “I’m so sorry, Dax,” I whisper. He looks at me pitifully, shakes his head, and holds up his knife in a salute. “I’ll make sure your name stays out of this,” I vow. I can make good on this one.

  “My men are here,” Cody says, putting his phone away. “They’re cleaning house up front. You can put away your tomato slicer, bro. The big boys are here now.”

  “Fuck you,” Dax spits. “Fuck all of you and the nightmare this day has been!”

  V wails beside us. Cody punches him in the face so hard that I have to look away. He’s silent after that.

  “Why is RC here? How did you tell them?” Dax asks. A few more gunshots pop in the front room and then silence.

  “Lainey called and asked me to come to a weird house in the middle of the night twelve hours before her marriage to you. I figured something was up. It was either going one of two ways. In case it was going to swing badly, I told them to come here if they didn’t hear from me in twenty minutes. They’re here now. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you got caught up in all this bullshit as well,” Cody explains. Dax puts his head down between his knees and groans. My stomach ties in knots at the sight. I’m the cause of his pain.

  I’m still shaking because of the shock and adrenaline pumping through my system. I want to take him in my arms and hold him so tightly that nothing can touch him unless it goes through me, but I’m afraid we’re past that now. This entire mess is because of me. I look at Cody. “I can’t even apologize for what I’ve caused you. I’d never forgive me if I were you,” I tell him.

  It’s not the time, nor the place to have serious conversations. With our enemy bleeding out beside us and my fiancé wondering what the hell is happening. Cody’s men are mowing down villains in the next room, but all I want to do is talk to him. I want to tell him that he can be free now. Free from V’s heavy-handed thumb. Free from looking over this shoulder. Free from me dragging him down at every corner. Even with Vadim’s cold heart still, I can’t be the woman he wants me to be. I’m a killer. I’m a person I don’t recognize. The woman I left in the past is back and she’s a nasty, scary bitch.

  Cody’s huge, hulking killer comes in the kitchen. I know it’s him because of the sound his huge boots make against the floor. “Cody!” he yells.

  Cody stands from behind the island, leaving Dax and I beneath him. “Horse, we’re over here. Everyone is okay.” Horse approaches, followed by one of his other men and a few others. When Horse sees V his eyes widen and his lips curl. V is moments away from death. His breaths are shallow and irregular. Watching him brings me pain and suffering. The horrendous scenarios from my past are in the forefront of my mind. They’re leaving me, very slowly one by one. It must feel the same for Cody, who is also glancing at V’s body with an unfamiliar look. Swallowing down a mouthful of spit, I take a huge, deep breath.

  “I didn’t even get to do it,” Cody says. Horse looks confused, so Cody nods down at me on the floor. A sight I must be with my arms wrapped around my dirty legs. They both look at me with wide questioning eyes. What exactly did I go through tonight? Would be my best guess. They tell Cody they’ve cleared the house and have taken care of V’s men. I sit and listen, overhearing everything. Cody dials Molly and tells her he needs a serious cleanup. And they also need one hell of a cover-up. Probably one so amazing the world has never seen the likes of it. Cody speaks about Dax’s involvement, wanting to make sure it’s known he had no part in tonight’s mess. I appreciate this more than he’ll ever know. He doesn’t have to care about Dax. He does. It makes my heart thud for a reason other than fear. The last thing I want is him getting discharged because he got messed up in our catastrophe. Cody talks to his men about how it all shook down. Van, another of his main men, tells him he knew right away when he saw the house and radioed for backup. It was a job well done. Thank God his men came tonight. It wouldn’t have turned out in our favor otherwise. One glance at Vadim confirms that all evil has fled the room. He’s dead.

  “Boss, we found this one hiding upstairs. What should we do with her?” one of the men asks Cody. This makes me stand up, turn around, and come face to face with Rosy. Fucking Rosy, the snake in the grass.

  She smiles at me, then fixes Cody with her gaze. “For what it’s worth, I really did want to fuck you. Too bad you’re still hung up on that one,” Rosy says, glancing back at me. I suck in a deep breath to control the rage. I’m so jealous that I’m sure it’s oozing from my pores.

  “Don’t make false statements. You say that like I would ever fuck you in the first place. Kill her,” Cody says, shrugging, and then turns back to Van. I snicker and can’t help but smile. Cody sees and he’s thoroughly amused by me. Bringing humor to inappropriate situations since 1986. What can I say?

  “You did kidnap me, ring around the Rosy,” I say, making sure it’s loud enough for everyone to hear. “You can’t expect to get away scot-free, can you? I think Cody has a brilliant idea.” I glide across the room to stand in front of her.

  “No! I’ll do anything. Please. Please, Cody! Don’t do this,” Rosy wails. Ah, so she does have a soul. A black one, but something nonetheless. I rub my wrists where she cuffed me too tightly.

  “Anything? You’ll do anything? Molly said you would have made a worthless employee, so you’re basically useless to me. And you know too much,” Cody says, keeping his back facing away from her so she can’t see his huge smile. I’d like to kill her, but with V gone I’m feeling quite satisfied with my killing quota for the day. I won’t go completely savage on anyone else. Not yet.

  Rosy says, “I won’t talk. I swear I won’t talk. I’ll sign my name in blood if that’s what it takes.” She does think he’ll kill her. It’s comforting to know she feels fear. For a brief period I wonder how Rosy got mixed up in this and then I remember my early start in espionage. It happened for her just as easily. Nothing is ever as it truly seems. Beautiful women are spies and men hunt others for sport. I fell into it effortlessly. Most of the time it didn’t even
seem like work. I got a paycheck for hitting up the bars and talking to beautiful men. Navy SEALs. They would tell me details about their training, or their start times. Sometimes if they were really drunk they’d tell me names or neighborhoods where their friends live. Basically by having drinks bought for me and the occasional lunch with SEAL wives I was able to afford a lavish lifestyle. Even knowing this I can’t feel bad for Rosy. She’s a bitch.

  Cody dials Molly again and tells her to deal with Rosy because she was her project that failed miserably. Her mistake. Her problem to deal with. She agrees without much fuss and Cody sends Rosy to her. While he handles that mess, I’m on Dax’s cell phone, pleading with my mother to help me clean up the wedding fiasco. I tell her that it was a mistake and that Dax and I make better friends. She doesn’t buy it, but she also doesn’t make waves. She knows how upset I’ve been and is trying her best to coral my friends and family without inciting a riot.

  “The champagne for the reception is in my wine cellar in big black boxes. Bring it upstairs and explain the situation to them,” I tell her, begging. “I’ll cater a huge lunch for everyone. Hell, I may even be able to show up with Dax and apologize in person.” She asks what happened to me last night. I tell her I went somewhere to think and ended up meeting Dax and deciding to end our engagement. She clicks her tongue.