The SEAL’s Accidental Pregnancy

by Katie Knight

  Without thinking, she placed a hand over her tummy, knowing she’d do the same for her little one someday. She prayed nothing as awful as what had happened to Demetri’s father would happen to them, but one never knew. Life was short and unpredictable, and all the more precious because of it.

  She carefully took out and examined each item, smiling. There were finger-paintings, pencil drawings, a couple of small books, some matchbox cars and toy soldiers, even a few photos. The smiling faces of young Demetri and his parents brought tears to her eyes. They all looked so happy and content as they stood together, arms around each other. Such a lovely family. Exactly what she wanted to give her own baby someday. A real, loving, lasting family. Not with a father who walked out and never looked back. Not the kind of life where they were constantly scrimping and scraping to make ends meet and where the mother worked more than she was at home just to pay the bills. She wanted to be there for her child—mind, body, and spirit. Wanted to give this baby everything she’d never had. Stability, prosperity, peace.

  And yes, her mother had loved her and Peter, but they’d also had to raise themselves because of her work schedule.

  Diana traced her hands over little Demetri’s face in another picture. He looked so open in the photo, his eyes bright with excitement and his smile wide. Totally missing were the shadows in his gaze and the tightness around his jaw that was always there these days. She closed her eyes and tried to picture what he might be like if he hadn’t lost his father and mother, if he had grown up whole and happy. Would he still have become a SEAL? Maybe, or perhaps a police officer, like his father. But if he hadn’t joined the Navy, then they’d never have met. It was the naval academy and his friendship with Peter that had brought them together.

  No, she wouldn’t have changed anything, she realized. Even with all the pain and difficulties they’d each been through. Because if the past were different, they might not have ended up where they were now, and she wouldn’t give up her baby for anything. Demetri might not stick around after her stalker was caught, but she had him for now and that needed to be enough. She would never ask him to leave the SEALs for her. She knew how much he loved it, and it wouldn’t be fair. Besides, as a SEAL or otherwise, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t ready to be someone she could count on. Not for a true partnership filled with love and trust. So she’d make a go of it on her own, no matter how hard it would be to let him go. Her chest squeezed again, this time with an emotion she couldn’t deny any longer.

  Despite her wishes to the contrary, she’d fallen for him hard.

  She sighed and opened her eyes, putting things back into the box again. Demetri would be home soon and the last thing she wanted was for him to find her in here going through his things. She’d just put the lid on the box and stood to walk back to the closet when an unfamiliar voice said from the hallway, “Caught you!”

  Shock and panic froze her in place. Her hands trembled so badly she dropped the box and the contents scattered over the floor. Heart in her throat, Diana blinked at the doorway, taking a moment to register that it wasn’t her stalker/killer after her. It was only Franklin Harris.

  “God, I’m sorry,” he said, his grin fading as he rushed to her side and eased her down to sit in a rocking chair in the corner. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Diana. I thought you’d heard me come in.”

  “N-no,” she stuttered, taking deep breaths to calm her racing pulse. “I was busy in here and…”

  She blinked down at the mementos lying on the floor. Franklin knelt near her feet, gathering them up and frowning down at the contents.

  “I take he told you about his past?” Franklin said, his voice low and gruff.

  “Some, yes,” she said, the words tight due to her constricted throat. “I know about what happened to his father and his mother. That he was raised by his aunt afterward.” She swallowed hard and stared down at her hands, feeling guilty now that she’d been caught. “Will you tell him I was snooping in here? I wasn’t trying to be nosy, I just wanted to know more about his childhood. That’s all. And he never talks about himself and—”

  “No, I won’t tell him.” Franklin shook his head and met her gaze, giving her a small smile. He put the lid on the box and set it aside. His broad shoulders slumped a bit as he exhaled slowly, the grey of his Navy sweatshirt pulling tight across his muscled chest. “I’m surprised he told you anything, really.” His dark brows drew together over his brown eyes. “No, I shouldn’t say that. I guess I’m not surprised, seeing how close you two are.”

  Diana opened her mouth to correct him, then closed it again. They were having a baby together, but that didn’t mean they were close outside of this whole whacky situation throwing them together. Didn’t mean he cared for her as anything more than a friend, as anything more than his best friend’s little sister. To read anything more into it than that was way too dangerous to her fragile heart.

  Rather than go down that path, she switched the spotlight back onto Franklin. As far as she knew, he and Demetri weren’t exactly close. In fact, the way Demetri had described it, they were pretty fierce rivals. So, why would Demetri have opened up to Franklin?

  She narrowed her gaze on him. “How did you know about what happened?”

  He shrugged and gave a small, sad laugh. “I’m sure Demetri told you about our competition. Right or wrong, I make it my business to know as much about my competitors as possible.”

  “So you investigated him?” Diana crossed her arms, feeling defensive on Demetri’s part.

  “Not really.” Franklin blinked at her. “I mean, not any more than anyone else would. Besides, everything I found on him was readily available on the Internet, if you knew where to look.”

  “And you knew where?” she raised a brow at him.

  “Of course.” He chuckled. “I did my homework on him. No harm in that, right?”

  Diana wasn’t so sure, but now wasn’t the time to argue about it. Not when Demetri could walk back in here at any moment. She picked up the box and hid it back in its spot in the closet before closing the door and facing Franklin again. “And how much do you know?”

  “Basically, what you do, I think. His father was killed in a mass shooting at a movie theatre. His mom couldn’t take it and killed herself months later. Demetri’s aunt came to live with him—she’s the one who raised him. That’s about it.” He stood and followed her back out to the living room, where they sat on opposite ends of the sofa. “I will say that knowing what I do about him explains a lot about why he is the way he is, though. His ability to focus is unreal. I mean, the guy can compartmentalize like nobody’s business. Especially his emotions. I’ve never met anyone who can operate on pure logic and not get side-tracked by their feelings like he can. It’s pretty damned spooky at times.”

  She had another word for it—heart-breaking—but she wasn’t about to let Franklin know that.

  Instead, she snuggled into the corner of the sofa and tucked her stockinged feet under her. “How many missions have you guys done together?” she asked, then amended. “Generally. I know you can’t share details.”

  He hiked one shoulder. “At least ten, maybe closer to fifteen, over the years. I’ve seen him work. He’s good. There’s honestly no one I’d want having my back more than Demetri.”

  “Huh.” She took that in for a minute. “High praise from a man who’s his rival.”

  “Right?” Franklin rubbed his eyes and rested his head back against the sofa cushions, staring at the fireplace across from them. “It’s true, though. When you’re in danger or in battle, you want a guy who gets the job done, who puts it all on the line to complete the mission. Demetri does that. Yes, he’s cold and calculating sometimes, but that’s exactly what you need when things are down to the wire.”

  Diana wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin atop them. Trouble was, she did know those things were important in a SEAL’s work. Lord knew she’d heard her brother go on about it enough. But it was still hard to
reconcile those qualities with the man she’d come to love—with the charming, funny, smart, caring guy who slept in her arms every night and who’d charmed her at the ball. She understood needing to keep your personal and professional life separate. She was a kindergarten teacher after all. Parents didn’t appreciate their kids coming home with stories about their teacher’s personal escapades, and four-and-five-year-olds were notorious gossips.

  What she was having a harder time with, though, was understanding how Demetri could sometimes seem so caring, so protective, so attentive, and then other times, he could shut off his emotions completely and act on pure logic. It worried her. It made her fear that even if Demetri did develop feelings for her, he’d be able to turn them off whenever he wanted.

  He wouldn’t choose her. He wouldn’t choose their baby.

  He’d choose to go back to the SEALs because that was what he knew. It was what he loved.

  It was where he felt most comfortable and in control, and if there was one thing Demetri Lewis prized above everything else, she knew, it was control.

  “Well, I need to get back to my hotel room. The guys are supposed to conference call me to strategize. I only stopped by to make sure you were doing okay.”

  “I’m fine, thanks,” she said, though the opposite felt true. The ache of unshed tears began in her chest and burned up through her neck to throb behind her temples. No. Once all this was over, Demetri would leave, and she’d be left to pick up the pieces and start again. The sooner she realized that and dealt with it, the better. It was silly to cry over something so ridiculous. She’d known all of this was only temporary.

  So, starting now, she’d get her head on straight and focus on her future, without Demetri in it.

  No matter how her heart might shatter because of it.

  She walked Franklin to the door, then locked it behind him, leaning back against it as she let her tears fall at last.

  Twenty-Two

  “Rivers is a shady character,” Demetri said an hour or so later, leaning his hips back against his desk and watching the image of the guys from Bratton Security through the video conferencing program on the computer he’d bought the day before. There was a tiny image in the corner of Franklin, too, from where he’d called in from his hotel room. “He’s gone off the grid and he knows what he’s doing. I’m sorry his son was killed, but hurting other people won’t bring him back.”

  “Agreed,” Franklin said onscreen. “So, what are we going to do?”

  John took a deep breath and scowled down at the toes of his black combat boots. “I have an idea. The guys here and I have talked about it, but I don’t think Demetri’s going to like it.”

  “What?” Demetri straightened, rolling his shoulders to alleviate the knot of tension gathering between them. “What’s the idea?”

  “Using you and Diana as bait,” Eric said, from the desk on the other side of John. Whatever expression showed on Demetri’s face made the guy cringe. “See? John was right. You don’t like it.”

  No, he didn’t. The idea of putting Diana in even more danger made his stomach turn, but maybe the guys were right. Was he losing his objectivity because he couldn’t stand the idea of Diana in danger? But if he focused too much on protecting her and missed the chance to capture Rivers, then he’d just be prolonging the amount of time she spent at risk. And as diligent as he was in guarding this house and making sure it was secure, the longer this dragged out, the more likely Rivers would find a way to get around everything Demetri had put in place.

  “Why can’t we go on the offensive with Rivers?” he asked, hoping for another idea that wouldn’t jeopardize Diana or their baby. “He’s smart, yeah, but I could take him in physical combat. I’m bigger and stronger. I’d guess I’m a better shot too. Let me go after him.”

  “No.” John straightened and stepped forward. “He’ll be expecting that. He knows you—knows you well enough to figure out who to target to get under your skin. Hell, he’s doing all this because of you. That’s why the bait idea makes sense. He won’t expect you to put Diana in danger. That gives us the advantage, and then we can move in and take him down together.”

  Shit. Demetri scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced at the clock on the wall. It would be dinnertime soon. He’d been holed up in his office all damn day and had barely laid eyes on Diana since that morning. He didn’t even want to imagine how pissed she’d be at him if he skipped dinner.

  “There’s got to be another way,” he said, searching in vain for a better alternative and coming up empty.

  “Sorry, bud.” John gave him an apologetic smile. “But I just don’t see another way out of this. I know it isn’t your strong suit, but you’re going to have to trust us here. I promise when this goes down, we’ll have your back. Nothing will happen to Diana. You have my word.”

  “And mine,” Eric chimed in behind Demetri.

  “Mine too,” Franklin added. “For what that’s worth.”

  Demetri took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to agree, but there was no other choice. He trusted these guys with his own life, no question. Question was, could he trust them with Diana and their baby as well?

  Finally, he nodded. “Okay. Fine. But we’ll have to work out the logistics later tonight.” In order to make up for leaving Diana out of the discussions all day, Demetri thought he’d go for a walk and pick up some things for dinner. Heading through downtown, he got to see just how much had changed since he’d last been here. Lots of new shops and restaurants, and even a farmers’ market had popped up in an old vacant lot near the waterfront. He stopped there to pick up some fresh fruit and veggies. Diana had been craving them something fierce the past few days, so it would be a nice surprise for her tonight.

  Besides, healthy food was good for their developing baby, right?

  He paid for the stuff, then headed out toward the house again.

  About a block from the house, he stopped to stare at his childhood home. So different being back now as opposed to how it had been the last time he’d been here before heading off to the naval academy. Back then—eighteen years old and angry, ready to leave this town and its painful memories behind—things had seemed wrong and cold and sad, but now lights glowed in the windows and the place seemed cheerful and bright, even if it was fortified to the hilt. All of that was because of Diana. If he wasn’t careful, a guy could get used to that.

  And speaking of Diana, he spotted her through the locked gate into the walled-in back yard, near the edge of the property, walking close to the large trees of the forest preserve adjacent to the house. His heart stopped, then kicked into overdrive. She shouldn’t be out of the house. She needed to get back inside now. Demetri did his best to keep the panic from his tone as he approached the gate slowly.

  “Diana. What are you doing out here?”

  Diana turned and waved. “Just getting a little exercise. Nice night out.”

  “It is.” He fumbled with the lock, the bag of food in his hand slowing him down. “I got stuff to make dinner. We need to go inside and cook it.”

  “Oh, good. I’m starving,” she said, clapping her hands. Standing there in the moonlight, she was achingly beautiful, and his chest squeezed, both from the picture she presented and the need to protect her. Although he knew this was a mission and that this thing between them could never last, that he wasn’t the man she needed long-term, he’d fallen hard and fast for her. Once this was over, she’d go back to her life and he’d go back to his and their paths might only cross occasionally, if she even let him stay in the baby’s life at all. If not, then he’d go back to his cold, lonely, logical existence. Until then, though, she was his to defend, his to have and to hold. His to…

  An ominous snick sounded from somewhere in the treeline beyond. A sound Demetri had heard far too many times on the battlefield to ignore. A gun being cocked.

  Dammit.

  Diana was about three feet away, facing him, her back to the forest. Acting on pure
instinct, Demetri dropped the bag of vegetables and dove for Diana at the same moment the shot rang out. Time slowed as he saw the flash but barely heard the noise over the pounding of his pulse in his head.

  Demetri twisted mid-air, hoping to block the bullet with his own body, and tumbled to the ground, rolling to cushion Diana’s fall with his chest. The metallic tang of gunpowder scented the air as Demetri lay on his back a moment, stunned and winded, Diana sprawled atop him.

  Then reality snapped back into focus. He scanned the treeline. The echo of footfalls grew more distant. Dammit. Rivers again. Had to be. If it weren’t for Diana’s body holding him down he would’ve given chase. As it was, he smoothed her hair back from her face and shook her shoulder gently. “You okay?”

  “Yes, I think so,” she said, pushing up from him slightly, then gasped, her eyes widening in the pale moonlight. “Oh my God, Demetri.”

  She was staring at his shoulder with a look of horror. Twisting his head to see what she was reacting to, he was startled when white-hot pain seared through his left shoulder. He gritted his teeth. Fuck. He’d taken the bullet all right. Damn Rivers and his gun. Shock and adrenaline must’ve kept him from feeling it at first, but now that he was aware of the injury, it hurt like a son of a bitch.

  Diana was freaking out, crying, her hands fluttering over him. “What can I do? How can I help you? Let me call an ambulance.”

  “No.” He forced himself to sit up, his stomach cramping in protest against the pain flooding through him. He’d gotten shot before and this felt different. Last time the bullet had lodged inside his body, but he was pretty sure he felt an exit wound, meaning this bullet hadn’t stayed in him. He managed to tug off his T-shirt and pressed it to the wound to staunch the bleeding. “Help me into the house. Let me look at the wound first.”