What the hell else could go wrong today?
***
Alison sleepily looked around the hospital room. What the heck had they given her to make her so tired? She’d been on oxygen, been lifted into the ambulance, and then…nothing. Why couldn’t she remember what was going on?
Briefly, in her dizziness and in the midst of the confusion earlier, she’d thought she’d seen a tall, blond man walking away. But Evan wouldn’t have been there. Would he?
Her eyes swept around the room. Her brother Derek inexplicably stood by the window, tapping out a rapid-fire text on his cell phone. Late afternoon sun beamed in, making his light red hair glow in the light. How long had she been here? And more importantly, what was Derek doing in her hospital room? Rebecca hovered near him, worriedly checking her phone. Only Abby looked perfectly content, sitting in the extra chair and coloring.
When he realized she was awake, Derek raced to her side. “Jesus, Alison, you scared me to death!”
“Derek,” she said, reaching out and grabbing his hand. It was solid and reassuring. “What are you doing here?”
“Good to see you, too, sis. I texted you this morning to say I was coming.”
“I know—I was going to call you back after my walk. I thought you meant in a few days.”
“Surprise,” he said with a sheepish grin. “Hope you don’t mind me staying. Although it looks like you could use someone to help you out for a few days. Mom and Dad freaked when I called them.”
“Alison,” Rebecca cried out in relief. She rushed over and bent down to give her a hug. “Why didn’t you bring your inhaler on your walk? I just about had a heart attack when Derek called me. Patrick drove me to the hospital like a bat out of hell.”
“Long story. Hey, Derek—I don’t suppose you could get me a drink?”
“Yeah, sure. Water? Soda?”
“I haven’t eaten all day. Maybe some juice to boost my blood sugar.”
“Yes, nurse Alison,” he said teasingly as he walked away. Little brothers…. The kid was in college but still acted like a sulky teenager sometimes.
“I swear to God, Patrick almost refused to go. I was so freaked out earlier.”
“What do you mean?”
“Those guys got called out on some black op. They flew out an hour ago.”
“Flew out?” The pain in her chest was immediate and unbearable. Not that she expected to see Evan anytime soon. He’d called after her text this morning but had been radio silent since. Wait, where was her phone?
She frantically looked around the hospital room.
“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked.
“I need my purse.”
“Derek went back to your townhouse and got it earlier. You slept for a few hours. Here,” she said, handing it over.
Alison tore inside, snatching her phone. Not a single missed call. Nothing.
There wasn’t a reason for Evan to call anyway. She’d left this morning without a word. They weren’t exclusive; they weren’t dating. If he’d had to deploy, why would he give a second thought to her?
Thoughts raced through her mind: Evan making love to her in his bed last night. Evan…with that goddamn message on his answering machine. Evan in harm’s way. Evan…not wanting her.
Tears pricked her eyes.
“Hey, they’re gonna be fine, sweetie. It scares me to death every time Patrick deploys, but it is what they do. They’re SEALs. I’m just thankful most of his teams’ deployments have been so brief. They could get sent out for a year. A week or two away is nothing.”
“Evan never mentioned he’d be leaving.”
“Hun, those guys can’t say anything. They just disappear.”
Alison pressed her lips together, holding in the words she knew were about to spill out. Too bad she couldn’t shove her hurt and frustration right in there along with them. Of course Evan wouldn’t tell her when he left. They weren’t together. Someday he’d be kissing some other woman goodbye each time he was sent out. It would be someone else’s job to worry about him when he was gone. To hold him when he returned. “Patrick told you.” The words bubbled up and sputtered out before she could stop them. Obviously a man would tell his girlfriend he was leaving. Right?
“We’re together. Their families obviously know when they’re gone.”
Alison raised her eyebrows.
“That reminds me. Have you talked to Evan at all today? I thought you guys might be together after the way he chased you down last night.”
Alison silently shook her head.
“Patrick sent me a weird text earlier right before they left.”
Alison’s ears perked up. “Weird? What’d it say?”
Rebecca looked at her phone, reading the message. “Tell Ali the message was for Brent.”
Alison’s stomach dropped. That woman was calling for Brent? That was why she’d run out of Evan’s apartment without so much as a goodbye? Confusion swirled through her mind, her thoughts a jumbled mess. Why the hell did Brent give out Evan’s number? Why did she have to accidentally hear that damn message?
Now Evan was gone, and he had no idea how she really felt. How much she really wanted him.
Tears spilled down her cheeks, and Rebecca leaned down and pulled her into a hug. “Oh sweetie, what’s wrong?”
Alison shook her head, and Rebecca took a seat beside her on the hospital bed. “Here’s Derek with your juice. Start at the beginning, and tell me everything.”
Chapter 18
Evan grabbed his gear, strapping on his Kevlar vest and checking his weapons. Christopher was rapidly firing off some schematic info he’d obtained last minute of the building’s layout, briefing the rest of the team before they conducted the nighttime raid. They’d nailed down the procedures to breach the facility, but Christopher had hacked into some database, gaining additional specs. Between that and the emails they’d intercepted, they had a damn accurate idea of where the American soldier was being held in captivity. Easy in, easy out, and they’d be on their merry fucking way.
The flight over to the Middle East on the C-17 cargo plane had been hellish. A long ride like that in uncomfortable seats, headphones on to drown out the roaring of the engines, was never exactly luxurious. The worry and anger churning around in Evan’s gut topped all that. He’d been so damn relieved to see that Alison was okay and so angry at himself for not chasing after her the second he’d realized she was gone. Then when he’d spotted the young looking guy holding her hand, brushing her hair aside? It sliced through him like a knife.
No wonder she freaked the hell out every time he tried to get close—she still had feelings for an old flame. And fuck if that shit didn’t hurt. He’d wanted to pound on the guy, both for hurting Ali in the first place and for being there for her now. Evan sure the hell hadn’t been around when she’d needed him. His head ached with all the conflicting thoughts and feelings swirling around. Stuff like that made a man sloppy—dangerous, even, when his head needed to be one hundred percent in the game.
They’d landed after a fourteen-hour flight and hopped in an armored convoy to their forward operating base. A few hours sitting around waiting for nightfall, going over specs, and with not much else to do but think about the clusterfuck of the past twenty-four hours, and Evan felt like absolute hell. Patrick had approached him earlier, saying he’d briefly touched base with Rebecca after landing, but Evan had brushed him off with a cold, “Not interested, Ice.”
His SEAL team leader had looked like he wanted to say more, but a remote base in the middle of the goddamn desert was hardly the place to worry about shit back home. And it’s not like they could sit around sending messages back and forth all damn day. So what the hell was the point? He had work to do. If his heart felt like it had been ripped from his chest, he had no one but himself to blame.
Evan ground his teeth together, listening to the layout of the facility they’d infiltrate. Evan’s job was to get his men to their coordinates and then get them the hell out of
dodge when the shit hit the fan. He’d remain in one of the armored vehicles during the infiltration, ready to drive his team to safety. A brazen ambush like this was bound to be met by unhappy enemy combatants, but hell. What else was new? It was just another day for their SEAL team. How many rapid deployments had they made this year? How many enemies had they engaged with on missions no one would ever know about? He’d damn near lost count.
He glanced around at his team, all assembled near their armored vehicles. The dry, dusty air burned his lungs even as the sun went down, and he took another swig of water from his canteen. It was hotter than hell out here.
Little Creek, VA seemed about a million miles away right now. Fourteen hours in the air, and it felt like they’d landed in a different world. Had it really been only a day or two ago that he’d taken Alison back to his apartment? Made love to her until morning?
That felt like another lifetime.
Pining over a woman seemed downright ridiculous at the moment as the other members of his SEAL team suited up. Trivial at best. He needed his head in the game, not on some woman he’d never have. Hell. Alison was a lot more than some chick he’d banged. She was the type of woman that could make guys like him want to settle down. Raise a family. Get out of the Navy. On their deployment earlier this summer, Patrick had been all bent out of shape over a fight with Rebecca. Now Evan couldn’t get Rebecca’s gorgeous best friend out of his head? Damn it all to hell.
The other guys were bickering about something, and Evan glanced over in their direction.
“Shit, man, do you need to tuck her in every night, too?” Brent asked sarcastically, coolly eyeing Patrick.
Evan grabbed his HK416 assault rifle, checking to make sure it was loaded and ready. In ten minutes, they’d be rolling out of their forward operating base in the middle-of-nowhere Afghanistan, headed into yet another war-torn town. Evan’s blood boiled as Brent continued to argue. If those two didn’t stop their yammering, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on navigating through the foreign terrain. He’d pinpointed the precise location, memorized the route, but listening to Brent was getting on his last nerve.
Evan was about ready to start throwing some punches himself if those two didn’t shut up.
“Hell,” Patrick bit out, slamming the door of their armored vehicle shut. “She’s a grown woman. That sure as shit doesn’t mean I like leaving her alone.”
It was a rare outburst from Patrick, who’d earned the nickname “Ice” for a reason. Calm, cool, and collected was usually the way he rolled. Apparently that applied to every situation except where Rebecca was concerned. Worry creased Patrick’s brow.
“She’s fine, man,” Christopher interrupted. “That asshole’s locked up, and Rebecca’s a smart woman. She wouldn’t put herself in danger. She and Evan’s girl will be fine.”
“She’s not my girl,” Evan ground out, glaring at Christopher.
Patrick raised his eyebrows. “That’s what you’re so bent out of shape about? Get your mind on the fucking mission.”
“Maybe you can put a tracking device on her. Then you’ll know where she is at all hours,” Brent said, egging him on. “Christopher can set you up.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Christopher said dryly, grabbing his gear. Christopher was the computer whiz of their SEAL team. He could hack into anything, find anyone. Although Evan had no doubt that he could indeed track anyone down, Brent was just being an ass.
Evan checked over his gear one last time, ensuring everything was in place before they got boots on the ground. Patrick’s eyes landed on Evan, cool and assessing. Unless Rebecca and Ali had sat down for a little heart-to-heart after they’d flown out, and Rebecca had shared that info with Patrick, the man knew about as much as him.
Nothing.
***
They rolled to the edge of the small village in their convoy, bumping over the uneven dirt road. Evan spoke quietly into his mouthpiece, “Target located. Two hundred yards north. No civilians in sight.”
“Roger that,” drawled Matthew, trailing behind in a second vehicle.
The building was located near the perimeter of the cluster of small homes and crumbling buildings. It looked like next to nothing, a dilapidated structure left for nature to finish off. Their intel was one hundred percent accurate though, with hacked emails confirming the American was being held here. It was small, isolated, and out of the way. The soldier would be well-guarded. Tucked out of sight. And the enemy fuckers wouldn’t have a chance.
Patrick gave the command, and Evan sped forward, coming to a stop right outside the enemy’s walls. Four members of their SEAL team jumped out of the humvees and disappeared into the night, weapons locked and loaded, night-vision goggles on, tactical gear in place.
Evan gripped the steering wheel, clenching his teeth. It was so fucking quiet around here, something just didn’t feel right. The SEAL team quickly scaled the walls and disappeared from his line of vision.
“Exterior guard taken out,” Mike quietly spoke over their headsets. “Moving in.”
Evan heard a rustle through his earpiece as the men burst through the doors of the building. “Two guards down,” Patrick said. “Moving toward the stairs.”
Long seconds ticked by as Evan scanned the area. Still too fucking quiet, even for the middle of the night.
“Room located,” Brent said. “We’re going in.”
Another muffled sound, followed by gunshots came through the earpiece. Evan tensed and reached for his weapon. He was to remain in the vehicle, but if the shit hit the fan, he was going in after his men. Their guns all had silencers, which meant they’d engaged in enemy fire.
“Enemy down. Package acquired,” Patrick said. “Grab him and go.”
“The hostage needs medical attention,” Mike said. “Call ahead to base. Rolling out in one minute.”
“Roger that,” Evan muttered. He pulled forward, looping around in a circle as he pointed the humvee back in the direction they’d come. The second the men jumped in, they were rolling out before someone came back and noticed the hostage was gone. Or that the front door had been busted open.
He released a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. Thirty more seconds and those guys would be back over the wall.
He hit a small bump in the sandy ground, and the subsequent explosion was deafening. Red and orange flames lit up the night as his vehicle tumbled through the air, and Evan’s head smashed into the side. The pain was excruciating as his neck snapped back. The humvee crashed to the ground, shaking his entire body around like a rag doll. He began to see stars and felt the heat of the blazing fire outside as dizziness overcame his body.
The last thing he saw was Alison’s face in his mind before everything went black.
Chapter 19
Alison drummed her fingers on the table in the break room of the hospital. Something was wrong. Rebecca had called in a panic earlier from the courthouse, saying she’d gotten word that someone was injured. The fact that she hadn’t spoken directly with Patrick had her sobbing into the phone. Alison’s own heart had stopped at the idea of Evan being hurt. What if he was the one who’d sustained an injury so critical he’d been airlifted to some damn military hospital in Germany?
She’d tried to console her friend, tried not to even consider that Evan was the one hurt. But the idea that any man on Evan’s SEAL team was injured had her chest tightening in worry. Her stomach heaving in nausea. Her heart breaking at the idea it could be Evan injured and never coming home.
Rebecca had mumbled something about a head injury and coma. She had no idea which of the men had been harmed.
Alison stood and paced the break room. She was antsy, restless as hell. She wanted nothing more than to run out the hospital doors to her car, jump in, and hightail it over to Evan’s apartment. Except that he wasn’t there.
Rebecca didn’t even know where the men were. When they’d return. Some commander from Little Creek had gotten word to her that the other men were
on a flight back to the States. When they’d left was anyone’s guess. Alison’s gut clenched. What if they weren’t all returning?
If Evan was the man injured, she’d be on the next flight to Germany. She had leave saved up. She was a nurse. No one would stop her from being at his side for his entire recovery. Hell, she could even assist with his care. She sat down again, her hands shaking. The butterflies in her stomach were ridiculous. She didn’t even know if he was the man hurt. All she needed was to hear his voice, and she’d be fine. Scratch that—all she needed was to know that he’d be okay. The relief coursing through her body at knowing he was here, safe, sound, and back in Virginia Beach was all she asked for.
If he didn’t want to be with her after the way she’d flipped out on him, she’d understand. He just needed to be okay.
She glanced at her phone, willing it to ring. Rebecca would call her the second she heard anything. There was absolutely nothing she could do at the moment. How long was a flight back? She assumed the rest of the team was in the Middle East if the injured man had been sent to Germany. What the hell did she know though?
She briefly wondered if any of her colleagues at the hospital had contacts in Landstuhl. It wasn’t unheard of—they could’ve gone to medical or nursing school together. Worked together at some point. But really, what was she going to do? Send out an email to the entire hospital staff asking if anyone knew someone there?
She was being ridiculous. Glancing at the clock, she saw she only had a few minutes left on her break. Five more hours on her shift, and she’d be that much closer to finding out where the guys were and who was hurt. If they weren’t on their flight already when the commander called Rebecca, they must’ve flown out shortly after that.
She sighed.
SEALed with a Kiss (Alpha SEALs Book 2) Page 13
