“No, not yet. I need to finish nursing school first.” She poured baking soda into the flour and started to mix in milk. “I got an A on the first exam in both my classes,” she added.
“That’s awesome, baby. I’m proud of you.”
She smiled at him, and he felt almost unbearably happy. It was that simple. She smiled, his world felt right. Anything he could do to keep that smile there, he was doing it.
It was crazy how different his life was from just a couple of months ago. He’d avoided relationships. Run from any hint of emotion. He’d shut people out and kept them at a distance. Even his teammates didn’t know who he really was. They only knew what he gave them, and that was only as much as he had to. Oh, he trusted them implicitly and they him—it had to be that way for them to survive—but that didn’t mean they knew him. Because he didn’t let anyone know him.
Until now. Until Bailey.
He stood, went to her. Slipped his arms around her waist while she poured pancake batter in the hot pan. She made a soft sound in her throat and kept on working. He wanted to make love to her again—he always wanted that—but right now he was content to stand here and watch her fix pancakes. To simply be with her. Because that’s what love was. Being.
“So while we’re looking for this new house,” he said as he breathed in her sweet scent, “why don’t we make it official?”
“Official?”
“Marry me, Bailey.”
She went utterly still. And then she turned in his arms, her eyes shining. “Alexei, I want that so much—but are you sure? It’s only been a few months and—”
He pressed a finger to her lips to cut off the stream of words he knew was coming. Bailey was adorable. And practical as hell.
“I’m sure. Without you, I’m no good, Bailey. I didn’t know I needed you until you showed up on my doorstep and accused me of fathering Ana. But ever since then— Hell, I can’t live without you. You’ve ruined the single life for me.”
Her eyes searched his. Then she smiled again, that smile he loved so much. “Yes,” she said simply. “Yes.”
Just like that, the rest of the pieces fell into place. This was real. This was love. And it was fucking amazing.
Epilogue
Camel and Bailey’s housewarming party was in full swing. It was late afternoon and the grill was smoking with meat. They’d just moved into a cute three-bedroom house with an in-law apartment in the suburbs, and today was the day they’d invited the team over to celebrate.
Blade sat in a chair by the outdoor fireplace and watched the dynamics of all the couples present. Viking and Ivy. Cage and Christina. Cowboy and Miranda. Money and Ella. And now Camel and Bailey. Not to mention that Neo was giving off a weird vibe around Kayla.
It was interesting even if completely foreign to Blade.
Bailey had a huge smile on her face as she walked up to Camel with an empty platter for the steaks. He took the plate and set it down, then wrapped an arm around her and kissed her as if his life depended on it.
Man, Blade would have never in a million years bet that Camel would fall for anyone. The dude was like a block of ice on missions. Nothing rattled him. Nothing until Bailey, that is. Blade would never forget the moment he’d squeezed Camel’s arm and stopped him from killing those two bikers. Oh, they’d deserved it, no doubt. But it would have created more problems for HOT than they needed. Ghost had taken a chance sending them on that op in the first place, so they had to stick to the letter of their task.
But man, seeing Camel like that—it shook Blade up a little bit. Because his teammate had never been anything but logical and cool and utterly precise in all he did. Until Bailey.
Guess love did that to a man. Because Camel Kamarov was totally in love with the gorgeous woman clinging to his side. She even called him Alexei, which Blade hadn’t known was his name until he’d heard her say it. Blade shook his head as he took a pull from his beer. Never woulda thought his stoic teammate would fall so damn hard.
But, yeah, if the woman he’d loved were chained to a bed in a bikers’ brothel, Blade probably would have lost his shit too. It was bad enough that Blade had found another woman chained up like that. He’d been sick over it, but it had been strictly duty for him. He’d gotten her out and turned her over to the medics, and though he still thought about the sheer evil of it sometimes, he didn’t know the woman and wouldn’t even recognize her if he saw her again.
That’s how it was supposed to be.
“Man, what’re you thinking about so seriously over here?” Neo said as he ambled over and sank down, beer in hand.
“Nothing really. Stuff.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” Neo took a long drink of his beer.
“So what’s up with you and Kayla Jones?” Blade said, going in for the kill. Because why not?
Neo jerked his head around. “What are you talking about?”
“You keep looking at her. She looks at you sometimes.” Blade shrugged. “Just wondering.”
Neo let out a breath and shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just being friendly.”
“Ah, okay.” Friendly. Riiight. “So you want to get out of here in a little bit, head for Buddy’s or maybe that new place down by the water? Maybe we’ll find a couple of SEAL groupies, get laid—”
“Not really feeling it tonight,” Neo cut in. Blade wanted to laugh but didn’t. “I got things to do at home when this is over.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Just a thought.” He waited a couple of beats before speaking again. “Man, sure is a cute baby.”
Kayla sat in a chair with little Ana cradled in her arms, feeding her a bottle and making faces at her. She was a gorgeous woman with a pretty face and lots of blond hair piled on her head in a messy knot. No wonder Neo was intrigued. But she was also a woman with a little baby, and Blade was pretty sure Neo wasn’t ready for that kind of complication.
“She is a cute baby. Not too fussy, you know? My sister’s kids cried all the time at that age.”
Blade wouldn’t know. He didn’t have siblings. Didn’t have any friends with babies. All his friends were right here. Well, some of the other HOT team members had babies, and he considered them his friends, but he didn’t hang out with them very often.
“Hey, y’all ready for steaks?” Bailey said as she walked by with a steaming platter.
“Hell yes,” Blade said as he stood and followed her to the big picnic table.
Everyone fixed a plate and they all ate and talked and laughed for a good couple of hours. There was a game of beanbag toss, some horseshoes, and a lot of laughter. When it was time to go, Blade thanked Bailey, congratulated Camel on his excellent taste in women, and headed for his Jeep.
He was halfway home and feeling weirdly out of sorts when his phone rang. He answered. “Yeah?”
“How was the party, Blade?”
He recognized that voice. His heart kinda squeezed in his rib cage at the sound of his commanding officer on the other end of the line. What the fuck had he done wrong to warrant a personal call?
“It was great, sir.”
“Excellent,” Mendez said. “Need you to come in, Blade. Ghost and I want to talk to you about something.”
Holy shit. He’d fucked up now. Was it the fighting? Must be the fighting. But sometimes he had to blow off steam, and a good match could do that. He wasn’t supposed to risk his body that way since he was a government asset, but sometimes… Hell, sometimes it was necessary.
“Yes, sir. I can be there in fifteen minutes, sir.”
“We’ll be waiting… And Blade?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Don’t mention this to your teammates just yet.”
“I, uh, of course not.” Not telling his teammates implied he’d still be around to talk to them. Which was a relief. “I’m not in trouble, sir?”
“Not yet,” Mendez said with a chuckle. “But you haven’t heard the assignment. Or seen the woman.”
“The woman?”
“We�
�ll talk when you get here.”
“Yes, sir. On my way, sir.”
The line went dead. Blade floored the Jeep. An assignment. A woman. It didn’t make a damned bit of sense. He laughed suddenly, exhilaration flooding his veins.
No, it didn’t make sense. But that’s what made it a challenge.
Bring. It. On.
About time things got interesting…
THANK YOU!
Thanks for reading this Hostile Operations Team story! If you want to find out what happens with Adam “Blade” Garrison, then click on the title: HOT SEAL TARGET
* * *
Adam “Blade” Garrison is assigned bodyguard duties for the wife of a tech billionaire. But nothing is as it seems in Quinn Halliday’s world — and no one can be trusted.
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For news on upcoming stories in the Hostile Operations Team world, sign up for my newsletter at www.LynnRayeHarris.com/newsletter or text HOTTIES to 66866.
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For more information about all of my books, click here to visit my website.
Also by Lynn Raye Harris
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The Hostile Operations Team Books
(Click on link for more info)
Book 0: RECKLESS HEAT
* * *
Book 1: HOT PURSUIT - Matt & Evie
* * *
Book 2: HOT MESS - Sam & Georgie
* * *
Book 3: HOT PACKAGE - Billy & Olivia
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Book 4: DANGEROUSLY HOT - Kev & Lucky
* * *
Book 5: HOT SHOT - Jack & Gina
* * *
Book 6: HOT REBEL - Nick & Victoria
* * *
Book 7: HOT ICE - Garrett & Grace
* * *
Book 8: HOT & BOTHERED - Ryan & Emily
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Book 9: HOT PROTECTOR - Chase & Sophie
* * *
Book 10: HOT ADDICTION - Dex & Annabelle
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Book 11: HOT VALOR - Mendez & Kat
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Book 12: HOT ANGEL - Cade & Brooke
* * *
Book 13: HOT SECRETS - Sky & Bliss
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Sign up for my newsletter to be notified about all future releases!
The HOT SEAL Team Books
(Click on link for more info)
Book 1: HOT SEAL - Dane & Ivy
* * *
Book 2: HOT SEAL Lover - Remy & Christina
* * *
Book 3: HOT SEAL Rescue - Cody & Miranda
* * *
Book 4: HOT SEAL BRIDE - Cash & Ella
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Book 5: HOT SEAL REDEMPTION - Alex & Bailey
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Book 6: HOT SEAL TARGET - Coming August 2018!
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The HOT Novella in Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie Family Series
HOT WITNESS - Jake & Eva
7 Brides for 7 Brothers
MAX (Book 5) - Max & Ellie
7 Brides for 7 Soldiers
WYATT (Book 4) - Wyatt & Paige
Who’s HOT?
Alpha Squad
Matt “Richie Rich” Girard (Book 0 & 1)
Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight (Book 2)
Billy “the Kid” Blake (Book 3)
Kev “Big Mac” MacDonald (Book 4)
Jack “Hawk” Hunter (Book 5)
Nick “Brandy” Brandon (Book 6)
Garrett “Iceman” Spencer (Book 7)
Ryan “Flash” Gordon (Book 8)
Chase “Fiddler” Daniels (Book 9)
Dex “Double Dee” Davidson (Book 10)
* * *
Commander
John “Viper” Mendez (Book 11)
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Deputy Commander
Alex “Ghost” Bishop
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Echo Squad
Cade “Saint” Rodgers (Book 12)
Sky “Hacker” Kelley (Book 13)
Malcom “Mal” McCoy
Jake “Harley” Ryan (HOT WITNESS)
Jax “Gem” Stone
Noah “Easy” Cross
Ryder “Muffin” Hanson
Dean “Wolf” Garner
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SEAL Team
Dane “Viking” Erikson (Book 1)
Remy “Cage” Marchand (Book 2)
Cody “Cowboy” McCormick (Book 3)
Cash “Money” McQuaid (Book 4)
Alexei “Camel” Kamarov (Book 5)
Adam “Blade” Garrison (Book 6)
Ryan “Dirty Harry” Callahan
Zach “Neo” Anderson
* * *
Black’s Bandits
Ian Black
Brett Wheeler
Jace Kaiser
Rascal
? Unnamed Team Members
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Freelance Contractors
Lucinda “Lucky” San Ramos, now MacDonald (Book 4)
Victoria “Vee” Royal, now Brandon (Book 6)
Emily Royal, now Gordon (Book 8)
About the Author
Lynn Raye Harris is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM SERIES of military romances as well as twenty books for Harlequin Presents. A former finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and the National Readers Choice Award, Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, two crazy cats, and one spoiled American Saddlebred horse. Lynn's books have been called “exceptional and emotional,” “intense,” and “sizzling.” Lynn's books have sold over three million copies worldwide.
To connect with Lynn online:
www.LynnRayeHarris.com
[email protected]
All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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HOT SEAL Redemption
Copyright © 2018 by Lynn Raye Harris
Cover Design Copyright © 2018 Croco Designs
ISBN: 978-1-941002-32-2
HOT SEAL Redemption Page 22
