SEAL the Deal (Alpha SEALs Book 1)

by Makenna Jameison

  “Do not follow me!”

  He nodded, and as he climbed back into his own car, she noticed him typing out a text on his cell phone, no doubt alerting Patrick to her impending arrival. There was little he could say that would appease her right now. If they were going to be anything to each other, she had to be able to trust him. While she understood implicitly that he wouldn’t be able to divulge everything in his life, such as his work as a SEAL, she fully expected him to fill her in when it involved either her or her daughter. She deserved to know that Patrick was concerned enough to have his men following her around all day, and she sure as hell deserved to know the moment he’d discovered the name of her stalker. The sooner they got that straightened out, the better off they’d be.

  Chapter 21

  Patrick’s senses were on high alert as he pulled into his driveway. Something was off, and he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He climbed out of his SUV, scanning the front of his house. The front door was closed; nothing seemed out of place. The neighborhood was quiet. Thankfully Logan was at his grandparents’ house for the night, because the hair on the back of his neck was standing up as he took a step closer to his home. Someone was watching him.

  He shifted his eyes imperceptibly to the trees off to the left, but it wasn’t a heavily wooded area, and it was unlikely that someone could hide there. The shrubs in front of his home were neatly trimmed—although a child could certainly crouch down behind them, they’d do nothing to conceal an adult. There. If he’d blinked he’d have missed it, but he noticed the curtains rustle in one of the upstairs bedroom windows. He’d left them closed this morning in his rush to leave and get to base early, but someone was in his home now. Watching him.

  Hell. He’d had eyes on Rebecca at her office today; he’d had a guy outside her house last night. Even the damn hallway right outside Hale’s apartment was bugged in case the bastard returned. But he’d done little to secure his own home aside from locking his doors.

  Without a doubt, he knew it was Hale inside of his house. If it were a burglar, they’d break in at night while he was sleeping or during the day when they rightly suspected that he was at work. The only reason someone would be there right now was that they’d be expecting him to arrive home from base. They probably knew he usually got home at this time with his son so that they could have dinner. They were waiting for him.

  He approached his front door calmly, acting as if nothing were wrong. There was no need to let Hale know that he was on to him. As soon as he was inside, he’d be on top of the bastard before he knew what had hit him. But in the meantime? He’d let his enemy think he was walking into a trap, unaware of the danger lurking within his own home.

  Why the hell Hale had chosen to break into his house rather than Rebecca’s he wasn’t sure. He could only assume Hale had noticed his men outside Rebecca’s home and had ascertained that he was being watched. Thank God he’d chosen to come here, instead, because the idea of Rebecca returning to an empty home with Hale waiting inside had his blood turning cold.

  When he reached the front porch, out of view from the window upstairs, he quickly texted his men, telling them to get there ASAP. Shit. There was already a text message from Christopher, indicating that Rebecca was on her way to his house right now. He’d have to move quickly, disarming Hale and restraining him before she arrived. There was no way he was chancing having her get involved in any of this. He’d subdue Hale and then call the cops. He didn’t need sirens wailing through his neighborhood right now, notifying this crazy man that he was on to him.

  He quietly slid his key into the front door, turning the lock. Opening the front door as softly as he could, he reached for his weapon. He hand was on his gun, ready to pull it from the holster as he entered the house, when Rebecca’s car pulled into the driveway. How in God’s name had she gotten here so quickly?

  “Rebecca,” he said in as calm and quiet a voice as possible as he turned toward her, “you have to leave right now.”

  The door was slightly ajar behind him, and every nerve ending in his body stood on edge. He was trained never to have his back to the enemy, never to let his guard down, but at the moment, he had to get her the hell out of here. The only thing that kept him from wrestling her to the ground right now was the knowledge that Hale was still upstairs. If the man had already been prowling through the main level of his house, close to him and Rebecca, there was no telling what Patrick would do, consequences be damned.

  At the moment, he had seconds to get Rebecca to leave. He had no idea what Hale was up to inside his home or what type of weapon he had, but Rebecca was not going to be here when he found out.

  “Who the hell do you think you are, bossing me around? You had no right to keep that information from me!” she shouted angrily.

  Her eyes blazed with fury, and Patrick cringed. Even if Hale no longer was watching from the window to witness her arrival, he’d hear her voice. He’d be there in a moment. Rebecca argued for a living, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let her stand here fighting with him now. Not when her life was in danger.

  “Rebecca,” he warned.

  “I’m not leaving until you explain yourself. You found out his name and didn’t even tell me. Didn’t you think that I had a right to know?”

  Patrick glanced back into his house through the crack in the door and caught sight of Hale edging through the shadows, down the stairs. Instantly he knew, without a doubt, that he had to get Rebecca to leave immediately. In her anger, she wasn’t listening to him, wouldn’t take his advice. He’d have to make amends with her later for keeping her out of the loop this whole time and for what he was about to say, but this was for her own protection. It cut through him like a knife, but he did the only thing he could think of to keep her safe, to shield her from Hale. There was only one way to get Rebecca to leave right now.

  “It’s over between us.”

  “What?” she asked, shock crossing over her face. It was obvious that whatever explanation she’d expected from him, whatever story she was imagining she’d hear about why he’d kept Hale’s name a secret, Patrick breaking up with her was the last thing on her mind.

  “I don’t want to see you anymore,” he said coldly, hoping that Hale could hear him. “You need to leave.”

  “But—what?” she asked again, hurt filling her eyes.

  Patrick heard a footstep in the background and knew that Hale was getting closer. He knew Hale hated Rebecca, would not hesitate for a moment to harm her, and he said the only thing he could think of to get the man on his side. To keep him from acting out in violence, even if it only stalled him for a moment.

  “I usually spend only one night with a woman, but it was so good, I made an exception for you.”

  Her face fell as she stood there, taking in his words. For a moment she was frozen, unmoving, and then suddenly something snapped inside her. “Go to hell!” Rebecca shouted, tears openly spilling down her cheeks. “Just stay the hell away from me!”

  He kept his face expressionless, his gaze icy, as she quickly turned and walked away. It slayed him to lie to her like that, to let her believe that everything he’d said had just been to get her into bed. To make her think he’d never cared for her.

  The pit in his gut was growing larger with each step that she took away from him, walking right out of his life. He was actually feeling physically ill from hurting her like that. It was the only way to get Hale on his side, though, and to keep both of them from getting hurt. It would make Hale pause just long enough inside the house, deciding how to proceed, that when Patrick pounced on him, the guy would never see it coming.

  Rebecca’s car backed down his driveway, and he reached for his gun, turning swiftly back toward his home. Aiming his weapon in front of him, he kicked open his front door, bursting into the front hall. Hale jumped in surprise at the bottom of the stairs, dropping his own weapon, and hastily scrambled to retrieve it. Patrick was on him in a flash, easily overpowering him and kicking Hale’s gun acro
ss his foyer. The man was subdued and tied up with Patrick’s belt, his hands completely immobile behind his back, mere seconds after their altercation had begun.

  “Guys like us don’t need women in their lives,” Hale said as Patrick ground his face into the floor. He pushed his knee into Hale’s back, applying more pressure than necessary, and Hale groaned.

  “You and I are nothing alike,” Patrick spat out.

  “We both got even with that bitch,” Hale said with a chuckle. “I scared her and you fucked her.”

  Patrick lifted Hale’s head up and slammed it down into the floor, knocking the man unconscious. He grabbed his cell phone and called 911, notifying them of an intruder in his home and saying that he’d already subdued the suspect. The 911 operator got angry with him, telling Patrick he should have waited for the police to arrive, and Patrick growled into the phone.

  “I’m a goddamn Navy SEAL. No one is going to threaten me in my own home.”

  Matthew and Evan came rushing through the front door a moment later, Matthew informing him that Brent had gone to Rebecca’s just in case the intruder in Patrick’s home hadn’t been Hale.

  Damn it all to hell, he really hadn’t been thinking clearly. He’d assumed it was Hale in his house and sent Rebecca away, unprotected. Thank God his instincts had been correct, but what if he’d been wrong? He’d have broken her heart into a million pieces and still sent her into danger. He was going to have Christopher’s head on a platter for letting that woman out of his sight at her office today. If he’d kept her there or never given Rebecca his address, their entire fight could have been avoided.

  He hoped she’d forgive him once he explained what he’d done, that he’d been desperate to keep her away from his home. To protect her from Hale. It was bad enough that she’d already been angry when she arrived, but for him to be forced to act so cruelly to her? The expression on her face gutted him, and he needed to go to her. Now.

  Sirens wailed in the distance, and he stood up, eyeing the men from his team. “As soon as they take Hale out of my home, I have to find Rebecca.”

  The others nodded. “We’ll handle it, Ice,” Matthew said, his gaze level.

  Patrick nodded and ran out the door, climbing into his SUV. He quickly sent a text and then peeled out of the driveway, passing the police as he exited his neighborhood. He didn’t care what the hell his men told the police officers arriving at his home or what kind of trouble he may get into for leaving the scene. All that mattered was the woman who’d stolen his heart, and he had a sinking feeling that his actions to protect her may have just led him to lose her forever.

  Chapter 22

  Rebecca pulled into her driveway, hands shaking, tears falling down her face. In her haste to get out of there, to rush home, she’d nearly forgotten to pick up Abby. She’d driven right past her daughter’s school before making a u-turn, arriving just on time for the evening pick-up. They charged by the minute if you were late to get your child, which meant every parent arrived on time unless there was a dire emergency. Rebecca hadn’t wanted to be the parent who arrived there late, with her daughter left wondering what had happened and why she was the last child there.

  Her argument with Patrick had left her so shaken that Rebecca couldn’t even think clearly. She’d been driving blindly, unaware of her surroundings, and finally arriving at Abby’s school as if on autopilot.

  Rebecca had ignored the stares of the other parents as she’d gotten Abby, unable to stop the tears filling her eyes. She’d barely held it together as she’d taken her daughter back to the car and had clutched the steering wheel tightly as she drove home. It was only in the safety of her own driveway that she’d sobbed, releasing the anguish inside. How could she have been so stupid? Patrick had lied to her about everything. He hadn’t trusted her with the truth about her stalker. He hadn’t been honest about his feelings. She’d dared to open her heart and believe they stood a chance together and what had he done? Nothing but use her for his own enjoyment and pleasure, dumping her when he’d had enough fun.

  She wiped the tears from her face as she got out of her car, retrieving Abby from her car seat in the back. Once again, Abby was lost in her own world, telling her a story about preschool. Rebecca was grateful her daughter didn’t notice how upset that she was, because there was no way she could offer an explanation without breaking down into sobs once more.

  They walked to the front door, and once they’d gotten inside, Rebecca turned on a cartoon for Abby, much to her surprise and delight. They always watched the news in the evening, if they had the TV on at all, and her daughter wasn’t about to argue with this special treat.

  Nothing about her encounter with Patrick this evening added up. He’d sent his friend Christopher to her office to watch out for her, only to break up with her that same day? He’d said he was falling in love with her, but when she’d shown up on his doorstep he’d freaked out? He wanted her safe but not in his home?

  The reality of the situation slammed into her. Maybe he was seeing somebody else. She’d gotten his address from Christopher, after all. He wasn’t expecting her to show up. He could’ve had a woman inside right then, listening to their entire conversation. He’d been so tense when she approached him, she’d sensed that something was wrong—something aside from her yelling at him, that is. Not that he’d clue her in, of course. Patrick seemed to think it was up to him to handle every situation—to handle her.

  They hadn’t exactly discussed being exclusive, but my God. Although it would have been within his right to see other women since they hadn’t discussed the matter directly, he never should have said he was falling in love with her if that was the case. If he really wanted to be dating other women, why hadn’t he just left her alone?

  She never should have let herself believe that he cared for her, not when they never bothered to discuss where they each stood. Maybe he’d said he was falling in love, but she hadn’t offered him any assurances of her feelings in return. Hell, maybe when she hadn’t returned his affections, he’d decided to move on or see other women. Not before sleeping with her one last time, of course.

  Her doorbell rang a moment later, and she glanced out the window to see one of his SEAL friends. It wasn’t Christopher, whom she’d met earlier, but a different man, with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. He was almost as tall as Patrick and easily as big and muscular. She didn’t feel like arguing with yet another man today, having already chewed out Christopher and Patrick, and opened the door, simply saying, “Yes?”

  The man didn’t even bother to introduce himself, just said, “Hale was inside Patrick’s home.”

  That got her full attention, and her eyes widened. “What? When? Is Patrick okay?” Damn it. Even though he’d just broken her heart into a million little pieces, she was still worried about him. What did that say? She’d told herself she didn’t know how she felt about him and the second she feared he’d been harmed, she suddenly knew?

  Her heart stopped as she waited for an answer, the pain almost more than she could bear. She thought it had hurt when he’d broken her heart earlier, but what if he’d been hurt or even killed by the crazy man stalking her? What if Michael Hale had gone after Patrick because of her?

  He most likely had, she realized. If she hadn’t been involved with Patrick, then Hale would have been after her but not him. Patrick had gone out of his way to protect her, and as a result, her crazed stalker had gone to his home.

  “He’s fine,” the man said, his voice low and intense. “Patrick said all those things earlier to get you to leave. He didn’t want Hale to harm you.”

  “What?” Rebecca asked, tears filling her eyes. Her world had already been toppled once this afternoon. Now this man was telling her Patrick did still care for her? “This doesn’t make sense.”

  The man pulled his phone from his pocket, scanning a text message he’d just received. “Patrick’s on his way over. I’ll wait outside until he gets here, if that’s all right with you. I’m Br
ent Rollins,” he added.

  Rebecca nodded, suddenly feeling too emotionally exhausted to say another word, and softly closed the door.

  In less than ten minutes he was there, knocking on her door. She heard an engine start in her driveway and knew that Brent was leaving. Once again, Patrick had let yet another one of his SEAL team members watch out for her until he’d arrived, proving again how concerned he’d been for her safety. Whether he’d ordered his men there or they’d done so out of their own volition, she didn’t know. Certainly they wouldn’t have bothered if she didn’t mean something to Patrick. She could almost understand why he’d treated her so cruelly this afternoon, breaking her heart, in his desperation to get her to leave. But keeping her in the dark about the name of her stalker? Potentially jeopardizing her safety by not trusting her with the truth? That wasn’t something she could so easily overlook.

  “I’m sorry,” he said the second she opened the door. “My God, I’m so sorry. He was in my house, Rebecca. He was in there, waiting for me with a gun, and he would have killed both of us if given the chance. I had to get you to leave, and I knew you wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “Patrick,” she said, tears filling her eyes. She’d been prepared to yell at him again like she’d done earlier at his house, but seeing him standing there, remembering the way he’d said he’d only been using her, had her trembling and about to break into sobs once more.

  “I’m in love with you, Rebecca. I’m completely in love with you,” he said, his eyes shining with sincerity. “I only said those things because I was desperate for you to leave. I’d die if he’d hurt you.”

  She took a shaky breath, attempting to calm down enough to talk to him. He reached out for her, but she raised her hand, warding him off. Hurt flashed through his eyes, but he stood back, watching her. The distance of the few feet between them was nearly killing her, but she was too angry with him to want his comfort.