Hot SEALs: SEALed Fate (Kindle Worlds) (Deep Six Security #0)

by Becky McGraw

  “Nothing—just give me your damned car keys so we can get out of here. Levi is chomping at the bit to blow shit up, and I don’t want that to be my helo.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you, Hawkins—the charges aren’t primed yet. I’m not going to blow up your damned helicopter!” Levi shouted, and Jax smiled.

  This is what he missed. The back and forth teasing and the comradery that came from years of working together. Jax had that with the guys at Deep Six, because he’d worked with them four years. But truly? He would have that too with his brothers at GAPS again soon. They’d been together in hell for a lot longer than four years. Once they had a few missions—assignments—together it would all work out. But because he was a SEAL, Jax loved having a plan B, which was the option of rejoining Deep Six if that didn’t turn out to be the case.

  “You gonna give us your keys, dude?” Hawk asked with frustration.

  Jax realized his friend was standing there with his palm out waiting, so he quickly found them in his pocket and handed the ring to Hawk. “At least say a few words, before you turn Levi loose with his toys on her.”

  “It’s a car, man, not a woman!” Levi said, snatching the keys from Hawk. “Logan is sending you a check for it, so just get over it already.” His eyes gleamed with excitement. “I promise I’m going to take good care of her, and make sure those thugs find what’s left of her, with that tracker.”

  Jax had never been on a Deep Six assignment with Levi, and that was probably a good thing. He seemed to enjoy his job just a little too much.

  Hawk, Caleb and Levi went back inside the terminal and his mother came out. Jax could tell from the way she walked, from her pinched lips, she was still upset at Fallon being here. Fallon was keeping quiet where she leaned against the front window of the building smiling as she just watched the show. That was probably smart on her part.

  “Here are the keys, and I called Gary to come and pick me up,” she said with a quick glance at Fallon. “I thought you might want to have dinner with us so you could meet him, but I’m sure you want to get rid of her.” Marjorie flicked her thumb over her shoulder, and Fallon’s brows crashed down over her eyes.

  “Mom, please don’t,” Jax grated, with a glance at Fallon. “This is an assignment, and I need somewhere closer to Virginia to hide out for a week or two. Do you still have your house in Florida?”

  “Is she staying with you there?” Marjorie asked, and Jax threw up his hands.

  “Yes, Fallon is staying there with me! She is my assignment right now.”

  Marjorie shook her head. “You’re crazy as a loon sometimes, you know that?”

  Jax’s eyes flew to Fallon and her lips curled up. “So I’ve been told. Can I crash at your house for a few weeks, or not?”

  “The spare key is under the rock by the front porch,” she said gruffly. “But your sister is there too trying to find a job.”

  “Mom, I’ve told you a hundred times not to put your key—” Jax stopped as the second part of her statement registered. “Anna’s moving back to Florida?” As far as he knew, his sister hated Florida, or had when they’d all lived there together. That was a long time ago though, and things changed.

  “No, she’s looking to move to the East Coast somewhere now that she has her degree. I think she’s applying with the FBI or something.”

  “What did she finally major in?” Jax asked, recounting in his mind how many times she’d changed majors that he knew of—at least four. That’s why it had taken her so long to graduate.

  “Criminal Justice and Forensics,” Marjorie said with a shiver. “I can’t imagine that girl with a gun in her hand, or her hands on a dead body.”

  “Me either,” Jax mumbled, having to force the words past the logjam of worry in his throat. His sister was smart, but she wasn’t quick on her feet, or athletic. Maybe the problem would solve itself when she tried to make it through the academy at Quanitco.

  “You can catch up with her when you get there,” his mother said with a wave of her hand. “But I better see your face in the next three months for a visit. I want you to meet Gary, because I think he’s a keeper.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Jax said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “We’re going now, and thanks again for the help.”

  “You know I’ll always help you. Just don’t make that the only time you call,” she said sternly, and that guilt sprouted again in his chest. Jax nodded, picked up his weapons bag and walked up to grab Fallon’s arm, but he tensed at his mother’s words.

  “I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in, or why my son is helping you despite what you’ve done to him, but I’d suggest you don’t hurt him again, Ms. Sharpe, or there will be hell to pay. Unlike my daughter, I do know how to handle a gun. Jaxson’s daddy made sure of it, God rest his soul.”

  With a growl, Jaxson spun back to put his hands on his hips. “Mom, you just threatened a federal judge. I think you better check yourself before you’re the one in trouble.”

  One of her blonde eyebrows lifted, and just like that cue signaling his mother’s displeasure always did, it caused a seed of fear to sprout in his stomach. “And I think you better check yourself, young man. You’re speaking to your mother. I don’t care if she’s the Queen of England. I’m the one who had to paste those pieces back together after she finished with you last time, remember? I’m not standing by to watch that happen again.”

  Fallon surprised him when she stepped around him to stand in front of his mother. “Mrs. Thomas, I’ve apologized to your son, but it sounds like I owe you one as well. I was wrong to run my mouth to my father before I had all the facts, and he was wrong to push as hard as he did for Jaxson to be punished for something he didn’t do. I understand now how devastating the consequences were to your son, and I’m truly sorry.”

  Her words, the passion and remorse behind them, rang true and they soaked into his chest like a salve, making Jaxson feel a little lighter inside. His mother looked surprised, and her mouth flapped a few times, but she didn’t say a word. Fallon stuck her hand out to her, and his mother stared at it a second before she took it. Their eyes met, and he watched something pass between the women, unspoken words, maybe forgiveness.

  “Your son is a good man, an honorable one, and you should be proud of him,” Fallon said stepping back.

  His mother looked at him, and her eyes filled. “I’m as proud as a mother can be. His father would have been prouder.”

  And with that Jaxson got choked up. It was time to go.

  He grabbed Fallon’s arm. “We’ve got to go,” he said tersely, as he dragged her toward the Grape Grocery Getter. That’s what he’d dubbed it the first time he’d seen it when he visited his Mom in Florida. He slid open the back door and tossed his bag inside then slammed it.

  “Have I mentioned how sexy that growly voice of yours is?” Fallon asked with a throaty laugh that set every nerve in his body on fire.

  Jax stopped at the front door of the van, and Fallon grinned. “Oooh—but definitely not as sexy as seeing a big bad Navy SEAL drive this van. I’ll bet you can get at least sixty out of it if you lean forward.” A giggle bubbled from her lips, as she looked at his scowl. “You sure you don’t want me to get that rental car?”

  “Just get in the damned van,” Jax growled as he grabbed the handle on the driver’s door.

  “There’s that growly voice again,” she said with a laugh. “I think my panties just went up in flames.” Fallon put a finger by her mouth. “Oh yeah, I’m not wearing any, so I guess that was something else burning.”

  Probably Jax’s fucking underwear, because it looked like Fallon was pulling out the big guns now by flirting with him, and she’d made a direct hit. This was going to be a long assignment. The longest of his life, he thought, as he got behind the wheel and waited for her to walk around the van.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  How damned much longer was this going to last Jax wondered a week and a half later, as he listened to his sister
and Fallon in the kitchen debating points as they studied for her FBI exam, which was next week. Twisting the allen wrench forcefully, Jax also wondered how many times could he clean his damned weapons just to keep himself occupied?

  They were spotless, beyond that—these weapons were so damned clean they’d even pass Grant’s inspection with a magnifying glass and a white glove.

  He remembered that surprise inspection well when he’d first made the teams. That time it hadn’t turned out so good for him, and the whole damned team had to do sand drills, which hadn’t endeared him to his teammates at all. After that, Jax had used his own magnifying glass and white glove, before Grant had a chance to.

  But Jax was not only bored stiff, he was just about as stiff as he’d ever been in his life.

  The waiting was killing him. The not knowing what the FBI was doing was killing him. He’d talked to the agent in charge five times and got nothing from him. But what was killing him most was Fallon and her flirting. Jax stayed in a perpetual state of agitation, stone-hard agitation, around the woman.

  And she was evidently enjoying it, because last night she’d upped her game with the little finger crook she gave him to invite him to join her in her bedroom. It took everything Jax had to turn his back, to go into his own bedroom and take matters into hand himself, which helped then to a degree, but now he was right back where he’d been.

  This morning, her torture device was a pair of the shortest and tightest shorts he’d ever seen. His guess was they were his sister’s because they would fit his less curvy, more petite younger sister perfectly. But on the thirty-plus-year-old, much taller and curvier federal judge, they were more underwear than shorts. The bottom of her ass cheeks hung out past the frayed hem, and Fallon took every opportunity to give him a good view of that too.

  Fallon laughed at something Anna said, and Jax had enough of their chatter. It was almost as if those two didn’t know he existed, or realize that he was trying to focus on something himself. The fact that he was mostly trying to keep himself from going in the kitchen and dragging Fallon Sharpe to the bedroom to fuck her brains out was beside the point.

  Jax jerked the remote up from the coffee table, turned on the television and flipped until he found national news then kicked up the volume. Finally, their voices faded and Jax relaxed against the back of the sofa to pick up the soft cleaning cloth and rod to clean the barrel of his rifle. He sat the rifle on the floor between his knees, and pushed the cloth in and out with the rod, which further reminded him of the sex he wasn’t having with Fallon Sharpe. In and out he went time and again, while listening to the anchor on the television drone on about the latest on the war in Iraq, spinning the fault for the latest fuckup there on the politician in the hot seat at the moment. That was the last thing Jax wanted to hear, so he sat the rod aside to pick up the remote. His thumb was on the button when a breaking news banner flashed across the screen, and he waited to see what it was.

  “We have breaking news from Washington about the trial of accused East Coast mobster Peter Crifaso. With the whereabouts of Washington Federal Judge Fallon Sharpe being unknown at this time, the pending federal case against Peter Crifaso for money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud has been remanded to her father, Federal Judge James Sharpe’s courtroom, for a trial scheduled to begin June 30th. As reported several weeks ago, Judge Fallon Sharpe received death threats which may be related to her decision against mob boss William Crifaso, who she sentenced to serve ten years in federal prison. The FBI is investigating the threats, but no details have been released.”

  “I’ll bet Peter is breathing easier today,” the second anchor, a man who looked more like a used car salesman than a newscaster, added with a short laugh. “From his decision record, it’s common knowledge that James Sharpe is a lot easier on mobsters than his daughter.”

  The female anchor’s eyebrows lifted as she glanced at him and forced a smile. “In other news,” she said, swinging her eyes back to the camera. Jax turned off the television, then propped his rifle on the arm of the sofa.

  “Fallon, I need to talk to you, babycakes!” Jax yelled, and the chatter in the kitchen stopped. His tongue curled at the back of his throat when he realized he’d used the pet name. Fallon stormed out of the kitchen, red hair swinging over her shoulders and amber eyes blazing. She stopped at the arm of the sofa to glare at him with her hands on her hips.

  “Only people I sleep with get to call me that name. And if I recall, you have chosen to recuse yourself from that list!”

  Well he was adding his name right back to that list tonight. Jax had just reached his breaking point at trying to do the right thing. She was safe here in Florida, the bad guys had no idea where she was. He didn’t need his damned concentration and he was fucking tired of cleaning his gun—and his weapons.

  “Your father has evidently decided that you’ve recused yourself from the Peter Crifaso case too,” he said, soaking in just how beautiful Fallon Sharpe was when she was angry, with her face flushed pink, her eyes dark bourbon pools he could get drunk on fast.

  Almost as gorgeous as she was when she came. A shiver snaked down his spine and zipped to the end of his painfully hard cock. Even as far as she was from him, when her head rocked back on her shoulders, he could almost smell that flowery bath gel they’d stopped to buy her on the way to the house. His mouth watered and he knew his workout shorts must look like a pup tent, but he didn’t give a damn. That problem would be solved tonight.

  Anna strolled out of the kitchen to stand beside Fallon. The teasing grin at the corner of her mouth told Jax she’d heard what Fallon said. He didn’t give a damn about that either. At twenty-five, his sister was an adult now and if he knew women, they had discussed him. He was almost sure of it when Anna nudged Fallon with her elbow. His sister looked like she thought she had ringside seats for the big show, and her words confirmed it.

  “You tell him, sister. Men think they can get you worked up and then drop you like a rock for no reason.” Anna’s clear blue eyes bored holes in him. “Make him explain himself.”

  Men can get you worked up and drop you like a rock?

  Anna sounded like she knew exactly what that meant from firsthand experience—like she and Fallon had been commiserating or something. His sister was young and somewhat naïve having grown up without a father and it sounded to Jax like someone had taken advantage of her. He wanted to find the man who hurt his sister, the man who’d taken advantage of her, and have a word—or fucking hurt him, if Jax didn’t like his explanation.

  “Who the hell dropped you?” he demanded, anger scorching a trail up his body as he vaulted to his feet.

  “None of your business,” Anna replied with a wave of her hand. “Let’s just say one of your SEAL buddies is a player. We’re not discussing me though. Focus, Jaxson—tell the lady why you’re dropping her—because I like her and you’re being an asshole.”

  “Zane?!?” Jaxson shouted, his anger tripling as he speared his sister with his eyes to gauge her reaction. Nothing. He walked over to her to glare down at her. “Are we talking about Alexander? Because if that’s true, I’m going to—”

  “Not Zane,” Anna cut him off, putting a hand in the center of his chest where his heart pounded. “You’re not ever going to know. That was my mistake, and I’m way over it.”

  Way over it? Jaxson thought back to the one time Anna visited him on base during a break from college five years ago when she wasn’t even old enough to drink. He tried to remember who she’d hung out with. All of the guys on the team made rude remarks about how hot she was, and Jax had come very close to shutting a couple of their mouths with his fist. But he couldn’t think of one who stood out in the group.

  “Get over it, Jax—talk to Fallon. I’m going out for a run,” Anna said, walking toward the door. “I would wait for you, because you look like you could use one too, but you’re probably going to be a while.” With a finger wave and a wink, she let herself out of the door.

 
; His eyes swung back to Fallon and found hers squarely on him. “Yeah, Jax—get over it and tell me what the hell you mean my father has decided I’ve recused myself from the Crifaso trial?” With a huffed breath, Jax flopped back on the sofa.

  “It was on the news a few minutes ago,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “Since your whereabouts are unknown, and the trial starts in three days, the case has been given to your father. I just thought you’d want to know.”

  “Oh, hell no it hasn’t,” Fallon growled, reaching for his cell phone. “I didn’t tell my father I was leaving town, because I didn’t know until the last minute and I left my cell phone on my bed at home.”

  Before she picked up his phone though, it rang and Jax grabbed it. Relief washed through him when he saw it was the FBI agent he’d been talking to. Maybe they finally had news and had caught the guys who were after Fallon. Maybe this whole thing was over.

  “Jaxson Thomas,” he said, putting the phone to his ear, but holding Fallon’s angry gaze.

  “Mr. Thomas, I need you to bring Judge Sharpe back to Washington. We need her assistance to finalize our investigation.”

  “When do you need her there?” he asked, and Fallon flinched.

  “As soon as possible, but no later than tomorrow. We’ve hit a dead end on finding the men who are threatening her because she isn’t here.”

  Jax’s body tensed. He could read between the lines of what this man was saying. Because he’d taken Fallon out of Washington, she was out of the mob’s reach so there was zero chance for them to strike again. To finish what they hadn’t been able to do the first time they tried. The FBI wanted to use Fallon as bait to finalize their investigation. The problem was Fallon’s life could be finalized instead.

  “Not happening,” Jax replied firmly, dragging his eyes to the black TV screen.

  “What?” Fallon asked her voice shaking as she sank down on the sofa beside him. “Let me talk to them.” He looked at her outstretched hand and shook his head.