Surviving the Fall

by Brittney Sahin

  He rubbed a hand down his jaw and swallowed. “Your accent is much better than mine.” He laughed. “And the answer to your question is hell yes.”

  Jake

  “How much did that cost?”

  I waited for the doors to close before I moved up behind her, resting my hand on the small of her back as she looked out the window and down below at the water as we began to rise. We were inside a giant Ferris wheel known as the London Eye, which looked like a huge spoked bicycle wheel. “I wanted you alone in here. Couldn’t stand to share you and this view with a bunch of tourists.”

  “And what are you?” She looked over at me, and her full lips parted, offering me her smile. God, the woman was gorgeous. I wrapped my arms around her back, and our fingers twined, our hands splayed over her stomach. “I’d like to think of myself as a visitor . . . although I’d like to come back again.”

  She stiffened against me, the very embodiment of her hesitation. Maybe she felt differently about me but damned if I couldn’t picture letting this woman go. We’d spent six nights together, and I’d barely seen my little sister, even though she was the whole reason I’d come to London. But, as much as I wanted to extend my stay, I had an undercover OP coming up. I had to start hunting some scumbag who possibly had sworn allegiance to Ansari, an ISIS leader.

  “I can’t believe you leave today.”

  She had decided to avoid my hint and I took a step back, releasing my hold. I stepped around her and pressed a hand to the glass window. The city was spectacular, laid out before us.

  “Jake.” Her hand on my back had me straightening my spine, angry at myself for giving into the strange feelings that filled me whenever we were together. I’d never fallen for a woman in a week. Hell, I’d never really fallen for any woman. And Alexa . . . shit, there was an ocean between us. How would this work? We hadn’t talked about it, and I was about to leave. Wasn’t it worth mentioning?

  Maybe she didn’t feel the same way. There was something mysterious about this woman, and I wanted to discover her secrets—what lay beneath her gorgeous body, her beautiful face, her laugh, her fire, her quick intelligence. I wanted to know the real Alexa. But I needed more time to get through to her—time I didn’t have.

  And how could I explain to her that it was my job to hunt down terrorists?

  “This week—well, it took me by surprise. This was the first time I’ve been unplugged from work, and you gave me the chance to see what life could be like if—”

  I spun to face her, but when her lips pressed tightly together, I realized she would never finish that sentence. The woman shut herself off to people, even though she had opened up to me in small pieces, each time pulling me deeper under her spell. “If what, Alexa?” My hand came down over her forearm as I met her hazel eyes.

  “Mm. Jake. Let’s just enjoy the last hour we have together.”

  One hour? The thought was unbearable.

  “Just kiss me, okay?” Her chest rose and fell with slow breaths. “Kiss me one last time, Jake,” she said softly.

  “No.” I shook my head. “But I’ll kiss you for now, until next time . . .”

  Also by Brittney Sahin

  Hidden Truths

  The Safe Bet – Begin the series with the Man-of-Steel lookalike Michael Maddox.

  Beyond the Chase - Fall for the sexy Irishman, Aiden O’Connor, in this romantic suspense.

  The Hard Truth – Read Connor Matthews’ story in this second-chance romantic suspense novel.

  The Final Goodbye - Ben Logan’s book (June 2018)

  *Connor Matthews guest stars in the upcoming romantic suspense, My Every Breath.

  A new action-packed SEAL TEAM series releases Fall 2018. Make sure you’ve subscribed to my newsletter so you don’t miss out!

  Stand-Alones

  Someone Like You - A former Navy SEAL. A father. And off-limits.

  The Story of Us– Sports columnist Maggie Lane has 1 rule: never fall for a player. One mistaken kiss with Italian soccer star Marco Valenti changes everything…

  On the Edge– When Anna Drake leaves Kentucky to take an internship in Dublin, Ireland, she never expects to fall for her boss. Billionaire businessman by day, underground fighter by night.

  My Every Breath - a sizzling romantic suspense. Businessman Cade King has fallen for the wrong woman. She’s the daughter of a hitman - and he’s the target. (May 2018)

  *Get notified when books enter or exit KU by clicking here.

  Continue for a preview of Someone Like You.

  Someone Like You Extract

  He was a nameless guy in a bar—a man Grace couldn’t get out of her head…

  A week later, she came home to find him sweaty and shirtless with a tape measure in hand, remodeling her loft. As a Parker-King, she’s not allowed to want someone like Noah Dalton. She’s sick of her life, though. Sick of the rules of being a Parker-King. She wants something more, even if it isn’t forever. Somewhere in history there was that one time where hot, no-strings-attached sex didn’t end badly, right? Finding comfort in the arms of a former SEAL is easy, not falling for one . . . not so much.

  Noah left the military and moved to New York for one reason: his daughter. Not for some uptight businesswoman—a Manhattan elitist. So when Grace offers him the kind of relationship that no hot-blooded man can turn down, he should say no. And when her seemingly put-together life spins out of control, and his instincts to protect and save kick in, he should turn away. But he doesn’t.

  Can two people from different worlds really live in the moment, knowing they’re on borrowed time, or is someone bound to get hurt?

  Someone Like You

  Prologue

  Noah

  Why the hell isn’t she answering?

  “Yo, we’re ready to roll out at zero one. We’re meeting up in ten to go over the mission once more. You good?” Wyatt’s in the doorway, casually leaning inside the frame with crossed arms.

  “Yeah, sure,” I mumble.

  His forehead creases as he straightens his stance and drops his arms. He knows something’s up with me. We’re a team, one unit; we can read each other.

  But is something wrong with me?

  I’ve had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach for weeks, and it’s not about the mission. I never get nervous on ops. I live for them. We were trained at BUD/S to remove fear from the equation, so I know going into Iran in a couple of hours isn’t what has me rattled.

  “I’ll meet up with y’all in five. Just trying to see Cindy and Lily before we leave.” I turn back to the laptop screen and end the unanswered Skype call once again, killing the annoying beeping sound before I try one last time.

  “All right.”

  I lean back in the chair and narrow my eyes when the call finally connects, and my daughter’s face fills the screen. Lily’s long blond hair is draped in front of her shoulders, and her huge emerald-green eyes trap me, giving me a serious ache in my chest. It’s been months since I’ve been home. She’s almost five, and I’ve been away from her more than I’ve been with her. She’s the reason I’m not sure if I’ll re-enlist when the time comes in four months.

  But she’s also why I do what I do—to protect her, to try to make the world a little better for when she grows up.

  “Hi, baby girl. I miss you.” My index finger goes to the laptop screen as if I can actually touch her tiny palm as she waves, her dimples popping as she smiles.

  “Hiya, Daddy. I miss you too. Mommy is packing. She says we’re going to see the Big Apple.”

  I lean in closer. “Where’s Mamma? Can you put Mamma on, baby girl?”

  “Okay, Daddy. Love you.”

  “Love you more.” I kiss two fingers and press them to the screen, and Lily does the same. It’s our ritual goodbye.

  A moment later, Cindy is on camera, and I’ve lost sight of Lily. Now I’m certain as to why I’ve been hanging on the damn edge.

  My wife.

  She’s been off for a while, but I haven’t
wanted to admit it. With the way her brows pinch together and her lips draw tight, I can tell she’s holding something back from me, something I don’t want to hear.

  I catch a glimpse of my mother’s old record player off to the right behind her. It’s closed and probably collecting dust. When we first got married I would play my mother’s jazz music and dance around the living room, trying to get Cindy to move with me. She always hated that record player. She’d shirk away and raise her palms, insisting I was crazy for wanting to dance in the middle of the day just because it was a rainy afternoon.

  Not once did she dance with me.

  My gaze snaps back to Cindy as she wets her glossy pink lips and brushes her dyed blond hair to her back. Her green eyes aren’t on mine. She looks past me as if someone is standing behind my chair. I almost peek over my shoulder just to be sure I’m alone.

  “Where are you going? What’s Lily talking about? Another trip to your mom’s?” My body tenses as an unnatural pull of stress ropes me in, and I grind my knuckles against my thigh. “Cindy?”

  She finally looks at me.

  I almost regret it, because the look in her eyes…well, it’s as if she’s a ghost.

  “Noah.”

  My name used to sound good when she said it, but now it’s as though the word has become an inconvenience, my existence a nuisance.

  “I don’t have much time,” I say as anticipation cuts me open. Give me a terrorist to face any day, but a pissed off wife…not so much.

  “When are you coming home?” She knows the answer to that because I can never give her definitive dates.

  “I don’t know. Maybe sooner than I thought.” I didn’t think the raid in Iran would happen this month, so I’ll probably get back to Virginia in a matter of weeks.

  “Well, I’m going away for a little while…so, uh, we won’t be here when you get back.”

  I blink like a damn fool as I try to make sense of that.

  “What do you mean?” I stand, needing to be on my feet for this conversation. I brace against the desk, palms down, a grimace spreading across my face.

  “We’re leaving. I’ve already had a lawyer draw up the paperwork. The law requires us to be separated for a year before we can get a divorce, but because of your unique situation, they’re allowing me to take Lily out of state. If you want to contest it, you can, but please don’t.” Her voice doesn’t even quaver. There’s not an ounce of remorse or fear, no emotion at all. Just…hollowness. An empty vessel of what used to be there.

  My wife is gone. When did that happen?

  I grit my teeth and stare at her, assessing the situation, trying to figure out how to get through this as if she’s an op and I want to minimalize the collateral damage.

  She won’t look at me again. “I wanted to tell you when you came home, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to face you in person. I just want what’s best for Lily.”

  “What’s best for Lily?” My heart thrashes as I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself the hell down.

  As a SEAL, I’m trained for the unknown. I can turn any object into a weapon—if I remain calm, that is. If I keep my shit together.

  But let me tell you what I’m not trained in—keeping my wife happy while I put my life on the line every day. And no, I never got instructions on how to deal with the intense blow she’s delivered.

  “You’re not taking Lily anywhere.” I bow my head, knowing I’m on the other side of the world and can’t do a damn thing about it. Hell, I’m about to go into dangerous enemy territory and might not even make it out alive.

  My skin crawls, and my body slightly trembles. I’ve never once, in all my goddamn years as a SEAL, thought about the possibility of not coming home. You can’t think like that because it puts your men at risk and takes your eyes off the end game, the goal.

  What is Cindy doing to me?

  I pinch the tight skin at my throat and close my eyes. I have to keep my shit together for my men, for the mission. “Please, can we talk about this when I get back? I’ll be able to call you in a few days. Don’t go anywhere or do anything before then. Give me your word. We’ve been together for thirteen years. You can’t just drop this on me right before I’m about to go—”

  “I’m sorry to do this to you, but this is your fault.” She actually looks annoyed instead of sad. A scowl mars the pretty features of her face. “You were only going to be in the military for four years. This wasn’t supposed to turn into your life. I-I can’t handle this anymore.”

  “Are you asking me to choose? Are you at least giving me an option?” My eyes flicker open at the possibility that I might be able to save my marriage. I just need to give up being a SEAL.

  You know, give up breathing…

  I take another breath as if it might be my last, stealing time as I wait for her response.

  “It’s too late for us. Lily needs a family. A better home life.”

  My fist pounds the metal desk, shaking the laptop, as I bite out, “I am her family.”

  Cindy covers her face with both hands. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to New York.”

  I stumble back a step. “What the hell is in New York?”

  Is Cindy following her old dream of being an actress? If that’s what she wants, I can sacrifice—I can do something—but dammit, the woman isn’t giving me a choice.

  Her hands fall from her face, showcasing her dead eyes. No tears. Not even a hint of sheen over her green irises. “I met someone.”

  The words are so low it sounds like a coo from her lips as chills rake my spine.

  “Say that again.” My heart isn’t beating fast like it probably should be. Instead, it’s like a slow drumbeat. So slow I wonder if it’s still working.

  She’s standing now, her arms folded over the blue sweater that has the word NAVY on it.

  My sweater. Is she fucking kidding me? She’s going to tell me she’s leaving me for some asshole while wearing my goddamn sweater? A sweater that represents what she apparently hates about me—the military.

  I can’t even look at her anymore.

  “I didn’t mean for it to happen. He’s a stock broker,” she says it casually as though she isn’t shattering my world right now. “I met him while at my mom’s, and now he’s transferring to New York, and I—”

  “Are you screwing him? For how long?” This has to be a nightmare. It can’t be real. I face monsters in the dark. Hell, in daylight too. People who blow themselves up to kill soldiers and civilians…but when I finally look at her again, she is now what I can’t handle.

  “A year.”

  I slump back into the chair, and my palms press against my fatigues.

  She cheated on me even while I was home. My stomach shakes a little, and I think I might puke.

  “He’s taking a job on Wall Street, and he asked Lily and me to come with him. He has money. He has the ability to give me—I mean, Lily, the life she deserves.”

  Thirteen fucking years.

  Gone.

  “This has been a long time coming, you know that. You don’t love me anymore. You love being a SEAL. You’d rather be off in a war zone than home with me. I need someone who can take care of Lily and me. Provide a safe and stable home.”

  There’s a high-pitched ringing in my ears, and I clench my jaw tightly as I try to formulate the words to say.

  “We gotta move.” Wyatt is back in the doorway. “Noah?”

  “Not now,” I rasp.

  “Go, Noah. There’s nothing left to say for now. You’ll get the papers when you’re portside. Call me when you’re in Virginia, and we’ll chat.” Cindy spoke as if we were discussing getting a cup of coffee together. Is she out of her mind?

  “Wait.”

  But it’s too late. She’s already ended the call, and I have to resist the compulsion to break something.

  Calm. Cool. Collected. The three Cs—the normal me. But not right now. Cindy has ripped out my heart, and I can’t even fight back.

  “You ok
ay, man?” Wyatt comes toward me as I push my fingers to my temples, where an intense throbbing gathers.

  “No, man. No, I’m not.”

  And that means I might be putting my team at risk when my boots hit the ground in Iran.

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