BEAST: A Bad Boy Marine Romance

by Alana Albertson

  “I love you.”

  I didn’t expect a response. Maybe a cuddle, a kiss on the forehead, a loving touch.

  The silent night echoed through the room. He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me to him.

  I was drifting off to sleep, content with his embrace.

  A few more seconds passed, and his words roused me from my haze. His lips parted. “I love you, too.”

  31

  Patrick

  ANNIE AND GABRIEL SLEPT IN late, but I couldn’t rest. After making her come last night, I was worked up, so I just watched her sleep. I wanted to fuck her so badly but I had to be patient. Normally, and I know it makes me a fucking douche to say this, but I wasn’t the type to have a woman stay over at my apartment. I couldn’t afford those kinds of connections due to the amount of time I was on assignment. I simply didn’t want the complication. With Annie though, I didn’t have any objections to waking up with her shit all over my house or having her in my bed.

  I snuck out to the farmer’s market, came back, and made her breakfast in bed. I wasn’t much of a chef, more of a short order cook—scrambled eggs, bacon, toast.

  I told her I had to do something quick at work and that I’d be back in an hour or so. She and Gabriel decided to take Trigger to the park.

  I cruised over to Kyle’s place. The lucky bastard had invested some of his NFL money in a sick townhouse overlooking the beach.

  I rang the doorbell and a blonde girl opened the door wearing nothing but one of Kyle’s jerseys and purple panties.

  The girl didn’t say anything, just turned and walked into the kitchen. I followed, and couldn’t help staring at her fine ass. Had I never met Annie, I’d probably be hooking up with a different girl every night since I’d been home. Kyle and I would be living it up, maybe even hit the Playboy mansion. We always were invited courtesy of a Hollywood director who loved us. We’d trained his actors for one of the many action movies about the Bin Laden raid.

  Kyle was sitting at his breakfast bar, reading the paper. He wore only pajama bottoms.

  The girl went into the kitchen. “Want some breakfast?” She cracked an egg into a bowl.

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  “My bad. Pat, this is Sara. Let her cook you breakfast.”

  “Sure.” Every girl Kyle hooked up with tried to audition to be his wife. He wasn’t like me—he believed in love and wanted to get married. But he still hadn’t found what he was looking for.

  Sara smiled, put some butter in the skillet. “So are you a former football player, too?”

  I glared at Kyle, not knowing if he had even told this chick he was a SEAL. I doubted it. Kyle usually told people he was retired from the NFL.

  “Nah, honey. Pat here’s my personal trainer. Actually, we need to discuss my plans for the upcoming season in my office. Can you bring us our omelets when you’re done?”

  “Sure, babe.”

  Kyle stood up and kissed her, his right hand cupping her ass. I followed him into his office.

  “Upcoming season? She thinks you still play ball?”

  “I told her I used to play ball, might try out again.”

  “Really? That’s news to me. You’re kind of locked into a military contract.”

  “True that. But who knows, I could write a book about one of our missions and get kicked out.”

  I laughed. Five years ago, most SEALs wanted to remain anonymous. After the Bin Laden raid, every SEAL had a book deal, wanted to become an actor, or ran a Cross Fit. It was fucking ridiculous.

  “When’d you meet her?”

  “Last night. At PB Bar & Grill. She’s a preschool teacher. I dig her. She could be the one.”

  “That’s what you say every time.”

  Sara entered the room, carrying a tray with our food and two coffees. I thanked her. It was nice being taken care of for a change.

  “Could you close the door?”

  “Yup. Don’t be too long.” She licked her lips. “I’ll be upstairs, waiting. Nice to meet you, Pat.”

  “You, too.”

  The door shut. I took a bite of my omelet—cheese and ham. Simple, but good.

  “So how’s Annie?”

  “Good. She’s back at my place now.”

  Kyle’s mouth widened into a smile. “I knew it.”

  “Yeah, well, I caught her texting Chris. She says she’s not screwing him but who knows?”

  “Man, that Marissa chick screwed you up. Women can have male friends and not fuck them. It is possible. Just give Annie a chance. She’s crazy about you, dude. And she’s a good girl. Fine, strong, sweet. Not many women could survive what she did.”

  Kyle always seemed to be right. But I didn’t come here to discuss my relationship problems. “Have you heard back from Dave?”

  “Yup. He’s waiting for our call. Going to conference him now.”

  Kyle dialed his number, and Dave’s face popped up on Kyle’s computer screen. You have to love modern technology.

  “Hi, guys. So I’ve done some searching. Everyone in Aruba knew Annie was taken, but I guess they had her hidden out in Curaçao.”

  I nodded. “Yup. That’s what she told me.”

  “As I told you on the ship, I’d heard of sightings of her, but nothing panned out. And, of course, all the locals know I’m a former SEAL so I’d be the last one they’d tell.”

  “Understood,” Kyle said.

  “Well about two years after she went missing, some contractors came around the island and asked about Annie. Flashing her picture everywhere. Rented my yacht.”

  “We know this—the fake SEAL. He had people with him?”

  “No, Pat. Not him. That con man never even looked for her. I have my doubts he even exists.”

  I was confused. “I’m not following you.”

  “I told you on the boat, these men who came looking for her were former Team guys. They were very thorough and professional. They must’ve hit every brothel here and in Aruba. Yet there has never been any mention of them by Annie’s family or the FBI.”

  My mind raced. “So, you think these guys were paid by her family but didn’t find her?”

  Dave’s head shook. “No. I think they found her—and left her there.”

  What the fuck was he saying? “That makes no fucking sense.”

  “Hear me out. You found her by accident. These men worked for someone. Not the government. Annie had vanished. There were never any ransom notes, no one saw her get taken, her boyfriend was suspected of killing her or it was a possible suicide. Someone hired these guys, whoever they were, to find Annie. I did some more digging once I returned and one of my buddies swears that one of these guys was drunk and bragging that he had found her. And that other girl, Nicole. I bet they found them. They just decided not to bring them home.”

  Jesus! It made sense. There was no way with all the money her parents had that they hadn’t found legit security contractors to locate her. Which group did they hire? And if they found her, why the hell didn’t they bring her home?

  Kyle took over the conversation. “What did the guys look like?”

  “They looked like recently retired SEALs. Older, mid to late thirties. Clean cut, no tattoos, built. One of them was a ginger. I hope this helps.”

  “Thanks, Dave, I really appreciate it. Next time we’re in town, I’ll buy you a beer.”

  “Any time. Let me know if you need anything.”

  I stared at the empty screen, my mind totally blown.

  Finally, Kyle broke my trance, “Has Annie mentioned any other Americans she, um, ‘met’ over there?”

  “Nope. She doesn’t talk about it.”

  “Well, I’ll call Vic and we can start researching older Team guys—see who’s in contracting, any redheads. But you need to talk to your girlfriend, make sure we’re on to something.”

  “I doubt she’ll talk, but I’ll try. Thanks, man.”

  “Any time. I need to take care of some business upstairs and then I’ll get right on i
t.”

  I gave him a high five. “I get it. I’ll let myself out.”

  I walked out of the house, but instead of getting back into my truck, I headed to the ocean. I needed to clear my head.

  My gut clenched. I had to interrogate Annie about her johns without her getting suspicious.

  32

  Patrick

  I RETURNED BACK TO MY apartment, carrying two iced mochas and chocolate milk from Bird Rock Coffee.

  Annie greeted me with a kiss—and a clean apartment. She’d scrubbed my floors, dusted the furniture, and even folded my laundry. Fuck, I didn’t remember getting married.

  “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. I need to be busy.”

  I got it. And here I was about to interrogate her about her past.

  “Gabriel’s taking a nap.”

  We sat at the table.

  “What’s wrong, Pat? You’re acting weird. Are you still upset about Chris? We’re meeting him in an hour so—”

  “No. That’s not it.”

  “No secrets. Spill it.”

  I didn’t know how to approach her. We had an unspoken rule never to talk about her time in the Caribbean. “In the brothel, when I came back to see if you were who you said you were, you told me that you and Nicole were convinced you were going to be saved. Why did you think that?”

  She shifted in her seat. “Why do you ask?”

  “Just curious.”

  “Why now?” She sucked her cheeks in.

  “I’ve always wanted to ask you. There’s never a right time.”

  “It was nothing. I thought this other guy was sent to save me once. He never came back. Why does it matter?”

  “It matters to me. Why did you think he was going to come back?”

  “First, you get all jealous about Chris and now you’re interrogating me about the johns? You know I don’t want to talk about them.”

  “Please, Annie. I have to know.”

  Her hands clenched into fists. “What do you want me to say? You want to hear how he forced me to make out with Nicole? What positions he fucked me in? Will that make you happy?”

  “Dammit, Annie. Is that what you think of me? Of course, I don’t want to know that shit. You don’t think it kills me that all those men used you? That I used you? Every fucking night since I met you, I have nightmares of faceless men who fuck you. And in them, I’m fucking helpless and can’t save you. I want to kill every man who has ever touched you. I just wanted to fucking try to understand why no one ever saved you. Is that so fucking wrong?”

  She pulled out her hair, like she had on the night I’d returned to the brothel. “I’m sorry, Pat. I’m just so screwed up. I lost it. I hate myself.”

  “I’m not mad at you.” I pulled her to me, and kissed her forehead. “I know this is hard for you. I’ve been thinking about it and I want to know. But if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine.” I wasn’t using reverse psychology—I didn’t want to upset her further. She’d tell me when she was ready.

  “I’m sorry,” she squeaked.

  “I’m sorry I brought it up. Forget I asked. We need to leave soon to meet your boyfriend.”

  “Ha ha. I’ll get ready.”

  Annie emerged from the bathroom wearing a short skirt, a tank top, and strappy sandals. Granted it was eighty degrees, but she looked too damn hot to go outside.

  “What are you wearing?”

  “Jesus, Pat. Controlling much? It’s scorching out and I thought you’d like it. I bought it yesterday. Now you’re going to tell me what to wear? I was a hooker, I’m beyond modesty.”

  My throat became dry. We weren’t communicating at all. “No, I’m not telling you what to wear. But we’re going to meet your ex-boyfriend. I already don’t trust him, and I don’t need him lusting after you in front of me. You can wear whatever you want. It’s going to be so fucking hard for me to be away from you when I deploy next month and you’re not making it any easier.”

  “So, if I dress sexy it will be harder for you to trust me? That’s dumb.” She wasn’t backing down.

  “That’s not what I’m saying. I trust you. He’s your ex. I’m a man—I know what he’s going to think when he sees you. You’re fucking hot.”

  She shrugged. “Okay. I’ll change.”

  God, was I that much of a paranoid asshole? I wasn’t one of those men who thought women who dressed sexy were asking for it. I just wanted to protect Annie. I didn’t want anyone fantasizing about her. It would be impossible for me to focus on my job if I were worried sick about every man eye-fucking my woman while I was away.

  She came back out in longer shorts, a tee shirt, and the same strappy sandals.

  I kissed her. “You still look hot. Thank you.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I get it.” She rested her head on my chest. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For being honest with me about your feelings. I want you to be able to trust me. I didn’t realize how hard it would be for you to accept my past. I knew you wouldn’t judge me for what happened, but I forget that it must be tough for you to think about me being with those guys. What I’m saying is, it means a lot to me that you want to be with me.”

  “I’m not going to lie to you and say this is easy for me. Because it isn’t. No man wants to picture anyone touching his girl ever, let alone hundreds. I know it wasn’t your choice. I know it wasn’t your fault. In my head, that girl was Star.”

  She had a gleam in her eye, like an inner glow from her soul. “But for me, I feel like you’re the only man who gets me. Because you saw me as Star. And you’re still here. You haven’t only read about my past, you saw me first-hand like that. Fuck, I mean, you hired me. Star is a part of me and I don’t want to forget about her. Ever. If it weren’t for Star, there would be no Gabriel. She made me strong. Nothing can shake me now. I’ve made peace with my past, getting taken, the rapes, the drugs, and the men. Yeah, it was a nightmare. But it was my path. I was meant to be Gabriel’s mother. I was meant to find you. Therapy and yoga help me to understand that. I forgive my kidnappers. I feel like I can do anything, endure anything.”

  I was mesmerized by her. Her forgiveness for the men who took her blew my mind. I never forgave people, my ex, the guy who hurt my mom. Annie was a better person than I was. She made me want to become a better person.

  We woke Gabriel up, got him ready, leashed up Trigger, and we walked out the door.

  Annie constantly amazed me with how strong she was. In BUD/S, the men who made it through weren’t necessarily the strongest men, the fastest men, or the smartest men. But they were the ones who, on day one, were determined not to quit, no matter what. They would not ring that bell.

  Annie was like the men who made it. No matter how hard her life had been, she had been determined not to ring that bell under any circumstances. She was exactly like me. She could survive anything.

  Maybe even loving me.

  We drove to Solana Beach to meet Chris. He had picked the place, Zinc Café. I didn’t care; I just wanted to look him in his eyes and hear him say there was nothing going on between them.

  The place was dog friendly, so Trigger made himself right at home. We walked into the courtyard, and spotted Chris sitting at a table, drinking iced tea.

  He hugged Annie, and gave Gabriel a high five. I made sure to study his body language with Annie. He wanted her for sure. Fuck.

  “Nice to meet you. Thank you for saving her.”

  He shook my hand—a decent handshake. He looked older than the pictures I’d seen of him on the web. His sun-streaked hair was long and brushed his shoulders, his tan skin was weathered, and his eyes had lines around them.

  “I’m going to order for us.” Annie kissed me on the cheek and squeezed my hand. I knew she was telling me to be nice to him. She didn’t have a clue that I had an additional ulterior motive for wanting to meet him.

  Annie and Gabriel left us and went to order at the counter.

  Chris smiled at me. “I w
anted to thank you for clearing my name. I know finding Annie was way more important and it’s not about me, but it’s hard walking around having everyone look at you like a murderer. I felt so fucking guilty because I didn’t know what happened to her. I was depressed thinking she died, or was out there being traded around. I mean, I should’ve been able to protect her, but I didn’t. We were only eighteen and so stupid. I want to tell you that there is nothing going on between us, either. I’m seeing someone.”

  I’m glad he got that out of the way, though I was pretty sure Annie had texted him to tell me that. He made strong eye contact and I believed him, even though I could tell he was still attracted to her. Not that I could blame him. “Thanks for that. I trust her. That’s not why I wanted to meet you, man.” I glanced over at Annie. She was talking to the cashier. “What do you know about her dad?”

  Trigger sniffed Chris. “Mr. Hamilton? He’s great. Our fathers are old golfing buddies. He always believed I had nothing to do with Annie’s disappearance. Why?”

  I wasn’t going to answer his questions. “How’s his relationship with Annie?”

  A gust of wind blew his hair into his face. “He’s a tough guy, that’s for sure. Very hard on Annie. Total perfectionist. When we were dating, he was always giving her a hard time about everything. Her grades, her clothes, her friends. And we hadn’t even told our parents when we went on the vacation. He’s old-fashioned and Annie was sure he’d forbid her to go. I think, in all honesty, he’s embarrassed more than anything. He can’t handle the fact she was a hooker. And I think seeing Gabriel, knowing his father kidnapped Annie, is painful for him.”

  Made complete sense. Her dad cared more about his image than his own daughter. He couldn’t handle the shame he felt she brought on the family, so he left her to die. “It’s hard for me to deal with, too. But it wasn’t her fault.”

  He leaned into me. “Man, I got to hand it to you. You’re the man. I respect the fuck out of what you do, being a SEAL. You saved her. But how do you deal with the fact that she’s been with so many men? I know it wasn’t her fault. But you’re a better man than me. It would drive me crazy.”