Hot SEAL, Midnight Magic (SEALs In Paradise)

by Teresa J. Reasor

  He was never like that before. He’d been easygoing, hardworking, and eager for the future.

  He was a different man now because of what her brother did. What her brother forced Gage to do—to survive without family or friends. There was a harder edge to him now, a distance she didn’t know if she could cross, or if she wanted to try. Quick tears blurred her eyes, and she looked away.

  She glanced up and caught a look in his dark eyes that had her stomach tumbling.

  “I missed you. I used to dream about you all the time. I’d wake up expecting to smell your scent on my pillows.”

  Her heart pounded so hard it stole her breath. She swallowed to moisten a throat gone dry with need. Only he could make her feel so much in a single moment. No one else had even come close.

  “What do you want from me, Gage?”

  “I don’t know. When I left… It killed me to hurt you, Mia. But I thought if I cut you loose…it would be easier for you to move on.”

  “You were wrong.” She regretted the words as soon as she spoke them.

  The waitress came to their table with their food, saving her from having to explain. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked.

  He looked to Mia, and she shook her head. “No, it all looks great,” Gage said.

  They focused on their food for a few moments.

  She was angry at Gage, but she was even angrier at her mother and brother. They manipulated her, manipulated him, and changed their lives in ways that caused them both pain and loss. “I want very much to make them pay, Gage.”

  His attention leapt from his food to her face.

  “Not only for what they did to us before you left, but for everything they did after you were gone. For what they continue to do, even now.”

  “You’re talking about revenge.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  His brows rose. “What do you want to do?”

  “I want to fuck with them.”

  Gage laughed.

  She wished she could laugh about it with him.

  They ate in silence for a few moments. Mia picked at her salad until Gage put a handful of deep-fried battered green beans in her bowl.

  He moaned as he chewed a bite of catfish. “I go deep sea fishing now and then and get white seabass or yellowtail. But there’s nothing like catfish.”

  She studied his face. “Will you tell me about your life in California?”

  “I go surfing whenever I can on the weekends with Cash, one of my teammates. He’s new to the team, but we both like to surf, swim and fish. We hang with some of the guys at our favorite bar, Mc P’s. It’s owned by a retired SEAL. And I work, train, and deploy whenever we get orders.”

  “Do you have an apartment?”

  “I live in enlisted housing. They’re townhouses. The living room, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry are downstairs. Two bedrooms and two baths upstairs. One bedroom I’ve organized into a room for my gear, surfboard, scuba gear, desk, laptop that kind of thing.”

  “It sounds like I probably have about the same amount of room. Luckily, I have my office downstairs in the gallery, so I’m not tempted to work twenty-four hours a day. I keep the second bedroom for company. I have a few friends from college who come to visit now and then.”

  He chewed a bean. “I have a couch that makes out into a bed if one of the guys needs to crash at my place.”

  “I suppose when you say brothers-in-arms, it really is like that since you watch each other’s backs.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “I’m glad you have people you can depend on.” She munched a bean and a bite of chicken while he ate more of his fish.

  “What about you, Mia? Who besides your grandmother can you depend on?”

  “Those few friends from college who stay with me when they come to town. Lottie, the woman who runs the restaurant downstairs. We were friends before we became partners. Jessica and Stan when it comes to business. And my mother’s assistant, Ming.”

  His brown eyes looked very dark as they searched her face. “Why him?”

  “He believes in my gift and accepts it.”

  “What did you do for him?”

  “He and his wife have a little girl. Her name is Meiying, meaning ‘beautiful flower.’

  “My grandmother asked me to drop something off for my mother at the house. Ming was there, and I asked to see pictures of the baby. He had some on his computer. She was about three months old and so beautiful. While I was looking at them, I had a vision about the baby. And when I told him to call his wife and have her go home and get the baby right away, that something was about to happen at the house, he didn’t even hesitate. He called her as soon as I told him. His wife got home and found her mother had collapsed on the floor and the baby was lying beside her screaming.

  “She called an ambulance for her mother, who’d had a stroke but somehow managed to lie the baby down before collapsing, so Meiying was okay.”

  “How is the mother doing?”

  “Very well. She’s had a lot of physical therapy and has worked through the aftereffects. The baby is now two.”

  “So Ming owes you.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t feel that way about it. But if I see something that disturbs me, he’ll look into it.”

  “Like what?”

  She’d already told him enough. “Any kind of situation that could lead to danger or harm.”

  His dark brows bunched in a frown.

  “Jesus! You’re like a one-woman crime meter.”

  Mia shook her head. “Not always. But when something is shown to me that is an injustice or a crime, I feel like it’s my responsibility to follow through.”

  The waitress came to ask if they wanted dessert. Mia shook her head. Gage asked for the check.

  “Does Jules know about your gift?” he asked when the waitress left them.

  “I’ve never mentioned it to him. But I have asked him to look into things when I saw them.” In fact, she needed to call him tomorrow and ask him to look into Angelique Webster’s suicide and her father’s death.

  *

  Outside the restaurant, Gage savored the air, warm and muggy and flavored with the scent of the flowers decorating some of the nearby stores as they wandered through the French Quarter. The sweet scent of pastries drifted toward them as they passed a restaurant, while the distinctive rhythms of jazz cut through the noise of people wandering up and down the street. When a rowdy group exited a bar ahead, Gage guided Mia out of the way, his hand against her waist. It felt right for them to stroll the quarter together, and when he caught her hand in his, she didn’t pull away.

  Had she forgiven him just a little? “Remember how we used to people-watch around here?” she asked.

  “I remember. We used to sit outside Café Beignet and watch the crowds go by. Now you’re a business owner, I suppose you get enough of dealing with the public.”

  “I don’t normally get the colorful crowds that congregate down here. So it’s a little less…interesting…and less rowdy. Though I do have one repeat customer who’s a cross-dresser. He has a gorgeous wardrobe, and his makeup is always amazing. He does personal shopping for some of the very wealthy ladies here, and if you didn’t already know he was a man, you’d never guess it.”

  Gage shook his head. “Amazing.” New Orleans had a different flare, and he was seldom surprised by anything he saw here.

  His phone rang, and when he saw it was the hospital he answered.

  Relief overwhelmed his immediate anxiety, and he grinned as he disconnected the call. “Mama’s awake and is asking for us.”

  “It’s past visiting hours.”

  “They’re going to let us see her if we come right away.”

  “Wonderful!”

  “The car’s about a block away.”

  “Let’s go,” she urged.

  He matched his steps to hers, though it was hard not to run all the way.

  They arrived at Mama’s car, and he opened the passenger door f
or her, then walked around to get in on the driver’s side.

  “I’ve been bracing myself for something bad to happen. That she’d lapse into a coma and not come out of it,” he admitted as he pulled away from the curb. He turned left onto Canal Street and drove toward the medical center.

  “I knew she’d pull out of it,” Mia said.

  “You could have told me,” he complained.

  “I didn’t see it through any unusual means, Gage. I just believe in Mama.”

  Nothing happened in just a few minutes in New Orleans. It was thirty minutes before they were parked and made it into the labyrinth of towers that made up the hospital. The corridors were quiet and nearly deserted as they made their way to the ICU.

  As soon as he buzzed, a nurse came to the door of the ICU.

  “She’s impatient to see you. Your older brother was here earlier, but at that time she was coming in and out. She’s clearer now.”

  “Thanks for calling.”

  He looked at Mia, and she gestured down the hall toward Mama’s room. “Go on back, and I’ll see her tomorrow.”

  “I’ll tell her you’re here,” he said.

  He experienced a seesaw of dread and anticipation as he followed the nurse to Mama’s room.

  Mama’s eyes were actually both open as far as they could be in her bruised, swollen face. And the tube down her throat had been removed.

  She raised a hand to him to urge him forward. Gage was quick to cross the space between them and grasp her hand. To keep from looming over her, he hooked the front of the chair next to the bed and dragged it closer.

  For a moment he was overwhelmed by emotion and had to beat it back. “It’s good to see you awake, Mama.” He raised her hand to his lips.

  “How long?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Because of her cracked jaw, she couldn’t fully open her mouth yet.

  The nurse must have brushed her hair, as thick and coarse as his own, because it lay in heavy waves against her head.

  “You’ve been out for about five days. You don’t need to talk. It’s better if you rest your voice.”

  “Mia.”

  “She’s in the waiting room. She’s taking good care of Jazz. She sends her love.”

  “You told her?” A single tear traced a path down Mama’s cheek.

  He brushed it away. “Yes, she knows everything.”

  “About time.”

  As long as he was there, she’d continue to talk. “You need to rest your jaw and your voice, Mama. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  She nodded. Her eyes were already starting to close.

  He didn’t want to upset her, but he had to know. “Do you know who attacked you, Mama?”

  She shook her head gingerly, as though the movement was painful. Her eyes, dark as his own, rested on his face.

  He longed to hold and comfort her but knew every movement would be painful. He cupped her hand in both of his with tender pressure. “You’re safe here, Mama. And I’ve fixed the house so you’ll be safe there, too.”

  She clasped his wrist, but after a minute or two closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

  CHAPTER 10

  ‡

  Unable to sit still, Mia leaned back against the wall just outside the ICU door, and she straightened as soon as Gage emerged. Instead of being relaxed with relief, Gage’s features were taut with such intensity that Mia’s anxiety spiked. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s asleep, but do you think you could learn anything about the attacker if you touch her?” Gage asked.

  She hated to disappoint him. “I’ve tried several times since she’s been in here, Gage. It just takes me back to that pitch-black room and the intense pain while she’s being beaten.” She didn’t tell him that she also felt Mama’s pain and fear as though they were her own, every time. “I’ll try again tomorrow when I come to visit.”

  They walked down the corridor to the elevator. He rested his hand against the small of her back as they waited for it to arrive. “Don’t try, Mia. If she knew who it was, you’d already know.”

  “The nurse asked me to tell you the police will be here tomorrow at ten to ask Mama some questions. You’ll probably want to be here with her when they do that. Just to make sure they don’t get too enthusiastic.”

  “Yeah, I will.”

  The elevator door opened, and they stepped on.

  A frown darkened his expression. “They’ve got nothing so far. The only fingerprints in the house were family. They took yours to rule you out, didn’t they?”

  “Yes. The night she was attacked.”

  His hand ran up and down her back in a soothing gesture. “What did you tell them that night?”

  “I told them I thought I heard my cell phone ring. And I knew if it was an emergency, the only two people who would call me at that time of morning were my grandmother or Mama. So I called Mama first. When she didn’t answer, I went over to check on her. They went through my phone records, saw when I called her and got no answer and saw when twenty minutes later I called from her house for an ambulance. I also called Roman.

  “They kept me for three hours, asking me over and over about the time of the phone call and why I would drive over alone. They took my clothes, but I didn’t have any blood on me. They took my prints and saw where I’d turned on the lights as I went through the house. They came to my apartment and looked through my things. The security cameras had recorded the time when I left, and it matched the time I told them.

  “I imagine they’re still suspicious of me. I’d be suspicious of me. But I don’t have anything to gain by hurting Mama. And even if I did, I never would.”

  “And if you told them the truth…”

  “They’d be that much more suspicious. Because to the average mind it isn’t plausible.”

  She took a deep breath. “If my family became convinced that I know what their future holds, or I knew their secrets, they’d want to put me away for either being crazy or being dangerous. No one’s comfortable having their darkest secrets or the things they’re most ashamed of exposed.”

  His expression was shuttered when he said, “You’re right.”

  They fell silent as they made their way back to the car. As Gage was backing out his phone went off with an alarm. “Someone’s on Mama’s front porch.”

  He hit the app on his phone and turned the phone so Mia could see a uniformed police officer standing on the porch. He spoke into the phone. “May I help you?”

  “One of your neighbors reported seeing someone suspicious around your house, sir. If you’ll come to the door, we’d like to speak to you.”

  “I’m on my way home. We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. And I’ll warn you, there are sensors on every door, the windows will set off an alarm if any are opened, and there are motion sensitive cameras in every room that will record any attempt to enter the premises.”

  “We’ll wait for you here, sir.”

  “I’m going with you, Gage,” Mia said. “You may need a witness.”

  “Okay.”

  Her stomach knotted as they hit highway 90 toward Algiers point.

  When they arrived, a police car sat in front of the house. Gage pulled into the narrow drive, got out, and strode around the car to get her door. She got out and walked with him toward the two police officers on the sidewalk.

  “Good evening, sir,” one of the officers approached them. He was young, blond, and had the clean-cut looks of a college student. “I’m Officer Cliburn, and this is my partner, Officer Jackson.” Jackson was as young as Cliburn, and had smooth, clear café au lait skin and a touch of Asian heritage to the shape of his eyes.

  Gage nodded to them both. “I’m Gage Fontenot, and this is Mia Blanchard.”

  “We walked around the perimeter of the property and did see a few shingles torn off where the maple tree shades the roof. And one of the windows in the attic seems to have been broken in. Your neighbor, Mrs. Bowen said she saw your motion lights come on and heard the gla
ss break.”

  “Maybe we should go in and see if the perpetrator gained access to the house,” Officer Jackson suggested.

  Gage caught Mia’s gaze for a second.

  “I have cameras throughout the interior. If he gained access, I’ll have him recorded.” Gage reached for his phone and tapped into the app, then swiftly went through the feeds on the camera. “Nope. None of the cameras have kicked on and recorded any activity, so there’s no sign of anyone entering the premises.”

  “Is this your grandmother’s property?”

  “Yes, it is. She was assaulted four days ago and is in the hospital.”

  “When did you start putting the security system in?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “How about we check out the attic for you, just to be sure?” Officer Cliburn said.

  Mia bit her lip. The officers were polite enough, but this was a blatant attempt to intimidate Gage. Not by the officers themselves, but at the behest of whoever had sent them.

  Gage’s features settled into bland control. He led the way, unlocked the door, then stood back for Cliburn and his partner to go in. “Knock yourselves out, guys. Last door on the left. The attic access is inside the closet.” He followed close behind to key in the disarm code on the panel before the alarm went off.

  Mia sidled up to him as the two officers disappeared down the hallway. Gage followed their progress on his phone, trusting the cameras to monitor them.

  Mia leaned against him and watched while Officer Cliburn pulled the folding ladder down without drawing his weapon, which he would have done if there was any possibility of anyone being up there. He did unhook his flashlight.

  Mia reached into her bag for her cellphone. Mia called Mrs. Bowen next door. “Mrs. Bowen, this is Mia Blanchard. I’m next door at Mama Bet’s house. Did you call the police when the motion lights went on?”

  “No. When I went out the police were already there, and one of them was on the roof. The attic window was broken.”

  “You didn’t see anyone else?”

  “No. Was the house broken into?”

  Mia looked up at Gage and shot him a look. “No, it wasn’t broken into. The window was broken. That’s all.”