Building Ties (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 4)

by Teresa Reasor

  “But up to now Daniel’s always walked the straight and narrow. He has a college scholarship. He’s on the verge of being able to escape this neighborhood and take his mother with him. This arrest may make all of that impossible.”

  Gordon’s expression hardened and one side of his mouth lifted. “I can’t help that.”

  “Why would he throw all that away, Mr. Gordon?”

  “You’ll have to ask him.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe his brother’s gangbanger ways have finally rubbed off on him.” Once again a hair-thin touch of bitterness and anger colored his tone.

  “Does Daniel’s brother deal drugs?” Tess asked.

  Gordon’s gaze shifted away. “I wouldn’t know, but the gangs do have a reputation for doing that as well as robbing, stealing and terrorizing the neighborhood.”

  She could say the same thing about his nephew. “Do you think Daniel should pay for his brother’s mistakes?”

  “His brother wasn’t the one who perpetrated this crime, but in my opinion he was responsible.”

  Tess leaned back in her seat and studied Gordon’s face, an idea beginning to form.

  “Does your nephew belong to the gang, Mr. Gordon?”

  Gordon’s face flushed red. He shoved his chair back and got to his feet. “My nephew has nothing to do with this robbery. This interview is over.”

  Tess’s gaze swung to Brett and they stood. Brett stepped back and motioned her ahead of him. Gordon came around his desk and grabbed Tess’s arm.

  Brett caught the man’s wrist and shoved him back against the desk. “You don’t want to do that.” The flat, steady stare he turned on Gordon projected a controlled violence that shot a skittering alarm along Tess’s nerve endings. She laid a hand on Brett’s shoulder.

  “You print anything about my nephew and I’ll sue your paper,” Gordon threatened as he jerked away and scuttled backwards behind the desk.

  “I print facts, Mr. Gordon, not fairy tales. You can’t sue if it’s the truth,” Tess said, her voice quiet. “Thank you for your time.”

  *

  Brett took a deep breath to calm the anger-fueled adrenaline flooding his system. The hand he rested against Tess’s hip held her close against him all the way to the car.

  “What would you have done if you’d been alone and that creep tried to intimidate you into keeping quiet about his nephew?”

  “First of all, I’d have never stepped inside his office had you not been with me. I’d have asked him to walk around the store with me while we spoke.”

  “Why?”

  “When I first came into the store, the woman from produce was working a register. She asked me to buy a pack of gum, and when I did, she passed me a note with the other witness’s phone number. She didn’t want Gordon to know she gave it to me. And the other witness, Rosalie, doesn’t want him to learn she’s speaking to me either. If he’s intimidated them that much, then I knew he’d try something with me. That’s why I introduced you as my associate and wanted you to go upstairs with me.”

  Some of the tension drained from Brett’s muscles. “It drives me crazy thinking you might be in danger from anyone, Tess.”

  “I’m careful, Brett.”

  As careful as she thought she was, it only took one asshole to take things to another level. “I’m going to buy you some mace and a Taser.”

  She laughed. “I can see the headlines ‘Newspaper reporter Tasers interviewee to get the truth.’” She ran her hand over his arm. “I know you deal with danger all the time, but we women have dealt with it since the birth of the human species. How often do you look under your car before you approach it? Or look in the back seat before you get in? Or carry your keys between your fingers like a weapon?”

  Brett held her hand against his arm. Should he be honest with her? And if he was, would she freak out? “I don’t do the key thing, but the rest—all the time, honey. Just because I’m not in a war zone right now doesn’t mean I don’t evaluate the threat level of every place we go. It’s as natural as breathing to me right now. It’ll ease off after a while, until the next time I’m deployed. But right now I need it, Tess. Your freaking car was blown up!”

  She cupped his face and for a long moment met his gaze. “Do you think I don’t know all of that already? I know you have to ease into this world when you come home from the other.”

  For the tenth time today he cursed the console between them that kept him from drawing her close. He leaned over and placed a slow, deliberate kiss on her cheek.

  “We’re more alike than you think, Brett,” Tess said her fingers resting against the front of his shirt. “I deal with people when they’re at their most vulnerable, their most volatile. You focus in on movement around you, I concentrate on the emotion.”

  Was she shining him on to put his fears to rest? It was working, but anxiety still ate at him.

  She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, along with a pack of gum and a receipt. “I’m going to call Rosalie before Gordon has a chance to get to her. If Daniel Delgado did this, he needs to pay for it. But if it was someone else who held up the store that night, she needs to step up and say so.”

  “I’ll drive while you call. Where do we go from here?”

  Tess frowned as she read a text message.

  “The Brittain Development Corporation. I have an interview with Nicolas Brittain at three o’clock about the accident and how his company is recovering from it. I have to go to the office before the interview, though. Mr. Taylor wants to see me.”

  She gave him the Brittain Corporation address and he keyed it into the GPS system and saved it while Tess dialed a number on her phone and waited for it to ring.

  With a sigh, Brett started the car and whipped out of the grocery store parking lot.

  He listened to Tess’s side of the conversation while she questioned Rosalie about the robbery. Though the police had told her not to talk about it, Tess kept circling around the facts until the woman admitted the robber had worn a ski mask and she had seen a tattoo on the man’s forearm. Tess spent the remainder of the time boosting the woman’s sense of right and wrong to encourage her to withstand Gordon’s intimidation tactics. By the time Brett drove in and parked in the lot next to the newspaper office she had concluded her conversation.

  Brett exited the car and came around to open her door. “What do you think Taylor wants to talk to you about?”

  “I don’t know. I emailed him my schedule early this morning before we left the house. Something may have come in that he wants me to cover.”

  They entered the building and rode the elevator up to the newsroom. The space was alive with other reporters at their desks, phones ringing, and movement.

  Taylor looked as if he’d been watching for them and left his glassed-in office to meet them. “What the hell is going on, Tess? I just spoke to an editor from the Washington Post. When did they offer you a job? And why haven’t you told me about it?”

  The noise in the room died for a second, all but a persistent ringing telephone. For a brief moment Tess froze. Then she jerked her eyes up to Brett’s face.

  Brett felt like he’d just been sucker-punched in the gut. The Washington Post. The Washington Post wanted Tess. One second, two passed and he still couldn’t breathe. He cleared his throat and dragged air into his lungs.

  “Jesus, Tess!” Fuck Taylor. Why hadn’t she told him?

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‡

  Tess fought the urge to glance at Brett through the glass that partitioned Taylor’s office from the rest of the newsroom. She could feel his eyes on her. She’d wanted acknowledgement for the job offer, but she’d wanted to share it with Brett first, before anyone else. She’d wanted to cushion the sharing with the reassurance that she wasn’t going to take the job.

  Elgin Taylor had stolen both those things from her.

  The shock on Brett’s face kept replaying through her mind, even as Taylor’s voice cut through the panic bubbling up from the pit of he
r stomach like lava. Brett was so pissed, so hurt because she hadn’t told him.

  “When did they call you?” Taylor asked.

  “A few days before Brett came home.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because I wanted time to think it over, and I really wanted to share it with my fiancée before I told anyone else.”

  “You hadn’t told him yet?”

  “Uh, no.” It was hard for her to keep the sarcasm and anger out of her voice. “He just got home from a war zone. He’s been acting as my body guard because some psycho blew up my car. I just wanted a couple of days to hold on to him, to be in the same fucking room with him.” Her composure slipped.

  Taylor looked away. “I needed to know, Tess. If you leave, I have to be prepared to replace you.”

  “I can’t leave. He’s a—” She caught herself before saying SEAL. “He’s in the Navy. He’s stationed here. I can’t live on one side of the continent while he’s on the other. I love him.” Just saying those words out loud to someone else carved them in stone for her. “If this is all you need, then I have to go. I have another interview in an hour or so, and I need to prepare.” And she needed to try and apologize to Brett.

  “Shit,” Taylor breathed. “I’m sorry. I know that couldn’t have been an easy decision to make.”

  Tears burned her eyes. “Are we done?”

  “You’re one of my best, Tess. You are my best. I was upset about the idea of losing you.”

  Now he wanted to suck up to her, after the damage was done. Tess jerked the door open. “I have to go.”

  “I’ll call you if anything else comes in.”

  She nodded once and stepped out. She scanned the room, looking for Brett. Where was he? Anxiety cramped her stomach and filtered its way up into her chest.

  Seth Maxwell, one of the other reporters, brushed by her to go into Taylor’s office. “He’s in the break room,” he murmured. “Congratulations on the job, Tess.”

  “Thank you.” She hurried between the desks to the narrow hall that led to the small kitchen area and bathrooms. The stark, utilitarian kitchen had a soft drink machine, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a sink. Two small tables with four chairs each provided a place to sit.

  Brett leaned against the counter and dangled a plastic soft drink bottle between his index and middle fingers. He looked up when she came to the door.

  She’d had an opportunity to tell him in bed the night before, in the car just a few minutes ago. She should have told him. Why was it so fucking hard for her to share herself? This was the man she was going to marry, was going to share her life with—forever.

  When the silence stretched for five seconds, six, Brett finally broke it. “This is, like, every reporter’s dream job, isn’t it?”

  She took a step into the room. “Not every reporter.”

  “It’s the fucking Washington Post. It’s the paper that broke Watergate. The paper that covers all the politics and politicians in the country. This is…huge.”

  “They didn’t get the story on Senator Welch using his influence to cut funding to certain military units because of his own personal agenda.”

  “You’d be a secret weapon in their arsenal.”

  She took another step closer to him. “Not so secret. Because I wrote about Welch’s personal loss and the influence he wielded because of it, every Congressman would be on guard against me before I ever asked them a question. They’d be wondering what I had uncovered in their lives that might smack of self-interest. The deck would be stacked against me. I wouldn’t have any sources who would be willing to share information with me like I’ve cultivated here. And I’d have to live in a place that has snow and bad weather five months out of the year.”

  In the millisecond between Elgin Taylor announcing it to the newsroom and the look on Brett’s face, she’d made up her mind, and relinquished the job. She loved Brett. She wouldn’t leave him. And she couldn’t have both.

  “But most important, I wouldn’t have you there. Or your family. Or my own. I’d be isolated and alone…and lonely for you.”

  *

  Relief stormed Brett’s system, then just as quickly changed to concern. If she passed up this opportunity—it was the Washington Freaking Post! He swallowed again, his heart lodged somewhere between where it should be and his throat. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” He couldn’t believe he was asking that. If she did want it, their lives would suddenly become unbelievably complicated. Could their relationship even survive living on two different coasts? They’d never see each other. That thought gave him another kick, and an ache settled in the pit of his stomach.

  Tess crossed the space between them. She cupped his face and looked deep into his eyes. “I’m sure, Brett. Completely sure.”

  A knot settled just beneath his collarbone. He leaned in to capture her lips, then pulled her in close, hugging her. He understood what kind of sacrifice this was. And he’d bragged to her about his own promotion—Jesus! His career was taking off while she had decided to take a huge hit so they could be together.

  “Honey—” He ran his fingers beneath her hair, cradled the back of her head and held her as close as he could. Pain made his voice thick. “This offer is amazing. Now that I’ve gotten to see you in action, know more about what you do, how you do it, it isn’t surprising they want you, Tess. Any paper would be better for having you.”

  There was stress in her tone when she quipped, “I’ll use that line on Mr. Taylor when I hit him up for a raise.”

  Brett smiled, though the ache persisted. “I’m sorry, Tess.”

  “It’s okay. I’m young. There’s time for me to do a lot of things with my career. This is just one of them. One I don’t want to pursue. I may write a book one day. Work for a magazine. Share a byline with my father like we did last time. That’s probably what inspired this offer.”

  “I don’t think they’d have offered you a job on the strength of you sharing a byline with your father. It was your work that made this happen, honey. When did they call you?”

  “A few days before you came home. I wanted to wait until you were here and we could discuss it before making a decision. I’ve been waiting for the right time to share it with you.”

  “But we haven’t talked about it,” he said.

  She remained silent for a moment, and her eyes dropped to his chest. “We don’t really need to, do we? We both know if I took the job there wouldn’t be any reason for us to get married. As much as I love you, and you me, there wouldn’t be any purpose behind a marriage if we never got to see each other or be together.” Her throat moved as she swallowed. She leaned against him and rested her head against his shoulder, more for comfort than in celebration. “I love you, Brett. I don’t want what we have to end. So, I’m telling them thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”

  Heat raced into his face and left his ears burning. Her blunt assessment of the situation sounded distant, analytical, but beneath it there was pain and disappointment. Military spouses had to sacrifice so much. For the thousandth time he wondered why she was willing to surrender her ambitions and dreams to be with him when he was gone so much of the time.

  Would those decisions come back to haunt them both later?

  An insidious inner whisper broke in that offered him no comfort, They always do.

  His arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry, Tess.”

  “I’m not. It’s a great honor, a feather in my cap that they wanted me, but I want you more, Brett.”

  Had he not been a tough as nails Navy SEAL he’d be crying like a baby about now. “I know my job gets in the way, but you’re everything to me, Tess.”

  “If I wasn’t certain of that, if I didn’t feel the same way about you, I’d give that job a shot.” She leaned back to look up at him. “You’re so much better at sharing your feelings than I am.”

  “Honey—” He swallowed against the softball-sized knot in his throat. “I think you just did a dam
n fine job of it.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‡

  Brett pulled the car into the parking structure across the street from Brittain Development Group and Tess looked up from studying her notes. That Nicholas Brittain had agreed to meet with her had come as a surprise. Lawsuits had already been filed on behalf of both men who were killed in the accident, and the entire building site shut down until inspectors could analyze and discover what had caused the third floor section to collapse.

  “You’re not planning to drop a bomb on this guy to see if he’ll go after you, too, are you?” Brett asked as they walked to the parking structure elevator.

  “No, I’m just going to go for a positive piece and get a feel for this guy. He employs a lot of people. I’d hate to see his company go down because of what someone else has done.” Despite the sixty-five degree temps outside, the air felt damp and chilly inside the parking structure, so she pulled her cream-colored jacket closed and buttoned it at the waist.

  “Or he could be responsible, Tess.”

  “Yes, he could.” She looped a hand through his arm. “I’m trying to keep an open mind about everything and just get a feel for the players.”

  Brett glanced at her. “Hard to do when you have everything Mary Stubben told you going through your head.”

  “Yes, it is.” They paused at the elevator, and she pushed the down button. “It’s the hard part of being a reporter, keeping your opinion out of things and just reporting the facts.”

  “Newspapers state their opinion all the time. That’s how presidents get elected,” Brett said.

  “Well, this reporter tries to stay objective about stories. Not so much about the people involved.”

  “Which was lucky for me.”

  They’d been through so much already as a couple. Her life would have been so different without him. “You were so passionate about your innocence, I couldn’t write you off. And you were already carrying enough emotional weight without my adding to it.”