Elena’s eyes shot to Lobo’s face. “Do you have supersonic hearing or something?”
He shrugged. “Or something. Elena, I’m not just saying these things to make you feel better. I sincerely believe them. Everyone here likes you—a lot. None more than Phantom. I’m sorry about how things went yesterday.”
“No reason for you to be sorry. You weren’t here.” She pushed past him once again, pulling the bucket out of the stall. With a heavy sigh, she turned and latched the door. She had completed her chores. She’d appear desperate if she lingered with hopes of Phantom coming to see her. She had almost bought into the fairy tale. Her heart ached.
“Elena?”
She realized she had been leaning against the stall door, her head resting against the wood. She had pushed herself too hard already, and the conversation with Lobo had only made things worse. She needed to go home, cool down both mentally and physically, and sleep. She felt she could fall asleep standing up.
“Well, everything is done for the day. I’ll be back on Wednesday.”
“I’ll let Phantom know. Are you okay? You look really pale.”
“Yes, of course. The heat is a bit much today.” She gave a weak laugh. “I’m looking forward to the air-conditioning in my truck.”
“It’s definitely one of the hottest days we’ve had yet. Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want me to take you home?”
“No, I’ll be fine.” She drew in a deep breath for strength. “Thank you for offering, though.”
Lobo looked skeptical, and she hoped he wouldn’t push her. He shook his head and sighed heavily. “I don’t think you should be driving. I’ve seen plenty of people pass out from overexposure in the heat, and if something happens to you on the road—”
“I can take care of myself. Don’t worry about me.”
He frowned, but he didn’t stop her as she began to walk past him. “Is everything good? You aren’t upset with the guys, are you?” he asked before she moved too far away from him.
“No. I understand it’s just been hectic for everyone. I hope everything gets fixed here at the ranch quickly. Everything’s going to be just fine with me.”
* * *
So far, all the intel from satellite images backed up the information laid out in the briefing packet Haslett had uploaded to them. The information in the packet had been even more disturbing than Phantom had anticipated. The hostages were being taken from the border to San Antonio where they would be sold in an auction.
Buzz had been able to go on the dark web and get a lead on the auction and found it had been scheduled for that very weekend. They needed to get to Mexico as soon as possible before the traffickers tried to move their captives across the border.
Phantom sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes as he stared at the grainy photo of one of the suspects. He had a scar on his right cheek, a mole over his right eyebrow poorly covered by a small eyebrow piercing, thin lips, and shaggy, limp hair. He wore a large ring on the left hand. Phantom could see the man with his eyes closed, the same as he could picture the four other men that were identified in the packet. He had to know them perfectly. His infiltration plan depended on it, and that plan would let them take down all the traffickers and save the hostages.
The scale of the hostage rescue mission could be one of the largest they had encountered, and they were tasked to kill any identified enemy agents on sight. Since the mission was completely black, they still didn’t know who they would be partnered with in Reynosa. Phantom knew they had a good group there that took care of human trafficking, and he fully expected some of them to be on the mission.
That would leave his group to find out who managed the operations and facilitation on the U.S. side. There had to be a main contact point, and that person would have a crew working for him.
The team had to be on point—a precise, fine-tuned instrument of destruction.
He glanced up at the clock and saw the day had slipped away from him. It was five in the evening. Shit! Where had the time gone? Elena usually wrapped up around five, and he needed to see her. He had to see her. He felt as if a fever raged inside him, and only Elena could bring him a sense of peace.
Everything about her represented the good things in the world. Her innocence, kindness, and gentleness reminded him why he fought the ugly battles. He left his room and hurried toward the front door, nearly crashing into Lobo in the hallway.
“Oh, hey, Phantom,” Lobo said, turning around. Phantom paused, glancing over his shoulder at the other man. He didn’t need the interruption. Not now. Elena probably wondered why he hadn’t come out to see her yet. “I talked to Elena a little while ago. I apologized to her about the team’s behavior yesterday.”
That grabbed his attention. “And? How did she respond?”
“I sure do hope you’re serious about her.”
“Why do you say that?” Phantom hadn’t intended his voice to come out as cold as it had, but he didn’t want to hear any man talking about Elena.
“Because she’s a good woman. You’re lucky as hell.”
“Thanks.”
“She already left for the day. I think she may have been put out you didn’t come out to see her.”
Phantom clenched his fists. He had to see her. He would lose his mind if he didn’t. “I’m going out,” he said curtly, heading to the drawer where they kept the key fobs for their trucks.
“You deploy in the morning,” Buzz said as he passed them, a knowing look in his eyes. “Good luck.”
Chapter 17
Phantom called himself a fool a thousand times over as he drove. To ignore her like that so soon after they had been intimate seemed a classic rookie mistake. He could only imagine the thoughts running through her head.
Now all he wanted was to hold Elena close and prove to himself he hadn’t lost her altogether. Anya had been startled when he had asked where Elena lived, but she was obviously used to Stryker’s strange questions, because she’d only hesitated a moment before telling him.
His truck had roared down their dirt road as he had driven away, and the tires had peeled out on the highway as he headed toward town. It seemed to take forever to get to the sleepy little town of Hebbronville but he made record time, arriving in twenty minutes when it usually took thirty. He was just glad the sheriff wasn’t out writing speeding tickets.
He slowed the truck to a crawl as he turned onto the quiet, house-lined street. Some had seen better days, while others, like the one Anya had identified for him, had been meticulously maintained, with a beautifully decorated front yard and a detached garage. Elena’s apartment was above that garage, and he was relieved to see her truck in the driveway. He parked on the street and made his way to the stairs on the side of the building. He sent up a silent prayer, drew a deep breath, and knocked on the door.
* * *
Not even Froot Loops were appealing to Elena. When frustrated or upset, she had to keep busy, and she decided scrubbing her tiny apartment until she felt numb would be the best thing to do. She always kept her apartment tidy, so it didn’t need to be cleaned, but it gave her something to do.
She hurried up and down the stairs to the laundry room, washing all her sheets and blankets, a throw blanket, and small rugs. As the laundry cycled through, she busied herself with scrubbing out her nearly empty refrigerator, then swept and mopped. As clean as she kept everything, she moved through the steps much faster than she wanted and hadn’t achieved the numbness she wanted. She almost wanted to call Anya or Elena but knew she couldn’t tell her story without giving in to the tears burning the backs of her eyes. At least the dizziness and budding headache from her long day in the heat had abated some after a long drink of cold water and time in the AC.
She had just finished her final load of rugs and began to gather her dirty clothes, but paused at what she found. Stuffed in her overnight bag was the torn pair of si
lk pants. The pants Phantom had ripped off her as he had conquered her body—and her heart.
She had been a fool. She had let herself fall for him, and when she’d been in his arms, she had believed they both had found something special in each other. She never thought she could feel about a man the way she felt about Phantom.
Just a couple of weeks ago she had been teasing Anya for falling for Stryker. Had she fallen for Phantom? The ache in her heart told her the answer. How could she have let it happen?
She had told herself not to fall in love with him. But the strong, quiet man had affected her long before he had touched her body, long before their very first kiss so many days ago. His laughter, his smile, the warmth in his eyes, the strength of his presence—all of it had drawn her in, and she only wanted to get as close as possible.
She was about to head downstairs to grab her clothes out of the dryer when a knock at her door echoed through her tiny apartment. It startled her. She hadn’t heard anyone coming up the stairs. Frowning she moved to the door, peered through the small peephole, and instantly began to tremble. She didn’t know if she could open the door.
“Elena, I need to talk to you.” His voice wasn’t raised… Clearly he knew she stood directly on the other side of the door.
Why is he here? What does he want? Keep it together. Remember, you’re a grown-ass woman. You don’t need him. Elena drew a deep breath. It didn’t help the trembling. Heaven, give me strength. She flipped the dead-bolt lock and pulled the door open slowly.
“Oh, hi,” she said, feigning mild surprise. “Please, come on in.”
She opened the door wide enough to let him in and turned her back on him, stepping into the small kitchenette. “I wasn’t expecting any company. I might have a beer if you want it?”
“Elena. Elena.”
Elena ignored him and pulled open the refrigerator door and peered inside. “I’m out of beer. But I have a bottle of white wine I haven’t opened. It’s nice and chilled. Would you like that?”
Suddenly he stood beside her, his hand at her waist. The warmth of his touch seemed to burn through her clothing, through her skin, and touched her soul. She couldn’t let him touch her. When he did, she forgot the ache in her chest.
She stood quickly, backing away from him. She reached up to run a hand through her hair. Her fingers were blocked by the band she had used to pull her unruly curls into a ponytail while she cleaned. She didn’t know what to do with her hands. “I should have some glasses around here somewhere.”
“Elena, I don’t want any wine.”
“Right. Okay, no wine. Is there something you needed? Did I forget something out at the ranch?” She couldn’t make eye contact with him.
“Are you so mad at me you can’t even look at me?”
Slowly, she lifted her eyes and saw many emotions exposed on his face. “I’m not mad at you,” she whispered.
“You should be mad at me. Hell, I’m mad at myself. We shared an amazing weekend, and instead of coming to see you today, even if just to get a small kiss and let you know I can’t stop thinking about you, I left you alone. I wanted to see you today. I needed to see you today.”
She swallowed hard. “Then why didn’t you?”
He took a half step closer to her. “I got so wrapped up in the issue brought to our attention yesterday that I lost track of time. By the time I headed for the barn, Lobo told me you’d left.”
He took another step toward her, and she felt riveted to the spot. Her heart pounded in her chest. She could smell him, and she shoved her hands in her back pockets to conceal the trembling. “I wanted to see you today, and when I found out you’d already left, a simple phone call wouldn’t be enough. I need to hold you and make sure this weekend really happened.”
She rubbed her forehead. “What we had this weekend was—”
“Special. Incredible. Unforgettable.” He took a final step and stood directly in front of her, so close she had to tilt her head back to look up into his eyes. The movement caused everything to tilt, and his arms wrapped around her quickly.
“Elena, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”
The genuine concern in his voice tugged at her heart, and she loved the feeling of his arms around her. “I’m fine. It’s just been a long day. I overdid it in the heat today.”
She gasped when he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He set her down gently, his fingers tracing her face. “Have you been drinking a lot of water? Have you passed out at any point today? Can you see clearly?”
“I’m fine, Phantom. I don’t want you to worry about me. Is this why you came over here? Did Lobo tell you what happened in the barn?”
Phantom became very still. “What happened in the barn?”
Elena’s cheeks suddenly felt hot, and she tried to sit up in the bed. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I struggled in the heat, and he saw it. I assume he told you about it. Which would explain the real reason you’re here.”
Phantom ran his hand down the side of her face and shook his head. “I’ve already told you the real reason I’m here. I couldn’t go any longer without seeing you.”
Her heart began to beat faster. She suddenly remembered the way he’d slid his hand in her hair, grabbing a fistful to pull her head back to meet the onslaught of his mouth. A shiver of awareness covered her skin in goose bumps. “Phantom—”
His eyes darkened as he looked at her. “From the look on your face, I’d say you feel the same way.” He helped her sit up further on the bed. “You probably have heat exhaustion. Have you been drinking a lot of water?”
“Yes. You don’t have to worry.”
He frowned. “You should eat something.”
He leaned forward and pressed a firm, quick kiss to her lips. Then he stood and went to her kitchen, rummaging through her cabinets. Elena leaned back against her headboard.
He returned moments later holding a granola bar, a glass of water, and a bottle of Tylenol. He handed her the water and shook out two Tylenol pills. “This will help with the headache.”
“How do you know I—”
“I can see the pain in your eyes. I know some of that pain is caused by me and the way I’ve disappointed you today. But I know you well enough to know it’s related to something else too. From the way you’ve been rubbing your forehead, it didn’t take much to come to the obvious conclusion.”
“You’re far too observant. Even though I know how to play very well, I’ll never go up against you in a game of poker. You’ll be able to read my face like an open book.”
He gave her a smile that warmed his eyes as she tossed back the pills and drank the water. “Now eat a little something. It will give you the energy you need, and you won’t be dizzy anymore.”
She took a large bite of the granola bar. “You didn’t have to come here. Am I disappointed you didn’t come out to the barn today? Yes. Does that give me any right to have expectations for you? Absolutely not. We had fun this weekend. Besides, I seduced you, remember?”
“I never do anything I don’t want to do. Never. You might have tried to seduce me, but in the end, I’m the one who claimed you.”
A tiny shiver slid down her spine at his comment. The tone of his voice, the unspoken control and power that had made her fall apart in his arms and slowly rebuilt her, made her crave him with every fiber of her being. That didn’t change the fact that he might not be interested in continuing their relationship any further. Then why is he here? If he doesn’t want more with me, would he really have driven all the way from his ranch to tell me how much he needed to see me?
Her heart pounded, and she placed the empty granola-bar wrapper on the stand next to her bed. “You’re right. I feel much better. I also haven’t given myself a chance to sit down and catch my breath since I got home, and I’m sure that only made things worse.”
Phantom shook his
head. “Elena, do you realize how much you’ve come to mean to me? The thought of going two days without holding you, kissing you, treasuring you, felt like agony. That’s why I’m here tonight. And if I’ve read this entirely wrong, I’ll walk out the door and never bring this up again. You deserve the absolute best, and I don’t know if I can give you what you deserve. Just look at this weekend! I lost all control with you.”
Elena’s breath caught in her throat at his words. “I gave myself to you. You didn’t take anything. And I would do it again in a heartbeat, exactly the same way. Or up against the truck. Or anywhere else where you’ll have me. Because I love you, and I want to be with you in any way possible.”
Air rushed out of his lungs and he reached for her, pulling her up against him, feathering kisses all over her face. “Say it again. Please, say it again.”
“I love you. I love you with my whole heart. I think I have since I first heard you laugh.”
He drew in a deep breath, then let it out in a shudder. “Elena,” he whispered. “Don’t push me away. Don’t ignore me if I’ve done something to hurt you. I want us to work on this, to build it even stronger. Will you promise me?”
Elena nodded, her hands sliding into his hair as she swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. She had just confessed to him that she loved him, and he hadn’t run from her. In fact, he’d held her, kissed her, and begged her to repeat the three simple words. I love you.
His gaze searched her face and slowly, slowly, for the first time since he had arrived, he smiled. “You’re all I’m able to think about. Ever since you left yesterday. I couldn’t sleep last night because my pillows and sheets smelled like you. And like us making love.”
Her mouth formed an O shape as her breath rushed out of her. This was what she had wanted. She had wanted him to be happy to see her and to still crave her the way she craved him. From the flame building in his eyes, his desire for her had started to climb as rapidly as hers.
She could see his pulse beating at the base of his neck, and she nervously licked her lips. His gaze dropped to her tongue, and she felt the incredible power he gave her when they made love. She had the ability to make him feel things—to make him desire her.
A SEAL Always Wins Page 18
