SEAL to the Rescue

by Paige Tyler

  Kendall sat there stunned. Everyone said the Key was a game changer, but this was unreal. The stuff they’d stolen for demonstration purposes was the kind of crap countries went to war over. It was one more thing that made her really question how Holden could have been involved in something like this. He was in the military, fighting and bleeding in places like Syria. Would he really betray his country like this? It didn’t seem to fit.

  Isaac sat back in his chair. “I can’t help thinking Lockwood somehow knew we were onto him and arranged this deployment—or whatever it is—to get away from us.”

  Kendall wondered how Isaac had gotten where he was in the Bureau. Maybe someone had screwed up and promoted him by mistake. He obviously wasn’t bright enough to have gotten to his pay grade on merit alone.

  “I’m not sure a petty officer in the Navy—even if he’s a SEAL—has the power and authority to arrange his own deployment,” she said dryly. “Maybe we should chalk it up to bad luck on our part and the insane workload on the part of the Navy’s Special Operation Command.”

  Isaac seemed to consider that for a moment, then shrugged. “I see your point. Regardless, it could be a major catastrophe. If he’s away too long, we’ll have no chance of finding the Key before the auction.”

  Kendall silently agreed. She knew the rest of the Bureau was busting their butts trying to work their way backward through the Dark Web auction site hoping to find the seller, but truthfully, that was a long shot. Those kinds of places existed on the Dark Web so the identity of the seller could remain a mystery. Sure, if they had a while, they could certainly connect all the dots. But they didn’t have that kind of time.

  “You said you searched his apartment. Are you sure you didn’t find anything of use? Maybe we should get a tech to look at his computer?”

  Kendall shook her head. She’d already told Isaac she hadn’t found anything. “You don’t need a tech for his laptop. Like I said, I have the password.”

  He regarded her thoughtfully, curiosity warring with suspicion in his gray eyes. “And how did you crack his password? I know you’re good with analytics, but I didn’t think computers were your thing.”

  Did he actually just compliment her?

  “Holden doesn’t believe in protecting his passwords,” she said. “They weren’t hard to find.”

  That wasn’t exactly true, but it was close enough. If she told Isaac that Holden had given her the password, he’d probably insist there was some kind of subterfuge involved.

  “He left his password out where anyone could find it?” Isaac frowned. “Maybe it’s fake?”

  “It’s not fake.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I got into his laptop and read everything in it. And before you ask, there aren’t any encrypted files on there. In fact, there’s nothing of interest on there at all.”

  That was a lie. The computer had been filled to bursting with folder after folder of photos and videos, and she’d spent hours looking at every one of them. There’d been lots of shots of stunning views from all around the world—deserts, mountains, jungles, desolate looking cities made of little more than mud and straw, and others built of stone and brick that looked a thousand-years-old. It was obvious Holden traveled extensively to parts of the globe Kendall could only dream about ever seeing.

  But it wasn’t the vivid landscape and cityscape shots that had caught her attention the most. It was the photos of him and his Teammates, many of whom she’d met, and others she hadn’t. Holden was smiling in every one of those pictures, even the ones taken in some godawful places.

  She’d been a little surprised that Holden didn’t have a single picture on his computer from his life before the Navy. She knew he’d grown up in a tough situation, but still, there wasn’t a picture of him as a kid or any of his family. But somewhere in the hours spent clicking from pic to pic, seeing his adult life played out through images of exotic locales, travel, friends, and war, Kendall realized she was seeing his life. Not the life and family he’d been born into, but the one he’d chosen for himself. The SEALs were his life. His teammates were his family.

  “What about e-mails?” Isaac asked. “Anything there we might have missed? Any indications of covert accounts?”

  “There’s nothing in his personal e-mail account but quick messages with his teammates about cook-outs, parties, and scheduled training,” she said. “There’s nothing to indicate he has other e-mail accounts under fake names, either. And before you ask, there’s nothing that makes me think there’s a cloud storage account somewhere we might have missed. A search of his web browser didn’t turn up anything, either.”

  “Maybe he cleans out his browser history?”

  She snorted. “Trust me, he doesn’t clean out his browser history. And no, while Holden Lockwood is a typical red-blooded male, he doesn’t seem to have any bizarre internet searches.”

  Isaac scowled. “What about his apartment? Is there anything that ties him to the theft in San Francisco?”

  “Nope. I searched, which didn’t take long. The man is a Navy SEAL. He’s spent his entire adult life living out of a ruck sack. He literally has nothing personal in his apartment,” she said, then added, “Which is a little sad actually.”

  Isaac pinned her with a look, his eyes narrowing. “Holden Lockwood might be a decorated Navy SEAL, but he’s also a traitor to his country. And as soon as we catch him, he’s going to prison for life. Now, have you gotten anything out of Lockwood since moving in with him or should I talk to the SAIC about aborting this whole undercover plan?”

  Overwhelmed with a sudden urge to be obtuse, Kendall almost suggested he do that. Let the FBI find someone else to do their dirty work. But she stopped herself. That would only make this situation worse. She was a federal law enforcement agent and needed to start thinking like it.

  “There was one thing he said that might mean something,” she said slowly. Her stomach twisted at the bizarre feeling of betrayal that tore through her at the thought of revealing anything Holden had told her in confidence. But she had to. It was her job. “When I was talking to Holden yesterday about growing up in San Francisco, he mentioned someone who got him out of the gang he was in. I got the impression the guy was older because Holden talked about him almost like a father figure. While Holden didn’t say it, I’m pretty sure the guy was involved in organized crime.”

  Isaac’s eyes widened. “There’s nothing like that in Lockwood’s files. You think this man might be the one he stole the Key for? A connection with organized crime would certainly make sense. Did you get the man’s name?”

  Kendall shook her head, almost relieved she hadn’t. “No, and I couldn’t push for one, not without arousing suspicion.”

  Isaac nodded. “Now that we know about this man, we can start working to figure out who he is. But the moment Lockwood gets back, your first priority will be to find out his name. Do whatever you have to do to get that info. Do you understand me?”

  Kendall knew exactly what Isaac was saying. Before she could tell him that she wasn’t going to sleep with Holden to get information, her cell phone dinged, telling her she had a text.

  “You didn’t put your phone on vibrate?” Isaac demanded. “Where is your head at?”

  Ignoring the annoyed look he gave her, she reached into her purse and pulled it out. Truthfully, she had no idea where her head was right then. “This isn’t my phone. The field office here in San Diego issued it to me for the assignment. Nobody has the number except for you, the ops center, and Holden.”

  “Is it him?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she murmured, even though she already saw Holden’s name with the text notification.

  Her pulse skipped a beat.

  She tapped in her pin, taking extreme pleasure in making Isaac wait.

  On the way back now. Holden had texted. Should be home in about two hours. You okay? Any problems with the asshole ex?

  Kendall forced herself not to laugh. Not with the “asshole
ex” right in front of her.

  I’m good. She typed. No problems with the ex. Everything going okay?

  She clicked her fingernails on the side of the phone as the dancing bubbles kept going and going. What the hell? Was he writing a book? Or was he too injured to type at a normal pace. The thought made it suddenly hard to breathe.

  I’m good. Just tired and hungry.

  She smiled at that. I’ll have some take-out from that place on the corner waiting for you. See you soon.

  Kendall put her phone away before Isaac could ask to see the texts. Which was stupid now that she thought about it since he’d have no problem getting a printout of everything on the phone. But still…

  “Holden’s on the way home,” she said. “I have to get going.”

  Isaac smirked. “Sounds like you have him eating out of your hand. You remember what you need to do, right?”

  She fixed him with a hard look as she stood up. “I remember.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  HOLDEN KNOCKED SOFTLY before opening the door to his apartment so he wouldn’t freak Kendall out. “Hey, it’s me,” he announced, making a little extra noise with the keys as he took them out of the lock. “I’m home.”

  Kendall came out of the kitchen, a smile lighting up her face. Barefoot, she had on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, her hair loose over her shoulders and hanging down her back. Damn, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. One look at those long, shapely legs had him wondering how she found so much time to work out while spending hours in the campus library. Then he decided he couldn’t care less, instead simply appreciating perfection when he saw it. She definitely had spectacular legs. If he wasn’t so damn tired, he’d probably be on his knees right now kissing his way up them starting at her ankles until he got all the way to the juncture of her thighs. That might have taken him days. Because seriously, those legs went on for days!

  Holden forced those thoughts away so he didn’t have to deal with a boner. In his current exhausted state, the lack of blood flow to his head would probably make him pass out.

  Instead, he focused on how nice it was to walk in the door and have someone as perfect as Kendall waiting there for him. It hit him then—hard. He had somebody to come home to. That knowledge was doing some absolutely weird shit to his head.

  He’d dated women before—lots of them. He hadn’t been actively against the idea of a long-term relationship, but he’s always sucked at them. Between his dysfunctional childhood and his demanding job, it was almost a given that he’d always run women off. But Kendall was different. Yeah, it had only been a few days, but it felt different with her. He was a SEAL who lived and died on his instincts. And right now, those instincts were telling him his life was about to change. For the better.

  “Welcome back,” Kendall said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

  Holden groaned out loud as her tongue slipped into his mouth. The taste of her was enough to make him pass out in pleasure. She was like heaven. He lifted his hands to grab her hips, ready to drag her to the floor and start exploring every inch of those smoking hot legs when she stepped back.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way—because I’m really glad you’re back—but I think a shower might be in order before dinner.” She wrinkled her nose. “You seriously need one.”

  He glanced down at his uniform. Damn, he kind of looked like crap. It was hard finding a spot on the camo material that wasn’t covered in mud, ground-in dirt, sweat stains, or rips. He knew there were probably some bruises here and there as well. He was tempted to do a sniff test to see how bad it was, but stopped himself. He was too classy for something like that. At least in front of Kendall.

  It wasn’t shocking he was somewhat the worse for wear. After reaching the extraction point and not finding the chopper, they’d been forced to run another half-marathon give or take to the next set of coordinates. Unfortunately, they’d found that location heavily defended by somebody’s idea of insurgent fighters. Holden and the rest of the team had to come up with an impromptu attack plan and clear the site so their bird could come in. It had been vicious, coming down to hand-to-hand combat with a bunch of motivated bad guys the CIA had assigned to play the part. There wasn’t a part on Holden’s body that didn’t hurt.

  He lifted his gaze to Kendall, worried she was going to see all the dirt and damage and run for the hills like his previous girlfriend. He opened his mouth to tell her it had only been a training exercise, but she laughed and nudged him toward the bedroom.

  Once there, he kicked his boots off, then reached for the buttons of his uniform top. Kendall stopped him.

  “Let me,” she murmured, popping the buttons and shoving the thick camouflage material off before he could say anything. He liked the way her nimble fingertips felt as they brushed against his chest and abs through the T-shirt he wore underneath.

  “You don’t have to help me undress,” he said softly.

  She gave him a sexy smile as she reached for the buckle on his belt. “I know. But maybe I want to.”

  What the hell do you say to a woman making an offer like that?

  The moment she worked his belt loose, his pants dropped to the floor with a thud, leaving him standing in front of her in nothing but his T-shirt and boxer briefs. Everything slowed then as he stood there gazing into Kendall’s beautiful eyes, loving this moment, though he had no idea why.

  Her hands skimmed under his T-shirt as she pushed it up and over his head. Heat filled her gaze as she caressed his chest and shoulders. He was filthy, but she didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she licked her lips and eyed him like she was thinking about eating him. The thought made his cock throb.

  “Do you need help scrubbing your back?” she asked, the words a sexy caress across the skin of his chest that was already tingling from the touch her fingers.

  He was sorely tempted, but he shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but if we both go in there, I don’t think a lot of cleaning is going to get done. And I do need to clean up because I really smell.”

  Disappointment crossed her face, but she nodded. “You’re probably right. I’ll get the pizza ready while you clean up.”

  Holden watched her go, the view of her ass in those shorts almost enough to make him change his mind about shower sex. But once again he restrained himself. He doubted she’d want his sore, sweaty body draped all over her right then.

  Stripping off his underwear, he stepped into the shower and turned on the cold water, knowing it would help with his hard-on, as well as his sore muscles. His ribs on the left side hurt thanks to a solid kick from the heel of one of the fake terrorist’s boot. Holden was surprised he hadn’t broken something.

  He leaned against the back wall of the shower as the water washed away the muck and the yuck. He vaguely remembered getting some shampoo involved at some point, but mostly he stood there thinking about Kendall and how much he liked having her at his place. He wondered if it was too soon to tell her that. Probably. Hell, they barely knew each other. He didn’t want to scare her away. He’d bring it up soon. Who knew? She might be as comfortable with the idea as he was.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  KENDALL PRESSED HER palms against the counter in the kitchen and took a deep breath. Since Holden was only gone for twenty-four hours, she was relatively sure it must have been a training event, but when he’d walked through the door looking like something the cat had dragged in, her heart had nearly seized up in her chest. Those rips on his uniform hadn’t come from a little tumble. Nor had the bruises on his arms and shoulders. He looked like he’d been messing with people who didn’t play nice.

  That thought freaked her out way more than it should.

  Before he’d gotten home, Kendall had nearly driven herself insane trying to come up with a way get him to talk about the guy who’d taken him under his wing in San Francisco. She needed to get his name even if she had to bang Holden like a cheap screen door in a hurricane to do it.

 
There was a big part of her that hated the idea of sleeping with Holden purely to get information. It felt sleazy. Like something the good guys shouldn’t be doing. But at the same time, she’d known when she went undercover that it might come down to this at some point. It was her job, dammit.

  But the moment Holden walked into the apartment looking like he was about to pass out on his feet, the idea of seducing him had disappeared. Instead, all she could think about was taking care of him. Getting him cleaned up, feeding him, making sure he was okay. That was why she’d gone into the bedroom with him. So she could get him naked and check for injuries. When she’d finally confirmed bruises were the worst of it, the weight falling off her shoulders had probably made an audible thud when it hit the floor. Thank God, he was fine. Worn out and in need of some serious TLC, but fine.

  She heard the shower turn off before she’d barely gotten the first pizza out of the box and a few slices plated, microwaved, and set out on the living room table. She grabbed soda for her and beer for Holden. After the day he had, he’d definitely earned it.

  “You don’t have to go to work tomorrow, do you?” she called out loudly as she walked into the living room.

  “No, I have the next two days off,” Holden said as he came out of the bedroom.

  Barefoot like her, he wore a pair of running shorts and a T-shirt with a stylized Navy anchor screen-printed across the front, words above and below the symbol spelling out SEALs of Coronado. The shirt was nice and looked comfortable, but Kendall was more interested in all the muscles it showed off. She might have seen a lot more of him a few minutes ago when he’d been standing in front of her in nothing more than a pair of underwear, but she was as shallow as a petri dish when it came to muscles. She’d take her fix any way she could get it.