Protected in His Arms: An Elite SEAL Rescue (Texas Elite Seals Book 3)

by Holly Castillo

  “It’s done.” She looked up at Greg who still hovered near her.

  “Prove it. Try to search for the site. I want to see that nothing comes up.”

  He had to be out of his mind. There could be a thousand search strings to try to find the site, even though she knew none of them would ever work. As she turned to do as he asked, she noticed him reaching for his gun out of his holster from the corner of her eye.

  Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She grabbed the laptop and stood and whirled in the same motion, swinging the laptop hard against Greg’s face. He staggered backward from the blow and she hit him again, sending him to his knees.

  She knew, though, that she couldn’t do much damage with her strength and a laptop, and when the laptop cracked and broke the third time she struck him over the head, she spun on her heel and raced for the door. She heard him cursing just before the loud pop of his gun firing. The door splintered in front of her, but she wouldn’t let her fear stop her.

  He fired off another round when she swung the door open, and she felt the impact of the round slam into the wall near her hand. She raced out into the pouring rain, stumbling off the steps and dodged to the right of the house. She had no idea where to go, but saw trees and shrubs and hoped it would provide her with enough cover.

  “Evie!”

  The sound of Santo’s voice startled her so much she tried to stop running and slid and fell in the mud. She struggled to get to her feet, frantically searching the darkness for him. A light flashed briefly in the darkness and she saw the outline of Santo’s strong form, and nearly sobbed with relief.

  She could tell he wore the night vision optics which explained how he could easily see her and she struggled to see him. She began to run in his direction when another shot rang out. She glanced to her side and saw Greg standing within the glow of the lantern light. “Stop, Evie!” he shouted. “There’s nowhere else for you to go.”

  Her stomach jumped into her throat when he dropped the lantern and lowered his own night vision optics. He would be able to see Santo. She felt like screaming hysterically. She couldn’t let him shoot Santo.

  She stood only a few yards from him and watched in horror as his head turned, obviously seeing Santo for the first time. “Greg, I’ll do what you want. Greg!!”

  “Fred?” Santo roared. “All this time it’s been you?”

  Greg ducked around the side of the house and aimed at Santo. She couldn’t let it happen. Without giving it a second thought, she lunged forward and threw herself at Greg. His gun fired as he fell to the ground under her weight.

  “You stupid bitch!” he roared, throwing her off him and aimed his gun at her. “Who are they? Who are these men who’ve been helping you?”

  “What’s the matter, Fred? You don’t recognize Franny’s best friend?” Santo’s voice made Greg jerk around to face him.

  “Santo?” The disbelief in his voice would have been humorous had he not still held his gun pointed at Evie. “You’re the one who’s been helping her? You’ve ruined everything!” He whipped his arm to the side and fired.

  “No!” Evie screamed. Santo’s body jerked, but he fired his gun as he fell to the ground. Greg fell, and Evie watched in stunned disbelief as another man ran to Greg, yanking the handgun out of his grip. With the night vision optics on, she couldn’t tell who had come forward. She only wanted to get to Santo, though.

  Sliding through the mud, she fell to her knees beside him, unaware of the tears pouring down her face. “Santo!” she cried, reaching for him, ignoring her hands still wrapped in barb wire. His eyes were closed and he lay incredibly still.

  Suddenly someone else kneeled on the ground with her and turned on a high powered lantern. Snap had taken off his optics and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Evie, are you alright? Did he shoot you?”

  “No. No! He shot Santo. We have to help Santo. Please, Snap.” She turned back to Santo and her fingers felt along his body, trying to find where he had been shot. A broken sob escaped her chest when she found the hole in his shirt right over his heart. “Santo! If you’re just pretending to be hurt I’ll make you feel real pain!”

  “You can’t get rid of me that easy, cariña.”

  Evie gasped at the sound of Santo’s voice and leaned over him, blocking the rain from falling in his eyes. “Stay still, Santo. Just stay still. You were shot.”

  “Yeah, I know. Hurts like hell.”

  “Everything’s going to be okay.” Her eyes jerked up to Snap. “Should I be doing something? Am I supposed to stop the bleeding or something?”

  “Evie, I’m fine.” Santo began to push himself up, and Evie watched in disbelief. He pulled open his shirt and she saw the dark black Kevlar of his vest. A golden dot shimmered right over his heart where the round had been stopped.

  Evie felt light-headed. “You’re okay. You’re really okay!” She pressed her lips to his, overwhelmed with relief. When she pulled back she saw the red stain of blood running down the front of his chest. “Why are you bleeding? If the vest worked, why are you bleeding?”

  Santo frowned, looked down, and cursed. Gently he pulled her hands away from his chest and began to try to unwind the wire from around her wrists. “I’m not bleeding, Evie. You are. Just hold still. I’m going to get this off of you.”

  Stryker kneeled next to Evie and began to help untwist the wire from one hand as Santo continued to work on the other. In less than a minute, the painful wire had been removed, though it became clear her wrists were deeply lacerated. “When did you get your last tetanus shot?” Snap asked, frowning at the rusted wire in the lamplight.

  “Three months ago.” She felt like laughing at the surprised expression on all their faces. “I had been putting up campaign signs for Judge O’Conner and stepped on a rusty nail.”

  “We’ll get you home where Phantom can treat your wrists.” Santo shoved himself to his feet, bent down, and lifted Evie into his arms.

  “There’s nothing wrong with my legs, Santo. I can walk to the truck.”

  “I nearly lost you. Let me hold you as close as possible for a little while, okay?”

  She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face against his neck. “I’m so glad to be in your arms.”

  He paused mid-stride and she lifted her head to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. As long as you are in my life, I don’t think anything will ever be wrong again.”

  She smoothed his wet hair off his forehead. “I think the near miss with that gunshot has addled your mind a bit.”

  He shook his head. “No. If anything it reinforced what I already knew.”

  Despite the rain falling on them she couldn’t stop staring at him, wondering what he tried to tell her. “I don’t understand.”

  “I love you, Evie. I’ve loved you for a long time. Nothing would make me happier than having you with me from now on. I want to wake up in the morning smelling your sweet scent and go to bed every night wrapped in your arms. There’s nothing in this world I’ve ever wanted more.”

  “Santo,” she whispered, then pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you so very much.”

  He smiled at her as if a tremendous weight had been lifted. He began to walk again and she placed her head on his chest. Then she stiffened and glanced back over her shoulder. “What about Greg?”

  “You mean Fred?”

  “He changed his name to Greg when he took over his new role in Colombia. It’s easier for me to think of him as Greg because I don’t want to believe the man Judge O’Connor loved could have done the horrible things he has done.”

  “I can’t believe it’s been him all this time.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “No,” Stryker answered, joining them. “Santo didn’t miss, though. He shot him through the right side of his chest, and I suspect punctured his lung. I also cracked him on the head pretty hard with my rifle, so I doubt he’ll be causing any problem
s any time soon. We have someone on their way to pick him up to give him medical attention and place him in confinement until we get the answers we want.”

  “He said he could get them to drop the hit ordered on me. He said he’s connected with the leader of the group here in the U.S. planning certain things.”

  “We know he’s also closely tied to David. We may be able to get Fr, uh, Greg to do some heavy lifting for us.” Santo clutched her even tighter to him.

  “Oh! That’s another thing we can share with Buzz. David worked with Greg in opposition to their boss. If he reveals the location of the ranch, he’ll put his own head on the chopping block.”

  Her comment brought a smile to Stryker’s face. “Your nightmare is over, Evie. We’re going to make sure it is.”.

  She rested her head against Santo’s shoulder. “Good. Because Santo owes me a date.”

  Chapter 36

  Santo and Evie snuggled close together, staring up at the night sky full of stars. All around the crickets serenaded, and a gentle, welcome breeze kept them cool. Evie turned to look at Santo and smiled.

  “What are you grinning at, cariña?” he asked without turning his head.

  “Just thinking I must be the luckiest woman in the world.”

  He turned his head and smiled back at her. “Oh, really? Why is that?”

  “Because I snagged the hottest cowboy in the nation and I don’t plan on ever letting him go.”

  His smile faded slightly, replaced by an expression of desire and he rolled towards her, wrapping a hand around the back of her head to kiss her. His mouth moved over hers tenderly, then more urgently, and she sighed against his lips. He pulled back slowly, his gaze roaming her face. “You really feel lucky even though this cowboy stepped on your feet when he took you dancing and nearly spilled wine on you on your last date?”

  She ran her fingers over the lines of his face. She loved the warmth of his skin, the feel of his breath over her fingers, the sensation of the kiss he pressed to her palm. “I’m incredibly lucky. I think I would do anything to have just a moment with you. We don’t have to go on dates. Lying out under the stars in your arms is more than enough for me.”

  He pressed another kiss to her lips, sliding his arms around her waist and rolling her till she lay draped halfway on top of him. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  “Hmm.” She scrunched up her nose and pretended to think hard. “I don’t think you have.”

  “Evie, you bring me more joy than I’ve ever felt my entire life. Every day I look forward to seeing you, touching you, and hearing your sweet voice. I don’t want it to ever end. I want to watch you soar with your dreams. I want to be there for every moment of your life, and I want you to be with me for every one of mine. I never thought a love this powerful existed. I love you truly, madly, deeply. I’m your man as long as you’ll have me.”

  “Then I think you’re stuck with me. Because I’ll always be your woman.”