SEAL's Honor (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 3)

by Makenna Jameison

  She hated talking on the phone though, preferring instead to communicate via email. And although she’d known it wasn’t Jackson when her phone buzzed, a tiny part of her hoped he’d been calling to say he was home and rushing over to see her. Right at the exact time of her client call. Sure.

  The past week had gone by painstakingly slow, and it was harder than she’d expected not knowing when Jackson would return. Would he even want to see her right away? He’d probably be exhausted and just head home to crash. It’s not like he’d been spending the night here.

  And they hadn’t exactly left things on great terms.

  Shaking her head as she tried to clear her thoughts, she grabbed her cell phone.

  “This is Taryn,” she said.

  Although the potential client had asked if she did video conference calls, she’d opted not to. She’d been in video chats for the class she’d just finished, but she’d kept her camera and microphone off while the instructor taught the students. She didn’t feel comfortable video chatting with a stranger she didn’t know or with the idea of them seeing inside her home.

  And there was always the fear in the back of her mind that her ex-husband would somehow find her. She certainly didn’t need someone to take a screenshot of her and share her photo all over the place. It was unlikely, no doubt, but she wasn’t about to let her guard down now.

  “Hi Taryn. Chris Palmer,” a male voice said. “We emailed a few days ago.”

  Instantly the hair on the back of her neck rose. She’d never met anyone by that name, but something about the voice seemed slightly familiar.

  She nervously cleared her throat. “Hi Chris. You’re interested in a website design, correct? Why don’t you tell me a little about your business and vision?”

  “Sure thing. It’s a new venture, so we’re starting fresh. You said you’re on the west coast, right?”

  “Pacific time zone,” she said automatically without revealing anything else. They’d already covered that when setting up the time for their call.

  “Fantastic. It’s nice to be able to work from anywhere nowadays, isn’t it?”

  “Um-hmm,” she said. “So, tell me about what you hope to have for your website. Is this a one-time design or will you require website maintenance?”

  Taryn heard a muffled voice in the background and furrowed her brows. Was this guy calling from an office? It wasn’t really a conference call since only the two of them were on the line. Were his business partners listening in or something?

  “Are you still there?” she asked when she didn’t hear a reply. “Chris?”

  She started to feel nervous for some reason. She got the strange vibe that someone was listening in to their conversation. She hadn’t told them any personal information, but something just seemed off. Usually, clients were happy to talk about their business needs. This guy hadn’t even answered a single question yet.

  “Listen, I apologize, but I’m going to have to reschedule. Let me shoot you an email to set up a new time. Goodbye.”

  The phone disconnected, and she stared at her own phone in confusion. That was the weirdest call ever. They’d picked the time and still hadn’t provided any information on what they were looking for.

  Shaking her head, she set her phone down and checked her email. She had other work to do aside from worrying about flaky clients. If they emailed her again, she wouldn’t respond. The whole call had been weird. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she had a weird feeling. No matter. The woman who’d contacted her about a website for her bakery had signed a contract, and Taryn had her other projects to do. She didn’t need to do business with someone who made her uncomfortable.

  Tomorrow night she’d get together with Clarissa and Hailey, and hopefully sometime over the next week Jackson would be back. In the meantime, she’d focus on work, just like she’d always done. She’d keep her head down and get her things done, and life would go on, just like it always had before.

  Chapter 13

  Taryn stood up and stretched Friday afternoon, ready to shut down her laptop for the day and take a long walk. She had girls’ night next door at seven with Clarissa and Hailey, and she wanted to get some fresh air, shower, and change before she headed over.

  Jackson and his SEAL team had been gone for more than a week, and her uneasiness had grown even stronger today. She didn’t know what it was, but something in the back of her mind was putting her senses on high alert.

  Had Jackson been hurt?

  Was he in danger?

  She knew those guys dealt with dangerous situations. Clarissa had told her she’d been kidnapped by a terrorist group. No doubt Jackson dealt with the worst of humanity. Taryn knew soldiers and other military personnel were deployed to the Middle East.

  Was that where Jackson was?

  She didn’t have a TV, but she’d searched the Internet for any news stories about U.S. military forces being injured. She knew Jackson didn’t advertise to the world that he was a SEAL, but if something had gone haywire, it would be on the news. Hailey had been part of that bombing in Bagram, and Taryn knew about that.

  She shuddered. What were the chances her two closest friends here had dealt with such awful situations? It made her own abusive marriage seem almost mild in comparison. Austin had been awful, but he wasn’t a terrorist threatening to kill multiple Americans.

  Taryn went upstairs to change into running tights and a workout camisole. She walked rather than jogged but had managed to pack some of her workout clothes when she’d fled Pennsylvania. Frowning, she realized she’d never told Jackson where she was from. She knew about his family and military career, and she’d mostly kept her life under wraps. No wonder he’d been frustrated.

  Shaking her head, she quickly changed and then pulled her long dark hair back into a ponytail. She’d grab her cell phone and keys before she left. She double-checked the sliding glass door off her kitchen, despite the fact that she hadn’t opened it. Would she ever stop freaking out about making sure every door and window were locked? She doubted it.

  Taryn went out the front door and locked it, walking down the steps toward her driveway. She frowned as she heard a dog barking in her backyard. It was a small, fenced-in area below her deck. She never used it as it was shady and mostly just weeds, but there was a gate that allowed access.

  The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she approached the gate. It was shut, which meant someone had to have opened it to let the dog inside. She didn’t think there was another way for a dog to get in. The fence was solid, not rotting away or something. Briefly, she glanced over at Clarissa’s house. She almost went over but decided that was silly. What exactly could her friend do?

  Taryn would open the gate and let the dog out. It didn’t sound aggressive or angry; it simply had barked a few times.

  She reached for the handle, pulling the gate open. A small dog came running up, happily barking and wagging its tail. “Hi doggy!” she said, stepping aside and watching it run off. She thought she’d seen it on one of her walks around the neighborhood. What was it doing in her backyard though?

  Turning back toward her small yard, she looked around. She didn’t see any signs that someone else was there.

  Why would one of her neighbors have put a dog in her backyard though?

  Taryn walked into the backyard, looking around. The lawn was more weeds than grass, some of it dead from the cooler autumn nights. She really should clean the area up, but she didn’t have any yard tools or even a weedwhacker. The bushes off to the side needed to be trimmed, but there were no holes or damage to the fence.

  She took another step, looking around, and then froze as she saw Austin in the shadows under her deck.

  He was pointing a gun at her, and she was afraid to even move a muscle. She should’ve run or screamed, but instead she stood motionless in place as he stalked toward her. “Not a fucking word, bitch,” he said, grabbing her by the upper arm and yanking her toward him. He pulled her against his muscu
lar body, his hand covering her mouth, the gun at her temple.

  Austin moved them forward, back toward the area underneath her deck as she shook in fear.

  Taryn heard a car door slam shut across the street and whimpered, and Austin hustled them into the shadows under the deck. Even though she had neighbors on both sides of her townhouse, the space under the deck was covered and secluded. It was part of the reason she never came out here.

  She trembled as Austin tightened his arm, forcing her to move with him.

  “Fuck! There’s no door down here?” he spat out, shoving her to the ground in anger. She fell to her knees, wincing as the rocks on the ground bit into her hands. The thin running pants she had on did little to protect her either. She knew Austin had assumed she had a basement door. Didn’t most houses? She had a very small basement, but most of the space at the bottom level of the townhouse was taken up by the garage. There was no access to the backyard unless you used the gate.

  She scrambled away, panicked, but Austin was on her in an instant. He pushed her down into the dirt and rocks, straddling her body so she couldn’t move. “Don’t fucking make a sound or I’ll shoot you,” he said, smacking her in the temple with his gun.

  Pain lanced through her, and she whimpered again in fear. She was face down on the ground, and Austin could do whatever he wanted. He grabbed her ponytail, pulling her head back and smashing it to the ground again. She cried out, and he shoved his gun into her temple again.

  “You thought you could run, didn’t you, Tara?” he sneered. “I scoured the Internet for months looking at graphic designer websites. You thought I wouldn’t realize you’d start up a new business? You’re mine, bitch, and I’m not letting you get away again.”

  He leaned down, his breath on her neck, and lightly kissed her skin. She shivered in disgust, hating the fear creeping down her spine. He smelled of alcohol, and she wondered if he’d spent the day drinking. “You make me crazy,” he muttered, keeping the gun at her head as he shifted slightly above her. He palmed her ass, squeezing it, and she started to cry, fearful he was going to rape her right there in her backyard.

  “Please let me go,” she pleaded.

  “Never. I’m never letting you go,” he hissed, leaning down again. He nipped at her neck with his teeth, his hand trying to inch beneath her stomach. “You made a fool of me at the police department. How do you think it made me look when we got divorced so quickly? Fucking bitch!” he said, lifting his hand back up and punching her in the side.

  She gasped, and he hit her again.

  Before she could say anything else, he flipped her over, moving on top of her as he punched her in the face. She cried out again, squeezing her eyes shut.

  “Look at me!” he hissed.

  She did as he asked, tears streaming down her cheeks. Austin had a crazed look in his eyes, and one hand slid to her neck as her head throbbed in pain. “I should fucking kill you for the way you treated me,” he said, lightly gripping her neck. “I don’t think I can live without you though.”

  Another car door shutting had him looking up. “Shit. Why the fuck are all your neighbors coming home right now?” He met her fearful gaze. “Are you afraid of me, princess?” He squeezed her neck slightly harder as she tried to swallow. “You’re mine. All of you.”

  Taryn whimpered as his fingers touched her temple, where he’d first hit her with the gun. She was shocked to see blood on them. Her head throbbed and her ribs hurt, but he hadn’t hit her hard enough to draw blood, had he?

  Holding the gun to her head, he squeezed her neck harder. Gasping for breath, she lifted her hands to his arm, trying to pull it off of her.

  “Don’t make me fucking shoot you,” he growled.

  He squeezed harder, and her vision began to blur. Was he going to choke her to death right here? That was her last thought before everything went black.

  Chapter 14

  Jackson grumbled as they strode off the plane after arriving back in California. It had been a hell of a long flight home. He was tired and exhausted, but the team had successfully taken out the terrorist cell leader in Algeria. They’d moved in that night exactly as planned, and after two different flights, were back on U.S. soil at last.

  Blake glanced over at the team. “The CO said we can debrief at oh eight hundred.”

  “Thank fuck for small miracles,” Grayson said, rolling his shoulders as he walked. “I’m going to shower after we stash this gear and get home to Hailey.”

  “Are you going to Taryn’s?” Blake asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “Affirmative. I’ll shoot her a text then quick change before I head over. I know we’ve got meetings tomorrow, but I hope like hell we’ll get a couple of days off afterward.”

  “You and me both,” Blake quipped.

  The team walked into one of the buildings on base, stashing some of their equipment and gear for subsequent missions. Jackson texted Taryn before he headed toward the showers, wanting to rid himself of the dirt and grime he’d acquired after trekking across the desert for a few days. He didn’t want to show up at Taryn’s house looking like he hadn’t showered in a week, which unfortunately, was the truth at the moment.

  “All right, sweetheart, I’ll see you soon,” Blake said, grinning as he stuck his phone into his locker.

  Jackson raised his eyebrows. “The women had planned on drinks at our place tonight,” Blake said with a chuckle. “Let’s just say Clarissa was more than happy to reschedule.”

  “I didn’t hear back from Taryn.”

  “She’s probably just getting ready. Want me to ask Clarissa to let her know we’re back?”

  Jackson lifted a shoulder. “Sure. I kind of wanted to surprise her, but given the fact that we argued, it’s probably better for her to know that I’m coming.”

  “Roger that,” Blake said, grabbing his phone again.

  Jackson showered and changed with record speed. He’d be back in the a.m. soon enough for briefings with their commander, but at the moment, he couldn’t wait to get over to Taryn’s. He was exhausted as hell, but he knew he couldn’t sleep until he pulled her into his arms. He felt guilty that he’d pressured her about more information on Austin, and the moment he saw her tonight, he’d reassure her that they’d move at her pace. When she wanted to go to the police, they could. He wouldn’t push her for more than she was ready for yet.

  Jackson climbed into his SUV, noticing Raptor’s was still in the parking lot. He chuckled to himself quietly. Yep, he was ready to see his woman. And Taryn was his. Whether they officially called themselves a couple or not, he knew that they were meant for one another. She hadn’t texted him back yet, but at this point, he’d be at her place soon enough. Hopefully she’d seen his text or Clarissa had let her know he and his teammates were back.

  Pulling into her neighborhood fifteen minutes later, he immediately knew something was wrong. A police car was in front of Taryn’s house, and Clarissa was there, knocking on the front door. Jackson pulled to a stop and frowned as he saw a smashed cell phone in the driveway where an officer was standing.

  Taryn’s phone.

  But where the hell was she?

  Jackson jumped out of his SUV and rushed toward the house. “Where’s Taryn?” he called out.

  Clarissa looked back at him. “I don’t know. She was supposed to come over for drinks. She didn’t show up, and I thought she was just running late. Then Blake called, and I came over here since he said you couldn’t reach her. I saw her smashed cell phone in the driveway and called 911.”

  “Good job,” Jackson assured her. He knocked on the front door himself, louder than Clarissa just had. “Taryn! It’s me. Jackson. We just got back. Are you in there?”

  “I’ve been knocking for ten minutes,” Clarissa said worriedly.

  The police officer was radioing in to the dispatchers when Blake pulled up. He immediately jumped out of his SUV as Jackson had just done. Blake hadn’t even showered or changed yet, and Jackson assumed he’d been d
elayed dealing with something on base. “What’s wrong?” he barked out.

  “Taryn is missing!” Clarissa called back.

  The officer looked at him, taking in his fatigues and dirty appearance. “We’re Navy SEALs,” Blake said as he rushed over. “We just got back from a mission, and Jackson is Taryn’s boyfriend. What happened here?”

  The officer began explaining the few things they knew, and Jackson’s eyes swept up and down the front of Taryn’s townhouse. He’d helped Taryn secure the place himself. He knew the front door had the strong deadbolt he’d purchased and installed, so it would be hard to break in. The windows all looked shut. But was Taryn even inside?

  He tried the doorknob, just in case Clarissa hadn’t yet, but it was locked. Rushing back down the steps, he looked around. Her car looked fine, with the doors shut. The garage door was closed. “I’ll check around back,” he said.

  “Ten-four,” the officer said into his radio. “There’s no damage aside from the smashed cell phone. The property is secure on the front. I’ll look around some more.”

  “Do any of you have a key to her house?” he asked.

  Clarissa and Blake both looked to Jackson. “No, I don’t.”

  He kept moving past the officer and toward the fenced-in backyard. Jackson frowned as he saw that the gate wasn’t fully shut. Taryn never went into her backyard and always kept the gate closed. Was someone back there?

  “Raptor!” he called out.

  Jackson didn’t know what he’d find back there, but his senses were already on high alert. Maybe it was adrenaline left over from their mission, but he felt on edge and wanted his teammate at his side.

  Blake was behind him in an instant, and the two men exchanged a glance. Blake immediately noticed the same thing he did—the gate was open. Without thought, Jackson pulled the knife he had on from the back of his waistband. If someone had hurt Taryn, they wouldn’t fucking get away.