Page 63 of SEAL Team Ten


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No. No. No!

Becks.

The kid’s gaze darted to her, then back again. “Uh, no.”

“You sure?”

Hayley felt the kid’s legs tremble beside her, and she prayed he wouldn’t pee his pants. “Yeah. I-I’m sure.”

Her assailant cursed, then stormed out of the shop. The kid clutched the counter in a white-knuckled grip, and Hayley dialed her number. “I owe you one,” she said, reaching out to pat the kid’s arm. “Thanks.”

Scotty answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” she said, overwhelmingly grateful to hear his voice. “Can you come get me?”

“Where are you?” His voice sounded rough. “Are you all right, Red? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine. I got away, but Scotty—they’re coming after you and your team.”

“Give me your address. I’ll be right there.”

Twenty minutes later, she was crowded beside him in a car driven by Kyle, heading to one of their safe houses. These guys had more bolt holes than the Bureau, apparently. The rest of the team was there too. Gage sat in the front passenger seat. Spencer was squished in on her other side, his strawberry blond hair blowing in the breeze from his open window and his hand ready on his weapon.

“You sure you’re okay?” Scotty nudged her shoulder beneath the blanket he’d thrown over her and part of himself. He’d taken hold of her hand, too, right after they’d left the pawn shop, and he’d not let her go since.

Hayley stared straight ahead and nodded. She couldn’t look at him, not now. If she did, the tightness in her chest might burst out as tears. Then he’d hold her and comfort her, and she’d get lost in his deep blue eyes again, and… no. Just no. She’d kept herself together during the crisis, as the Bureau had trained her to do. But now, in the aftermath… her body trembled, and her heart pounded, and she was gearing up to be a fine mess. She wasn’t going to let that happen. She had to hold it together, not just for the sake of her own pride, but for Scotty. He had bigger things to worry about than her. “I’m fine. My head’s a little sore, but otherwise, I’m good.”

“Glad to hear it.” He gave her a crooked half grin, his gaze warm and soft, and a different kind of shaking took over her body, born of want and need. “We’ll be at the condo in a minute.”

“Looks like they knocked you a good one,” Spencer said, squinting at her bruised temple.

“Yeah.” She probably looked like Frankenstein’s bride after what she’d been through. But that didn’t matter compared to what lay ahead for them all. “Those guys who took me are setting you up. They wanted to use me as bait. And a diversion, they said. Not sure what that’s all about. Oh, and I think one of them was the guy you told me about, Scotty. The SEAL who got burned?”

“Becks?” Kyle glanced at her in the rearview mirror, his expression suspicious. “And you’re telling us this why, Agent Stevens? Isn’t that against Bureau policy?”

Right.They’d all seen Michelle’s team at the pub. Even if Scotty had told them that she was helping him, they might very well think that she was fooling their friend. After all, they had no reason to trust her other than Scotty’s word that she was reliable. With everything these guys had been through, they had a right to keep up their guard. “I’m not exactly working for the Bureau on this case, Mr. Matthews. After what I’ve found regarding your brother’s death, I don’t believe your team was involved.”

“You’d be in the minority, then.” This from Gage. He turned in his seat to look at her, his gaze icy.

“Please, call me Hayley.” She cleared her throat. “All of you.”

“I’m down with that,” Spencer said, lifting an arm to put around her, then stopping when Scotty gave him a death glare. He dropped his arm back to his side and grinned. “Hayley it is.”

Gage stared at her for a long moment, then gave a curt nod and swiveled to face front again.

Kyle, the ever-stern team leader, flicked his gaze to her in the mirror, his expression inscrutable. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked away. “Okay. You can call me Kyle.”

“Well done, Red,” Scotty whispered in her ear, and she couldn’t suppress her shiver or the rush of happiness at his praise. “He likes you.”

“Good.” She tried to play it off, even as a flush prickled up her cheeks. “Guess that makes one of you, then.”

“Nope.” Scotty squeezed her thigh beneath the blanket. “That makes at least two. I’m pretty partial to you myself, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Yeah?” Hayley hazarded a look at him, at his soft lips, the hint of stubble shadowing his jaw, his warm blue eyes.

“Oh yeah, Red.” He snuggled closer to her and traced his thumb in lazy circles against her palm. “Oh yeah.”

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