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The men pushed to their feet. Gage picked up Anna and kissed her thoroughly before letting her slide down his side. Scotty averted his gaze from their obvious intimacy, wishing he had Hayley in his arms like that.
“Let’s go.” Kyle stretched and blinked his eyes several times as if to wake himself up. “I’ll drive.”
Scotty gave him a dubious look. “You sure? You look ready to drop.”
“Are you questioning my abilities?” Kyle scowled at him.
“No, sir.”
“Good. Don’t.” Kyle stomped into the kitchen and pulled an energy drink out of the fridge. “Never underestimate me. Ever.”
Well, damn.Kyle had been unusually touchy since they’d discovered Natalie was still alive. He had every right to be, Scotty supposed, but it didn’t make him any easier to get along with.
Instead of getting into it again with his buddies, Scotty headed over to the bathroom door and knocked softly. They were all tired and irritable and grouchy as hell, and picking a fight right now would be a bad, bad idea. Still, if Hayley was going to go with them to the hospital, she needed to get a move on. “Red, you coming out anytime soon?”
“Screw you, Scotty.”Anytime, darling.
Behind him, Spencer snickered. “Your way with the ladies is impressive, dude.”
Scotty gave him the finger. “We’re going to the hospital. If you want to come along, you need to get out here. Now.”
Nothing.
He preferred the “screw you” to stone cold silence. An eternity of seconds ticked past, and he’d just about given up hope of her emerging when the door whooshed open and Hayley rushed past him in a bluster of attitude and sweet strawberry scent. Scotty’s body tightened involuntarily, and his heart swelled with tenderness. He could smell strawberries every day for the rest of his life and never tire of it.
He couldn’t believe it, but he wanted forever with her. He just wasn’t sure whether she wanted the same thing. He was going to have to put his heart out there, tell her how he felt and give her the chance to reject him. The thought terrified him more than any firefight he’d ever experienced. He wasn’t afraid to die, but the thought of giving his heart to someone else and trusting them to cherish it had him scared witless.
And yet he knew he had to try. Hayley was worth it, and so was the life he wanted to build with her. It would never happen if he wasn’t willing to take the leap, to make himself vulnerable. Somehow, somewhere, he’d find the courage and tell her how he felt.
But not right now. It clearly wasn’t the right moment. Not when there was so much they were dealing with and tempers were already on edge. No, now wasn’t the time—but soon. He wanted a future with her, and he couldn’t wait for it to start.
As he trailed across the living room after Hayley, admiring the lovely view of her ass in those tight jeans, he couldn’t help but grin. Hells yeah, she could destroy him, but what a way to go.
“All right, kids. Let’s head out.” Kyle checked and holstered his weapon. The rest of them did the same as they all followed him out the door, Anna included.
Downstairs, Scotty and Spence did a quick check of the perimeter before they hustled over to their beat-up SUV parked near the curb. Kyle climbed in the driver’s side and Spence took the passenger front, while Gage and Anna and Scotty and Hayley filled the rear rows of seats. “Everybody buckle up.”
Groans and whines ensued, but they did as he instructed.
“When we get to the hospital, Gage, I want you to keep a lookout in the lobby. Anna can stay with you. Spence, you stay in the van until we’re confident the place is safe. Scotty, you and Hayley come with me to the room. Brighton thinks Hayley might have the best chance of getting something out of Natalie.”
Hayley frowned. “What about the FBI? Won’t they be looking for us?”
“I doubt it.” Kyle signaled, then pulled out into traffic. “Brighton said that boss of yours has a warrant out for her arrest, along with what’s left of her team. Her career at the Bureau’s over.”
“That makes two of us.” The dejectedness in her tone made Scotty’s heart ache. His career in the Navy had given his life direction and purpose, and he knew Hayley felt the same about her career at the Bureau. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he couldn’t work with his SEAL team. He tried to take her hand, but she shook him off. “Did your Commander Brighton say anything else? Like why he thinks I’d be able to get something out of Natalie?”
“You mean other than the fact that she’s been asking for you, specifically?” Kyle met Hayley’s gaze in the rearview mirror, and Scotty felt her stiffen beside him.
“She asked for me?”
“Only you. Won’t say a word to anyone else.”
“Huh.” Hayley slumped back in her seat. This time when Scotty reached for her hand, she let him take it. “I wonder why?”
“Maybe it had something to do with you trying to help her escape.” He glanced sideways at her and smiled. “I did say we were going to talk about that later, right?”
“I couldn’t just let her go down like that, Scotty. Like a trapped animal. Everyone deserves a fighting chance.”
