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CHAPTER SEVEN

D oug had never been so relieved to see Jenn standing there in one piece, insisting she was okay.

The fear that surged through him during the massive earthquake—while they were still miles from the commune—might have even outweighed what he’d felt when those two assholes tried to attack her in Donovan’s parking lot.

It came damn close to what he’d experienced when she was kidnapped, but this time, he was still in a position to rescue her.

Although as he studied her, he realized she didn’t need rescuing. She was unharmed and safe. Thank fuck.

His heart still galloped as if he were a racehorse coming down to the finish line at the Kentucky Derby, but the gripping fear that constricted his lungs slowly dissipated while he stared at her.

Clearly, the quake had frightened her and everyone else, but she seemed to be holding it together—probably for the children’s sake.

He glanced down at a little girl, around six or seven, who eased over and leaned against Jenn’s hip, wrapping her arm around the woman’s thigh like it was a security blanket.

The girl’s cheeks were stained with tears that had stopped falling, but an occasional sob shuddered through her while Jenn petted her hair reassuringly.

As Romeo explained why they were there, it suddenly registered that Doug stood way too close to her and still had his hands on her shoulders.

He quickly removed them and stepped back, giving them both space.

He needed it because all he wanted to do was wrap her tightly in his arms and inhale her scent—just over three weeks without seeing her had felt like a lifetime.

Guilt over his lust for the younger woman flooded through his veins as she took the satellite phone from Romeo to talk to Ian.

While she tried to reassure her godfather that she and everyone else were unharmed, she tapped the little girl’s shoulder to get her attention, then pointed toward a woman in her thirties exiting a nearby building.

The girl ran over to the woman, presumably her mother.

Unexpectedly, Jenn moved away from the small group, but even with the short distance, Doug could still see and hear her.

From her fiery exchange with Ian, he gathered that her boss had ordered her to get on the company jet and head back to Tampa as soon as possible.

Doug wanted that, too, until her words sank in.

It suddenly hit him how much she’d grown and matured over the past four years, not just physically but emotionally, even though he still felt the significant age gap between them.

Well, eight years wasn’t exactly major, but it was enough that he thought he was too old for her.

Most twenty-three-year-olds were out partying with friends, traveling the world, and doing stuff they wouldn’t have time for in a few more years when careers, marriages, and kids took over their lives.

Doug’s party days were long gone. Getting shot and almost dying tended to put one’s priorities into perspective.

He dated here and there, spent time with friends and family at their homes more often than in bars, loved his job, and enjoyed some quiet downtime.

His favorite thing to do on his off hours was fishing in the Gulf on the twenty-five-foot used boat he had bought the previous year.

He also wanted to settle down with the right woman and have kids someday.

His three sisters, one older than him and two younger, were all married with children, which meant Doug had six nieces and nephews between the ages of four and thirteen, with another on the way.

His youngest sister’s second child was due in six months.

Rowan and her husband, Wes, wanted to be surprised, just as they were when their son, Cayden, was born, so they opted not to learn the baby’s sex.

Doug loved doting on his nieces and nephews. They all lived within a twenty-minute drive of his condo, and he saw them often. The children weren’t just cousins but friends, too, and Doug hoped his own kids would have a similar relationship with the others someday.

A vision of Jenn, her belly round with a child—his child—popped into his head, and he swayed on his feet.

For a moment, he thought another earthquake had hit, but it was the unexpected thought that knocked him for a loop.

She’d be beautiful pregnant and a fantastic mother.

He’d seen her with all the kids she considered her niblings—a gender-neutral word for nieces and nephews that he’d never heard until recently.

They adored her, and it was evident to anyone who watched her with them that she loved each of them as if they were her own.

“Well, looks like we’re staying for a few days.”

Romeo’s statement brought Doug out of the fog he was in. Glancing at Jenn, he realized she was no longer on the sat phone that his teammate now held and was staring at her feet as if they were the most interesting things she’d ever seen. “Huh?”

“Ian wants us to stay and help out here.”

Of course he did. Shit.

It wasn’t as though Doug didn’t want to stay and assist with the recovery—there had to be damage to the commune and nearby villages, and people who were injured or, God forbid, dead from the quake.

He was a fourth-generation retired Marine—helping people in need was ingrained in his DNA—but he’d rather get Jenn back to the States for her welfare.

However, it seemed she convinced Ian to let her stay, and so Doug would glue himself to her side to ensure her safety until he was certain she was no longer in any danger.

She wasn’t going to like it, but too fucking bad.

He could never forgive himself for letting her be kidnapped four years ago, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t protect her now when he had another chance.

“By the way, Tony and Margie, this is—” Jenn started and gestured to a man and woman standing nearby, but before she could complete the introductions, another female voice interrupted.

“Lindsey, is that you? What in heaven’s name are you doing here?

” a slender woman in her early-to-mid-sixties asked in slightly accented English as she strode toward the group.

She was approximately five feet eight inches tall, with long, gray hair pulled up into a bun.

If Doug guessed correctly, she was the doctor who ran the commune.

Costello had been there once before while on a mission with Ian, Carter, Jordyn, and a few others, and she stepped forward to hug the other woman.

“Hey, Ramona. It’s good to see you. We came to make sure the supplies Jenn wanted got here this time.

” She pointed at the two men the doctor hadn’t met before.

“This is Val Mancini, but everyone calls him Romeo, and this is Doug Henderson. Guys, this is Doctor Ramona Sanchez.”

“Call me Ramona, please.” She shook hands with Romeo and then Doug. “You picked a heck of a time to visit.”

Lindsey chuckled. “That seems to be an understatement. But you’re in luck. Boss-man just told us to stick around for a few days and help however we can.”

“I never turn down volunteers or voluntolds .”

“Volun-what?” Doug asked, his brow furrowing.

The doctor laughed at him. “You’ve never heard of a voluntold? It’s when someone else, like your boss, Ian—God bless his sarcastic soul—tells you that you’re volunteering whether you like it or not.”

Actually, he knew that from his time in the military.

His brain just hadn’t caught up with the conversation yet.

It was still stuck on the earthquake and the fact that he and the others were staying to help, which meant being in close proximity to Jenn for the next few days, longer than he’d anticipated.

Ever since Ian ordered him to fly down to Colombia, Doug prepared himself to see Jenn for a few hours, at the most. Now he had to figure out how to keep his distance yet ensure her safety until he could get the hell out of there.

“Ah. Yeah, he does that often.” He scratched his temple. “In fact, that’s how we all ended up down here to begin with. We were voluntold.”

“I’m not surprised.” She placed her hands on her hips and glanced at the cargo truck. “Well, we’ve got a lot of work to do before we can even think about unloading whatever you have in there.”

Romeo raised his hand holding the sat phone. “I’ll call Nathan and have him extend the rental agreement. I’ll also give our pilot a heads up and tell him to find something to do for a few days.”

“Perfect. Lindsey, you remember where the women’s bunkhouse is, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Ramona frowned and lightly swatted Costello’s shoulder.

“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me. You know I hate that.

I know it’s a military thing, but it makes me feel old.

” The two chuckled. “Anyway, you go get settled in there. Do you need anything? Clothing? Toiletries? I can’t imagine you brought much if you didn’t know you were staying. ”

“Our go-bags are in the trucks.” Most of the time, they took them wherever they went, in case plans changed at the drop of a hat, as was often the case, like today. Lindsey turned to Romeo, who was already on the phone. “Call Colleen, too, and have her check us out of our hotel rooms.”

“Got it,” he said before returning his attention to whoever he was talking to.

Ramona clapped her hands once. “All right. Gentlemen, Tony can show you where the men’s bunkhouse is. Toss your bags on an empty bed, and then let’s get to work.