Page 38 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

WEST

That night when he had Tracy cuddled up beside him in bed, he took her hand in his and let out a breath.

"I lied to you."

She turned her head slightly, frowning at him.

"Not in words, but I didn't tell you that I knew your dad. At first, I didn't put the obvious TWO and TWO together and get the 'duh' FOUR. But when I think of your dad, it's usually as Chief. It was only after I started spending more time with you that I started to see it. The similarities."

"Similarities?" She frowned a little and drew back from him, looking at his face. "Like what?"

"Your expressions. You haven't seen it, but your dad has similar expressions like you.

You have his eyes, too." He smiled a little, unsure if she'd think it was funny.

"Not that I've spent much time staring into your dad's eyes.

.." He felt the grimace on his face. "Saying it out loud sounds. .. feels odd."

She nodded and snorted out a little laugh. "It kind of sounds weird. I mean... maybe we can just say my eyes are the same color?"

Weston's grimace deepened and he felt his cheeks go hot. "Yeah. Let's stick with that."

"So..." she sighed a little and settled in against his side. "What can you tell me about my dad?"

Weston told her stories and answered her questions, being as open as he could when it came to stories from work and as honest as the day was long when answering questions of a personal nature.

He gave her everything he could about her father because it wasn't just what she needed, but it was also because he was never going to leave things unsaid between them again.

He'd learned his lesson.

And it wasn't a lesson he'd ever forget.

It was late into the evening when the questions stopped coming and he felt Tracy fall off into sleep.

Weston tucked her into bed leaving one of her legs free since she was going to do it anyway and he didn't want her to kick around too much. He just wanted her to rest.

When he laid himself down beside her, she turned into his side, and he felt her even breaths across his skin.

She was amazing.

She was his.

He wasn't going to do anything to mess it up in the future.

TRACY

She rolled out of bed on Saturday morning and headed straight for the bathroom.

She'd slept like a rock the day before only waking up to take calls from the staff as they sorted through the options of keeping things open and accessible for the members.

They had several plans in place for operations, but they'd never quite planned for a car wedging itself in the front doors.

Apparently, they should have planned for catastrophic occurrences.

Leaning over the sink she remembered the half-serious, half-laughing conversation she'd had on zoom with Jaime and the other department heads. Together they'd pieced together a workable plan and put it into effect before the weekend started.

Tracy splashed cold some cold water on her face and hung her head to let the water bead and drop from her face back into the bowl.

She loved her staff like sisters. They'd certainly been through all the crazy together and they'd also been through the successes as well.

It was all intertwined together.

And their members received the kind of care and consideration that came from their struggles and their experiences.

"Ugh..."

Her stomach tightened and released, and she reached for the face towel she'd just wrung out and put it back under the cold water. As soon as it touched her face she sighed with ecstasy.

"Babe?" Weston put his hand on her lower back, and she leaned into his touch. "You, okay?"

She wanted to say yes.

But she also wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the blanket over her head.

She groaned. "I feel like hell."

Weston's soft chuckle almost got him killed.

His hands on her lower back, massaging at the aches, earned him the right to live another day.

"Babe, are you worried about meeting up with your dad for breakfast?"

She folded her arms on the cool marble of the counter and sighed as he pressed his thumbs in just the right place.

"Maybe," she moaned softly. "I think the stress of the last few days has caught up to me. The crazy at the CU. Coming face to face with my dad again. And the meetings and calls to make sure that our members are all taken care of. All of that has twisted me into knots."

She turned her head, pillowing her cheek on her forearms.

"What do we need to do for the lunch thing with your family and the team?"

Weston leaned over her back and kissed the back of her neck and then her cheek, whispering into her ear. "Nothing, babe. My family is bringing a shit ton of food. The team is bringing the booze and other drinks. You don't have to do a damn thing besides resting and having some fun."

"Having fun..." she smiled when she felt something harden against her backside. "Looks like you've got some ideas of how to help me relax."

Weston groaned. "I wish, but... we're scheduled to have a guest for breakfast in about fifteen minutes. If I get you naked and under me it's going to be a potential issue when your dad comes knocking at the door."

She frowned, pouting her lips. "My dad is already cock blocking me?" She sighed. "I might have to rethink this relationship."

He placed his lips against that particularly sensitive spot just under her ear. "I promise to spend all night making you happy."

"You already make me happy, West."

He was suddenly harder against her, and she gasped at the heavy thickness.

"You like it when I call you West."

She put an emphasis on the nickname and hissed when his teeth nipped at her earlobe.

Tracy giggled and that made her laugh even harder. "Is this something that happens when your team calls you-"

Weston picked her up and walked her into the bathroom, turning on the shower with his elbow.

Tracy narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing?"

He leaned in and kissed her before stepped into the warm rush of water. "I am going to make the most of the next five minutes by showing you what happens when you call me West. Nothing like this happens when my team does."

"Oh yeah?" She kissed him back, her nervous stomach forgotten for a moment as he made the most of those five minutes... and stretched it into ten, only stopping when they heard the doorbell.

WEST

Weston opened the door, his hair still wet from the shower a few minutes after the doorbell started to ring for the second set.

Seamus Fagan was standing on his doorstep with what looked like a few brown grocery bag full of food.

"Chief."

"Maybe we shouldn't use ranks today."

Weston nodded in agreement. "Sounds good."

He opened the door and gestured toward the table.

"Come on in. Can I help you with anything?"

Seamus shook his head. "No need. I can carry this. I'm not that old yet."

Weston closed the door after him and walked with him toward the table. "Can I get you something to drink?"

Seamus held up his other hand. "I have coffee. This'll be enough for now."

Weston nodded. "I have a pot brewed if you want more."

Seamus set the brown paper bag down on the table and looked around not-so-subtly. "Where's Tracy?"

"She's getting dressed."

Seamus narrowed his eyes at West, lifting his gaze to his hair. "Do I want to know what you two were up to a few minutes ago when I was ringing the doorbell?"

"Nope! That's not a question you want to ask and not one I want to answer."

Tracy's appearance both saved Weston from the answer and also damned him as well.

She looked freshly dressed and freshly showered, too.

Seamus' gaze turned murderous. "West?"

Tracy started to laugh then and Weston, remembering their 'talk' felt his whole face go red.

Which only meant that Tracy laughed harder.

Seamus looked like he might just lose his mind, but Tracy saved the day again.

"Please tell me what's in that bag." She reached into the refrigerator and popped up again with a bottle of ginger ale. "I'm starving."

Seamus smiled and Weston counted his lucky stars for the distraction.

"I stopped off at the Original Donut Shop and picked up a bunch of their breakfast tacos."

"Tacos?" Tracy walked over the table and stopped between Weston and the Chief. "Now you're speaking my language."

The mood was instantly better as his Chief dug out foiled wrapped taco after foil wrapped taco, naming each one.

"Carne Giusada. Papas Rancheras. Potato, egg, and bacon. Bean, cheese, and bacon." Then he got to the one that had Tracy lighting up like a beacon. "Chorizo and egg- Hey!"

She snatched the foil-wrapped taco from Seamus' hands, but the older man didn't look upset at all. She cradled it against her cheek. "Chorizo..."

"Looks like we have a winner," Seamus grinned and reached back into the bag. "I got two because it's my favorite."

Tracy was already peeling back the foil. "I love chorizo!"

As soon as she'd opened it enough for the steam to curl out of the packet, she leaned in, and all hell broke loose.

The packet fell from her hand and dropped to the tabletop and Tracy left the room with Weston on her heels.

Seamus took off after them, swearing up a storm about his 'fucking hot coffee.'

Weston found Tracy leaning over the sink, dry heaving.

He snatched up a towel from the rack and used the other sink beside her to wet the towel with cool water. "Babe, you okay?"

She shook her head as her dry heaves calmed.

Weston put the cool towel against the back of her neck. "Should I call a doctor?"

Weston waited for an answer.

"I think it's just all the nerves and crazy stuff from the last few days. I might... I might be coming down with something."

Weston leaned to the side to look at her face and she was pale, shaking a little. "Yeah, I think we might have to put you back in bed."

Seamus coughed and Weston turned to look at the other man who was leaning against the wall, his hand under the cool water still spilling into the sink.

"You okay, Chief?"

Seamus shook his head and stopped a moment later, looking him straight in the eye with a gleam in his gaze that looked almost murderous.

"Weston Cooper?"

Weston frowned at the tone of voice the other man was using.

It wasn't a tone he heard often. Hardly at all.

It didn't make a lot of sense.

Then Seamus spoke again. "Did you knock up my daughter?"

Weston turned and looked at Tracy who was now staring at him in equal parts confusion and shock.

"West?" "Babe?"

Seamus shut off the water in the sink and grumbled under his breath. "I'm not ready for this."

He walked out of the bathroom leaving the two of them alone.

"Looks like I'm going to have to go out and pick up something from Walgreens."

He was smiling. He knew he was smiling. From ear to ear.

Tracy straightened a little and then leaned back over the sink, dry heaving again. When she got herself almost under control she looked at him again. "Maybe use Instacart or something. I don't want you to go anywhere."

Weston adjusted the position of the cool cloth against the back of her neck, and she sighed and smiled.

Yeah. He didn't want to leave her.

A soft knock on the open door turned his head.

Seamus was looking at him with an amused look in his eyes.

Yes, those eyes that reminded Weston of Tracy's.

"I'm going to go get you every damn test in the drug store. And if she's pregnant we're going to have a reckoning you and me, Weston Cooper."

Weston resisted the urge to salute the man. "Yes, sir."

With that, Seamus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay. Keep her alive while I'm out and I'll kick your ass later."

Tracy groaned then and looked at him. Her coloring was better. "I don't want him to kill you today."

"Today?" He chuckled at her choice of words.

"Yes, today. Because if this is how I'm going to feel for a few months, I might just have kill you myself."

Weston nodded, agreeing with her because what else could he do?

"Whatever you want, babe. I'm here for it."

She sighed and pressed her cheek against the cool marble counter. "I'm glad, because you're the only one I want to go through this with. I love you, West."

He felt his heart pounding in his chest and smiled back at her. "I love you, Trace. Either way this works out. You're stuck with me."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He'd be there for her for the rest of their lives.

Her and their children.

They'd all be protected by him.

Protected by West.