Page 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Glancing around the room, Preacher scowled. Usually he loved hanging out with his friends, but tonight they’d been hogging Maggie, and he was a little annoyed. He’d been looking forward to seeing her talk, laugh, come out of her shell a little more.

And she was doing all that and more—except it wasn’t him bringing it out of her. It was his friends.

A hand clapped his shoulder as he was standing by the pool table, waiting for his turn to shoot. Glancing over, Preacher saw Dude standing beside him. He was a retired SEAL who’d gotten close to Preacher and the rest of his team. Wolf, Abe, Benny, Cookie, and even Julie’s husband, that team’s former commander, was there tonight. Along with their wives. It was a full house, and the building overflowed with happiness and friendship.

“It’s hard, isn’t it? ”

For a horrified moment, Preacher thought Dude was commenting on the state of his dick. He’d been half erect all night, ever since that amazing kiss he’d shared with Maggie on her couch.

Dude chuckled as if he knew exactly what Preacher was thinking. “It’s difficult letting everyone commandeer her.”

Inwardly sagging in relief, he nodded.

“She needs this,” Dude continued.

He didn’t need his friend to tell him that. He’d noticed it for himself. Maggie had come alive at Aces. Smiling, laughing, acting as if she’d known the other women all her life. She’d been nervous at first, but it hadn’t taken her long to loosen up. And it hadn’t escaped Preacher’s notice that it didn’t take any alcohol either.

She’d politely declined any drinks, instead asking Jessyka, who was helping behind the bar, for a glass of sparkling water with a lime. She’d been sipping on that single drink all evening, and when Preacher had taken her aside to check in with her a while ago, make sure she was good, he’d commented on it. She’d sheepishly told him that if she carried something that looked like an alcoholic drink, no one gave her a hard time. Then added that it was against her probation to drink alcohol or use drugs, admitting that she was drug tested on a regular basis.

Preacher understood…and he kicked himself for not thinking about that. When all the important people in his life had glommed on to his date, he should’ve changed the venue to somewhere other than a bar. He wasn’t much of a drinker himself, and he often used the same trick as Ma ggie, finding that if he nursed a bottle of beer all night, people were less likely to press more alcohol on him.

“Preacher?”

Turning to Dude, he realized he’d zoned out. “Sorry. I know. She’s outgoing.”

“Everything okay with her? The situation with her ex?”

Preacher wasn’t surprised Dude knew about Maggie. The SEAL community was tight…and gossip typically spread like wildfire through the ranks as well. It didn’t matter that Dude and the other men from his team were retired. They were still obviously very much in the know.

“Honestly? I don’t think so,” Preacher told his friend. “He’s been calling her. She hasn’t told me what he’s saying, or even who he is, but I know it’s eating at her. She’s stressed that if she’s caught doing anything wrong, she could go right back to prison.”

“And since her ex got her in trouble in the first place, he could plant more drugs on her or do something else that would cause her probation to be revoked.”

“Exactly,” he said with a nod.

“You need to find out who her ex is.”

Preacher huffed out a frustrated breath. “Do you think I don’t know that? It’s not as easy as just asking, Dude. We talked about it tonight, and she’s terrified of him. Like, she broke down even thinking about talking about him. I promised that I’d give her some time. Time to realize that I’m really on her side. To trust me. I also let her know that my friends and I would do what we could to look into the situation that put her in jail in the first place, and if there’s a way to get her conviction overturned, we’d find it.”

“She was caught with a pretty large amount of drugs in her car. Even if they weren’t hers, there’s no doubt that she was driving and the car belonged to her,” Dude said.

“I know.”

“And it’s likely the only reason she got as short a sentence as she did was because she had no criminal history whatsoever.”

“I know that too,” Preacher said. “But if we can prove that her boyfriend was involved in drug trafficking, and find out who his connection might have been in Los Angeles, it could go a long way toward proving her innocence.” He wasn’t so sure about that, because Dude was right. There was no denying that the drugs had been in Maggie’s car. But he hoped there might be video from the officer’s body camera showing her genuine surprise, and that, along with anything else Tex or one of his computer friends could dig up, might just help her case.

“I think the more pressing issue is making sure the asshole leaves her alone,” Dude said.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Yeah,” Preacher agreed.

Both men were silent for a moment, then Dude said, “You need anything, you call me. Not Wolf. Not Kevlar. Me . I’ll take care of it for you. Whatever it is. It enrages me when men abuse women. Especially the ones important to us. And since Maggie’s important to you, she’s important to me. Our women should be protected at all costs. Not because they’re weak or can’t look after themselves, but because they’re the most precious things in our lives.

“My team and I have been where you are. Where it seems bad things keep happening to the ones we love. It’s frustrating and infuriating. You’ve all been through enough. With Howler, Remi, Blink, Josie, Wren, everyone . So I’m taking what happened to your woman personally. It’s bad enough that someone lied and caused her to have to spend two years behind bars, but to continue harassing her after she’s out, to be causing her so much worry when all she should be thinking about is getting back on her feet…it’s wrong . Offensive.”

Preacher wasn’t sure what to say. So he simply nodded once.

Dude returned the gesture, then headed across the room to where his wife, Cheyenne, was standing with Caroline, Remi, Wren, Josie, and Maggie. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned down to say something in her ear.

Cheyenne practically melted into her man’s arms. She turned and looked up at him with so much love, it almost made Preacher uncomfortable. She nodded at him, and he stepped away, heading toward Benny, Flash, and Mozart.

Preacher decided he’d given Maggie enough space to get to know the women and men who’d come to meet her. Now his need to be near her was almost overwhelming. He followed in Dude’s footsteps, stopping at her side.

The smile she gave him when he put his hand on the small of her back was almost blinding .

“Hi!” she chirped.

“Hi,” he returned with a small smile.

“You know Cheyenne and Caroline, right?” she asked.

Preacher chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Right, sorry. Of course you do. We were all just talking about how crazy a SEAL’s job is. How one day you could be sent to help with a natural disaster, and the next, you’re having to jump out of a plane miles and miles above the ground so you can infiltrate a hostile country holding hostages, to get them out.”

She wasn’t wrong. “Doesn’t sound like a very interesting conversation to me,” Preacher said, taking a risk and putting his arm around Maggie’s waist. He was thrilled when she leaned against him.

“Are you kidding? It’s fascinating. And I know you can’t talk about your missions, deployments, whatever they’re called, but for the record, I’m so proud of you. What you do is amazing, even if no one knows about it. It’s even more amazing because of that.”

Her words meant the world to Preacher. He’d been thanked before. People thanked him for his service all the time. But somehow the words coming from this woman carried so much more weight.

“And Caroline is a chemist. And Cheyenne’s a nine-one-one operator. Isn’t that cool?”

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and everyone around her had huge smiles on their faces.

The rest of the evening, Preacher stuck by Maggie’s side as she made the rounds to different groups of people. She fit in perfectly with all his friends and was a great conversationalist. She complimented people, listened with all her attention to whoever was speaking, and genuinely seemed interested in whatever was being discussed.

Preacher was comfortable staying on the sidelines, and not only because as a SEAL, he was used to blending into the background. He wasn’t the best in social situations. But with Maggie, he didn’t need to be. He was content to let her take the lead, and he simply stood by her side as she won over every single person in the bar.

She even spoke to some people Preacher didn’t know. She was in her element, and he loved seeing her come out of her shell.

When last call was made, Maggie was still going strong. Most of the SEALs had left, along with their significant others. The only holdouts were Smiley, Summer, and Mozart. The five of them were sitting around a table, chatting amicably.

He was surprised that Smiley had stayed behind after the rest of their teammates left. Even more surprising, he’d just finished opening up to all of them about the woman he’d briefly met in Las Vegas while extricating Josie from the clutches of the bitches who’d kidnapped and attempted to sell her into sexual slavery.

“Let me get this straight,” Maggie said, with the most serious look Preacher had seen on her face all night. “This woman, Bree, had been sold to this asshole by her ex, and while you guys were making sure Josie was safe, she just disappeared? ”

Smiley nodded.

“Where did she go? She couldn’t have disappeared into thin air. Did her ex get to her? Did the asshole guy have an accomplice? Was she simply too scared to stay in the truck and wait for you to get back?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t know,” Smiley said with a shrug. “But it’s eating at me. What if she did get caught by the traffickers again? Is anyone other than me looking for her? Does anyone even know she’s gone? The wondering sucks.”

“Wow. I bet she’s scared,” Summer said.

“What can we do to help?” Maggie asked, putting a hand over Smiley’s.

“Nothing,” he said without hesitation. “There’s not much to do.”

“But you said that you’ve been going to Vegas on the weekends trying to find her. Maybe we can come help with that,” she insisted.

Smiley shook his head. “I’ve been going to Vegas every weekend I can spare, but it honestly feels pretty hopeless. It’s not as if she’s still going to be hiding in the bushes in that neighborhood or anything. I was able to track down the apartment where she was living, and it’s empty. Cleaned out.”

“What? Really? By her?” Summer asked.

“No clue. But that was a dead end. She hasn’t been back to her job either. She’s literally just disappeared.”

Preacher frowned. He’d had no idea Smiley was so invested in finding the mysterious Bree woman. Of course, he and the rest of the team knew he’d been going back to Vegas frequently, but not that he’d actually tracked down her address or where she worked. He’d never seen Smiley so…worried about anyone. Especially a woman. It wasn’t as if he was unfeeling, more that he always had a tight rein on his emotions.

“Well, shit,” Maggie said. “If there is anything we can do, you’ll tell us, right?”

“Yeah, most of us women know what it’s like to feel completely alone,” Summer added.

“Thanks, ladies,” Smiley said. “I’m sure she’s fine. I just don’t like not knowing.”

“It’s like those crime shows that end without telling the viewers who did it,” Summer said.

“Or the ones about missing people where you watch for the entire hour and at the end…they’re still missing. I hate that,” Maggie agreed.

Preacher was right there with the women. He hated that too, which was one of the reasons he didn’t watch a lot of crime TV. He saw enough of death and hatred in his job. He didn’t need to see it on his time off as well. He was a sports kind of guy. Football, basketball, soccer, and diving. Preferably the stuff off the high platforms. Or cliff diving. He could get lost for hours watching YouTube videos of athletes leaping off insanely high platforms.

“…to go.”

Preacher had missed most of what Mozart had said, but figured he was calling it a night by the way he stood up and helped his wife to her feet.

Maggie stood and hugged her new friend, promising to keep in touch. Smiley said his goodbyes as well, and then it was only Preacher and Maggie at the table.

“You look happy,” he told her.

“I am,” she said without hesitation. “I love your friends. They’re all so nice.”

They were. “I didn’t know you were a night person. Or an extrovert.”

Maggie laughed. “Does it make a difference?”

“Not at all. It just makes me realize anew how hard a time you must’ve had in the last two years.”

She sobered. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I kept to myself because I was terrified of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. And it wasn’t as if I had a choice to stay up late or not, lights went out at the same time for everyone.”

“I shouldn’t have brought you to a bar tonight. I’m sorry,” Preacher told her.

“It’s okay. I’ve never been much of a drinker, so it’s not as if I was tempted.”

“Still. It wasn’t cool. I’ll make sure we have our get-togethers somewhere else from now on. Or at least until your probation is over.”

Maggie stared at him for a long moment. “You’re almost too nice to be true.”

“I’m not nice,” Preacher countered.

She rolled her eyes.

“Okay, I’m nice to you, but I don’t think I go out of my way to be nice to anyone else.”

“Whatever, Shawn. Every single person I talked to tonight had nothing but great things to say about you. ”

He didn’t want to talk about himself. He’d much rather take care of her. “You ready to head out?” he asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t mean to keep you up so late. You have PT in the morning…well, later today, right?”

“Won’t be the first time I don’t get a lot of sleep before having to work out. It’s fine,” Preacher said.

“See? Nice,” Maggie said under her breath as she stood.

Preacher found himself grinning. He gave the bartender a chin lift as he steered Maggie toward the door. He led her to his car, keeping an eye on their surroundings. It was extremely late, or early, and nothing good usually happened after midnight. But it was quiet, and they arrived at his car without any issues. Preacher got Maggie settled in the passenger seat and he went around to the driver’s side.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Maggie said as he pulled out of the parking lot. Her head was tilted back and she was looking out the side window. “It was weird going so long without seeing stars. Or the moon.”

Making a split-second decision, Preacher turned his car toward the naval base.

“Where are we going?” Maggie asked.

“You have your ID on you, right?” he asked without answering her question.

“Of course.”

“Good. Get it out. Please.”

She did as he asked and was silent the rest of the way to the base. They went through the gates, and Preacher showed both his military ID and Maggie’s driver’s license to the guard. Once they were waved through, she asked again. “Shawn? Where are we going?”

Except this time she sounded nervous, which he hated.

“There’s a spot I want to show you. I swear you’re safe with me. I have nothing nefarious planned. I just think you’ll love this place as much as I do. I sometimes come here when we get home after an especially gnarly mission.”

It didn’t take long to get to the stretch of beach he had in mind. Preacher parked on the side of the road; there wasn’t even a real parking lot. He shut off the engine and by the time he’d walked around the car, Maggie was waiting for him. He held out his hand, relieved and thrilled when she took it.

He followed an almost nonexistent trail through some bushes and tall grasses to the small strip of sand. This wasn’t a good swimming beach, which was why it wasn’t well known or popular. There were a lot of jagged rocks along the shore and the waves broke over them almost nonstop. It was actually kind of loud on the sand, but that had never bothered Preacher.

He stopped and turned to Maggie. “Sit with me?”

She nodded, and they both sat on the soft sand. Preacher wished he’d thought to bring along a blanket or something, but it was too late, and the trip had been too spontaneous for that. But Maggie didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s beautiful. I love the sound of the waves hitting the rocks.”

“Look up,” Preacher told her .

He smiled as a small gasp left her lips. “Oh my,” she whispered.

Preacher didn’t need to look up to know what she was seeing. The stars out here, away from a lot of the light pollution from the city, were amazing. They seemed to go on forever.

Instead of looking at the stars, he kept his gaze on Maggie. Her mouth was open in awe and he would swear as he watched, he saw her muscles relax. This was why he wanted to bring her here.

“It’s…wow. It makes me feel so small,” she whispered.

“Yeah. Coming here reminds me that I’m just a tiny little cog in this thing called life.”

Her gaze moved to him. “That sounds like song lyrics.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know about that. All I know is that hearing the water and seeing the stars…it settles me.”

“Yeah,” Maggie agreed, looking back up at the sky.

After a moment, Preacher tugged at her hand, the one she hadn’t pulled out of his grip. He urged her to lie back. It would be easier on her neck muscles. She went willingly.

They lay there on the sand, staring up at the sky for several minutes without a word.

“Thank you,” Maggie said after a while. “I needed this.”

“You’re welcome.” They were both going to have sand in their hair, he’d be exhausted at PT tomorrow, but it was worth it. At least in his eyes.

“You know what the worst thing about being in prison was?” she said after another few minutes had gone by .

He could think of a lot of things that would suck about being locked away. But instead, he asked, “What?”

“Knowing he was out here . Free. Living his life. Knowing people were looking up to him. Thinking he was this great guy. That makes me petty as hell, but I can’t help it. I thought the same thing once. But then I started to see him for who he really was. I was distancing myself from him. Was going to break up with him. But I waited too long.” She sighed.

Preacher desperately wanted to know the name of the asshole she was talking about. But he refrained from asking. Hopefully she’d tell him when she was ready. Then he’d see what he could do about ruining the guy’s life, just as he’d done to Maggie’s.

“He’ll get his,” Preacher told her. “I firmly believe that those who do bad things to others will pay for their wrongdoings in the long run.”

“I don’t like having such hate in my heart for a person. It doesn’t feel right. But I can’t help it.”

“You’re human,” Preacher told her with a squeeze of his hand. “And he did you wrong in a huge way.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. She fell silent then. After another few minutes went by, she asked, “What time is it?”

“Does it matter?”

She laughed a little. “It does if you miss PT because we’re sitting out here on the sand.”

Preacher chuckled. “Even if I did miss it, it’d be okay. I mean, yeah, I’m supposed to be there, but Kevlar isn’t going to report me AWOL if I’m not. ”

“He seems like a good man.”

“He is.”

“I really like Remi, Wren, and Josie. They were all so nice to me. I feel as if I’ve known them forever. It’s hard to believe all that stuff really happened to them. I’m glad they’re okay.”

“Me too.”

“Shawn?”

“Yeah, Maggie?”

“This is great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She took a deep breath, then sat up. “You need to get home.”

“You want to stay and look at the stars longer?” Preacher countered.

She considered his question, then shook her head. “No, I think I’m good. But I wouldn’t protest coming back here sometime.”

“Done.”

Preacher got to his feet then helped Maggie stand. He wiped as much sand off himself as he could and helped get some out of Maggie’s hair. To his surprise, she returned the favor, and the feel of her hand in his hair made goose bumps break out on his arms.

Then she grabbed his hand and led the way back through the small break in the bushes and grass to his car.

The ride to her apartment was done in a comfortable silence. He walked her to her door and couldn’t stop himself from putting his hand on her cheek. “I had a good time tonight. A great time.”

“Me too.”

Preacher felt tongue-tied. There was so much he wanted to say and do, but he couldn’t get his thoughts in order.

Maggie didn’t seem to have the same problem. She went up on her tiptoes and lifted her chin. Preacher didn’t hesitate to lean down.

The kiss they shared in front of her door was just as passionate and intimate as the one they’d had earlier. Except this time, Maggie pressed her body against his, and he could feel her along every inch of his body. She felt at home there. As if she was made for him.

As corny as the thought was, it felt right. Preacher wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her against him, even as his other hand went to her nape. Her own arms clung to him just as tightly.

They were both breathing hard when she finally pulled back.

“You sure you’ll be okay to go to PT in…” She pulled her wrist around and looked at her watch. “Three hours?”

“I’m sure,” Preacher said. Working out would suck, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t have traded tonight for anything. Especially sleep.

“Will I talk to you tomorrow?”

“Of course. You working at the store?”

“Yeah. Noon to five. ”

“You want to have lunch together? I can come by around eleven with sandwiches or something.”

“I’d love that,” Maggie said with a big smile.

“Sleep well,” Preacher told her, forcing himself to let go of her and step back.

“You too.”

Maggie turned around and unlocked her door. She stepped into the apartment and turned back to him. “Shawn?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to tell you. I…I’m just not there yet. The last thing I want is to put you in his crosshairs.”

Preacher knew exactly who and what she was talking about. As much as he hated her words, they also made hope flare. She’d said yet . And she wanted to trust him, she just needed more time. He could give her that. Maybe. “He can’t hurt me,” he said.

“I think he could. And I can’t risk it.”

“Let me help you, Maggie,” Preacher said. “You don’t have to deal with this alone anymore.”

She gave him a sad smile. “Good night, Shawn.”

“Night, Maggie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Preacher stood in the hall until he heard her lock the door, and only then did he turn and head toward the stairs. Frustration swam through his veins. Not sexual frustration, although he felt that too, but frustration over the situation Maggie was in. He hated that someone was still out there threatening her. She needed help, but until she gave him the information he needed, he was on the outside looking in. And he absolutely hated that, but he wanted her trust more than he wanted to pry. Wanted her to open up about her ex of her own free will, without him having to go behind her back to find out who the guy was.

In the meantime, the only thing he could do was be there for her. Make her feel safe. Then, and only then, would she hopefully open up to him.

As he sat behind his desk at the naval base before his day got started, Roman Robertson studied the picture he’d been sent and grinned. It was exactly what he needed to blackmail Maggie. To continue to torment her. He wasn’t doing it because he wanted her back or had any kind of ridiculous thought about if he couldn’t have her, no one could.

It was exactly as he’d told her—because it was fun.

He’d had no idea she’d get pulled over when he’d put the drugs in her car to take north to his contact. But when she was, he’d felt a huge rush of power knowing that no matter what she said, she’d take the fall for something he’d done.

Roman loved having people at his mercy. That was why his job as an officer in the Navy was so perfect. He loved being saluted, being treated with respect, having millions of the government’s money at his disposal. And since he’d put in his time, he didn’t have to worry about being deployed or being put in harm’s way. He could order others to do the difficult shit.

And thanks to the picture on his phone—taken by one of the many people who would do whatever he asked without question because of the power he held over them—Roman knew exactly who he was going to fuck with next.

He’d warned Maggie. Told her that if she did anything that made him question for a second whether or not she was even thinking about ratting him out, she’d regret it. This felt like a perfect time to both mess with her head and fuck with men who thought they were untouchable.

Roman had hated SEALs ever since he’d failed to make it through BUD/S himself.

Fuck her.

Fuck him.

It would be fun to mess with them both.

Let the games begin.