Page 4 of Protecting Talia (Loved by the SEAL #3)

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T alia stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like shit. There was no way anyone as good-looking as Zip would ever be interested in her. If he ever found out what she’d done, he’d never talk to her again.

She turned away from the mirror and ran the towel over her hair. “Ouch.”

Zip had covered the glue with a clear bandage so she could wash her hair, but when she accidentally touched the area, pain blossomed. She would have to watch how much she poked the spot over the next few days. The bruising would get her in trouble at work, but what could she do?

She’d gone to her sister because when she dropped her car off for service, she’d been at the right place to hear that someone wanted to do a hit on the bar. Of course, Cheryl hadn’t believed her. It served her right for trying to help. No one from her family was even halfway decent. They’d all turned away from her when she’d been a teen, and Cheryl convinced them to believe the worst about her.

She let go a growl in frustration. “Of course, he doesn’t want me. It has to be some kind of act. Maybe he’s working for Cheryl.” She snorted, angry at herself for liking the guy. She knew better than to trust anyone.

Leaving San Diego was in the works, but every time she got close, something happened. Getting involved with a man like Zip would keep her here, and she didn’t want to be in this area any longer.

Her phone pinged, and she glanced at it, seeing the first few words of the message. Her sister had gotten a new burner phone.

Text : You’re going to pay!

Talia squeezed her fists and closed her eyes. She really didn’t know why her family was so awful. There wasn’t a name signed on the message, but she knew it was Cheryl. Every time she blocked one phone number, a few days later, she’d get a text from a new number. She wished she had enough time in the day to pester her sister, but she had work, and though she wasn’t getting anywhere with it, she was trying. It was almost too hard to keep moving forward, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet.

When Ellis texted her the next day, she thought about not replying, but she wanted to see Zip again. She didn’t doubt she was making a mistake, but when had she ever made great decisions?

After she texted Ellis back, her phone rang. She answered on the first ring. “Hello.”

“It’s Ellis. Would you be okay getting together for coffee on Saturday morning?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Sure. That would be great.” She wanted to slap her forehead for answering so quickly and sounding desperate. No question, she was ruining any chance she had with Zip. Ellis would report back to Zip, telling him how desperate she sounded. For once, she wished she could be cool and calm.

“Awesome. I saw you aren’t too far from where we live. How about we meet at Java House?”

“Sure, I love that place.”

“Is nine good?”

“I’ll be there on Saturday morning at nine. Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”

The call ended, and Talia leaned against the wall, wondering if she was making a mistake. If Cheryl ever found out she was making friends with these people, she would do whatever she could to poison them against her.

Maybe this time she could have something for herself. The key was to keep her family from finding out that she had friends. But that was easier said than done.

* * *

Zip still felt the tingle from Talia licking his lips. The quick flick of her tongue had shocked him. He’d been dumbfounded by the bold move. Maybe he was a cream puff or whatever she’d called him. He wanted to drop everything and do whatever she needed.

“Zip, what are you doing?” Q yelled from in front of him.

“Shit, sorry.” He grabbed the rope and tied it off. Luckily, he wasn’t doing anything dangerous. Still, it was shitty of him not to be one hundred percent present for this exercise. If he didn’t get it together, he would get someone hurt.

“What’s your deal?” Rider asked a little later.

“It won’t happen again.” He hated being called out for having his head up his ass. Everyone he knew suffered from being distracted at some point in training. Still, it wasn’t an acceptable excuse.

Trip came over and tapped him on the back. “What’s got your mind working overtime?”

“It’s nothing.”

Bud snorted. “It doesn’t sound like nothing. Let me guess, you met someone.”

“No.” He sounded way too defensive. They all knew he was lying. He needed to get his shit together and keep it together so they had no reason to call him out. Now, he was telling them half-truths. That wouldn’t work in their environment. Dealing honestly with these guys was the only way to go, but there wasn’t anything with Talia—not really.

Q snorted. “Well, if she’s as good-looking as you are distracted, then she’s a looker.”

Zip shook his head. “There isn’t anyone.”

“That’s a lie,” Q said.

Zip pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I’m not dating anyone.”

Q tipped his water bottle at Zip and narrowed his gaze. “But there is someone you’re interested in.”

Zip didn’t want to talk about this right now. He would catch hell for his prior statements about never settling down.

Trip held his gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Let’s get back to work.”

Zip wanted to thank Trip, but he was trying not to bring attention to his calling Trip for Ellis’s help. He didn’t want the guys asking questions yet. They would have enough questions once word got out that he’d met someone he wanted to get to know. There wasn’t any crime in that. They weren’t even dating. In fact, he wanted to prove to her that he wasn’t a marshmallow. He was a badass who couldn’t be trusted.