Page 9

9

Z ip installed the peephole and left, a little sad Talia had to go in and clean office buildings tonight. He wished they could spend the evening together, but they both had lives to work around. She wasn’t working on Wednesday, so they agreed to get together and eat dinner.

That night, he thought about the two men who’d approached her. It pissed him off. A huge protective wave rose, and he wanted to keep other men away from her. But he couldn’t lock her behind doors and force her to never go out in public. That would be just as bad.

Sleep wasn’t his friend, and when his alarm rang, he climbed out of bed and stumbled to the coffee pot. He hoped Talia had at least gotten some sleep. He knew she had been at work until after midnight, so he didn’t text even though he wanted to. He would send her something later.

They spent the morning going over reports on questionable activities in Eastern Europe. He hated that the world couldn’t just calm down and get along. He knew that would never happen, but he wished people could just be decent to each other for a few years, maybe just a few months would work.

“Zip, how is Talia?” Trip asked as he walked beside him.

“She’s good.”

“Ellis said she was going to swing by and talk to her today.”

Zip stopped, and Trip pulled up and turned to face him. He needed to get Trip to understand that he wouldn’t walk away from Talia. He knew guys were weird about their girlfriends having sex with other people. Guys got downright possessive when it came to their girlfriends and wives. If they knew some other Navy guy slept with their girl, they went off. Any guys who dated sex workers were razzed, and their friends tried to break them up.

“What?” Trip asked.

“I don’t know what Talia will share, but I want to make sure you understand I’m not leaving her. I know what she went through in her past, and it doesn’t matter to me.”

Trip sobered, and his lips turned down. “What did you find out?”

Zip blew out a breath. “It’s not my place to say. If she wants to share, that’s up to her. But I’ll tell you this much, she’s stronger than any of us. I respect her and the choices she has made.”

Trip nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Sounds serious.”

Zip nodded. “She may be rough around the edges, but she’s good.”

“I trust you, Zip. You’re a good man, and you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. If you vouch for her, I don’t care what anyone else says about her.”

Zip nodded. “Thank you.”

“Hey, guys, you ready to eat?” Q called out.

“Sure am,” Trip replied.

Zip hoped Trip would keep everything on the down low. He hated gossip and knew guys were the worst. If the wrong man found out, it would be all over the base by morning. A shiver worked through him. He wouldn’t walk away from Talia, but from what he knew about people, this was going to be a bumpy ride.

Later that afternoon, his team, along with a few other teams, headed to the obstacle course for training. Preacher and Blink were in front of him, chatting about what they thought they were training for when Kevlar came over.

“Hey, Zip. Saw you this weekend with your girl.”

Zip’s muscles tightened. He hoped Kevlar wasn’t going to say something stupid. He didn’t want to argue with other SEALs, but he sure as fuck wasn’t going to let any guys disrespect Talia.

“Yeah. We were out.”

“I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

“Just started.”

“Well, just wanted to say if you have problems with anyone, I’m here.”

Zip narrowed his gaze, trying to figure out what the man meant. He didn’t have to wonder for long. Kevlar leaned in, putting his hand on Zip’s shoulder.

“I was on the beach. Don’t worry, I have your back.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

Kevlar walked away and moved over to where Rider, Wild, and Sharp were standing. They were getting information from one of the lieutenants. SEALs were a different breed. They stuck together, family and all that.

He didn’t have time to think as they started the exercise. They stayed late and by the time he got home, exhaustion ruled. He ate leftovers and headed to bed after sending Talia a text. She’d sent one earlier, but he knew she was working and it would be after midnight before she was free.

He couldn’t wait until Wednesday when he got to see her again. He wasn’t sure how much Kevlar had seen or heard on the beach, but he hoped Kevlar wasn’t into gossiping. Keeping Talia’s secret wouldn’t be easy, but with friends like Kevlar having his back, he wasn’t as worried as he had been before.