Page 30 of Protection for Asher (Safeguarded By The SEAL #4)

Asher was glad the doctor had delivered good news to Squat. She would help him however she could, but it sounded like it would be a lot of work to recover fully from his injury. He was strong, and she knew he could do it with work and time.

They stopped for lunch at a burger place and the waitress decided to flirt heavy with Squat though Asher was sitting across from him.

At first she thought Squat didn’t notice or didn’t care, but after the woman came back with their drinks, the wrong one for her, he was nice but didn’t return her flirting.

When the waitress left their table, he moved to sit right beside Asher and threw his arm over her shoulder.

“You moved closer.”

“Babe, I don't want anyone but you. You're all I need, and I don't like the disrespect of someone flirting with me. Being nice is one thing, but obviously flirting like she is doing is just gross.”

She turned her head and met his gaze. “Thank you.”

His lips gently brushed over hers, and a shiver slid right through her. His eyebrows shot up. “You okay?”

She nodded. She really was okay. She was falling in love with Squat. Maybe that was a mistake, but she couldn’t help how wonderful he made her feel. “Yes. You make me feel good about myself.”

“Good, because I have deep feelings for you, and I want you to know that I'm yours.”

She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She thought her life was over, but Squat saved her. She wanted to show him how much she appreciated him, but she wasn’t ready to make love.

After lunch, he dropped her off at Sharp and Rowan’s house and headed over to Thario’s. Nichole and Danika showed up about thirty minutes later.

“Do you have any idea what the guys are doing?” Nichole asked.

She shrugged. “I think it has something to do with Squat being shot.”

“Wait, he was shot?” Rowan said.

“Yes. Just a graze on his arm.”

Rowan frowned. “Shine didn’t tell me.”

Danika rolled her eyes. “Sharp didn’t tell me, either.”

Nichole lifted her glass of water. “Probably because they didn’t want you to worry. Maybe they would have told us, eventually. They did just get back.”

“The doctor told Squat he could probably recover, but that it would take work.”

Rowan turned to her. “So you saw the injury. How bad is it really?”

“It's about three inches long. He has stitches, and you can see a little dip in the muscle. I hugged him before I knew he was injured, and he flinched. I think it hurts him more than he's willing to admit.”

Danika chuckled. “They don’t like admitting they are injured. I think it would be easier to pull teeth from a snake than to get them to admit they hurt.”

Rowan nodded. “They are badasses, but yeah, they underemphasize injuries.”

Nichole shook her head as tears started to form in her eyes. “They all are good at what they do, but it’s scary.”

Danika hugged her. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

Nichole turned to Asher and pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad he is alive. I’m so sorry.”

“I'm okay. I mean, I think I am. I didn't want to focus on him being shot, so I haven't thought about it too much. But yeah, it's some heavy stuff.”

Danika frowned. “Sharp hasn’t told me too much about how his team died. I mean, we all know Thario, and I’ve heard stories about his teammates who didn’t make it, but the event that killed them all, I don’t know everything. I wonder…”

“About what?” Nichole asked.

Danika shrugged and lifted her drink halfway to her mouth, then stopped. “They're all going to Thario's to talk about what happened. Why would they be going to Thario's place? He isn't in the Navy. He's retired.”

Danika’s question stumped them all. Why would they be talking to Thario about this? Maybe there was more to the story of what happened to Squat.