Page 41 of Protection for Asher (Safeguarded By The SEAL #4)

Squat glanced down, seeing blood on Mrs. Dickinson’s face. He assessed quickly, and saw the blood was from a cut on her cheek. Also, she had a cut on her arm. Her injuries weren’t bad, but if they stayed there in the doorway, it could get a lot worse.

Apple moved first, pulling Mrs. Dickinson away from the door and into the hallway. Squat ducked down, moving so he wasn’t in the line of fire.

He heard the admiral and Beene moving behind him. He glanced back, seeing that the admiral had a handgun. Squat moved to him.

“That won’t do much against the rifle. Take your wife to a room where she’ll be safe.”

“I guess Nelson found out,” Dickinson said.

“Not sure who tipped him off, but something did.” Squat met Dickinson's gaze. “You and Beene have to survive, so you can make sure this evidence is shown. I'm sure he's planned something to make sure this stays hidden.”

“What will you do?” Beene asked.

“Stop him.”

Apple was on the phone. Squat guessed he’d called the other guys. They were on base, but everything would be in lockdown mode.

“What are they doing?” Squat asked when Apple ended the call.

“The shore patrol is heading our way. We just need to keep him busy so he doesn’t kill anyone.”

Dickinson took his wife to another area of the house.

Before they left, he'd heard her tell her husband that she wasn't shot.

It was glass. Blood had dripped in the entryway, but it wasn't too much.

Squat glanced down and saw blood on his shirt.

He didn't feel bad like he had when he'd gotten shot, so he assumed the glass had gotten him.

“Apple, where are you?”

“Dickinson showed me where the rest of his guns were. I have a Glock,” Apple said.

“Okay, I don’t think we can do much damage with these handguns.”

Apple was where he could see him now. Their gazes met, and they acknowledged they were at a huge disadvantage. “The shooting seemed to have stopped.”

Apple nodded. “Yeah, but it's not safe to go out there now.”

Squat crawled on his elbows into the living room so he could take a glance out the front window. Apple was close but not quite at the window when someone started yelling.

“It’s lies. They’re telling lies about me. They’re the ones who are betraying the Navy.”

Squat wondered if this guy had thought out his tactic. It had to be Nelson, but he was acting like an idiot. Why would anyone believe him after he'd shot up the admiral's house? He'd made a stupid move that couldn't be reversed.

Squat had a good shot, but he didn’t have time to open the window. If he knocked it out, the jerk would probably move.

“I'll shoot out the window, and then you can take your shot,” Apple said.

Squat shook his head. “Too risky.” He ducked down and crawled back over to the entryway. Nelson was still going on about something, not making any sense. He’d almost made it to the entrance when another shot rang out, this one shattering the glass above Apple.

“I can take that shot now,” Apple said.

“Just a second. I'll fire from my position and roll. Then you can aim and take the shot.” Squat got into position, seeing Nelson, but he didn't have as good of a shot. “Now.”

Squat fired, striking Nelson’s shoulder. He didn’t stay in place long enough to see if Apple hit him. A scream rang out over the area.

“Did you get him?” Squat asked.

“I got him,” Apple said. “He may not be dead, but he’s down.”

Squat blew out a breath in relief. Just then, he saw the shore patrol show up. “Took them long enough.” He glanced at his phone and realized it had only been minutes since this all started. “Damn, I take that back. It has just been minutes.”

“Fuck, felt longer,” Apple said.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Beene called out.

“He’s down. Apple shot him.”

Admiral Dickinson stepped out into the den. “Well, fuck, I guess everyone on base will know about this.”

Squat looked up at Dickinson, seeing a little blood on his clothes and face. “Is your wife okay?”

A look of panic crossed Dickinson’s face, and he nodded. “Yes, she’ll be fine. The cuts are small. Thank you for asking.”

“Looks like the paramedics are here,” Apple said. “I’ll get them to look at your wife.”

Dickinson’s phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket. “Yes, we’re okay. We need someone in here to look at my wife and a few other people. Just small cuts.”

“I can’t believe he revealed himself like this,” Dickinson said.

“He lived down the street, right, sir?” Squat asked.

Dickinson nodded. “Yes, three houses down on the other side of the street.”

“Do you think he was watching your place?”

Dickinson shrugged. “I don't know. It makes me sick to think he could have killed us. It's been a long while since I've faced anything like that, and Em never has. At least Baxter isn't here.”

“Do you want me to go find him?” Apple asked.

Dickinson shook his head. “Em called him. He’s safe. He’s staying put for now.”

Squat wiped his hand over his face. “I don’t understand why people do stupid shit like this. Shooting at your house was uncalled for.”

“I’d say that I’m certain whatever evidence you all found was spot on.”

After he gave his statement to the NCIS officer, Squat and Apple wandered over to Nelson's house. They were outside, looking at the windows, when he saw something interesting.

“Hey, Apple, does that look like a camera pointed at the admiral’s house?”

Apple scratched his chin. “Maybe.”

“I think it is.” Squat got closer, and one of the NCIS guys stopped him.

“You can’t get any closer.”

Squat pointed to the upstairs window. “Does that look like a camera?”

The man turned and looked, then turned back to Squat. “It sure as hell does.”

“So he was watching the admiral’s house.”

The guy nodded. “Looks like it.”

“Shit. He was a real piece.”

It took more than thirty minutes for the scene to open up enough for the rest of their team to arrive.

Admiral Dickinson thanked them before they left.

He and Apple had an appointment to talk to Beene later in the week.

The NCIS would go through everything, figuring out if Nelson’s attack had to do with the stuff they’d found.

They headed to Sharp’s house to meet up with their women. The base was buzzing with people talking about the incident. Squat had already received four texts from other guys. The women would hear about it soon if they hadn’t already heard.

They stepped into the house and Nichole glanced up from her phone. “Well shit, I was just about to call you. Someone just sent me a text about the shooting.”

Jay moved to her and pulled her into a hug. “We’re okay.”

“If you’re okay, why do Apple and Squat have blood on them?” Danika asked.

“Yeah, why?” Asher asked.

“I’m fine,” Squat said. Asher moved to him, her hands raising before she hesitated. “I’m really okay.”

“I can’t believe you were shot at again,” Asher said.

Squat pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “It’s not usually this bad.”

“Well, I think you need to stop being shot at.”

They all laughed as he hugged her tighter. Hopefully, what they'd accomplished today would help.

“I think it will get better,” Thario said.

“Was this because of what you all were doing?” Asher asked.

They couldn’t really say much, but he didn’t want to keep Asher in the dark. “Somewhat.”

“Good. I hope this makes things better for you all.”

He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in, loving her sweet scent. “I’m ready to head home.”

She nodded against his chest. “Yes.”

They said their goodbyes, and the hugs and handshakes seemed to last a little longer.

Today had been wild. Over the years, there have been incidents at bases, but this one hit a little too close to home.

He was glad no one had been critically injured.

If the admiral's wife had been hit by that first bullet, it would have made everything much worse.