Page 14 of SEAL’s Paradise (Alpha SEALs Hawaii #6)

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S AWYER’S PULSE POUNDED as he noted the tattoo at the exact same moment as Riley.

Rage roiled through him, hot and insistent.

Sawyer wanted to beat the shit out of the guy.

To rough him up and demand answers. An explanation.

Sawyer and his teammates moved in on operations to do the exact opposite of this coward—to save lives, eliminate the enemy, and make their country a safer place.

To put the greater good before themselves.

This man might’ve sworn the same oath, but he was doing no honor to the United States.

He was weak, driven by lust for money and power.

He was arrogant, which fit the original description Riley had given him in more ways than one.

The guy might be an arrogant womanizer, but he was selling out his country as well, thinking he could get away with his crimes.

Sawyer’s gaze slanted toward Riley, noting that she’d gone rigid, a look of pure anger etched across her face.

Riley had been trying to find this prick for weeks.

She’d been like Sawyer in many ways in her government career, dealing with secrets, classified intelligence, and eliminating those who sought harm against the U.S.

Maybe she didn’t physically charge in like a team of Navy SEALs, but her job had been no less important.

Without the intelligence that people like Riley gathered, he and his teammates would be flying in blind.

Sawyer and Riley were more alike than different, and it was interesting how her work had brought her here to Hawaii so that their lives now intertwined.

It was also a weird twist of events that the description of a stupid tattoo had finally given away who the traitor was. Sawyer noted that the guy hadn’t used that identifying feature for the initial meeting with the foreign buyer. He’d only mentioned it to help the messenger find him.

Sawyer wasn’t sure what that meant, if anything.

Maybe tiger boy had originally wanted a way to back out of the meeting if he thought he was being double-crossed. Not many men walked around with a damn tiger on their bicep.

Frowning, he refocused his attention on the man they’d been waiting for.

This dick was the guy who’d contacted a foreign buyer interested in military weapons.

Who’d sold out his own country and somehow stolen a fucking missile.

Sawyer studied him for a beat, trying to rein in his anger.

The man was muscled, with a short-cropped military haircut and an irritated expression on his face.

Sawyer had seen him in here before, but they weren’t friendly.

Usually, bro had a group of other pricks with him, hitting on various women.

Sawyer pulled out his cell phone.

“Come here, kitten. Let’s take a quick selfie,” Sawyer said, wrapping his arm around Riley’s shoulders and pulling her toward him.

She started to protest, then dutifully went along with posing for the phone’s camera as she realized it wasn’t pointed at them at all.

Sawyer was taking a picture of the asshole in front of him.

The guy was taking a pull of his beer, and as he casually glanced their way, Sawyer snapped another picture.

Riley exchanged a look with Sawyer, and tiger boy went back to nursing his beer.

“I have to finish my shift,” Riley said. Her entire body was still on edge, her gaze assessing the area around the bar before she met his eyes again. Riley slid a hand into her shorts pocket, her hand wrapping around something.

He guided Riley a few feet away, even though every instinct in Sawyer was telling him to stay. To beat the shit out of the asshole and then somehow impersonate him to intercept the message. Not that he could easily come up with a fucking tiger tattoo in a matter of minutes.

The guy had taken off his jacket because he was ready. And Sawyer would have to improvise.

Shit.

“I’m going to order another drink and watch for the handoff,” Sawyer told her quietly.

She studied him for a beat and then nodded. They didn’t have many options. “It seems a bit old-fashioned, doesn’t it?” Riley asked. “The buyer could’ve sent an encrypted text to him with the address, not arranged for a messenger tonight.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said in a low voice. “I’m assuming their trade involves more than just an address.”

Riley pressed her lips together, clearly annoyed at the entire situation. “Agreed. And he set his jacket there on the barstool. Is the messenger delivering money? Drugs? I don’t know, but he could easily put it in the pocket. Let’s use this.”

She pulled out a small tracking device from her pocket, and Sawyer nodded toward it.

“I’ll do it.”

She handed it to him without protest, their fingertips brushing, and he tried to ignore the sudden jolt of electricity coursing through him.

Or how fucking soft her skin was. He’d been around Riley all these months and paid her little notice aside from a friendly hello.

Now it was like he wanted to strip her bare and learn everything—both inside and out.

Sure, he’d love to explore that gorgeous body, but he also wanted to know what she was thinking. Feeling.

And damn if it didn’t figure that an undercover waitress with small tattoos of roses, thorns, and a freaking dagger was the woman who’d gotten to him.

His buddies would give him shit if they thought any of it was real.

Sawyer couldn’t really be falling for her.

Riley had been in front of him all along.

Certainly, he would’ve paid attention sooner if something was really there between them. Sat up and taken notice.

And yet—

“Riley! I think table sixteen is ready to order!” Chelsea called out as she hurried by. Sawyer watched her retreating figure, once again realizing he’d been lost in thought thinking about Riley. She was damn distracting, and he wasn’t sure if he should head for the hills or never let her go.

It was quite the conundrum.

“Shit. I gotta finish up. My shift is nearly over,” Riley said.

Sawyer looked into her dark eyes, seeing the frustration there. “I’ll get the address. It’s gotta be happening soon since he just showed up with his fancy tiger tattoo and all.”

Riley huffed out a laugh, flashing him a smile that made his heart do a weird little flip.

He liked making her happy, he realized. Yeah, this was an odd way to go about it—planting a bug on a traitor, but whatever.

He’d done some crazy shit in his time to chase after a girl.

If this particular brunette was into spy games, he’d happily play along.

“It’s different,” she said, briefly giving Sawyer the once over.

“Are you wondering if I have any tattoos, kitten? That’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself,” he teased, watching her cheeks turn pink.

“That guy’s tattoo is bullshit anyway. Probably a fake.

I recognize that dude and sure as hell would’ve remembered something that ugly.

I’ll get the address one way or another and we’ll go from there. ”

Riley looked wary for a moment but finally nodded. “Okay. I’m going to start getting questions if I hang around here much longer when I’m supposed to be working.”

“Then get to it, Future Mrs. Collins,” Sawyer said with a smirk.

She looked startled for a moment, her pretty lips parting and face flushing even more.

Unable to resist, Sawyer leaned down and brushed a quick kiss across her lips, enjoying their plump softness and the sweetness that was pure Riley.

He wanted to roar in victory at her little whimper and the way she’d instinctively moved even closer to him.

“If I was a betting man, I’d wager you’ll discover my ink sooner rather than later,” he drawled. “And I can’t fucking wait.”