Page 17 of SEAL’s Paradise (Alpha SEALs Hawaii #6)

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S AWYER CLICKED THE remote of his truck, the beep, beep sound filling the parking lot.

He’d taken Riley’s hand as they walked down the stairs, and she felt strangely secure at his side.

Riley didn’t need his protection, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

It was nice to have someone else watching her back for a change.

She was alert as they headed across the lot, but so was he, and that gave her a feeling of relief she hadn’t expected.

His gaze casually swept the area, and Sawyer looked every bit the confident Navy SEAL he was. The moon shone brightly in the sky, and they no doubt appeared to be a normal couple heading out for a late night. Normal, except they were anything but.

Sawyer opened the passenger door for her, acting all gentleman-like, except when she brushed off his hands to help her step up into the truck, he playfully swatted her ass. “Behave,” he chastised, amusement dancing in his eyes as she shot him a look. “I’m just helping my fiancée,” he said.

“I doubt anyone is watching us.”

“Still, you can’t be too careful.”

Riley tried to hide her smile. Sawyer’s attention was both flattering and unnerving, and she felt unsettled as he rounded the front of the vehicle, climbing into the driver’s seat.

His clean, masculine scent filled the cab of the truck, and the space suddenly felt too small.

Sure, she’d been around him most of the night, but now they were in an enclosed area together.

She fumbled with her phone, trying to rein in her racing thoughts. She checked the address they were headed to. If Sawyer noticed her sudden nerves, he didn’t comment. The engine roared to life, and then he was backing out of the parking space.

It felt weird leaving her condo’s parking lot with him—like they were really together or something.

She’d been somewhat of a loner since arriving in Oahu, which was fine.

Riley was here for work, not to set up a life.

She touched base with her sister every once in a while, but Radley was somewhat off the grid at the moment, helping to set up a new endeavor.

It was complex, and Riley had been fine to handle this particular operation on her own.

Fine until Sawyer had walked into her life.

Her heart pounded as they rode in his truck to an address on the other side of Honolulu.

This entire night had worked out differently than she’d expected.

The man with the tiger tattoo. The message they’d intercepted.

Sawyer himself. She snuck a glance at his profile, taking in his strong jaw and chiseled features.

It was almost surreal they were heading out together to investigate.

It was even more hard to believe that he’d kissed her there in the restaurant like she was his.

They were just pretending—weren’t they?

“What do you think we’ll find?” she asked, trying to focus on the task at hand.

“A woman, most likely. Probably an addict,” he said, sounding disheartened. “I assume she’ll want drugs in exchange for sex. If she doesn’t get it from the dick at Coconuts, she’ll find some other dude. It’s sad.”

Riley muttered under her breath. She had a sinking fear that Sawyer was right.

Heading to the address would probably do little in tracking down the other traitor or learning exactly who the man with the tattoo was.

Sawyer’s photographing the guy had been the best step to identify him.

While she’d wanted to pull prints from the bottle of beer he’d been drinking, the condensation on the glass had made it impossible.

And the bartop itself had hundreds of partial prints, wiped every time they cleaned the surface.

Damn it.

Grabbing her phone, she shot off another text to her contact at DOD. She frowned as she looked at the reply.

I was just about to contact you. The buyer and traitor are both growing suspicious. The messenger said he delivered the envelope. Trouble is, they know he delivered it to the wrong person.

“Shit,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Sawyer asked, glancing over toward her.

“The messenger told them he delivered the package.”

“Except it came to me,” Sawyer said with a frown. “They know someone else took it, either intentionally or not. Well, unless they text tiger boy tonight’s address, he won’t be meeting us there. Can you track him on your phone?’

Riley scoffed. “Of course, but that’ll only work if he brings the jacket.”

Sawyer frowned. “Yeah. Too bad the dude didn’t leave his phone or wallet sitting on the bar. It’s more likely he has those on him all the time. The jacket seemed like the perfect opportunity to plant the tracking device, so I took it.”

“We had to improvise,” she said, unease moving through her. “Frankly, I’m shocked we found him tonight at all.”

“Teamwork, kitten,” Sawyer quipped, looking over at her appreciatively.

She stilled as she saw the heat in his gaze. The man was attractive, but just like at the bar earlier, having his focus on her was almost too much. She felt like she’d been zapped by lightning. Every part of her body sizzled.

He flashed her an easy grin as she looked at him a moment too long. “Like what you see?”

“No comment.”

His husky laughter filled the truck. “Aww, come on, kitten. I’m attracted to you. You’re attracted to me. Where’s the problem in that?”

She cleared her throat and looked away. “We’re supposed to be working together, Sawyer. Not sleeping together.”

“Is this us sleeping together? Regretfully, no.”

She let out a small huff of laughter. This man would be the death of her.

“We’re in my truck, driving, both of us keeping our hands to ourselves. Now if you want me to pull over so we can get busy—”

“No! Let’s just focus on the road. Keep our eyes on the prize. Not get distracted.”

“I think the lady doth protest too much,” he teased, but there was amusement in his eyes as he looked back to the road as she’d requested. She could see the corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile.

Geez.

They were heading into the unknown, checking out the address where the traitor to the country was supposed to be going tonight, and Sawyer was cracking jokes.

She knew he was more aware of the situation than his joking personality was letting on.

He’d checked his mirrors to make sure they weren’t being followed.

His steady gaze assessed the area around them.

Sawyer was observing details. Committing the directions to memory.

She’d put the address into her phone’s navigation, but Riley could tell he’d already memorized where they were headed.

Sawyer was infinitely more capable than he let on. She was certain he didn’t screw around with his teammates on ops. He’d be kicked off the teams so fast, his head would be spinning.

The fact that Riley found him attractive was neither here nor there.

She wasn’t interested in a fling before she high-tailed it out of Honolulu.

She’d finish the job and leave. Move on with her life.

Maybe they’d have a sham marriage to grant her access to base, and maybe they wouldn’t need to given what they’d discovered tonight.

The marriage would just be pretend anyway.

While she wanted to bust up the illegal arms trade, she didn’t want to end up with a bruised and battered heart.

A guy like Sawyer was dangerous. He knew all the right words and had the smooth moves to get a woman exactly where he wanted, but she knew none of it was real. His attraction to her might be, but as for any real feelings?

They barely knew one another, and she’d be gone before either of them ever learned more.

It was a shame in a way. She actually wouldn’t mind learning more about this particular man.

He was different than the men she’d dated or worked with in the past. Sawyer was a highly trained Navy SEAL.

He was lethal, in peak physical condition, loyal to his country and friends, but he could no doubt bend the rules when needed for the greater good. Improvise when a situation was in flux.

Sawyer was also smart in a way many people never would be.

He saw things. Observed. And Riley had the feeling that he saw way too much of her.

Her jaw ticked. Normally when she and Radley took jobs on their own, people asked few questions.

They knew she was a former fed, and that was enough.

They didn’t care to know the details of why she’d separated from the government, how she obtained jobs now, or who her contacts were.

They paid her to solve a problem, and she got shit done.

It was hard to wrap her mind around Sawyer’s questions unless he genuinely was interested—in her.

And that was something she didn’t want to examine too closely.

Radley had been burned by someone she trusted, and Riley had been attacked by the same man.

While she might have fought him off here in Hawaii, she didn’t trust easily, and letting Sawyer assist on this case was about all she could give him.

She wouldn’t open up to a man and risk losing her heart.

Buildings passed by as she stared out the window into the night, and they were silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, they drove down a block mixed with both business and residential buildings in downtown Honolulu. A few bars were still open at the late hour, but it was the high-rise apartment at the end of the street that was their destination.

Sawyer stopped a block away, neatly parallel parking his truck. They both remained in their seats, assessing the situation. “It looks like there’s a business at the bottom of that apartment building,” she noted. “It must be new. It wasn’t even on Google Maps.”

“I just noticed the same,” Sawyer said. “It’s a massage parlor,” he added, his voice dark.