Page 10 of Single Mom’s Navy Seals (Claimed by the Alphas #2)

AVA

Great.

Liam told me when we started driving that the total trip to the safehouse in Nevada would be about thirty-six hours.

We’re going to tackle the drive in three days, twelve hours of driving each day, not counting stops.

So, in about four hours, I’d be able to rest at a motel before waking up for the second day of travel.

Exhaustion weighs heavily on my eyelids, but anxiety keeps me alert, my pulse quickening at every shift or unexpected sound inside the car. My eyes have been stubbornly wide open, observing every move Liam, Cole, and Jax make.

In the backseat, Eli is talking, but I know he’s uncomfortable and restless.

This is the longest he’s ever been in a car in his life.

A while ago, he’d started getting whiny, but the guys had surprisingly stepped in swimmingly.

Cole came up with the idea to play Pictionary in the car.

Jax took the entire thing and ran with it.

Of course he did. He had that reckless, magnetic energy that made it hard to look away—even when I wanted to. Even when I knew better.

Since then, Eli has been far happier. They’re still at it now, and despite the tension knotting my chest, a flicker of warmth lifts the corner of my mouth every time Eli bursts into fits of laughter at Jax’s theatrics.

“Is it a dog?” Eli’s bright voice bubbles from the backseat, cutting through the hum of tires on asphalt.

“Nope! Guess again,” Jax says with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Come on, Eli. Look at it sideways—maybe tilt your head or something.”

I glance over my shoulder, and warmth pools softly in my chest. Jax has his head dramatically tilted, holding the car’s manual at a ridiculous angle.

His dark hair is a tousled mess, blue eyes sparkling mischievously as he grins encouragingly at Eli.

For someone stuck on a cramped, all-night drive, he seems effortlessly relaxed.

“It has to be a dog,” Eli insists, glancing hopefully at Cole, who sits silently next to him. “Doesn’t it look like a dog, Cole?”

Cole glances down briefly at the page, raising one eyebrow skeptically. “Looks like a blob.”

Eli giggles, burying his face into Cole’s broad shoulder. “A blob dog, then!”

Cole didn’t even smile, just nodded once like that was a perfectly valid answer. That quiet calm of his? It was becoming hard to ignore. He didn’t need words to earn trust—he just existed like someone Eli could lean on. Like someone I could, too, if I ever let myself.

Jax laughs brightly, playfully nudging Eli’s side. “Exactly, kid. The rarest breed. You win again.”

I face forward again, savoring the lightness of Eli’s laughter.

It’s not hard to see that having new people in his life has been the most exciting thing for him in the world.

If only that were something I could keep providing after this.

A deep sigh slips through my lips, and I see Liam sneak a glance at me out of the corner of my eye.

Of the three men in this car, he’s definitely the most confusing to me.

Jax was easy to figure out. He’s a flirt and a jokester through and through.

Easy to smile, easier to laugh. If circumstances were different, I might find his carefree charm endearing, attractive even.

Who am I kidding? Even now, in the middle of this terrifying escape, he still manages to be annoyingly enticing.

Cole isn’t much of a mystery either. A quiet dude, sure, but he seems to be the type that doesn’t have much to say.

He seems to speak when he needs to, and otherwise, he’s mostly content to watch.

The silent type was never my thing, but something about him is just as alluring as Jax.

Plus, Eli is somehow instinctively already trusting him.

He has started leaning into Cole’s side, occasionally glancing up with bright eyes, seeking a quick nod or a silent affirmation from his new protector.

Eli’s immediate trust in him is nearly enough to convince me to start to let my guard down.

Almost.

But Liam is not as easy to read as the other two.

Just as gorgeous in his own way, but so…

confusing. He’s barely said anything besides an instruction or demand.

Or when he insulted my parenting within the first five minutes of meeting.

But, despite his overall dickishness to me, he’s kind to Eli, and that’s something.

Even if I can’t figure out what the hell he’s thinking.

Sitting next to him in the front passenger seat, I steal a sideways glance at his profile, the early morning light softening his features just a bit.

His jaw is tense, his eyes focused intently on the road.

He radiates calm, calculated authority, and while that should probably unsettle me, it somehow brings a strange sense of reassurance.

Still, letting my guard down isn’t something I do easily—especially around men.

And placing even a shred of faith in three of them at once?

That feels like stepping off a ledge, no matter how much they’ve helped so far.

Beside me, Liam shifts in the driver’s seat, breaking the quiet that’s settled between us. His gaze remains steady on the road. “Can you tell me more about your ex-husband?”

The question takes me completely by surprise. “Why?”

“Because I believe in knowing my enemy to defeat my enemy. I know very little about him.”

I swallow, my throat tight. “Showing up to a mission unprepared? Not exactly inspiring confidence.”

Don’t ask me why I say that. I mean, I’ve never been on a mission in my life. But something about Liam just makes me want to be as bratty and uncooperative as possible.

“Well, it seemed quite important. Would you have rather I took more time to read or get to you quickly?”

That shuts me up.

“Fine, what do you want to know?” I say reluctantly, tension already knotting in my stomach.

Liam’s voice is calm, almost clinical. “His personality. How persistent is he? When he wants something, how far is he willing to go?”

My heart squeezes in my chest, a painful ache that I’ve managed to suppress for years, suddenly bursting free. I glance behind me to make sure Eli is distracted, his laughter still ringing clearly as Jax continues their ridiculous game.

“Persistent,” I whisper, voice tight. “Randy is incredibly persistent. When he sets his mind on something, he’s relentless.”

The word sounds bitter, tasting of fear and regret.

Memories flash vividly in my mind, sharp and painful ones I’ve tried to bury.

Randy’s cold eyes, his calculated threats, his absolute certainty that the world would bend to his will.

The night I found out I was having a boy, he’d smiled cruelly, triumphant, knowing I’d lost any hope of escape.

“What about his resolve?” Liam continues evenly, unaware of the turmoil raging inside me.

My hands tremble, and I clasp them in my lap to still the shaking. “His resolve is absolute. He never changes his mind, never backs down. Ever.”

My voice cracks just a little on the last word, and I pray Liam doesn’t notice.

But, of course, he does. He shifts in his seat, glancing briefly my way.

His expression softens, the usual hard lines easing for just a moment.

It seems like he might reach out, might offer something resembling comfort, but he doesn’t.

Instead, he keeps his eyes forward, jaw tight again.

“What about retaliation?” he asks, as though aware of how close I am to breaking. “Is he vindictive?”

I nearly laugh out loud at the understatement of the century. “Yeah, Randy doesn’t do shit half-assed. If you cross him, he wants you broken, humiliated, and completely ruined. He won’t rest until he’s gotten his revenge.”

My throat closes painfully, forcing me to look away, blinking rapidly against the burning sting behind my eyes.

Liam remains quiet for a long moment, the silence stretching taut between us.

When he finally speaks again, his tone is different—still firm, but softer, carrying the slightest hint of apology.

“Look,” he says. “I’m not an easy guy to get along with, and I’m not here to make friends.

But you should know that protecting you and your son is something I take seriously.

I might be a dick, but I’ve been doing this kind of protection work for ten years now, and every innocent life matters to me. Yours included.”

I glance up, surprised by the sincerity in his words, even if his delivery is rough around the edges.

Something twists inside me, gratitude mixed with caution, suspicion wrapped around hope.

I’ve never had good luck with men. They always have hidden agendas and motives.

But Liam’s quiet declaration feels strangely genuine, leaving me uncertain and off balance.

Three strangers. Three walking question marks. And yet…something about each of them was beginning to crack through my defenses. Not trust. Not yet. But interest. Awareness. And that scared the hell out of me more than anything Randy ever did.

“Your brothers,” I echo, focusing on the safer part of what he said, looking for any distraction from the heaviness pressing on my chest. “You’re close?”

“We’re not related,” he explains evenly, eyes still locked on the road. “But we might as well be. We served together. Now, we protect people together. It’s what we do.”

“What’s the catch?” I finally ask with a derisive laugh that falls short of being nonchalant, not looking at him. “Men like you don’t just risk their lives protecting strangers. Not without a reason.”

Liam is quiet for a long moment, the hum of tires filling the silence until I think he might not answer. Then he sighs, a deep sound heavy with things unsaid.

“No catch,” he says simply, voice low and steady. “Just doing the right thing.”

I don’t respond, words caught painfully in my throat. Because in my experience, men don’t do things without catches. And yet here I am, hoping that maybe Liam and his ‘brothers’ might be the exception to every bitter truth I’ve ever known.