Page 10 of Stranded with the SEAL
Her only answer was to press her head hard against his chest and cry. He gently threaded his fingers through her hair and she swatted them away.
“Does your head hurt?” he asked.
“Mmm hmm.”
He wished he could make the pain go away, wished he could take back the accident entirely. Why had fate put her in his path? He shook his head. He was so close to finally getting revenge.
His brow creased, honor and revenge colliding in his mind. He needed to take care of Olivia, and he needed to take Steele out, once and for all.
Most of all, what he needed was a plan to do both, without sacrificing one for the other.
6
Cowboy grabbeda fistful of cheese puffs and belched, his eyes never leaving the television. “Brooke Barrons is fucking hot.”
Matteo shrugged one heavily muscled shoulder and opened another beer. “In a totally stereotypical American beauty kind of way, I suppose.”
“We ain’t in the military no more, Red, so I can ask. Are you gay?”
“No.”
We’ve got a terrific show for you guys tonight…
Cowboy gestured to the TV. “So give me abooyahwhen I say Brooke Barrons is fucking hot, not some bullshit answer about the sociological implications of stereotypical beauty.”
“You almost sounded intelligent just now.”
“I mean, shit, look at her. That hair. Those tits. That tiny little waist, and legs so long they could wrap around you and squeeze the living daylights out of your ass.”
“From her outfit, I’m thinking she’s off the market.”
Cowboy sneered at her formfitting T-shirt with “Bride” written on it and the long veil flowing from her head. “Probably marrying some Hollywood metrosexual like all those movie stars do. I swear, some of them actresses can throw their husbands across the room, unless a high wind beats ’em to it.”
A loud crack of thunder made the hotel walls shake.
“Fucking Cabo San Lucas,” the men said in unison.
Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!
Matteo took a long swig of beer. “What do you think the others are doing?”
“Let’s see…Jax is getting fitted with a shiny new stick up his ass, Logan is white-boy dancing at a bar with his mother, and Hawk is sitting in a dark room, brooding.”
“Pass me the cheese balls.”
Cowboy pointed into the bowl. “These here are what real men call cheese puffs. They ain’t no cheese balls.”
“Whatever. Pass ’em over here.” Matteo took a handful. “You’re not far off about Hawk. What’s the matter with him lately?”
Cowboy moved for another beer. He was going to feel like bloated roadkill in the morning. He considered what to tell Matteo. “Ain’t just lately. Been since Ralph died.”
“What happened?”
Cowboy eyed the second newest member of HERO Force, sizing him up. Matteo was a former SEAL — everyone but Logan was a SEAL — but Matteo was the only one who came from a different team. It was Jax who wanted Matteo on HERO Force, and Cowboy had yet to figure out why.
Matteo was a sniper, and a hell of a good one, but snipers were nothing special in the military. No, there was another reason Jax wanted him on the FORCE, and Cowboy was determined to figure out why.
“Tell you what, Red, you tell me what puts the sparkle in your flapjacks, and I’ll tell you what you want to know about Hawk.”