Page 47 of Stranded with the SEAL

Cowboy cocked his head. “What’s going on?”

Hawk shrugged. “She’s got a little tattoo on her ass that says Brooke. Why? What’s the big deal? Y’all never met a famous person before?”

Jax turned back to Hawk. “Yesterday afternoon, Brooke Barron’s big benefactor went on TV to ask for the public’s help in locating her. He claims the two of them are engaged.”

“It’s all right. I already know she’s engaged.”

Jax continued as if he hadn’t heard. “His name is Marco Acero.”

“Should that ring a bell?” Hawk asked.

“Oh,fuck,” said Cowboy.

Jax narrowed his eyes at Hawk. “Do you know what Acero means?”

Hawk furrowed his brow. “Means?”

“I grew up by the Mexican border,” said Cowboy. “And Acero is Spanish for Steele.”

31

The outsideof HERO Force Chopper One looked like something out of a military movie, but the inside was a surprise. Divided into two sections, the forward compartment had leather seating for eight, with what seemed like two computer monitors and a shiny metal console of some sort.

Olivia had gotten to see the rear compartment when the guys unloaded some unusual vehicles from the back, but it was the arsenal of weapons on the walls that really captured her attention.

The men had been gone more than an hour — possibly two — and she was grateful for the warmth inside the chopper and the relatively luxurious accommodations. She was also grateful for the time to be alone and think.

Now that HERO Force had arrived, her time in the cabin with Trevor was at an end. She wasn’t sure what that meant for them or, even more pressing, what it meant for her now that she had nowhere to go.

You must have a home somewhere. You just need to remember where and find it.

She scoffed. Easier said than done.

She truly hoped the relationship with Trevor would continue after the snow melted and the roadways cleared. She liked him far more than she should after just a few days, and in some ways she suspected she would always feel like he was her whole world — just as she had felt before her memory began to return.

He was that kind of man.

Standing up, she walked over to the console and began looking at the different controls, words popping out from the chaos of buttons and dials.

Infrared.

Radar.

Launch sequence.

Periscope.

I thought periscopes were only for boats.

She walked back and forth down the miniature aisle, her mind floating over the moments she’d spent with Trevor. His kindness. His strength. How well matched they were in the bedroom.

They probably didn’t even live in the same town. That posed a problem. She wondered if her acting career was easily transferrable to another place, and if Trevor would think she was stalking him if she followed him to the edge of the world and back.

She laughed at her own thoughts.

Stalker-ish, indeed.

The chopper door behind her rattled, and she grinned widely as she turned around, happy the men had returned so soon.