Page 53 of Stranded with the SEAL

“What do you mean?”

“Keep going. You didn’t get to the part where you feel like you owe him something for taking care of you all those years.”

“That’s not fair. It’s not that simple.”

“Sure it is, Livy.”

She sneered. “Don’t call me that. Marco has his problems…”

“Marco Steele is a human trafficker who raped a teenager on this desk not one hour ago.”

She physically shriveled.

Hawk was screaming now. “Now how about you tell me how thefuckyou ended up engaged to that monster?”

She crossed her arms. “None of your business.”

“He’s not who you think he is, Olivia.”

“No, you’re the one who isn’t who I thought he was! You made your work sound noble. Important. But you’re shooting an old man in the arm and telling him you slept with me! How honorable is that?”

Trevor wished he’d never met her, wished her car hadn’t gotten stuck in the snow, that there hadn’t been any impediment between her and her lover on the top of this mountain of shit. “We’re done here.” He turned on his heel.

“It won’t bring Ralph back, Trevor,” she said.

He kept walking.

“If you care about me at all, let the police handle it. If what you’re saying is true, he’ll go to jail. You don’t need to kill him.”

He spun around. “Don’t you understand?I want to kill him. I want him dead and I want to be the reason he stops breathing. I want revenge, damn it! I want him to pay for what he did.”

“Then do it for me,” she said. “Keep him alive for me.”

“Because you love him?”

Jax fired his gun behind Hawk, and everyone turned to see what happened. There was Steele, blood spreading on his abdomen and a different gun dangling from his hand.

“The last shot is yours if you want it,” said Jax, looking at Hawk.

Hawk looked to Olivia’s eyes, then lifted his weapon and trained it on Steele.

“No!” Olivia’s piercing scream echoed in the room, and Hawk’s determination wavered. While there was no question in his mind Steele deserved to die, he suddenly wondered if Olivia deserved to watch her fiancé be shot to death.

Hawk lowered his gun and looked pointedly at Olivia. He would do what she asked. He would let Steele live, if only because she asked him to.

Jax moved closer to Steele and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, but they got stuck on his tactical suit and Jax bent his head to free them. In the split-second he was turned away, Steele shoved his good arm underneath his desk.

He’s looking for a weapon.

No!

Hawk raised his gun once again, training it on Steele at the same moment Steele pointed a gun at Jax.

Hawk pulled the trigger, a perfect shot right into Steele’s chest.

Jax’s head snapped to Hawk’s. “Holy shit,” said Jax.

“How could you?” asked Olivia.