SEAL's Embrace - Makenna Jameison Page 0,52
talking to.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his brows creased. Ethan was a touch shorter than Grayson, with dark hair and brown eyes, but he still towered above her. He was even more muscular than Grayson, if that was possible, and she knew she was safe with him. He had been a bit flirtatious when he first came over, but she knew he hadn’t actually been hitting on her, just teasing her to mess with Grayson.
Ethan was all business now though, instantly alert when he’d seen that she was frightened. His gaze flicked toward the balcony, ensuring there were no threats outside, and then his deep brown eyes locked on her.
“I got another text,” she said quietly, holding out her phone to him.
He took it in his large hand, looking down at it as he clenched his jaw. Stubble coated it this morning, but she knew he usually shaved, unlike Grayson, who’d trimmed but otherwise kept his short beard. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Is this the first one today?”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. If the other texts had been slightly innocuous, this one was threatening. She supposed it could be interpreted as a warning that someone else was after her, but she felt like it was a threat from the sender himself.
“Come sit down,” Ethan said, gently guiding her over to the sofa. It wasn’t the same as when Grayson was there, but she knew he was trying to comfort her. He pocketed her phone, frowning, and called Grayson on his own cell.
She was too freaked out by the text to even worry he’d taken her phone. Hailey knew all the men on the team were assertive, alpha males, used to taking command of a situation. The second she’d been scared, he was instantly on alert, ensuring her safety while Grayson was gone.
“Ghost, she just got another text,” Ethan said in a clipped tone over the phone. He turned away from her, talking in a low voice, and she couldn’t make out everything he was saying. It was clear he was agitated though—not toward her, but simply angry that someone was still harassing her.
He looked back at her a moment later. “Ghost is almost done at the store. He’ll be back in ten minutes, tops. You’re safe here, Hailey.”
She nodded uncertainly, watching as Ethan sat down on a chair across from her, folding his tall body into the small seat. She wished Grayson were here to snuggle up next to her on the sofa, but she was a grown woman. She’d be fine until he got back, and she knew Ethan was perfectly capable of protecting her if need be.
“Are you okay?” he asked, accurately assessing her mood.
“I’m fine, I just—it’s kind of freaking me out to be getting these texts.”
“Does anyone know you’re here?” he asked.
“At Grayson’s? Or out in California?”
“Either. Both.”
“Well, I’d told some people in Bagram I was coming to San Diego for my next assignment. I originally wasn’t coming for a couple more weeks though; the bombing ended up speeding things up in that sense.” He nodded, encouraging her to continue. “I met with some people at the Pentagon last week—HR, some investigators, that sort of thing. And I was able to email a few contacts from my old office using my DOD email address. I’ve been in contact with my new office of course, and that’s through open phone lines and my personal email.”
“It seems like it can’t be a coincidence that you started getting these threatening texts as soon as you were in California.”
“I agree. Someone knows I’m here now. But what do they mean? I can’t imagine why anyone would target me. Grayson thought it had to do with my old job, but I really don’t know anything about the bombing.”
“I know you don’t, but they seem to think you do. Maybe you saw or heard something you didn’t realize. If there really were traitors there, maybe they think you can ID them.”
“Well I can’t,” she said helplessly.
“Don’t worry, Hailey. I promise we’ll figure it out and get to the bottom of this.”
“I’ll have to tell the security officer at my new job about the texts.”
“Absolutely. And I assume Grayson will be dropping you off? You probably shouldn’t be driving around alone.”
“I don’t have a car yet anyway, so yes, Grayson’s planning to drive me. Not that my ribs are fully healed either. Even if I did have a car, I’d probably just take a cab—I won’t,” she assured him, catching the expression on