SEAL's Embrace - Makenna Jameison Page 0,62

nudging him. “I was sick.”

“I know. You’ll hear no complaints from me.”

She giggled as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, tickling her as he did. Grayson was flirty and playful a lot of the time, but he was serious about her too. She was falling so quickly for this man, and at the moment, everything seemed almost too perfect. She just hoped whatever it was between them didn’t fizzle out as fast as it had started.

Chapter 17

Grayson muttered a curse as he strode into a building on base that Friday. The week had been going relatively smoothly, aside from the string of semi-threatening texts Hailey still got to her old cell number. They’d given her phone to the investigators on base, and he’d made sure to update the contacts in her new cell phone, ensuring that she could get ahold of any of his teammates if necessary.

Having her living with him was sweet torture. He’d wanted to let things progress naturally between them, and just because she was temporarily staying at his place, sleeping in his bed, didn’t mean they should rush into a physical relationship.

Her vanilla scent filled his bedroom though—he’d discovered a bottle of lotion on his bathroom counter earlier that week and had frozen in place for a moment, shocked at the rightness of having her things there with his. The movers were supposed to get everything into her new apartment the following Monday. The delay hadn’t thrilled Hailey, because she wanted access to her things, but he didn’t mind the knowledge that they’d have the weekend to go to the beach and relax.

Their CO was already talking about another upcoming mission, and he felt worry churn through his gut at leaving Hailey alone. They were no closer to learning who’d been sending the texts, but he knew investigations were continuing in Bagram.

One of Hailey’s new coworkers had driven her to work this morning. Although Grayson wasn’t thrilled that he or his teammates weren’t there to accompany her, they had multiple briefings today as well as a training exercise out on the water. He hated that he couldn’t be at her side, but she’d insisted he go into work early.

The guys had jogged on the beach near his place that morning during PT, taking turns keeping an eye on his apartment. It was a change from their usual schedule and routine, but he knew they were just as concerned about Hailey as he was.

“There’s been an incident,” Ethan said as Grayson walked in.

“What?” he asked. “Where?”

“A situation at the gate very early this morning—even before we were in PT.”

“What happened?” Grayson asked, frowning. His other teammates weren’t there yet, but they had a briefing with their CO in twenty minutes. He knew the others would be arriving soon to get details about their pending op, but this sounded like something separate.

“Someone was trying to breach the gate in their vehicle. They rushed at it and were stopped and brought in for questioning.”

“Damn. What did they want?” Grayson asked, frowning.

“I just saw the CO when I was coming in. He gave me a quick rundown and will tell us more in a few minutes. But apparently they were asking about Hailey.”

“What?” Grayson said, his jaw dropping. “Why the fuck would they be asking about her or looking for her here? Jesus.” He pulled out his cell phone to call her as Ethan continued talking. The building she’d been assigned to had some security but not nearly the level they did on base. If she didn’t answer, he was ready to race over there himself to make sure she was okay.

“Hi, sweetheart, are you okay?” he asked the minute she said hello.

“Yeah, why? What’s going on?”

Frowning, he gave her a brief rundown of what had happened earlier that morning.

“Are you kidding me? Oh my God,” she said, sounding upset. “I’ve been here all morning and no one gave me any updates. My coworker picked me up, and we’ve been right at her desk while I finish my training.”

“Shit,” he muttered. “Our CO told us. The MPs should’ve been able to call security over at your building though.”

“I’m new here,” she gently reminded him. “My official start date isn’t until next week. They probably didn’t know where I was.”

“They could’ve found out,” he muttered. “We’re meeting with our commander in fifteen minutes. He’ll have more information for us. Don’t go anywhere though. I’ll come pick you up later on—earlier if need be.”

“I thought you had training today?”

“Fuck