The SEAL's Surprise Son (The Admiral's Seals, #1) - Leslie North Page 0,1

to grade after grade. Her father never once came to see her demonstrate her skills. Nothing had ever worked to get his attention.

She’d never let her son feel as she had, which might be a struggle down the road. Eventually, she knew Austin would ask about his daddy. All kids did. Whatever she decided to tell him, she’d be careful to never let it seem that he’d been unwanted.

“No problem,” Nina said. “I love the new look of the store. The blue sets everything off. On our way here, we took a little stroll past Castle Jewels.”

“Oh?” Carolyn’s primary competitor had recently updated as well. “Is it nice?”

“Classy looking. Lots of gold accents. But it was kind of stuffy, too. I didn’t feel like I could wander in and browse.” Nina wrinkled her nose. “I think you made the better choice.”

“Hope so.” She watched Austin, who played with the tractor, running it over the pattern in the carpet and making goofy faces and sounds. He was so like his father, who despite being a SEAL had loved the silly side of life, too. It had been her choice to end their relationship, but she couldn’t help missing Zach. There had been a lot to love about him.

“I’ve got to get going,” Nina said. “My boys have a baseball game tonight.”

“I’ll let you out through the secure door.” Carolyn scooped Austin up and led the way to the showroom.

Just as they reached it, the front door flung open, slamming against the wall, and a man burst through, gun in hand. Carolyn froze in place, hoping this wasn’t what it looked like.

“This is a robbery,” he yelled, swinging his gun in an arc to encompass the store. “Hands where I can see them.”

Carolyn took in a sharp breath, fighting the panic she felt. If the robber had entered five seconds earlier, she could have secured her son and Nina in the office, but they were all too visible. She pressed the tiny button on the key she always carried, triggering a silent alarm that contacted the police and her security firm. It also gave them a live audio and video feed.

“Everybody, down on the floor,” the robber commanded. “Except you.” He pointed to Jenna, who stood behind a display of their most expensive pieces.

Carolyn gestured for everyone to comply. It seemed safest to obey him while they waited for help to arrive. On her way down, she grabbed a pair of ear protectors left over from the remodel and slipped them on Austin’s head. Maybe if her son couldn’t hear the drama unfolding in front of them, he wouldn’t be frightened. She smiled at him, whispering they were playing a game, hiding the fear that raced through her.

The robber, focused on shouting at Jenna to dump trays of diamonds and sapphires into a bag, didn’t notice what Carolyn did or that she and Nina tried to cover Austin with their bodies. If the man walked closer, he’d see the boy, but she’d do whatever was necessary to protect him.

She took a quick look around. Her other salespeople were on the floor, following procedure. They’d gone through training for this scenario, but these situations could go wrong very quickly. Please let him get what he wants and get out, she prayed. She winced at the sound of glass shattering as he smashed a display case of emeralds and shouted for Jenna to pick out the precious stones. Jenna worked quickly, filling the bag the robber held.

“Now, you get on the floor, too,” he told Jenna, “and the rest of you stay down.” He moved toward the door. It was going to be over more quickly than she’d expected. A few more seconds and he’d be out.

Carolyn tensed as the robber swung the heavy glass door open, revealing a swath of the street from where she lay. Police cars blocked the street. They’d arrived silently, which was protocol, but she could see the man panic at the sight. His means of escape was cut off.

He pivoted his head like an animal who had unexpectedly become prey to a larger beast before stepping back, slamming the door, and throwing the dead bolt. They were trapped in the store with an armed robber. The gun he carried swept across all of them, shooting fear through her heart.

Zach Vale attached the scope to his sniper rifle after taking up position on the second floor of a building directly across the street from All That Sparkles. The situation