For the love of a seal, p.28
For the Love of a SEAL, page 28
“What’s it going to be, Donovan? Life in prison is the least you’re looking at if you go through with this. Frankly, I can’t guarantee you’ll leave this room alive.”
“Shut up! Just…just let me think.” Donovan was becoming visibly more agitated, mumbling to himself.
A hiss close at hand made Tori glance up. Luke’s left hand gestured behind his back. Tori hadn’t understood any of his earlier signals, but there was no mistaking this one. He wanted her to stand. Since that action would definitely be noticed by the lunatic with the gun at Blake’s head, she could only assume Luke wanted her to create a distraction.
That I can do!
“Mr. Donovan.” Tori scrambled to her feet, quickly returning her weapon to the holster on her hip, before stepping through the line of men comprised of Luke, Travis and Coop. “James must have been one hell of a SEAL. No wonder you’re proud of him.”
Donovan’s eyes widened, and his malevolent smile bordered on crazy. “Tori, I didn’t expect you until tomorrow. No matter. Now we can proceed to the main event. When I hired you for the story, I had no idea you’d be the perfect person to help me make Sorenson suffer. Someone he loves…dying in front of him. It’s poetic justice, don’t you think?”
He swung his gun until it pointed at her and drew a vicious-looking knife from his belt. Donovan pressed the blade to Blake’s ribs and beckoned her closer with the barrel of the gun. Tori took another step toward him…and then everyone moved at once.
MacGyver advanced, drawing his handgun, aimed at Donovan’s head. “Drop your weapon. Now!”
Luke surged to his right, sliding his arm around Tori, and dragged her to the floor with him. Kellie fell in beside Travis and Coop as they closed in to back up MacGyver. Donovan’s eyes widened and filled with confusion for a few seconds. Then he swore, jerked forward a step and turned his weapon on MacGyver.
In a heartbeat, Blake opened his eyes and roared. A kick of his leg to the side took out Donovan’s knee. The sound of breaking bones and Donovan’s scream of pain was all Tori heard before Travis slammed him to the floor.
As soon as Luke let her go, Tori clambered to her feet and rushed toward Blake. He seemed to have fallen back into his partially unconscious state, but he whispered her name and winced when she threw her arms around him.
“Keys!” Tori flung the word over her shoulder as she struggled to hold Blake upright. Almost immediately, Kellie was beside her, reaching up to unlock one wrist and then the other, taking some of Blake’s weight from Tori so he wouldn’t crush her on his way to the floor.
Tori cradled Blake’s head in her lap as tears blinded her. Luke crouched beside her and checked Blake’s wounds. He squeezed her shoulder briefly, a gesture that somehow said welcome to the team. Special Agent Roberts took custody of Donovan and handcuffed him, where he writhed and cried on the floor, his knee turned at an unnatural angle.
Tori heard a helicopter above the din in the room, and the steady beat of the rotors grew gradually louder. Time seemed to stand still as she concentrated on keeping Blake from slipping too deep into himself. When the time came, she hopped in the belly of the chopper beside him, without fear or hesitation, and clung to his hand.
Chapter 26
Blake came awake slowly, the dull ache in his ribcage superseding everything else going on around him…until he squinted through the slits that remained where his eyes used to be.
Someone had opened the blinds since the last time he’d woken, and sunshine splayed across the otherwise drab hospital wall directly in front of him. Sun was good. He hadn’t been entirely sure he’d ever see it again.
The curtain around his bed was drawn halfway closed, blocking his view of the door, but he could hear voices out in the hallway and the clank of metal on plates. The kitchen staff was no doubt serving breakfast…or lunch. He’d lost track of the time. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what day it was.
A soft rustle of movement grabbed his attention, and he rolled his head to the left. He almost choked on his tongue when he caught sight of a pair of red stilettoes. Someone had one foot crossed over the other and resting on the edge of his bed.
The slight catch of his breath hurt like hell, and he concentrated on not moving as he followed perfect ankles up sleek calves to a healthy display of creamy thigh, until the hem of a short denim skirt blocked his view. An instant tightening below the waist gave evidence that at least part of his anatomy still functioned.
It had to be Tori sitting there, a magazine open and held in front of her. She’d lost her red heels the day his helicopter crashed. That she’d bought a new pair…for him…put an instant smile on his face. He’d know those sexy ankles anywhere, but if she’d heard him moving, she wasn’t letting on. “That is so not fair.” The words grated through his throat like sandpaper on wood.
Without lowering the magazine, she uncrossed and recrossed her ankles. “Somebody mentioned you were a leg man, Sorenson.” Tori’s voice oozed amusement, but she still didn’t show her face.
Kellie had been sitting beside his bed the few other times he’d opened his eyes, and, though he appreciated his friend’s vigilance, this was so much better. The last time he’d seen Tori, he’d just been released from his shackles, and she’d held him against her warm body while silent tears cascaded down her cheeks. He’d wanted to dry those tears, but he couldn’t feel his arms.
A little of the fear and anger he’d experienced when he’d thought she would turn herself over to Donovan robbed him of his contentment at seeing her. “You scared the shit out of me, ya know.” He rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling. “What the hell were you doing there? MacGyver and Luke should have known better.”
The magazine slapped against her lap, and her heels disappeared below the edge of the bed. From the corner of his eye, he watched a parade of emotions traipse across her face, not the least of which was some anger of her own. She leaned forward, and, for a minute, he was afraid she might leave, but then her anger disappeared, leaving nothing but vulnerability in her expressive eyes.
“Luke and MacGyver didn’t want me there either. I told them I’d go…with or without them. For the record, MacGyver is still sure you’re going to do him bodily harm.” Her wistful smile disappeared as quickly as it’d come. “Don’t you get it? I had to go. I had to see you—know you were still alive.” Tears rimmed her beautiful blues and a tremor rocked her. “I…I love you.”
Her final words were so quiet, Blake was sure he’d imagined them. What he thought he’d heard stole all the moisture from his mouth and left him scrambling for the right thing to say.
“I know I’m not supposed to, we both said no strings. It wasn’t intentional, believe me. It just happened.” She finally stopped to take a breath.
He crooked his finger at her. “Come here.”
“It’s okay. I mean, I’m a big girl, and I’m not going to make this uncomfortable for you.”
“Tori, come here.”
She slapped her forehead. “Oh, God. I wasn’t even going to tell you. I’ve made such a mess of this.” Tori jumped to her feet, grabbed her sweater from the back of the chair and caught the magazine before it hit the floor. She looked at him then, though not at his face. “I’m glad you’re going to be all right.”
“Tori Michaels, don’t make me come and get you.”
“What?” A frown drew her brows together.
A growl formed in his throat as he pushed through the pain to sit straight, reach out and snag her arm. The growl became a roar as he hauled her on the bed with him.
“What are you doing? You’ll hurt yourself. Are you crazy?”
Blake clamped his arm around her, holding her to his side, while he closed his eyes and let the waves of pain roll over him until they lessened. When he dared to move his head, he dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“Yes, I am. Crazy about you, that is.”
When her head jerked up, confusion on her features, he caught her lips and snaked his fingers into her silky hair, so he could sample and taste at his leisure. Honey and orange blossoms. He’d never get his fill of this woman.
Finally, he lifted his head and she tried to push away from him. “Blake, I’m hurting you.”
He held her fast. “You’ll only hurt me if you leave.”
Tori stopped and a gorgeous smile, complete with those killer dimples, radiated from her like summer sun. “I’d never do that.”
He brought her fingers to his lips. “I know you wouldn’t.”
“How? How do you know?”
“The same way I know I’d never do anything to bring you or Isaiah sorrow. You were meant for me…and I’m incomplete without you. I love you, Tori. Please believe that.”
Tori squealed and covered his face with kisses. Then she found his mouth and brushed it softly with hers before settling in for a long, sensuous kiss that transformed his burgeoning arousal to a raging hard-on.
“Hey, why don’t you find me some clothes so we can get out of here? I can’t wait to get you home.” He was so damn hard, he’d forgotten all about the ache in his ribs.
“Uh…no. The last thing I want is for you to put on clothes.” Mischief shone from her eyes and her hand brushed the front of his hospital gown, clearly on purpose.
He sucked in his breath and nipped her throat. “Okay, but unless that door locks from the inside, we’re about to make a spectacle of ourselves.” Blake could feel every one of his multiple cracked ribs, and the weakness that lingered in his arms and shoulders was worrisome. But his dick was definitely up to the task, so, who was he to argue?
Tori laughed. “Go for it. This is on my bucket list.”
He groaned and brought her hand back to his rigid manhood. “Oh yeah? What else is on that list?”
Tori moaned as his lips nuzzled the edge of her shirt aside and kissed the swell of her breasts peeking out of her lacy bra.
Suddenly, someone cleared his throat loudly from the doorway. Tori hopped off the bed, trying to stifle her laughter, grabbed one of Blake’s pillows from beneath his head, and tossed it over his obvious erection. Straightening her hair, she turned to face the door, holding her sweater to her chest where her shirt hung askew.
“Well, look who’s awake!” Travis yanked the curtain back and strode to the bed. Coop, Luke and MacGyver trailed behind.
Tori stepped back as Blake’s four friends surrounded the bed, but Luke draped his arm over her shoulders and tugged her up beside him. “Come on, Tori. I’m not taking this ass-chewing alone.” He eyed Blake warily. “Although, if you feel you need to have your say, I’m your man. It was my decision to let her come with us.”
Hell, yeah. Blake had had plenty to say on the subject…right up until Tori had blown his mind with her admission. She loves me. Even more surprising was the sudden sense of everything being right in his world. Making a commitment to her didn’t scare him like it should have, based on previous experience. In fact, there wasn’t anything he wanted more.
Blake considered Luke’s words for a minute before glancing at each of his buddies in turn. He owed them…big time…for crashing Donovan’s party and dragging his ass out of there. No, that’s not entirely true. I owe my brothers for a hell of a lot more than that.
He swallowed the lump that had somehow formed in his throat. “I don’t think I’ll be complaining today. We’re good.” Blake threw Tori a wink. “Besides, I know how stubborn she can be.”
“Hey! I’m right here.”
The dimples he loved popped on her cheeks and sent warmth into parts of his soul that hadn’t seen the light of day for far too long. How could he possibly be upset with her? Or Luke, for that matter?
Kellie had filled him in on the events leading up to Tori showing herself to Donovan, knowing it would be the diversion they needed to regain control of the situation. Apparently, no one had guessed that Blake, hovering on the fringes of consciousness, would be so enraged by the threat of Donovan laying a hand on Tori he’d take matters into his own hands.
The room grew quiet as though each person took a moment to honor the whole, his friends, this band of brothers that kept him sane and always…always had his back. And now Tori, his woman, and Isaiah. Maybe he’d even get to be a father to Isaiah, or at least a friend.
Coop, Travis, MacGyver and Luke lined both sides of his bed with perceptive grins all around. Evidently, no one had been fooled by the strategically placed pillow, and, judging by Tori’s pink cheeks, she was only too aware of the undercurrent of inappropriate male humor. No doubt, they could use a diversion of their own about now.
“Kellie said you got Sebastian. Is he talking?”
“Hell no,” Coop huffed. “He lawyered up first thing. But the judge denied bail at his arraignment, and Rafael says they have a strong case against him.”
“Only thing remaining to be seen is how long due process will take.” MacGyver dropped into the chair Tori had vacated before they arrived, and a mental image of her feet in red stilettoes, resting on the edge of his bed, threatened to undo Blake’s control.
He scraped a hand down his face, hoping to wipe away his persistent grin. “What’s his connection to Donovan?”
Travis chortled. “None whatsoever. At least, Roberts hasn’t found one. Donovan isn’t admitting one either, and he’s talking his head off to anyone who’ll listen.”
“No way.” Blake couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that Donovan and Sebastian had operated independently of each other. True coincidences were rare.
“Donovan says he planned his revenge for nearly three years. The only help he had was a black-market gun dealer, who sold him a cache of weapons, and the two ball-busters that did a number on you. Roberts has them in custody too.” MacGyver slouched in the chair and stuck his long legs toward the hospital bed.
“Donovan hired Tori to find you on the pretext of wanting an interview for his magazine, and he was going to take it from there.” Luke removed his arm from Tori’s shoulders and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “It wasn’t until he saw the two of you together he realized he could cause you pain by hurting her. He got to Harv on one of your mechanic’s many trips into town. Apparently Harv had a gambling problem that Donovan was going to help him solve if he’d get Tori away from your place. He used Sebastian’s breach as cover to sneak her out of the basement.”
“By the way, the old guy who built your house is a genius.” Travis glanced toward his partners. “We should talk to him about our new safe house.”
Everyone groaned.
“What?” Travis grinned as he looked around the group.
“We know Tori didn’t lead Sebastian to the safe house, and if Donovan wasn’t working for him, how’d Sebastian find the cabin? And why did his man, Nox, try to abduct Tori from her house later that night?” Blake laced his fingers behind his head but quickly dropped them to the bed when the position increased pressure on his ribs, restricting his ability to breathe. He didn’t miss the grimaces on the faces of the men, who’d no doubt all suffered similar injuries at least once.
“All good questions, and finding the answers is Roberts’s number one priority. He thinks the FBI has a mole who directed Sebastian to the safe house and that they went after Tori to find out what she knew and whether they could use her. I have no doubt Roberts will get to the bottom of the garbage pile.” MacGyver jerked his thumb across his throat in a familiar gesture. “Wouldn’t want to be that mole when Roberts figures out who it is.”
Blake considered that for a moment and had to agree with MacGyver’s assessment. It was unfortunate there would always be men like Harv who could be bought by the highest bidder. The PTS team had learned a valuable lesson and dodged a costly bullet.
Dr. Peltier, the same ER doc who’d treated Tori after her fall, strode into the room, glanced at his chart, and frowned. “Mr. Sorenson, are you feeling up to all this testosterone in the room?”
Tori slipped a hand over her mouth, but Blake saw the grin she was trying to hide.
Coop laughed and leaned toward the attractive blond-haired woman in blue scrubs. “Now, Liz, may I call you Liz? We’re here supporting our friend. And, for the record, all this testosterone hauled your patient’s ass out of a bad situation last night. You should be thanking us for making your job easier.”
Everyone laughed, including Dr. Peltier, and she laid her palm against Coop’s pecs, to his obvious delight. “I am grateful…and feel safer just knowing you boys are in the neighborhood.”
Blake groaned. “Ah hell, Doc. Don’t encourage him.”
“You’re free to go home whenever you like, Blake. Just take it easy for a couple of weeks. I’d rather not see you back in here for a while.”
“That’s for damn sure,” MacGyver said. “Enough hospitals for both of you.” He included Tori with a jab of his finger.
“I agree.” Tori’s eyes sparkled with the smile she turned on Blake.
Luke cleared his throat. “That’s our cue. Time to head out. Tori, can you get this guy home on your own?”
“I think I can manage.”
“Kellie is fixing your favorite dinner to celebrate tonight.” MacGyver bumped fists with Blake. “We’ll pick up Isaiah and invite Jane if she’d like to come.”
“That’s sweet. Thanks, MacGyver,” Tori said.
“How about it, Doc. Want to join us for dinner?” Coop gave her a hopeful grin.
To Blake’s surprise, Dr. Peltier leaned toward Coop as she walked by on her way out. “I have to get back to my rounds, but I get off at six.”
“Hot damn. I’ll be here to pick you up.” Coop flipped a mock salute at Blake and headed out the door, a new bounce in his step.
Travis followed him, shaking his head, and Luke and MacGyver were the last to leave.
Tori went to a cupboard along the wall and returned with the clean clothes she’d brought to the hospital for Blake. “Need any help?”
