Page 71 of Silver Linings

Fear struck Lily’s stomach. There was no reason not to trust this woman, so why was she hesitant to share details about Gunner?

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, well, we’re happy to have you all! They’ve certainly got all the women in town up in a tizzy. I mean ex-SEALs built like the gods, and I have yet to meet one of them that didn’t have great manners. I didn’t know any of them were married, though.”

“We’re newlyweds.”

“How special! And how old is your little one?” The woman nodded towards Sage.

“She’s a little over two months.”

“Oh goodness. How precious. Seems like just yesterday my Jessie was that age. Now she’s working behind the counter for me.” A little waif of a thing waved from behind a case filled with delicious looking pies.

Sweat still trickled down Lily’s back, despite the air conditioning in the small diner. Black dots filled her vision, and she reached for the half wall she was standing next to as she tried to blink them away.

“Oh gosh, honey, you just lost all your color. Did the heat get to you?”

All she could muster was a nod as the woman wrapped her arm around Lily’s back and ushered her towards a booth.

“Sage…”

“What’s that, love?”

“The baby.”

“Oh, she’s right here and right as rain. Don’t you worry. Let me get you some cold water. That Texas heat can be really unforgiving.”

“Thank you….”

“Dolores, hon. But everyone calls me Dolly. I hope you will, too.”

“I’m Lily.”

“Lily and Sage. Beautiful names. I’ll be right back with that water.”

Twenty-Three

“The asshole had no identification on him. The sheriff’s department is working on identifying him, but Hank said he’d let me know as soon as he had any info.” Gage ran his hands through his hair.

Hank Porter, the sheriff in Clarence County, had worked closely with the guys when Emma was being stalked by Marco Santoro. Gunner had met him a few times before he had to go back to Connecticut, and he liked the man. No nonsense, a strong sense of justice. He knew Hank would do everything he could to understand what was going on.

“It’s the Santoros,” Hawk’s words grated against Gunner’s chest.

That was one of his working theories. The family had to know about the team’s involvement in taking Marco down after he attacked Emma. There was no doubt in Gunner’s mind that they’d see hurting someone on the team, or someone in their family, as an eye for an eye trade. Lily was young and beautiful, and as much as it made him want to puke just to think about it, she was prime for being trafficked, especially to some sick fuck who would be happy to hear she’d already had a kid and could have more in the future.

“Who else have we pissed off lately?” His molars ground together as he grumbled the question. “Besides, the fucker mentioned working for a family to Lil.”

“I know we just talked about backing away from our contracts, but maybe it’s time to tell Max we want the full picture of what’s been going on with their case. They’ve had Marco in a black site for weeks now. I can’t imagine they’ll wait much longer to move on the family.” Stone twirled a pen in between his fingers. His fidgeting was driving Gunner up a wall.

“That fucker came after Lily twice now. We had nothing on him after he tried to snatch her in the park, but to take her from a busy bar? I mean, fuck. He literally told her his boss wasn’t happy that she’d gotten away the first time. She’s become their target, and I don’t fucking like it one bit.”

“She’s safe now. No one can access the apartments without a card and the access code, unless she lets them in.”

“Have you met Lil? She’s not sitting back today. Apparently Sloane invited her to her office. For what, I don’t fucking know. But she’s all excited about having a new friend and I can’t take that from her, even if I want to lock her and Sage upstairs and never let them out until those Santoro fuckers are rotting in the ground.”

“I installed a great security system for Sloane. She’s on top of it. If she invited Lily over, I’m sure she would do everything to keep her and Sage safe. As for the FBI, I can reach out to Max and see what info he’s got for us,” Gage offered.

“Do it today. They came after my wife. I don’t want them thinking for a second that I’m going to take that lying down. In fact, let the FBI know I want in on whatever raid they’re planning next. I’m going to send a message to the Santoros myself.”

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