Page 19 of Protecting Jess

A mass of fish guts and heads were strewn over the bed.

How the fuck did someone get this upstairs without it being noticed?

A loud gasp told him Jess hadn’t heeded his instructions to stay away.

Finn whirled and pushed her out, letting the door slam behind him. “I thought I told you to stay out here.”

“It’s my room. I think I have every right to see what was going on in there.”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Yes, but it could’ve been dangerous for you to be there.”

“Finn, you stood there for a good half a minute before I came in there. If there was a bad guy waiting for me, he would’ve shot you already.”

“Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t have gone in there.”

“Well, I did and I saw.” All the fight seemed to drain out of Jess. Her legs gave way, but he caught her before she crashed to the ground. “Why is this happening again?”

Finn’s blood turned cold. “What do you mean...again?”

Seven

Jess huddled under a blanket in the hotel’s security office.

Kaley’s head rested on her shoulder while Finn and Oak talked to the night security officer. “It’s not him,” her best friend whispered.

“We don’t know that.” She shuddered at the memory of the mess on her bed.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you access to the security feeds,” the security officer reiterated again.

“This is fucked-up,” Oak said.

“When will the police arrive?” Finn asked, ignoring the other SEAL’s outburst.

Jess wanted Finn to come and put his arms around her. Hold her. Because when he did, she felt safe. Always had.

“I’ll give them another call,” the guy said, with obvious exasperation.

“I’m guessing breaking and entering at a hotel is a low priority for them,” Jess said sarcastically. “Doesn’t matter that the room is basically ruined. God knows if whoever it was threw some of that shit onto my clothes.”

In a way, she was glad that she didn’t know that—yet.

Of course, she’d find out when they went back to the room, but no one had been up there since she and Finn had hurried to the security office after exiting the room.

Finn squatted in front of her, his large hands resting on her knees. “I will find out who did this to you.”

There was a hardness in his voice that she’d never heard before. His features were stoic, and a glint of danger shone in his eyes.

This wasn’t the Finn that she knew.

This was Finn, the SEAL.

The door to the office flew open, and five large men stormed in.

“Sitrep?” a tall man with brown hair demanded.

Finn stood, but didn’t move away. He placed his hand on her shoulder, as if he needed to maintain a physical connection with her. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Oak called us. Did you think we wouldn’t come and have your back?” the same man answered.

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