Page 31 of Protecting Jess

“I’m sure she’d love it. They give a military discount, too,” Finn said.

“Good to know.” His fellow SEAL continued on his way to the living room to set up the computer.

Jess wandered into the room, and Finn made his way to her side, pulling her close. It was ridiculous how much he wanted to touch her.

Now that he’d kissed her and held her again, he was amazed at how he’d been able to keep his distance—for the length of time he had.

“You remember House?” he asked, canting his head to his friend and teammate.

“I do. Good to see you again.”

“You, too. I’m here to connect you with Tex. He’s the guy we were talking about last night.”

“Right.” Jess perched on the edge of the couch.

Kaley sat in one of the lounge chairs, smiling at House.

“Okay, let’s get started.” House opened the computer and pulled up the video calling app.

Finn was interested to see what this Tex person looked like.

“House, what can I do for you?” a deep voice asked with a southern twang.

“Tex, this is my teammate, Hive. His friend is the one who has the issue.”

Finn leaned forward and nodded at the man on the screen. “Tex, really good to meet you.”

The man on the screen showed no emotion, but his look was intense and familiar. Finn had seen it on all his instructors during his BUD/S days and some of the older SEALs around base.

It was surprisingly comforting for him.

“Hive, what’s going on?”

“This is my girl, Jessica Killian, and her friend, Kaley.” He twisted the laptop so Tex could see who was in the room. He wasn’t going to have this conversation without the man knowing everyone who was present. “There was an incident last night in Jess’s hotel room that we need help with.”

“Good to meet you both.” Tex nodded. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Jess.”

“Thank you. It wasn’t fun,” she responded quietly.

Another knock sounded, and Finn started to rise, but Kaley spoke up. “I’ll go answer it.”

“Thanks,” Finn said. Behind him, he caught the sound of Oak’s voice.

Kaley came stomping back into the room and sat down on the lounge chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Oak followed, with a smirk on his face. His buddy took a seat closest to the chair Kaley was sitting in.

Did Jess know what was going on between those two?

Or had Kaley not said anything to Jess?

Whatever it was, they could sort themselves out. He wasn’t getting involved. He had more important things to focus on.

“Sorry, Tex, another teammate of ours just got here,” House said.

“All good. Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s been happening, and we can go from there?” Tex said.

Over the next thirty minutes, Jess explained what she’d been through and what had happened in her hotel room. All through it, Finn kept hold of her hand, giving her his support. Hearing everything a second time didn’t make it any easier for him to handle.

All the anger returned, threatening to drown him. He took a couple of breaths to push it down.

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