Page 6 of Holiday Hijinks

“Well for that, I’m thankful,” Ashleigh joked.

Slate’s phone buzzed, and his lips quirked as he saw Anna’s name on the screen. He took a pull of his beer, reading the message.

Anna:How’s my bestie? Please tell me she doesn’t suspect anything.

Slate:The bride and groom stockings were a bit obvious, no?

Anna:Just some foreshadowing. Our girl is a writer.

Anna:Think of it as a little foreplay before the main event. ;)

He nearly choked on his beer. His brother had his hands full with that one. Ashleigh raised her eyebrows as he coughed once. “That was from Anna. And no, you can’t see the text. That would ruin my surprise.”

“You’re no fun,” Ashleigh teased, but she was laughing as she tried to move past him into the living room. Slate growled,trapping her in his arms. He kissed her, loving how she immediately yielded to him.

“Go relax while I clean up,” he gently ordered. “I’ll be in soon.”

“Promise?”

He flashed her a look, and she smiled innocently and turned away. Slate’s eyes caught on her ass as she moved away from him, her hips swaying with every step in those tight jeans she wore.

Hell.

It took all his restraint not to immediately rush after her. He needed a moment to make sure everything was in place, however, because he planned to spend the rest of the evening giving her his full, undivided attention.

Ashleigh’s laptop and the novel she’d been reading were already sitting on the coffee table. She’d made herself right at home as he’d started a fire and then heated up their dinner. There were a few presents already wrapped under the Christmas tree, and he’d enjoyed seeing her eyes light up in surprise. Anna and Lena had helped him plan everything out to perfection. He’d selected the gifts, but Lena had wrapped them immaculately and done more decorating than he’d ever have thought to ask for. The entire cabin looked like something out of one of those Hallmark Christmas movies Ashleigh loved.

He swiped the screen on his phone, scanning over the dates on his calendar. There’d be no rehearsal dinner given the wedding itself was a surprise. He was counting on Anna to whisk Ashleigh away at the appropriate time to get her ready. Jett had booked his family a private flight, so at least they wouldn’t need to worry about airline delays around the holidays.

Slate shook his head. Jett and Anna had a surprise wedding as well, that one all Anna’s doing. Ashleigh would never suspect he’d pull off the same damn thing.

Anna had already arranged for someone to do the women’s hair and makeup, Anna declaring she’d tell Ashleigh it was a “hair trial,” whatever the hell that was. Slate knew his fiancée would begin to suspect something was up, but by then, everything would be in motion. He’d be at the venue in his dress uniform, just waiting for his bride.

He quickly scrolled through his emails next to make sure everyone else would be arriving as scheduled. Ashleigh’s sister lived in Seattle with her own family, so they were already in town, although Ashleigh thought they were traveling. Her parents would be flying in. Her other best friend Jen was coming. Some of Slate’s men would be in attendance as well, along with his family members and old friends.

His phone buzzed in his hand, and Slate frowned as he saw that it was one of the SEAL team leaders from base. “Striker here,” he said as he lifted his cell to his ear.

“Sir, I hope you’re enjoying your vacation,” Everett “Ace” Walker told him. “I trust you made it safely to Washington?”

“Affirmative, and I know you wouldn’t call me this soon after my arrival unless there was an issue. What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been monitoring several of the chat rooms as we discussed prior to your R&R. In addition, your brother’s employee West Renkin over at Shadow Security has his team tracking several things. We got an alert.”

“What kind of alert?” Slate asked in a low voice as he swiftly turned and walked further into the kitchen so Ashleigh wouldn’t overhear. There was no need to worry her on their first day ofvacation. It was bad enough that he was already dealing with a possible new shitstorm.

“As you’re well aware, your name is out there. We’ve been monitoring to see if we get any hits online. This alert specifically involves a homegrown, ISIS-inspired terror cell.”

“What’d you find?” Slate asked, irritation roiling through him.

“While the men directly involved in targeting U.S. military installations, tracking you, and kidnapping Ms. Moore a year ago were arrested, someone is still monitoring your movements. Tracking you from afar. Your name and Ms. Moore’s were posted on the dark web earlier this afternoon.” Ace cleared his throat, pausing. “It seems that you and Ms. Moore applied for a marriage license?”

“God damn it,” Slate muttered. He hadn’t considered that something like a marriage license could be so easily found online by someone with the right set of skills. Found and then posted where the fuckers who still wanted revenge against him would see. “We did apply for one, although I told her it was to get my military benefits in order should anything happen to me,” he said in a low tone.

Ace chuckled. “I guess congratulations are in order, sir? I presume you’ll be returning from your extended vacation as a married man.”

“You’d be assuming correctly,” Slate ground out, his gaze moving to the open doorway. “That’s why Raptor’s team will be unavailable for a few days,” he said, referring to Blake “Raptor” Reynolds and the first Alpha SEALs Coronado team.

Ashleigh hadn’t made a sound from the living room, but he didn’t want the unexpected call ruining his surprise. He paused for a beat, then heard her typing on her laptop. He relaxed a notch. Ashleigh was safe and sound, right here at the cabin withhim. There was no need to grow alarmed, and no reason to think she’d suspect this was anything more than a romantic getaway at Christmas. “The license, however, was issued by the State of California, not Washington. It wouldn’t lead anyone to locating me here again.”

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