Page 27 of SEAL'S Secret Vows

“That's true. We have to find the source and stop the leaks. We need more hands on this.”

“We need to inform INTEL.” Emma says, grabbing the phone from the receiver to inform all other analysts.

“Wait, let's get a lead on what we're doing—at least a clue—first. That will give them something to work on.”

The door swings open, and Joseph pokes his face in.

“Hey, Nora. Steele asked me to come and get you. Did you get any leads?”

“No,” I admit. Annoyance boils within me. I can't help but push my chair away with a grating screech against the floor as I stand up to follow Joseph.

Joseph grimaces. “Seems like this case is getting you all worked up and you've hardly started.”

“Yeah, not to mention the long hours and days we're going to be putting in if we don't get any information on who hacked into the system.” We reach Chase's office, but Joseph keeps walking ahead.

“Wait, you're not coming?” I push the door ajar, watching him go down the hallway.

“Nope. I've got work to do,” he calls out without looking back.

“Okay. See you.” I enter Chase's office to see his face buried in files on his table. He looks up at me, worry lines creasing his face. He tries to hide it behind a smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

“You sent for me?” I try to steady my voice but my concern for him gives me away.

“Yeah, take a seat.” He scans the files again before looking up.

“I can't find anything in these files. Did intelligence find anything, Nora?” He sounds on edge.

“Not yet.” He looks up at me with a steely look that’s enough to make anyone cringe. As a lower-ranking employee, I'd probably cower or shrink away in my seat if I didn’t know him.

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” I know it’s not just my performance.

“Not you. I'm just surprised you didn't find anything.” He opens a set of new files, ignoring my presence. “There's nothing in them. It's driving me crazy.”

“Why did you call me here, Chase?” I can hear the annoyance in my tone, and I'm tempted to stand up. Bound by work ethics, I remain seated. Regardless of our relationship, he's still my boss.“What happened during the meeting? What did they say about the undercover couple idea?”

“Commander Keith is fine with us going undercover as a couple. He asked us to keep it quiet, since we don’t know who exactly leaked the information.”

“That's great. So, he's the only one who’s aware. Did that help your reputation as hoped?”

“It did. I'd say I gained back a bit of his respect because I was able to come up with a plan, but it didn't fully redeem my reputation. Not that I thought it would.” He makes a fist and hits it on the table in frustration.

“Chase,” I admonish. I reach out and hold his hand across the table, and I feel a jolt of electricity shoot through my fingers. “It'll be okay.”

His hazel eyes turn a darker shade at my touch, and there's a flutter in my chest that I can't quite explain, a mix of excitement and apprehension at the way he looks at me.

“What’s the next step? Let go of your anger. It won't help.” I lace my fingers through his attempting to soothe some of his pressure. He doesn't remove his hand like I thought he would in this situation, and his anger wanes. At least I've successfully calmed him down, but why did that feel strangely real.Stop it Nora, you only wanted to help.

I try to push aside the way my heart races, feeling the roughness of his fingers through mine, each bump, evidence of battles fought. Suddenly, he frees his hand from mine and runs it through his hair.

“Thanks, Nora, but this is bigger than you think.”

His tone carries a weight to it that suggests there's a deeper truth he's not sharing.

“But the next step as you asked is that we will have to interrogate team members, review communication logs, and conduct thorough background checks to identify any potentialbreaches in security or compromised channels.” Chase deflects, switching the topic but I know he's hiding something.

A strong feeling tugs at my heart, stronger than worry for this man. I'm torn between wanting to lean into these feelings and fearing the consequences of doing so.

“Chase, what happened during the meeting? Something is bothering you. You can't just brush this off.” I insist, but he stands and switches on the monitor built into the wall.

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