Page 82 of The SEALs' Single Mom Baby Surprise

The training takes over.

We come across two guards in front of a set of steel doors. They’re lazy, and we take them by surprise, putting them down in a few seconds before moving along. It’s quick and quiet.

But the next room is not so much. Three of them are waiting, and they react quickly. They’re down before they can take us, but the last one is able to flip a switch, alerting his buddies.

This means deadly force—knocking the first two out was a mercy, but now, guns point our way, and the squeeze of my finger over the trigger becomes quicker.

Progress is slower than I would like, but we slip through two more rooms before Shepard appears, breathing hard, his shirt soaked in blood, but his eyes are clear. The gun in his hand is pointed at the floor as he registers us.

Has he found Sloane? The moment I question it, she pops into sight right behind him, disheveled, dirty, but her energy is so bright. She, too, has a gun in her hands and blood across her brow.

The relief at seeing her is almost all encompassing, but checking behind them shows they’ve brought a trail. I wave them on. Our backup should be landing any second.

I’m not foolish enough to not have a team come in behind us as we extract Sloane to finish taking down the operation here. My main focus is her, though.

Hastings takes the front, leading them out. I slap Shepard’s shoulder on his way by and can’t help but pull Sloane briefly against me to drop a kiss on her temple before pushing her after him and taking up the rear.

I pop off two more rounds at the men following us. It keeps them trapped inside as we retreat.

We waste no time hurrying them to the airstrip, and the small plane is waiting, so I hustle her inside as a helicopter descends to finish what we started.

Once we’re in the air, I unbuckle, drop to my knees in front of Sloane, and take inventory of every scrape and bruise on her. My fingers find the abrasion across her cheek, a red mark low on her throat, marks from her own teeth in her lip.

Her eyes blaze at me, stormy and full of lightning. I brush her lips with my thumb, and their softness taps into the tender bubble swelling in my chest.

I’ve been so scared that something would happen to her while she was out of my grasp. Especially since that’s exactly what happened last time I lost the girls I cherished so much.

My hands sweep over her shoulders and arms, down her sides, her legs and ankles. One is swollen, and she’s got a tender spot on her ribs. When I venture back to her face, she has tears in her eyes, but she seems to be laughing quietly.

Sloane’s hands find my shoulders, and I swoop in to steal a kiss. Short, but oh, so necessary.

“I’m fine.” Her hands grab my face and force me to meet her gaze. “I’m fine.”

“I believe you, but let’s revisit that when the shock’s worn off.” I brush flyaways from her face. I just want to enjoy this for a moment, knowing she’s safe. Right here. In front of me. And she indulges me, placing her hands over mine.

She takes a few deep breaths, and somehow, it makes me feel calmer.

“Okay,” I say, glancing back at the amused faces of my men. “Our friends should be marching in there as we speak. How did you two manage?”

Sloane shakes her head and laughs. “I’ll tell you, but there’s something more important.”

Her very serious gaze flashes with a mix of mirth and fear. Fingers brushing over the rough stubble on my cheek, she’s ensured that she’s got my attention.

She has all of it. The seconds feel like an hour as she looks to Hastings and Shepard, confirming something with them, and I’m ready to squeeze whatever it is out of her.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes close and her mouth forms a stern line before she drops a whisper bomb into the plane’s cabin.

“I’m pregnant.”

38

RHETT

Relief. Shock. Joy. They hammer into me. Boom, boom,boom.

I’m out of my seat and beside her the moment her words sink in. She’s pregnant. With one of our babies. It might be mine. I don’t care if it isn’t. I want them both, the whole package, so badly that it aches under my ribs.

My mouth seeks her cheek, hot and wet from her tears. I kiss every one of them away, tugging her closer.

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