Page 20 of The SEALs' Single Mom Baby Surprise

“No. This crosses the line. You’re not coming in.” It more than crosses a line, but I’ll keep things civil if only for my daughter’s sake.

He remains on the porch as I shut the door in his face, and I can feel him watching us as we climb the stairs until we’re out of his sight.

10

RHETT

Sloane quickly disappears up the stairs with her daughter—who looks like the spitting image of her mom, except for the color of her eyes and the dimple in her chin. The look she gives me, though, is full of the same awareness and intellect as her mother.

I call Cole the moment she’s out of my sight. “She’s home. Safe, as far as I can see. She’s got her daughter.”

“Did she tell you anything?”

I want to laugh at that prospect. She hasn’t told us much of anything since she showed up at her office this morning. “Other than ‘no’? Not really.”

I can practically hear Cole grinding his teeth on the other end of the line. “Stay on her. She’ll come talk to you eventually. Even if not until morning.”

“Yes, Boss.” The plan was to stick around as long as it took, anyway. But she had no reason to go so far out of her way on the drive home. At least, none that are evident to me. I’d already parked in the far end of the lot by the time she was stopped off the exit of the highway.

We aren’t the only ones with access to all of her information, like her license plate number and her address—as new as it is.

Sloane won’t appreciate our digging, but we’ve seen this kind of thing before, and she’s not safe on her own. And it’ll take something big enough to hurt her before she’ll give up that fight.

I can see it in her. Cole and Shepard can, too.

Funny how the three of us already feel pulled to protect her.

I wait on the stoop for another few minutes before I walk the perimeter and go sit in my car. It’s where I’d planned to be all night, anyway.

The original plan wasn’t to let her know I was out here. Even with that blown, I wish she invited me inside with her. Cole picked me before lunch since she seemed to open up to me. Just a little. Now, we’ll see if any of that good Karma pays off.

I settle in with my binoculars and long-lens camera. Neither helps to point me away from being some kind of stalker to the passersby, but no one in this neighborhood is going to call the police over it.

Someone might come knock on my window, though. Ask me what my deal is. Pick a fight. But no one is calling the police.

It’ll likely work in my favor. Usually does. Especially with my darker complexion and exotic features.

It’s full dark and getting cold when Sloane emerges. She’s bundled in a bulky sweatshirt, but when the wind blows, her shoulders lift around her ears to protect her neck.

I step out of my car, leaning against the closed door as she approaches.

“You plan to be here all night?” Sloane calls across the lot, her progress slow.

“I do.”

She rolls her eyes and lifts a travel mug in her hand, offering it to me when she’s close enough. “You’ll need this, then. But I need it back in the morning. It’s my only one.”

“I can do that.” The moment pauses. She doesn’t retreat, and we stare at each other.

She’s freshly showered, hair still damp and tied up in a messy bun. Her ears are pink and so are her cheeks and nose. Those dark blue eyes stare holes into me, but it’s not an unpleasant sensation. It’s rather like she actually sees me.

Or perhaps, it’s a response to my seeing her. I have a feeling she hasn’t had a lot of people acknowledge how smart and resourceful she is. Beautiful, yes, because she certainly is that. But beauty is only taken seriously in advertising and art.

I’m also pretty sure I’m about to piss her off. “What happened?”

Her agitation is clear in the way her arms tighten around her waist and her eyes narrow. She doesn’t walk away like I expect her to, though.

“Just someone going the same way as me who had a lead foot and was too stupid to lay off. That’s all.”

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