Page 12 of Chase's Kind of Trouble
Damned SEAL’s…We are a relentless bunch of motherfuckers.
“You know what you’re doing?” he asks, eyes hard and narrowed below his baseball cap.
“Yep. Never been more sure.”
I click the fob to unlock my truck’s doors. Nothing blinks. Nothing beeps. The day the truck came home it was set up for stealth mode.
Tice, keeping his volume low says, “The girls could rally around her, make sure she’s?—”
“We’re good.” I ease Celeste into the passenger seat, lean it back and tuck her in with the soft wool blanket that lives in my go kit in the back seat.
When I close the door—careful to do it quietly—he steps into my path. Again.
A growl starts to grow in my gut.
“Look,” he says glancing at Celeste through the window. “You have a way of coming on strong.”
“And you don’t, Mister I’m-so-eloquent in the coffee shop?”
His brows slam together, but a grin quickly follows “Asshole. I’m never going to stop hearing about that am I?”
“No. But thanks for checking on us. Now mind your own fucking business, Mocha Latte Monster.”
“It was tea, thank you.”
He leans against my truck laughing and I shove him off. “Go get the intel on that guy.”
“Already on it, Kane’s shaking him down while he waits on the cops to come pick him up.”
I open the driver’s door, my eyes on the angel asleep in my seat, a sense of rightness filling my bones. “I expect a full report before sunrise. You owe me.”
“Roger that. Sleep tight. And keep an eye on your six. The guy who busses the tables just told me that Celeste’s attacker is associated with a major dealer in the area.”
As I slide into the seat, I tip my chin. “Noted. We’ll deal with that. But now I’m going to make sure she knows she’s safe and gets to rest without worrying about that fucker.”
Whoever scared Celeste is tangled up with a dealer, more reason why she is not going back to work. Or to her home.
She needs to be somewhere safe.
When Celeste stirs, I tangle my fingers with hers and brush my lips over her forehead. “Right here. Go back to sleep.”
“Okay,” she breathes and nestles deeper into the blanket. “I’m sorry, I’m just so tired.”
When I crank up the engine, I turn the heat on blast. “I’m here to protect you. Sleep. Nothing and no one can get to you.”
SEVEN
Celeste
This feels so good. Warm. Cozy. I nuzzle in, my face borrowing into—what is that?
“Oh my god!”
I sit up, almost flipping off of the couch, I move so fast.
A big hand latches around my elbow. The grip is gentle this time, unlike the way Jeremy grabbed me.
And the stranger is watching me with warm concern as he tugs me back down. “Easy, baby.”
