Page 38 of Married to the SEAL
“You stay here,” he said. “Make yourself as small as possible and don’t move.”
She cowered as he stood up and a shot rang out through the street, echoing off the buildings. He returned fire, the noise so loud she covered her ears. Several more shots and he was pulling at her. She uncovered her ears.
“Stand up, now. We have to run.”
Again she did as she was told, following him through the streets on her aching hip and feet that were sore from her high heeled shoes.
Finally, he rounded a building into an alleyway and stopped running. He turned to her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
The light from a streetlamp illuminated a dark stain on his upper sleeve and she gasped. “You’re injured.”
“Just a flesh wound.”
“We have to get you to a hospital.”
“We need to get you back to the hotel. That wasn’t just a random attack, Grace. Someone was gunning for you.”
“And you took the bullet.”
“I told you, I’m fine.” He tucked his gun inside his jacket and put his good arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay now. We lost whoever was following us, and we’re almost back to the hotel. Everything’s going to be okay.”
The started walking. “Was it a bomb?” she asked.
“Yes. There was a flash and a bang and all hell broke loose.”
She swallowed against a knot in her throat. “Another terrorist attack.”
“It looks that way.”
She felt as if her whole soul was trembling and she was suddenly so grateful her son wasn’t here.
“This is the hotel,” he said. “Come on.” They walked up several steps to the top of a loading dock, and he opened the door. “Service entrance.”
“How did you—”
“I studied the map this morning.”
They took the elevator to their floor and he again took out his gun. “Stay here while I see if anyone’s been in the room.”
“How can you tell?”
“I left a piece of hair on top of the door hinge.”
She nodded, incapable of words.
He reached on top of the door hinge and walked back to her. “Looks good. I’m just going to double-check.” He went in the room with his weapon at the ready, returning a minute later. “All clear.”
She walked to the room, noticing the blisters on the backs of her heels as she moved. She hadn’t even been aware of them before now. Her hip ached, and she suspected she had quite a bruise. When Matteo closed the door behind them, she’d never felt more relieved in her life.
She moved to the window and stared outside. So much had changed since the last time she stood in this very spot. Before she’d felt invincible. Now she knew she was vulnerable to attack.
“You’re okay now. We’re okay,” he said.
“Let me see your arm.”
She could see him in the glass, unbuttoning his dress shirt, then working the fabric over his wound. The lines of his abdominal muscles clearly visible in his reflection and her stomach clenched down low. He had a beautiful body, this man who’d just saved her life.
