Page 60 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

“Good. Be my date.”

I piled food on two plates and sat down with Janean at the next table over from her mom and Bailey. The others came over soon enough, kids in tow.

“Looks like she’s having fun,” Kip said, then shoved half a hot dog in his mouth.

I looked over at Bailey again, trying not to get irritated at my mom and sisters-in-law for monopolizing her time when I wanted to be doing the very same. Bailey tossed her head back and laughed and the irritation faded away. She needed this. She needed to feel like she belonged with my family—our family. Not to mention she fucking deserved all the damn love she could handle, because after getting an up close and personal view of how her father treated her, no one deserved the shit that prick pulled with her. I settled in to enjoy the rest of the evening.

* * *

We rode silentlyinto the city. The last thing any of us wanted to do was leave Bailey at home while we went to meet with our commanding officer. But this was an order we couldn’t ignore. We knew when we broke off with the senator that this would be coming.

I’d asked my dad to keep an eye on our house. I’d followed his footsteps into the military, but none of my other brothers had. They’d wanted to strike out and do their own things. Dad would make sure Bailey was safe without her even knowing he was watching.

Parking the car, I shoved open the door, put on my cover and fitted it on my head. As a unit, we moved down the sidewalk and entered the building I’d parked in front of. Off came our covers again now that we were inside. The military was all about ceremony and rules and wearing hats inside was expressly forbidden.

The hallway was a long corridor lined with offices. No one ever wanted to be called down this walkway. Too many senior officers here. Usually meant you’d fucked up.

A glance over at my brothers showed my same stoic face. We’d faced death too many times together to let an ass chewing worry us. Worst they could do was toss us out of the military. At one point, that would have been a devastating scenario for me. Now that we’d found Bailey? I didn’t give a shit. The three of us could find work anywhere and we’d do whatever we had to for our family.

I knocked on the door and waited for the call to enter. We lined up along the back wall. “Colonel,” I greeted him.

He looked up from the paperwork on his desk, his blue eyes studying the three of us. None of us moved a single muscle as we waited.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

“I’m guessing it has something to do with a senator,” I admitted.

“That’s correct.” He tossed his reading glasses down on the desk. “Care to tell me why I got a call from a pissed off senator asking that the three of you be discharged from service?”

Kip shifted his weight from one foot to another, but otherwise we remained still.

“Sir. The mission that you outlined to us had been completed. We were to protect Senator Michaels and his daughter while they were in Colombia. Once we were back on U.S. soil, we made sure they were settled in and checked back in with you. Secret Service is more than capable of doing the job that they were designed for. Marines are not bodyguards, especially when stateside.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, steepling his fingers together on his desk. “Your report on what happened in Colombia was very thorough.” His eyes narrowed on my face. “So what happened that caused the senator to want to come after you three?”

“He wanted us to keep playing bodyguard,” Jas said, ignoring my look.

“Gunnery Sergeant Collins,” The colonel said, acknowledging him. “Why would he want that?”

“With all due respect, Sir, why did he want us to watch over them in Colombia to begin with?”

Colonel Schaefer considered Jas’s question, then nodded. “It was unusual, but he knows a lot of people inside who felt it wouldn’t hurt to have your team comply with a simple request. So, you’re telling me he’s this pissed off because he wanted you to continue and you told him your mission was done?”

“That’s the only thing within the scope of our duties that might have made him angry,” I hedged. It wasn’t our duty to tell our higher ups about our relationship with Bailey, though it might make the situation make more sense to the man.

“Hmmm…” There was a knowing look in his gaze, but he didn’t continue questioning us. “Then Senator Michaels will be disappointed to realize that we’re unwilling to discharge one of our finest Marine Force Recon Units over this. I’ll speak with you more when you return from leave, Captain Wolfe.”

“Thank you, Sir.” We turned and left his office. Movement down the hall drew my eye and I gave Senator Michaels a dark look as he stormed toward us. Figures he would be here. He might be a senator, but a Marine Colonel was not easily bullied, certainly not by a staffer or phone call. If he wanted action against us, he would have to drop in in person. I knew for a fact he was going to have a tough sell with our Colonel and the knot that had been forming in my gut all morning finally loosened.

“If you touch one hair on my daughter’s head, I’m going to make sure you can’t get a job anywhere. Not even the fucking local hamburger place will hire you once I’m finished!”

My lips twitched as I stared at him. He’d been smart enough not to get into my face, but he stood only a foot away, breathing heavily as he glared at me.

“We’ll do whatever we’d like with Bailey. She’s no longer your concern. We’ll protect her from now on,” I told him.

Jas was all but vibrating next to me. Kip had a hand on his bicep, keeping him from doing something stupid, like decking the mother fucker facing off with me.

“Mark my words,” Senator Michaels snarled. “You’re going to regret this.”

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