Page 37 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

“We’ll have to get together soon,” I told her, not bothering to correct the insinuation that Bailey was something to me.

There hadn’t been time to sit Bailey down and explain to her the way my team and I worked when it came to relationships. For all I knew she’d bolt once we did tell her. I’d been watching her closely since we’d rescued her and it was obvious she felt something for each of us. Whether she’d be willing to admit that and get into a full blown relationship was another thing entirely.

At this point, I wasn’t sure we were going to give her much of a choice though. Even if I had to bulldoze my way past her defenses, I would. I’d never wanted a woman the way I wanted her. She was kind, giving, and I knew she had a lot of love to share. Considering the way her father treated her, I wanted to make sure she was surrounded by attention and affection. We could do that for her. Not that we were without flaws. We weren’t easy to deal with most of the time, but she’d never doubt that we wanted her.

I’d promised my brothers we’d have that talk with her before our assignment was up. There wasn’t any telling whether Senator Michaels was going to keep us around now that he had his daughter here or kick us to the curb. We were stateside again; Secret Service should be taking over his security. Marines had no authority inside the U.S. But from day one none of this made any sense, so no telling what our next orders would be. I didn’t want to keep working for him, but it wasn’t my call to make. Besides, I didn’t trust Bailey’s safety to anyone else.

It still infuriated me that somehow those assholes had gotten past our guard and got to her. I’d run through it over and over in my mind and I didn’t know how they’d managed to get into the embassy and past all the security measures we’d put into place. How would some businessman have eased the way for them? It shouldn’t have been possible.

Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I walked over just in time to hear Senator Michaels declaring that we’d be continuing to handle his security for a while longer.

He blamed us for her kidnapping, calling us inept. Now he wants us to stick around.

A muscle was bunching in Jas’s jaw as he fought to hold his tongue. He knew how to handle being ordered around by superiors, but none of us considered the senator as that. He was a fucking worm.

“Yes, Sir,” I told him, coming up and placing a hand on Bailey’s lower back. “We’ll debrief with you just as soon as we get your daughter settled in and resting.”

The Senator frowned. “I was going to have her come with me to a luncheon. It’s part of the-”

“No,” I told him. “Doctor’s orders were to rest for the next four days.” He’d just said to rest, but I figured Bailey needed a break. Getting dragged around town by her father wasn’t going to help her settle her nerves.

He looked like he wanted to argue with me, but with the four of us glaring at him—a unified front on this subject—he relented and waved his hand. “Fine. It’s not like make-up would cover all that up anyway,” he said, gesturing to Bailey’s face. “Rest. The three of you will need to come with me, though.”

My eyes narrowed on him. If he thought we were leaving Bailey here, unattended, he had another thing coming.

Jas met my gaze. “We’ll go with him; you stay with her.”

I’d been about to suggest that Jas stay, so it surprised me when he offered to go with the senator. I held his gaze for a minute. I could read his face like a book. He was suspicious. Like me, he knew that this wasn’t right, three Force Recon Marines playing bodyguard stateside. He was going with the senator to try to figure out just what the fuck was going on. I gave him a slight nod. We’d discuss this later and figure it out.

The senator had pulled Bailey aside and was speaking to her in a low, urgent voice. We watched but gave them space. Jas must have seen the surprise on my face because he explained in a tone low enough that only we could hear, “She trusts you. Explain to her about how we operate. See what she says.”

They wanted her as much as I did. I’d known from the beginning the reason Jas was treating her the way he had was because he wanted her. He just never considered that he’d be able to claim her. We still didn’t know. Looked like I was about to find out.

“You okay?” Kip asked as we watched the Senator go inside. He’d muttered something about meeting back out here in twenty minutes.

“Yeah.” She gave us a strained smile. “I’m just tired.”

“Let’s get you upstairs,” I told her.

* * *

“Guys.”

We turned and found Bailey watching us. It hadn’t taken long to put her to bed, cocooning her in amongst her blankets and pillows. I wasn’t sure why women always needed so many pillows, but I wasn’t about to take any comfort away from her. Arching my brow, I silently asked her why she’d stopped us from leaving. She needed sleep.

My eyes dropped as her pink tongue darted out as she nervously licked her lips. “Could- Could you please stay?” Her face screwed up into a wince. “I don’t want you to think I’m a chicken, but…”

“You were abducted the last time I left you alone in a bedroom,” I finished for her.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered.

Walking back toward her bed, I grabbed a chair that was nearby and sat down next to her. The other two stood behind me. They were going to have to leave here soon, so they didn’t bother to settle in. She picked up my hand and threaded our fingers together. My heart melted for her at that moment. How was it possible that everything she did affected me like this? “Sleep.”

“I can’t,” she insisted. “I slept the entire flight home.” She shook her head. “There’s only so much sleep I can get. Though, I appreciate you standing up to my father. If you hadn’t told him no, I was going to.”

“He’s pushy,” Jas growled. I knew he wanted to strangle the man for thinking Bailey was going to just hop right back into his routine the moment she got home.

“I don’t want to talk about him.” She hesitated, then her soft green eyes flicked over them, then met mine. There was both worry and curiosity there in her gaze. “Did you find out why I was taken?”

---