Strong Silent SEAL (SEALs of Coronado Book 2) (12 page)

“Go home, Felicia,” her sister said softly as she opened the door. “We’re done here.”

Felicia stared at her sister for a long moment, tears stinging her eyes. Blinking them back, she bent to pick up her broken phone then turned and walked out.

Chapter Eleven

L
OGAN GRABBED THE back of Nikolay’s flight uniform, dragging him to his feet and shoving him along the rocky path while Chasen and the other guys poured cover fire into the ridgelines along either side of them. Even with all the lead and steel coming at them, the Spetsnaz team focused on one thing—killing the pilot. As bullets spattered rocks around him and grenades exploded, Logan let instinct take over. There was only one way they were all going to survive this ambush—get out of this valley. The Russians would have to come out of hiding to chase them, and Logan liked his chances in that situation a lot more than he did sitting behind a rock waiting for a bullet to find him.

Nikolay wasn’t wearing NVGs, so he couldn’t see in the dark. Fortunately, he seemed to have faith in Logan and ran balls out in whichever direction Logan pointed.

For a minute there, Logan didn’t think they’d ever get out of this mess, but ten seconds later, they popped out the end of the valley and the number of rounds impacting around them dropped drastically. Somewhere off to the left, Logan heard the thud of heavy boots thumping on rocks.

Somebody—maybe a couple somebodies—were chasing him and the pilot, while the rest kept the other guys occupied.

As soon as he could, Logan steered Nikolay to the right, away from their pursuers. But the ground was rockier and started ascending. The pilot slowed down, and Logan knew this chase would be pretty short. He could feel the bad guys getting closer.

Thirty seconds later, he and Nikolay crested a low hill. The pilot gained reckless speed on the downslope, but it wouldn’t help them. There’d only be another uphill climb on the other side, and by then the Russians would catch them out in the open.

Logan needed to do something besides run.

He reached out and grabbed Nikolay, dragging him to a stop and yanking him down to the ground behind a bunch of rocks not much bigger than their heads. They wouldn’t stop too many bullets, but hopefully they’d provide a few seconds of concealment long enough for him to deal with the men coming behind them.

As he knelt down beside the pilot, Logan picked up a rock the size of his fist and pitched it down the slope where it hit with a clatter. Then he prayed the Russians would assume the noise had been them stumbling down the hill.

A few moments later, a figure appeared over the hill, moving way slower than Logan would have liked. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone with him.

Shit
. Logan had been sure he’d heard at least two people behind them.

He would have waited to see if a second soldier lagged behind the first, but he simply couldn’t. Too much chance he and the pilot would be seen.

So he snapped his M4 to his shoulder and put three rounds through the man’s chest, killing him but completely missing the other one who’d split from his buddy and circled around the hilltop to the right. By the time Logan saw him, the guy was barely fifteen feet away. They stared at each other for a split second then the Russian charged him, his weapon firing on full automatic. Knowing he was screwed, Logan charged at the Russian soldier, firing his weapon on the run.

One second they were both shooting, the next they slammed into each other like two football players on a kickoff.

The Russian soldier was big and the impact hurt like a son of a bitch. But Logan forced himself to his feet, sure he’d be dead if he didn’t.

That’s when he discovered three of his bullets had hit the Russian. The Spetsnaz soldier lay dead with two holes in his stomach and one in his chest. Logan glanced down at his own body, not sure how he’d gotten through this one without buying it. Sometimes it was training; sometimes it was luck. He was still considering that when he heard a noise behind him.

He spun and saw the pilot looking around.

“Is it over?” the man asked in English not nearly as accented as Logan expected.

Logan looked at the two dead Spetsnaz soldiers on the ground, about to nod, but then he heard more gunfire behind them near the site of the original ambush. He started to check in with Chasen over his squad radio but realized he needed to get the pilot out of this area first.

He moved forward and pulled Nikolay to his feet. “We’re not dead yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. We have about three miles of rough terrain to cover, so let’s go.”

* * * * *

“Stef didn’t say where she was going?” Felicia asked the woman who resided in the other side of the duplex where her sister and Craig lived.

The woman, an elderly lady with gray hair and kind eyes, shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I was coming back from a walk this morning when I saw her and Craig get in his car with some suitcases. They left before I had a chance to ask.”

Felicia sighed. She’d driven over to the duplex Stef shared with her boyfriend, fully intending to try to talk to her sister about this crazy idea of getting married before she even finished her sophomore year in college. Felicia doubted Stef would listen, but she had to try. She couldn’t let her sister make such a huge mistake.

Now, she wasn’t going to get the chance. Stef and Craig had already run off to get married.

Felicia would have called her sister right then, but the idiot at the cell phone store had screwed up when he’d transferred everything from her broken phone to her new one. Her work calendar was now empty, her music playlist gone, and her contact list was now a useless mess of old Yahoo email addresses and random phone numbers with no names attached. She didn’t even know if she was getting texts like she was supposed to. She’d gotten a few from Heather and a couple from Hayley, but they’d come in hours after her friends had sent them. She never realized what a lifeline her phone was until then. She’d didn’t have Stef’s number, or even Logan’s. Heck, she barely had anyone’s contact info.

Fortunately, since Hayley had texted her, Felicia had her number. Thank God. Because right then, Hayley was the only person Felicia could think of who might be able to help her find Stef.

“It’s me,” she said when the other woman answered. “I need a big favor.”

“Anything,” Hayley said.

Felicia explained the situation with Stef and her boyfriend. “Do you think Kyla might be able to do some hacking and figure out where they went?”

Hayley hesitated. “I’ll see what Kyla can do, but Felicia, Stef is an adult. If she wants to run off with her boyfriend, do you think it’s a good idea to run after her and try to drag her home? She isn’t going to appreciate that.”

Felicia’s gaze went to the duplex. “I know, but I need to know where she is. I need to know she’s okay.”

Hayley said she’d get with Kyla and call her back as soon as she could. All Felicia could do was sigh and wonder what to do with the information if she was right about her suspicions and Stef had eloped to somewhere like Vegas.

As Felicia started her car, she realized she’d never gotten around to asking Hayley for Logan’s number. She almost called her friend back, but resisted. She didn’t want to be a nuisance. Besides, it wasn’t like Logan would probably be getting back for a while. She’d get his number when Hayley called back later.

* * * * *

Logan glanced at his watch, shocked it was only 1100 hours. Shit. The pilot’s debriefing had only been going for an hour. God, it felt like it had been days. Probably because it was so damn boring. Logan knew the stuff Nikolay was telling the CIA and Navy analysts about the new Russian aircraft was very valuable, but it was dull as hell. Thank God SEALs rescued people for a living and didn’t do intel analysis. He’d be bored out of his mind.

On the upside, the Russian pilot had demanded Logan and the rest of his Team accompany him back to the States. For some reason, he felt safer with SEAL Team 5 than the CIA. That meant they got to come home much earlier than he expected.

Logan leaned over to tell Chasen he was going to grab some coffee then slipped out of the conference room. While he could use the caffeine, it was really an excuse to go downstairs to the little boxes where they had to store their cell phones.

He sent a quick text to Felicia, letting her know he was back and asking if she wanted to get together that night. He hung around for as long as he could get away with, but she didn’t text back. Disappointed, he tossed his phone back in the box and went back to the conference room, stopping to grab coffee for him and Chasen on the way.

Four long hours later, the CIA called it a night and Logan was finally free to get the hell out of there. He’d thought for sure Felicia would have texted him back by now, but he didn’t have any messages from her.

The smart thing to do would probably be to call her, but instead he drove over to her condo. Considering it was a Saturday night, there was a very real possibility she might be out with another guy. That thought sucked.

But when he knocked on her door, Felicia opened it right away.

“You’re back!” she said.

Before he could say anything, she kissed him hard then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. A second later, she took his hand and tugged him inside.

“When did you get home?” she asked.

“This morning,” he said.

She looked so beautiful standing there in a pair of shorts and a tank top, her hair loose around her shoulders. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her until they were both gasping for air. But if he did, they’d end up in bed, and he had something important he needed to say to her first.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Can we talk?”

Felicia stiffened at his words, her face suddenly pale. Okay, maybe that hadn’t been the best way to start the conversation.

She motioned him toward the couch. “Yeah, of course. What do you want to talk about?”

He sat and rested his forearms on his thighs. “About us—you and me.”

Logan cursed himself. Of course
us
meant her and him. Who the hell else could it mean, the guys on his SEAL Team?

“What I’m trying to say is that I think you’re great,” he said. “Better than great even.”

Oh hell, this was getting worse! Why the hell couldn’t he figure out what to say? It shouldn’t be this hard.
Just tell her you really like her, you dumbass moron!

Putting his thoughts into words was a lot harder to do than he’d ever imagined. How could he tell her how he felt, when he didn’t know for sure himself?

“You know the feeling you get when you find the absolutely perfect pair of boots,” he said. “Boots you could walk a hundred miles in and never get a blister? Or when you wrap your hands around the grip of a new pistol and instinctively feel like it was made for you? Do you know what I’m saying?”

Felicia stared at him. “No, I don’t have a clue what you’re saying. I’m not even sure if you’re speaking English.”

The hell with trying to finesse his way through this. “Felicia, I think we have something special between us, and I want to keep seeing you.”

Logan exhaled so hard it felt like he might pass out. But it was over with. The bandage had been ripped off. All his hopes and fears were lying out there clear as day.

Or not.

Felicia stared at him in confusion for a moment, but then, suddenly, realization dawned on her face. “Are you trying to say you’re in love with me?”

Okay, that was rather blunt and totally unexpected. It also forced him to examine exactly how he thought about Felicia, which he’d been trying to avoid getting too deep into regardless of the advice Chasen had given him in Syria.

Was he in love with Felicia? Maybe, But he was worried to even admit it, especially since he didn’t know if she felt the same way. He might not be a coward when it came to getting shot at, but having his heart torn out by a woman he cared for wasn’t something he was thrilled about.

But she’d asked the question, and if he took a step back from the truth now, he’d never get the chance to go there with her again. He wasn’t willing to turn his back on a shot at something amazing with Felicia, even if it was a really long shot in seriously high winds.

“I know this should be a simple question, Felicia, but the truth is, I’ve never been in love before. I don’t think I’ve even come close,” he told her. “I guess I assumed getting serious with a woman would have to wait until after I retired from the Navy. But sometimes things happen when we’re not looking—like meeting you.”

He took a deep breath then sighed and started again. “Look, I hate slapping labels on things as difficult to get my hands around as how I feel about you. All I know is that when I’m with you, I feel like there’s something in the world that matters beyond being a SEAL and doing the job. I know it’s crazy since we’ve barely known each other for more than a couple of weeks, but it’s true.”

Logan studied Felicia’s face, hoping to get a read on her. But she gave him nothing. She merely gazed back at him blankly. Like she was too shocked by his confession to even react.

Having no choice at this point, he decided to keep going. He was a man, dammit. If he was going to dig his own grave, he’d sure as hell make sure it was deep enough.

“If being really happy when I’m with you and worrying like crazy about you when I’m not means I’m in love with you,” he said. “Then, yeah, I guess I am.”

Chapter Twelve

F
ELICIA BLINKED. LOGAN loved her. Well, he hadn’t said it in so many words, and certainly not in the way you typically saw in the movies. But, still, he had said the word
love
. Of all the things she’d expected Logan to say when he’d showed up at the door, love definitely hadn’t been one of them.

When she’d opened the door, she been so happy to see him standing there safe and sound she’d wanted to cry—or laugh. She didn’t know which.