Blaze: A Small Town, Nerdy Girl, Opposites Attract, Protector Romance (Ghost Ops Book 1)

Chapter 55

“How didyou find Doctor Sutton out there in the woods, Mr. Connolly?”

The woman questioning them was the same woman Emma had seen in the Dawg. The one that Alex had gone to talk with. She was blond and pretty, but if she had any emotions, Emma hadn’t seen evidence of it yet.

The fact she was an FBI agent was a little scary, but then Simon had been wanted for murder in another state. Alex had called Chief Vance to tell him where to find Simon’s body. Next thing she knew, the FBI was at the hospital asking questions.

Blaze’s expression didn’t change as he squeezed her hand. “I tracked her phone, ma’am.”

“And you and your coworkers”—she emphasized the word coworkers—“basically went out there to find your missing girlfriend and her friend and rescue them. Why didn’t you call the police for help?”

“Ma’am, I wasn’t thinking clearly. All I knew was that I needed to go get Emma and Rory before Simon Marsh could hurt them. And I was pretty sure I’d get there faster.”

“Do you know who he really is?” Emma asked.

Diana Corbin’s pen paused on her notebook. “We think he’s someone named Kyle Hollis, but we’ll have to do DNA testing to be sure. Hollis is wanted for at least three murders we know of, and suspected of two more, but he disappeared before he could be arrested.”

“And became Simon Marsh,” Emma said.

“Yes. He had a pattern of draining his victims’ bank accounts, but Marsh was the first one whose identity he assumed.”

“How did he get away with stealing money like that? Wasn’t there a digital trail?”

“Offshore accounts, mostly. The FBI was closing in on him when he disappeared three years ago. I have to stress that what I’ve just told you is sensitive information. It’d be best if it doesn’t get out just yet.”

“Of course,” Emma replied. “Do you think there will be any charges related to his, um, death?”

“It’s doubtful. Considering the scene at Aurora Harper’s house and her condition, the condition of Theodore Harper, plus your experience in the woods and physical injuries, I think self-defense is an easy call.”

Emma didn’t want to breathe a sigh of relief, but she felt it deep inside. Yes, she’d been defending herself, but she didn’t know how the authorities would view it.

Special Agent Corbin closed the notebook. “I think I have everything I need. Thank you both for your time.”

She got up and left them in the small hospital room where Emma had been brought for treatment. Rory had been admitted for observation, and Chance had gone with her. Emma didn’t know how that would turn out, but he’d been at her side since the moment he’d carried her out of that tent, and he hadn’t left yet.

And Rory wasn’t fighting him. A good sign in Emma’s opinion.

It was still a long way from grabbing his ass and seeing where things went, but it was a step in the right direction.

Theo was in ICU after surgery, but his prognosis was very good. He’d had internal bleeding, like she’d thought, when his intestines were damaged from Simon’s kick. Fortunately, his bowel hadn’t been perforated. His nose was also broken, and they’d reset that, too. He was going to look like hell for a while, poor guy. Knowing him, he’d use it to his advantage with the ladies.

“She didn’t believe you were telling the complete truth about finding us, did she?” Emma asked after a short interval to be sure they were alone.

The door to the room was closed and she felt safe talking in a low voice. Blaze hadn’t let go of her hand.

“No, I don’t think she did.”

He’d shed the commando gear. They all had. They’d driven to where his truck was parked and he and Chance shed the helmets and goggles, the vests, the weaponry, in record time. They’d put it in the truck and kept on going to the hospital like it was nothing. When the rest of the guys showed up at the hospital, they’d been back to normal as well.

Kinda like superheroes who stepped into phone booths and came out significantly changed.

“Is that a problem?” she asked.

“Could be. But there’s no law against what we did. If we’d shot him, it’d be a lot trickier.”

“You guys seem a lot like a team of Navy SEALs or something.”

Blaze shook his head. “SEALs always get the glory. You realize every branch of the military has special forces, right? The Army has Delta Force, Green Berets, and others you probably haven’t heard of. The Air Force has pararescuemen, otherwise known as PJs. The Marines have Force Recon. Yet the SEALs get the glory.”

Emma stared. “That’s your answer?”

“It is right now.”

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. The one that didn’t throb. Emma wanted to kiss him so badly, but that wasn’t happening with the way her lip hurt every time she talked. Simon—or Kyle—had gotten in a pretty hard punch before he’d been distracted by Blaze and his guys.

She’d used that distraction to grasp his knife and pull it from the sheath. She hadn’t known what she was going to do with it until he turned to attack her again. When she’d been training with Blaze, she’d always wondered what she would really do if she was attacked. If she’d be afraid to act, if she’d hesitate when the moment came.

She hadn’t hesitated at all. She’d driven that knife home hard and deep, and she’d known when she did it that Simon wasn’t walking away. She’d killed him and hadn’t felt remorse.

She felt twinges of it now because she’d once liked the man she’d known as Simon, and she’d thought he cared about her. But the things Blaze had said to her kept going through her head. He’d told her when they were training that you couldn’t pull your punches.

You had to act fast and strong, and you had to aim to kill or maim with everything you had. That was how you survived.

It was how she’d survived. She’d saved herself, and she’d done it with Blaze’s help.

Rory was alive, and Theo was too. That was more important to her than whether or not she could have deflected the blow and injured Kyle enough to stop him.

“I want you to hold me,” she said, feeling the need to be in Blaze’s arms.

“I’d have to climb into that bed with you. I don’t think the nurses will appreciate it.”

Emma flipped the blanket back. “Don’t care. Please.”

Her clothes were gone except her underwear, and they’d given her two cotton hospital gowns for now. One for the front, one for the back. It was more modest than a single one would be, but it wasn’t great.

Blaze levered to his feet, all six-foot-two plus of him, and settled beside her on the mattress. He wrapped his arms around her, and Emma turned into his chest, a sob she hadn’t expected escaping her.

“Hey, Sunshine, it’s okay,” he murmured against her hair. “I’ve got you.”

She curled her fingers into his T-shirt. “I know.” She hesitated. “Did you mean what you said before?”

She couldn’t say the words. Couldn’t ask him if he’d really meant to imply he wanted to be with her always. What if he’d said it in the heat of the moment or just because she was hurt and vulnerable?

He tipped her chin up, gently, and forced her to look at him. “Every word. I’m just a boy from Oklahoma with a shitty mother and no roots, a boy who enlisted in the military and did everything I could to make myself better. I’m a man who’s made it to thirty-five years of age and never, not once, thought I needed another human being so much I couldn’t breathe without her.”

Her heart skipped.

“I love you, Emma Grace Sutton. I’ve never said those words to a woman before. Never wanted to. When I said I’d always find you, I meant always. You’re it for me. The woman I want to marry. The woman I want to raise a sassy kitten with, and maybe a kid if life blesses us that way—though I don’t care if it doesn’t. I want you. Just you.” He sucked in a breath. “I know I don’t have a lot to offer, and there are still things I can’t talk about, but damn, Sunshine, I fucking love you so much, and I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me.”

Emma couldn’t speak. Was she dreaming? Had she taken a blow to the head? Was any of this real?

“It’s okay if you don’t want those things,” Blaze said softly. “I won’t be an asshole who refuses to let you go. Told you I wouldn’t blow up your phone when you gave me your number, and I still won’t. But damn, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life that I wasn’t enough for you.”

Her throat was tight, but his words broke through the barrier. She couldn’t stand that he might think he wasn’t enough.

“I love you,” she said, because it was all she could manage to say. “I love you.”

He looked stunned. “You do?”

Emma swallowed the knot in her throat. “Yes,” she whispered. And then, stronger, “You’re everything I ever wanted. You’re tough and sexy and kind to animals, and I’m really sorry for how you grew up, but I don’t care about your roots other than how it makes you feel. I want to slap your mother silly, but I also don’t want to meet her because I already despise her. And I want you to do what you need to do, because I trust you, and tell me when you can. I’ve already figured out that the six of you are more than instructors at a range, but that’s okay because I know in my bones that you wouldn’t do anything terrible or illegal. And it must be important somehow.”

He was looking at her like she’d sprouted a second head. Then he laughed. “Damn, Emma, that was a mouthful.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “I love you, and I’m fucking glad you love me. But man, Alex is gonna be pissed.”

As if he’d been summoned, the door opened and the man in question strolled in.

“How you feeling, Emma?”

“Like I went three rounds with a gorilla. But also pretty fantastic.”

Alex’s gaze went to Blaze for a second. “I see that.”

Blaze nudged her. “Tell him what you just told me. About the range.”

She repeated what she’d said, and Alex sighed. Then he closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed. “I’m gonna tell you something, Doc, but I need you to swear on this man’s life that you’ll never repeat it outside this room.”

Emma bristled. “I’d never do anything to hurt Blaze.”

“That’s good, because hurting him would hurt all of us. What do you know about Navy SEALs?”

“Really?” Blaze asked. “SEALs again?”

This time Emma grinned. “He’s got a thing for SEALs getting all the glory.”

Alex shook his head. “It’s true, but they seem to be the ones most people have heard of. That’s why I asked.” He took a breath. “We’re like SEALs, but not. What we’re doing is important. I can’t tell you why, and I can’t tell you who we work for, but when I say we report to the highest levels of government, that’s who gives us our orders. Nobody knows the truth but the six of us and now you. If you don’t keep our secret, it’s our lives on the line, and that’s not an exaggeration. Blaze loves you. Don’t betray his trust in you.”

Emma swallowed. “I would never. I won’t tell a soul.”

“Good.” He held out a hand and she took it. “Welcome to the family, Doc.”

“Thank you.”

The door burst open, and her mother rushed in, followed by her father.

“Emma Grace,” her mother cried. “Oh my baby girl!”

Blaze untangled himself from her and stood, kissing her on the forehead. “I’ve got work to do, babe. I’m gonna leave you to your parents. Let them take you home, and I’ll see you later tonight, okay?”

She wanted to beg him not to leave, but she knew that whatever he had to do, it involved his team and that important thing Alex had just told her about.

“Be safe,” she told him. “I love you.”

He grinned. “Always, Sunshine.”

Then he squeezed her hand and walked away to join Alex, leaving her to her gaping parents.