Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
When Monday morning rolled around, Storm was ninety-nine percent sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jane. The weekend had been perfect. They clicked and meshed so easily it was as if they’d known each other their entire lives.
Usually by this point in a relationship, Storm was feeling antsy and couldn’t wait to go back to his old routine of being alone. But he couldn’t imagine spending even one day without talking to or being with Jane. He’d spent his entire life looking for her but hadn’t known it until they’d met. If he believed in that sort of thing, he’d think they were meant to be together. Divine fate or reincarnated lovers. Whatever it was…he was going to do everything in his power to hold on to her and treat her so good she’d never want to leave him.
They’d made love yesterday afternoon, and it had been slow and lazy. He’d never thought he’d be in a kind of relationship where cuddling was almost as satisfying as being inside her. But he was now.
He hated having to go back to the “real world,” and for the first time in his career, Storm actually looked forward to a life outside the Navy. He’d given a hell of a lot to his country and couldn’t wait until he didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to give even more, especially when he thought of waking up to Jane.
He locked his door and headed toward the parking lot with Jane at his side. He’d driven her around all weekend, and it didn’t feel right to part with her now…but he was a grown-ass man, just as she was a grown-ass woman, and they both had jobs to get to.
“Are you going to have a lunch break today?” he asked.
Jane shook her head. “I don’t usually have time on Mondays. The mail from Saturday is stacked up, and it’s easier to skip lunch and get it out than to let it continue to pile up.”
“Are you coming back here tonight?” he asked hopefully.
Jane turned to look at him. “Do you… Are we rushing this?” she asked.
“No,” Storm told her immediately. “I mean, we’ve moved fast, but it feels right. Doesn’t it?”
“It does, but the absolute last thing I want is to move things so fast that you’ll regret it.”
“I won’t,” Storm told her emphatically. “But if you want to slow things down, I’ll respect that.”
“You could come over to my apartment…” she said tentatively, letting her words trail off.
“Deal,” Storm told her.
“I know my bed’s not as big and you have a better kitchen,” she told him.
“Doesn’t matter. Wherever you are is where I want to be.” He saw her flush.
“You’re too good to me,” she said.
“No such thing,” Storm swore, then leaned down and kissed her briefly. “We’ve got to get to work or we’ll be late. I’ll follow you, like usual.” He loved that they left for work at the same time. He would’ve preferred to be driving her, but they really did both need their cars just in case they needed to go off base at some point in the day. Storm was looking forward to the day she’d feel comfortable taking his Golf when she needed to run an errand, but he’d deal for now.
“Okay. Drive safe,” she told him.
“You too, baby,” Storm replied, squeezing her hand once more before dropping it and heading for his car. He looked back once to see Jane watching him and lifted his chin in her direction. She gave him a small wave and headed for her Camry. When she’d come over on Friday night, the parking lot had been packed, and she’d had to park a few rows over from where his car was located.
Storm arrived at his vehicle and started it. He took a minute to glance at his email once more before putting his car in gear and backing out. He pulled around to where Jane had been and saw that she was already pulling out of the parking lot.
It was unusual for her not to wait for him to pull up behind her, but he didn’t think much about it. They were running a bit late, probably because he’d been reluctant to get out of bed and had spent an extra ten minutes simply holding her against him that morning after the alarm had gone off. She was probably just anxious to get to work and not to be late.
Storm headed out of the parking lot and caught up to Jane fairly quickly. Then he frowned—something seemed out of place.
It took him a moment to figure out what it was, and when he did, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
There was someone in the car with Jane. Sitting in the front seat next to her. He couldn’t imagine who she could’ve met and agreed to give a ride to in the thirty seconds or so when she’d been out of his sight.
When they stopped at a light, Jane didn’t look in her rearview window and wave at him, like she often did.
Something was wrong. He knew it in his gut.
And Storm knew better than to ignore his gut. It had saved his life more than once when he’d been a SEAL. He hadn’t felt this way in a very long time, but he’d never forget or dismiss the feeling.
Picking up his phone, he dialed a number he’d memorized a long time ago…just in case. The Navy police.
Jane held on to her steering wheel and stared straight ahead, too terrified to do anything that would set off the woman sitting next to her. One second she’d been smiling and relaxed, remembering how sweet Storm had been that morning, and the next, a woman had opened her passenger-side door and shoved a knife against her side and told her to drive.
She would’ve bailed out of the car there and then because she knew better than to let a carjacker take her someplace where it would be easier to kill her and dump her dead body, except the woman said in a low voice, “This box in my lap has a bomb in it. If you don’t do exactly what I say, we’re both going to be blown to itty-bitty pieces, and no one will ever find all our parts.”
Somehow, Jane knew she wasn’t lying. So she put her car in gear and drove.
“I’m Jane. What’s your name?” she asked, thinking if they were on a first-name basis, maybe she’d be less likely to kill her.
“Not that it matters, since we’ll both be dead if you don’t do exactly as I say, but it’s Carlin. I saw you on TV,” the woman said nonchalantly as Jane drove toward the naval base. “I bet that CS gas hurt, didn’t it?”
Carlin seemed calm enough at the moment, but Jane couldn’t help glancing down at the box in her lap. It looked so… ordinary. But if she’d been able to rig a tear gas bomb, Jane had no doubt she’d be able to make something more deadly.
Her palms were sweaty on the steering wheel, and she wanted nothing more than to send some sort of signal to Storm, who she knew was behind her, but she was scared the woman in the seat next to her would catch on and do something drastic. So she decided to just try to stay calm and do whatever was asked of her…at least for the time being.
“Yeah, it sucked,” Jane said honestly.
Carlin shrugged. “It wasn’t meant for you,” she somewhat apologized. “Rear Admiral Creasy was the one who was supposed to open it.”
“Why?” Jane asked simply.
“Because he’s an asshole!” she said. “He didn’t even think twice about kicking my husband out of the Navy. Simon worked his ass off, and he was helping those pathetic locals overseas. He’d never steal money from anyone . His commanders had everything all wrong, and when he tried to explain, they wouldn’t even listen! Kicked him out without breaking a sweat. Ruined his life— and mine.”
Jane blinked in surprise. She remembered Dag and Storm talking about Lieutenant Simon Sandburg. At the time, they’d thought the person who’d sent the bomb was him, but evidence was currently suggesting otherwise.
“I’m sorry,” Jane said, not sure what to say to seem both sympathetic and empathetic at the same time. “Sounds like you’ve had a hard time of it lately.”
“Damn straight I have,” Carlin said. “I’ve worked like a dog to keep things going, all the while trying to encourage Simon to find another job, to do something . But instead he spends all his time—and our spare money—at the bar, drowning his sorrows. I told him we could hire a lawyer, prove that he was innocent, and the money was given to him by people who were so thankful someone was helping them, but he refuses.”
Jane wanted to roll her eyes. Could she really be that stupid?
“I mean, nothing’s wrong with a military member getting thank-you gifts. That asshole Creasy wouldn’t even listen to him during his court-martial. The entire thing took less than ten minutes. Ten minutes , and our lives were ruined. Fucking asshole! He’ll regret kicking Simon out. I’ll make sure of it.”
“What’s your plan?” Jane asked, both needing to know the answer and dreading it at the same time.
“Well, I was going to wait until the scrutiny died down, then strike when Creasy least expected it, but after those NCIS guys came to our place this weekend and grilled Simon, I had to move my timetable. Those assholes aren’t going to be happy until they completely demoralize my husband. I have to get on base,” Carlin told her. “I couldn’t send the kind of bomb I wanted last time. I knew it would get jostled too much and the explosive would be set off before I wanted it to. I thought I’d perfected the CS bomb to go off only when the box was opened, but apparently I was wrong.”
Yeah, apparently she was. “Then what?” Jane asked.
“I can’t get on base by myself because my military ID was confiscated when my husband was court-martialed. So I need you to get me on. You’ll show your ID at the gate, and I’ll give them the fake driver’s license I’ve obtained. It’ll go nice and smooth when you vouch for me. If you do that, you’ll be home free. So be a good girl and don’t do anything stupid,” Carlin said in a hard tone. “I won’t hesitate to set this fucking bomb off. I’ll kill as many people as I can in the process.”
Jane looked in the rearview mirror and saw Storm’s car behind her. She couldn’t think of any way to warn him about what was happening and who was sitting next to her without setting Carlin off. “What about Simon?” she asked.
“What about him?” Carlin asked.
“What’s he going to think about all this?”
“Once he hears what I’ve done, the lengths I’ve gone to in order to avenge him, he’ll be proud of me. We’ll leave this fucking state, get new jobs somewhere else, and live happily ever after. He just needs to put this behind him. And making sure Creasy isn’t around to make anyone else’s life miserable is just the way to do it.”
Jane swallowed hard in disbelief. Did the woman really think she could deliver a bomb, kill a rear admiral, sneak off base, and live happily ever after? That her man would approve of such a thing and snap out of the funk he was in?
And what about her? Had she even thought about what a loose end Jane would be?
Carlin was sitting there telling her all her plans. She had to know Jane would go to the authorities as soon as she got out of the car.
Knowing she was in deep shit, and it was likely Carlin had some other plan for her, Jane did her best to stay calm. She couldn’t panic. Had to think about what to do and be ready to get the hell out of this car at a moment’s notice.
Jane thought about causing a car wreck, but that might set off the bomb in Carlin’s lap. The last thing she wanted was to involve anyone else in this woman’s evil plan. She didn’t want to be responsible for someone losing their life.
“Why me?” Jane asked softly.
Carlin shrugged. “When I saw you on TV, I actually felt bad that you were caught in the middle of my revenge plan. You’re just a lowly mailman. I tracked you down, thinking I’d apologize somehow…but then I saw you with him .”
“Who? Creasy?” Jane asked, confused.
“No. His friend. I don’t know his name, nor do I care. I followed you, realized you were fucking him. But I knew you drove separately to work. It was easy enough to hide out by your car and surprise you. Since you’re sleeping with the enemy, there’s no reason for me to feel sorry for you,” Carlin said matter-of-factly.
Jane’s head spun. “Storm isn’t the enemy,” she blurted, hating to hear anyone talk bad about him.
“He is!” Carlin insisted. “He hangs out with Creasy. Probably has kicked out his share of decent, hard-working sailors too. They’re all assholes—and if you’re sleeping with him, you’re a bitch. So it doesn’t matter if you die. In fact, since you know all about what I’m going to do, it’s inevitable.”
Carlin talked about killing her so nonchalantly, so easily, that Jane was shocked. And it was hard to surprise her after everything that had happened with her marriage, her daughter’s troubled teenage years, and after working on the military base for so long.
“Don’t try to be a hero,” Carlin told her, pressing the knife she hadn’t taken away from her side a bit harder into her flesh.
Jane inhaled sharply as the tip of the blade sliced through her shirt and nicked her skin. “I’m not. I won’t,” she said immediately, doing her best to pull her body away from the knife. But her small Camry didn’t have that much room between the passenger’s and driver’s seats. It was a detail she loved when Storm was in the car with her. She definitely didn’t like it now.
They drove toward the base in silence, and when they began to get close, Jane’s heart rate accelerated, and she could feel adrenaline coursing through her veins. The best time to get away was when she had to stop at the gate. When the naval officer asked for her ID. She definitely didn’t want him to get hurt, but she didn’t want Creasy to die either. Or herself.
“Be cool,” Carlin warned as they approached the gate to the base. “Don’t do anything stupid, or kablooey ! You’ll never fuck that asshole you’re with again.”
A drop of sweat fell down the side of Jane’s face, and she knew Carlin wasn’t kidding. She was insane, obviously, and if she was willing to die in order to get revenge on Rear Admiral Creasy, she wouldn’t have any problem taking down anyone who stood in her way.
Looking in the rearview mirror once more, she saw that Dag had pulled up so close to her as she inched forward in the short line at the gate she couldn’t even see his headlights.
Did that mean he knew something was wrong? That he had a plan?
Jane hoped with all her heart that was the case, even as she also hoped he was oblivious. The latter would mean he was safe. The former could get them all killed…
But it might just save them too.
Shit.
“IDs please,” the junior-grade lieutenant said as Jane pulled up in front of the small guardhouse.
She turned to look at Carlin. She had a bright smile on her face and the knife she’d held to Jane’s side was nowhere to be seen. But that damn box in her lap seemed to be even bigger than it had been earlier. That wasn’t the case, of course, but Jane couldn’t help but sense the danger lurking inside it.
She slowly reached for her purse to pull out her ID and saw Carlin give her an impatient look. Jane wanted to say something to the young officer. To give him some clue as to the danger they were all in, but she also didn’t want to risk his life…or her own.
She grabbed the ID that allowed her access to the base and took the fake ID Carlin handed to her as well. She handed both to the officer, opening her eyes really wide, hoping against hope he’d get the hint.
Without hesitation, the man turned away from her and took the IDs into the guardhouse, as was protocol. Jane knew he’d scan them both, then if nothing seemed awry, he’d hand them back, and they’d be on their way.
Time ticked by extremely slowly. Every second seemed like an eternity. Jane glanced around without turning her head, and to her, it seemed as if there were more people hanging around the gate to the base than normal. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the rise of the sun, and she could see naval police personnel around almost every corner. It made her feel hopeful, but scared shitless at the same time. More people meant more causalities if something went wrong.
After a moment, the young officer turned to her. “There’s an issue with your ID, Ms. Hamilton. If you can please step out of the car.”
For just a second, Jane’s hopes rose. She undid her seat belt and reached for the handle of her door. She had just opened it a bit when Carlin moved.
The knife was pressed against her skin again, but this time it was at her throat.
“Step back,” Carlin ordered the lieutenant. “She’s not going anywhere. You’re going to open the damn gate and let us through, otherwise I’ll gut her like a pig and set off this bomb in my lap. You have ten fucking seconds to get it done. Starting now .”
The officer’s eyes opened wide, but his eyes flicked to something behind Carlin. Without moving her head, Jane saw three naval police officers, their pistols pointed right at Carlin, out of the corner of her eye.
“Put the knife down, now !” one of them shouted.
Within seconds, the car was surrounded by more police officers than Jane had seen in one place since she’d started working on the base. She hadn’t been around the parking lot when Phantom and his girlfriend had been attacked, but she imagined it probably looked a lot like the area around her car right now.
“Get back!” Carlin shouted a little desperately. “I’ve got a bomb and I’ll fucking set it off! I will! Don’t mess with me!”
“Just relax,” one of the police officers said. “We’ll figure this out, and no one will get hurt.”
“But I want people to get hurt,” Carlin screamed. “Just like my husband and I were! Get Rear Admiral Creasy here. Right now! ”
Jane shook violently in her seat. The car was surrounded by shore patrol—SPs—or masters-at-arms…whatever the naval police were called. She couldn’t remember if they were SPs when they were on a ship and masters-at-arms when they were on base, or vice versa, or both.
She did know her mind was going in a million different directions, and she forced herself to concentrate. It didn’t matter what they were called. Police were police, and she prayed they’d figure out a way to get everyone out of this in one piece. Literally.
Jane sat as still as she could, hoping against hope Carlin would somehow forget about her sitting there, what with all the commotion going on around them…when she felt something brush against her left hand.
When she’d opened her door, and after Carlin had shoved the knife into her neck, Jane had let her hand dangle limply against her side.
But now someone was holding it. Tightly.
She couldn’t look down to confirm who it was, but she’d recognize the feel of the callused fingers anywhere. In her panic, she’d forgotten Storm was even behind her. But he’d obviously gotten out of his car and was now at her side. She prayed Carlin couldn’t see him.
Having him there terrified her—but it also made her more determined than ever to do what she could to make sure this ended without her, or Storm, in tiny bits all over the asphalt.
She squeezed his hand back as hard as she could, and the way he tightened his hold made her sigh in relief. Storm was there. He’d help her. She just had to be ready for whatever he had in mind. And she had no doubt he had a plan.
Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.
Storm watched with his heart in his throat as Jane pulled up to the guardhouse at the entrance to the naval base. After Storm’s call to the police to inform them to be on the lookout for Jane’s car, the junior-grade officer was more than aware that something was hinky. He’d been instructed to act normal, however, and to get Jane out of the car as unobtrusively as possible.
As her car stopped, Storm pulled up to it as closely as he could get and slipped out of the driver’s seat. He immediately got down on his belly and crawled toward Jane’s door. The second she stepped out, he would be there to grab her and get her to safety. Everyone else could deal with whoever was sitting next to her.
The hair on the back of his neck hadn’t gone down. He knew something was very wrong, and his only objective was to get Jane clear of it. He regretted not insisting they drive together, and in the future, he’d be sure to do a better job of keeping her safe.
But his plans went down the drain when the woman sitting next to her refused to let Jane exit the vehicle. Storm’s mind spun. He heard her say she had a bomb, and while he couldn’t see either of them, he also heard her say something about gutting Jane.
Looking up through the crack of her door—which thankfully Jane hadn’t shut—Storm could see how white she was. She was sitting stiff in her seat, and her left arm was motionless at her side.
Without thought, as everyone yelled for the unknown woman to stand down, to give herself up, Storm reached for Jane’s hand.
Her fingers were ice cold, and he knew it was because of shock setting in. He thought she might panic when he took hold of her, but he should’ve know better. The second his fingers closed around her own, she relaxed. Not completely, but enough that he was assured she knew who was touching her.
And when she squeezed his fingers back, determination rose up within him once more.
He wasn’t going to lose her. No fucking way. He had no idea if the woman sitting next to her had a real bomb or not, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
By some miracle, Storm was still undetected, and he crouched down even lower. He didn’t want the other woman to catch a glimpse of him in the side mirror. One wrong move and they could all be blown up. He hadn’t gone forty-seven years without having found the one person meant to be his only to lose her now.
No. Just no.
The longer Storm crouched by the car and listened to the woman rant on and on and demand the officers bring Creasy out, the more determined he became. A plan formed in his mind, and he turned his head to look around him. His position wasn’t ideal. Jane’s car was close to the guard shack, which didn’t leave them much room. But she’d pulled up far enough that the opening to the shack would be behind the door just far enough when it was opened.
Nodding to himself, Storm looked around, trying to see who else was there. He saw a lot of young SPs and older officers, as well—but not who he needed to see.
He’d called Rocco right after he’d contacted the naval police, but he knew it would take time for him to arrive. And he’d surely called his team. Soon, his SEALs would arrive.
Hurry up, guys. I need you , Storm thought to himself. He knew the SPs would stall the woman as long as they could, but she was obviously unstable, and there was no telling how much time they had before she lost her patience and either stabbed Jane or blew them all up.
“Where is he?” Carlin yelled impatiently. “You aren’t listening to me! I’ll do it, I’ve got nothing to lose! Bring Creasy here so I can talk to him. That’s all I want!”
“We’re working on it,” the man who’d been attempting to negotiate with Carlin replied.
“Work on it faster!” she screeched. “If you think I’m fucking around, I’m not. I’ve already set off one bomb on this base, and I’ll do it again! But this time it’ll do some fucking damage! If you don’t want to be responsible for the deaths of everyone within hearing distance, you’ll get him here now!”
Jane tuned out Carlin and did her best to come up with a plan. She could slam her foot on the gas and do whatever she could to get the car away from the gate and all the people before Carlin set off the bomb. But there was no guarantee she could get the car into gear and get out of the way before the bomb exploded. She could try to wrestle the knife and box away from Carlin, but again, maybe the slightest movement would set off the damn thing and everyone would get killed anyway. She could wait for the negotiators to do their job, but it wasn’t looking like Carlin was going to back down. Jane didn’t know if seeing and talking to Creasy would help or make the situation worse.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, Jane saw a large Chevy pickup careen around the other vehicles that had been evacuated in the line behind her. She recognized it. Gumby, one of Storm’s men, owned one like it. She’d seen it at the beach party…was that just two days ago?
Hope welled up inside her, and for the second time—the first being when she realized Storm was holding her hand—she thought she might just get out of this alive. She didn’t know how, but if anyone could figure it out, it was Storm and his team.
“I’m losing patience!” Carlin screamed, waving the knife that had been at Jane’s throat. She jabbed it uselessly out the window toward the negotiator who was standing at least twenty feet from the car. “Get. Me. Creasy! He needs to know that his actions have consequences! If he didn’t unfairly court-martial my husband, this wouldn’t be happening!”
The sun was just beginning to peek above the horizon now, and as it so happened, the gate was facing east. Jane winced, knowing the sun would blind her as it rose. In ten minutes it wouldn’t be a nuisance, but in the few minutes it took to climb high enough in the sky, it would make it impossible to see anything going on in front of the vehicle.
“ Fuck ,” Carlin swore from next to her. “This has all gone to shit!”
The sun suddenly rose high enough in the sky to send its blinding rays right into the eyes of Jane and the agitated woman next to her.
Then Jane felt Storm squeeze her hand, hard.
She tensed and held her breath. This was it. Whatever Storm had planned was about to happen. She hoped like hell if it didn’t work, and that damn bomb went off, that her death would be fast. She’d never been afraid of dying, but she wasn’t a fan of pain.
Feeling ashamed of the direction her thoughts had wandered, Jane wasn’t prepared when her car door slammed open, Storm yanked her arm hard enough to almost pull it from its socket, and she went flying through the air.
Storm was relieved when Gumby, Rocco, and Bubba jumped out of Gumby’s Silverado and stealthily made their way to the other side of the guard shack. The woman—who he now knew was Lieutenant Simon Sandburg’s wife because of all her screaming—was concentrating on what was going on to her right with the police and the negotiator. She clearly assumed with the guardhouse so close to her left, there would be no danger there.
She’d thought wrong. She had no clue that some of the most deadly men in the world were about to end this standoff once and for all.
Dag had been advised to stay out of sight, but Storm knew he was there somewhere. The second he heard there was a situation at the gate, he would’ve wanted to be there, even if his presence wasn’t being demanded. Storm hadn’t seen him, but he had no doubt he was watching and waiting for just the right time to make his presence known.
And if he let Carlin Sandburg see him, Storm knew she’d blow that bomb in her lap, if only in the vague hope that it would kill him too.
Turning his attention to his SEALs, Storm saw that Bubba was holding his Navy-issued sniper rifle. He was the best shot on the team, and Storm had never been so thankful to see anyone in his entire life. He wasn’t a fan of killing anyone, but he knew Bubba would be able to incapacitate Carlin without killing her, hopefully bringing this standoff to an end safely.
He gestured to the front of the vehicle with his head, knowing the sun’s position would temperately blind both Jane and Carlin. He’d been in line often enough to know what a pain in the ass the sunrise was while coming onto base at this time. They’d lucked out, and any moment now, he and the other SEALs could use that to their advantage.
Understanding, his men nodded. He pointed to where his hand was hidden by the door, hoping they’d figure out that he had hold of Jane. He then spun his free hand in circles and pointed in the direction in which he planned on extricating Jane from the vehicle.
Rocco nodded and said something to his teammates. Then Bubba and Gumby headed for positions directly in front of the car behind a police vehicle that had parked there to prevent Jane from getting onto the base, and Rocco disappeared around the edge of the guard shack.
Storm held his breath. There was no guarantee this would work. If Carlin was as good of an engineer as reports had indicated, they could all be in deep shit. The tear gas bomb she’d built had been good, so he had no doubt that the box in her lap was legit and could kill them all, like she claimed.
Determination welled up within Storm once again. No one fucked with his Jane.
Time seemed to slow down as he waited for the sun to get to the perfect point in the sky. Carlin’s tone got more and more agitated, and for a second, Storm thought they weren’t going to make it. That she’d get impatient and decide she was done waiting for Creasy to show up and detonate the bomb.
One second the air was filled with tense anticipation, and the next, the first rays of the sun burst above the horizon as if a beacon from God, pointing His finger at Carlin in condemnation.
It was a fanciful thought, and Storm didn’t have time to dwell on it. He knew he and his team had only seconds to act. That Carlin would realize her front side was vulnerable and surely someone would make a move to stop her deadly plans.
Looking up at Bubba, who he could see was lifting the rifle from about thirty yards in front of Jane’s vehicle, Storm held his breath.
He squeezed Jane’s hand hard, trying to warn her that the shit was about to hit the fan. He felt her tense—and then he moved.
Storm wrenched the car door open and pulled Jane toward him with all his strength.
She practically flew out of the seat and into his arms. He threw them both backward toward the open door of the guard shack as fast as he could. Storm needed to put as much distance between them and that bomb as possible.
He was counting on the suddenness of his movements to take Carlin off guard. That it would take her a moment to realize what was happening, that her hostage was escaping, before she could detonate the bomb in her lap. He hoped she would just give up—but he’d seen his share of both desperate and crazy people in his life, and he knew she wouldn’t go down easily.
Unfortunately for him and Jane, he was right. He heard Carlin scream a frustrated and anguished “no!” the moment Jane cleared the car…
A shot sounded from somewhere around them…
And then the world exploded.
Maybe not the world, but the car Jane had been sitting in seconds earlier.
Storm had managed to get them both through the guard shack and out the other side before the bomb went off, and he rolled until Jane was under him. He would’ve run with her, but didn’t want to do anything that would leave her vulnerable. Staying put wasn’t exactly safe, but was better than shrapnel tearing through her body as they ran. He covered her body with his own, closed his eyes, and prayed harder than he’d ever prayed in his life. The dubious protection of the guard shack wasn’t going to be enough to keep them completely safe, but he just hoped it would save their lives.
The noise was loud, deafening. Storm felt pain slam into his back as the bulletproof windows in the guard shack exploded, no match for the force of the bomb.
“Storm!” Jane cried from under him, but he didn’t budge. He held her tighter as debris rained down on them from what seemed like every direction. Despite his ears ringing and his back throbbing in pain, Storm refused to move, even when he thought the worst was past. He wasn’t going to take a chance that Carlin had survived and would come after Jane.
“Storm…” Jane called out again.
She sounded stressed, and Storm knew he had to check to make sure she hadn’t been hurt. That she wasn’t bleeding out or anything and needed medical assistance. He lifted his head a fraction of an inch and felt something fall off him. It seemed as if they were mostly buried under what was left of the guard shack. While it had collapsed on them, it had also protected them from the worst of the blast.
Storm’s back and legs throbbed, but he was alive. Jane was alive.
He looked into her eyes and saw that her pupils were so dilated, he almost couldn’t see the beautiful brown irises he’d fallen head over heals in love with.
“Storm?” she asked again.
Her hand was still in his, and he was holding it tightly between them. “Are you okay?” he croaked.
Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and just as he began to panic, she nodded. “Thanks to you, yes.”
“Fuck,” he said under his breath, the relief almost a palpable thing. “I love you,” he blurted, not even caring that now probably wasn’t the time or place for such a declaration. “The second I saw someone in your car with you, I knew something was wrong. I’m not letting you go,” he vowed. “You might not love me yet, but you will. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“I do,” she told him, tears spilling over the sides of her eyes and down her temples to be absorbed into her dusty hair. “I think I’ve loved you forever.”
That was all Storm needed to hear. His lips came down on hers, and he kissed her as if she was the most precious thing in his life…because she was. “I thought I’d lost you,” he mumbled desperately.
“I knew you’d somehow get me out of there,” she told him.
Storm hadn’t been so sure, but he didn’t contradict her.
“Sir?” they heard someone call from above them. “Get this fucking debris off them!”
Storm groaned as a piece of wood was removed from his back.
“Are you all right?” Jane asked worriedly.
He opened his mouth to say he was fine, that he’d been hurt much worse on some of his SEAL missions, but instead, he closed his eyes and did his best not to pass out when a board shifted across his legs and something sharp dug into his calf.
“Stop!” Jane yelled, making Storm wince since she’d yelled forcefully, practically in his ear. “Storm’s hurt! Be fucking careful!”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He didn’t care how many nails had to be pulled out of his back and legs. Jane was safe, and that was all he cared about.
“Hey, Sir,” Rocco said in an obnoxiously cheerful voice. “You want to continue to lay there smooching on your woman, or do you think you might want to get up and get out of here?”
“Fuck off, sailor,” Storm told him, doing his best not to wince when someone took hold of his arm to help him stand.
He accepted Gumby and Bubba’s assistance, then immediately turned to help Jane. When they were both upright, and Jane was against his side, snuggled into him, he looked around in disbelief.
They looked like they were standing in the middle of a war zone. Both his and Jane’s cars were totaled. The guard shack was rubble, but it had done exactly what he’d hoped: blocked the worst of the blast and gave them just enough protection to withstand the shock wave from the bomb.
When he saw what was left of the woman who’d been sitting next to Jane—basically a few body parts here and there—he turned to block Jane’s view.
“Come on,” Bubba said quietly. “Let’s get you to the medics.”
Storm had no idea how bad his injuries were, but if his SEALs were encouraging him to go straight to the medics, they were bad enough. But Storm was upright and able to walk, even if each step made pain shoot through his body.
“You okay, Jane?” Rocco asked in a more serious tone.
“I’m good,” she told him. “Storm protected me.”
Rocco nodded as if that was the most normal thing he’d heard that morning. “For what it’s worth, I think his injuries look worse than they are. Whatever you do, don’t coddle the man. He’ll get soft, then take it out on us.”
Jane’s lips twitched, but she didn’t smile. It was too soon. Storm knew she’d have some more bad times after this. Who wouldn’t? He didn’t know what had happened in her car or what was said…but he would. Jane would tell him everything. Then he’d do whatever it took to make her feel safe and grounded again. Just as he knew she’d do what she could to reassure him that she was fine.
Leaning over, Storm kissed her temple as they walked. The movement made whatever was sticking out of his shoulder shift, and he huffed out a painful breath. But he knew whatever happened from this moment forward, he’d get through it. Jane loved him, and he loved her. Nothing else mattered.