Chapter 22
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HARRISON STRODE ONTO base at oh-five-hundred two weeks later, his thoughts churning.
His team was currently doing PT, and he’d gotten in a brief run himself on the beach even earlier than usual.
Luciana had still been sleeping, and despite the fact that she had joined him one morning at an early hour, he hadn’t the heart to wake her today.
Hopefully she’d see the note on the kitchen table and not be offended that he’d gone without her.
His lips quirked.
Luciana was happy to tell him when he should’ve done something differently.
It was amusing. She’d chided him when she thought he wasn’t caring properly for his arm.
She’d told him to make sure he got enough rest. And when she’d cooked him a meal, she’d made sure he enjoyed what she’d prepared before taking a bite of the food herself.
Warmth filled his chest. The way she paid close attention intrigued him.
She was a nurse, so perhaps she was attentive to all her patients, but he didn’t fall into that category.
Sure, she’d bandaged his surface wound, but it was more than that.
She watched out for him, even though he was the one who was supposed to be taking care of her.
Harrison almost didn’t know what to make of it. He’d lived on his own for so long, he’d practically forgotten what it was like to have another person living under the same roof and worrying over him.
And Luciana was hardly just another person.
He cared about her. She’d made steps each day to regaining her independence, but he still heard her awaken most nights.
He’d join her, sitting in the living room together quietly, talking until she was yawning and ready to get back to bed.
He’d grown to enjoy those late-night heart-to-hearts.
He wasn’t kissing her senseless and carrying her back to his bedroom.
He was talking with her—learning about her childhood and career as a nurse.
Discovering her hobbies. Realizing that he’d always want to spend more time with her by his side.
And seeing her smile? Damn. Harrison would do just about anything to make that happen as often as possible.
She’d occasionally flash him shy looks, or blush at some comment he made. It was interesting how she could be bold and demanding when it came to his well-being but also remain somewhat bashful, that pretty flush coloring her cheeks.
And hell if that didn’t intrigue him as well.
He could see the interest in her eyes. The chemistry between them was magnetic.
There’d been several times when they’d been close, and he’d fought back the urge to lower his lips to hers, taking a taste of her sweetness.
He’d seen her gazing at his mouth more than once and didn’t think she’d push him away.
She was his guest, though. She was recovering from a hellish ordeal.
And he had no business wanting her. She was living in his home and currently dependent on him for a number of things, so he’d kept his distance.
Except it still felt like something was slowly happening between them.
Harrison felt protective of Luciana. He felt possessive toward her, too.
He didn’t want another man seeing her in pajamas at oh-three-hundred, barefoot and drowsy with sleep.
He didn’t want another man soothing her fears, ensuring she was safe, or making her smile.
Those moments felt like his alone. Remorse flooded through him any time he thought of her leaving.
They’d had no discussion of it, but he assumed sooner rather than later she’d decide what her next steps were and go.
He’d feel the loss like a sucker punch to his gut.
Ironic that in their many conversations, they’d carefully avoided the topic of her future.
He barely knew her, only for a blip of time in his entire forty-four years, and yet it felt like his whole world was different when she was in it.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he moved into his office, closing the door.
He logged on to his laptop and scanned over his messages.
There were multiple emails, new intelligence reports, and SITREPS from other situations unfolding around the world.
The Alpha SEALS Coronado team was currently deployed to Africa on an op.
Harrison’s team might be called up soon for another mission, and he knew Luciana would be spending long hours alone in his home if he needed to be on base to oversee things.
All the more reason to set her free.
Frowning, he saw a new intelligence report on the Gulf Clan, indicating they were looking for the men responsible for the deaths of multiple members in a coordinated attack two weeks ago.
His fists clenched. U.S. involvement in the matter might’ve been somewhat unusual, but he was surprised they wanted retaliation.
The cartel wasn’t evenly matched with the U.S. military.
He scanned through several open-source articles, noting that Luciana’s father had made yet another appearance on local television asking for assistance in finding his daughter.
The story was now being picked up by the national news in Panama, and anger wound through him.
His suspicions about Juan Rodriguez’s involvement with the cartel only grew, and he called one of the analysts on base on a secure line.
After his phone conversation, Harrison shot off a text to Wyatt, telling the team they’d be briefing at oh-seven-hundred.
Irritation rolled through him. He wanted Luciana to be safe here, but if the U.S.
media picked up on the story as well, her name and face could be splashed on TV screens everywhere.
Somehow the story hadn’t gained traction when she and Avery were originally kidnapped, but the SEAL team had quickly rescued Avery.
The disappearance of a foreign nurse wasn’t of as much interest to U.S. mainstream media.
His phone buzzed with a text, but rather than a reply from Wyatt, he saw Luciana’s name on the screen. He smiled, eagerly clicking on the message. Harrison felt like a damn fool, but any time she sent him a text, heat filled his bloodstream.
It was nice having someone who thought about him.
He was a busy man, but despite his years of solitude, he’d been missing out.
While he and Luciana had more of a friendship than a relationship, it was getting harder and harder to maintain that boundary.
He’d check in with her during the day, and she did the same.
It almost felt like they were a couple, even though no lines had ever been crossed.
He read over her message, his lips quirking.
Luciana: You should’ve woken me before your run. I would’ve joined you on the beach.
Harrison: Negative. You needed your rest.
Luciana: I wasn’t planning to run with you. ;)
Harrison: We were up for hours talking.
Luciana: Are you saying I needed more beauty sleep?
He chuckled, thumbing a quick response.
Harrison: Negative on that, too. Even at 0300 you manage to look good. ;)
He could imagine her blushing. Luciana liked to tease him, and he certainly loved flirting right back.
Harrison always kept it light, and she never seemed uncomfortable by it.
Quite the opposite. If anything, she positively glowed when he teased her, her cheeks flushing and eyes brightening.
The woman had no idea how damn beautiful she was.
It wasn’t just her looks, either. Her inner beauty shone just as brightly.
He imagined most nurses to be compassionate, but she also watched out for him in ways he never thought he needed.
Harrison might’ve been going through the motions in life, commanding a SEAL team and keeping his responsibilities in order, but he hadn’t really been living.
Mere moments with Luciana told him that much.
He’d had more fun sharing meals and quick trips to the beach with her these past two weeks than he had in years.
And he was mostly continuing with his day-to-day routine.
The difference was her.
She’d only been here a short while, but she’d slipped right into his life like she was always meant to be there. His phone buzzed once more, and he looked down with a smile.
Luciana: Can we go to the beach this evening? If you’re too busy, perhaps I could see if Avery wanted to join me.
Harrison: I’m not too busy for you. Let’s do it.
***
TWO HOURS LATER, HARRISON was briefing his team in the bullpen.
He was tense after learning the newest developments and hated that despite being thousands of miles away, Luciana was still potentially in danger.
Even if the cartel couldn’t track her, would her father?
Something was very off about the entire situation.
It was like the man had crawled out of the woodwork, ignoring years of estrangement and pretending to actually care about her well-being.
But what was his endgame?
“What’s the word, Commander?” Hudson asked, sliding into a seat at the conference table as the rest of the men joined them.
Harrison frowned. “There’s been a new update involving the Gulf Clan.”
Wyatt’s head snapped toward him. “Does this involve Luciana’s father? Or is it a separate incident?”
“Chatter indicates that the Gulf Clan is looking for the Americans responsible for the deaths of their members. There’ve been encrypted conversations in chat rooms about determining who is to blame and seeking revenge.”
Ryan cocked his head to one side. “Why the sudden interest in us now? As far as I’m aware, we didn’t take out any of their leadership.
It seems more likely that they’d be vying for revenge in the immediate aftermath, not waiting weeks to mention it.
They have to realize we’ve long since left Panama. ”
Harrison eyed the team. “Intelligence analysts assess it may be a show of strength. The cartel doesn’t like that they appeared weak, their men taken out by a joint operation between the U.S. military and Panama.”
“Sucks to be them,” Sawyer quipped.
Harrison shot him an annoyed look. “Our actions have impeded their operation, either directly or indirectly. Locals were afraid to speak out against them because they knew the police had no control. The police weren’t involved this time,” he continued, looking around at his team.
“The Panamanian military stepped in, and that may be making their citizens bolder in reporting the cartel’s crimes. ”
“And now they’re crying online to their little Internet buddies,” Sawyer finished.
Harrison cleared his throat. “It appears that way. But anger can lead to planning and plotting. The timing is interesting given that Luciana’s father has now appeared repeatedly on the news.”
“I don’t like it,” Ryan said. “Juan Rodriguez expressed zero interest in Luciana at all for well over a decade. Avery told me Luciana never spoke with her family again after she fled the home.”
“She told me the same,” Harrison said. “We’re going to look deeper into what the connection is. We believe Rodriguez has ties to the cartel through some sort of business dealings but don’t know in what exact capacity. It was difficult enough to uncover his shadow company.”
“Do you think he was buying properties for the cartel to use?” Wyatt asked.
Hudson scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Or maybe he’s buying goods from them—drugs, women, whatever the commodity of the hour is, and storing them there.”
“But he’s selling the properties, too,” Wyatt pointed out.
“Maybe the goods are a gift with purchase,” Hudson quipped.
Harrison looked at him, frowning. “I don’t know what to make of it, but the number of real estate transactions was highly unusual.
We’ll dig deeper and see if there’s a connection between who the buyers are.
Anything’s possible at this point. I’m not concerned about our safety, as they have little way of IDing us.
But Luciana....” He trailed off. “Her father has been showing her photo on the news. If the story breaks here, and it damn well might, then her face and name could end up everywhere.”
“We’ll keep her safe, commander,” Ryan told him, anger crossing his face.
“Damn straight we will. But I want to cripple this organization before it comes to that.”