Protecting Blakely (Loved by the SEAL #9)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Jesse “Jump” Boulton laughed with everyone and took a sip of his beer, hiding the disappointment sweeping through him. He’d been seeing someone, and though it wasn’t serious, he thought it might turn serious. But it wasn’t to be.

No matter what he said about relationships with the guys, and sometimes to himself, he wanted what Cy and Foster had. They were happy now, like really happy.

It was easy to see that they were in love.

Watching Pen and Foster was made harder as the bitterness of his last failed relationship ate at him.

The woman hadn’t been right for him, but still, he wanted something that it looked like he would never have.

Watching both couples was like eating a tray full of too rich chocolate sweets, making him feel a little heady, like something inside was off kilter.

Maybe there wasn’t a right person for him. That whole thing of waiting for the right person might just be total bullshit. What if some people were just meant to be alone? Maybe that was his deal, and he wasn’t supposed to have anyone special in his life.

The night started to wind down. He should leave. He finished his beer right when Wave stepped to the center of the room.

“Hey, so I wanted to tell you all that I’m taking a few weeks, maybe a month, might be more.

I thought I was going to go before our last mission, but I talked it over with my mother and decided to stay here for a few weeks.

But now things have taken a turn for her, and I can’t stay away any longer. I have to go help my sister.”

“Oh man, I’m sorry to hear that,” Cy said.

Wave nodded. “Thanks. I’m going home, and when I come back my sister will be with me.”

“We’ve got your back,” Bang said.

T nodded. “I’m here for you.”

“We’re all here for you, man. We’ve got you,” Foster said.

“And we’ll be here for your sister,” Willa said. “We’ve all got your back. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

Wave chuckled. “Thank you. You may be called on a lot. I’m not sure how to deal with a teenage girl.

She’s eighteen, so she’ll argue she’s a woman, but I wasn’t a man at eighteen, even with joining the Navy.

I think it took years for me to gain the maturity.

Anyway, thank you for all the help I know you all will provide. ”

Jump didn’t know what to say. He wouldn’t be any help with Wave’s sister. Teen girls were beyond his comprehension. He would support his buddy. The man had always been there for him, so he would be there for Wave.

“Hey, man, any time, anything you need. Just give me a holler.”

Wave nodded as they hugged. He would miss Wave, but his friend would be back. His life was changing, but Jump knew Wave wouldn’t give up everything just because his sister was coming here to live.

Jump took off. The drive home and late into the night, he kept having this thought that he needed to get his shit together. Things were changing, and he had to be smart and stop feeling sorry for himself. He was fine on his own and didn’t need anyone in his life.

Blakely Masters hadn’t had a good day in months. She’d tried making it on her own, but people and things kept conspiring against her. Maybe conspiring was too strong a word. It just seemed like nothing ever went her way.

She pulled up at her apartment, seeing her door cracked open. That couldn’t be good. Maybe it was just maintenance doing something inside her apartment, at—she glanced at her watch, seeing it was after nine. “Well, shit.”

No one should be inside her place. A sinking sensation settled in her stomach. Grayson, it had to be him. How the heck had he found her? This was going to get ugly real fast.

She ran upstairs to her apartment, determined to kick the guy out. He’d caused her enough trouble in the past, and she couldn’t keep dealing with him coming back to make her life hell.

She reached the third floor, her anger increasing with each step. When she was ten feet from her door, she squared her shoulders and yelled, “Get the fuck out of my place, Grayson! I don’t have it!”

She moved to the doorway and stopped as she searched for the bastard. She didn’t have what he was looking for, not here. But that bastard wouldn’t stop looking for what he thought was his. It wasn’t, though.

“Grayson, where the hell are you?”

Catching her breath proved difficult as she waited for Grayson to show his ugly mug.

The bastard had been tracking her for years.

Every time she got a handle on things, he showed up.

There was only one way to guarantee he stopped, but she didn’t have what it took.

Ending up in prison wouldn’t be any better than life with The Faithful.

She stepped into her apartment just when the bastard came out of her bedroom. He hadn’t changed much. Except he looked even worse. His beard wasn’t trimmed, and his hair was unruly. He looked and smelled like he hadn’t showered in days. What had her father been thinking?

“Get out!” Blakely yelled.

“I don’t think so.”

No way would she ever go with him. He might think he could force her back into a life with The Faithful, but there was no way she would ever go back. “Get the fuck out of my apartment!”

Jump heard yelling and thought about ignoring it. He was on the second floor landing, debating which way to turn, when the woman screamed again. Instead of heading away from the noise, he turned toward it.

This apartment complex wasn’t wild and crazy, not like the last place he lived. The neighborhood felt calm. This was the type of place kids could play and not get harassed. The woman yelling was not normal.

The way she was yelling got his dander up. Whoever was in her apartment, she wanted him out, and fast.

How bad could this be? He didn’t have any weapons, not that he wanted to shoot a person in someone else’s apartment in the USA. That wouldn’t look good, no matter how it was spun. Operating in the USA wasn’t cool, and the DA would probably throw a fit.

The woman still had the door open. He hadn’t heard any gunfire, so at least no one had been shot. Unless it had happened before he arrived.

Jump slowed as he tried to determine the exact situation. The woman still stood in her doorway with her hands on her hips and he couldn’t see the man.

Had he seen this woman before today? He didn’t think so. She had a great ass, though her clothes didn’t seem to fit her age. They looked like she was wearing her grandmother’s hand-me-downs.

“I swear to God, Grayson, get the hell out of my apartment.”

“I’m not leaving until you give me what I came for.”

Jump stepped into the doorway. “I think you’re leaving now.”

“Who the fuck are you?” the guy yelled as Jump moved behind the woman.

Jump knew when to use his swagger and when to use his power. This required both. He stepped past the woman and moved into the apartment. He crossed his arms over his chest, flexing to show how large his biceps were.

The guy’s eyes went wider, but he recovered quickly. “You should leave. This is above your pay grade.”

Jump chuckled. “You don’t know what my pay grade is.”

“Yeah, well you don’t—”

“Shut up, Grayson. Get out, now!” the woman yelled. “I’m calling the cops. I’m done with this bullshit. And don’t come back.”

Grayson snorted, then took two large steps. For a moment, Jump thought he was going to have to protect this woman from a rampaging idiot. At the last second, the guy moved so he didn’t run into her.

Grayson sneered at him, then stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Jump turned toward the woman, noticing she wore almost no makeup, not even lipstick. After a quick once over, he smiled, trying to make her feel better. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged, then shook her head. “I’ve been worse. I can’t believe he got in.”

“Did he break in?”

She shook her head. “No clue. I haven’t looked at the door. I guess he broke in or talked someone into giving him a key.”

Jump reached for the door and opened it. “It doesn’t look like it was tampered with. No scratches or marks, and the door frame hasn’t been damaged.”

“Fuck. That means he got one of the women in the office to give him a key. He’s smooth like that. The bastard could talk most people into doing anything he wanted.”

Jump shook his head. There was no way the people in the office should have given that jerk a key, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t given it to him. Jump decided right then that he would help this woman get to the bottom of this. “The apartment office is closed now. How long have you been gone?”

“A few hours.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “What’s your name?”

“My buddies call me Jump.”

“Okay, okay, that sounds interesting. So Jump, I’m Blakely. I’m fairly new here.”

He shook her hand. “Blakely, it’s nice to meet you.” He glanced out into the parking lot and then turned to her. “That guy, Grayson, what’s up with him?”

“He’s an ass who has been following me for years. He wants something I don’t have.”

“He has a key to your place. You shouldn’t stay here.”

“Fuck. This sucks. I don’t have the money for this.”

Jump spoke before he could really think about what he was offering. “Stay at my place for the night. I have two bedrooms and an air mattress you can crash on. That guy has a key to your place. You can’t stay here. He could come back and do something bad.”

Blakely closed her eyes and fought the tears that threatened.

He was right. She couldn’t sleep here until she figured out how Grayson had obtained the keys to her place.

She would have to have a very serious talk with the office.

Hopefully, they would spring for re-keying her door, or she would have to move out.

But she didn’t want to move. This was the best place she’d lived in ages.

She popped open her eyes and stared at the man who’d come in to rescue her.

Could she trust him? Her ability to judge people was questionable.

She’d spent too many years being controlled by others to understand okay behavior.

Maybe she should run from this guy, too.

But her choices were limited, and if she left here alone, Grayson might follow her.

“Fine, I’ll stay in your spare room. What choice do I have? But I swear to God—” She pointed her finger at him, shooting him a warning look.

He raised both hands to convince her he wouldn’t think of touching her. “Hands off. I understand. I won’t do more than offer you breakfast and coffee in the morning.”

She rolled her eyes. “I get it. I was wrong to assume that you’re like one hundred percent of guys I’ve met before. I’m sure you aren’t.” The sarcasm was hard to hold back on.

He chuckled. “I’m not totally innocent. But no, in this situation, it wouldn’t be right to come on to you. You’re in a bad situation, and I’m only here to help.”

Was this guy for real? Could he actually be one of the good ones? Grayson showing up, trying to ruin everything, and this guy saving the day. What the heck was going on?

The last time Grayson had walked into her life, she’d ended up with a broken orbital bone, a few broken ribs, and a broken arm.

The only reason she’d escaped and survived was that a group of school children on a field trip had walked into the parking garage and interrupted the attack.

She’d never thought she would be saved by a group of school children, and she hadn’t expected to be saved by this man who called himself Jump.

Maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea that Jump could save her.