Chapter 55

Jay had never told anyone about the woman he'd met when he'd vacationed in Jamaica. He'd been young, his second year in the Navy and he had time off. Most guys went home and saw their parents, but his parents were busy doing guest lectures in Europe. It would be great to tour castles and old cities, but they wouldn't leave it at that. They would remind him as they told their friends how disappointed they were in him. Their favorite story to tell was about how he was too stupid to go to university, so he was forced to join the Navy.

The truth was so much different. He had the scores to get into the Naval academy, but he hadn't wanted to be an officer. He wanted action, and he wanted to be a SEAL. True, he'd been much smaller, nowhere near enough muscles when he'd joined at eighteen, but he worked on his strength and made it into BUDs.

They totally disapproved of the path he'd followed. If he'd gone to the Naval academy, they might have forgiven him, but he'd embarrassed them by not being some scholar who held at least a master's degree .

He figured that he could go back later if he wanted and get some type of degree. Being physical was more important to him. He loved being a SEAL, loved doing missions with the guys, and loved the responsibility his job required. If he'd failed out of BUDs, maybe he would have started taking classes to earn a degree. He knew some guys who did that, but it wasn't him.

Meeting Nichole had been a breath of fresh air. They'd both gone to the same resort to relax, both of them alone. She'd shown up at the bar, frustrated that the airline had lost her luggage, and someone had stolen her credit card. The bank was sending her one overnight, but she was in a spot. He'd offered to buy her a bikini and coverup so she could enjoy the pool. That one conversation had led to them to spending the week in each other's arms, living for the moment, not thinking about anything past the next meal.

He found out a few days in that she was a journalist who needed a break after covering some corporate crime thing where her reporting ended up getting multiple billionaires arrested. He'd told her that he drove a boat. It had been true at the time, just not a real description of his work.

They'd had enough sex to last a year, but of course he'd wanted more once he'd arrived home. It was a shame that they'd not shared their contact information. It had been his biggest regret, but he couldn't search for her because his team was leaving on a mission.

Minutes before they were set to board the plane for the mission, he learned that one of the people captured when the medical relief camp had been raided was a female journalist.

It couldn't be her.

But his hopes were dashed when the terrorists made her read a statement on video. Now this mission took on a deeper meaning. He needed to save the one woman who had brought him so much happiness. If he couldn't save Nichole, what was this all for?

Read Protection for Nichole next