Chapter 13

Austin muttered a curse as he rolled into base at oh-four-hundred the following morning. Shortly after Alexa’s father had gone to a hotel for the night, Austin and Alexa had crashed. He’d helped her to change into pajamas, gotten another dose of her medicine, and then carefully held her as they quietly talked and fell asleep. He’d hated leaving Alexa in his bed this morning but didn’t exactly have a damn choice. Worry coursed through him, and he didn’t like the fact that her recovery was now only one of their problems.

“Hey, wait up, man!” Sawyer called out, jogging over to catch him in the parking lot. “How’s Alexa feeling?”

Austin swung his gaze toward his teammate and friend. The lamp posts lit up the area in the dim morning light as they headed toward the building, and Austin felt the gentle Hawaiian breeze wash over him. Trouble was, he wasn’t feeling so damn gentle himself at the moment. He was agitated, wanting to rush out and find the guy Alexa’s dad was concerned about, telling him in no uncertain terms to stay the hell away from them.

Sawyer matched his pace as they walked. His hair was slightly damp from the shower, but he didn’t look tired despite the early hour. Still, Austin could see the concern on his face. “She’s doing all right given the circumstances. Resting up and all that. She already halved the pain meds they gave her because they were making her groggy.”

“Damn. She’s tough as hell.”

“That she is,” Austin agreed. “I can already see that she’ll be up and ready to do more before I am,” he added with a wry smile. He loved and hated that about her. She was fiercely independent, but he didn’t want her to push herself too hard and end up back in the hospital. “Seeing her lying on the beach like that, on the ground—”

He shook his head, feeling choked up.

Sawyer clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m surprised you’re here.”

“The CO granted me leave, and if Alexa needed me, I’d be at her side no matter what. She insisted I come in today. If we’re deploying this week, I need to be up to speed on the situation.”

“You don’t want to be benched,” his teammate said knowingly.

“Exactly.” Austin yanked open the door, moving into the air-conditioned building. It was a sharp contrast to the balmy weather outside. Sawyer moved silently beside him, and Austin continued stewing in his own thoughts. “Alexa’s father showed up on my doorstep last night,” he said bluntly.

Sawyer nearly stopped in his tracks. “No shit? Isn’t he a retired military officer?” Austin’s gaze swept toward him. “Hey, the ladies talk,” Sawyer said with a shrug. “Callie was joking with Alexa once, asking if she had a thing for men just like her father.”

“I’m nothing like her father,” Austin said, shaking his head.

“Yep. That’s exactly what Alexa said,” Sawyer commented with a low chuckle. “I take it he’s a strait-laced, no-nonsense motherfucker.”

Austin smirked. “Nailed it.”

“Nope. Didn’t nail a damn thing this weekend,” Sawyer said with a smirk.

“Jesus.”

“Hey, I love to flirt with a beautiful woman or two, but I’m not exactly bedding a new one every night,” Sawyer pointed out.

“Whatever you say,” Austin muttered as he headed toward the bullpen for their briefing.

“What happened with Alexa’s dad? Was he pissed that she was at your place? I thought her parents lived on another island.”

“Yes and yes. They live in Kauai. Lex called her parents to let them know she’d been in the hospital. Her father took that as reason to catch a flight to Oahu to check on her in person. When Alexa wasn’t at her apartment, one of her neighbors gave him my name. A quick search online, and bam. There he was on my doorstep.”

“Damn.”

“It gets worse. Alexa’s father is a retired admiral. It turns out he’s being threatened by a former subordinate. A lower ranking officer that lost out on a promotion because of him has been holding a grudge. The asshole was caught making threats to Alexa’s father. He was disciplined by the Navy, but then Alexa’s parents started receiving anonymous threats. They suspect they’re from the same person. The guy is threatening to ruin Admiral Rhinehart’s life and harm his family.”

“Well shit. It should be easy enough to prove the anonymous threats are from the same guy. If he’s active duty, he’ll be court martialed,” Sawyer said.

“He was dishonorably discharged from the Navy for an altercation he was involved in earlier this year. The threats have been ongoing but recently escalated from my understanding. Lex’s mom just called her the other day—the afternoon of the beach party—to check up on her.”

“Her mom didn’t mention any potential trouble then?” Sawyer asked.

“Negative. First I heard was when her father showed up at my door. The entire situation doesn’t sit well with me. While Admiral Rhinehart and his wife live in Kauai, the man making threats is here in Oahu.”

Sawyer tensed, and Austin appreciated that his friend was concerned

“Her father is concerned that she could be in danger,” Austin said.

“Damn. What the hell kind of threats was he making?” Sawyer asked with a frown.

“The admiral refused to provide specifics last night. All I have is the man’s name—Duke Murphy. The guy’s a real prick from my understanding, but I’d like to know exactly what type of threats he made. Admiral Rhinehart might not have wanted to get into details in front of his daughter, but if he was worried enough to fly to Oahu and check on her, it isn’t good. Alexa could be in danger, and I need to know exactly what’s going on.”

“Maybe.” Austin shot him a disbelieving look. “Maybe Daddy is just overprotective,” Sawyer quipped. “If he wouldn’t provide details, maybe it’s because there aren’t any. His baby girl was in the hospital, so he rushed here to make sure she was okay—only to find out she was shacking up with her man for the time being. A guy that got her pregnant, nonetheless.”

Austin grumbled as they moved into the bullpen. “I don’t particularly like the man, but I don’t think he’s a liar.”

“Research this Duke Murphy guy yourself,” Sawyer said. “If he really is trouble, it should be easy enough to find out some intel.”

“Already on it,” Austin replied.

Aaron and Ryan were inside the room, talking in low voices. Both men looked up as Austin and Sawyer entered, and they asked how Alexa was. After giving them a quick update, Austin’s gaze tracked across the room. “I’m surprised Wyatt isn’t here yet.”

“He’s with the CO,” Aaron said. “And Hudson’s on his way. He got a flat tire, but he’ll be here soon.”

“Damn. Talk about bad timing,” Sawyer said.

“Yep. We went kayaking yesterday and took his SUV. The terrain was pretty rough to get to where we launched. He hit a bump on the way back and must’ve gotten a slow leak. We didn’t have any trouble yesterday.”

“Huh. Hopefully he can patch it and get his ass over here,” Sawyer quipped.

“He’s pissed he didn’t discover it last night,” Aaron said, shaking his head.

Aaron and Sawyer continued talking as Austin sank into a chair. He used to go out on the water with his teammates on the weekends but had gotten wrapped up with Alexa lately—both literally and figuratively. He wasn’t sorry that they’d spent a good part of their nights and weekends in each other’s arms. His gaze landed on the clock across the room. Alexa’s father was planning to come over to his apartment at oh-nine-hundred to spend some time with his daughter before he flew home. Even if the admiral had been rightfully concerned about the man threatening him, Austin would have to trust that Alexa would be okay on her own for several hours. Worry niggled at the back of his mind. It was shit timing with his team likely going wheels up in a matter of days. Of course, if her father didn’t provide details, it would be damn hard to keep his daughter safe.

Would someone really target Alexa?

Grabbing his phone, he thumbed her a quick message.

Austin: See what you can find out from your father today. I’d like to know exactly what’s going on.

Austin: Sorry if I woke you. xx

Alexa: Already up and already on it. xoxo

He huffed out a breath. If she was already awake, it was probably because she was in pain and having trouble sleeping. He hated that. It would take time for Alexa to heal and no doubt she’d get stronger every day, but man. That didn’t mean it was easy to watch when she was hurting. It had just about killed him to leave her in his bed this morning. She’d been asleep as he’d quietly showered and dressed before dawn, and he’d double-checked his locks when he’d left, making sure his apartment was secure.

Austin needed to speak with his landlord about installing a doorbell camera. He’d get one for Lex, too. If some asshole was targeting the admiral’s family, Austin would do whatever was necessary to keep his girl safe.

Ryan grabbed the chair beside him, speaking in a low voice as he sat down at the conference table. “I’m sorry about Alexa, man. Wyatt mentioned that she was pregnant, and hell, that’s gotta be rough.”

Austin ran a hand over his face, huffing out a sigh. It had been a whirlwind of a weekend, with one shock after another. “It was a surprise to us both. We were careful, but….” He trailed off. “We didn’t even know about the pregnancy until it was over.” He shook his head. Truthfully, he was more worried about Alexa right now, selfish as that may be.

“Seeing her collapse on the beach was scary as hell,” Ryan said. “I know it was even worse for you to watch that. We’re all glad that she’s okay.”

“Me too. I wonder if Lex will be upset once she has time to process it. Everything happened so damn fast, and it was a lot for her to go through in a short amount of time. And now we’re heading out,” he muttered.

“Callie will be here to help her. I’m sure the girls will be spending time together anyway with you and Wyatt gone. Being in a relationship is rough in our line of work.”

“Says the dude who doesn’t date.”

Ryan chuckled. “Not true at all, man. I told you guys about my recent first date. The girl started crying about her ex barely ten minutes into dinner.” He shook his head, a rueful smile crossing his face. “I’m probably just destined to be single. You’re lucky you found Alexa. You two are good for each other.”

A weird sense of calm briefly settled over Austin. It felt good to hear his buddies calling Alexa his. Everyone had jumped into action to make sure she was okay this weekend at the beach. They’d help him with the potential threat that was out there as well. If they were around, that is. In all likelihood, the team was leaving, and he didn’t know the first thing about the man threatening Alexa’s father, and in turn, possibly Alexa as well. He clenched his fist, his thoughts churning.

Before he could respond to Ryan, their CO stormed into the room, Wyatt right behind him. Commander Harrison “Harley” Madden was forty-five, with short-cropped, dark blond hair and the muscles and strength to keep up with any of his men. He was no-nonsense but had a reputation for being fair, and Austin respected the hell out of him. He moved to the front of the bullpen with the authority of a man used to being in command.

“Gentlemen,” Commander Madden said, pressing his lips together. “Hudson will be arriving shortly, but we’re going to begin the briefing. We have a lot to cover this morning.”

Wyatt grabbed an empty seat at the table. The CO’s eyes swept Austin’s way, and he briefly nodded, a look of respect on his face. There wasn’t much Austin would’ve even considered missing an important briefing for, and in only a month, Alexa had rocketed straight to the top of his list. His duty was to the Navy and his country, but if she’d truly needed him today, Austin would have been there come hell or high water. Somehow, he sensed the CO knew that.

Austin didn’t know how other men did it—left their families and kids. Their wives or girlfriends. The rumor was they’d be leaving mid-week, spending the next forty-eight hours going over intelligence and a battleplan. And then they’d be in the field as long as needed to complete their op.

“There’s an unfolding situation in the Middle East. An HVT was spotted near the Af-Pak border yesterday,” Commander Madden said, pulling up a map of the region on the big screen. “Raw intelligence indicates he’ll be in the area for the next ten days at a training camp run by ISIS. The Pentagon has ordered us to move in.”