Protected by a SEAL (Alpha SEALs, Book 6) (19 page)

“Somebody’s awake,” a cheery voice trilled
as a young nurse walked into the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. Just tired.”

“You’ve been through quite a lot. We’re
going to keep you overnight for observation, get you hydrated
again, but other than that, you should be okay to leave in the
morning. You were really lucky you didn’t have more injuries after
jumping out the second story window. And really lucky to get away.
The police want to come by later on to get a statement from you,
but I’ll try to hold them off for now. Let you recover.”

Ella nodded, her lower lip trembling.

“Your boyfriend here’s quite the charmer,”
the nurse continued, checking the IV. Brilliant blue eyes flashed
toward Brent, and he shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his
mouth. “He talked me into letting him stay all night. We have
visiting hours, but I’ll let it slide. Let me just check your
vitals, and then I’ll let you rest some more.”

Brent relaxed in the chair as the nurse
finished working. She took Ella’s temperature and blood pressure,
checked the readings on the machines she was hooked up to, and a
moment later, they were finally alone.

“What happened?” Ella asked, turning her
head toward him.

He rose and walked over to her side, taking
her hand. It looked so fragile in his much larger one, but he just
didn’t know how else to comfort her when she looked so weak, lying
in a hospital bed.

“Are you okay?”

Ella stared at him, the expression on her
face unreadable. “Are you okay?” he repeated. God. They’d said she
didn’t have other injuries. Hadn’t been sexually assaulted. But he
needed to hear from her that she was truly all right.

“Brent.”

“I’m right here, sweetheart.”

“Tell me what happened.”

He blew out a sigh. “I tracked down the guys
who kidnapped you. Turned out they had done some business dealings
with Frank, and he owed them thousands of dollars. Plus he’d made
some gambling wagers he couldn’t pay. I guess he was hoping to
settle up with them that way. They kidnapped you as some sort of
payment from Frank. Sick fucks,” he muttered.

“I was so scared,” Ella whispered, a single
tear rolling down her cheek. “They forced their way into my
apartment, and they drugged me or something. They put a cloth over
my face, and I passed out. I couldn’t even remember what happened
when I first woke up.”

“You got away,” Brent said incredulously.
“Hell, I was coming to find you, to rescue you, and you got
away.”

Ella nodded. “They locked me into a bedroom,
but there was a window there. I don’t know how long I was out, but
for some reason they were leaving me alone until I woke up. And
then they couldn’t find the key to the door or something. I heard
them arguing in the hallway.”

“How’d you get out the window?”

“I opened it. Undid the lock. I can’t
believe they’d lock the bedroom door, but I could just open the
damn window and jump out. I ran as fast as I could and didn’t look
back.”

“Those assholes need to be beaten to a pulp.
But you kept your wits about you. Jesus. When I got back to your
apartment and you were gone. When I saw Frank—” Brent’s voice cut
off. Suddenly Ella was the one lightly caressing his hand,
comforting him.

Hell. She was lying in a goddamn hospital
bed, and she was making sure
he
was okay. He clenched his
jaw, willing himself to remain in control. To not sweep her into
his arms when she was so weak and needed her rest, to not charge
out of there and go all vigilante on those bastards. They were in
jail now, but wouldn’t he love five minutes alone with them.

“I knew you’d find me,” Ella said sleepily,
her eyelids starting to droop.

Brent steeled himself. Took a deep breath.
Here he felt like he was about to fall apart, and she was the one
who’d been drugged. Kidnapped. Who looked like she’d barely eaten
in days.

“I’ll always find you, sweetheart.”

“I don’t have anyone else. My parents—I
don’t have any siblings. I’m all alone.”

“No. Not alone. You have me.”

Ella’s eyes slid shut, and Brent bent over,
brushing a kiss over her forehead. Hell. He had his brother. His
mom. The guys on his SEAL team. The thought of losing her had been
unbearable though. He needed someone who saw through his bullshit,
called it like it was. Gave him a sense of peace he never felt
around anyone else. Add that to the fact that she made him hard
just by being in the same room as him? Damn near perfection.

Ella blinked at the bright light coming in
the window of her hospital room. Squeezing her eyes shut, she
relaxed back into a state of near-sleep. Another second and she’d
be out again. There was a quiet
beep beep beep
in the
background. Some rustling in the hallway. A sheet and light blanket
over the gigantic hospital gown she was wearing. An IV in her arm.
But she was safe. That was all that mattered. She didn’t need to
worry about anything right now.

“Good morning!” a female voice called out
what felt like mere seconds later. Footsteps resounded in the room,
and she sensed a person standing over her.

Ella suddenly jerked awake, looking up at
the brunette nurse with a stethoscope around her neck.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, checking
the readings on the monitor beside Ella. She looked back at Ella,
waiting on a response.

“Groggy. Tired. Not as out of it as last
night, but I feel like I could sleep all day.”

“Are you in any pain?”

“Just a bit of a headache,” Ella
mumbled.

“I’ll get you some pain medication. If
everything looks good, we’ll get you checked out of here today. You
can do your resting up at home. Your vitals were good throughout
the night and we’ve gotten a couple of IVs in you. You were
dehydrated, which was to be expected after everything you went
through. Would you like to speak with someone on our counseling
staff?”

“Counseling?”

“After a traumatic event, sometimes it helps
to talk to someone. If you don’t want to now though, I can give you
their information. You never know when it might come in handy.”

“No. I don’t need to talk to anyone. I don’t
even remember most of what happened.”

“Your decision,” the nurse said with a nod.
“I need to go check on another patient right now, but I’ll be back
in a few minutes with your medication.”

“All right. Thanks.”

Ella watched the nurse leave, closing the
door quietly behind her. Her eyes eagerly slid across the room.

Brent.

He was leaning back in a chair, his eyes
closed, his long legs stretched out before him. Dark stubble
covered his strong jaw, and his arms were crossed, the thick
muscles of his arms bulging. He looked like some sort of avenging
angel watching over her, but Ella knew he probably wouldn’t be
amused if she ever told him that. No, a guy like Brent would only
want to be thought of as a tough, badass SEAL who’d swooped in to
save the day.

A sense of security flooded through her as
she watched him. He’d come to find her last night after she’d been
kidnapped. Come with her to the hospital. Spent the night in her
room. Brent was assertive in the best sort of way—taking charge of
the situation and doing whatever he damn well pleased. Which worked
out well except for the whole leaving her in Kenley’s apartment
incident. Why had he come down to Florida looking for her in the
first place?

As if Brent knew she was watching him, his
eyes opened, nailing her with a penetrating stare. “You’re awake,”
he said.

“You stayed the night.”

He nodded, easing up slightly in his chair.
“How are you feeling?”

“Okay, all things considered. The nurse said
I can probably go home today.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“I can’t stay in my apartment,” she said
softly.

“Nope,” he agreed. She watched him curiously
as he stretched and rose. A moment later, he was crossing the room
to her hospital bed in two long strides. “We’ll talk about that
later. Your friend Brianna must’ve had Matthew text me a hundred
times last night. Want to let her know you’re okay?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Wait—how did she
know I was missing?”

“I called in the cavalry.”

“Your SEAL team?”

Brent crossed his arms as he gazed down at
her, looking calm and unaffected. Somehow looking completely pulled
together in a sexy, scruffy sort of way, despite having folded his
large frame into that cramped chair all night. Those guys were
probably used to rolling out at a moment’s notice, surviving on
little-to-no sleep. It didn’t mean he had to look so damn good
doing it though. Or look so nonchalant as he stared down at her.
The man had
spent the night
in her hospital room. Stayed
with her.

“Christopher hacked into their computer
systems. Tracked down the home addresses of the men who took you.
He and Lexi were on it as soon as I called.”

“Wow. I appreciate what they did for me, but
I hope they don’t get into some sort of trouble on my account.”

Brent chuffed out a laugh. “With those two?
No one will even know they were there. And Christopher is a SEAL
just like me. You don’t need to worry about us.”

Ella frowned. “You guys get sent on
dangerous missions all over the world. Why wouldn’t I worry?”

Brent quirked his lips. “I’ve never had
anyone worrying about me before.”

Ella flushed as he appraised her. Those cool
blue eyes warmed her from the inside out, and even though she was
lying in a hospital bed, probably looking like hell, she resisted
the urge to shudder. Because something about the way he looked at
her made liquid heat course through her body and kicked her
temperature up a few notches. He looked like he was about to say
something but changed his mind at the last minute. “Call Brianna.
I’ll hit up the cafeteria and bring us back some food. And
coffee.”

“My coffee machine broke yesterday,” she
suddenly remembered.

“Pretty sure they don’t allow them in
hospital rooms anyway.”

“Brent—”

“Rest up and then we’ll bust out of this
joint.”

“But I still don’t understand why you came
down to Florida looking for me. You left me in Kenley’s
apartment—just walked right out the front door.”

Brent clenched his jaw, going absolutely
still. For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer her, but
finally he met her gaze. “I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

“Me. I left that night because I was trying
to protect you from me. It was a mistake, because I haven’t gotten
you out of my mind since the night we first met.”

A beat passed, and she stared at him
incredulously.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t go
anywhere.”

Brent let his words sink in, then turned and
strode out of the hospital room. She stared after him, watching his
broad shoulders edge through the doorway. He was bossy and brash,
but he’d found her. Slept at her side to make sure she was safe.
And those gunshots last night? What had he done to the men who’d
come after her?

The door slipped shut silently behind Brent,
and she had the feeling that he’d taken a little piece of her heart
with him.

***

Brent held her hand as they walked down the
breezeway to her apartment that afternoon. After she’d checked out
of the hospital, he’d insisted on driving her home. Walking her
inside. And after what happened? There was no way she could go back
there alone. The past twenty-four hours felt like she’d been living
in some kind of a dream. Turned nightmare. Rushing around looking
for a job yesterday. Brent showing up out of the blue at her
apartment complex. The scary men who’d burst through her front
door. Waking up in a strange room. In a strange bed. Running
through the dark as she’d escaped.

And at the moment? The sun was shining. The
birds were chirping. She was clutching Brent’s hand so tightly she
was probably cutting off his circulation. But she was almost home.
And Ella knew she couldn’t live here ever again.

“You don’t need to come inside,” Brent said.
“I’ll take care of whatever you need to do.”

“No, I want to get some of my
things—clothes, my laptop.”

“I’ll grab your things.”

“I just want to take a long, hot shower. And
then I’m going to check into a hotel and sleep forever. Maybe in a
few days I’ll worry about the rest of my life.”

“I’ve got a hotel room,” Brent said, his
voice gruff. “Stay with me.”

Ella blew out a sigh. “For what, a day? I
know you’re going back to Virginia soon. I need to figure out what
I’m going to do. Permanently. Let’s not act like this is something
it isn’t.”

“Stay. With. Me.”

“I just—I can’t live in my apartment
anymore. Not after what happened.” Her voice hitched, and suddenly
Brent was pulling her into his arms. Her head fell against his
broad chest. His rough hands rubbed up and down her arms. Then they
wrapped tightly around her, holding her. Keeping her safe.

She was tired, dirty, and overwhelmed.
Exhausted. But something about Brent holding her close soothed her.
Made the nightmare of the past day fade away.

“I shouldn’t have left that night,” Brent
said, his voice gravel.

“Last night?”

“Then, too. But I shouldn’t have left you
back in Virginia. I shouldn’t have walked out the door.”

“Of course you should have. I can’t be one
of your one-night-stands.”

“You’re not a fucking one-night-stand to me,
Ella,” he ground out. “You’d never be that.”

“Well that’s romantic,” Ella said
sarcastically. But she buried herself further into him. Inhaled his
scent. Breathed in his strength.

“Shit, I flew down here to find you. For
you
, Ella.”

She looked up at him in disbelief. “You
barely even know me! Yeah, I gave you a ride home one night a month
ago. And you bought me dinner in Virginia Beach and taught me how
to play pool,” she said, tears smarting her eyes. “Drove me home.
But that doesn’t mean anything.
We
aren’t anything.”