SEAL for Her Protection (SEALs of Coronado Book 1) (18 page)

“I wouldn’t do that,” Brad said from behind her. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

He walked around to stand in front of her, gazing down at her with an expression that was hard to place. There was a lot of sadness in his eyes, but also a whole lot of anger and disappointment.

“I didn’t want it to turn out this way,” he said quietly. “But Nigeria changed everything. Before then, I was content to simply be at your side and watch your back. It wasn’t much of a life, but I was happy.”

Brad swallowed hard, his voice faltering. “Then you got kidnapped by those assholes and I couldn’t do anything to help you.” Tears filled his eyes. “I felt something in my head break that day, Hayley. I haven’t been right since.”

Hayley felt an ache in her heart unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She’d been so caught up in her own nightmare since coming back from Nigeria she hadn’t realized her kidnapping had screwed Brad up as much as it had her, maybe more.

With the gag in her mouth, all she could do was sit there in silence as he recounted their relationship from the day they’d met from a completely different, even warped, perspective. In Brad’s eyes, every time their hands touched had been a tender gesture of love, every friendly hug a sign of lifelong commitment, and every kind word a bond between soul mates.

It was heartbreaking to sit there and watch someone she loved as a friend disappear in front of her eyes and she couldn’t stop the tears from running down her face.

Brad gently pulled the gag from her mouth then dropped to his knees in front of her. He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb, hope shining in eyes that somehow no longer seemed to belong to the friend she used to have. “It’s not too late for us.”

Hayley desperately searched for words that would make him understand, words that would allow them both to walk away from this. “Brad, you’re my friend. The best friend that I’ve ever had.”

“But I want to be more than that.” He rested his hands on top of hers. “I love you, Hayley. And I know you’ll be able to love me if you let yourself. And if Chasen isn’t around.”

The glint Brad got in his eye as he said those words made her blood run cold. It was crazy to think Brad could hurt a trained SEAL like Chasen, but the thought that he might scared her so much she could barely breathe.

“You love me?” she demanded. “Is that why you brought the bottle of chloroform with you when you came to my apartment before you even told me how you felt about me? What, was the chloroform your back-up plan? And what about now? Is it love that made you kidnap me and tie me up? Tell me Brad, if this is love, were the Boko Haram terrorists in love with me, too?”

Brad stared at her for a long time and when he finally spoke, it was in a voice so soft she could barely hear him. “I wanted to be your Superman instead of another Jimmy Olsen.”

Hayley didn’t think her heart could break any more, but it did, and she couldn’t imagine ever being able to glue all the pieces together again. Not after this. But as much as it hurt both of them, she had to make him see this would never work.

“I don’t remember Superman ever kidnapping Lois Lane,” she said quietly.

Brad didn’t respond. Instead, he got to his feet then reached behind his back and came out holding a pistol. He grabbed the slide and pulled it back then let it go with a clang. His thumb moved the little lever on the side and she heard a soft click that sounded a lot scarier than it should have.

She’d never seen Brad touch a gun, yet at that moment, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

“Where did you get that?” she whispered.

He shrugged. “I picked it up after we got back from Nigeria because I wanted to protect you. It’s funny. When we started going after Nesbitt, I assumed he’d be the one I’d have to kill. I never dreamed I’d use it to end our lives instead.”

Hayley’s heart pounded in her chest. “Brad, you don’t need to do this. We can’t be more than friends, but is being my friend such a bad thing?”

Tears ran down his face as he lifted the gun in her direction. “For such a very long time, the answer to that question would have been no. But now, the answer is yes. Being your friend isn’t enough anymore.”

Hayley stared at the barrel of the gun. People always talked about life flashing before their eyes right before they were about to die, but the only thing she thought about right then was Chasen, and how much she cared about him. She’d never been in love, so she hadn’t been exactly sure what it felt like. Now she knew.

She loved Chasen and he would never know it.

Even though it wouldn’t do any good, she opened her mouth to scream. But before he could make a sound, the big French doors exploded as someone crashed through them. She barely had a moment to realize it was Chasen before he was tackling Brad and knocking him to the floor.

Brad might be deranged, but he was simply no match for a trained SEAL. One second Brad had been about to shoot her, the next he was lying on his back on the floor, the gun he’d been holding halfway across the room. Chasen had one knee on Brad’s chest, his weapon pointed at Brad’s head. Hayley sensed more than heard Chasen’s finger tighten on the trigger.

“Chasen, don’t!”

Chasen turned his head to look at her, doubt, anger, and frustration flickering in his eyes one after the other. “He was going to kill you.”

She shuddered at the reminder. “Yes, he was. Chasen, I’m not saying Brad isn’t dangerous. I’m saying he’s still my friend and he needs help. Please don’t hurt him.”

Chasen regarded her for a moment then turned his gaze on Brad before finally giving him a shove and getting to his feet. That was when Hayley realized there were three other men in the room, all pointing their weapons at Brad’s head. Dalton, Nash, and Logan quickly moved over to restrain Brad as Chasen dropped to one knee beside her to cut her loose from the chair. He was gentle taking the tape off, but it still hurt. She didn’t care, though. The moment she was free, she launched herself into his arms.

“I can’t believe you found me,” she whispered in his ear. “Thank you.”

He ran his hand over her hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and hugging her tightly. “It was Kyla and her friends who found you.” When she pulled back to look at him in surprise, he added, “It’s complicated. I’ll tell you later.”

Chasen kept his arm around her as Logan and Nash dragged Brad to his feet. Brad gave her a confused look, like he had no idea what he’d done.

“What the hell happened with him?” Chasen asked. “Why did he kidnap you?”

Hayley wrapped both arms around Chasen and squeezed hard, not sure she’d ever let him go again. “It’s complicated. I’ll tell you later.”

Thankfully, Chasen didn’t push. Tonight had been horrible and things were probably going to be that way for a long time, at least where Brad was concerned, but now that Chasen was with her, Hayley knew she could handle it.

Chapter Fourteen

“
Y
OU OKAY?”

Hayley turned away from the view of the moonlit San Francisco Bay to see Chasen walk out onto the balcony of their room at the bed and breakfast. He was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms, his chest and feet bare, his hair tousled from sleep.

She smiled. “Yeah. Just thinking about Brad. Sorry I woke you.”

Chasen’s brow furrowed. Despite wanting to kill Brad that night in La Jolla, Chasen had forgiven Brad for her sake even if he couldn’t forget what he’d done.

She had visited Brad a few times a week since he’d been committed to a psychiatric facility almost a month ago. Like every visit, the one she’d made this morning before she and Chasen had left San Diego to come up here had taken a toll on her. Seeing Brad was tough, but not seeing him would be even harder.

Despite Brad’s having kidnapped her and pointed a gun at her head with every intention of killing her and then himself, the DA had been in favor of hospitalizing him since he hadn’t physically harmed anyone. The fact Hayley said she wouldn’t testify against her friend probably had a lot to do with the decision, too. She still felt awful about writing the statements that put her best friend in an institution, but she knew it was for the best. Brad’s delusions had only gotten worse since the kidnapping. Some days, she barely recognized the man she’d spent all those years working with. He didn’t seem to realize he was in a psychiatric facility or that he wasn’t getting out anytime soon. Instead, he talked about picking out wedding rings and where they should go on their honeymoon.

Brad’s doctor told Hayley shattering his delusions at the house in La Jolla had been the final straw, but the real foundation for the breakdown had been the events in Africa. The worst part was knowing her friend would probably never be the person she’d once known.

“The doctor thinks I should stop going to visit Brad,” she said quietly. “He said every time Brad sees me it reinforces the artificial world he’s created in his mind. The doctor believes he can’t start helping Brad until he accepts we’re never going to be a couple.”

Chasen leaned back against the railing. “Maybe the doctor is right.”

It was Hayley’s turn to frown. “I want Brad to get better, but I’m not sure I can walk away from him like that. He didn’t abandon me in Nigeria. I can’t abandon him now.”

“Then, don’t. Do what you feel is right.”

She leaned into the arm Chasen had resting on the railing and he wrapped it around her, his fingers lightly tracing a path up and down her bare arm.

Things with Brad might be bleak right now, but Chasen was the best thing that ever happened to her. He gave her the strength to deal with Brad’s problems and her own, but most of all he made her happy.

She was glad they’d finally been able to get away together. Their trip to San Francisco had been put on hold while all the stuff with Brad had gone down. Then, with her running off to Paris to do a story and Chasen getting hit with three more quick missions in a row, it had been hard to get their schedules synced. But they had two whole weeks off now and they were going to make the most of them.

At least there was one thing they didn’t have to worry about—Nesbitt. Thanks to Hayley’s story, the councilman was currently sitting in jail on charges of corruption. He was also being charged with the murder of Kyla’s father. It turned out the handgun Nesbitt had been waving at the cops the night Chasen had broken into his house was the same one used to murder the city inspector.

That had definitely shocked the hell out of everyone, including Haley. She couldn’t understand why Nesbitt would have that weapon lying around or why he was taking the fall for the murder when Stavros was the killer. Unfortunately, a grainy photo of Stavros on a traffic cam wasn’t enough to take to the cops. She only hoped when Nesbitt realized he’d be going to jail for murder he’d flip on Stavros. That way they’d both go to prison. But if he didn’t, Hayley was going to do everything she could to help Kyla prove Stavros had killed her father.

Chasen bent his head, kissing her tenderly on the mouth. “I love you, do you know that?”

Hayley smiled. He’d said that to her a lot over the weeks since the night in La Jolla and she never tired of hearing it.

“I love you, too,” she said, pulling him down for another kiss.

* * * * *

Want more hunky SEALs?

Then check out Logan Dunn’s story:

 STRONG SILENT SEAL, Book 2 in my
SEALs OF CORONADO
Series!

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ABOUT PAIGE

Paige Tyler is a
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Bestselling Author of sexy, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.

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