Page 64 of SEAL of Valor

“Nothing,” Tessa says. “She doesn’t drink.”

“Which means he drugged her,” I snarl and turn toward the crowd, keeping one hand on her.

“I’ll make the call and find him,” Ryker says. “You get her out of here.”

I don’t wait for him to say it again. “Call Sawyer and Zane. Do not go outside without them. You can come with me,” I tell the friend.

“Okay. Is she going to be okay?”

“She’d better be,” I snarl as I push toward the closest exit out the back of the building.

“I didn’t drink anything,” Reese slurs. “I feel sick.”

“You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

“I’ve got the door.” The friend rushes around and pushes it open so I can head out into the parking lot. It’s dark, with only the soft glow of the parking lot lights to illuminate our way toward my truck.

“Weston,” Reese groans. “What’s that?”

I glance down to see what she’s talking about and spot the red dot on my chest. Right over my heart. Adrenaline surges through my system. I start to move back, to shift away, but then another appears on Reese’s forehead.

“Get back—” I turn to rush back to the bar, but Reese’s Charleston friend is standing there, a pistol in hand—aimed directly at Reese.

“Move, and she dies,” she says.

“Weston Hayes. You’re going to want to listen,” a woman calls out. The voice is familiar. Too familiar.

The clicking of heels against asphalt is another reminder of a time when our futures didn’t belong to us.

And then I see her.

Brenda steps out from behind the cars. She looks nearly exactly the same as she did the last time I saw her, though this time she’s not sitting in an interrogation room about to be sent away to a windowless prison for the rest of her life.

For six years, she called the shots.

Handing out orders for my team because she’d owned us.

And then it came out that she was the very reason for the mistake that cost us our careers in the Navy.

“You hurt her, and I will tear you all apart,” I snarl.

“Weston?” Reese asks, her eyes wide and terrified.

“It’ll be okay,” I assure her. Though I’m not entirely sure how. Unless Ryker comes out after us, I can’t fight. Because any type of combat will put Reese in danger.

“There are snipers on the roof. You make a move, and they’ll put a bullet in her first. Then you.” Brenda comes to a stop right in front of me. “How nice to see you again, Cowboy. It’s been a while, huh? What, two years?”

“Not nearly long enough. I figured you’d be buried in some black site somewhere.”

She laughs. “Yeah, well, seems my luck is much better than my associate’s. See, it’s his brother who currently has a .50 caliber sniper rifle trained on your girlfriend’s forehead.”

Reese falls limp in my arms. The battle she was waging for consciousness clearly lost. And that makes this whole situation even more dangerous.

“Leave her here. Your fight is with me.” I scan for cover, for any place I can get her to safety. But Brenda knew exactly what she was doing when she set this up. The entrance to the bar is too far away, and the nearest car is even farther. With Reese drugged, she can’t even run for cover while I offer a distraction.

The chances of us making it out of this, both unscathed, are practically zero.

“Honey, she’s been at the core of this since before she even came home.”