Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(52)

“It’s stupid. I mean, we sleep together every night,” she grumbled.

“I told you once and I’ll say it again as many times as you need to hear it,” Jag said. “We don’t have to rush anything.”

“I want you,” she said softly. “I’m just…scared.” She let out a long breath of air. “I’m sick of being scared,” she muttered. “Seriously, I’m so pathetic.”

“You aren’t,” Jag reassured her. “And I’d be upset if you did something you weren’t comfortable with or ready for. Is sleeping in the same bed as me awkward? I can—”

“No!” she exclaimed, quickly interrupting him. Her voice lowered as she said, “I like being next to you at night. It calms me. My subconscious knows you’ll never let anyone come in and steal me away if you’re there with me.”

“Damn straight,” Jag muttered. She giggled, and the sound made his muscles relax. “We are moving fast, but you should know, I’ve had a crush on you for months,” he admitted.

Carly smiled up at him. “Yeah?”

“Yup. Ever since we all accompanied Aleck to Duke’s to meet Kenna.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t run in the other direction when I went a little spastic after Shawn’s kidnapping attempt,” she said.

Jag rolled his eyes. “Spastic? Please. You were trying to protect yourself the best way you knew how. And protect your friends.”

“Yeah. I guess I was.”

“I don’t…do this,” Jag admitted.

“Do what?”

“Fall for someone like I have you,” he said plainly. “So you take as much time as you want to feel comfortable with me. I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”

“You’ve fallen for me?”

“Head over fucking heels,” Jag said quietly with a straight face.

“A girl could use that to her advantage…if she was a bitch.”

“Yup. But you won’t and you aren’t.”

“You sound sure of that,” Carly said.

“I am. How about I get up and make us a snack after all?” Jag asked.

Carly sighed. “It’s probably for the best. Jag?”

“Yeah, angel?”

“I’m falling for you too.”

He grinned. “Good.” Then he shifted, climbed over her, and stood. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Keep my spot warm,” he ordered, as he turned and headed for the kitchen.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN





Jag liked the routine he and Carly had fallen into, and he was as proud of the way she was handling everything thrown at her. Not even a month ago, she’d have a panic attack if she so much as stepped outside. Yesterday, while he’d been at work, she’d gone to the grocery store by herself.

Some people wouldn’t think that was a big deal, but Jag knew how much of a huge step it was. The self-defense sessions she was attending had done wonders for her self-esteem and confidence. He could see Carly incorporating everything she was learning about being aware of her surroundings at all times, when they were out together.

To all of their frustration, Baker was still coming up with nothing in regard to who might’ve been working with Carly’s ex. Jag still wasn’t ready to believe Shawn had been working alone. He had an accomplice, Jag would bet his SEAL career on it.

While Jag, and everyone else on the team, was frustrated, he knew Baker wouldn’t give up until he’d found something.

In the meantime, he and Carly were trying to live their lives as normally as possible. Kenna had decided they were having another girls’ night in next weekend, and Jag was pleased to see that Carly was honestly looking forward to it.

He pulled into the parking garage, making sure to find a space near the stairwell. Even though they hadn’t discovered who was working with Keyes, he wasn’t going to take any chances by having to walk through a garage any farther than they needed to. Sometimes he found a parking spot on the street, and he used a few different parking garages, making sure to change up his route to Duke’s every so often just in case someone was watching Carly. He headed down the stairs and onto the crowded sidewalks of Waikiki.

He kept his eye out for anything or anyone who looked out of place, who could be a danger. All he saw were tourists…until he happened to glance down the alley that housed the international market. It used to be an entire block wide, but after a developer bought the space to build a high-rise, the vendors were forced into the narrow alleyway.

A man was leaning against a wall smoking a cigarette. He wasn’t holding a shopping bag, and his gaze was locked on the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort across the street. Which was the hotel where Duke’s was located.

But it wasn’t just any man. Jag had studied the pictures of the people Baker was investigating, and he knew without a doubt the man attempting to blend in with the tourists, and failing, was none other than Eddie Evans. Shawn’s neighbor.

Scowling, Jag turned in Eddie’s direction, but at that moment, the man finished his cigarette, tossed it to the ground, stepped on it, then turned and strolled away, disappearing into the international market. Jag followed, intent on finding out if the man was watching Carly, or if it was simply a coincidence he was outside her workplace. But as soon as he entered the market, he knew searching for the man would be hopeless. Even though the alleyway wasn’t very large, the number of kiosks set up with tarps and tables filled with tchotchkes provided way too many hiding places for Eddie, and too many places for him to slip away undetected.