Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(55)

“I had a long day, I’m exhausted, but I feel really good about how things went today. It was busier than it’s been since I started back, and even though my feet hurt, it’s nice to return to a semblance of my normal routine. I also made a ton of great tips, which helps make the tiredness worth it. After we drop this food off, we’re gonna go home, maybe you’ll let me take a bath while you make us something to eat, then I get to snuggle with you. All of that is much more appealing than trying to figure out what Eddie was doing in the international market.”

Jag’s respect for her bloomed. She was right. He’d tell Baker and Detective Lee that he’d seen Evans in Waikiki and let them try to figure out why he was there. All he could do was make sure his woman relaxed and recovered from her day. And maybe help her celebrate another step toward getting back to the woman she used to be.

“You’re right,” he said simply.

Carly smiled and closed her eyes again. “I know.”

“And humble,” he teased.

Her smile grew. “I learned that from my boyfriend.”

Jag couldn’t keep the smile from his own face. “Anyone I know?” he quipped.

“Maybe. He’s amazing. Tall, muscular, so good-looking you want to weep when you look at him, smart, caring, and he smells delicious.”

It thrilled him to hear her describe him that way. “Nothing beats your cherry blossom lotion,” he murmured.

Carly laughed. “You have an obsession with that stuff.”

“Yup,” Jag agreed.

They were quiet for a few minutes, then Carly spoke again. “I’m not taking my safety lightly,” she said in a serious tone. “I’m not thrilled Eddie was there, but I’m trying not to let him, or anyone else, get to me again. I lost myself for a while and it didn’t make me feel good. And you know that I’ve been seeing Shawn’s cronies everywhere recently. If I freaked out every time I saw Jeremiah, Beau, Gideon, Jamie, or even Luke, I’d have to be hospitalized. It’s been months, Jag…and I’m sick of being scared.”

“I know. I hate that you have to see any of those assholes. If I had my way, they’d all move off the island so you’d never have to be reminded of that fucker you dated.”

Carly chuckled. “Ditto.”

“Just stay aware of your surroundings at all times,” Jag pleaded. “Just because it’s been months doesn’t mean the danger is gone. I agree that as time goes by, in theory, the threat to you lessens, but I’ve learned the hard way that when someone has hate in their heart, no amount of time is too long for them to act on it. Many times that hate festers inside them until they can’t contain it anymore and they have to do something.”

Carly nodded. “I will,” she reassured him.

She rested her arm on the console and Jag immediately reached for her hand. She closed her eyes once more and sighed. “I needed this. You, holding my hand, being a solid presence next to me.”

“Same,” he agreed.

The rest of the trip to Barbers Point was uneventful, besides the hellish traffic. Jag pulled into the parking lot down the street from Food For All. “Stay put,” he said, as usual. She gave him a small smile and grinned. She knew the routine by now, and he was relieved when she didn’t complain.

Jag got out and checked the immediate area. The parking lot was pretty full, which wasn’t a surprise. This area had gotten more and more popular as small businesses flourished and moved into the empty spaces in the neighborhood.

He gave Theo a chin lift. The formerly homeless man was sitting on the sidewalk across the street. He was in the shadows, tucked between a decorative brick column outside a small Korean restaurant and a sign the owners had placed outside advertising their daily specials. If Jag hadn’t looked right at him, he might’ve missed him.

Theo might have a roof over his head now, thanks to Lexie and Midas, but he still liked to be outside as much as possible. He had also taken it upon himself to be a sort of one-man neighborhood watch patrol. Even though he had some mental difficulties, he was pretty damn observant. He smiled at Jag and waved, but the other man didn’t get up from his spot, obviously too comfortable and content to move.

There were a few people milling around, but no one Jag recognized. He opened Carly’s door and she smiled up at him. Even tired from her long day, with her clothes wrinkled and her hair a mess, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

They walked to the back of his car and he opened his trunk. He grabbed a heavy box filled to the top with dented cans and various other food stuff, and Carly picked up three bags. There was another box in the trunk and a few more bags, so they’d definitely have to make two trips. Carly shut the trunk and they turned to head down the street to the food pantry.

They both stopped in their tracks when they caught sight of the man down the sidewalk.

“Fuck. Again?” Jag murmured.

“Hello,” Gideon Sparks said as he walked toward them.

“What are you doing here?” Carly asked, her voice hard.

Gideon looked surprised. He had on a pair of brown overalls with the zoo logo on a patch on his chest. His brown hair had streaks of white and he was growing a beard, which was new since the last picture Jag had seen of the man. He had quite a belly on him and was around his height.