Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii #3)(19)

Kenna smiled slightly at him and nodded. “Yeah.”

They walked side-by-side until they got to the street and took a right. They could see Carly and Jag ahead of them, and there were quite a few people milling around the sidewalks, even at the late hour.

The silence between them was comfortable rather than awkward, but eventually Kenna broke it. “Tonight’s been…interesting.”

Aleck smirked. “That’s one word for it.”

Kenna returned his smile. “I…” She paused, then muttered, “Shoot.”

“What?”

“I hope after everything that’s happened, you might still want to chat?”

Aleck looked down at her. “Chat? Oh yeah,” he assured. “You’re the most interesting person I’ve met in a very long time, Kenna. I definitely want to ‘chat’ with you some more.”

“Good. Me too.”

Without thought, Aleck reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away when his fingers curled around hers. And long before he was ready, they reached the parking garage, where they got in the elevator with Carly and Jag and headed up to the floor where Kenna had left her car.

She led them toward a brown Chevy Malibu that had seen better days. Figuring he didn’t want to push his luck, Aleck refused to comment on the beat-up looking vehicle.

As if she could read his mind, Kenna said, “It looks much worse than it is. I’ve got a great mechanic and he keeps her running. Besides, no one’s gonna want to steal it.”

“That’s for sure,” Jag muttered.

Kenna simply chuckled.

“Thanks for the assist tonight,” Carly said, speaking for the first time since they’d all gotten in the elevator together.

“You’re welcome,” Jag said.

“Of course,” Aleck told her.

“First thing tomorrow, go and apply for that protective order,” Jag ordered.

“I will.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you kept me updated,” Jag told her.

Carly looked uncertain. Then, even though Aleck and Kenna were standing there, she blurted, “I’m not looking for another boyfriend.”

To Jag’s credit, he didn’t even flinch. “What about a friend?”

The look on Carly’s face screamed “skeptical.” She turned and looked at Aleck. “Has he ever had a friend who was a woman before?”

Aleck was immediately uncomfortable. He didn’t want to throw his buddy under the bus, but no, Jag hadn’t ever had a female friend as far as he knew. Hell, he didn’t have any friends period, other than the guys on the team.

On the outside, Jag looked friendly and easygoing, but he was definitely the most intense—and deadly—of everyone on the team.

“Right, that’s what I thought,” Carly said, when Aleck took too long to respond.

“If Jag says he’s okay with being your friend, you can absolutely trust that,” he said quickly.

“And I think he’s proven tonight that you can count on him,” Kenna threw in.

“Fine,” Carly sighed. “But at the slightest sign you want to cross that line, we’re done,” she warned.

“Thank you. You won’t regret it,” Jag told her.

Kenna let out a small chuckle.

“What?” Carly asked.

“I never thought I’d see the day when you had to warn someone not to get too attached to you,” Kenna told her.

Carly blushed furiously. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know,” Jag said. “Come on, let’s get you settled.” He threw a look at Aleck, then returned his attention to Carly. “You need to get home. You’ve had a hard night.”

Aleck nodded at his friend and pulled Kenna around to the driver’s side of her car. He turned his back on Carly and Jag and squeezed her hand. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I wasn’t the one Shawn was pissed at tonight.”

“Well, you weren’t at first,” Aleck said dryly.

“Yeah, he wasn’t real thrilled with me, was he?”

“Nope. But then again, he doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who’s very impressed with any woman who has the smallest speck of independence in her veins.”

They heard the car door shut on the other side of the vehicle, and Aleck turned to see Jag give him a chin lift and head back toward the elevators. They were carpooling back to the base, and Aleck figured Jag would wait for him down on the sidewalk.

Not able to stop himself, he lifted his free hand and ran the back of his fingers over Kenna’s cheek. His heart rate increased when she tilted her head into his touch.

“When can I see you again?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. I’m going with Carly to apply for the protection order tomorrow, then I work tomorrow night. I’ve got some errands I need to do this weekend as well. What’s your schedule?”

“Pretty much eight to five,” Aleck admitted. “I work out with the team in the mornings and sometimes we have training, like we did this morning. If something comes up, we might have the occasional late meeting.”

Kenna frowned. “When I work the dinner shift—which is really the only shift I work anymore—I have to be there around four.”