Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii #3)(70)

“I’ll toast to that!”

“Amen!”

“Hear, hear!”

“Drink up, bitches!”

Kenna almost spit out her drink at Ashlyn’s words. She swallowed, then laughed along with everyone else.

After polishing off another three bottles of wine, and long after the sun had set, they all decided it was time for sleep. They wandered inside and headed off to their respective beds for the night.

Other than Marshall not being home, Kenna was happy as she prepared for bed. She had a group of friends she’d really bonded with, a job she enjoyed, and nothing had come out of the note that was left on her car. It had been over a month, and she hadn’t heard hide nor hair of the asshole who’d smacked his son at Duke’s. Like most bullies, he’d gotten his jollies over trying to scare her, then had slunk off into the night.

Yeah, things were definitely going well…except for missing her boyfriend.

Kenna lay in Marshall’s bed, cuddling his pillow—which still held the slight scent of him—and stared out at the stars she could see through the windows. She had no idea what time it was where Marshall and the rest of his team were, or what they were doing, but she prayed they truly were all right. This being with a SEAL stuff wasn’t for the faint of heart.

The women in the condo certainly made the deployment easier, and once more, Kenna kicked herself for not getting them all together before now. Next time, she’d be sure to suggest a sleepover sooner.

Next time…

Would there be a next time?

Yeah, Kenna was pretty sure there would be. Unless something drastic happened, she had a feeling she and Marshall would be together for the long haul.

“Please don’t let anything drastic happen,” she whispered, then closed her eyes. The room was spinning and she already had a headache, but Kenna wouldn’t change anything about the night.





Chapter Sixteen





“Fuck,” Aleck muttered as he and the rest of his teammates stumbled toward the plane in Germany that would take them back home. It had been six weeks since they’d left for Iran. Six long, hard, frustrating, and grueling weeks.

They’d been dropped miles away from where intel on the American they were sent in to rescue claimed he was located. They’d done a HALO parachute drop, high altitude, low opening, into the Iranian mountains. From there, they’d hiked through the wilderness for days, doing their best to stay off anyone’s radar, which meant moving a lot slower than they might have otherwise. They’d finally located their target and had extracted him without any issues—but at the last minute, they’d been spotted.

They’d had to flee with the civilian they’d rescued back into the mountains. It had been another couple of weeks before they were able to make their way across the border to Iraq. Which didn’t mean they were clear to head home. They’d had to lie low for a while, then there were video meetings with their superiors and intel they’d needed to pass on about Iran.

The entire team had been on guard for six weeks, their adrenaline on overload. By the time they’d finally been able to start preparations to head back to the States, everyone was more than ready to go home.

But they’d done what they’d set out to do, rescued a fellow American. Not that the man was very grateful. He’d bitched and moaned the entire time they were on the run, trying to get out of Iran so they wouldn’t all be tossed into a prison cell with the key thrown away. The man had slowed their escape considerably—not that they hadn’t expected that part—and hadn’t muttered even one thank you before he was taken away by medical personnel to be checked out.

Aleck and the rest of the team didn’t do what they did for thanks. They did it for their country, because it was the right thing to do…but a tiny bit of appreciation, or at the very least respect, would’ve been nice.

Now, they were simply too exhausted to be overly bitter that the man hadn’t been grateful for their efforts.

They’d been flown to Germany, where they were switching planes before heading to Hawaii. No one had wanted to stay overnight, even though it would mean a comfortable bed and a shower. They just wanted to get home.

Aleck couldn’t fucking wait to see Kenna. He’d worried about her more than he probably should’ve, considering the focus required for his job. He’d been gone much longer than he’d expected. Was she okay? Had she decided she couldn’t handle dating a SEAL?

Feeling so unsure about a relationship wasn’t something he’d really dealt with before, and Aleck didn’t like it.

He collapsed into a seat and Mustang grabbed the one next to him. The plane wasn’t crowded, which Aleck appreciated. Hell, the other military men and women headed home probably did too, considering his team had come straight from the field after not partaking in a proper shower for the last six weeks.

“You okay?” Mustang asked as he got settled and after the plane had taken off.

“Exhausted, dirty, impatient to get home and see Kenna, but yeah, otherwise good,” Aleck said honestly, no hint of the smart aleck in evidence.

“Same,” Mustang said with a nod. “Except I want to see my wife instead of your Kenna.”

Your Kenna. Damn, that sounded good.

“Though, you don’t look all that happy for a man who will get to see his girlfriend soon,” Mustang observed.