Swabbies?A jolt of surprise raced a shiver up her spine. SEALs were the best of the best when it came to military might and training. The male order of Marines would never admit it, but there’d definitely been something different about the SEALs she’d seen…always from a distance. They took confidence to a whole new level. Calm, ready, alert. Her Marine division had been tight—always looking out for each other, but the brotherhood between SEALs set them apart from everyone else. Maybe she’d have a chance if he really meant what he’d said. Could she take that gamble?
“I’m offering to help you and your stepfather get out of town, but we need to move now. You’ll have to fill me in on Palazzi. Anything might help. And I need to know where your stepdad is so Travis can pick him up.”
There it was.He already had her. All he needed was Pop, and he could turn them both over to Tony. She’d almost believed him.
Damn his blue eyes!
After her biological father had abandoned her mother and his two young daughters, Pop had been the man who taught her to throw a softball, bait a hook and change the oil in her car. Upon marrying her mother, Charles Webster had completed their small family and loved her and Anna as though they’d been his flesh-and-blood daughters. No. MacGyver would get nothing from her.
“Kellie?” He said her name softly, wrenching her back to the present. “If it makes a difference, I put you in my bed last night so I could keep you warm. You were wet and cold from the rain, and I was worried about hypothermia. I’m not the kind of man who’d take advantage of a lady when she’s not cognizant enough to sayyes.”
She was struck by the remorse in his eyes, and the kindness in his voice evoked an unexpected tremor. She wanted to believe him, but something was off. He wasn’t telling her everything.
Keeping Pop safe was imperative. She forced her waffling emotions into submission as she stood. “Am I free to go?”
MacGyver gave a curt nod, his frustration unmistakable. “Of course. You can leave any time.”
She reached for her phone and drew it toward her as she watched him. “Then thank you for your offer and everything you’ve done, but I can handle this.”
Chapter Five
Well, hell!That didn’t work quite the way he’d anticipated. MacGyver had been making progress. Even after she’d shut him down, the uncertainty in her expression proved how close he’d come to convincing her. Close wasn’t good enough, though.
She was scared and trying hard not to let it show. Soft and feminine on one hand, yet her inner toughness intrigued him. Waking up to a stranger in bed with her, Kellie’s instinct had been to fight. If he’d been a fraction of a second slower, she might have succeeded in getting him in a thumb lock, and he’d probably be nursing a dislocated joint.
The strong, balanced stance she’d assumed once she got on her feet would have made any man think twice. Those weren’t reactions that often came naturally for women. They required poise, strength and training—more extensive than self-defense—as well as a whole hell of a lot of practice to make it second nature. Clearly she’d had a long run of bad choices to land herself in the role of soon-to-be-married to Tony Palazzi, and her unwillingness to accept MacGyver’s help was only the latest.
The one thing that might have helped him make his case was telling her about the congressman’s text, but not knowing what the connection was between her and Jeremy Dahl, his instinct was to keep that piece of information to himself for the time being. He shouldn’t give a damn whether she accepted his help or not…but he did. Every time he’d succumbed to her troubled eyes, he wanted to haul her onto his lap and hold her until her worries disappeared.That would have been a colossal mistake, but it was hard as hell to watch her walk away. Once she left his hotel, he’d never see her again—never know if she escaped and was somewhere safe. The prospect concerned him far more than it should, and he couldn’t shake the sense of impending disaster that wrapped itself around him.
Kellie didn’t hold the record for bad choices either. That one probably belonged to him. He’d made more than a few less-than-stellar moves. Like going halfway around the world in search of terrorists, instead of staying in San Diego and making a life with his high school sweetheart. Not that he regretted his decision to join the Navy or train to be a SEAL. That’d been a no-brainer. Besides, chances were pretty good Shelby would have eventually left him for someone else, even if they had been married.
MacGyver shook off the unwanted memory and picked up Kellie’s driver’s license again. He’d always been a sucker for abandoned puppies and birds with broken wings, so her apparent acceptance of the idea she was safer on her own was a blow to everything he believed. Kellie Greyson needed his help, whether she’d admit it or not. His protective instincts had been triggered by her fighting spirit, in direct contrast to her innocence, and those eyes, searchinghis with the barest hint of curiosity mixed with wariness.
There had to be a way to earn her trust.
He heard the shower start in the other room, bringing with it images from last night. Him removing her diamond necklace and matching earrings and dropping them on the table with the rest of her belongings. Slipping the soiled wedding dress over her head. Sitting on the edge of the sunken tub with her on his lap as the hot shower filled the bathroom with steam and warmed her. The intimate way she’d conformed to his body while he soaped his hands and washed her smooth skin. The ache of his arousal had been tough to ignore.
He scrubbed a hand down his roughened face, guilt nipping hard at his conscience. But he wasn’t sorry, and he wouldn’t soon forget the feel of her as he’d bathed her, or later when he’d placed her carefully on the sheets of his bed and curled his warmth around her.
Yeah.She’s probably right not to trust me.
MacGyver picked up Kellie’s jewelry, money and the picture, stuffing everything, including her license, back into her clutch. Then he retrieved the small suitcase Travis had left behind and checked inside before rolling it across the floor. Though his friend hadn’t mentioned it, MacGyver wasn’t surprised he’d thought to pack some clothes from Kellie’s house. Had he found anything else while he was there?
The bathroom door was locked so he knocked and raised his voice. “Kellie? Travis brought some of your things. I’ll leave them right outside the door.” He waited a moment, but she didn’t reply.
Grabbing his gear, he gave the bed one more glance. No sense waiting around to watch her leave again. He’d use the shower and dress in Travis’s room. Then they could get some breakfast downstairs and decide how to proceed on the Jeremy Dahl case. His partner would no doubt be mad as hell that MacGyver hadn’t convinced Kellie to accept his offer. Travis was all about the case. Although, why he was so sure Kellie had any information that would help them find Dahl was still open for argument.
Nonetheless, it was time MacGyver focused on the job at hand and stopped worrying about the woman he’d just met and who didn’t want his help.
* * * *
The waiter seated them at a table by the window. The aroma of frying bacon curled around MacGyver’s senses, and his stomach growled in response.
The restaurant near the hotel lobby was packed, but it didn’t stop Travis from gloating. “I told you she wouldn’t stick around unless there was a damn good reason.”
He could think whatever he wanted, but Kellie would have been out of there a lot quicker if MacGyver had tried to tell her she was his wife. He was sure of that much. Forking another bite of eggs and hash browns into his mouth, he let Travis have his moment.
After glancing around at the nearby tables, Travis leaned toward him. “Someone tore her place apart. Fuckin’ demolished it. I figure they were looking for the same thing I was—some idea where her stepdad went.”