Her Dominant SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 9) Read online

  “I hope it’s because he really likes me.”

  “Do you like him?”

  “A lot.”

  Piper bit her lip. She took off Bella’s shoes and socks, then finally looked back up at Karen. “He lives in San Diego.”

  “He does,” Karen agreed.

  “Would you move there?”

  Damn, and she thought kindergartners were tough.

  “It’s only been five days. You don’t talk about moving in together after only five days.”

  “I bet Drake would.”

  “I’ll tell you what, let’s table this. You work on your homework, and I’ll work on Bella’s toenails.”

  Piper looked down at Bella’s feet, then looked back up at Karen. There were tears in her eyes. “I love you, Miss Eastman. I wouldn’t want you to leave, but I would love to have you as a sister.”

  Oh God. Teenagers were really tough.

  “I love you too.”

  ***

  “I can’t believe she had the gall to ask me to get Piper to meet her.” Trenda was fuming. Usually, it was Evie who got this mad.

  “Do you think there is even the slightest chance that she’s just missing her daughter?” Karen asked. She knew that Drake was still holding out hope for his mom to land on the side of angels, therefore, so was she.

  “I’ve known her a long time, Karen. The rot has just gotten worse as the years have gone on. Then with what Piper’s told us about her being gone for days on end? Her setting up Drake? Nope.” Trenda’s hand trembled as she slid a cookie off the sheet and put it onto the plate. “No, she’s too far gone.”

  “Oh, Honey.” Karen hugged her.

  “Don’t tell Drake, okay? He’ll be out of his mind pissed off that Mom would be setting Piper up.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, he would. But he has to know.”

  “Let me tell him.”

  Karen gave her a hard stare.

  “I promise, I will,” Trenda said resignedly.

  Karen hugged her again, then left the fragrant kitchen for the living room.

  The bong of the security system went off. Darius looked surprised, which meant that none of the SEALs had called him first to say they would be at the gate. Karen got up off the floor to follow him to the console.

  Three county sheriff cars were pulled up at the gate.

  “That’s Sheriff Arnold,” Karen said pointing to the screen. “Nobody’s supposed to know where we are.”

  Darius’ expression was grim. “Karen, text Drake. Ask him what his ETA is. If he’s available, he’ll answer.”

  Karen texted Drake and held her breath for an answer.

  She could see Sheriff Arnold getting red in the face as he kept pressing the buzzer. Darius must have muted it because it didn’t ring into the house.

  “Aren’t you going to answer him?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “I want to see if the guys are close first. They might be coming up behind them. They can talk to them.”

  “Drake shouldn’t talk to him. He should stay away from the sheriff.”

  Darius turned away from the console and looked at her with a grin on his face. “You’re so cute.”

  “I’m getting damn sick of everybody acting like this isn’t serious. Drake could end up in prison if this guy gets his way.”

  “There is no way some small time sheriff is going to be able to get away with phonying up a trumped-up charge on a Navy SEAL, it just isn’t going to happen. It was bad enough when Drake was the only one in town. Then Aiden showed up. Now there’s four of us. My God, woman, this guy should be hiding under his mama’s skirts.”

  Karen felt some of her fear dissipate. She hadn’t thought about it that way. These men were career military. They were in one of the fiercest fighting forces in the world.

  Karen giggled. “It really isn’t a fair fight, is it?”

  “Now you’re catching on.”

  Her phone vibrated.

  “They said that they just delivered Huey to the DEA. They are fifteen minutes away.”

  “Call him.”

  She called him and was amazed how relieved she was to hear his drawl.

  “Honey, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, but the sheriff and two other deputies are at the gate.”

  “Damn it, I wonder how he found us. Is Dare there? Can you put me on speaker?”

  She pressed the speaker button.

  “So, you’re just giving the DEA presents right and left.” Dare grinned.

  “I like them. Now, I don’t like the sheriff. So, they’re at the gate, huh?”

  “Yep. Karen confirmed it’s your friend Delmar.”

  “He loovvess me.”

  Karen shook her head at his silliness.

  “I’m not letting him in, I’ll let you handle him when you get here.”

  “Okay, we’ll have a talk with him. If it gets ugly, we’ll let Mason loose. He’s on a tear today.”

  Darius raised an eyebrow. Karen found that hard to believe from what she’d seen of Mason Gault.

  “Sounds good,” Darius said to Drake. “We’ll make popcorn and watch the show from the monitor.”

  “Smartass,” Drake said before he hung up.

  Darius turned to Karen. “Why don’t you go keep the others occupied, so they don’t notice anything going on at the gate.”

  “Good idea. I think we need some brownies to go with the cookies that Trenda just baked.”

  ***

  So, Sheriff Delmar Arnold had come for a visit, had he? Drake was feeling in the mood to be neighborly. Unfortunately, it must have shown because Mason frowned at him.

  “What?” Drake asked.

  “Can I trust you to do the talking?” Mason asked.

  “I think after watching you both at the motel, I need to be the one who does the talking,” Aiden said.

  Drake continued to watch the road. He really wanted to drive faster, but it was slicker than snot underneath the snow.

  “O’Malley, this is my turf, these are my people. I’ll do the talking. You can be the muscle.”

  Mason chuckled.

  “What is so damn funny?” Drake asked irritably.

  “I’m just used to you being the muscle,” Mason said. “I like having two guys on the team who can be the muscle.”

  “Remember, I’m also the medic, so when he gets his head bashed in by his old friend the sheriff, I’ll be ready to put him back together,” Aiden reminded them.

  “Go to hell,” Drake said as he took the last turnoff to get to the chalet. Mason was making a call as he saw red and blue lights off in the distance. For just a moment, he felt eighteen again. He squared his shoulders. Fuck that shit. This little shit was going down. He turned off his headlights and slowly pulled in behind the cars. There was no reaction. Seriously, Delmar needed to do some training.

  When Drake, Aiden, and Mason opened their car doors, the deputy in the last car turned his head. He didn’t get out of his car. But Drake saw him pick up his radio. He assumed he was calling the sheriff. Sure enough, he could make out the front door of the first car opening. Drake walked toward it. Mason and Aiden walked behind him, each one of them stopping to stand beside the driver of the other two deputy’s cars. Now that everyone was covered, Drake was free to talk to his old nemesis.

  “Well, boy, seems you got yourself some friends.”

  “Why are you here?” Drake asked the sheriff.

  “Have some questions about the shooting you did at Karen Eastman’s house.”

  “You could have called. I would have come down to the sheriff’s office,” Drake lied.

  “I also have some reports of you disturbing the peace. Seems that you were involved in the beating of Lois Goodman. I’m going to have to take you in, Boy.”

  Drake’s laugh turned to vapor in the air between them. “Try again. I have plenty of witnesses who will say she was beat when I found her. Harmon will also testify that he was the one who
hurt her. Trust me, he’ll tell the truth. Your days of running things are over with, Old Man.”

  Drake watched the sheriff’s face twist with rage. “You’re mistaken. I don’t care how many Navy goons you have. I’m the law.” He reached for his gun. Drake grabbed his wrist before he could get to it. With his other hand, he took his gun and flung it out into the snow. Sheriff Arnold went for his baton, and Drake let him. They were of similar height and build, and Drake had been waiting twelve years for this.

  “I’ve got you now!” Arnold said as he raised the baton over his head.

  Really? He was going to swing it like that?

  Drake grabbed his forearm and held it, as he did a light rabbit punch to the man’s throat. He wanted the fight to last a bit. He let go, and the sheriff stepped backward. He used two hands and swung like a batter, Drake stepped out of the way, and the sheriff spun around in a semi-circle. Drake kicked him in the back so he fell on the ground. Then Drake picked him up by the scruff of his neck.

  “Again, Old Man, try again.”

  Arnold’s face was filled with rage. He picked up the baton, this time he did something smart, he aimed it like a sword and tried to shove it into Drake’s abdomen. Drake sidestepped and hit the sheriff in the jaw. The old man went sprawling. Drake waited. The sheriff tried to get up on his hands and knees.

  “Up, Old Man. Get up!”

  Delmar dropped back down. Blood colored the snow. Then he tried to get up again, and Drake grinned, wanting another shot. The Sheriff turned his head and glared up at him. “You’re as bad as your father,” he spit out. Drake’s booted foot reared back.

  But the sheriff’s voice must have carried. It’s the only thing that saved him because Drake heard Mason call out.

  “Drake! Your sisters!”

  That was what he needed to remember. He looked down at the terror on Delmar’s face. Instead of the final punishing kick he’d intended to deliver, Drake used the toe of his boot to, ever so softly, touch his chin and push him back down into the snow.

  “The DEA wants to talk to you, Delmar. I suspect some of your old perps are going to have a great time meeting up with you again at Pikeville.”

  “Fuck you, nobody has nothing on me,” he said through a mouthful of blood.

  “Huey actually had a lot to say earlier to the DEA. They were very interested. As a matter of fact, when I was told you were here, my lieutenant called them to say where you were. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got here any minute.”

  Drake loved the look of horror on the old asshole’s face.

  ***

  He was wounded, couldn’t Karen be a normal girlfriend and offer him comfort? No, she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

  “Did that feel good?” she asked.

  “Did what feel good?”

  “Playing with that man like you’d tied a string on a kitten’s tail.”

  “I would never do that to a kitten,” he protested. “And yes, it felt wonderful.”

  “You were moving kind of stiffly.” Her lips twitched.

  Thank God, they’d had the good sense to go upstairs while everybody else was occupied with cookies in the living room. He really didn’t need anybody else seeing how he was getting his ass handed to him by a kindergarten teacher.

  “I was not moving stiff, I was just letting Delmar think he had a chance.”

  Karen took a step closer and knocked on the body armor. “Take this off.”

  “Okay.” He grinned. “Wanna see my boo-boo?”

  “Is that what men are calling it these days?”

  “Just SEALs.” He pulled her gently into his arms, happy to see that she seemed to be healing. “We need some privacy, and I’m not talking about a bedroom with a house full of my teammates and sisters.”

  “Your boo-boo isn’t up for it?” she teased.

  “Oh woman, if you want to play that game, I’ll lock the door.” He let her go and turned toward the bedroom doorway.

  “No! I was kidding! Please, Drake.”

  He turned to her with a wolfish grin. “I thought so. But, Lady, we are so going to find some privacy soon.”

  “Aren’t you going to take off the vest so I can see your chest?”

  He shook his head. “Seriously, Karen, I just don’t have that kind of willpower around you.” He turned back to the door and locked it. As he walked over to the window seat, it hit him that this was more than sex. So much more. But was she even on the same page with him? He thought she was.

  “Are you in this thing with me?”

  “Huh?”

  “Are you in it with me? I mean really in it? Or am I flying solo?”

  She looked at him with a bewildered expression.

  Oh God, he’d totally misread everything. He started to get up.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she said in that firm kindergarten teacher’s voice.

  “Downstairs.”

  “You don’t get milk and cookies yet,” she said firmly. “You sit back down, Mister. We’re not done talking.”

  “This isn’t funny, Karen. I just bared my soul to you.”

  She looked at him in amazement. “Your exact words were ‘Are you in it with me, or am I flying solo.’ If that is your idea of baring your soul, we’re going to be having lessons in communication for the next fifty years.”

  “Look, I don’t need this shit. Fine, you don’t love me. I can handle it. I’m a big boy.” He wrested his hand from hers and was halfway across the room before her words penetrated. He spun around.

  “Did you say fifty years?”

  “If we take care of ourselves, it could be sixty,” she said primly.

  He skidded to his knees in front of her.

  “Sixty’s good. I can eat healthy.” He pulled her down into his arms.

  “Drake, do you love me?” she inquired softly. He cupped her cheek and touched the corner of her mouth with his thumb.

  “So much. So, so much. I don’t know how it happened. It hit me like a ton of bricks you know? I never thought I would fall in love, I thought something was wrong with me, and then you came along. But you’re so fucking sweet. I feel like I’m leading a virgin astray.” He paused and looked at her in horror. “You’re not a virgin, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Thank God.” Then he pulled her close. “But it would have been okay if you were. But it would have scared me.”

  “You’re a mess.” She cupped his jaw and kissed him. “I love you very, very much. Do you know why?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  “Because you’re a hero.”

  He paused, his eyes became guarded. “Because I’m a SEAL?”

  “No, because you’re a hero. You’re a hero to your sisters, you’ve been one since you were a little boy. And you’re my hero now because you’d love me even if I was a virgin. I love your soul, Drake Avery.”

  “And you think I’m sexy, right?” He grinned down at her.

  Her eyes lost focus, her lips parted. “Oh yeah, I think you’re sexy. Can’t we just...” her voice trailed away.

  “Sure as God created little green apples, somebody would knock on the door as soon as we started to just...”

  “Na-uh.”

  They looked up. There was a funny tapping at the door. Not a knock.

  “We can ignore it,” Karen suggested.

  The scraping continued.

  “Uncle Dwake. I brought you a cookie.”

  He laughed, and Karen groaned.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I’ve put him off as far and as long as I can. That fiasco outside the gates pissed off his boss.”

  Mason winced. “What time do they want to meet with us?” he asked Clint.

  Everybody in the study waited for Clint’s answer.

  “Sam said right before noon tomorrow.”

  “I didn’t know feds worked on Saturday,” Drake quipped.

  “Oh for God’s sake, Drake, would you get real. The DEA is helping you out
, could you please be social? Or do I need to fly out there to facilitate?”

  “I’m sorry, you’re right,” Drake said to the man on the computer screen. “Your friend and the agents who work with him have been great. Have they figured out who the bad apples are in Knoxville?”

  “Yeah, they’re pretty sure, but there’s still some more loose ends they want to discuss.”

  Drake thought about it. Maybe he could give them a hat trick. If he delivered dear old dad to them today, then there would be very little left to talk about tomorrow.

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  “Uh-oh, I know that look, you’re up to something,” Clint said.

  “Nope.”

  Clint turned his head and looked at Mason.

  “I’m on him,” Mason assured his teammate.

  “Okay. Just make sure he’s helpful tomorrow. I pulled in a lot of favors with my contacts.”

  “Careful, Archer. I’m not always going to be half a nation away,” Drake growled.

  “Okay, I’ll back off.”

  Clint signed off, and Drake turned to the other three men in the room. “I think it’s time I pay another visit to my dad.”

  “Okay, who do you want to go with you?”

  Drake didn’t want anyone to go with him. He really wanted this man to man, but that was just plain stupid.

  “Who’s in?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to get out of the house,” Darius said.

  Mason just stared at Drake, so he knew that his lieutenant was going.

  Aiden sighed. “Piper has a paper due on Othello, I said I’d help.”

  “So, what’s the plan?” Mason asked, once again letting Drake lead.

  “The way I count it, there’s at least one more man unaccounted for, but knowing him, he could have three more that he’s brought in since then.”

  “We live for the unexpected. What else?” Mason wanted to know. “What’s our end game?”

  “Evie still hasn’t found anything about where the Aryan Brotherhood plans to set up shop. The businessman only knew about some of the heroin coming in, not all. If we can get him to implicate himself on the drugs, we can get him sent up again. I also want to know why he wants Piper.”

  “Got it,” Mason nodded.