SEAL’s Command by Makenna Jameison
Chapter 17
Slate walked into base early Monday morning feeling about ten feet tall. Since Saturday night, his mind had been on nothing but Ashleigh. They’d spent half of yesterday naked and in one another’s arms, making love for hours. He’d taken her from behind, loving the sight of her smaller body before his as he brought her to ecstasy. They’d made love in the shower, Slate easily holding her up against the tiled walls, and then again on the sofa when they were supposed to be watching a movie. He’d pulled Ashleigh on top and let her ride him, enjoying the view as her breasts bounced up and down and she came on his cock.
He felt like a teenager again, not a man in his forties with a woman who’d temporarily moved in with him.
Was it just temporary? He’d told her he’d love for her to stay. She’d said she could write from anywhere. But would she actually choose to give up her life and condo back east?
It was too soon to say.
They’d made dinner together in his kitchen last night, moving around and working together like they’d been a couple for years. She was lightness compared to his serious demeanor. His job demanded that he know about the more brutal realities of life. He’d killed before. He’d watched his friends be killed, too. And he’d stoically given his service to his country. Slate realized for the first time how much he’d missed out on by being alone for so many years. He hadn’t considered being single a hardship, not when work demanded all his attention. But he’d never felt anything was missing in his life because he’d been dating the wrong women. As soon as he’d met Ashleigh, they’d just clicked. Fit together. He didn’t know the how or the why, but he knew he’d do whatever he could to keep her in his life.
Ashleigh was creative and smart. She was successful in her writing career and had no trouble befriending the men on his SEAL teams or their women. She got along with everyone. She might be twelve years younger than him at thirty-one, but the age difference hadn’t been an issue. And he loved how she let him take the lead in the bedroom, pleasuring her and suggesting new ways for them to make love. He was a man who was used to being in control, and he loved that she allowed him to do so in bed. Ashleigh needed a man like him, who craved being in charge, just as he needed a woman like her. She balanced him out in a way Slate never even realized he’d needed.
His phone buzzed as he moved toward his office, and he frowned, seeing the name of his FBI contact on the screen.
“Commander Hutchinson here,” he said, closing his office door behind him.
“Commander, this is Special Agent Briscoe. There was a development with one of the wanted men last night.”
“Amir Mohammad?” Slate asked. He wanted to get the fucker who’d looked for him both at his home address and then outside of Seattle. The entire thing was bullshit. Targeting military commanding officers in retaliation for a terrorist leader in Afghanistan being killed was messed up. And that was a polite way of putting it. Unfortunately, with his name out there, he wouldn’t feel safe until this guy was locked up. Someone else could always come after him later, but that risk came with the territory. This idiot seemed to have a personal vendetta against him, simply because he’d gotten Havoc’s and his name at the barfight.
“Yes. It was him,” Agent Briscoe confirmed. “He was trying to withdraw money from an ATM a couple of miles from your house. His attempt to access his account tipped us off, of course, given that they’ve all been frozen. His personal account and that of his terror cell were immediately frozen after the warehouse raid.”
“He’s getting desperate,” Slate said. “He has to realize he’s being watched.”
“He is desperate. When he couldn’t access the money, he attempted to trash the area around the ATM. It’s all on video surveillance. All it did was get us more footage of him. He shaved his beard and dyed his hair blond—or attempted to. The rest of the men are still in the wind. Our agents have been attempting to track their communications, but they switched to burner phones. There’s been no communications sent by email, and no sightings until the incident at the ATM last night.”
“Hell. Where’d he go afterwards?”
“We don’t know. He arrived and left on foot, so he’s either staying nearby or had a car somewhere out of camera range. We’re getting footage from the nearby traffic cams to see if he was picked up on any of them.”
“God damn it,” Slate muttered. “I haven’t seen anyone suspicious prowling around my house, but I don’t like that he was only a couple of miles away. I need to make a few phone calls.”
“All right. I’ll touch base with you when I have more information.”
“I appreciate it. Bye.”
He ended the call, immediately calling Ashleigh. It was early, but he hoped she was awake. He had gently woken her up earlier this morning, planting soft kisses all over her skin. Slate knew Ashleigh was sore from all of their lovemaking yesterday, so he’d been good. As much as he’d have loved to claim her again or give her a few orgasms before he left, he’d kissed her softly, nuzzling against her, and then told her to sleep.
She’d smiled sleepily at him, and his chest had tugged as he watched her. She looked so damn right there in his bed, her blonde hair spread across the pillow, her face soft with sleep. Aside from making love frequently, they’d talked for hours over the weekend. Slate had wanted to know everything about her, and the conversation was easy. Simple. He didn’t feel strained thinking of what to ask her. Everything just flowed.
What he wouldn’t do to keep this woman in his life forever.
The phone rang three times before Ashleigh answered. “Hey, it’s me,” he said, his lips quirking at her sleepy voice. It was only oh-seven-hundred. He was surprised Agent Briscoe had called so early, but then again, the Bureau knew how early the military operated.
“Hi. I was still asleep.”
“Yeah, I figured. Listen, I just spoke with my contact at the FBI. The man who’s been looking for me was spotted on a surveillance camera only a few miles away last night. I want you to be careful.”
“You think he’ll come to your house again?”
“I don’t know,” Slate admitted. “His bank accounts are frozen. He hasn’t been spotted in weeks, so the fact that he risked being seen to attempt to withdraw money is concerning. I just want you to be safe, Ash.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll be spending the morning writing. I might run an errand or two this afternoon, but I’ll make sure to stay aware of my surroundings.”
He frowned. “I can go with you tonight or have one of my guys escort you. I’ve got a few things to run over with Raptor’s team, but one of Ace’s guys could come by the house.”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “It’s the middle of the day, and I just need to pick up some things at the store, not go hiking alone in the woods or something. If I remember, you kept me quite busy yesterday,” she teased.
Slate guffawed. “I don’t recall hearing any objections from you, Ash.”
He could almost hear her smiling on the other end of the phone. “Nope. No complaints from me. Although I think I need a day to recover.”
He muttered a curse. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She laughed. “No, trust me. It was one hundred percent worth it. I’ll just have to find some other creative methods to use tonight—maybe my mouth or hands….”
His cock stiffened, and he told her to be careful today before ending the call. Jesus. For as hesitant as Ashleigh sometimes was in the bedroom, she had no trouble whatsoever with teasing him. She likely knew he couldn’t say anything over the phone at work. Now she’d gotten him all riled up, he thought with a smirk. Hell. He’d enjoy teasing her later on tonight when they were naked beneath his sheets.
Shaking his head, he called Ace into his office. The younger SEAL knocked on his door a moment later. Slate briefly gave him a rundown of what Agent Briscoe had told him. Ace frowned. “I could look into some of the security feeds of nearby buildings. At least then we might see if he got into a vehicle.”
“It would have to be a rental, borrowed, or stolen. Amir’s car was impounded after the raid. Clearly those four are hiding out somewhere though.”
“We’ll get them. How’s Ms. Moore?”
Slate blew out a sigh. “Fine, but she wants to run some errands this afternoon. I’d feel better if she waited until I got home tonight. I’ve got briefings this morning with Raptor’s team. Your team has training today that I don’t want to pull anyone from.”
“Maybe the PD can keep an eye on her. You’ve got connections with them, right?”
Slate grumbled under his breath. “I do, but they’ve got more important things to do than escort her while running errands. It’s not an emergency. I just hate that Amir and his men are out there somewhere close by and Ashleigh could potentially be in danger.”
Ace nodded. “I understand. It’s hard when someone won’t take your advice.”
Slate raised his eyebrows, eyeing the younger man, and Ace shrugged. “It’s nothing. Just a woman I met online gaming. We chat when we game together, but I don’t know a hell of a lot about her. I’m worried she’s in some sort of danger.”
“What makes you say that?” Slate asked, his interest piqued.
“She has to abruptly go sometimes. I don’t know. I understand if she’s got other things to do. It’s just that she sounds almost frightened. We’ve never met in person, just talked when we’re online together over the past few months.”
“Maybe she’s married. I hate to mention it, since you seem to care about her, but it’s possible.”
“Huh. I guess there’s a chance that’s it. I’m not sure. I don’t get the idea that she’s in a relationship, but I am worried. I don’t feel comfortable invading her privacy, but I could hack some of her information and discover more if she’s in trouble.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Slate muttered with a frown. Hacking into other people’s information was illegal, but he couldn’t fault the SEAL for wanting to learn if this woman was truly in danger. His men were protective and used to gaining information by whatever means necessary. Their diligence was of the utmost importance when running an op. He’d come to rely on their skills to quickly get the job done. Obtaining information on a civilian not under FBI surveillance was an entirely different matter though.
“So are we waiting to hear back from the Bureau? Or do you want me to get information on Amir?”
Slate eyed him. “Find him. Find out what vehicle he was traveling in or who he was with. The FBI is investigating, too, but I don’t like how close he was. I’m going to check my home surveillance camera history before I brief with Raptor’s team at oh-eight-hundred. Touch base with me before then.”
“Roger that, sir,” Ace said. Slate dismissed the SEAL, frowning as he grabbed his cell phone. His security system could be monitored remotely, and he wanted to look over the footage from yesterday and last night to make sure Amir hadn’t been anywhere near his home. He needed to do numerous things on base today, but nothing would stop him from ensuring that Ashleigh was safe.