Page 18 of A Trident Christmas Baby

“Hell of a shot, Irish.”

Irish’s voice came through the comm, and there was a hint of a grin in his tone. “You’re welcome, brother. Thought I’d save your pretty face.”

Ace allowed himself a small, relieved chuckle before snapping back into mission mode. “SITREP,” Ace barked into the comm.

“Building is clear. All enemy combatants have been neutralized.”

Ace felt like a weight lifted from his shoulders.

“Regroup on the east side of the building.”

As Ace met up with the team, he was still breathing hard, and his muscles burned from the intensity of the fight. The air around them was silent, save for the low, labored breaths of the team.

Victory hung in the air, though the adrenaline still buzzed through their systems.

Ace scanned each of his teammates, assessing their condition. A few were a little banged up, but what mattered the most was everyone was alive.

Potter limped over to him, his face smeared with dirt and sweat. He clapped Ace on the shoulder, his grin tired but triumphant.

“What do you say we get the hell out of here and head home to celebrate Christmas with our families,” Potter said with a hint of humor in his voice.

Ace let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, the tension easing from his shoulders as he looked around at his men. “Sounds like a plan,” he said, allowing a rare smile to break through. “Let’s pack it up, boys. We’ve got a flight to catch.”

As they trekked back to the extraction point, Ace glanced up at the night sky. His thoughts drifted back to Alex, and for the first time that night, he let himself smile.

As they turned to leave, trudging through the snow, Ace felt the surge of relief and determination that came with knowing he was one step closer to being back home, right where he needed to be.

Two hours later, and feeling like Frosty the fucking Snowman, Ace and the team approached the extraction point.

His breath puffed out in clouds, mingling with the sharp Arctic wind. The helicopter’s thundering rotors came into view, a welcome sight after the chaos they had just survived.

The operation had been a success, but it had been close. Too close.

He still couldn’t shake the thought of how close he came to dying.

It wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed his mind in his years as a SEAL, but this time felt different. This time, Alex’s face flashed in his mind, her hand resting on her pregnant belly, her soft laugh as she teased him about putting the crib together wrong. He thought about their baby—he hadn’t even met them yet.

What if I never got to?

The thought twisted in his chest like a blade. He’d always accepted the risks of his job, but now there was more on the line.

“Keep it together,” he muttered to himself as they approached the waiting helicopter.

Potter clapped him on the shoulder as they climbed aboard. “We made it, brother. Let’s go home.”

Ace forced a nod, sliding into his seat and securing his gear. The helicopter lifted off, the roar of the rotors drowning out everything else for a moment. As the ground receded into the snowy horizon, Ace closed his eyes, resting his head against the cold metal wall.

All he wanted was to get home to Alex and wrap her up in his arms.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Alex pulled her Escalade into the parking lot at Bayside. Arianna had sent her a text earlier that morning letting her know that she saved her a parking spot near the back door that the employees use as it was closer to the room they would be in.

She grabbed her purse and work bag and got out of the vehicle. She groaned a little as she stretched. Ever since she had woken up, her lower back had been giving her a fit. She chalked it up to all the standing she had done the previous day when Tenley and Bailey were at the house baking cookies.

Today wasn’t going to be any better, as she was there to meet the rest of the ladies to wrap all the presents for the twenty-two military families that her foundation was sponsoring.

She was grateful to a few of the volunteers who picked up everything from the storage facility, transported it all here, and even unloaded it.

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