Page 69 of Under Pressure

Warren’s mouth opened, but then he tightened his lips, silence growing between them. He stepped back, staring down the SEAL under his command. There was a code, and Delta was breaking it.

He couldn’t pretend anymore. He was a monster, and there was no changing it. He couldn’t control it. It controlled him. And that meant he was only good for one damn thing. He was nothing more than a product…a weapon.

And he would never have her again, even though the memory of her caused places in his body to ache.

Delta shook his head, trying to forget, revving the engine.

“Where the fuck are you going?” Warren challenged.

“The base,” Delta retorted, like the cold-hearted asset he was. “I’m deploying in a few days. Did you forget?”

Peeling off, Delta settled into that comfortable numbness he enjoyed. Ripping down the coastal highway, ocean wind against his skin, he was reminded of another time. Something reminded him of her—and something forced him to realize that it was no longer just his cock that ached, but his heart.

And that was exactly why he had to get back to being a SEAL—and being in control of something.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Her hair catching an evening breeze off the nearby Pacific Ocean, Kendra rocked Leo’s stroller back and forth while sitting on the park bench near her house. It was a cool day—by Malibu standards. She had her son all wrapped up in a cozy micro-fleece as he comfortably napped in his cocoon, perhaps more out of a need to bubble-wrap him than anything.

It was truly a beautiful sunset, another gem to be enjoyed in the oceanside community. Southern California never ceased to disappoint. The only thing was that Kendra didn’t feel alive enough to enjoy it, or anything. A lump had grown in her throat, rooting there and unrelenting.

Singing a gentle song, which was carried through the breeze, she gazed upon her baby boy. He was everything to her. The only bitterness she tasted when she looked at him was that he was never going to know his father. He was never going to have a father. Obviously, at this point, she couldn’t allow it. The things she’d learned about Delta, the things he’d never told her… She didn’t really know which was the worst part anymore. All she knew was that he was a goddamn monster, confirmed.

It wasn’t fair to Leo—and it wasn’t fair to her. She found it unbelievable that she would be in that situation, and it was the worst feeling for Kendra. She’d mixed her genetics with his, creating the most beautiful human she’d ever seen. But whatever subconscious fantasies she’d once held about the three of them being a family… Well, they had all turned out to be unbearable. She was never going to see him again.

What was done was done—and nothing was ever going to change. Tears rushed to her eyes just admitting that to herself, admitting that it was all over. Accepting that had become much harder than she’d ever thought. That missing ring on her finger had once seemed so damn important, but now she realized that was the least of her concerns. The health of her son had become the most important thing in her mind in light of recent developments.

As she rocked Leo back and forth in his stroller, soothing him during his sleep, she sensed a shadow growing in her mind. Things weren’t right. Things weren’t going to be okay. She was at the foot of a very ominous mountain. That shadow, it seemed, popped out of her mind and into the park, nearing her right side.

When she glanced over her shoulder, every muscle in her body froze. A familiar lithe brunette strode toward her across the long green grass of the well-manicured park. It was the same woman who had been in the bar with Delta. Kendra jumped up immediately, ready to bolt, when the woman raised her hands in a gesture of peace. Stopping a safe distance from her, the brunette offered her a conciliatory smile, a little more wild than civil.

“Kendra—right? I just want to talk to you. I’m not here to cause trouble.”

“Right.” Kendra hesitated. She positioned herself in front of the stroller, protecting Leo.

“I’m Sky.”

Distrusting, her blood pumping, Kendra gazed left and right—but she stayed put, taking a deep breath, seeing how well populated the park was. If at any point the woman made a move, Kendra wasn’t alone.

“How can I help you?” Kendra asked, watching suspiciously.

“Look… I’ve been working on something with Delta, and he keeps telling me not to call the cops. He’s got trust issues. But you’re a cop, right?”

“I am.”

“I need you,” Sky explained, taking a piece of paper out of her pocket and placing it on the edge of the park bench.

“What’s that?”

“It’s an address,” Sky told her. “Meet me there tonight.”

“I don’t understand,” Kendra replied, confused. “Why me?”

“He said not to call the cops,” Sky replied, a promising look in her eyes. “But he didn’t say not to call his girlfriend.”

Kendra gave the woman a look, in no uncertain terms, that screamed ‘don’t be ridiculous’. ‘Girlfriend’ couldn’t be further from the truth. Seeming to get the message, Sky gulped, shifting uneasily in the park grass.

“He trusts you.”

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