Page 27 of SEAL's Temptation

Their conversation was interrupted by Sawyer coming back into the yard with a six-pack of beer and plastic grocery bags full of snacks.“Forgot I left these in my truck,” he said, coming over to the table.He shook his head, glancing back at the gate again.

“What’s wrong?”Ryan asked.

“I went to grab this and swore I saw Riley getting into a car down the street.”

“The waitress from Coconuts?”Wyatt asked, his brow creasing.He’d carried over a platter of grilled burgers and set the food down on the table.

“The very one.”

“Maybe she’s a stalker,” Hudson joked as he walked over.“Another crazed Sawyer fan.”

“Who are his other crazed fans?”Layton asked lightly.

“They’re mostly just in his head,” Hudson quipped.

The group burst into laughter, Sawyer rolling his eyes.“No, I swear it was her.I don’t think she lives anywhere near Wyatt’s place.She got in her car as I grabbed the food from my truck, and when I glanced back over, she’d put on sunglasses and was looking at her phone.”

“Seems real suspicious,” Ryan joked, clapping him on the back.

“Nah.Something was off about it.”

Callie came back outside, carrying a tray full of ketchup, mustard, and other condiments.Ryan took it from her to set it down, and the team and their women began gathering around and filling their plates, the conversation and drinks flowing once again.

Ryan grabbed his cell from his pocket, swiping the screen to make sure he hadn’t missed any texts from Avery.She was on the plane, so it wasn’t likely he’d hear from her for hours.He looked around at his friends as he pocketed his phone once more, suddenly feeling slightly off.

He was worried about her.And as his gut churned, Ryan realized he’d worry about her every single day until she was back home.

Chapter 13

One month later

AVERY MOVED BEHINDthe others after breakfast, heading toward their medical tents in Bajo Chiquito, the jungle village in the Darien Gap.The makeshift tent site for the Doctors Without Borders team allowed them to see and treat additional migrants every day.The settlement was only a temporary stopping point for the people as they continued on their journey north.

The medical team had been forced to up their security measures in the past several days due to unrest in the area.Avery had gotten used to the routine of the past month, the daily patterns they’d fallen into, and she felt slightly unsettled now.It was just the change, she told herself.The unfamiliar.She’d get used to the new processes and all would be well.The site she worked at was certainly safer than traveling the entirety of the dangerous, inhospitable terrain of the Darien Gap.

The local nurses, part of the staff she supervised, were chatting beside her as they walked in the early morning sun.The women talked so rapidly in Spanish, Avery had trouble catching all of what they said.While Avery had taken Spanish in high school and college, she wasn’t a native speaker.The other nurses communicated much more easily with the migrants the team treated as well.While Avery had no doubt gotten her position here due to her nursing management skills and specialty in pediatrics, the medical staff she worked with were highly capable.Efficient.Compassionate.They were also more used to the horrors the migrants passing through the jungle faced, and that thought alone sobered her.

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