Page 37 of SEAL's Paradise
Chapter 16
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SAWYER SPUN A PEN ONthe table in the secure conference room the next morning, watching it circle around before finally slowing to a stop.He’d had a late night, dropping Riley back at her place well after two in the morning.The driver of the SUV had been a dead-end, and she’d quickly returned to his truck after realizing they wouldn’t get any new information from him.The tattooed guy had disappeared into the massage parlor, and they’d both wanted to be out of sight if he’d made a reappearance.
Sawyer felt his teammates’ eyes on him now as they waited for their briefing with the CO to begin.The guys were pissed that he’d gone with Riley last night to investigate the address.
“You should’ve told me you went there,” Wyatt said, eyeing him.“I thought you were hanging out at the bar.We don’t know what other shady business this guy is involved with.”
“Think I had a pretty good idea as soon as I saw the women gathered outside a massage parlor and men arriving like vultures circling their prey,” Sawyer drawled.
“You don’t wanna get benched, Saint,” Aaron told him.“Sure, you may have been checking it out, but didn’t you say the commander is already on your ass?If you ended up questioned by police or arrested, none of us would’ve known what was going on.”
“Yeah, yeah.I wasn’t going to let Riley go there alone.And I wasn’t propositioning any women.I hung back while Riley checked things out.Her call,” he added.
Austin studied him, quiet.“You like her.”
“What’s not to like?”Sawyer quipped.
Austin chuckled.“Well sure, you like women in general, but you care about her.This is different.I mean, hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you spend so much time with the same woman before.”
Sawyer clenched his jaw.“I’m helping her.”
“Yeah,” Austin agreed, “but it’s more than that.”
Sawyer huffed out a frustrated sigh.“Seems like bullshit since I barely know the woman, but I’m having trouble getting her out of my head.Quiet little waitress Riley didn’t capture my attention, but this?She’s fucking spectacular.”
The rest of the room filled with the low laughter of his teammates.
“She was dressed to kill last night—sexy as hell in her tight jeans and little top, with a sidearm concealed under her jacket.”
“And you still haven’t slept with her?”Hudson asked in disbelief.
Sawyer shot him a look.“No.In between working at Coconuts, singling out the traitor from a sea of people at the bar, and chasing down a random address last night, we didn’t have time for that,” he said sarcastically.
“Doesn’t seem like you, buddy,” Hudson said.He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms, a shit-eating grin on his face.“You got it bad.”
“Maybe I want to find the guy selling out our country.”
“Nah,” Hudson said.“I mean you do, but it’s more than that.You must really like her if you haven’t gotten in her pants yet.”
