* * *

“I can’t believe you’d do this shit to me bro, that’s cold.” He didn’t pretend not to know what I was talking about. The heat was on for me now and we both knew it.

Once the women find out that he’d found his match there’s no doubting what they’ll do to me. Damn.

“Look on the bright side. At the rate the rest of us are falling I give you ‘til the end of the week before some filly gets her hooks in you too.”

He wish. I played along but deep inside I knew that it wasn’t in the works for me. I ignored the voice in my head that said ‘maybe’ and went back to what I was doing.

Thorpe had checked out but since he was still an unknown I was doing another deeper intensive search just to be on the safe side.

Lo and the others had gone with Mancini and the rest because Lo can never let anyone do his job, or that’s the way I’m sure he’s looking at it.

Quinn was playing it cool but I knew deep down he’d rather be back at his place getting to know his girl than here with me. I also knew why he thought he had to keep me company.

“You don’t have to babysit me you know brother, I’m not gonna freak because I’m the last man standing.”

“Don’t be an ass, I just figured two heads are better than one and time is of the essence. Be glad it’s not Ty, that fucker is chomping at the bit to dig into you.”

“I bet, asshole’s been talking shit all night.”

“You know he has to get his licks in or he won’t be Tyler. Don’t forget we ragged his ass but good when Vicky got her hooks in him. He’s looking for payback. I’m sure he’s got some shit lined up for me too.”

He stopped talking and I looked away from the screen to study him.

“What is it?” He looked uncomfortable as fuck. Not a look I’m accustomed to seeing on my brother.

“You remember what I’ve been feeling all day? The shit that got me outta bed in the middle of the night?”

I nodded as I went back to the screen. “Yeah, what about it?” I’d forgotten all about that shit with all that’s been going on the last few hours.

“It was her.” I gave him a questioning look.

“What do you mean? Like you knew she was in danger?” He nodded but looked away almost like he was embarrassed.

I never understood why he had such a hard time accepting his gift. Where everyone else saw it as a bonus, he always seemed to see it as more of a weakness.

“That’s fucking amazing bro. You saved them, not just your girl, but those others…and… you might’ve peeled back another layer of this fuck fest of a puzzle.” I let that settle in for a minute.

“If you hadn’t sensed something, then we never would’ve headed down to the beach. We’d probably be halfway to wherever it is Mancini is dragging us off to and those poor girls…”

I stopped and shook my head because the shit was too awful to think about. It’s hard being the man I am, the man all my brothers and the men who’d joined us are deep down inside, to see shit like this.

This is the kinda shit you expect to see in third world countries, and even then it’s a hard pill to swallow. But in our own backyard? Just feet from where my sisters put their head down to sleep at night? No fucking way.

“Yeah, there’s that. But how do you think she’s going to feel having a man who can see into her like that? The shit seems even stronger now that she’s here. Like I touch her and some kind of electric shock flows through me. I can only imagine that it’ll get worst as time goes on.”

“You worry too much bro. I was watching her before, she watches you. And the way she reached for your hand back there, that’s telling. Plus she’s Mad Dog’s kid she has to have a strong constitution.”

“Yeah fuck, I forgot about that. What the fuck Dev I can’t have Mad Dog for a father in law. The guy would make my life a living hell.”

“Too late for that bro, you’re all the fucking way gone. So you’re tuned into her huh. I wouldn’t worry about it, I don’t see much difference between that and the way the rest of these clowns are with their women.”

“You have a point. But though the others seem to have a bead on their women twenty-four seven, this shit is way more invasive.”

“I always knew that was the reason for your holdout. I keep telling you, your old man was wrong. What you have is not a curse, I don’t know what you’d call it but it’s not that. You’ve saved our skins more times than I can count, how can it be bad?”

He didn’t answer right away but from the look on his face I knew there was something else plaguing him.

“What else is bothering you Quinn?” He stood and walked to the windows and looked out. “There’s something I never told you, only Logan knows.”

Whatever it is must be really bad because I’ve never seen him hedging this much.

“Part of this…family ‘gift’ is that the men always know their women when they meet them. There’s some kind of invisible draw or some shit. I never paid too much attention to the stories because dad used to flip his shit whenever anyone tried to tell me.”

“Okay, and we’ve already decided that he was full of shit. What’s wrong with knowing the woman you’re going to spend the rest of your life with?”

“It’s more than that, this knowing…it’s like I can see her. I felt her all night and into today but I didn’t know it was her, only that someone I loved was in danger. Then when I touched her on the beach, there was this weird connection. When I’m away from her, like now, I feel like something’s missing.”

I suppose the look he gave me was to check if I was judging him, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

“I don’t see anything wrong with what you’re describing. If you’re telling me that you loved her on sight then I say good for you. As to feeling like something’s missing when you’re apart, try to remember how your brothers all acted when they first bit the bullet.”

“Fucking Cord was a maniac and Ty lost his fucking mind. If you’re gonna be worst than those two then hey, at least we’ve had practice.”

He laughed and shut the hell up and let me get back to my own haunting thoughts. My mind was going in two directions at once.

On the one hand the fact that I was the only one left kinda gave me hope that it could really happen for me too. On the other hand, the same thought scares the shit outta me.

The thing is, it has been so long since I let myself think about love and marriage that I can’t even imagine what my woman may look like.

There was a time long ago when I could’ve at least see an outline of what I wanted her to be, but now, it escapes me.

I couldn’t escape the excitement in my gut though. He’d made that shit look so easy it was hard not to have just a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe I could find my forever too. This was the first time that my brothers and I weren’t on the same page.

Obviously I wasn’t gonna run out and grab the first woman I met, but what if there really was someone out there for me?

Someone that could love me scars of the past and all. I shook it off and got back to work, but my mind refused to settle. I decided to fuck with him to get my mind off my own shit.

“So what are you planning to do about your new father in law?”

“I’m seriously considering making a run for it. What the fuck am I gonna do if he tries to take her? That can’t happen.”

“Chill bro, it’ll be fine. If anyone knows the kind of man you are it’ll be an ex-SEAL. I think he’ll be glad to have you. And from her side of the conversation on the phone I’m thinking that little princess has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.”

“Damn, she’s going to be just like the others isn’t she?”

“Oh it’s a given.” I grinned when he lost the color in his face.

I went back to work but there was nothing but silence coming from his side of the room. I looked back over my shoulder at him and had to hide my grin.

Damn, can none of them act normal when they’re going through this love shit? I’ve been in life threatening situations with them more times than I can count, but I have to say, I’ve never seen my brothers lose their fucking minds the way they do when it comes to their women.

“Why don’t you go check on her? I can see you’re not getting anything done.” He’d been staring at the same screen since we stopped talking.

His boyish grin gave me a start. I don’t think I’d ever seen that look on his face before. It was almost soft, inviting. What the fuck was going on around here?

“I’ll be back in five.” He jumped from his chair and headed for the door, leaving me alone to make myself crazy with my own thoughts of what if. I don’t need this shit.

There was too much going on for me to waste time with that shit anyway. Plus with my wingman showing the signs of being bitch made as Ty is so fond of calling them, I had to be on my A-game.

I checked my watch, time was moving fast and there was still a lot to be done here before we could leave.

We really should be getting outta here but we had to wait for the admiral or they’d be hell to pay. For some reason since Quinn’s phone call early this morning or late last night, things seem to be on autopilot.

We’d gone with nothing for weeks, chasing our tails, and now things just seem to be falling into place at warp speed.

First the codes, now Quinn, not to mention saving the daughters of fellow servicemen who were the same ones mentioned by the commander in his secret notes. No SEAL believes in coincidence.

We’ve been going so fast for the past few hours we hadn’t even had time to sit down and digest all the nuances as they kept coming at us like fastballs.

My only interest right now is staying ahead and on the right side of this thing. I have to give the others props on their part in all this. Lyon and Mancini especially.

These two never… well Lyon’s never served and I still don’t know what the fuck Mancini is other than spooky as fuck.

But these guys when they came here weren’t expecting anything but a pick up and drop. Hours later they’re still in the danger zone and not one complaint.

Law and Creed have worked with us before but never on domestic soil and that’s another problem we’re facing.

We can’t neutralize these assholes because we’re not technically at war so it’ll just be murder, unless we gave them a running chance.

That shit would just bring more headaches than we need. The blowing of the tunnel is bound to bring attention and we still can’t leave until the admiral gets here, and we have a secure location to take those girls to.

Which is what I’m supposed to be looking into now instead of thinking about my own shit. I went back to my search and tried not to feel like there was a target on my damn back. Fucking women!

Gideon Thorpe looked almost as cagey as Mancini. There were huge gaps in the bios on him online, that only someone who was looking close enough would notice.

On the surface he was a billionaire businessman with his hands in a lot of pies. But if you know where to look those runs he makes into the most out of the way places on earth, spells either criminal, or special Ops.

I’m willing to take Mancini’s word that it’s something closer to the latter. The fact that I had to use our special equipment to get that much on him told me he was either deep under cover, which was doubtful because there was no military jacket on him. Or he was one of those billionaires who put his money where his mouth is.

I did as in depth a search as was possible before assuring myself that he was solid. Then I went over the decoded file to see what I could piece together with this latest development with Quinn’s woman and the others who’d been taken.

There was something there between the lines but it wasn’t ready to break loose for me. I just couldn’t see it. I think Lo and Quinn might know though, but we haven’t exactly had time for a debriefing so I’ll wait and see what they got.

I shut it down and went in search of the others suddenly tired of my own company. I met Quinn in the yard on his way back to the mansion.

“Where’s everybody?” For all the activity going on around here in the last few hours the place looked and sounded dead.

“Lo, Con and the others aren’t back yet from taking care of the tunnel. Zak and Ty are doing one last run through of our equipment and Cord’s at Zak’s with the wives.”

“Of course he is. How’re the girls doing?” I nodded in the direction of his house where we’d stashed them for now.

“They’re fine, they’re passed out in front of the TV. Well all but one, that one’s in my bed.” He sounded so happy. It was then I realized that that sound had been missing for a while. In fact I’ve never heard him sound so happy.

“So, you just had to do it, you had to beat me to the punch. Have you any idea what our sisters are gonna do to me?”

I wondered how well Cord was holding up under the Spanish Inquisition. It was for damn sure the women were grilling his ass but good with all the activity going on around here. Poor schmuck.

He clapped me on the shoulder as we changed direction and headed to where Zak and Ty were making sure we had everything we needed for our little trip.

“I’m sorry brother, but like I said, your time in the box is right around the corner. Maybe they’ll be too preoccupied with me and my girl to get into your shit.”

“My life won’t be worth shit until they tie a noose around my damn neck. I thought we were in this shit together bro, that’s foul. You might as well had left me in that hole in Fallujah if you were gonna come back here and sell me out like this.”

“Nah bro, trust me it’s not like that. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world. Like all the battles and shit I’ve been through was all for her.” I couldn’t even tease him for being a sap because the emotion in his voice was real.

“You really mean that.” I know he did.

“Yeah brother, I fucking do. And you know what, I want the exact same thing for you.” We were heading into dangerous waters for me so I took his mind off that shit quick.

“Ty is right.” I pretended to give it serious thought.

“About what?” He kept step beside me as we headed for Ty and Zak’s location.

“You really are bitch made.”

“Shut the fuck up Dev you ass.”

He threw a punch which I sidestepped and clapped him back one. That weight that had been pressing down on me since his early morning call had lifted. He was okay.