The wind howled outside as a torrent of rain pelted the large glass windows. Logan couldn’t sleep with this raging storm going on, even if thinking about Weslee had already robbed him of sleep. The couch was comfortable enough, just not long enough. Swinging his feet around, he sat up on the couch and scrubbed his hands over his face.

He was not falling in love with Weslee. He’d already done it. The love he felt for her filled up every empty space inside of him. It soothed fears he’d had his whole life. It healed wounds he’d gotten each time he went out on a mission and took another life to save countless other lives.

It still blew his mind that she thought he was a good man. It reminded him of when Sutton had shown up in Turkey to recruit Logan and his SEAL team to take part in his Warrior project. He’d called all of them heroes. They hadn’t felt like heroes. They were just doing what they’d been trained to do, but then Sutton had pointed out each thing they’d done that was more than just part of the job. He’d looked Logan in the eyes and called him a hero for having the guts to fly a chopper when he’d never done it before. Some would call it stupid. If the guy knew anything about him then he’d know that was just Logan winging it again. Still, the words had stayed with him.

Weslee had called him courageous. So why did he feel like he wanted to bolt one minute and then beg her to marry him the next? It wasn’t fair to her. He needed to let go of his fears—he was man enough to admit they were fears—and be all in. Or he needed to let her go.

That thought made his gut twist into so many knots no sailor would ever untangle them. He didn’t want to let her go. He needed to draw on that bravery because he was finding out that it took a lot of courage to love someone. Even more so to allow yourself to be loved. He hadn’t been a ruthless killer or a warlord. He hadn’t done any of it for power or for money. He’d done it out of a sense of duty to protect the innocent and maintain freedom.

So, could he believe what Weslee had said to him? That he was a good man?

A sudden gust of wind battered the window. He half-expected it to shatter. Maybe he should’ve insisted they use the hurricane shutters. It wasn’t too late to close them. They were electronic and Weslee had shown him where the control panel was earlier. He got up from the couch and navigated around the furniture to turn on a light. It was so dark and without wearing night vision goggles he couldn’t see much.

Flipping the switch on, he squinted against the light and hurried down the hall to where the panel was. As he opened the door, another burst of wind rattled the house. The lights flickered on and off several times. He pressed the button to close the shutters when a surge of wind shook the house so much he could feel it inside him. Then everything went dark and so quiet. The underlying hum of electricity he hadn’t noticed before no longer filled the air.

“Logan?” Weslee called out to him. She stood next to the empty couch, holding a small LED lantern.

“I’m here,” he said. She swiveled in his direction, the small lantern lighting a path toward her. “Thought I might close the shutters, but I waited too long.”

Walking toward him, she met him near the small kitchenette. The lantern created enough light for him to see how cute she was with her hair messed up. Dang, it was sexy too. He swallowed hard, not letting his mind go where it shouldn’t be going. Inez had lectured him soundly when she found out he was sleeping on the couch near Weslee’s bedroom. She’d told him that she liked him, but not so much that she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him if he comprised her girl.

Kissing…that was allowed, but his hands couldn’t go exploring. She’d said a bunch of other stuff that had him feeling like a hormonal teenager without any self-control. Logan promised her he wouldn’t violate her rules. He never broke a promise he could control, and he knew how to control himself. Discipline had been ingrained in him from as far back as he could remember.

His eyes skimmed over her yellow pajamas. They weren’t revealing and could probably pass for a T-shirt with matching shorts. The simplicity of the clothing was more appealing because she looked incredibly kissable. Desire swamped his senses, his body reacting to her nearness and making his brain foggy.

One kiss. That’s all he wanted was one kiss. But with her looking all sexy like that he knew one kiss wouldn’t be enough. He was still a man. A good man, according to Weslee. He wanted her to keep that opinion of him. That, and he didn’t want to get shot by a sixty-something former nanny.

“Which side of the house is the generator on?” he asked, knowing it should’ve automatically kicked on by now.

A wrinkle creased her brow. “On the north side but the panel is inside the garage. I wonder why it didn’t come on? It should’ve started working soon after the power went out.”

“Why don’t you go back to bed and I’ll go check it out,” he said, already knowing she would tell him no by the stubborn look on her face.

“I’m coming with you.” The windows shook again, prompting her to move closer to him. “Inez took her sleeping pill. She wouldn’t wake up if a freight train came through her bedroom.” She jumped when debris hit the window. “I don’t want to be up here alone.”

That ingrained protectiveness inside of him doused his physical desires for now. “Sure, I could probably use your help.” He took her hand and led her back to the couch. “Let me get grab my flashlight.”

He found it on the end table next to the couch, along with his watch. His gun was there too, but it was in a small gun safe he could open quickly with his fingerprint. He grabbed the flashlight and they headed down the stairs.

“This storm is nothing compared to a real hurricane,” Weslee said when the house shook from another gust of wind.

“Then I hope I never witness a real hurricane.” He shone the flashlight on the second-story windows. “This storm puts a Colorado blizzard to shame.”

As they made their way to the main level, she asked him how many blizzards he’d been in. He found himself telling her about the time he’d walked a half mile to school in a snowstorm that would’ve canceled school if it had been anywhere else but Colorado. It was right before his dad had died. He was only nine and had told his mom that he needed to get used to doing hard things if he wanted to be a SEAL.

He’d bundled up in his winter gear and walked to school. At the time, he hadn’t known his mom had followed him at a discreet distance to make sure he’d arrived safely. He’d only learned about it on his first deployment. She’d hugged him tight and told him she wished she could follow him in her car to make sure he was safe. Logan had vowed to do whatever it took to return to his mom. She’d already suffered enough when his dad had been killed.

He told Weslee all of that too, which he hadn’t planned on doing. She stopped walking, set her lantern on top of a sofa table, and turned to look at him. The shimmering light of lantern illuminated her beautiful face perfectly. She was crying. He hadn’t meant to make her cry.

“That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, wiping a tear with the tip of her finger. Another one escaped and slid down her smooth skin before she could wipe it away. “Your mother sounds wonderful. No wonder you turned out so amazing.”

Her praise made him feel uncomfortable. He’d been a good kid with good grades, but there were times he’d probably given his mom some of her gray hair. “I was still a pain in the…” He paused to reword how much of a pain he was. “…behind.”

“You mean you weren’t perfect?” She was teasing him, and he couldn’t resist kissing her this time. He set his flashlight next to the lantern and pulled her into his arms.

Like oxygen fanning a flame back to life, kissing Weslee stoked a fire inside Logan until he was close to breaking his promise to Inez. He quickly pulled his hand away from Weslee’s waist. Without willfully thinking about it, his hand had inched up until his palm connected with her warm skin.

“You’re going to get me shot by your nanny,” he said, stepping away from her so he could think straight again.

“Inez threatened to shoot you?” She touched a finger to her lips. “For kissing me?”

Heat simmered low in his belly as he considered her plump lips. “Kissing is allowed.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s the other stuff she said she’d shoot me for.”

“Oh.” Weslee bit her lower lip, trying to hide her smile. “Well, I don’t want her to shoot the man I love.” Her eyes widened, and she slapped her hand over her mouth.

She loved him? He’d heard that correctly, right?

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” she said, apologizing before he could confirm what he’d heard. “At least not yet.” She pushed a section of her long hair behind her ear. “I was waiting for the right moment to tell you.”

Logan was rendered speechless. This beautiful girl loved him. Loved him, even after he’d told her he wasn’t good enough for her. His mind scrambled for what to say. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. “I…” He wanted to tell her he loved her too, but the words stuck in his throat.

She searched his face, and he saw her hope dwindling. “You don’t need to say anything, Logan.” She lifted one shoulder up in a shrug. “But now you know how I feel about you.”

Come on, Steele. Pull it together. “It’s not that I don’t—” He stopped and drew in a breath. He was botching this whole thing. He hoped she’d cut him some slack. He wasn’t the romantic type, and he’d never done this before. Never thought he would.

Logan saw a shadow and went on alert, but it was too late. As if in slow motion, he watched in horror as a man grabbed Weslee around the waist and yanked her to him. Then the man pointed a gun at her head. “Don’t make a move or she’s dead.”

Red-hot rage rivaled with his fear of losing Weslee as Logan stared into the cold face of Josh Whitaker. The kid was Weslee’s stalker? Carefully, Logan held up his hands.

“I said don’t move!” Josh shouted, pressing the gun into the side of Weslee’s head. She winced as terror flickered across her face.

“Okay, man,” Logan said. “I just want to show you I’m unarmed.” He couldn’t believe he’d left his gun upstairs or that the kid got in past the security system. Then he remembered the power was out and the whole-house generator hadn’t kicked on. Josh must have somehow disabled it. “I know you don’t want to hurt Miss Weslee,” he said, keeping his voice even. “So let’s talk about what’s going on. I’d like to help.”

“You can’t help me!” Josh yelled, spittle spraying from his mouth. “Because of you my plan is ruined.”

Logan wished like heck Blayze Brockton, another former SEAL working for Sutton, was here for backup as a hostage negotiator. Now he wished he’d asked his guys to come as soon as possible. He was still waiting to hear back from them on final dates for all of Weslee’s upcoming events.

Clearing his mind of things he couldn’t control, he concentrated on what he could do. He needed to keep the kid talking until he could figure out a way to disarm him. “I’m sorry.” He needed to know whatever plan he’d screwed up if he had any hope of saving Weslee. “What can I do?”

Josh let out a string of curse words and pointed the gun at Logan. He instantly felt better because he was the target and not Weslee. The kid’s hand shook violently, giving him hope that he would lose his grip on the gun.

“You can die,” Josh seethed “I need you gone so my dad can hook up with Weslee.”

What? This was all about Robbie getting together with Weslee? Logan swallowed, trying to understand the kid’s twisted thoughts.

Before he could think of what to say, Josh filled in a few more blanks. “Then I can pay him back for what he did to me.”

Whoa, this whole mess just got messier. The kid had daddy issues. Anyone would with Robbie as a father. “I get that. My old man makes me mad too.” He knew his father would forgive the lie if he was still alive, but Logan needed to find some commonality with Josh.

“Yeah? Did he sleep with your girlfriend too?”

Weslee gasped, and Josh jerked the gun back at her, making Logan’s blood turn to ice. This was so messed up. Never mind that a father would actually sleep with his son’s girlfriend, but Josh’s revenge plan was to rape Weslee because he knew she’d never have consensual sex with him.

He needed to humanize Weslee otherwise the kid might pull the trigger. When he did, it needed to be pointed at Logan.

“Man, that’s pretty messed up,” Logan said. “But Miss Weslee didn’t do anything, Josh. She does everything she can to nurture kids, and she’d never hurt anyone.”

“My dad wants her. He hasn’t shut up about her hair or her body or how sweet and innocent she is.” Josh pressed the gun against Weslee’s temple. “I was going to get to her first, ya know.” He glared at Logan. “But then you showed up and screwed everything up!”

The lantern gave off enough light to let Logan see the madness in Josh’s eyes. He needed that gun pointed at him before he could try to disarm the kid.

“Sorry, kid, but I don’t think you’re man enough for her,” Logan said, taking a deliberate step forward.

His plan worked, and Josh aimed the gun at him, giving Logan the green light to rush him. Weslee screamed out his name as a deafening sound echoed from the gunshot. Logan had been shot at countless times as a SEAL, but he’d never once been hit. Until now. As the impact of bullet threw him backward, the only pain he felt was the knowledge that he’d failed to protect Weslee.