I'd been in love with her since the moment I saw her. But I was either too much of a chickenshit to go after what I wanted, or I tried to talk myself out of it because my profession was too dangerous.

Being a US Navy SEAL meant I did some pretty hard-core shit, went up against some pretty mean bastards, and only having to worry about myself was the smartest move. I didn’t want to put Lily in danger, not when my enemies would use that as leverage to hurt me.

“Stop staring, Brock. You're being obvious.”

I glanced over at Slade "Cutter" Cutsinger. He was the man I looked up to more than anyone else and a mentor to me. Cutter was one of the toughest son of a bitches I'd ever met. And I was glad he was on my side.

He’d been there to pull me out of the self-destructive hamster wheel I was living in as a teenager. I had no one and nothing to my name back then, but he’d seen something in me that no one else had. He’d never given up on me, and because of that I never wanted to let him down.

“Thinking too hard on something can get you in a whole lot of trouble.”

I grunted and turned my attention back to Lily. Our gazes clashed, and I felt my heart start to race. Then someone started talking to her, and our focus on each other was broken. But I continued to stare at Lily from across the room, her smile lighting up the whole fucking area. God, she was gorgeous, innocent and vulnerable. She was so damn smart, and all I wanted to do was tell her she was mine. With her long brown hair, her blue eyes that made me think of the ocean, she was everything and more.

Even in a nonformal gathering like this, where military members got together to let off steam but also to network and discuss the shit that was going on in the circle, she stood out like a diamond among grit and grime.

A few other SEALs who worked with Cutter gathered around us. I turned my attention to the men, knowing that some shit needed to be talked about just by the way they were acting. When Cutter retired from the navy, he was hired on as a contractor. He now did the administrative behind-the-scenes work for Commander Hurt and the men under his command. From what I’d seen, Cutter might be retired, but he was just as respected now as he had been when he was a SEAL. Rightfully so.

Cutter gestured for me to follow them, and we headed toward one of the back rooms. Once the door was shut, the men all took a seat around the table. I stayed off to the side and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Brock, you remember the Makonovich issue, right?”

I was alert in that instant, the sound of Cutter saying the fucker’s name ringing in my ears and making my body become tight. I pushed away from the wall and stared at Cutter. Makonovich wasn't a name I liked to think about. And hell, it had been one I’d been trying to push away from my memories for the last year.

I looked at the other men in the room, all their focuses on me. This was what this back-room meeting was about? They wanted to talk to me about some low-life Russian mobster that had left bodies in his wake a year ago? One that I had killed?

My heart started beating faster, and the blood rushed through my veins. I remembered getting assigned to the mission. I had thought it would be cut-and-dried: help take down some piece-of-shit assholes that were trafficking young women from Europe to the States.

But what I hadn't anticipated was the twisted fuck Makonovich. He was on the low end of the totem pole when it came to the Russian mob hierarchy. But because he was ruthless and had no morals, he was assigned to some pretty fucked-up tasks involving torture to those opposing the mob.

“Yeah, I remember Makonovich.” My voice was deep, rough. All the anger and rage I had felt during that mission came to the surface, threatening to spill over. I had damn good self-control, though, and schooled my features. I was in a roomful of SEALs. Losing my shit was not going to happen. “Blew his vehicle before he had time to get out.”

There was a collective silence as the men glanced at each other. Then Cutter looked me dead in the eye. “The asshole's resurfaced.”

I should have asked about the ins and outs of it, but in the moment all I could see was red. That motherfucker was alive?

“Not possible.” I shook my head, my hands in tight fists at my sides.

“It’s reality, Brock,” Cutter said and exhaled, looking dead serious. Before I could ask the specifics, he was speaking again. “He's left a very personal message for you that we got a few hours ago.”

“You've been sitting on this for a few hours?” My voice was deeper, the anger in me rising.

Cutter looked around at the other men. Commander Hurt was there, as were a few SEALs I’d met because of their association with Cutter. Wolf, Dude, and Cookie were men I wouldn’t hesitate to go on a mission with.

“We wanted to discuss if this was just blowing smoke up our asses, or if we should take it seriously,” Commander Hurt said.

Cutter continued. “He knows that you and I are connected, which is why, I'm assuming, he went through my channels to get this message to you.”

I'd known Cutter for years, since I was a teenager who got into far too much fucking trouble. He’d helped whip my reckless ass into shape, helped me train, become the SEAL I was today. It wasn't a secret that we were connected.

“It’s not just because I’ve known you since you were some scrappy punk. We are connected in another way too.” I felt my blood run cold.

Lily.

The other SEALs exchanged glances, and Dude pulled a phone out and put it on the table in front of him. A second later the raspy Russian voice of Makonovich came through. My body tensed just hearing that fucker. He spoke in Russian, his native tongue like shards of glass in my fucking ears.

Once the message was over I stood there, trying to stay calm, trying to come up with a game plan. All I kept thinking about was the last part he’d said, after all his fucking taunting and the pissing contest he was trying to display.

“I’m going to come after what you hold dear, what you love, the one thing you try and pretend you don’t want.”

How the fuck did he know who I loved?

Wolf and Cookie looked grim. Dude looked pissed. But it was Cutter I turned to, wanting to see his reaction. He was the one I was closest with, the one I respected so fucking much. I needed to know if he was thinking the same thing I was. I stared at him and saw that he had the same intense expression on his face that I probably wore. We both knew what this meant.

Makonovich was going to go after Lily.