Free Fall for a SEAL by Zoe York Page A

regrets.”
    “I walk away, sugar. That’s my life.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and cleared his throat, pushing away the hoarse edge that made her insides squish happily. “You might not regret that, but I sure as fuck will.”

    He didn’t want to leave her? That was both heavy and sweet at the same time. God, there was so much there to unpack, but they didn’t have time. Behind him, the door thunked open. “We need to get inside, but this isn’t over, Drew Castle.”
    She brushed past him, her arm glancing off his brick wall midsection, and for a second she thought he was going to grab her and kiss her again, but he shutteredthe wild look in his eyes and stepped in behind her. First they would figure out the mystery of the creepy message. Then they both needed more sleep. But tomorrow? She wasn’t sure what her next move would be, but it might need to include borrowing a bikini from Calli.
    Inside, they found a large and empty tiled foyer. Annie blinked hard at the larger-than-life double staircase that rose in frontof them, veering at the midpoint left and right to the balcony running the length of the second floor. Rik led them down the hallway to the left that opened onto a sunken living space. Padded benches and modern couches delineated a seating area, and behind that, three men were standing in a large empty space featuring only an oversized dining table that would easily accommodate twenty people. Tothe right was an archway to what looked like a kitchen, and from the clanging and banging, that might be where Calli had disappeared.
    Drew squeezed her shoulder, and she took a deep, fortifying breath before striding across the room to join the group. Rik made quick introductions. His younger clone was Mats, the guard from the front door turned out to be a friendly Texan named Jackson, and theshorter, wiry man with the serious face and rusty colored hair was Trent, who proceeded to lead them through a lightning fast briefing in his clipped Scottish accent.
    “It seems an effort was made to trick Annie into contacting Senator Harris, possibly to get Harris to reveal the true paternity of his son. If the voice mail hadn’t been garbled, it might have been a more successful endeavor.”
    “No, it wouldn’t.” Annie sighed. “I wish I could speak to my brother again, of course, but I knew from the first second that it was a prank. Or something more sinister.”
    “To be honest, we think prank is a good characterization. I need a bit more time to run the data, but I think the call originated locally to you.”
    “Someone I know?” Shock rippled through her. Her circle was small and tight-knit.High school girlfriends and some academic colleagues.  
    “No. You share a zip code with a large population of paparazzi. Tabloid TV shows would have a field day with a Republican politician hiding a paternity scandal. Particularly one that involved a member of the special forces.”
    She could feel Drew drawing himself up to the full extent of his height and weight. “How could they have figured thatout? Annie didn’t even know who the parents were.”
    “But they did. And ten years is a long time to keep a secret. Who knows who they told?”
    “So why involve her?”
    Trent shrugged. “Maybe she seemed like an easy mark? Accessible, unguarded, unaware of the scandal potential. They probably just wanted to get her to lure out Harris. Or write something in an email...anything that could be flashed beneatha headline as proof.”
    Heat flooded Annie’s cheeks as she realized she’d fled across the country and out into international waters, dragging Drew along with her, because she was running from the press. “Oh god,” she moaned. “What a mess!” She turned to Rik and shook her head. “I’m so sorry that I got you involved in all of this...we’ll leave tomorrow, and I’ll find a way to reimburse you for theexpense of all of this.” Somehow . She had her inheritance. Just how much did a private