Free Protecting Melody by Susan Stoker Page B

“Yeah, he is.”  
    “So? Deets woman!” Caroline demanded teasingly.  
    “We met online. I was bored and went into a chat room one night. He messaged me, and we started talking.” Melody stopped, and got serious, remembering all that the women had been through. “He was so worried about you guys. Fiona, I interrupted him when he was trying to help you and he was so concerned about you.” Melody turned to Jessyka. “He was pissed at you, Jess, but so proud that you’d risked yourself for Benny. You’re all so lucky to have him.” She stopped before she burst into tears. She normally wasn’t quick to cry, but the stress over the last few months was catching up with her with a vengeance.  
    Fiona got out of her chair and came over to kneel in front of Melody and put her hands on her knees. “We love Tex. He means more to us than you’ll ever know. We don’t take him for granted and we’re so thrilled he’s here. We’ve been wanting to meet him forever. Take good care of him for us.”  
    “I . . . we . . . we aren’t together like that.”  
    “If the look in either of your eyes is any indication, you will be soon.”  
    Melody didn’t know what to say. She just looked at Fiona, then around at the other women. They all had something in common. They were with hardcore SEALs that would give their lives for their women. Melody wanted that. She hadn’t admitted it to herself until now, but she wanted it.  
    They all turned as the men came into the room. Melody could see furrowed lines in Tex’s forehead and his pronounced limp made it obvious he was in pain.  
    Ignoring everyone else around her, Melody stood up and went straight to Tex. Baby trailed after her, close on her heels. Thinking quickly, not wanting to embarrass him in front of everyone, Melody said to him, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m tired, Tex.”  
    Tex knew what she’d done, knew she was lying so he could get off his feet, but didn’t call her on it. He wouldn’t mind getting more one-on-one time with Mel, and he knew the girls could talk all night if given half a chance. Melody’s words were the impetus to clear the room. Slowly everyone came over to say their good-byes to both Tex and Melody and Caroline and Wolf.  
    Cheyenne gave her a quick hug and stepped aside for her man. Dude put his hand under Melody’s chin and lifted her head until she had no choice but to look him in the eyes.  
    “You might not know this, but you managed to hook up with the right man. Tex will do what it takes to make sure you’re safe. He can do some amazing shit on the computer. We’ve all relied on him, the government relies on him, and I know for a fact there are several top-secret military groups out there who rely on him. But most importantly, you can trust him, Melody. We’ve got his, and your, back, but when push comes to shove, trust Tex.”  
    Melody could only nod as she gazed up at the intense man in front of her. His words were more of a command than anything else and Mel almost felt compelled to agree with him. If it wasn’t for Cheyenne standing next to him with a hand on his arm and smiling huge, she probably would’ve been worried. He had a way about him that Mel didn’t get from the others. More…take-charge. That wasn’t exactly the word she was looking for, but before she could think too much about it, Dude leaned down and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before stepping back so the others could approach her and say their good-byes as well.  
    Melody got a hug from everyone before they left, along with more reassurances that she’d be safe with Tex. She was basically passed from one person to the next until there were only four of them left. Tex had been right. His friends were touchy, but Melody liked it. They were affectionate and it was obvious they cared about Tex.  
    “I’ve got the room all set up for you guys. Melody, I got Baby’s food from the car and it’s downstairs for you to feed