Free Second Chance SEAL: A Bad Boy Military Romance by B. B. Hamel Page A

matter.
    Suddenly, I felt a motion to my left.
    “I figured she wouldn’t show.”
    I looked over and there he was. Tony smiled at me, this wicked and cold smile. I kept my cool and nodded at him. “You can understand why.”
    “I wasn’t sure who she’d send, though. Thought it might be Greg.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “What’s he have to do with any of this?”
    “She called him. He sent her your number. Didn’t take a genius to figure shit out from there.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “You’re tracking her phone.”
    “Tapped it a while ago. I probably shouldn’t have told you, but, fuck, I do love to brag.”
    I made a note to destroy her phone as soon as I could. “Why did you show up if you didn’t think she’d come?”
    “I wanted to meet the guy she ran to.”
    “You don’t want to meet me.”
    “No? I guess not. You’re some hotshot Navy SEAL, right?”
    “Something like that.”
    “Well, Mister SEAL. Listen to me.” He leaned forward and grinned. “My guys are on their way to grab her right now.”
    “What?”
    “That’s right. We figured out where you lived. If she’s there, she’s ours.”
    I stared at him, heart hammering. I knew he wasn’t lying. I didn’t sense any deceit in his words, and besides, I could tell that he was the type of man that needed validation. He needed me to know all about how plans and how smart he was. He couldn’t handle being a normal guy and winning a normal way.
    I could see what had scared her so much. She saw past his mask and got a glimpse of the real terror that was Tony.
    I’d met many guys like Tony in my time. Some of them even were on my side. They were cold, calculating, and fucking dangerous. I knew the kind of man he was, and that meant I knew the kind of man I had to be if I wanted to win.
    I stood up. “Nice meeting you, Tony.”
    He laughed. “Stay and drink. You’re too late to save her.”
    “The next time I see you, I will kill you. Understand?”
    Tony grinned huge at me. “You don’t disappoint, Gates.”
    I turned and walked quickly out of the restaurant.
    There was no time. I jogged across the street, jumped into my car, and started the engine. I peeled out, heading back to my apartment.
    Tony definitely sent those guys in the parking lot. I didn’t see their car as I drove past. That meant they didn’t have that big of a head start. If I drove fast and they were overconfident, I could make it.
    I clenched my jaw and broke every law imaginable as I sped back to my apartment. I couldn’t lose Piper, not now, not so soon. I couldn’t fucking let her down already.
    Tony was a sick bastard, but I had underestimated him. That was my mistake. Next time, I wasn’t going to make that same mistake. I wasn’t lying when I said that I’d kill him if I ever saw him again. Part of me hoped it would come to that, because killing was something I did very, very well.
    I turned onto my block, the Mustang’s wheels churning up gray smoke. I spotted that same car from the parking lot out front of my apartment building, the engine on, the doors open.
    That meant they just got there and were in the process of grabbing her.
    I stopped my car right in front of theirs, pulling back until my rear bumped hit their front. I jumped out of the car, drawing my weapon, and stormed inside.
    I charged up the steps. My place was the third door on the left, and it was hanging slightly open. I heard muffled grunts and the sound of someone struggling. I slowly pushed the door open and slipped inside, silent and deadly.
    The two guys were standing over Piper. She was being held down by the one man as the other wrapped rope around her, tying her up and immobilizing her.
    “Hurry up,” the one guy said. “I left the car running.”
    “I didn’t tell you to do that.”
    “Fuck you, man. We gotta get out of here quick with this bitch.”
    “People will notice either way. It doesn’t matter.”
    “That’s what you always say, but it does fucking matter. I