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

don’t need no more time on my record, you get it?”
    “Don’t be such a pussy. Hold her tighter.”
    “Bitch can really struggle.”
    The men were distracted as I came in behind them. The man holding Piper down was younger, maybe in his thirties, with thin greasy hair. He was skinny, and his suit looked too big. The other guy was older, in his forties, with graying hair. He was wearing a tracksuit.
    I stopped behind the skinny one. The older guy looked up at me just as I brought the butt of my weapon down onto the skinny guy’s skull. He collapsed forward with a grunt, the sound of my weapon against his head a wet thud.
    “Fuck,” the older guy said, going for his gun.
    I kicked him in the face. I felt his jaw crack and saw a tooth break free as he was knocked down to the floor. I followed that up with three more swift kicks to his skull, cleanly knocking him unconscious, or maybe killing him. I wasn’t sure, and didn’t care to find out.
    I bent down and quickly untied Piper.
    “Gates,” she groaned, throwing her arms around me.
    “It’s okay,” I said. “I’m here.”
    She hugged me tight and I pulled her against me, holding her. The men were bleeding and unmoving, which was exactly how I wanted the fucking bastards.
    “Come on,” I said, standing and helping Piper to her feet.
    “Where are we going?”
    “We have to leave here. Grab your things.”
    She stared at me. “How did they find me, Gates?”
    “Tony tracked your phone. We’ll need to leave that here.”
    She shook her head. “This is insane.”
    I took her by the shoulders. “You’ve done great so far. Please, Pipes. Trust me. We have to go.”
    She paused and then nodded. She turned and began to gather her few possessions.
    I went into my room, grabbed my go-bag and another duffel. I had food, water, camping gear, an extra weapon with ammo, and other essentials pre-packed. I threw some toiletries, clothes, and a few other things into the other bag. I was ready in three minutes.
    Piper was standing in the kitchen, staring at the two men. “What were they going to do to me?” she asked me softly.
    “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “You’re with me now.”
    She nodded and followed me out the door.
    I wasn’t sure where we were going. But I knew that we couldn’t stay at my apartment anymore. Greg and Lauren were in danger, which was my next concern.
    But for now, I needed to get the two of us far, far away as fast as I could.

Chapter 13

Piper
    I was shaking for the first hour of the drive. I couldn’t stop seeing those men pressing me down against the floor so easily and callously tying me up. No matter how hard I struggled, they simply held me down harder and kept going.
    I couldn’t believe this was really happening. But it all sank in when Gates came back and stopped those two sick fucks. I wasn’t sure if he killed them or not, but I found myself not really caring one way or the other.
    That thought alone terrified me. I should care if men were dead or not, but I really didn’t. They were sick fucks that wanted to hurt me, and that was really all that mattered in my mind. Still, I didn’t want to become a person that didn’t care about human lives.
    Maybe that was what I needed to be if I was going to survive.
    After an hour of driving, we were clear of the city. We were on a highway heading southwest, doing at least seventy the whole time. We barely spoke, and I could tell that Gates was upset, though I didn’t know why.
    He saved my life again. He saved it once when he picked me up, and again when he stopped those men from taking me. It wasn’t his fault that Tony was an insane creep and knew how to track my cellphone. Tony probably planted a bug inside of it or something the second we started dating.
    Gates still managed to get back and save me. We didn’t talk about what happened at the meeting, and I knew it wasn’t a good idea to press. Still, the silence had lasted long enough.
    “Where are we going?” I