“Is she navy?”
“Civilian.” And Hunter itched to end this conversation so he could find her.
“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone that seriously.”
Hunter hesitated, and Andy drew out the silence. Damn, if Hunter wanted this leave, he was going to have to spill his guts. “I wasn’t. I met Kata yesterday.”
“And you met and married her on the same day?” Andy’s question sounded calm, but Hunter knew it was a façade. Barnes didn’t like outside interference in his SEALs’ lives, and this likely had him broiling inside.
Ah, hell. “I’m crazy about her, Andy.”
“I always knew you were decisive, but damn.” His buddy blew out a long breath. “I’ll need some info on her so she’ll be eligible for your benefits. I can start the ball rolling while you’re on leave, save you the time.”
Nice of him, but Hunter supposed Barnes was softening the blow in case his leave couldn’t be extended. “Katalina, maiden name Muñoz. She turned twenty-five yesterday.” Thanking God he’d had the foresight to look at her driver’s license and memorize her address, just in case, he rattled it off to Barnes.
“Got it.”
“Look, I need extra leave to settle this situation so I can return rested and focused.”
Andy scoffed. “You want extra leave to fuck her brains out. Damn it, Raptor. I don’t suppose it would do any good to tell you this is irresponsible and stupid?”
“No. Sir,” he added quickly.
Hunter sometimes forgot to treat Andy like his CO. But ol’ Barnes liked hearing it, and this was one situation in which following protocol might help.
A gate agent in a nearby lounge made an announcement over the loudspeaker, and Andy pounced. “You’re in the airport. Pretty sure of that leave, huh? Where you headed?”
“Lafayette, my wife’s hometown. I need to meet her parents.” Discern the problem with her stepfather so he could figure out exactly what not to do if he wanted to keep Kata and earn her trust.
“I’ll see what I can do about your leave. But, to be honest, things aren’t good here. Word is that Víctor Sotillo’s former troops are rallying around his brother, Adan.”
Hunter frowned. “The salsa dancer? That brother? He’s all about parties and finding his next lover, by all accounts. Not the kind of guy to take over a bloodthirsty cartel.”
“It’s still a family business. Always has been. So after Víctor’s death, Adan stepped in. Intel is that they’re regrouping and planning.”
Fuck. Even if Adan was ineffectual, this development didn’t bode well for an extended leave. The situation would need monitoring . . . but he must cement things with Kata, too.
Hunter sighed. “Even a few extra days here would really help me. Then I’ll be ready to roll.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Without another word, the line went dead. Hunter pressed the end button and shook his head. Well, that had been a clusterfuck. And the conversation with his father would, no doubt, be worse, though he’d bring Kata with him to see the Colonel.
As soon as he found her.
Originally, he’d planned to stay in Dallas with his brother, Logan. Now, he was focused on Kata, and the three-hour layover was chafing. He paced, picked at some lunch—and tried to call his bride a dozen times.
Finally, as he was boarding his flight, his phone rang. Kata’s name and number appeared on his screen. Bingo! A bit of the tension in his gut eased . . . then ramped up again. What would she say about last night?
“Good afternoon, honey.”
“Honey?” she screeched. “What the hell did you do last night, besides put your number in my phone?”
He froze. “It’s what we did. You don’t remember?”
“Not much.”
Surprise and disappointment stabbed him. That changed a lot of things. Yes, she’d been drunk, but not incoherent. He’d assumed ... Fuck. He’d assumed wrong and now had to deal.
“But I think it’s coming back to me.” Her voice shook. “Tell me I’m wrong. This is crazy. Impossible. We couldn’t possibly have . . .”
“Gotten married? The keepsake certificate is in your purse. The officiant said we can write away to the county clerk’s office for the real thing in a few weeks.”
Kata gasped, choked in panic. “You sound pretty damn calm. Why aren’t you freaked?”
Because he had no reason to be. If he showed the slightest bit of uncertainty, she would only panic more. Best for all concerned if he remained firmly in control.
“Listen, we’re going to be fine. Our sudden marriage is unconventional, but—”
“Crazy!” Kata drew in a horrified gasp. “You sound . . . happy about this.”
“Very. I want you, Kata, and my gut tells me we’re right for each other. Give yourself some time to get used to the idea—”
“That my family is going to kill me? That I just did the most irresponsible thing of my life? Or that you went way beyond taking advantage of a drunk woman?”
Yeah, she’d see it like that—and maybe she was right. All he knew is that, unless Andy came through, he’d be going back on active duty too soon to resolve this. His time to make Kata fall in love with him was ticking away. It might be six months or more before his feet touched U.S. soil again. Last night, he’d known that if he didn’t find some way to tie her to him quickly, she’d be gone. The decision had been simple strategy, like securing the bunker. Or in this case, marrying the woman.
If there’d been another way, Hunter would have chosen it, but time and her fears weren’t on his side. Last night, he’d never expected to meet someone he connected with on every level, then marry her almost immediately, but things happened; he dealt. That was the nature of his job.
This wasn’t his most noble moment, but if being a SEAL had taught him anything, it was that sometimes you had to fight dirty to complete the mission. And if his father had taught him anything, it was that a man must be ready to do whatever necessary to hold on to his woman or lose her forever. Unlike the Colonel, Hunter wasn’t a quitter.
Resisting the urge to point out the fact their marriage had, in fact, been her idea, Hunter played along, using his calmest voice. “We need to talk this out. I know this is sudden, but I want this to work.”
“We barely know each other!”
He sighed, pressing down his frustration. He wanted to howl that, while true, that wasn’t the point. What they had now wasn’t nearly as important as what they could have. But she was scared, and he didn’t want to come off like a stalker. Nor did he want her unhappy. He wouldn’t pursue this marriage and her so relentlessly if he didn’t believe in his gut that they belonged together. But he had to ease up now, find the right strategy to help her to see the possibilities.
“Kata, we can fix that—and anything if we set our minds to it. Give me a chance.”
“Hunter, I . . . Why? I know I have to take responsibility for my part, drunk or not, and I’m pretty sure I’m the one who suggested we get married like Christi and Nick—”
“Mick.”
“Whatever. You were the sober one. Good sex wasn’t a reason to get married.”
“Just good?” he countered archly.
“Okay,” she conceded. “Great sex. But still . . .”
“I think we’ve both been round the block enough to know that this is something more.”
“But normal people spend more time getting to know each other. They talk. They date.”
“We’ll do those things, Kata. In fact, I want to.”
“We should have started there.”
Hunter tried to grab on to his patience. “If you weren’t wearing that ring around your finger this morning and I’d called you to ask you out, what would you have said?”
Her silence told him everything. The emotional intensity between them still scared her. Most likely, she would have tucked tail and run. Only time would help her see that they could work.
“You weren’t drunk. Why did you marry me?”
That question was easy to answer. “Because I wanted to.”
Her sigh shivered down his back as he took his seat and buckled his belt. “Ugh, just when I think you’re a pushy, dominating prick, you say something nice.”
“I am a pushy, dominating prick.” He smiled. “But honey, I’m always honest.”
“How do you know I’m not a screechy head case with a bad credit score?”
“I don’t. But what I do know is how I feel about you. Trusting my gut has kept me alive more than once. I believe it’s steering me right now.”
“This is so much, so fast. I need time to sort through it.”
Hunter gritted his teeth. He could afford to give her latitude on a lot of things, but not about spending time with him before he went back on active duty. If he didn’t, Kata would be gone.
“Where are you, honey? I think we should talk as soon as I hit Lafayette.”
“Lafayette? Your plane ticket said Dallas/Ft. Worth.”
So she’d looked. Interesting . . . “Easy change.”
He regretted that he wouldn’t get to spend time with Logan so he could straighten his brother out. That would have to wait for now.
“Y-you can’t come here.”
“That’s where you are, honey. I’ll come straight to your place.”
“I—I’m not there right now. I had to leave. Ben . . .”
Probably wanted to pick up where he’d left off last night. Hunter would have to set him straight or kill him.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Stop! I don’t want you to take care of anything.”
Hunter swallowed against sudden fury, his voice very low. “You’re my wife. You’re not going to fuck him again.”
She gasped. “You thought . . . oh, that’s just fucking perfect. Why the hell do you want to be married to me if you think I’m going to step out on you the minute you turn your back?”
It was a fair question, and Hunter grappled for a fair answer. “I don’t know what your feelings for him are. And I know that a piece of paper between us probably wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to him. But let me be clear: It means something to me.”
“He’s a friend and he’s been convenient, yeah. But he’s not jealous, just pissed that I won’t have sex with him anymore. I couldn’t stay and listen to him rant. It was making my head hurt like a bitch.”
Hunter repressed a smile. Poor baby was hungover. It pleased him even more that she didn’t want to be intimate with Ben.
“Understood. Sorry if I upset you. No insult intended.” He gripped the phone tighter. “Tell me where you are, honey. I’ll come to you, and we’ll have a thorough conversation. I don’t want to change your life; I just want to be a part of it.”
“You change everything just by being you, the same way Gordon does.” Her voice wobbled with tears, and she sniffed. “Ugh, I need to shut up.”
Who the hell was Gordon? “Give us a chance to work this out. Are you with your sister?”
She laughed through her tears. “You think I’d go near two rambunctious boys when my head is throbbing like a broken toe? Or sign up for the lecture from hell? No way. I came to my office. It’s almost empty on Sunday.”
“Street address?”
Kata paused a long time, and Hunter bet she was weighing the intelligence of giving him an inch versus the sheer futility of running. In the end, she sighed. “You win.”
He memorized the address as she rattled it off.
“I’ll be there in two hours.”
“You know this marriage thing is a train wreck waiting to happen?”
He laughed. “Or the adventure of our lives.”
“Well, I—”
Suddenly, he heard a blast on the other end of the line. It was unmistakably gunfire.
Kata screamed. Then the line went dead.
Chapter Six
HUNTER knew his fingers shook as he dialed Kata again. Four rings, then voice mail. The result didn’t change when he tried once more.
Who the hell would be shooting inside her office building? He couldn’t let himself think that she couldn’t answer the phone because something terrible had happened.
Pushing down his fear, he fell back on his training. Stuck on a fucking plane, he could only reach out for help. And he had to do it before the plane pushed away from the gate and the flight attendants forced him to turn off his cell phone.
He didn’t hesitate to hit one of the numbers on his speed dial. Thankfully, Deke had elected to move to Lafayette, closer to work and his cousin Luc, a few months back. His brother-in-law answered right away. “Hey, Hunter.”
“I have a situation. There’s a female probation officer, Kata Muñoz, who’s been either shot or shot at.” He rattled off the address. “She’s had some run-ins with a local gangster who’s been threatening her. Get to her, man. Now. I’ll be there as soon as I get off this damn plane.”
