Navy SEAL Noel Read Online Free Page A

covering his chin. “Your dad sent me.”
    â€œMy dad?”
    â€œWell, I couldn’t say no to my new XO, could I?”
    â€œSo you’re still in the navy?” Oh, she sounded bitter—so much more bitter than she wanted to. Why couldn’t her words be flippant and nonchalant, as if it didn’t really matter that she no longer knew even the most basic things about him? He’d popped back into her life, and she didn’t want it to matter.
    But it did.
    Maybe because of the extreme situation.
    Sure. She’d just keep telling herself that.
    His smile flickered for a moment before he nodded slowly. “I am.”
    Forcing a chuckle, she said, “I figured when my dad realized I was missing, he’d send a SEAL team to bring me home.” At least she had hoped he’d do that.
    â€œNot a full team—he just sent one.”
    Her breath vanished, and she blinked twice.
    Will Gumble had become a SEAL. An elite warrior. The best that the United States military offered.
    What else didn’t she know about him?
    * * *
    Will crossed his arms over his chest. Anything to keep from reaching out for Jess again. From being rejected again.
    But he couldn’t pull his gaze from her face, all smooth lines and fair skin, except for the dark bags below her bloodshot eyes. Those were both probably recent additions. Most people couldn’t sleep much under this kind of stress. Just because he’d been trained to survive for days on catnaps didn’t mean Jess would look refreshed doing the same.
    Her hair brushed across her forehead and her eyebrows pulled together, leaving three vertical lines in the center.
    â€œWhere’s the rest of your team?”
    â€œStateside.”
    With stilted movements, she crossed her arms, matching his stance. Her gaze swept from his head to his toes and back again, her eyes shifting from pale green to the color of the sea in a typhoon. The scrutiny made him feel like a kid who’d been called into the principal’s office.
    He resisted the sudden urge to flex his arms against the seams in the sport coat to remind her that he wasn’t a boy any longer. This wasn’t about how much either one of them had changed. This was about getting her—and her bioweapon—back to San Diego. Back to a lab where they would both be secure.
    â€œWhy’d you come alone? Don’t you usually stick together?”
    He lifted one shoulder. “Usually. But this isn’t exactly an authorized op.”
    The corners of her mouth turned down, confusion washing across her features. “What does that mean?”
    â€œI’m...freelancing.”
    â€œSo my dad just asked you to rescue me, even though we haven’t seen each other since we were eighteen? He asked you to drop everything and come to...to—” she waved her hand toward the yellowing walls “—wherever we are?” She paused, staring hard into his eyes. “And you did?”
    For the first time in years, he didn’t know what to say, so he spit out the only word that came to mind.
“Panama.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWe’re in Panama.”
    She clenched her slightly crooked teeth and shook her head, long brown locks falling over her shoulders. “That’s not— I didn’t mean... We’re in Panama? No, that’s not what... Why are you here?” Her words were a jumbled mess, and ended in a weary sigh. Not harsh, just confused.
    Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how to answer. But she deserved something more than a pat response. Taking a deep breath, he let it out through his nose before offering her what he hoped was a white-flag smile. “We were friends once. You meant a lot to me.”
    â€œBut you disappeared. You never called or responded to my emails or even came back to visit. I had to find out from your mom that you’d joined the navy.” Her voice picked up volume as memories seemed to fuel