Hero - The Ambush: Special Forces Romance by M. S. Parker Page B
Authors: M. S. Parker
Tags: Romance
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pushing through to the semi-circular drive out front. Leighton kissed her brother's cheek before stepping back. I shook his hand, then watched as Devlin embraced his grandson. The realization of what Ian was doing, the sort of danger I knew he'd be exposed to, all of it hit me hard enough to make my chest hurt.
For the first time in my life, I realized I'd been completely clueless when it came to being on the other side of things. I'd always assumed that it wasn’t easy for my mother and sister, but that they were used to it since I wasn't the only one in my family who'd served. Only now did I understand a small part of what they'd felt being the ones left behind. I didn't even want to think about how things would be if Ian were my brother or my son.
When we got back to the house, the first thing I was going to do was call my mom. I usually talked to her on Sunday afternoons, but I needed to hear her voice. Needed to tell her how thankful I was for her.
But first, I needed to talk with Leighton about her little act. Except when I turned around, I couldn't see her anywhere. I turned my head slowly, scanning every inch around me. The crowded sidewalk, the busy hotel, the bustling street, and the line of town cars and taxis made it impossible to tell which direction she had gone.
Dammit!
I should have said something earlier. I should have known she would never have actually come to see Ian off drunk. She'd wanted to disappear and now she was gone.
Every sound was too loud, every light too bright. My senses assaulted my near-panicked mind. I had to stay calm though, had to keep myself together. This, I knew, was the problem with me having feelings for Leighton. She affected my ability to keep my head together.
Behind me, I was dimly aware of Devlin calling her name, but I didn't acknowledge him. Instead, I divided the area into quadrants and scanned again for her red curls, the part of her that would stand out the most in a crowd. I took mental images of each section as I went.
A silver Lamborghini with blue running lights peeled away from the corner curb.
A couple argued over directions.
A bachelorette party charged unsteadily toward a near-by nightclub.
The hotel driveway yielded no result, and I could follow up with the valets, but I doubted she'd gone that way. The long stretch of sidewalk in the other direction was empty besides a line of yellow cabs. That was the direction we'd been facing when Leighton disappeared.
I turned toward the hotel lobby. Maybe Leighton had slipped back inside and was already causing another scene in the hotel bar. Before I could check the bar, however, I saw Devlin charging for the desk already yelling at the desk clerk, demanding to see the hotel security footage.
“Do you know who I am? Do you know who she is?” Devlin asked. He sounded pissed off and rude, but I could hear the undercurrent of fear in his voice. “Half the guests who stay here are on my payroll, so get me your head of security, your manager, your goddamn mother if that's who can show me those tapes.”
“Sir, I can't do that,” the desk clerk squeaked. His eyes were wide, face pale.
The burly security guard who'd escorted Leighton downstairs earlier that evening appeared next to Devlin and the desk clerk breathed a sigh of relief as he scampered away. Devlin spun away from the pair and turned on me.
“All your training, all those honors the army gave you, all that combat experience, and you can't keep track of one spoiled girl?! It's not like she was at a rave or a rock concert. You lost her during a fucking family dinner!”
I kept my voice low and even, despite everything I was feeling. “Sir, I will find her. She can't have gone far.”
“Leighton has money,” Devlin snapped. “She could be on a plane to Thailand now if she wanted.” He pulled out his phone and sent a series of furious messages.
I assumed he was freezing her accounts, or at least hoped that's what he was doing. The best way to
For the first time in my life, I realized I'd been completely clueless when it came to being on the other side of things. I'd always assumed that it wasn’t easy for my mother and sister, but that they were used to it since I wasn't the only one in my family who'd served. Only now did I understand a small part of what they'd felt being the ones left behind. I didn't even want to think about how things would be if Ian were my brother or my son.
When we got back to the house, the first thing I was going to do was call my mom. I usually talked to her on Sunday afternoons, but I needed to hear her voice. Needed to tell her how thankful I was for her.
But first, I needed to talk with Leighton about her little act. Except when I turned around, I couldn't see her anywhere. I turned my head slowly, scanning every inch around me. The crowded sidewalk, the busy hotel, the bustling street, and the line of town cars and taxis made it impossible to tell which direction she had gone.
Dammit!
I should have said something earlier. I should have known she would never have actually come to see Ian off drunk. She'd wanted to disappear and now she was gone.
Every sound was too loud, every light too bright. My senses assaulted my near-panicked mind. I had to stay calm though, had to keep myself together. This, I knew, was the problem with me having feelings for Leighton. She affected my ability to keep my head together.
Behind me, I was dimly aware of Devlin calling her name, but I didn't acknowledge him. Instead, I divided the area into quadrants and scanned again for her red curls, the part of her that would stand out the most in a crowd. I took mental images of each section as I went.
A silver Lamborghini with blue running lights peeled away from the corner curb.
A couple argued over directions.
A bachelorette party charged unsteadily toward a near-by nightclub.
The hotel driveway yielded no result, and I could follow up with the valets, but I doubted she'd gone that way. The long stretch of sidewalk in the other direction was empty besides a line of yellow cabs. That was the direction we'd been facing when Leighton disappeared.
I turned toward the hotel lobby. Maybe Leighton had slipped back inside and was already causing another scene in the hotel bar. Before I could check the bar, however, I saw Devlin charging for the desk already yelling at the desk clerk, demanding to see the hotel security footage.
“Do you know who I am? Do you know who she is?” Devlin asked. He sounded pissed off and rude, but I could hear the undercurrent of fear in his voice. “Half the guests who stay here are on my payroll, so get me your head of security, your manager, your goddamn mother if that's who can show me those tapes.”
“Sir, I can't do that,” the desk clerk squeaked. His eyes were wide, face pale.
The burly security guard who'd escorted Leighton downstairs earlier that evening appeared next to Devlin and the desk clerk breathed a sigh of relief as he scampered away. Devlin spun away from the pair and turned on me.
“All your training, all those honors the army gave you, all that combat experience, and you can't keep track of one spoiled girl?! It's not like she was at a rave or a rock concert. You lost her during a fucking family dinner!”
I kept my voice low and even, despite everything I was feeling. “Sir, I will find her. She can't have gone far.”
“Leighton has money,” Devlin snapped. “She could be on a plane to Thailand now if she wanted.” He pulled out his phone and sent a series of furious messages.
I assumed he was freezing her accounts, or at least hoped that's what he was doing. The best way to
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