Intensity by Aliyah Burke Page B

Ignoring the two men approaching from the left,
she went straight up to Grey and stopped.
    He quirked a brow at her, the twinkle in his eyes
creating a flutter in her gut despite her anger. The joy segued
into confusion. Behind Grey, she spied not only her mother who’d
come out to see this chopper but also Chase.
    “Mallery,” Grey said.
    “Out of everything low and conniving, I never
thought you’d stoop so damn low.”
    “Are you ready to go, Commander?” the blond
interrupted.
    “Hold on, sir.” Grey reached for her, and she didn’t
even attempt to hide the wince. “You were injured?”
    “All the sweet talking, the romance, the sex. You
SEALs really go all out to get your information.” She glared up at
him. “To think I even considered falling for your lines.”
She trembled with the force of her rage, and she stepped closer
still. “You risked the lives of my men and me.”
    His brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking
about and what happened that you got injured?”
    “Commander,” the man insisted.
    “Wait one,” she snapped, not taking her eyes off
Grey. She narrowed her eyes on his face. “Sign the motherfucking
divorce papers.” She whirled away, only to whip back and punch him
in the jaw, rocking him back on his heels. She felt a tear and knew
she was now bleeding. The way Grey honed in on her shirt, he’d
noticed it, as well. She blinked away the stinging tears as she
walked away from the man who’d not only stolen her heart all those
years ago but was the same man who’d betrayed her.
     
    Grey saw stars. Sarah had one hell of a strike. His
mind whirred with everything he’d not only just heard but seen. The
blood on her shirt, extremely disturbing.
    “Commander, we have to go now.”
    Grey looked in the cornflower eyes of Captain Scott
Harrington, leader of the famed Megalodon Team. “I have to—”
    “Hold up.”
    Grey turned his attention to the approaching man,
Chase Ellery. He gazed past the scowling man to Sarah’s mother—his
mother-in-law—and on to the retreating figure of his wife.
    “What, Ellery?”
    “What did you do to my Sarah?”
    Grey snapped. He yanked the man up by his shirt,
distantly aware through the red haze encompassing him that Chase
had mimicked the action, not the least bit fazed.
    “That woman isn’t your anything ,” he ground
out. “Sarah Mallery,” he glanced to her mother, “is my wife.”
    “Commander!”
    “Coming, sir.” He released Chase and jogged to the
waiting bird, swiping his bag on the way. His heart was torn, but
he was first and foremost a SEAL. He joined Harrier and Cade inside
and drew on the headset as the door slammed shut while they lifted
off.
    “So,” Cade said, drawing his attention. “You’re
married to Major Mallery.”
    “Major?” Grey looked at both men.
    The two men of the Megalodon Team shared glances.
“You don’t know your wife’s rank?” Harrier posed the question.
    “She was a captain, last I knew,” he replied
defensively. “How do you know her?”
    They grinned. “I make it my business to know someone
who has accomplished all she has,” Harrier said.
    He hated the jealousy hitting him. Drawing out his
phone, he sent a text to Sarah.
    “I thought they’d said she’d healed enough to be
released from the hospital, but just now, I saw blood.” Cade’s
observation made Grey’s gut curdle.
    He’d seen the blood, as well. Hospital? What the
hell has been going on here? He’d just left her after the vacation.
Both men stared at him. “What?” he bit off.
    “I get you’re distracted by this—whatever it is—but
right now, I need you here.” Harrier passed over a file. “Here’s
the mission info.”
    With a final peek at his phone—still showing no
response from Sarah—Grey opened the folder.
    αβ
    Sarah accepted the cup of tea placed before her and
curved her hand around the porcelain, welcoming the heat. The chill
hadn’t faded; if anything, it had blossomed. The bitter