SEAL's Code by Sharon Hamilton

didn’t.
    But Danny’s head whipped up and he stared at her.
    The baby registered the cold plastic surface against the warm skin of his back and started to cry.
    “He’s hungry.”
    “So feed him,” Corwin said as he slithered his way across the living room toward her.
    Careful not to expose any more of her breast than she needed to, she held little Griffin to her nipple and immediately felt the let down of her milk and a slight relaxation of the tension she’d been carrying in her body.
    “Ahhh. Isn’t that beautiful, Luci,” Corwin said as he watched the baby nurse. “He’s so soft—”
    He’d started to reach out to touch her, but she jerked the baby away by turning and earned a slap across the cheek for it, startling Griffin, who began to wail.
    “Corwin, you asshole!” Luci’s mother shouted. “Get your fucking hands off my daughter and grandson.”
    Corwin didn’t pay any attention. She could see the wheels turning in his head as he watched the nursing. He fisted and unfisted his palms. Luci calculated what it would take to toss Griffin to her mother and decided if Corwin went for her, she’d do it.
    All of a sudden, Danny stood up, toppling his captor and taking the entire rocking chair with him. He took one step toward Corwin and landed a kick in the man’s kneecap. The whole room heard a snap as her uncle’s leg hyperextended backward and he fell to the ground in pain. The accomplice reached for a knife tucked under his shirt, but Danny head-butted him, sending him flying backward. The knife fell at Luci’s feet. Her mother scrambled to retrieve it, but Luci shoved Griffin into her mother’s arms. In a flash, she picked up the gun, knowing it had no safety, praying that there was a round in the chamber, and held it out toward Corwin in a two-handed stance, like she’d been taught.
    She heard the whisper at her side. “Well done, my princess,” Danny’s calm voice washed over her. She dared not look at him. Adrenaline was pumping so fast she was worried she’d discharge the weapon by accident. “Sarah, get him untied.”
    Corwin’s helper had started to scramble to his feet, blood trickling down his forehead from the head-butting.
    Luci trained the weapon on his chest. “Don’t even think about it. I don’t need much of an excuse to shoot you, and trust me, I will.”

Chapter 15
    ‡
    T he lights were flashing all around them, the dusty street looked like a police and fire rally yet Danny was blinded by the bravery and cool confidence of the woman who had borne his child. She held the baby in her arms, patting his back while she answered questions, looked at pictures, and checked on her little sister. The whole incident had happened quickly, like it was supposed to happen, like what they’d been taught in SEAL training. He never expected to find such admiration for a woman. She’d said nothing to him about why she hadn’t tried to contact him when she’d learned she was pregnant. She bore the burden quietly, making the very best decisions out of a bad situation.
    Several times she’d caught him looking at her. He liked the way her hair draped over the back of her shoulder when she pulled it aside so it wouldn’t fall on Griffin. Like his, her hair was heavy, containing a second layer beneath the heavy outer layer, which had served his people for generations, protecting the head and body from the elements they lived in.
    He admired her slender frame, her long legs, and the simple, white ruffled top she wore over her jeans that couldn’t hide her round bottom. He loved how her light tan skin contrasted with the bright white cotton. Her dark eyes took in everyone and everything, and she still had time to coo and play with the baby. His baby.
    The only part of her that was flashy were her turquoise cowboy boots with the red lizard trim. The pattern was stitched intricately, but someone had painted flowers in bright colors at the toes and up the outside edge where they hugged her