SEALs of Honor: Dane by Dale Mayer

Mason’s face. “She has no idea we’re here. She wasn’t going to take being shoved into a safe house alone lightly, so I figured it would be a nice surprise when I got there with her stuff.”
    “Ha,” Mason said with a laugh. “She’s going to make you pay for that.”
    The apartment was full of photos of days gone by and the furniture for the most part was antiques. Likely from her mother’s place before she had to go into care. “Where’s her mother now?”
    “She’s at the apartment next door with her caregiver. Shadow has gone over there.”
    “Right.” Was that a good idea? Shadow had a way with people when he chose to apply it. Still, if he could reassure the two women that Marielle was okay and would be back in a couple of days, then it would make her feel better. She didn’t want to lose time with her mother but neither did she want her mother worried. This was the best they could do.
    He walked into her bedroom and stopped. His lady was a romantic. Long dreamy white curtains drifted from the window opened just a hair. A huge bed, he approved of that part, covered with a fluffy down comforter in a soft lemon had a half dozen pillows at the top. There was minimal furniture throughout, but what was there was good quality. He found a small suitcase in the closet and did not know what she’d want but suspected from what he’d seen her wearing she preferred comfort over fashion. He opened drawers and pulled jeans, t-shirts, a couple of long sleeved tees, and a sweater. He opened her underwear drawer and hesitated. She was a sexy romantic. Bras and silky panties lay in matched sets across the drawer bottom. He swallowed and snatched up the first five he could find. If she needed more, she’d have to do laundry like the rest of them.
    He walked to her night table and opened it. There was no book or anything else special that he could see. The box of condoms in the back made his heart race and he’d have loved to toss it in the suitcase but figured that wouldn’t be well received.
    In the small bathroom were some toiletries. She had those that she’d travelled with, but he’d already noted she had no hairbrush so he packed one of those. He didn’t know what else she might want but figured if she hadn’t taken them to Europe she likely didn’t need them now either.
    As he walked out of the room, he found a big thick housecoat and slippers at the back of the door. He grabbed both up and threw them in. Out in the living room, he took a close look to see if there was a book she was reading or a second laptop, the first was already packed, or anything else she might want. In the kitchen he did the same perfunctory check, but there was nothing. It helped that she’d cleaned up for her trip already. Outside the apartment, he found Shadow leaving the two women next door. He had the mail keys and had collected the mail for both apartments. Dane shoved Marielle’s into her bag, smiled at the two women, one who was the spitting image of Marielle if a little unfocused in her gaze, nodded to the guard standing to the one side, and with Mason and Shadow at his side, walked out.
    “Let’s go.”

Chapter 15
    A FTER THE COFFEE was gone, and the television failed to keep her attention, she started to pace. And pace. And pace. Then she dropped to the living room floor and started in on crunches. When fifty of those did little to stem the nervous energy flowing through her, she decided to try a different tack and set out to revitalize her body and mind with yoga. She was a little rusty, but her body thrived on the positions. When she finally settled into a final resting pose, her mind was calm and her body at peace.
    Until she looked up and saw Dane in the doorway.
    Her heart exploded as she raced toward him. She never thought twice about throwing herself into his arms, and as his opened and closed tightly around her, she figured it was the right thing to do. He twirled her around then set her on her feet to eye