It was a no-brainer for him. It was how he’d been raised. Logan, however…not so much. Thankfully, the other man hadn’t inherited his asshole father’s abusive genes, instead sharing in the team’s collective ideology that family was everything.
Theirs may not be a family made of blood, but that didn’t matter. Every man in that room would give their lives willingly to save one of the team.
But even as that knowledge resonated with Chase, he also knew the married Eagle’s Nest operatives would put their wives’ well-being above all else. And he didn’t blame them one fucking bit.
I’d be the same way if it was Scottie’s life on the line.
The conversation he’d had with Lucky before Webb’s call came rushing back. When they did get called up to go after Kaamisha Dawari, Chase was going to have to leave her behind.
He’d never had to do that before…leave a woman he loved behind for a mission. This time would be his first. As he and the others made their way out of the war room, Chase knew what he had to do.
They may have a couple of weeks before the call comes in to go, but he refused to wait that long to come clean. Scottie would know how he felt about her, not two weeks from now, but tonight.
It would require a quick stop at his apartment on the way to hers, but after that, Chase’s intentions toward the sexy chef would be crystal clear. And if he was lucky and she somehow felt the same way, well…
I’ll be the happiest man in the entire fucking world.
The pit stop at home took a bit longer than planned due to an accident a few miles from the office. He also took the fastest shower known to man, sprayed an extra spritz of cologne, and combed his hair just so.
By the time he turned onto Scottie’s street, the sun was almost set. He glanced down at the clock, mentally noting she’d texted him an hour ago, letting him know she was headed home from work.
Perfect timing.
Nerves swirled inside his gut at what he had planned. But nerves weren’t the same as doubt, and Chase knew to the depths of his soul this was the path he was destined to take.
He drove past one block and then another. When he approached the block where Scottie’s adorable house sat waiting, his mind was filled with thoughts of the future, but as his truck carried him closer, he noticed a car that had just parked several houses up ahead.
Dark sedan. Slightly crooked back license plate. It’s embossed letters and numbers…
AMF0984.
Chase’s grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point he thought it might break. He let his foot off the gas, flipped off his headlights, and pulled over in front of an unlit house.
Sliding down in his seat, he pulled out his phone, and used the camera’s zoom to double-check the validity of his suspicion. Checking the screen, he used his thumbs to enlarge the image. His heart kicked against his ribs when he realized…
It’s the same car.
The same car. Same phony license plate. And everything in him said the bastard hunched down behind the wheel was the same man who’d been watching them outside Catalina’s.
But he wasn’t outside a restaurant where anyone else could be. The asshole was parked one house down from Scottie’s. And from the way he was sitting, hers was the house he appeared to be watching.
The fuck you are.
Chase turned off his ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt, releasing the latch on his console’s main compartment. He lifted the leatherbound lid before retrieving his SIG P226 MK25.
Out of habit and training—because he always kept his gun loaded and ready to go—he dropped the mag to ensure it was full. Sliding back the chamber, he eyed the gold round already present, his ingrained weapons check completed in record time.
To avoid revealing his presence when opening his door, he reached up to the control panel for his truck’s internal lights and switched them tooff. After turning his cell to silent, he shoved the device back into his jeans’ front pocket.
Chase turned and looked at what he could see of Scottie’s house. The front porch light was shining bright, and he could see the small window above her kitchen sink. There was a low light coming through, and though it was hard to make out from this distance, he could’ve sworn he saw her shadow moving around inside.
Don’t worry, sugar. I’ve got you.
Renewed anger toward the man watching her home ignited. How fuckingdarehe bring Scottie into whatever shitstorm the asshole was intent on stirring up.
He didn’t give two shits if this guy did work for Kaamisha Dawari. He didn’t care who he was or what his reasons were for staking out Scottie’s beloved new home. The bastard was on Chase’s turf now, and by God, he was putting an end to this shit right the fuck now.
Crawling over his truck’s console and into the other seat, he slowly opened the passenger door. Once he was clear, he quietly pushed the door shut before crouching down on his way to the car parked a few feet away.