Second Chance SEAL: A Bad Boy Military Romance by B. B. Hamel

asked him.
    He glanced at me like he was coming out of a trance. “Michigan,” he said.
    “Why Michigan?”
    “I know a place there we can lay low.”
    “What place?”
    “My father left me a cabin. Well, he left it to my grandmother, but she said he wanted me to gave it. It’s not much and probably in bad shape now, but we can stay there for as long as we want.”
    “Is it safe?”
    He shrugged. “I really don’t know. For a few days, at least.”
    “A few days,” I said softly.
    “I don’t know if Tony is going to back down,” he answered. “I met him, at the restaurant. I saw what kind of man he is, and I don’t think he’ll let us go no matter what.”
    “He seemed so nice,” I said numbly.
    “That’s not a shock. He clearly can hide who he really is very, very well. You’re probably not the first woman he’s lied to this way.”
    “Think I’m the first he’s tried to kill?”
    “No,” he said simply. “I doubt you are.”
    “What are we going to do then? We can’t run forever.”
    “No, we can’t. But Tony works for someone, I’m sure of that. We need to contact those people and offer them something in exchange for our lives.”
    “Our lives?”
    “I’m in this, Piper. No matter what happens.”
    “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “You can just drop me off somewhere and disappear. This is my problem.”
    He sighed. “Stop saying that.”
    “It’s the truth.”
    “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
    I nodded, marveling at him. I couldn’t imagine how I could be so damn unlucky and lucky all at the same time. On the one hand, my ex-boyfriend wanted to murder me, but on the other, I had this incredible strong man to keep me safe. It was a horror and a blessing.
    We drove for another half hour and I let myself get lost in my thoughts. My mind ran through the whole spectrum of time, trying to figure out where everything went wrong.
    Maybe it was back when I first met Gates. Maybe even before that, on the airplane. Or maybe it was more obvious, maybe it was when I met Tony and decided to go out with him. I should have been smarter, should have asked questions.
    But that just wasn’t worth the time and effort. I could obsess about it all I wanted, really beat myself up over it, but none of that mattered. I was in this situation, driving across the country with Gates, and nothing was going to change that.
    He already fought for me. Probably killed for me. I had no clue what else Gates was going to do, but there was a strange excitement in my core. This was a man willing to do whatever it took to keep me safe. There was no stopping him.
    He suddenly put on his turn signal and got off at a rest stop exit. We were in Pennsylvania, heading down I-76. “Where are we going?” I asked him.
    “Need to make a call.”
    “Is that a good idea?”
    He shrugged. “Tony mentioned Greg. That means Tony knows about Greg, and I think they could be in trouble.”
    “Shit,” I said softly.
    “It’s okay. Greg can handle himself.”
    “But their house. Their kid.”
    “Greg can handle it. I just need to warn them.”
    “Okay. Yeah.”
    He pulled over the car, then collected some coins from his central console. He climbed out. I followed him over to the phone. He deposited the coins into the payphone then dialed Greg’s number.
    It rang and rang. Finally, Gates perked up.
    “Greg,” he said.
    I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation.
    “Listen to me carefully,” Gates continued. “You’re in danger. I can’t talk long, but this isn’t a prank call or a joke. You need to go dark for a while. It’s about Tony. I’ll contact you through the base. Understand?” He paused. “I know, man. Please, just do as I say. I promise I’ll give you more info soon.” Another pause. “Okay, brother. Good luck. Stay safe.”
    He hung up the phone and looked at me.
    I frowned. “Well?”
    “He’s unhappy. But I think he listened.”
    “Good,” I