SEAL for Her Protection (SEALs of Coronado Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

would clear in time, as soon as she got back to her regular routine.
    She started to cut a tomato for the salad she was going to pair with some leftover chicken, but her hand suddenly trembled so much she had to set down the knife and take a deep breath. Maybe she should have taken Brad up on his offer to grab dinner.
    Getting herself together, she finished making the salad then picked up her plate and went into the living room so she could eat in front of the TV. Halfway through the meal, the tension started to build up again and she found herself grabbing her cell phone and hitting the speed dial for her friend Jillian Brennan.
    She’d immediately hit it off with the up-and-coming assistant district attorney while working on a story a few years back and they’d been BFFs ever since. If there was anyone Haley could talk to, it was Jillian.
    Her friend picked up on the first ring. “Hey! I was just thinking about you. Channel 8 ran a promo spot on your upcoming interview with them.”
    Hayley stifled a groan. She’d completely forgotten about that. When she’d agreed, it seemed like a good idea. Right now, however, the thought of reliving her ordeal again made her feel ill. Shivering, she snatched the fleece throw off the back of the couch and tossed it over her bare legs.
    “I didn’t catch you in the middle of a case or anything, did I?” Hayley asked.
    “Nope. I finished up for the day and am on my way home. How about you?”
    “Not much. Eating dinner and watching TV.”
    In between trying not to have a panic attack. But she didn’t say that.
    On the other end of the line, Jillian sighed. “It’s happening again, isn’t it?”
    Sometimes Hayley thought her friend should have been a journalist instead of a lawyer. Or maybe a psychic. She seemed to have a sixth sense for when people were hiding something. Then again, she supposed that came in handy in Jillian’s line of work, too.
    “I’m coming over,” her friend said. “I have to swing by my place to grab some clothes. I’ll be there in a few.”
    “You don’t have to do that—” Hayley protested, but Jillian had already hung up.
    Hayley tossed her phone on the couch. As much as she hated bothering Jillian, she was glad her friend was coming over. It wasn’t the first time she’d spent the night in the guest room and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
    Jillian walked in the door exactly fifteen minutes later, her auburn hair up in a messy bun, a weekender on her shoulder, and two DVDs in hand, both romantic comedies.
    “I brought microwave popcorn, too,” Jillian said as she dropped her bag on the floor near the couch.
    Hayley made the popcorn while Jillian got the DVD set. When she was done, Jillian wandered over to the island separating the kitchen from the living room and sat down on one of the stools there.
    “You should talk to someone about this, you know,” Jillian said quietly.
    Hayley took her time filling two glasses with iced tea then set one down in front of her friend. This wasn’t the first time Jillian had suggested seeing a therapist. Like Todd, she thought Hayley was experiencing post-traumatic stress. While Hayley didn’t think she was, maybe talking to a psychologist might help her stop being so paranoid. There was just one problem.
    “I can’t,” she told Jillian. “If I did, everyone at the paper would know about it. I work in an office full of reporters who snoop in other people’s business for a living, remember?”
    “So what if they know?”
    “I can kiss my overseas assignments good-bye, that’s what.”
    “Well, that’s stupid.”
    Hayley shrugged. “Maybe. But if you suddenly started seeing a therapist, your bosses would put you on the bench, too. It’s the way it is.”
    Jillian frowned as she sipped her iced tea but didn’t say Hayley was wrong. Behind Hayley, the microwave dinged. She took out the bag of popcorn and opened it then leaned it against the side of the toaster so the heat could