SEAL Under Siege (Men of Valor) Read Online Free PDF Page A

cheeks and the bright red scar in front of her ear that she kept trying to cover.
    “It wasn’t anything like what...” Her voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat. “That is, they were waiting for someone. For their leader, I think.” The pink in her cheeks turned into flames.
    Thank God his team had rescued her when it had.
    But even if she’d avoided the physical attack, knowing what was coming had to have left a few emotional scars. It was brave of her to have taken the map in the first place. At a time when she’d been at such high risk herself, she’d thought of others, and had tried to gather evidence she’d hoped to use to keep people safe. That said a lot about her. And it made him even more reluctant to turn her away.
    Maybe he could look into this in his free time. He didn’t have any training missions on the schedule for the next few weeks. Could it hurt to at least keep his eyes and ears open for an American placing a bomb somewhere in San Diego that would send a message to America’s military? It was a huge city and highly unlikely he’d see anything, but at least he could put her mind at ease.
    “I’ll see what I can do.”
    “You will?” Her voice skyrocketed, and she plastered a smile into place.
    “Yes.” He looked at the door then back at her. “Leave me your phone number, and I’ll call you if I find out anything.”
    “And how should I contact you?”
    “Through your PAO. She’ll pass any messages to me.”
    “And who should I ask her to pass them to?”
    She hadn’t missed a beat and was intent on getting his name. “Lieutenant Sawyer.”
    “All right.” She scribbled her phone number on a sticky note and handed it to him before opening the office door. “Thank you, Lieutenant Sawyer. For two weeks ago and for today.”
    “You’re welcome, Ms. Hayes.”
    “Please call me Staci.”
    “All right.”
    As she flounced out the door, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Her dark curls bounced with every step, her shoulders in perfect posture. She may have sustained a flesh wound to the arm and a cut on her face, but her three weeks as a hostage hadn’t damaged her backbone.
    When the outside door of the trailer clanged shut, he walked back to his office, ignoring the stares of Willie G. and Zach—Zig—McCloud.
    Zig whistled low and long, elbowing his teammate in the ribs. “I guess it pays to have rank. I’d go to the academy, too, if I had pretty girls like that coming to thank me.”
    “What’d she give you?”
    Tristan clutched the scrap of paper in his hand, forcing down the knot in his stomach. It shouldn’t matter that they were teasing him. He’d sure teased them over the past couple years.
    But Staci Hayes wasn’t a SEAL groupie. She didn’t hang around the pool hall waiting for a SEAL to show up. She hadn’t gone looking for a warrior.
    He’d gone looking for her.
    And she deserved better than the speculation of two of his men. “Willie G. and Zig, go clean up the training boats.”
    Zig opened his mouth, about ready to argue, then realized that it wasn’t a request but an order.
    “Yes, sir.”
    They stalked off, leaving him some time alone with the crude map and a head full of questions. As he sank into his desk chair and leaned back until it popped, he replayed Staci’s words over and over. Had there really been an American man consorting with Lybanian terrorists? If so, where on this map were they planning to place the bomb they’d mentioned? And what did the message on the map really mean? Thousands of hours practicing languages were useless if he couldn’t read the one in front of him.
    The map didn’t contain a convenient X to mark the spot or even a circle to pinpoint which part of the coast might see the explosion. But it did contain the coastline of Coronado Island. From the airport to the naval stations, Harbor Drive, and even the golf course.
    It represented too many people. Too many possible victims.
    And he had nowhere to