SEALs Love Curves Book 3: First

Sausage. Spices. Pasta. Mmm, it smelled good.

Pilar grinned in her sleep, surprised and thrilled that her brother was cooking. Juan was always happy to let her do it all. She never minded, though. She was just happy to have him with her again.

She rolled over and looked at the clock, then jolted upright. Her clock wasn’t on her nightstand because her nightstand wasn’t there. The room she was in had wood paneling instead of soft gray paint. There was a metal shelf with sheets and a bin of toiletries instead of a dresser full of her clothes.

Her dresser. The one with the cactus flower in it. Carlos. It wasn’t a nightmare. Well, it was, but it was also her reality.

Which meant Juan wasn’t the one cooking cajun sausage and pasta. It was her new roommate and protector. Her sexy new roommate and protector, but that didn’t matter. They were only there until he found her brother.

Juan.

The sharp pain through her heart had her clutching her chest. She couldn’t lose her brother. She thought he was gone years ago, when she found out who he was and stopped talking to him. It broke her heart, but she refused to turn her head. He swore to her he’d changed. She couldn’t lose him again.

A soft whistle reached her ears, a tune she vaguely recognized. Her lips curled up in a grin that finally had her climbing from the bed. Her shoes were still on, and her clothes were rumpled but all present. It was one more thing that made her smile, especially when she really wasn’t sure how she got into the room in the first place.

She walked out into the main room of the small house, glancing around at the space. She could see all of it from where she stood, from the front door through the tiny kitchen and across to the couch in front of a TV playing Die Hard. A fireplace crackled with a low burning fire, giving the place a cozy feel. Curtains were drawn over dark windows.

“Hey, you’re up,” Jack said from the kitchen with a grin. “Darn. I was hoping I could eat all this by myself.”

Pilar looked at the pan on the stove where he was stirring what looked like enough food for four people instead of just two. She smiled, still feeling out of sorts. “I don’t eat much.”

He shook his head. “Then we need to change that. I can’t have you getting too skinny on my watch.”

Pilar ran a hand down her hips and rolled her eyes. “Not much chance of that happening.”

Jack snorted. “That’s good. I’d hate to let down men everywhere by taking away all your curves.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Pilar asked, narrowing her eyes.

Jack shook his head, his smile fading. “No. I apologize. I’ve gotten in the habit of telling the truth and sometimes it’s too much. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Pilar smiled faintly. If he only knew how much she wished he was hitting on her. She was the nerdy kid growing up, the girl who wore glasses and had her hand up first for every question the teacher asked.

Nothing changed when she finally talked her parents into getting her contacts and she learned to let someone else feel smart. She was already awkward and shy, especially around guys.

She took enough psych classes in college to understand that was part of why she was so drawn to Carlos. He flirted with her and made her feel beautiful instead of awkward. He wanted her, a feeling she’d never experienced before. She shouldn’t have fallen for it, but she did. He was so easy to love. He made sure of it.

“Listen,” Jack said, bringing her back to the room she was standing in the middle of, “I know we don’t know each other, so why don’t we start from scratch here. Get to know each other. We’re going to be stuck sharing a bathroom and with only each other for company for a little while. We might as well make the most of it. I promise not to hit on you, and you can promise not to…”

He trailed off like he was waiting for her to come up with something. She definitely didn’t know him well enough to know where his buttons were, but he had badass bachelor written all over him.

“I promise not to tell all your friends that you put the toilet seat down to pee.”

His eyes widened comically before a grin split his face. The dark stubble on his cheeks made him look older, but when he smiled, his green eyes lit up and he looked a decade younger than she assumed he was.

“You’re cruel. I can’t have them thinking I piss sitting down, so I’ll take that deal.” He added a wink to let her know he was in on the joke, then waved her over to the stove. “I grew up in Georgia, and we have a tendency to over-spice things. I tried to go easy on it, but most of the guys tell me my food is too hot. I can make something else if this is too spicy for you.”

Pilar smirked at him. “You’re just hoping you can get the whole thing for yourself. Nice try, amigo, but I like spicy foods. Caliente.”

Jack shook his head and lifted an eyebrow. “Well then, dish it up, Ms. Luna.”

Pilar grabbed one of the bowls next to the pan and scooped a healthy serving into it. Her stomach rumbled at the scent, and her mouth watered, ready for a taste.

She glanced around the room as she made her way to the couch, the only seating in the place. She took one end of the couch, tucking her feet up underneath her as she settled in to watch the movie.

Jack joined her a minute later and handed over a bottle of water. She smiled in gratitude and blew on the bite she had ready.

She felt the weight of his stare as she slid the bite into her mouth. The pasta was cooked to perfection with just the tiniest crunch to it. The sausage melted in her mouth, a crisp on the edges giving her something to bite into. The flavors were unique but delicious. And definitely spicy. She loved it.

“Stop looking at me,” she said through her teeth. “I’m not running to spit it out.”

Jack chuckled and finally settled back on his side of the couch and dug in to his dinner.

They ate in companionable silence while Bruce Willis worked his way through the skyscraper to find all the hostages and bring the bad guys to justice. Pilar never saw much appeal to the movie when she was younger, but she couldn’t help but hope the man sitting next to her had some of the same skills and could kick ass as well as Bruce did.

“We’ll find him,” Jack said after he finished his second bowl.

Pilar nodded. “I hope so.”

Jack gave her a small smile. “Tell me your favorite memory of your brother from when you were kids.”

Pilar smiled, picturing Juan’s floppy dark hair and goofy, crooked grin. He was always getting into trouble, skipping school, and doing things she would never dream of doing. Where Pilar got straight A’s and followed every rule, her brother was lucky if he passed and broke more rules than Pilar knew about.

“Juan’s three years older than me, so when I was in my first year of high school, he was a senior. He was always trying to get me to break the rules with him, but I refused, so one day, he walked with me to school, but when we got there, he left. Halfway through second period, I got a phone call from the office that said I was needed at home right away. It wasn’t unusual for kids in our town to be pulled out of school, but it hadn’t happened to me yet, so I was nervous. I was on my way home when he pulled up next to me in our neighbor’s tractor. He stole it and made me go with him to the stream that ran behind our property. We spent the whole day playing in the water and dreaming about our future.”

Jack was silent for a long minute. “That sounds like a great day.”

Pilar nodded. “It was. I never skipped school again, but it was a perfect day.”

“Did your parents ever find out?”

She laughed. “No, they didn’t. Juan took the tractor back, and we walked home, and our parents had no clue.”

Jack stared at the credits rolling up the screen. “You were lucky to have him growing up. He sounds like he was a great brother.”

Pilar nodded. “He still is a great brother.”

Jack nodded sharply. “That’s what I meant.”

Pilar pressed her lips together and nodded. She hated that he sounded like Juan was already gone. She couldn’t believe that. She couldn’t have Jack believing that either.

“You will find him, right?”

Jack met her eyes and nodded. “We’ll do everything we can to find your brother, Pilar. I promise you that.”

She drew in a breath and closed her eyes. That was all she needed to hear.

* * *

Jack

Jack wasn’t sure what to do with Pilar. Cooking dinner was a matter of survival. Watching a movie was easy since there was nothing else to do. At least, nothing he thought was a good idea.

But when the movie ended, and they were sitting there talking, he didn’t know how to handle himself. He was the idiot who said they should get to know each other, but with every word out of her mouth, he wanted to know even more.

“Did you like growing up in Mexico?” Jack asked.

Pilar shrugged. “I didn’t know any different. It wasn’t like I saw what people outside my town grew up like. Not until I went to college. And even then, I didn’t get into people’s personal lives.”

“You seem like you’re pretty quiet.”

Pilar nodded. “I am. Although, I’m surprised you think that after how many times I’ve yelled at you today.”

She laughed, a sound that tightened his chest. He hated lying to her. He hated lying in general. Lies cost people things. “True, but this is a high-stress situation. You withdraw a lot. When you’re thinking or processing. That’s not a bad thing.”

She cocked her head and looked closely at him. “I have a feeling you’re the same way.”

A smile tilted his lips. She was perceptive. “Most people don’t see that.”

She grinned. “I’m not most people. I’m an occupational therapist. My job is to see the things people don’t always want me to see.”

Jack nodded. “So, in other words, I won’t be able to hide anything from you.”

She started to grin, but it fell just as quickly as it began. “I don’t like people who withhold the truth. I had enough of that with Carlos and my brother.”

Jack nodded solemnly. The last thing he wanted to do was remind her of Carlos, but he had a job to do. He had to find out if she knew anything.

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” He paused, as though gathering his thoughts. He understood psychology, too. “Obviously you and Carlos were close.”

She scoffed. “I thought we were. I never really knew him, though.”

“So you weren’t involved in his business?”

She shook her head quickly. “No. Of course not. I told you, I had proof of what he did, but Juan took it.”

“What did he tell you he was going to do with that?”

“The video?”

Jack nodded, carefully keeping his features neutral. She didn’t reveal it was a video before. That was good information.

She shrugged. “He didn’t say. He just said he’d take care of it.”

“But he never did.”

Pilar shook her head. “No. But he shipped me back to my aunt and uncle the next day, and told me never to return to Mexico. To our home.”

Jack shifted closer. “Why?”

She drew in a breath. “When Juan found out about Carlos and me, he flipped out. He told me I needed to stay away from Carlos. When I told him…” She looked away and drew in a ragged breath. “When I told him I was in love with Carlos, he told me to leave Mexico. That Carlos was an evil man who would have me killed if I ever decided to leave him, but he couldn’t touch me if I left the country.”

“Did he say how he knew?”

Pilar nodded. “He told me he was the same as Carlos, and that it wasn’t safe for me to be there. That if I didn’t leave, I would be dead. It was the first time Juan admitted to me what he was really involved in.”

Jack blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. He’d seen some shitty stuff in his time with the Teams. He’d taken more lives than probably Carlos and Juan combined. But he took out people who were a threat to innocent civilians and the world at large. He slept well at night knowing the people he killed were researched and targeted for a reason.

Killing was a sport for the cartel. It was something they used to train new recruits. Targeting innocent families and betrayers. Juan was right to get Pilar out of the country, but she never took any precautions after that. She didn’t go to the authorities and ask for help. Because her brother took away the one and only leverage she had.

“Anyway,” Pilar continued, “I haven’t been back to Mexico since. I didn’t see my brother for years. When he showed up again, I thought I was imagining him. It was the happiest day of my life.”

“And he said he was out? That he was done with all the cartel stuff?”

Pilar nodded, a ghost of a smile on her face. “He did. He was free. He said he’d paid off some debt to them, and he was able to go on and live his life without fear.”

He was lying.

Jack hated the thought, but it was the truth. There was no paying off the cartel and getting away with your freedom. The only way out was in a body bag. Something Jack had a feeling Juan and Pilar were going to learn before the whole thing was over.

“If that was true,” Jack said gently, “then why did they take him?”

She shook her head. “That’s why I know Carlos is really after me. He knows I’d do anything for my brother. I’ll even trade my life for his, if he asks me. I’d go with him if it meant Juan was free and safe. So I know they’re here for me. There’s no other reason.”

Jack nodded, but he wanted to shout. This woman, this sweet, beautiful, amazing woman, was willing to give up herself, her life, her body, her mind, to save the brother who betrayed her over and over again.

Dunn was wrong. Pilar wasn’t in on any of this. She was completely in the dark about everything Juan was doing. When he came to them, he said no one else was involved, but he demanded protection for his sister, whether he was alive or dead. Dunn dragged his heels, assuming Pilar had the same knowledge, but she was innocent. The only thing she did was fall in love with the wrong man.

Just like Meredith when she thought Jack was a man who could actually love her back.

Jack was no better than Carlos. He was a killer who didn’t deserve the love of an amazing woman. But Jack would do anything in his power to keep Pilar safe. He couldn’t save Meredith, but he could save Pilar. He would save her.