“I can’t believe someone was crazy enough to be out on the ocean in that storm,” Kenna mumbled. “I mean, assuming that’s how Shawn was going to get off the beach like the cops think. It was probably Luke. Shawn’s son.”
“We’ll figure out who it was and make sure he’s not a threat to Carly in the future,” Jag said, determination easy to hear in his tone.
“Can we talk about the note you got…and didn’t tell me about?” Aleck asked Kenna.
She turned to him. “I honestly thought it was that stupid guy from Duke’s. The one who was abusing his wife and kid, who I’d called the cops on,” she said. “It said something about minding my business. I got it right after that incident, the day after you were deployed. I honestly forgot about it with everything else going on, especially since I didn’t get any others. Besides, you didn’t tell me you got a note either.”
Aleck took a deep breath. He had no right to be upset with her when he’d also gotten a note and dismissed it. He was sorrier than he could say that he hadn’t taken it more seriously. “You’re right. I should’ve said something. Jag got one too,” he told her.
Kenna looked at his friend with wide eyes. “You did?”
“Yes. I figured it was from Shawn, but like everyone else, I never expected he’d do something as extreme as he did,” Jag said.
“The second I learned about Jag getting a note, I put it together, but it was too late,” Aleck said. “Shawn was already at the restaurant.”
“Carly got a note. More than one, actually.” Kenna shivered. “I’m just so glad she wasn’t there.”
“Anyone else get any fucking notes?” Mustang asked, looking at Elodie and Lexie.
“Don’t look at me,” Elodie said immediately, shaking her head.
“Nope, not me,” Lexie added with a shrug.
“Well, in the future, if anyone does receive any threatening notes, no matter who you think they’re from, can we all agree to say something about it?” Mustang asked.
Everyone immediately nodded.
The realization that he wasn’t the only one who’d dismissed the note should’ve made Aleck feel better, but it didn’t. Because his mistake had almost meant Kenna’s death. He never would’ve forgiven himself if she’d been hurt worse than the cut under her chin.
“Okay, time’s up,” the nurse said as she stuck her head back into the room. “Everyone out.”
The guys each approached and gave Kenna heartfelt hugs. Aleck was almost brought to tears again, seeing how much they all worried and cared about her. Some men might’ve been jealous, but not him. He wanted his friends to like his woman, as much as he liked theirs.
Elodie and Lexie took a bit longer saying goodbye, with Elodie promising to make several meals so Kenna didn’t have to worry about cooking.
“Bring them to my place,” Aleck told her.
She smiled. “Of course.”
Kenna gave him some side-eye, but she didn’t complain or protest.
Lexie promised to come by and see her soon, and to bring Ashlyn as well.
Slate told Aleck he’d wait and drive them both home. “We’ll get both of your cars to Coral Springs,” he reassured them before heading out.
After their friends had all left, the room almost felt too quiet.
“I’ll bring by your discharge papers,” the nurse told them. “Sit. Get off that leg. Relax,” she ordered, then left.
Aleck ignored her. He was fine. His leg was fine. All he needed was to hold Kenna. He gathered her against his chest and sighed deeply. It had been a hell of a night, and there were a few times he hadn’t been sure he’d get a chance to hold her again.
“That sucked,” she muttered against his neck.
“Yeah.”
“Is that what it’s like when you’re on a mission?” she asked.
Aleck couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not even fucking close,” he told her.
Kenna looked up at him. “Really?”
“Really. I’ve never felt as helpless on a mission as I did tonight. I had no plan. I was frozen in fear for you. I knew if I made the wrong decision, it could result in your death. I didn’t have my team at my side—well, not all of them, and Jag and Pid didn’t have a plan either. That’s a shitty feeling for a SEAL. And above everything else, I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive if something happened to you. I’d never recover. So yeah, it sucked.”
“Marshall,” she whispered.
“I’m proud of you,” he told her, moving one hand to her nape in the familiar hold they both loved so much. “From the first time you jumped on my head, I’ve known you’re a woman of action. You’d never sit back and do nothing when someone was in danger, including if that someone was you.”
“I didn’t jump on your head,” she grumbled without heat.
“I love you,” Aleck said. “So much it almost scares me. You’ve somehow changed my whole outlook on life. The sun seems brighter, the water is crisper, the air is cleaner. I wake up thinking about you, and I go to sleep with you on my mind as well. You’re literally the best thing to ever happen to me, and I have no idea what I’d do without you in my life.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she told him. “You’re stuck with me.”
“Forever?”
“Yup.”
“Good. So we’re getting married?”
Kenna snort-laughed. “Um…”
“You said forever.”
Kenna leaned up and kissed his lips. It was a short kiss, and Aleck so badly wanted to deepen it. But there would be time to reaffirm that they were both alive later. He had plans to make love to her for days. Long and slow, hard and fast. Staying inside her long after they were both satisfied. He needed their connection. Needed to feel her heartbeat against his chest as he held her.
“Yes,” she said simply. “But not tonight. And not tomorrow. And I want a luau. With the whole roasted-pig-in-the-ground thing. It should be a big party, not all dressy. I want everyone to be comfortable and happy. Um…if that’s all right,” she said a little sheepishly.
Aleck chuckled. “As long as we end the day with my ring on your finger, and yours on mine, you can have any kind of wedding you want.”
“And our parents should be here,” she added.
“Of course. I can’t wait to introduce you to mine,” he said, knowing his mom and dad would fall head over heels in love with Kenna, just as he had.
“Same,” she agreed. “I love you, Marshall. So much. I was so scared about you doing something that would get you killed.”
“It’s over,” Aleck told her, ignoring the niggling voice in the back of his head that reminded him of the loose end in the situation.
“You two ready to go?” the nurse said as she came back into the room, making Kenna flinch against him as the woman startled her.
Aleck tightened his hold for a second, then slowly let go. She turned and nodded at the woman. “We’re ready.”
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in the backseat of Slate’s black Chevy Trailblazer. Kenna pretty much kept the conversation going all the way back to his condo, being careful not to mention anything about Shawn, Duke’s, or what had happened.