Coming to Her Rescue

Leslie North, Katie Knight

Description

When you’re in love with a Navy SEAL, temptation is a dangerous game…
When Navy SEAL Jake Hendrix attends a bachelor/bachelorette auction for charity, he’s stunned to see his squad mate’s gorgeous sister, Hanna Masterson, walk across the stage. When he overhears the other guests making lecherous comments, Jake's alpha protective instincts kick in, and he places the winning bid himself.
To Hanna’s surprise, their date goes well—really well. But after an unforgettable night of passion, Jake pulls away. Resigned to their night together being nothing more than a fling, Hanna soon gets the surprise of her life. A pregnancy test reveals that their one night stand has left her with child…
Before she can tell Jake she’s pregnant, one of her high-profile clients is murdered. And Hanna is certain she’s next on the killer’s list. Despite his desire to stay uninvolved, Jake can’t help but protect Hanna, baby bump and all.
But as the danger grows, so does their mutual attraction. And the greatest threat of all may be falling in love…

Sujets

• Military
• Romance
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Relay Publishing
• Date de parution: 09 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798201876838
• Langue: English

Extrait

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.


RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, JULY 2019
Copyright © 2019 Relay Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Katie Knight is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.
Cover Design by LJ Mayhem Covers.




www.relaypub.com

BLURB

When you’re in love with a Navy SEAL, temptation is a dangerous game…
When Navy SEAL Jake Hendrix attends a bachelor/bachelorette auction for charity, he’s stunned to see his squad mate’s gorgeous sister, Hanna Masterson, walk across the stage. When he overhears the other guests making lecherous comments, Jake's alpha protective instincts kick in, and he places the winning bid himself.
To Hanna’s surprise, their date goes well—really well. But after an unforgettable night of passion, Jake pulls away. Resigned to their night together being nothing more than a fling, Hanna soon gets the surprise of her life. A pregnancy test reveals that their one night stand has left her with child…
Before she can tell Jake she’s pregnant, one of her high-profile clients is murdered. And Hanna is certain she’s next on the killer’s list. Despite his desire to stay uninvolved, Jake can’t help but protect Hanna, baby bump and all.
But as the danger grows, so does their mutual attraction. And the greatest threat of all may be falling in love…
CONTENTS



Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30


End of Coming to Her Rescue

Thank You

About Katie

About Leslie

Sneak Peek: Her SEAL Rescuer

Also by Katie: The SEAL’s Contract Baby
ONE

J ake pulled under the porte-cochère in front of Hotel del Coronado and chuckled to himself when the valet gaped at his car. He may not have been driving a Lamborghini or a Bugatti—and probably never would, considering his SEAL salary—but he was proud of his Subaru WRX STI. Ruby, he called her. Ruby the Subi. And those who appreciated cars—including the valet, apparently—knew what she could do.
The STI had plenty of ‘giddyup,’ and the custom racing harnesses he’d installed the day he bought her meant he could push her to her limits without fear. It also meant he got to initiate a little contact with every date he had as he strapped her in. He had yet to meet a woman who could figure out how to buckle up without any help. Or who objected when he reached over playfully to show her how to do it. It was the perfect icebreaker.
He’d love to take a date out for a drive right now. Or just burn some rubber along the open road himself. Or be… just about anywhere but here, stuffed into a suit that never fit as well as his uniform, about to enter an event he’d been dreading all week. He was currently on leave—he had racked up about forty days of “use-it-or-lose-it,” which meant he would be out more than a month of time off if he didn’t take it because it wouldn’t roll over—and he would rather be doing just about anything else on this “forced” vacation instead of coming here. But he owed a buddy a favor, so any plans he was thinking about making over the next month would have to wait.
Jake undid his own harness and opened the door to find the valet grinning on the other side.
“Sweet ride, man,” he said, stepping aside so Jake could get out.
“Thanks, bro.” Jake started up the steps but turned around before the valet had shut the driver’s door. “Take good care of her.”
Jake was planning on heading straight to the bar, but he realized he should probably find Brody first so Brody would know he’d kept his end of the deal.
Jake had met Brody five years ago, at basic training. They were both from Southern California, and they had bonded over complaining about the crappy local Mexican food and Lake Michigan’s freezing water.
When Brody married Natalie, a proper Southern girl from what had seemed to be a well-to-do Georgia family, his life changed dramatically. Since Natalie had been raised to believe that money talked but wealth whispered, Jake hadn’t put the pieces together until their wedding.
Natalie’s family wasn’t just well-to-do; they were ridiculously wealthy. And as soon as Natalie had gained access to her trust fund, she’d started one charitable foundation after another, all of which generated a steady stream of exactly the type of high society social events Jake couldn’t stand. Jake had managed to avoid all the benefits the happy couple had hosted—until now.
It’s not that he didn’t respect what Natalie did—he’d happily give his time and money to help foster kids or cancer patients or homeless pets—he just wasn’t thrilled about donning a tux and sitting in a stuffy ballroom for three hours sipping watered-down Manhattans and eating overcooked filet mignon.
Jake couldn’t avoid the SoCal Turtle Conservation Mission’s First Annual Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction, though. Not after the debt he owed his friend from the time when his path crossed with Brody’s while they were both downrange in Jalalabad. Brody had contacts in Washington, and when Jake’s Afghan translator was threatened for helping “the Americans,” Brody had facilitated visas for his entire family.
So Jake owed Brody a huge favor, and he was happy to pay him back—until he learned Natalie wanted all of Brody’s single friends to fill out the crowd at the next fundraiser. Jake should have known there was a catch when Natalie had specified that all the attendees had to be single.
Jake sighed as he entered the ballroom. It was going to be a long night. After locating the bar, he scanned the crowd for familiar faces. He recognized several guys from the teams—the Navy was a small organization, the SEAL world even smaller—but he opted to find the host before commiserating with them about being forced to attend. It didn’t take long to spot Brody and Natalie. They were surrounded by ten or so people, who were all paying rapt attention to Brody. He appeared to be telling a story with plenty of hand gestures. Jake chuckled. Brody could captivate an audience regardless of whether he was talking about going on a safari or changing the oil in a car.
When Brody saw Jake, his eyes lit up. He excused himself to let Natalie finish the saga. She may not have had the same booming voice, but she could hold a crowd just as well. They really were perfectly matched in so many ways.
“Jake!” Brody pulled him in for a tight hug. “It’s been way too long, man.”
“I know, brother.” Jake patted him on the back. “Though I wish I was running into you anywhere but here.”
Brody laughed. “It’s not so bad. Good food, free drinks…” He held up his glass and winked. “Lots of talent.”
Jake glanced around, unimpressed. “Where?”
“All the bachelorettes are backstage, man.” Brody checked his Rolex—a gift from Natalie for graduating BUD/S. While completing the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school certainly warranted a gift like a Rolex—roughly seventy-five percent of the guys who start BUD/S fail out—most of the newly minted SEALs and their families didn’t have the means for such a luxurious gift. “The auction’s starting soon. And I guarantee there are at least a few ladies you’ll want to bid on.”
“Doubtful.” Jake said. “Even if I meet a woman who’s perfect in every way, the day I buy a date is the day I become utterly pathetic.”
“You wouldn’t even buy a date to save the turtles?”
“I’ll donate to the cause, sure. But I will never exchange cash for a woman’s attention.” Jake shook his head. “I need a drink.”
Brody motioned toward the bar. “Knock yourself out.” He put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “But trust me when I say this. You’re in for at least one surprise tonight.”
“You think so?”
Brody nodded. “By the way, you still talk to Masterson?”
Tyler Masterson had gone through basic training, and later, BUD/S with Jake and Brody. Although he and Jake had remained close—Tyler was a fellow sports car enthusiast and had actually helped Jake install the harnesses in Ruby—he was currently deployed with his team, which meant they hadn’t talked in a while.
“Yeah, man, we’re still friends.” Jake said. “Haven’t chatted with him recently, though. He okay?”
“Oh yeah,” Brody said. “I was just wondering if you guys were still tight.”
“Why?”
Brody smirked. “No reason.” He turned to rejoin Natalie without another word.
Jake shook his head. Brody liked to keep people guessing. During conversations, he would often mention something that seemed to have nothing to do with the topic at hand. At some point, though, he would tie it all together. Maybe that’s how he could always captivate a crowd. Maybe people enjoyed following his breadcrumb trails and guessing where they led before Brody got to the point.
Jake wondered what Masterson had to do with saving sea turtles as he made his way to the bar. It was just another breadcrumb from Brody. It would make sense eventually. He wouldn’t worry about it until then.
“I’ll take a Manhattan neat with rye, please,” he told the bartender. He scanned the crowd while waiting for his drink. There seemed to be a lot of men there who were actually eager for the bidding to b