Protecting Ellis (Loved by the SEAL #1)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Greer “Trip” Merano usually didn’t relish days off. He liked working hard and enjoyed the hell out of his job. But he needed a break, and as long as the world stayed quiet and no one got some wild hair up their ass, he would have a nice and relaxing day.

Hiking was on the agenda for this weekend. He’d thought about taking a tough trail but wasn’t sure he wanted to spend six hours climbing over rocks. Maybe something easy was in order. The goal was to reconnect and relax in nature. He’s spent too many hours in an office staring at information and collecting intelligence over the last few months and he needed more outdoor time.

He loved his team. The guys were great. They kept him sane, but they’d been spending too much time together doing research at work, and he wanted some alone time.

Their team had started off shaky, but after a few months of working together, Bud, Zip, Rider, Hop, and Q had turned out to be some of his best friends.

With his water and snacks packed, he stepped out of his apartment and stalled. The cops were standing next to his car, but it wasn’t his vehicle that had been damaged. The woman who lived upstairs watched as a tow truck lined up to load her car onto the back.

The first time he’d seen her, he’d thought she was younger. She was so skinny, but then he’d gotten a better look. He’d been entranced by her dark lips and high cheekbones. She’d taken him by surprise that first time and every time after when he’d seen her. He found her looks to be shocking—no, wrong word. Entrancing? She made him take notice without trying. She wasn’t what people called a conventional beauty, but to him she was damn near perfect. He wanted to spend hours watching the way her expression changed, getting to know what each look meant.

As he approached, he could hear her speaking to one of the officers. “My ex threatened me. I didn’t think he knew where I lived since I moved. I guess he does.”

The officer said something he couldn’t make out. Normally, Trip would stay out of things, but he’d passed by that car less than seven hours ago, and it had been fine. Also, they were blocking his exit and he could either go back inside or stand out here and wait for the tow truck to move.

The officer stepped away, and Trip moved to stand next to her. He glanced down, and her head slowly tilted up as though she was moving at a speed different from the rest of the world. Her eyebrows pinched together as she studied him.

“The car wasn’t damaged at midnight.”

The nearest officer turned to face them, and his eyes narrowed. “And who are you?”

“Trip. I sleep under her. I mean, my apartment is below hers. I got home last night at midnight, and it was fine.”

The officer shot him a weird look, almost like he didn’t believe him. “How sure are you that it was midnight?”

“I left the base at eleven thirty-six. Traffic wasn’t bad, so it didn’t take long to get home.”

“Base?” The officer gave him a once over, taking in his curly brown hair and scruffy beard. “Navy?”

Trip nodded. “Yes, sir. My car is right beside hers. Y’all are blocking me in. I was tired, but not too tired to notice a mess like this when I pulled in. No one was in the lot either.”

The officer narrowed his eyes. “How sure are you about that?”

“Very. Hyperawareness and all, you know.”

The officer nodded like he understood. Cops were twitchy and kept account of people around them. Navy SEALs were even more twitchy. He knew there were two other officers plus the tow truck driver, in addition to the four people on balconies trying to find out the tea with the new neighbor.

The woman’s shoulders slumped even more. “I’m sure it was my ex. He must have figured out where I live.”

Trip turned to the officer. “Did you check for tracking devices?”

The officer shrugged. “We don’t really have equipment for that in the field. We can check later.”

“Just a second.”

Trip opened the door to his car and pulled out his device scanner. He hopped up on the back of the tow truck where her car was secured and waved the wand over her back bumper, hearing a beep indicating there was a device on her car.

He met the officer’s gaze. “Someone is tracking this car.”

The woman’s eyes went wide, and the cop frowned. She looked very upset, and the officer shook his head.

“Well, dang. I should take possession of the device. Let me get some gloves.”

Trip hopped down from the back of the tow truck and moved to his neighbor. “Sorry about that, but I figured you’d want to know. I’m Trip, by the way.”

“Thank you for finding that. Ellis. I guess I’ll be the talk of the community.”

Trip snorted. “Trust me, this isn’t the most excitement we’ve had here. It’s not a crappy place to live, but we’ve had our share of drama.”

“I just need a place to sleep and hide. I guess he knows where I am so I’m not hiding.”

The officer had climbed off the back of the tow truck with the tracker in hand. “It may not have been him. He didn’t take the tracker when he did this damage. The slashed tires could have been random. We’ve had a few incidences in other parts of town with random vandalism.”

Ellis shook her head. “What makes you think he didn’t come here?”

“First off, he left the tracker behind. We’ll probably find his fingerprints on it, which means we can charge him with a crime. Usually, these guys who track exes then vandalize the car remove the devices once they do the damage. Maybe he’s not smart enough to take the device off, but usually they are because they know the cops will get involved. If you give me his information, I’ll go talk to him.”

“Thank you.”

The tow truck moved, unblocking his car. Trip should take off, but he wanted to know who the jerk tracking her was and see if he could get some intel on him. He should mind his own business. Normally, he was able to turn it off here in the States, but for some reason, this woman, with her willowy frame who almost looked like she could play an elf in one of the Lord of the Rings films, intrigued him more than any other person had in a long time.

The officers were wrapping everything up, and he didn’t want to walk away without learning more about her. She bent and picked up a black bag from the ground. Did she have plans that were dashed? He wanted to ask her if she needed a ride, but that might sound weird.

“Did that ruin your plans today?” He couldn’t believe he’d asked such a dumb question. Of course, it ruined her plans.

Her eyebrows rose as she looked at him. “Obviously. I wanted to go out and take some shots, but I guess that’s out of the question now.”

Her answer surprised him. Did she mean with a gun, or tequila shots? “Shots?”

She pointed to her bag. “Photos. I was going to hike a trail and just enjoy the day.”

“No water?”

She shook her head. “I was going to pick some up on the way. Also breakfast. I need to eat.”

“Well, this is weird, but I’m headed out for a hike. Want to come along?”

She snorted. “You do know the cops are still here, so if you’re planning on taking me out into the woods to attack me, they saw us together.”

He liked the way she looked annoyed. She was smart, and he wanted to get to know her better. “What kind of guys do you normally hang out with?”

Her eye roll was cute. “Obviously, pieces of shit based on the current state of my car.”

“Seriously, I’m heading out for an easy hike. It’s a three-mile loop, Wright’s Field. It’s about forty minutes from here.”

She closed her eyes, and he studied her face, liking how her nose turned up in such a cute way he wanted to kiss it. He wouldn’t, but the woman was beautiful. She probably got a load of comments about how she looked like an elf, so he kept the thought to himself.

After a moment, she shrugged and opened her eyes. “Sure. The day can’t get worse. Let’s go.”

“Awesome. Send a friend your tracking location. That way, they’ll know where you are.”

Her mouth fell open. “Really? You won’t mind that your location is being tracked?”

“Why would I if I’m not doing anything wrong? And they aren’t really tracking me, just you. So once we part ways, I won’t be tracked.”

Ellis shook her head again. “You’re different—nice.”

He winked. “Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want word to get out.”

The smile he was rewarded with made his insides twist. Why was he getting excited over a smile like he was a hormonal teenage boy? She wasn’t agreeing to a date. They were just going hiking, that was it.