The Repair Shop had a new assignment for her, one that was long-term and would place her Stateside again. She agreed to it on one condition—that she could pick her partner.
She’d told them the right man for the job was retired SEAL Lachlan Campbell.
So The Repair Shop tracked Lachlan down to Key West. Gina packed her bags and she and Fleur flew in on one of The Repair Shop’s private jets.
This is madness. What was I thinking?
But, he ticked all the boxes. Retired SEAL, trustworthy, no close family. Single. Still single. The one thing Gina couldn’t check up on was his final mission. None of them could seem to request or break into the data. But Lachlan and a couple of his teammates had retired not long after. She worried about that.
Now, the anticipation of seeing Lachlan again after two years of no contact kept her tossing and turning. But every time she dozed off and her dreams started, she felt his lips on hers as the desert wind blew sand around them and she popped back into wakefulness.
Giving up on sleep, she started out bright and early the next morning with Fleur, and headed for his rented house.
Only to find he’d been evicted the month before.
Evicted?
And when the landlord told her where she might find Lachlan this time of day, she tried not to wince. Or to believe him. But it was her only lead, so she took it. As she approached the dive bar, she saw a terrible thing. A malnourished dog was tied up to a palm tree outside, its water bowl knocked over and empty. The dog lay with its head on its paws and stared forlornly at the bar door, waiting.
“God, you poor thing,” she whispered as she leaned down to pet him, her rage barely under control. Fleur sniffed at him before licking his ear. The dog sighed but didn’t even bother to lift his head.
First thing I’m doing when I retire is getting myself a dog.
Lachlan’s words echoed in her head and she damn near turned around right then. She would take this poor dog with her and spend the rest of his life treating him right.
But no. No, she wanted to see Lach, if only to confirm her worst fears. She grabbed the dog’s bowl and filled it from a spigot next to the bar’s door. As the dog greedily lapped up the water, she gave him one more scratch behind the ears and whispered, “Don’t worry, Fleur and I will be back.”
Gina opened the door to the rundown bar that gave a nod toward tiki décor and froze.
Lachlan was laid out on the wooden floor with some sort of colorful banner draped over him. One arm covered his eyes, the other lay straight out perpendicular to his body. She couldn’t tell if he was chuckling, snoring, or possibly choking.
All her anticipation and excitement on finding him turned sour in her stomach. How could she have been so wrong? Gina shook her head.
Oh my God.What happened to the SEAL she’d fallen in love with? The man she was going to marry? The one who’d broken her heart when he’d disappeared without a word?
The sourness in her stomach threatened to turn to bile. She swallowed hard. She had a choice—turn around and walk out now, pretend she couldn’t track Lachlan down after all, and return empty-handed. Suggest that they find her a new partner to start the venture.
Or, she could work with what she had, figure out what the hell had happened, and turn Lachlan around, if only in honor of what they’d once had.
Fleur sniffed disdainfully around his exposed armpit then jerked back up.
“Fleur, don’t pee on him.”Not that he’d notice.
Lach reached out blindly with his opposite arm and found the dog’s head. “Oh, hi, doggie.” As he scratched behind her ears, Fleur visibly relaxed and looked at Gina likeOh, hey, he’s not all bad.
“Speak for yourself, girl,” Gina murmured. Then louder, “Excuse me, are you by chance Lachlan Campbell?”
The big man raised his arm an inch off his face and peeked out at her from under it. “Who’s askin’?”
“Me.”
He grinned as he studied her. “Then I am. Nice to meet you. Have you got an aspirin?”
“No.”
“Cigarette?”
“Never.”
