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He was looking at her but speaking to his men. “Go wait in the hall. This is a private conversation.”

Snickering and grinning, the big men did as they were asked, leaving Wade and Jeremy alone. When they were gone, he lowered his voice.

“Look, if you don’t want to go out with me, just say so,” Wade said, without malice. “I’d understand I mean, you must have a boyfriend….”

She shook her head vigorously. “I don’t have a boyfriend and I said I’d go out with you. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to take me out because you asked me when your mind was clouded with drugs.”

He frowned. “I may be feeling a little high, but I know what I am saying. I want to see you tomorrow night.”

Jeremy felt her cheeks grow warm as they gazed at each other but she didn’t care; she was so caught up in him that she didn’t realize she was smiling. Wade felt the pull, too, as if there was a magnet between them. It was weird, wonderful, and completely unexplainable.

“If you’re sure,” she said after a moment. “I get off a six. You can pick me up here.”

He smiled. “Great. I am really looking forward to it, Jeremy.”

“Me, too,” she smiled back. She was incredibly glad that he seemed interested in her because, damn, if she wasn’t tremendously attracted to him.

Jeremy pushed him out into the hall and his team members were immediately at his side, grinning at their commander and at the nurse. Down the hall, the hordes of brass began to turn around, one by one, and Wade looked dubiously at them.

“Damn,” he muttered.

His men followed his gaze. “They’re going to be merciless,” Peter commented.

Jeremy could see that the SEAL team was tired and exhausted and Wade certainly wasn’t up to interrogation by the brass. She had an idea.

“Where are you guys staying?” she asked.

“Base housing,” Wade replied. “Why?”

She cocked a thoughtful brow. “Hold on a second.” She skipped down the hall and disappeared into a door, emerging mere seconds later. She took Wade’s hand and pressed something cold and hard into it. He looked down and saw it was a key.

“It’s to my parent’s house on Coronado,” she told him with a grin. “If you stay here on base, they’ll never leave you alone. You need to get some rest tonight.”

He returned her smile timidly. “Well… hell, okay. Where is it?”

“Fifteen sixty-three Bay Park Avenue,” she told him, then glanced at the others. “There are three bedrooms and a den, enough room for all of you. You are welcome to it.”

Peter took the key. “Cool,” he said sincerely. “Thanks.”

Wade nodded. “Yeah, thanks,” he replied. “But where are you staying?”

“At my apartment here on base,” she said with a primly cocked brow. She then turned to look down the hall thoughtfully. “Now, to get you out of here… wait here one more minute. I’ll be back.”

Again, she moved rapidly down the hall and turned a corner. Not a minute later she returned pulling the young doctor who had originally examined Wade. Much to Wade’s surprise, he felt himself bristle with jealousy at the sight of Jeremy touching another man and just as quickly chased those feelings from his mind. Already, he was possessive, like she belonged to him.

Jeremy took over. Directing his teammates to circle around him forming a protective shield, she and the doctor ran shotgun and parted the mass of officers with amazing effectiveness. Twice they were stopped by admirals demanding to speak with Wade, but the doctor insisted quite forcefully that the man was in no condition for questions and that they would have to wait.

They broke through the lines and removed Wade through the ambulance entrance, racing him out into the parking lot where a large government-issue van waited for them. Racing against the officers that were starting to file out after them, and pressing to avoid the reporters that were at the other entrance, the team loaded Wade onto the van and bailed in after him.

Jeremy ran around to the driver’s door where Peter sat behind the wheel. “Up over the green bridge,” she yelled over the roar of the engine. “Take a hard right to Bay Park Avenue.”

He waved at her and she stood back, waiting for the van to take off. Peter turned his head and spoke with someone before hanging his head back out the window again. “Hey, doc! What’s your name?”

The young doctor with the red-gold hair smiled. “Alan Longworth.”

Peter nodded. “Thanks!” he looked at Jeremy. “Go around to the passenger side. The commander wants to tell you something.”

Jeremy ran around and opened the door, aware that people were crossing the parking lot toward the van. She ripped open the front passenger door.