Page 38 of Finding Carly
“Maybe shedoeshear you, but instead of telling her over and over that she’s making a mistake, you can try to offer alternatives or suggestions on how to do her job safer?” Jag said hesitantly.
Slate sighed. “She’s driving me crazy,” he admitted.
Jag couldn’t help but smile. “Welcome to the club.” He clapped Slate on the back.
He merely shook his head. “I’m headed down to Food For All to see if she’s back from today’s deliveries. I’ll tell her about the self-defense classes.”
“A suggestion?” Jag said. “If possible, make it seem like it’sheridea to go. I’m guessing that’ll go over better than ordering her to do anything.”
Slate thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “Good point. Maybe I’ll tell her that Carly’s not sure about going by herself. She’ll definitely volunteer to go with her then.”
Jag nodded. “Exactly.”
“Thanks. Hey…who do you think Baker stayed with last night? I mean, I wasn’t aware that he was all that close with anyone on this end of the island.”
“I have no idea. But Baker’s got connections everywhere. For all we know, he bunked in with the base admiral,” Jag said dryly.
“True. It’s probably better if we didn’t know. I’ll see you at PT tomorrow. Call if you need me,” Slate said.
Jag nodded and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He wasn’t sure he’d learned anything new in the meeting with Baker, but it did feel good to know his team had his and Carly’s backs. Not that he’d expected anything different.
Despite that, his belly churned with anxiety. He hadn’t felt like this in a very long time. Not even in the middle of a mission when things had gone completely fucking sideways. He had more to lose now. It wasn’thislife on the line, it was Carly’s. And somehow, Jag knew her ordeal wasn’t over. She’d have to be strong to get through whatever was coming…and somethingwascoming.
He’d learned over the years that he couldn’t control other people. He could only control himself and how he responded to whatever was happening around him. The same applied to Carly. Ultimately, they might not know who was working with her ex until it was too late. All he could do was give Carly the tools to deal with whatever happened.
The thought of some asshole getting his hands on her made his skin crawl, but no matter what happened, his Carly could handle it. He had no doubt. Working with the Naval security officer would hopefully give her confidence in her own abilities against someone taller and stronger than she was. That, along with the knowledge that he’d do whatever was necessary to get to her, would hopefully get her through anything that might happen.
The hair on the back of Jag’s neck stood up, and he realized he’d been standing in the conference room for too long. He needed to get moving. Get to Duke’s and to Carly.
As he walked quickly out of the building and toward his Jetta, he thought about his sometimes overwhelming inner turmoil. Some men might be more positive in his shoes. Might trust the police when they said they couldn’t find any evidence of a threat. But just because no one knew something was wrong, didn’t mean all was well. He’d learned that firsthand when he was just eleven years old.
Trouble was coming, and just because he and Carly didn’t know from which direction it might appear, didn’t mean it wouldn’t eventually catch up with them.
Determination rose within Jag. He had no idea if he and Carly would last as a couple, but he was going to do everything possible to make sure she not only made it through this blip in her life, but that she flourished.
That meant giving her the confidence to live her life. Baby steps. That’s all she needed. And while she was learning to fly once again, he and his team would have her back, doing what they could to give her the space to thrive.
When the shit hit the fan—and italwaysseemed to hit the fan—Jag just had to be sure his woman was strong enough to withstand the storm.
CHAPTERTEN
Carly felt like a coward hiding out in the kitchen, but when one of Shawn’s best friends showed up at Duke’s for an early dinner, she’d started shaking and couldn’t stop. He was with a group of men she’d never seen before, and just the sight of Jeremiah Barrowman had her trembling uncontrollably.
Kenna had noticed her reaction and swept her out of the public eye and into the kitchen before Carly knew what was happening. Vera sat the men at a table near the beach, and Justin was waiting on them.
“You’re okay, Carly, just breathe,” Kenna soothed.
Carly took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“It’s just that I haven’t seen any of Shawn’s friends since…well, you know. And Jeremiah has always given me the creeps.”
“Well, you don’t have to deal with him today,” Kenna said firmly. “Justin’s got their table and we’ll stay on this side of the restaurant.”
Carly nodded. “Thanks. I feel so stupid.”
“Why? You shouldn’t. Not at all. You want me to go out there and scope things out? Maybe I’ll offer to help Justin so I can see his reaction when that asshole seesme. If he was working with Shawn, he’s bound to react negatively to seeing me, right?”
