Chapter Two

Chantoya Willow Jackson heard Abigail Riley’s voice all the way in her room. She had forgotten today was the day the man from the Navy would be in their school. Leave it to Abigail to make him feel welcome. Really, really welcome.

Rolling her light brown eyes, she gathered her jacket and followed Mikhail out the door. As a teacher of AP Biology, her tests and assignments had a reputation for being some of the hardest in the school. But her students did amazingly well; she offered the information and they absorbed it and prevailed each time.

Locking the door, she walked with her student out of the school. They parted ways at the bottom of the steps, Mikhail heading for the football field to begin practice and Chantoya proceeding onto her car.

“Thanks Ms. J,” the young man shouted as he began to sprint away, his bag bouncing with every step he took.

Chantoya, who normally went by CJ, opened the car door and placed her items in her vehicle when a shadow fell over her. Righting herself immediately, she turned to see another teacher from the school. Marvin Whittle, one of the Physical Education teachers. He was a good-looking man, but CJ really had no intentions of pursuing a relationship with him or any other teacher at the school.

“Afternoon, CJ.” His words were smooth, even as his blinding white smile stood out starkly against his bronze skin.

“Marvin,” she said politely. “What can I do for you?”

“Just wondering if you would like to grab a bite to eat?” Big brown eyes sparkled down upon her.

“Sorry. I have to get going. I am meeting some people this afternoon and I don’t want to be late.”

Eyes narrowed briefly before he acquiesced. “Well, just a thought. You owe me a rain check then.”

“Sure,” she agreed. Her gaze landed on a figure past Marvin’s shoulder. It was a man in a military uniform. He was watching them as if unsure of whether or not she needed assistance. With a small smile, she waved at the man standing by his blue car.

CJ was touched when he touched his fingers to the brim of his hat, nodded back, and climbed into his car. How long had it been since she had a man pay any sort of attention like that to her?

Most men she met wanted one thing, and that included the man standing before her. If not for her brothers and the reputation of their die-hard protection of the baby and only sister in the family, she could only imagine how serious some of the advances would become.

“Have a nice day, Marvin,” CJ said as he looked over his shoulder to find the person she had waved to, an action that allowed her to climb into her car and start the engine. She drove away, not really waiting for any response from him. He made her feel uneasy.

Once CJ entered her apartment, she locked the door, leaned heavily against the wood, and took a deep breath, allowing it to uncoil the tension that had increased inside her. It had been a constant companion of hers for the past week, but CJ reassured herself the disquiet would pass eventually. After a moment, she went to her answering machine and clicked it on. Listening to her messages as she moved through the nice, although quaint, one-bedroom dwelling, a smile crossed her face as she heard a message from each of her brothers.

Sitting down in a chair, she flipped through her mail as she tried to figure out what she wanted for dinner. The last message, a hang-up, got her attention and she shivered from a cold chill.

Taking a shower to make the unease, CJ ran over food options in her head. Still having reached no decision after she was done, dry, and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, she stood in front of her fridge for a moment. Nothing jumped out at her.

With a huge sigh, she started when the phone rang. Salvation. It was a friend who wanted to get together for dinner and shopping. Eagerly, CJ agreed and grabbed her purse and left immediately after hanging up with her friend, Polly.

*

Osten pulled into the lot at the beginning of the school day. He had several appointments with students and didn’t want to be late. Flipping open his cell when it rang, he answered, “Petty Officer Scoleri.”

“Hey, Baby Boy.”

“Hey, Harrier,” he responded as he climbed out of his car. “What’s up?” Harrier, aka Lieutenant Commander Scott Leighton, was the leader of the Megalodon Team, the SEAL team of which Osten was a member. “Baby Boy” was his nickname in the group.

“Just checkin’ to see how you were doing? Getting ready to get back to school?” the deep voice teased.

“Actually, I just pulled into the lot. I have a few appointments this morning for personal interviews with students. My weeks are filling up; I think I will be here the whole day for most of them.”

“Well, sounds like you would be a wonderful recruiter.”

Osten growled low in his throat. “That’s not even funny. I am not recruiter material.”

“Well, if the students get to be too much for you, don’t hesitate to call us in for backup.”

Osten knew the man would have a sparkle in his blue eyes and a cheesy grin on his face. “I’ll do that. Do you think Lex would mind?”

“Leave my wife out of this,” the warning came.

“Well, I’d want her at my back,” he sent back. “Then you and the rest of the Team.”

“Keep me posted,” the order came.

Osten heard a baby crying in the back and grinned. “Will do. Later, man.” He hung up.

The roar of a powerful engine captured his attention and he looked up to see that ’Vette pulling into the lot. Damn, that is a nice car. Putting on his cover, what civilians called a hat, Osten grabbed his box, shut the door, and locked his car.

His sharp gaze picked out Abigail approaching him from the right, so he headed towards the school, his course taking him past the car and the teacher he had yet to meet.

The obsidian black door swung open and a pair of legs swung out. Despite the cold, they were bare from the knee down and a delicious shade of toffee, with low-heeled black shoes on their feet. A skirt, red this time, entered his vision as the owner of those legs climbed fully out of her car.

She had on her jacket as opposed to carrying it and she bent over to reach in after her purse and bag. Osten felt his body jump in reaction to seeing the tight skirt stretched over her firm butt.

When she stood again, she tossed her head, sending her hair flying around her. Then she shut and locked her vehicle. She turned to her left and began to step toward the building, but then stopped and looked back at him.

A grin crossed her face, making Osten freeze. It lit up her face like nothing he had ever seen before. Well, perhaps once before. Her face was heart-shaped and her eyes were a light shade of brown and slightly slanted at the ends. They drew him in. The button nose and full, plump lips caught his attention more than once as he looked her over.

“Hello,” her cheerful voice said, even as her eyes hardened for a brief second. Osten would bet she didn’t think anyone would have noticed, but he wasn’t just anyone.

“Good morning. I don’t believe we’ve…” he trailed off as a strip of dyed red hair fluttered into her eyes.

“Met?” she finished for him, tucking the hair back behind her ear.

“CJ?” Osten wondered.

Those eyes narrowed as she looked at him even closer. Her hand covered her mouth, showing off her polish-free fingernails to him. “You…you…you were at the car show, Dez’s wedding, and the party to celebrate Murdock’s birth, right?”

It was Osten’s turn to grin. He flashed her one known to make knees tremble. “I was. Osten Scoleri.” He glided closer and held out his hand. “Nice to see you again.”

Taking the hand, CJ smiled once more. “They called you ‘Baby Boy’, right?”

He flushed. “Yes, ma’am. That’s right.” Reluctantly he released her hand.

“Well, I have to go, and it looks like your attention is about to be taken away from me anyway. So I will say ‘goodbye’ for the moment. Feel free to stop by if you need anything and also, you are more than welcome to leave your stuff in my room so you don’t have to carry it back and forth daily. See ya around, Osten.” She waved and walked off as Abigail approached.

Once inside her classroom with her students working on their assignment, CJ allowed her mind to run over the meeting this morning. The man who had stood before her was proud and strong. He wasn’t much taller than she, but he carried himself in a way that made him appear so.

His dark hair was cut short, she supposed in some form of regulation style. His eyes were a very dark brown, yet they shone with intelligence and more than a smattering of rogue. His lips were firm and CJ found herself wondering what it would be like to have them pressed against hers. He had beautiful olive skin that looked natural…of course, there was only one way to find that out.

His smile had made her knees go weak and the mere touch of his hand had sent tremors through her body. Why hadn’t she noticed him more the past times they had met, she didn’t know. Today, however, she had never wished so much that she was off school property and alone with that mouthwatering man.

The man was handsome beyond belief. Strong, masculine features filled out his face, and the way he filled out that uniform was sinful. Barely containing a groan, CJ turned her attention back to her class from the good-looking man she now knew to be a member of an elite military team, the SEALs.

*

The woman screamed and screamed until her throat was raw. The cuffs shackling her chaffed her sensitive ankles raw. Above her a lone light shone, doing nothing but depressing her further. Shivers overtook her and she pulled up the musty smelling wool blanket, grateful at least for its protection against the cold. A dripping sound from somewhere unknown never ended. There was no hope.

Eyes red from crying looked around the room. A heavy chain riveted into the wall was attached to her. There was an old mattress on the floor and she had a bucket to use as her bathroom.

At least she was alone for the time being. The horrible man who had done this to her was brutal when he was there. He would smack her around a bit and then take her and call out another woman’s name.