Bane Read Free Page B

she got there, she would quickly pack her things and disappear for a while. She would decide where she was going once she got to the airport. The Bahamas sounded pretty good right about now.
    What would Seton Industries think when she didn’t show up for work as usual? At present that was the least of her worries. Staying safe was her top priority.
    Half an hour later she smiled, satisfied that plan A had worked. All it took was to scoot her car in and out of all those tenacious shoppers a few times, and the driver of the blue car couldn’t keep up. But just to be certain, she drove around for a while to make sure she was no longer being tailed.
    She had fallen in love with Dallas but had no choice except to leave town for a while.
    * * *
    Sitting in the SUV he had rented at the airport, Bane tilted his Stetson off his eyes and shifted his long legs into a more comfortable position. He checked his watch again. The private investigator’s report indicated Crystal was employed with Seton Industries as a biochemist while working on her PhD, and that she usually got off work around four. It was close to seven and she hadn’t gotten home yet. So where was she?
    It
was
the holiday season and she could have gone shopping. And she must have girlfriends, so she could very well be spending time with one of them. He just had to wait.
    None of his family members had been surprised when he’d announced he was going after Crystal. However, except for Bailey, who knew the whole story, all of them were shocked to learn he’d married Crystal when they had eloped. His brother Riley had claimed he’d suspected as much, but all the others hadn’t had a clue.
    Bailey had given Bane a huge hug and whispered that it was about time he claimed his wife. Of course others, like Dillon, had warned Bane that things might be different and not to expect Crystal to be the eighteen-year-old he’d last seen. Just like he had changed over the years, so had she.
    His cousin Zane, who was reputed to be an expert on women, had gone so far as to advise Bane not to expect Crystal to readily embrace her role as loving wife or his role as long-lost husband. Zane had cautioned him not to do anything stupid like sweeping her off her feet and carrying her straight to the bedroom. They would have to get to know each other all over again, and he shouldn’t be surprised if she tried putting up walls between them for a while.
    Zane had reiterated that regardless of the reason, Bane hadn’t made contact with his wife in almost five years and doubts would have crossed Crystal’s mind regarding Bane’s love and faithfulness.
    He had appreciated everyone’s advice. And while he wished like hell he could sweep Crystal off her feet and head straight for the nearest bedroom when he saw her, he had enough sense to know they would have to take things slow. After all, they had been apart all this time and there would be a lot for them to talk about and sort out. But he felt certain she knew he would come back for her as he’d promised; no matter how long it had taken him to do so.
    He was back in her life and didn’t intend to go anywhere. Even if it meant he lived with her in Dallas for a while. As a SEAL he could live anywhere as long as he was ready to leave for periodic training sessions or covert operations whenever his commanding officer called. And as long as there was still instability in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, his team might be needed.
    Thinking of his team made him think about Coop. It was hard to believe his friend was gone. All the team members had taken Coop’s death hard and agreed that if it was the last thing they did, they would return to Syria, find Coop’s body and bring him home. His parents deserved that and Coop did, too.
    For the longest time, Bane had thought he could keep his marriage a secret from his team. But he found it hard to do when the guys thought it was essential that he got laid every once in a while. Things started getting