Before We Kiss (Uncharted SEALs Book 6) Read Free Page A

bodies closer to the truck bed. Grabbing shoulders and feet, they swung each of the bandits onto the bed.
    “Name’s Mike Espinoza,” said the one who’d lost his clipboard somewhere along the way.
    They flipped another man into the pickup bed before Wiley responded. “William Coyote. Mind telling me how you took down the last one without him popping off a shot?”
    Mike grinned. “I pushed his weapon against his chest then spun him. Got an arm around his neck. Took him down with a chokehold.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out two darts. “These yours?”
    Wiley didn’t bother to make up a story. The man facing him was obviously ex-military and knew exactly what he’d done. “Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t include that part in any report you have to write.”
    Mike nodded then glanced over to the bus.
    Poppy was just stepping up into the doorframe. Her gaze rested on him and Mike.
    “Charter told you they’d have operatives among the passengers and crew…” Mike lifted his shoulders and smiled.
    “DEVGRU,” Wiley said, reaching out his hand.
    “SEAL Team 10.” Mike shook his hand.
    As Mike’s partner climbed into the truck and parked it in the ditch beside the road, Mike and Wiley stood side by side, watching as the last passengers boarded.
    “She’s got to know something’s up,” Mike murmured.
    “I’m just a guy accompanying my grandfather and his friends on a trip.”
    Mike nodded. “We’ll have to meet for drinks…” He reached out and slapped Wiley’s shoulder. “Better get a move on. She’s still staring.”
    Wiley grunted and strode toward the bus. Once he climbed the steps, applause erupted. He dipped his head but otherwise ignored the beaming faces all around him.
    Joe waved from the rear of the bus. Again, he’d saved him a seat.
    As he passed, Wiley gave Poppy a sideways glance. “I better make sure Gramps is okay.”
    Poppy’s gaze reflected her distrust. Wiley wasn’t sure why he did it, but he paused beside her, tipped up her face with his fingers, and bent to kiss her.
    She sat frozen, mouth gaping as he moved away.
    A grin stretching across his face, he slapped wrinkled hands raised to give him high-fives as he ambled down the aisle.
    Poppy fumed all the way back to the ship. No way was that cowboy just a man accompanying his grandfather on a cruise. She’d felt his large frame, chest to toes. He was too hard, too muscled, too damn cool in a dangerous situation to be some random passenger who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to save her. And with a damn blow gun.
    No matter that his solid weight had thrilled her to her toes. As soon as she got back to her room, she was calling her dad. He’d promised he wouldn’t make a fuss about this trip. If the cowboy hadn’t knocked her to the ground, she was completely confident the security team assigned by the cruise line would have handled everything—and in a much less embarrassing way.
    No way would she let the drama surrounding her father overshadow her mission. She wasn’t the focal point. The soldiers who would be sailing with the Countess line in just a few weeks needed all the attention. Her shoulders sank as the realization hit her. Perhaps she was more of a distraction than a help. Maybe she should have heeded her assistant’s advice. Kylie had offered to make this trip to assess the ship’s ability to accommodate handicapped vets. Kylie wasn’t in the public eye. The bandits who had stopped them wouldn’t have realized she was a high-dollar target they could ransom for a bigger payoff than the items they’d stolen from the mostly elderly passengers.
    Poppy glanced down at her rumpled, dirty dress. Reluctantly, she acknowledged her situation could have been much worse. She might have been blindfolded and forced to ride in the back of the pickup to the bandits’ hideout. If word had leaked, terrorists might have offered a much steeper payoff. Yeah, the encounter might