Flash Bang: A Summit Seduction SEAL Novel (The Summit Seduction SEAL Duet Book 1) Rachel Robinson (grave mercy .txt) 📖

I kiss him again, and he calls out when I get to the door. “I know that’s not Ms. Gibson’s jacket. Or her purse. Or her hat. ‘Night, Dad.”

I became Dad just like that. Not Daddy. Just Dad. My six-year-old called me the fuck out and basically told me he’s disappointed in me with one word. Dad. I’m not sure whether I should be offended or proud.

No more lies. “Love you, buddy.”

I leave his room and make sure to lock my bedroom doors this time. Maeve falls out of the closet when she hears me call her. “I’m so sorry Maeve.” I shake my head. “This was an awful idea.”

“I hate to admit that I agree with you.” She slips her arms out of my jacket and walks naked to get her clothes off the bedside table. As she dresses, I’m struck with the reality that this isn’t going to work. It’s not the nanny’s responsibility to spend the night at my house so I can visit Maeve. Nor is it fair to Turner to make him take time away from me so I can get lucky.

“This probably goes without saying, but I don’t think this is going to work out.”

Pain flares in her gaze as she buttons her jeans. “I’m not sure what this was even going to be, but I guess if it’s over, it doesn’t matter, right?”

“Dating with a child was going to be difficult. It’s why I never even tried. Now I think we both realize why it’s a bad idea.”

“Or it just takes creativity you aren’t willing to come up with. This wasn’t even dating, Linc. It was just sex. If you can’t figure that out… well, whatever, that’s on you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She’s one-hundred percent right, but it’s not worth the risk of my son seeing something that is less than morally sound. “Wait,” I say. “Let me make sure he’s asleep.”

Maeve thought I was going to stop her from leaving, not make sure the coast is clear. Her shoulders hunch over and she sighs out a long breath. “I feel the same way, okay, I just have different priorities.”

“Go make sure your priority doesn’t catch you lying,” she whispers. Her eyes glisten and I feel like a total asshole. “Turner should always be your number one. I know that. It’s just that you don’t have an inch of open space for… me.”

Isaac’s words float back. Be there for her.

“Give me a chance to figure this out. It gets cloudy when I think about… sex.”

She nods, but stays silent while I confirm Turner is indeed asleep. I hand her the stuff off the rack and she slips into the night. Maeve turns left when she gets to the sidewalk and that’s when I close the door and start moping like a fucking jerk.

What could I have possibly done different? Sure, he has sleepovers at Isaac’s with his kids a couple times a month, but is that really something valid to offer? Hey let’s have a standing fuck date twice a month, baby. It’s a start, I guess. My phone starts ringing from the kitchen counter. Maeve.

“Sorry to call, but Lincoln…” Her voice trails off. “Someone slashed all four of my tires.”

My breath lodges in my throat. “Come back inside.”

“Lincoln, there’s a kiss print on my driver’s side window, too.”

I don’t wait for her to come back in, I drop my phone on the counter and run outside and turn left. Maeve is running toward me and crashes into my arms. I send her into the house, not even worrying about Turner and go examine the car.

Slash isn’t the correct term. Someone cut them so deep and so aggressively, pieces of the tires are missing. All four of them. The lip print on the window is the same as the one from Maeve’s house except this isn’t blood, it’s lipstick. There’s no sign of anyone on my sleepy, suburb street. A light flickers on the opposite side, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever they used to cut the tires isn’t lying anywhere obvious. The cops need to come out here because this is the same person. Now the intention is clear. Maeve is in danger.

I jog back into the house and find her sitting in the middle of my bed, shaking. “I’m so sorry. I’ll call an Uber and get out of here before Turner wakes up again, Lincoln.” She is clicking her fingernails against her front teeth—worrying. “It’s the same person. Who could it be? I don’t even know many people here. My bedside manner is stupendous, so I know I haven’t pissed off any patients. Or, I think. I mean, sometimes things hurt, but they need to be done. I want to help people!”

I go over to sit next to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “Maeve. You didn’t do anything wrong. This still might be random.” Fat chance. “We need to call the cops and report it, though. In case it’s not.” The more likely answer.

“I’ll grab an Uber home and have it towed tomorrow and make a call to the police station.” This is the route to take to circumvent Turner being involved in any way, so I agree. The police should be coming now to check for prints and to see if any DNA can be found.

I let my selfish bastard out and put her in an Uber twenty minutes later. She promises to call me when she gets home. I call the tow company and leave a message for them that they’ll get in the morning and also text Isaac to update him. He calls me back as soon as my text goes through.

“Please tell me you banged before the kiss hitter struck again. Please.”

“Fuck off, Isaac. After running your errands today, it’s probably your fault somehow. She’s going to file a report tomorrow. If they came out tonight, Turner would have