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The Captain inclined his head. “Thank you, Commander, and good luck to you.”

“Thank you, Captain, and
may I say good luck to you, too, sir.” Saluting him, she watched as he strode from the wardroom, stopping only for an instant to accept someone’s congratulations before leaving.

Joan smiled and waved at an officer across the room who called her, beckoning her to come over. Joan just gestured to her watch and gave Joe only a passing glance as she too left the wardroom. She had packing to do and would be leaving in the morning along with Gail, who was to be transferred to the base in Bahrain before being shipped back home to await trial.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The call from the admiral was expected, but Eric was unable to control the tension that was biting all the way up his back. It had been over a week since Commander Foxworth had left with Gail Carruthers and two days since he
’d been officially cleared of any wrongdoing. He remembered the sense of relief he had felt when he heard she had admitted the lies, if only to help officially clear the other three officers and the allegations she had made against them. Even though there were no charges, there was still that tainted question that lingered as to whether they had done it. When someone created those kind of lies about people, they never really went away.

Over the last week, Eric had spent only a brief visit each day with Abby and Rachel. The admiral, as promised, tried to stall having her brought to the base in Bahrain, but the Admiral confirmed Eric’s fears: The CIA wanted Seyed Hossein, and since Abby and the baby were, according to them, the only motive he had to come out of hiding, they were willing to sacrifice her to catch the elusive man. Even Langley had called and said he had to hand her over. They were now sure that Seyed Hossein had been a part of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

When the phone buzzed beside him, he lifted the handset with a heavy heart, because they were coming down to their last fight. “Admiral, I hope you have good news for me,” he said. Hearing the sigh on the other end, the bottom fell out of his stomach. Eric shut his eyes.

“They’re unwilling to budge. They want her and the baby, and they want them now.”

For a minute, a powerful jolt went right through him, because he was facing two things: He could either pull something that would anger a group of people who could be an angry hornets’ nest when were denied what they wanted, or he could lose the only woman who’d managed to creep inside his heart and fill the big empty void that had always existed inside him. Both could kill him.

“Admiral, I can’t let her go. You and I both know what will happen. She’s a US citizen who was abducted.” He heard a sharp intake of breath and, before the admiral could send a direct command over the wire and leave him with a choice he didn’t want to have to make, he added, “No. I have to stand firm. She’s under my protection. I won’t turn her over to them. Please, you have to help me out on this.”

As he gathered a deep breath, an idea sparked in his head. “I also want to run something past you. If I keep Abby and the baby here, the CIA could let it slip that this is where she is. Of course, this means exposing the ship and crew. Ideally, it would draw Seyed out where they could set a trap for him. It’s a win-win for them, Admiral. Let them have all the credit. I just want Abby safe.”

“It will be a tough sell,” the admiral replied. “Exposing the ship and crew to these dangers may not be an option. I would have to get approval from Washington.” There was the sound of a chair squeaking. “You should know I’ll have a quick answer from Washington, and then they’ll be sending someone for her. They’ll order you to turn her over.” The admiral cleared his throat, and Eric could hear someone whispering in the background. “Oh, I meant to tell you that the chaplain is still on the Vincent. He’s planning
on leaving today, though, to return to Washington. You may want to consider having him aboard before he flies off.”

Eric was still holding the phone in his hand when Joe knocked, and Eric watched him shut the door and lean against it.
Maybe it was the look on his face that had Joe looking grim.

He gripped the back of the chair and said with concern, “Eric, it didn’t go well, did it?”

Eric swallowed the lump in his throat. “No, it didn’t, and it doesn’t sound like I have much time.” Taking a deep breath, he looked at his watch, stood up, and turned toward Joe. “Can you track down the chaplain, Commander Julian Dobson? Find out if he’s still on the Vincent. Then get him over here in the helo—” He stopped talking and jammed all ten fingers in his hair. Then he blew out a hard breath. “I need to go talk to Abby.” He started for the door. “I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

Joe’s eyes widened, but he didn’t speak.

“I…I’ve thought about it. Never thought it would happen like this, but it’s the only way to protect her.”

“To keep her on board?”
Joe said.

Eric nodded. “Partly, but it’s the only way to keep them from using her as a guinea pig.”

“Do you think she’ll agree?”

Pausing for a second with his hand on the door, Eric lowered his head before pulling it open. “I don’t plan on giving her much choice.”

She was wearing the jeans and taupe button-up shirt that Eric had arranged to include in the supplies that arrived the other day. He’d guessed on her size, but just seeing her face light up to have regular clothes to wear was worth the effort and favors he’d had to call in.

Even though she’d just had a baby a few weeks ago, she really looked good. She had the most amazing figure, long blond hair that almost reached her waist, a sharp set of cheekbones, and lips that he wanted to lean down and taste every time he looked at them. He also thought her ass was amazing, with the way she filled out a simple pair of jeans.

He leaned against the door, and it clicked closed. Abby watched him from where she lingered in the corner, where she and Rachel had a bed out of the way. The first moment her eyes connected with him, her face lit up. Then she seemed to think about something, and she frowned and wrapped her arms around her middle. He started across the room, straight for her, giving a passing glance to the sailor lying on one of the beds. “I need to talk to you,” he whispered.

She was searching out his face as if she knew something was wrong, and her expression immediately leaped to fear. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me!”

When she touched his arm, he could feel how she struggled to stop the tremble, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. He knew all too well the places she’d go in her head, so he guided her to edge of her bed. “Sit down,” he said. Then he covered her mouth with his fingers, feeling the softness against his roughness. “
Shh, don’t be scared. We don’t have a lot of time. There is something going on, and we need to be married now.”

She stared at him, and he’d swear she stopped breathing for a second. “What did you say?”

He set both hands on her cheeks. “Abby, I need you to marry me right now. Don’t say no or that you have to think about it. I just need you to trust me and nod once, a simple yes.”

“Married.
Why would you want to marry me?”

It was the first time that he had seen her doubt herself, and he was shocked. Didn’t she know what she did to him? Why, she’d all but wrapped him up in a knot! He couldn’t go back to his lonely, isolated life as it had been before. He didn’t want to go there, and he wanted her with him, to be his, only his.

“Abby, don’t you know the way I feel about you? I want you somewhere safe where I can protect you and Rachel.” He didn’t let her respond, because he didn’t want her to start questioning what and why and who the big bad wolf was who was pounding at the door. He knew that knowledge would tip her right over the edge. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, so soft and hesitant, but she didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away as he feared she would. He didn’t push the kiss, although he wanted to trace his tongue over her lips to taste her. He realized he needed to take it slow. “Please, Abby, just trust me. Please say yes.” He rested his forehead against hers and took in her warm breath. “Abby, do you trust me?”

“Yes, I trust you. You already know that.”

“Then will you marry me right now, no questions, just be my wife?” He held her face and then slid all his fingers into her glorious hair, holding her head still as she looked at him. He didn’t know what he saw there, and that worried him.

So slowly, her eyes filled with a shimmer of tears, and she blinked to hold them back and whispered, “Yes.”

Eric wasn’t about to give her time to change her mind. What he did was scoop up Rachel, snuggled in her makeshift cradle on the floor beside the bed. She was sleeping soundly, and his heart tripped each time he touched that innocent bundle. He loved her scent, how content she was, and how she gazed up at him with those dark eyes, not those of a monster but something so innocent. She was looking to him to keep her safe.

“The way you are with Rachel…you want her, don’t you? You’ll also keep my daughter
safe, raise her as your own?”

When he glanced over at Abby, he saw the question she asked as the uncertainty flickered in her expression. “Abby, how could I not want to protect something so innocent? A child should never have to worry about whether she’ll have a parent to protect her, to care for her, where her next meal is coming from. I want to do everything in my power to make sure nothing bad can ever touch her.”

“Well then, we should go. Eric, Rachel and I would very much like to marry you.”

He slid his other hand behind her neck and pulled her against him. “Let’s go.”

***

Abby settled Rachel in the bedroom of Eric’s cabin. She used the drawer they’d used during her first few days after giving birth. It had stayed here, and Eric
couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he hadn’t moved it. Maybe it was because he knew deep down that he wanted them back here. While Eric fumbled with something on his dresser, he watched Abby study the room as if it were the first time she was in here.

“Will I share this room with you, or will I have to stay in sickbay still? When I came up to see you a few days ago, Petey told me I was not allowed to wander the ship and had to stay in sickbay, so I need to know.”

“Petey was right, and you’re not wandering the passageway, although I love seeing you. I’m sorry, but you need to understand you’re not in the military. You can’t wander around with a baby. You could get knocked over. The ship makes sudden turns.”

She nodded, but her expression
was hidden, as if she didn’t want to share what she was really thinking.

“And yes, you will stay here now,” he explained.

This time she did smile, and he knew when she was happy because the joy reached her eyes, turning the baby blue a shade lighter.

Voices from the outer cabin drew Eric away from Abby. He spotted Joe and the doc filing in the doorway along with Julian, the chaplain, whom Eric hadn’t seen since he’d come aboard for an injured sailor. It seemed that Julian
was always summoned for those going through a bad time. Eric could feel Abby’s heat as she approached behind him. He said nothing to her but held out his hand and took hers. He led her out to the waiting men.

“Commander Dobson, this is Abby.” Eric gestured with his free hand and then slid his arm around her shoulders. She stepped closer, pressed against his side.

Julian was a shorter dark-haired man with a receding hairline, a large nose, and hazel eyes that gave people all his attention. He reached out and took Abby’s free hand in one of his, covering it with the other.

“Wow, so you’re the one who knocked this guy flat on his backside. I never thought I’d see the day that Captain Eric Hamilton would toss his life as a bachelor into the wind and get married.”

Eric felt Abby stiffen beside him, and he wanted to kick Julian. The last thing he wanted to do was terrify Abby. “Well, shall we get on with it? I understand you’re heading back to the States today.”

“Right after I marry you and have a word with a couple sailors, I’ll be flying off to the base to catch the military transport home.”

Eric winced. He knew how uncomfortable a long flight on one of the transport planes was.

“Well, enough with formality. Captain, Abby, I’ll get you both to stand here. You two can stand on either side of them as witnesses.” Julian gestured to Joe and the doc. Then he opened his black book and proceeded to marry Eric and Abby.
Eric never took his eyes from Abby, and it was only when Julian said, “You may kiss your bride” that he stared down at the simple gold band that now surrounded her ring finger. It was loose, and when they got to port and back to the US he’d have it sized for her or buy her a diamond ring. She was staring at the ring, and he wondered if the plain thin band Julian had brought with him upset her. Maybe she wanted something fancy?

He slid his hands over her pale cheeks, which filled with pink when she looked up at him. “I’m sorry it’s all I could come up with on short notice. I’ll get you something better.”

“Eric, it’s not the ring. I never expected one. Please, I wouldn’t care if it came from a Cracker Jack box. No, you can’t change it.” She was so hesitant, the way she looked into his eyes, and when he leaned down and touched his lips to hers softly and then moved his mouth over hers, she responded. Then he pulled away just as a hand patted his shoulder.