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the strength and majestic appeal radiating from the thick waves of the tribal design.
    She smiled and looked up. “Does this mean something?”
    His jaw clenched. The knot on his throat bobbed. His hands stopped moving on her arms.
    “It’s okay,” she rushed. “Please don’t get upset. I’m sorry I asked.”
    “I’m not upset,” he said, clearing his throat. “It does mean something. It means a lot.”
    “You don’t have to tell me,” she insisted. “I was only asking because it looks like something of purpose, like it really means something special.”
    “It does.” He stroked the side of her head, tucking her hair behind her ear, and kissing her temple. “It’s a talisman of sorts. A tribal tattoo that links me to the other members of my squad, which is a symbol of strength and protection when we stand together and all the tattoos are united.”
    “Squad?” Kissing a bare spot between the dark swirls, she glanced up at him and found he’d relaxed. “What do you mean by squad?”
    “SEAL,” he replied. “This specific squad was part of a SEAL team.”
    That explained so much. Hottie was a Navy SEAL. No wonder she felt he could do anything he wanted to do. Strength and confidence seeped from his pores, and that body was ultra-competent.
    “When we finished the first segment of our training, we thought we would be invincible if we stuck together. Vowing to more than have each other’s back, because the whole team has each other’s back, they all do, we walked into a tattoo parlor and made our commitment permanent.”
    “Did you see action?” The tattoo thrummed beneath her fingertips. It seemed to have an awareness that was unexplainable to a mere civilian. She couldn’t stop tracing the swirls. She couldn’t take her fingers away.
    “Yes.”
    “Did your squad come home with you?”
    “Yes.”
    “All of them?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then why do you sound like somebody died?” Closing her fingers on his forearm, she stroked along the length and felt the prickles run along his skin.
    “Someone did die. An informant.” He shifted a little and turned the hot water on, then turned it back off. “An informant that came to me, came to me as a friend, came to me for guidance, died because she wouldn’t listen to reason, and I couldn’t get to her in time.”
    Damn, she shouldn’t have asked. Hottie had gone rigid and seriously upset. It wasn’t her business. But, she couldn’t help but to place her head against his shoulder and raise his hand to her mouth. She kissed each of his knuckles. “If she wouldn’t listen, it wasn’t your fault.”
    “She worked with me over a month. We became close, and we became friends. She asked if I could help her escape when my mission was complete. She wanted to get away from her politically fanatical family. She wanted a normal life. She wanted out. I wanted her out. The problem was I had broken the rule and had become personally involved with a subject. I considered her requests more than I should have. Especially when I knew they were wrong.
    “One day, we were seen speaking together while standing near an elderly village woman. I knew it was a bad situation for Miriam. I knew the woman would go to the rebels.” Using his arms, he pushed on the edges of the tub and stood. He reached for a towel with his right hand, and offered her his left hand for help to stand. “That day, everything felt off. I didn’t want her to return home. I wanted her to stay with us. Told her we could protect her at headquarters.”
    “She insisted on going home?” She stepped out of the tub and raised her arms as he wrapped the towel around her. “I would have done the same thing.”
    “I know better now. I wouldn’t let you go.” He dropped a second towel on her head and started drying her hair. “They slit her throat. Minutes—seconds before we arrived.”
    Horror rammed through her awareness, but then she looked at him and sadness replaced the fear. He knelt to