Read Watching From The Shadows: Trident Security Book 5 for Free Online

I’m starving.”
    Marco chuckled at Harper’s declaration as he pulled his Chevy Silverado into the driveway of the three-bedroom ranch he’d bought two years ago, right before Nina had gotten sick. “I was just thinking the same thing. Those leftovers smell delicious. Thank God for Jenn.” He put the truck into park. “Come on inside and I’ll reheat everything. I think I still have a bottle of that white wine you and Nina love…loved.”
    Harper reached over and squeezed his forearm as he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “It’ll get better.”
    Nodding, he took the bag of food from her lap and opened the driver’s door. “I know it will. I just have to get past this feeling of being in limbo.”
    Not waiting for a response, he climbed out and walked around to the passenger side to open her door for her. One of the things the Navy and being a Dom had taught him was how to be a gentleman to women of all ages. Without a father and with two poor maternal figures raising him, many simple manners had escaped him during his youth. If it hadn’t been for a few good teachers in his elementary and high schools, Marco probably could have been classified as a Neanderthal by the time he entered basic training.
    After unlocking the front door, he held it open for Harper, then followed her into the kitchen. Working together in silence, it wasn’t long before they were seated at the dining room table with full, heated plates of food and glasses of Pinot Grigio.
    Harper swallowed a piece of chicken marsala and picked up her wine glass. “It was so sweet of the school children to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ at the service. It was beautiful.”
    Nodding his head, he wiped his mouth with a napkin. “It was. That little girl who did the solo has some voice on her. Their music teacher said they’d been practicing it for weeks, ever since we found out there was nothing more the doctors could do. Nina had called the principal to give him an update, so the school could prepare for the news when she passed.”
    “She told me. She said that back in junior high, one of her favorite teachers was killed in a car accident, and it was so hard on a lot of the students. She didn’t want the announcement to be a sudden shock to her kids like that. Nina loved them as much as they loved her. She left quite a legacy behind at that school.”
    A sad smile spread across his face. “That she did.”
    After they finished eating, they shared the chore of cleaning up. Marco returned from wiping the crumbs from the dining room table to see Harper standing still at the sink with her back to him. But she wasn’t completely still—the small movement of her shoulders made him realize she was crying although he didn’t hear a sound. Tossing the sponge on the counter, he grasped her elbow and turned her into his arms. “ Shhh . It’s okay. You’ve been a rock through all this, so I was wondering when you were finally going to crack.”
    Harper let out an un-lady-like snort before crying harder, her sobs now audible. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tight. She rested her head on his shoulders as the grief she’d been holding back for days came to the surface. “I’m...I’m s-sorry.”
    “ Shhh . No apologies. Just let it all out. I’ve got you.”
    * * *
    Present
    The steady beep of Harper’s heart monitor was a comfort and a curse. The noise was irritating, but it also meant she was still stable. The doctors had been optimistic she would wake at some point in the next few hours, but it couldn’t happen fast enough for Marco. One, he wouldn’t be convinced she was going to be okay until she opened those hazel eyes, which changed color depending on what she was wearing, and recognized him. And two, he wanted to hear from her lips that the baby was his, although, as soon as the little rug-rat had woken from her nap, it was crystal clear to everyone she was his daughter. She had his eyes and his mother’s nose, which both he