Dagger's Edge (SEALs On Fire) by Brenna Zinn Read Free Book Online Page A

took a long draw from his own bottle. “You two were always running around, mooning over each other. Guess it was only a matter of time before nature had her way.”
    “It’s not what you think.” An overpowering need to defend himself and Mia sprung forward like a jack in the box toy. “We’re just good friends.”
    “Sure, sure,” Butch nodded, clearly unconvinced. “And I’m Davy Jones looking for my missing locker.” He waved his hand as though dismissing the charade. “I know you two kids better than you know yourselves. But if you ask me, and I know you haven’t, I say it’s about damned time. No more silly games. I just want you to promise me a front row seat to your wedding. That’s an event I don’t want to miss.”
    A vise-like grip tightened around Dagger’s chest. He struggled for a breath as though he’d just been punched in the gut. “Marriage? Who said anything about getting married? I’m still in the Navy, dropping out of planes and tracking down bad guys. I don’t have time for a wife.”
    “Then you’re going to miss out, boy. Yes, sir,” the old man added while scratching the thick stubble on his chubby cheek, “you need to get Mia while you still have the chance. There’s fellas circling around this place like a bunch of hungry vultures. I see them hanging around the office every day, waiting for her to finally give in. How she’s lasted this long, I’ll never know.”
    An irrational current of possessiveness sizzled uncomfortably in Dagger’s blood and then burned in his belly like a stove full of hot coals. Mia in another man’s arms? Kissing another man’s lips?
    The reaction was ridiculous. Of course, it was. He had no right to care what she did or with whom. They had spent one amazing day together, that was it. Sure, they might have grown up together and, if he were honest with himself, he might be in love with her. But—
    Whoa. Where did the L word come from?
    Butch put his beer down on the workbench with a thud, disturbing Dagger’s thoughts. He then spread his arms out wide. “Take a good look at me, Dean. What do you see?”
    The unexpected question threw Dagger off balance. “What?”
    “I said,” the old man repeated a little louder, “what do you see?”
    Dagger hesitated. This had to be a trick question. All he saw was a shirtless old man with a hardened Buddha belly in a pair of baggy shorts. Other than that, Butch’s ancient cap, and his long overdue need to wear more sun screen, Dagger couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Listen, I’m not good at pop quizzes.”
    “I’ll tell you what you see, then.” Butch took a moment to settle his considerable girth atop a wooden stool. Apparently, this would be his pulpit from which he would conduct his sermon. “This may come as a surprise to you. Behind this sexy exterior is a lonely man.”
    Though the urge was strong, Dagger resisted letting out a laugh, as well as a groan. He stepped closer to the man who was more like a dad than his own biological father and put a hand on his leathery shoulder. “I’m not one-hundred percent sure where you’re going with this, but—”
    “No, you don’t,” Butch cut in with a scowl. “What I’m about to tell you is important. Give me a chance to finish before you go poppin’ off your mouth.”
    Dagger put his hands up in acquiescence. “Sorry. Sorry. Please do carry on.”
    The salty dog grunted his approval of Dagger’s apology and repositioned himself on his perch. “I’ve had a good life. I’ve done what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it, including spending thirty-five years in the Navy, buying this here marina, and living on my boat. In my almost eighty years of living I can think of only one regret. That regret is never finding a good woman to love and having my own family. You, Brice, and Mia are the closest I have to kids. And as much as it looked like I was damned happy to see you all leave each summer, I wasn’t. I counted the days