Her Righteous Protector: A Navy SEAL Romance (Night Storm Book 8), page 1
Her Righteous Protector
Night Storm, Book Eight
Caitlyn O’Leary
Contents
Synopsis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Caitlyn O’Leary
© Copyright 2021 Caitlyn O’Leary
All rights reserved.
All cover art and logo © Copyright 2021
By Passionately Kind Publishing Inc.
Cover by Lori Jackson Design
Edited by Rebecca Hodgkins
Content Edited by Trenda Lundin
Cover Photo Courtesy of Reggie Deanching/RplusMphoto.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, and places portrayed in this book are entirely products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
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This is the last book in the Night Storm Series…. For now. I might follow up with a team member at a later time, who knows? But I do want to take the time to thank the four people who have stuck with me when I have been a child, a mess, a terror, and hell to work with during this series. Drue, Trenda, Rebecca, and my husband John have cared for me, been patient with me, supported me, and showered me with both tough love and kindness. I could not have published these books without them.
Synopsis
Navy SEAL Lieutenant Max Hogan has watched as every single one of his men has paired off. He is beginning to wonder if there is something more to life than just mission after mission.
He is surprised the moment he’s asked to attend the reading of a will and even more surprised when he discovers who has passed away. He was sad this woman he’d had a brief relationship with was dead, but he hadn’t seen her for five years, so why in the world would he be sitting in her lawyer's office?
Ten minutes later Max is staring at the man, uncomprehending. The lawyer’s words don’t make any sense. His lips continue to move, but all Max keeps hearing is that first sentence.
“Megan wanted you to have custody of your son if anything ever happened to her.”
He has a son?
Once centered around endless missions and keeping his men safe, Max’s life is about to change in ways he never expected. Can he rise to this unexpected challenge, and will he have to do it alone? Or will his son’s guardian turn out to be his closest ally—and more?
1
Max Hogan smiled as he pulled his black Silverado truck into his driveway. His lawn had been mowed, which meant he owed Mikey some money. Getting a chance to see his neighbor always put a smile on his face; he never knew where their conversations would end up going and he loved that. He hit the garage door opener to get into his house, and satisfaction flowed through his veins as he saw his baby. He really wasn’t that surprised to see that the cloth cover on his 1969 Mercury Cougar was out of place. Mikey was as much of a car guy as he was, and when he’d put back Max’s lawnmower he could never resist looking at or sitting behind the wheel of Max’s restored car.
When he got into his house, he turned on the air conditioning then peeled out of his fatigues, and hit the shower. He and his team had done a lot of physical training today, and even though he’d showered at the base, he still wanted another one. When he bought the nineteen-fifties house seven years ago he’d planned to fix it up, but the only thing he’d ever worked on was the bathroom. He’d taken out the bedroom closet so that he could enlarge the bathroom, which allowed for a spa-sized shower and bathtub. It was his oasis. Other than that, the small three-bedroom, two-bathroom house was just a place to lay his head down between missions. Oh yeah, he’d added air conditioning—living in Virginia, that was a necessity.
When he got done with his shower and put on a T-shirt and cargo shorts, he called Lester Sinclair, Mikey’s father. Lester answered on the first ring.
“Hi, Max. Feel like some home cooking?”
Max winced as he remembered the last meal that Lester had made. It had been damn near impossible to chew the rump roast that he’d cooked into shoe leather. “You don’t have to go to any trouble. I was planning on Pollard’s for some chicken. How does that sound?” Max asked.
“Sounds great, but only if you let me pay,” the older man said.
“Normally that would be great, but I won a bet with Cullen today. He thought he could beat me on the obstacle course. He lost. I’ve got cash burning a hole in my pocket.”
Lester let out a hearty laugh. “Well, if we’re eating on Cullen’s dime, let’s go for it. You know what Mikey and I like. Come on over.”
“I should be there in about a half-hour.”
“Sounds good.”
Max picked up the keys on his counter, plus the Hot Wheels model that he’d bought last weekend, and left his house. He moved his truck to the street, then locked it. It was a perfect night for a drive in the convertible; what’s more, Mikey would love a ride. He drove over to Pollard’s and put in an order for twenty pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, hush puppies, coleslaw, corn on the cob, fried okra, cinnamon apples, green beans, and homemade corn muffins. He knew that Lester was on a tight budget so this should last a while. Max made a mental note to give Cullen a heads up before he saw Lester again, to let him know about all the bets he’d supposedly lost.
When he parked the Cougar on the street in front of the Sinclairs’ house he wasn’t surprised in the least to see Mikey out front waiting for him. The big man’s grin was a sight for sore eyes.
“Max! Max! Max! I mowed your grass! Did you see? Did you?”
He was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
He ran down the walkway and gripped the side of Max’s car.
“I can help carry in dinner? Did you get hush puppies? Them’s my favorite.”
“I did,” Max assured Mikey. He handed him one of the bags, then hit the button to bring the top up so he could lock the car while he was inside with Mikey and Lester. By the time he walked up to the door, Mikey had the screen door open, waiting for him.
“I got your mail today, too!”
Max grinned at Mikey’s exuberance. Everything the man said was an exclamation. How could anyone be unhappy when they were around someone so filled with joy?
“Mikey, don’t block the door and let Max in, the food is getting cold.”
“I’m not, Dad, I’m helping.” Max handed Mikey another sack of food and followed him to the kitchen table. Lester had already started to unload the containers of food.
“What did you do, buy out the entire restaurant?” Lester asked.
“I was hungry and everything looked good,” Max explained. He dumped the last bag onto the table and went to the cupboard to get the plates, then grabbed the silverware they were going to need. When he was done he reached into the fridge and found the ever-present pitcher of sweet iced tea. He might spend a lot of time over at his friends’ and teammates’ homes, but if he had to say where he felt most comfortable, it was with Lester and Mikey.
When they got settled down at the table, Mikey grabbed their hands. “Can I say Grace?” he asked.
“Of course,” Lester answered.
“Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy guests for the bounty for which we are about to receive, thank you, Amen. And thanks for a whole bunch of food from Max, especially the hush puppies.”
Lester and Max laughed, then they all started to fill their plates.
“Mikey, you need to eat some of those green beans before you have another hush puppy,” his father said kindly. Mikey rolled his eyes but did as he said.
“Can I go for a ride in your car tonight?” Mikey asked Max, even though his mouth was full. This time Lester rolled his eyes. Despite the fact that Mikey was almost fifty years old, he had the mental capacity of a seven-year-old. Lester had explained to Max that his umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck and deprived him of oxygen, so he hadn’t developed like other children. Lester was now seventy-nine years old and living on social security and what the VA paid him due to a back injury he suffered during his service in his twenties. Lester had been talking to Max about options for Mikey when Lester passed on, and he had some ideas, but Max hoped that would be a long way off.
“I was hoping you’d want to take a ride with me, Mikey,” Max smiled.
“But don’t forget to give him his mail,” Lester reminded his son.
“Oh yeah.” He started to get up from the table.
“Not yet,” Lester smiled. “Finish your dinner first.”
Mikey set his plate back down and started to shovel food into his mouth at a rapid pace, anxious to get Max his mail and then go for a ride. Again, Max was overwhelmed at the man’s joy with his world.
Soon the food was all put away.
“Are you sure you don’t want any to take home?” Lester asked for the third time.
“You know how it goes,” Max said. “I never know when I’ll have to leave. I don’t want leftovers that will just go to waste.”
Lester nodded.
Max turned around when Mikey slapped a pile of mail onto the table, as usual, it was a mound of junk mail. But there was one unique difference—a Federal Express envelope on the top of the pile.
“What’s this?”
“I found it on your porch,” Mikey explained. “It’s mail, isn’t it?”
“Yep,” Max agreed. He turned it over and saw that it was from a law firm in Chicago. When he opened it up he found just one piece of paper inside. It was a letter.
Hmmm.
He sat down at the table to read it.
Mr. Hogan,
I wish to apologize for the tardiness of this letter, but it took some time to locate you. I will be brief. You have been named as a beneficiary in the last will and testament of Meghan Todd. It is of utmost urgency that you respond and attend a reading in person. Please contact me personally at your earliest convenience.
Respectfully Yours,
Elias Peterson
Attorney At Law
Max pulled his phone out of the pocket of his cargo pants and called the attorney’s office. It was no surprise that it went to voicemail, so he left a message. What did surprise and frustrate him was that there wasn’t a mobile number or an e-mail address.
“What was that all about?” Lester asked.
Max scratched his chin. “Beats me. Supposedly I was left something in this woman’s will, but I’ve never heard of her.”
Lester gave him a hard look. “That is strange. Are you sure about that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can we ride in your car now?” Mikey interrupted.
Max turned to the man and grinned. “Let’s get going before it gets dark.” He shoved the letter and all the mail into the FedEx envelope and scooped it up to take it with him to the car. Then he remembered his present for Mikey.
He stood up and pulled the Hot Wheels car out of his pocket. “I bought this for you.” He handed the yellow Corvette to the man and watched his eyes go wide.
“It’s awesome. I don’t have a yellow one. I’ve got to put it on my shelf.” He ran to his bedroom.
Lester glanced down at the floor, then back up at Max. “Max, you really didn’t need to buy so much food.”
“Lester, it’s like I told you, I wanted to taste a little bit of everything.”
Lester shrugged and smiled. “Well, son, Mikey and I appreciate it.”
When Mikey came back Max pulled out the twenty-dollar bill that he always gave the man for mowing his yard.
“Dad, I have more money, do you see? Is this a lot?”
“It sure is,” Lester gave a wry smile and shook his head at Max. “As usual, it’s too much, now go put it in your piggy bank.”
“Okay.” Mikey pounded back down the hallway.
“You’re too good to him,” Lester said to Max.
“That’s just not possible to be too good to your son. You and Mikey have made me feel like part of your family, you know that.” Max looked around the mid-century house, with its faded sunflower wallpaper on the kitchen walls, and smiled. It reminded him of the best foster home he had ever lived in when he was a child. There had been a child with Down’s syndrome who’d made him feel welcome and wanted; he had hated having to leave that house.
Mikey came running back to the kitchen table.
“I’m ready!”
Max laughed. “Well, let’s get going.”
When Max got home, he sat on his couch with a beer and re-read the letter. It made no sense; not only did he not recognize Meghan’s name, but he’d never been to Chicago. He didn’t want to wait until tomorrow for answers, so he grabbed his cell phone off of the coffee table. His second in command answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Max, what’s going on? We’re still on standby, right?” Kane McNamara asked.
“It’s not official yet, but yeah,” Max answered.
“Thought so. I’m staying at the condo in Virginia Beach this weekend, not going out to Lake Anna. Even though it’s not official, I trust your instincts, Lieutenant.”
Max heard the grin in his friend’s voice. “I appreciate that, Kane. But I got to tell you this is your friend Max calling for a favor, none of this lieutenant bullshit for the moment.”
Kane laughed.
“You know I’ll do anything you need, Max, whether it’s professional or personal. Do you need me to hide a body?”
“Nah, if I needed a body hidden I would have called Cullen.”
“I’m hurt. What’s more, you’re thinking is wrong. Cullen might be able to come up with an ingenious way to hide the body, but I’m not a hundred percent sure he could keep his mouth shut,” Kane chuckled.
“When push comes to shove, all of the team could be trusted,” Max said with confidence. “And lucky for me, this favor doesn’t include a dead body.”
“Okay, what do you need?” Max liked how serious Kane sounded.
“I need you to get some information for me. I’m forwarding a picture of a letter I received and I want you to get as much information as you can for me. Apparently, I’ve been named as a beneficiary in some woman’s will, but I’ve never heard of her. I really don’t want to wait until Monday to find out what this is all about, especially when we could be going wheels up this weekend.”
“Are you sure this isn’t from a Nigerian prince?” Kane joked.
Not bothering to respond, Max texted the picture.
“Hmmm, it looks legit,” Kane finally said. “I’m surprised there isn’t an e-mail address attached.”
“So was I. When I went online, I found a listing for the law firm, but no website, which was also pretty odd. The attorney is a member of the American Bar Association, and it looks like he’s been practicing for at least forty years.”
“That might explain why there isn’t a website,” Kane commented. “Maybe he’s really old-school and depends on word of mouth.”
Max sighed as he swirled the beer in the bottom of the bottle and looked out his window. “Could be, but I want a heads up on what the hell is going on.”
“Do you think this could have something to do with one of the foster families you lived with?” Kane asked.
“That’s what I’ve been thinking, but seriously, Kane, most of them didn’t have a pot to piss in. They were relying on their checks from the state. What’s more, I was raised in Minnesota, and the law firm is in Chicago. Nope, nothing is computing.”
“Okay. I’ll have something for you tomorrow,” Kane promised.
Max heaved a sigh of relief; he hated mysteries.
“Thanks, man.”
“It’s nothing.”
“How’s A.J.?”
“Her latest project has her in knots so she’s spending a lot of time in Atlanta,” Kane said. Max could hear the frustration in Kane’s voice. He knew that his friend supported his wife’s career as a television producer, but he also wanted to spend as much time as possible with her.
