Mak buzzed in her ear. “You’re not going to believe this, but after accessing Manning’s phone, we found a video of Hennessey’s death. You were right. Wilson was there. The hubris is overwhelming.”
“I’m not worried about you or your friends. You’re not going to see the light of day for some time, Mr. Wilson. We have you and Mr. Manning for the murder of Craig Hennessey. On top of that, you have broken so many laws that we’re going to need many pages to list them all.”
“I want a lawyer.”
“You’re going to need one,” she said as she rose and left the room.
She headed for Iverson’s room. Opening the door, she saw that he was nervously plucking at his sleeve where his blood had seeped from taking a graze from one of the SEALs weapons.
Mak looked up as she came in and nodded. “Well, Doug. I asked you a question. It’s a deal that we’re going to only give you once.”
“You want me to be a rat,” he said sullenly.
“You want a reduced sentence? Or do you want to spend the rest of your life at Gitmo.”
“Gitmo?”
“Yeah, that’s where we send all our terrorist scum.”
“What was the question again?”
“This is a list of all your known associates. Are there any others who are still in the candidate pool at BUD/S?”
He looked dully down at the list. “No, looks like everyone is accounted for. You win.”
“That’s right. We do, and it pays to be a winner.”
His mouth twisted with the irony.
“Pack your bags. You’re headed for Guantanamo Bay.”
“What? You said—”
“I lied. Isn’t that what you and your friends did? Took an oath and reneged. Have a good trip.”
“Wait,” he said, panic in his voice, but Mak didn’t turn around, and Shea followed her out.
Back in Mak’s office, she jerked open her bottom drawer and pulled out a bottle of scotch.
“Ah, the good stuff,” Griff said as he and Kai grabbed glasses.
Mak poured two fingers into each glass and then a clean mug for Shea. “You saved the SEAL legacy, Shea. They owe you a deep debt of gratitude.”
“Maybe they’ll make me an honorary SEAL. I’ll get my own trident.”
Mak smiled. “I’ll be damn jealous if they do. Cheers!”
“This means you’re freed up for another assignment. I think they’ll want you in Egypt.”
Shea couldn’t go back to her condo. She was much too restless to sleep. Instead she found herself on base and back at the BUD/S barracks. As she approached, Jugs barked, and Max said in a low voice. “Let her pass.”
She went into the building. The faint scent of smoke lingered in the air. Slipping into Hemingway’s room, Shea noted that Professor and William Brown were sound asleep. It was clear as she tiptoed over to Hemingway’s bunk that he was profoundly asleep, his breathing even and deep. She got a chair from the corner and put it near the bed and sat down. Setting her phone on vibrate, she watched him sleep.
She took a heavy breath. Her assignment was over, and she would get the call soon to summon her to a brief for the meeting. There wasn’t much at the condo; she usually traveled light. But this time it was going to hurt. She didn’t want to wake him to say goodbye. He was exhausted, and his future was already set. Come Monday morning, he would begin the rest of his journey to becoming a SEAL. It never crossed her mind to stand in his way. She didn’t have that right.
That hollow feeling she had been experiencing before she’d met him was back. Her future was always set, and it didn’t include a beautiful, strong warrior.
Her sister’s face floated in her mind. Her throat burned, and she braced her elbows on her knees, then gripped her head. Shea had encouraged Maddy to follow her sense of justice and her hunches, and she would shoulder the blame for that, even though she couldn’t have anticipated her sister’s murder.
Shea leaned back in the chair. Her sister’s murder changed everything. There was no eternity in prison for the man behind it. Eliminating the bastard was her only choice.
She hunted the worst, criminals with no conscience, no moral center. Those monsters were the reason she kept herself guarded. Being around Hemingway had lifted that barrier, but it was temporary. She needed her armor for the hunt.
Especially with the death of her sister, she most definitely needed the shield.
She looked down at him, recognizing the strength in him. Hell Week had only tempered what was already there, she thought, and without realizing it, she reached, swiping her hand over his bristly cheek. The dim light caught the blond in his hair, a sparkle of gold. His eyes opened slowly, and he held her gaze for a long moment. Then suddenly he reached for her.
“Babe,” he blinked several times. “Am I dreaming?” he said sleepily, pulling her onto his rack.
Shea didn’t bother fighting it and went willingly, needing his arms around her. He shifted to make room for her in the narrow bunk, bringing her against him, his body curling around hers. She settled with a measured breath. Gritting her teeth against the slow fall into heartache, tears welled and burned.
“I think we were both dreaming,” she whispered. He kissed her temple and snuggled warmly, yet as she drifted on the edge of that beautiful dream, she wished she didn’t have to go, that Maddy was alive. She wished the terrible burden of her sister’s death hadn’t fallen to her. But it had and she was the only one who could make it right, since she’d been the one to encourage Morgan to follow the secret investigation to the end.
Any other alternative, and she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
She turned off her thoughts and snuggled deep against Hemingway, his closeness smothering the loneliness she could never escape.
She was going to leave. She had to, and she’d never been under the illusion that she wasn’t going to walk away.
Her phone vibrated, and reluctantly, she pulled herself away from him as he slept on. She put the chair back where it belonged and slipped out the door, more tears pooling without any relief. She pulled out her phone with every expectation it would be Rebecca’s number on her phone, but instead it was a voice mail.
Her heart almost stopped when she played the message.
“Ma’am, this is Staff Sergeant Randall Debarge, the aide for Colonel Brett Johnson. I regret to inform you that your brother Corporal Jason Palmer has gone missing. Please call my office back for the particulars. We would be interested in talking to you about his disappearance. Thank you. Goodbye.”
14
Glasses clinked and conversation buzzed softly in the room. All the toasts were over, and people were mingling and getting acquainted. Anna, dressed in the pretty, icy-blue lace bridesmaid dress, hadn’t taken her eyes off Dodger since he arrived Friday night for the wedding rehearsal and dinner. Max’s teammate was looking way too fit and together in the dark blue tux with white shirt, gray tie, and vest. Max pulled at his own tie, realizing that he was being an ass, but Dodger getting involved with Anna was a no go. Being with a Navy SEAL was too much for his sweet Anna to handle. It would be nothing but heartache.
Speaking of heartache.
He spied Hemingway when he walked in…alone. Shea had left two weeks ago to deal with her brother’s disappearance, and then she was heading off to Egypt. The kid was hurting, but he wouldn’t admit it. Tough as they came. In addition to finishing up First Phase and recovering from Hell Week, Hemingway’s plate had been full.