Chapter 14 #4
“I am,” Kenna agreed immediately. “I’m happy our parents will be here, but honestly, I’d have been just as happy going down to the courthouse and having a civil ceremony.
It’s more about being able to spend the rest of my life with the man I love and trust more than anyone I’ve ever met than about a big shindig. ”
Monica nodded and sipped her water. Then surprised herself by asking, “How did you realize you trusted him?”
“Do you mean when?”
She didn’t, but Monica nodded anyway. She really wanted to know how to trust someone. She had no idea how to do that.
“I’m not sure I can answer that. It was a gradual thing.
But when I was on that beach with Shawn, who wanted to kidnap and torture me, the only thing I knew for certain was that Marshall wasn’t going to let that happen.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if the worst happened, and Shawn was able to get me off that beach, the man I loved wouldn’t stop until he’d found me…
and killed anyone who’d laid a finger on me. ”
Monica sighed. She loved that for her new friend. But it still didn’t really answer her question.
As if she knew she needed to say more, Kenna said, “I think trust is something that’s there or it isn’t. You don’t think much about it day to day, but when you need it the most, you just know down to your soul that someone will have your back when the shit hits the fan.”
And that was what Monica was afraid of. That she’d believe someone would be there for her, like her dad should’ve been, only to be let down once more.
“Thanks for inviting me tonight,” she said, changing the subject.
“Thanks for coming. And taking care of us. I know we were pretty obnoxious at times,” Kenna said.
“Not really.” And they weren’t. Yes, the others had gotten tipsy and acted silly, but they weren’t mean or obnoxious drunks, and the night had actually been a lot of fun.
“You want to sleep out here with me?” Kenna asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Because I’m too tired to go back inside.”
Monica stood up and grabbed two blankets that were hanging on the back of a nearby chair and gently covered Kenna.
“Thanks,” she mumbled sleepily.
Monica settled on the lounge chair under her own blanket and pulled out her phone. It was two forty-five in the morning, but she couldn’t help typing out a text.
Monica: Just letting you know that all is well. I’m okay and going to sleep now.
She didn’t know why she felt the urge to text Stuart. He was probably asleep already. But she wanted to connect with him, even if it was one-sided.
Surprisingly, three dots blinked at the bottom of the screen, letting her know he was typing a response.
Stuart: I knew you would be. And, Mo?
He had more confidence in her than she did.
Monica: Yeah?
Stuart: If you buy me that god-awful nightgown, I’ll find a way to retaliate. :)
She laughed. Clearly he’d known they were all playing a prank and had gone along with it. She texted a smiley face emoji back, then put her phone on the small table next to her. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately, feeling content and happy.
Shane “Bull” Beyer sat on the dark, sandy beach, not far from the Coral Springs condominiums, a pair of high-powered binoculars hanging around his neck. He smoked a cigarette and stared out at the ocean waves with a small smirk on his face.
It had taken years to find the right moment to get back at the man he’d vowed revenge against. And now it was time.
When he’d first been kicked out of the Navy, he’d been lost. The Navy had been his life. Being a SEAL was what he’d lived for. It was who he was. And after all he’d done, after all he’d sacrificed, he’d been discarded as if he was nothing but a psycho killer.
He was who the Navy had made him.
He’d had a lot of time to think about everything that had happened. The bottom line? There was only one person to blame for his humiliation.
Baker “Meat” Rawlins.
It was his performance evaluation that had ultimately gotten Bull kicked out. And he’d vowed to make Baker pay.
The Navy thought Baker was the epitome of a perfect sailor. A perfect SEAL. He was given accolade after accolade, when in reality he was half the SEAL Bull was. And jealous of Bull’s kill record.
For years, Bull had done as much as possible to discredit the institution that had let him down.
He’d sent hints to several SEAL commanders, and not one had picked up on his clues.
Idiots. All of them. The teams were obviously nothing like they used to be back in his day.
He would’ve deciphered his emails in two seconds flat.
He’d even let that bitch back in Algeria see his face. He hadn’t planned to kill her, just play with her a little, then let her escape to tell the tale to those charged with evacuating the ambassador’s household. But she’d gotten away from him.
He’d been so frustrated, so pissed that his plan was derailed and he didn’t get to have his fun, he’d lost control with the other bitch.
With the ambassador’s employee as an eyewitness, he figured the government would ID him within days, especially after the email he’d sent with the dead bitch’s picture.
But they hadn’t. And the broad who’d eluded him must be stupid or something, because she hadn’t been able to figure out who he was.
Now he was in Hawaii. Right under everyone’s noses, and they still hadn’t guessed who he was.
Whatever. He was tired of the subtle hints. He wanted the Navy assholes to know who he was…know the continued frustration of never catching him. But there was only one man he wanted to confront in person. His former team leader, Meat.
And he knew just how to do it.
Smiling, Bull looked up in the direction of the balcony he’d been scoping out for a while.
Apparently some of Baker’s SEAL friends were married, or at least seriously dating.
And their women were all friends. It wouldn’t be hard to cull one from the herd and use her as bait.
The perfect person for his plan was conveniently right here, a world away from where he’d last seen her.
The bitch from Algeria.
He couldn’t believe his luck when he’d discovered she was here.
In Hawaii. He’d been searching for a way to get to Meat, and she was it.
He’d considered using the old broad who was always at the beach in the mornings, but dismissed her when his recon revealed Baker didn’t spend any time with the woman away from the beach.
No, the Algeria bitch was a better target. He’d seen her and another SEAL up at the North Shore the other day, watched their meeting with his former team leader, thrilled when she’d seen his tattoo and had a panic attack. Knew instantly she’d recognized the dragon.
He’d also seen how concerned Meat was over her reaction.
It had taken the bitch long enough to figure things out. He’d deliberately rolled his sleeves up before approaching the house in Algeria, and the stupid fucking government still hadn’t made the connection.
When she’d seen Meat’s tattoo, things had clicked. And now the Navy finally knew who he was…but it was too late. Way too damn late. Now they would lose their golden boy. Baker fucking Rawlins.
Using the bitch from Algeria would wound the other SEAL too, the one she was shacking up with. A sweet side benefit. The more government slaves he could hurt, the better.
Plans swirled in his brain, plans that had been in the works for weeks, once he’d discovered Meat was living in Hawaii.
“Enjoy your girl time,” Bull said under his breath before standing. “Because life’s about to get very interesting.” Then he headed for his vehicle parked a few blocks down, smiling all the way.