SEALed Protection (Bone Frog Brotherhood Book 5)

by Sharon Hamilton

  “Do we have to worry they’ll find the tracking device,” asked Coop. “I mean, should we try to mark them in more than one place?”

  “That’s up to Stuart and the guys back home. Our job is to find all six and bring them in, hopefully at the same time, and get them somewhere we can interrogate them.” He paced the floor just as he commonly did back in Coronado. “What else we’re following is some ferry activity down at Gondolia Harbor. Not sure if any of you noticed that large cruise ship that someone pressed into service. It’s Italian registry?”

  Several men acknowledged seeing it.

  “We think there are ferries operating out of port, using this ship to offload or make exchanges. Jens Vandershoot’s family is in shipping, and Jens was a known associate of VanValle, the guy you got last mission. This time, we want to capture the asshole and find out about all his locations, all his illegal businesses. We want to put him away so that someone else doesn’t crop up later on and take over, like he did.”

  Gibson described several of the other characters on their list of most wanted. And he stressed that someone was going to have to make it onto that cruise ship somehow.

  “Do we have equipment for that? Rebreathers?” asked T.J.

  “We do. It’s about a five-mile swim from where we can launch a team. We need some eyes on that ship from the inside. We’ve watched containers being off-loaded, but they’re putting some back on, too. We need to verify what they’ve got.”

  Gibson brainstormed some of the intelligence theories and asked for four men to show up at Diego’s night club pretending to look for girls. Tucker was relieved when he chose Lucas, Alex, Jake, and Ryan, who were all long-time friends, for that mission.

  “The rest of you, hang out a bit and turn in early. Tomorrow will be a long day. And I’ll need one squad awake in case Lucas and the others get into trouble. We’ll have our targets, as well as the required permissions, in the morning.”

  Tucker ran upstairs to try to get a call in to Brandy. He replayed her message back first and was alarmed to hear she was having difficulty. Checking the time, he figured she’d be awake and placed the call but didn’t get an answer.

  “Hey, Brandy. Just trying to reach you. Got me a little concerned. Call me when you get this. Don’t worry about what time it is here. Wanna talk to you.”

  He straightened his things, located his journal, and began to write like he’d promised.

  I’m kind of glad I’m not seeing the best part of the island. Sven told me he’d spent some time here with a Spanish girl twenty years ago. Talked about the beaches and the great hangouts on one of the other islands. Maybe someday we could do a “just vacation” trip over here, although avoiding anywhere I’ve been this time.

  The buildings are like little pill boxes piled up on top of each other, colors of red, light blue, white, and bright yellow. They like their colors, similar to the Caribbean. It’s a little more prosperous than Africa. More Spanish influence, which is why there are cathedrals everywhere.

  We’re over in a more remote portion of the island than we were before. More industrial. And, with all the international aid going on right now, it’s so congested and noisy I can’t hear myself think. That and the heat. Good news is, no bugs so far! And I haven’t seen a snake yet, either.

  Got to taste some Boss Beer, which is like it sounds—beer made by the “boss.” Using corn, not wheat, barley, or hops. Can’t say I’m a fan yet. But bottled beer and water are safest when you don’t know where it’s coming from.

  Hope those palm trees are doing well. I miss everything about home, but mostly, I miss you, Brandy.

  He folded up his notebook and lay back on the bed.

  The phone rang and pulled him out of a deep sleep. Sven was snoring and apparently didn’t hear a thing.

  “Brandy?” Tucker checked his watch, and it was not quite 0300.

  “So glad I could talk to you. I really needed to hear your voice.”

  “Your message—”

  “I shouldn’t have bothered you with it. That was me at a weak moment. Last thing you want to do is worry about things over here.”

  “So what’s up?” he whispered. Sven stirred in his bed but didn’t awake.

  “This situation with Lynn Tanner. Today we had an interview with her little sister, and it looks like there’s an older guy, perhaps a man, involved.”

  “Lynn’s involved with an older man?” Tucker walked downstairs so he could speak without being overheard. “What are they doing?”

  “So much has happened, and I don’t want to bother you with it.”

  “Tell me. I’ll stay up all night if I have to, Brandy.”

  “They interviewed Keira last night, at the house. They confirmed what Keira had told me and discovered that this person sending Lynn messages is probably an older man. Or, at least, not a child. Now they’re looking for a sexual predator, that it wasn’t just a kid’s type of prank. Somehow this guy has gotten hold of her cell phone and convinced her he’s a teenager.”

  “Bryce must be beside himself.” Tucker’s guts were in knots. He knew the waiting was the worst part of any emergency. His mind was filling with worry. “Brandy, listen to me. Maybe you should go over to Dorie’s house or have someone come there to be with you. Get your dad to come or take Kimberly there.”

  “That’s a good idea. But Kimberly is too young to take to someone else’s place. Joe Benson and his friends were here all afternoon building Kimberly a beautiful little pink playhouse. You should see it, Tucker. Keira was so excited for her.”

  “Call Joe, Brandy. Call Joe and Gloria. You don’t have to tell them everything, but it’s important that you don’t stay home by yourself. You’ll be peeking out every window and making up things you might see. Will you do that, honey?”

  “I should have thought about that. I feel so stupid. I hardly slept last night.”

  “You have to learn to reach out. I can’t be there all the time, sweetie. I just can’t. This is part of why it’s hard, being a SEAL wife is hard. But you don’t have to be alone and afraid. Being strong is asking for help.”

  “You’re right, Tucker. I’m beating myself up now for not being tougher.”

  “And that’s wrong too. This is all new for you. It’s new to me, too.”

  He wasn’t going to mention it was why SEAL marriages often failed. There was such a disconnect when they were away. Not everyone was cut out to handle it. He blamed some of that on the failure of his first marriage. Being scared to be alone made finding someone else an attractive option. It was the option Shayla took. Still, he knew Brandy would never do that. He’d have to pay more attention to things when he got home.

  “Brandy, I’m going to say something that might sound harsh. Please just listen, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “You have to separate yourself from the rest of the crazy world. You have to build a wall around every awful thing that could happen when I’m away. You can’t fix everything, help everybody. Terrible things happen within our own community. It’s just life. And, as awful as this sounds, it has nothing to do with us. You’ve got to understand that. Let other people handle it the way they need to. You need to detach and try not to get involved.”

  “But that feels so cruel.”

  “You’ll go crazy, Brandy. And I can’t come home and fix everything all the time.” He didn’t want to go further, but it was time she understood some of the stakes.

  “You have to ask yourself what you’d do if I didn’t come home. What if it was like Frankie?”

  “Don’t say that, Tucker!”

  “Sweetheart, I’m telling you this because that’s always a possibility. It isn’t all roses and glitter all the time. You have to be real.”

  “I don’t want to think about that. Ever.”

  “You have to, Brandy. Your job is to take care of Kimberly. That’s your only job. Everything else in the world can just go flush itself, for all I care. You have to be there for her.”

/>   He knew he’d made her cry. He was beginning to get angry with himself. He should have tempered his tone.

  Dammit.

  This is so fuckin’ hard.

  “Are you still there, sweetheart?”

  He heard her sigh. “Yes.”

  “I get trained to do these crazy things. We learn how to tap down our emotions, even when they’re raging inside us. Do you know why they teach us that?”

  “So you stay alert.”

  “That’s right. Because why we’re worrying about one thing, something else pops up. The only difference between what I do and what you do is that you’re a team of one when I’m gone. You are Kimberly’s whole world. Am I making any sense, ’cause I’ll keep talking until I do. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

  “But you won’t get any sleep.”

  “Hell, I know what going without sleep is all about. That’s not a problem.” His heart lurched, and he dug his fingers into his palm, making a fist until it hurt and began to bleed. She was more of a rock to him than she realized. He wasn’t sure he’d gotten through.

  And then a miracle happened.

  “Thank you, Tucker.”

  Her voice got soft. The tightness in her throat was gone from holding back tears.

  “I think I understand now. I needed to hear that. You’re exactly right. I was taking my eye off the ball for a while. I was overwhelmed.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “But that part about you not coming back. I’ll never forgive you if you do that.”

  They both laughed. He was laughing through his tears but controlled his breath so she wouldn’t know.

  “That’s my girl. You see, the one part I didn’t tell you was that I depend on you as much as you depend on me. I understand what you’re going through because I want to understand you. You’re my rock, baby. Yours is the face I come home to, see every night. Everything I see that’s good in the world reminds me of you. All I need is for you to be strong for me. Just a few more days. And I’ll be home, and we can celebrate.”

  She sniffled, and he knew she was a snotty mess, which gave him a chuckle inside.

  “That will be a great day, Tucker. Can’t wait.”

  “The whole world can go to Hell, and we’re still gonna be here. It’s you and me, Brandy. I see stuff every day in these places that’s just fucked up. It just shouldn’t be that way. Women and kids abused, innocents caught up in something they didn’t create. They just want to have the kind of life we can have. I learned long ago that I can’t fix everything. I can only do my part.”

  “You come home, Tucker. I want you to teach me how to be brave. Neither one of us knows what’s in store for either of us. I want you to teach me to prepare for anything.”

  “You got it, babe. It will be my pleasure.”

  After they signed off, Tucker waited until the vibration he felt all over his body stopped. That familiar engine that was running inside, all the rage he felt at all the things that were wrong with the world would never leave him. It was part of who he was.

  And it always would be his job to do whatever he could. He just couldn’t live any other way. He would never quit. Not while there was work to be done.

  It was what coming home was all about—to see his family live in the safety he’d helped to create. To enjoy the twinkle in their eyes and the freedom in their hearts.

  Chapter 18

  Stephen Cook came right over with his new wife, Jillian. He brought several bags of fresh produce with them, and after taking turns with Kimberly, the two of them took up their stations in the kitchen peeling, chopping, and making heavenly smells. Brandy was so happy she’d called him.

  She asked if they could have Joe and Gloria Benson over for dinner as well, and so, the five of them sat down upstairs on the plywood tabletop, decorated with votive candles, drinking wine and serving up the feast.

  “Joe’s still talking about all the projects he wants to do here,” beamed Gloria.

  “Steven, you’re welcome to come on over, if you’re handy. We just need the okay from the boss, here,” Joe Benson said, pointing to Brandy.

  “We’re on a rather precarious budget at the time, Joe. But—”

  “Hogwash,” said Joe.

  “Not a problem,” said her father.

  The two older women rolled their eyes and helped themselves to more wine.

  “Whatever do you mean, Dad?” Brandy asked him.

  “Well, whatever he needs, I can buy. He’s donating the labor. I guess I could donate the cost of construction.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she answered him.

  “Of course he does.” Jillian toasted her.

  Joe retrieved some plans he’d started to draw up. “These are only preliminary, of course. And, before we dig in here, first priority is to get that backyard fenced and gated. Agreed?”

  “I agree,” she said.

  “So here we are.” He rolled out drawings done on tracing paper. “You can see how we can add this second bathroom downstairs, move the walls a bit and create a nice master bedroom closet?”

  “Looks like we’d have two bedrooms and two baths then. Is that right?”

  “You got it.” Joe continued to demonstrate the changes to the downstairs while Jillian and Gloria cleared off the table and took everything into the kitchen.

  Brandy leaned in on her elbows and studied the plans. “So you’d have the entrance for the upstairs here,” she pointed out. “That would be right about there, by that big window.”

  “No, that would be the doorway. We take the window out and make it a doorframe instead. We also make a deck just big enough for a small table and chairs. Great place to watch sunsets.” Joe angled for agreement from Steven Cook.

  “I like it. But boy, I’d have a hard time deciding which unit to live in. Pretty nice up here,” Cook said.

  Brandy agreed. “I know. I love sewing and laying out projects here. The light is wonderful. Makes me want to start painting again.”

  “You should. Joe, she’s really talented.”

  “Well, this could be your studio. Maybe find a couple other artists to share the space with. Who knows, maybe you could rent it out that way.”

  “It’s a thought. Not sure the zoning would allow a commercial space. But we know for sure we can do a second unit. The city is trying to encourage more housing. I know we could use the extra income.”

  She hesitated to bring up the subject again.

  “Just how much is this going to cost? I mean, I don’t want you guys to do all of this for free.”

  “If I don’t have to pay for materials, I absolutely don’t mind doing the labor. You will have to get a plumber and electrician, and I know the permits will cost you something. A few thousand dollars.” Joe shrugged, “But we’ll know more after my friend Sy does the structural engineering. You’re going to need all that to put in for your permit. I’ll get an idea what Sy will charge, but we’re all retired. We actually look for projects like this we can do together just to stay active. We built a big play structure over at the church a month ago.”

  “You like the ideas, Brandy?” her dad asked.

  She thought about the conversation she’d had with Tucker earlier this morning. “I can’t wait. I think Tucker would be pleased. I’m going to tell him first chance we get to talk.”

  The men sat back in their chairs.

  “How’s he doing?” Joe asked.

  “I guess he and T.J. went on a little trip yesterday. He said it was very chaotic, with all the cleanup and evacuations happening.”

  “What’s he doing, exactly?” her dad wanted to know.

  “Beat’s me,” she shrugged. “Like all of them, it’s just a mission. Something to do with bad guys doing evil things. Same old, same old.”

  Joe chuckled. “Frankie’s mother went nuts every time he went over, before he got married. Of course, he didn’t call us, like he probably does now, but he never would tell us anything. Said he was on the beach
, chasing girls. His mom would get so frustrated with him.”

  Brandy’s dad gave Joe a warm smile. “You’ve got a granddaughter, right?”

  “Love of my life!” said Joe.

  “Who’s the love of your life?” shouted Gloria Benson. She had a pie in one hand and a carafe of coffee in the other.

  “I was talking about our Courtney.”

  “Look who’s up,” said Jillian, holding Kimberly. “I changed her for you. Hope that was okay.”

  “Oh my, thank you.”

  Kimberly’s eyes were trying to focus on the candlelight. Her little head jerked from side to side as she tried to hold herself up.

  “Look how strong she is already. That’s amazing,” said Gloria.

  As the baby nursed, Brandy was suddenly grateful for the older people in her life, sharing her young joy with their years of experience. Her father had found love again after the passing of her mother. Joe and Gloria lived through Courtney, their son’s child.

  She did feel safe. Tucker had been right. Her job was to make sure she wasn’t alone, to make sure to stay plugged in and connected with her family and her community.

  After Joe and Gloria Benson left, Brandy’s dad and Jillian were preparing for bed.

  “You never did tell me why you wanted us to come over,” her dad said. He was always the one who observed her many moods growing up.

  “I told you. It was about time we spent more time together. I don’t want to take her out too much until she’s older.” She checked his expression to see if he was buying the lie. “I was getting lonely, I guess. Stir crazy.”

  “Has something happened? Did you see something on the news?”

  “I don’t watch the news much. I don’t want to see something about a conflict in Africa or someplace where Tucker might be.” She pulled the baby up on her shoulder and burped her. She considered whether or not she should tell her father about Keira and Lynn and decided to wait until she knew more what the outcome was. She remembered what Tucker had said, Let the experts handle it. Nothing you can do. “Thanks for being concerned. I’m fine now. Seeing all you guys tonight was exactly what I needed.”