by Sommer Smith
“Keilani, you can do it. I have seen you do some amazing things, and this is just one more to add to your list. We’re running out of time.” His voice was gentle, soft, even, in the loud cavern. It was barely audible enough for her to hear it, yet it resonated somewhere deep in her soul.
She backed toward him. “You go first.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that. I need to see you safely out before I go.” He made some sort of sign she decided must be the SEAL version of Scouts’ honor.
She took a deep breath. “You’re sure?”
He nodded and repeated his earlier words. “You can do this.”
Breathing a quick prayer, Keilani squeezed her eyelids tightly and dove. Time was slowed down in her mind for the moment and it seemed like she was never going to reach the other side. Panic settled on her just as she broke the surface. She gulped in air, gasping in relief. For a moment she could only inhale the open air, but then she realized Micah wasn’t surfacing. Where was he?
She waited, thinking maybe he just hadn’t had time to clear the mouth of the cave yet, but as the seconds ticked by, she felt a knot of dread beginning to settle in her stomach. He should be surfacing by now. The cave was almost completely submerged, and she had no idea where he could be. She only had to debate for a moment before she dove back below the surface to search for him.
She didn’t see him at first, but then she realized he was struggling with something under the water. Swimming closer, she saw he was stuck on a small outcropping of rock. He twisted this way and that, but to no avail. She swam closer, the salt water stinging her eyes, and tried to find the source of the problem. His pants had snagged on the rock and a large tear had appeared in a cargo pocket, but it had somehow wound itself around a sharp point on the rock. She couldn’t fathom how it had happened, but she knew he was going to need help.
She grasped at the fabric, pulling in one direction and then another, with little success. The rock was protruding through the hole and didn’t want to let go. She was running out of air fast and it was a long way to the surface. Micah had to be close to drowning. Desperate, she gave a fierce tug, then another, until the fabric ripped free of the rock. They both shot to the surface at warp speed, heaving in great breaths of air.
“That was close.” Micah lay on his back and just floated for a moment while he inhaled breath after breath. “I owe you my life.”
Keilani shook her head, breathing hard, as well. “I consider it a small repayment for all the times you’ve saved mine.”
He raised up. “Let’s get out of here. We still have some dolphins to find.”
Keilani’s forehead creased. “Yes. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Micah tried to grin. “Yeah. I’ve been through worse.”
She rolled her eyes. “Lead the way, then.”
Thankfully, the Baja speedboat Micah must have arrived on was still there. Either Dalton didn’t expect them to escape, or he was in too big of a hurry to reach his island to worry about it. Micah briefly wondered aloud about a bomb, but decided Dalton probably hadn’t been prepared for that. Explosives would have been more obvious if he had the means to make them in this case.
Keilani was thankful for his help getting into the boat. She was already feeling the effects of the abuse she had taken at the hands of her captor, and she tried not to wince as he sped out of the cove over jostling waves.
She imagined her physical pain was just a reflection of the emotional pain he was likely feeling right now over his dolphins. But she was worried about them, too. Would they be safe until Keilani and Micah could find them? They had never been on their own, or at least not recently enough to remember it. Her education told her that the dolphins’ instincts would likely see them through, but would it be soon enough to keep them out of harm’s way?
Micah’s story about the dolphins was touching, and Keilani suspected he had only scratched the surface of what those cetaceans meant to him. She would do everything she possibly could to help see them all safely returned to the naval base.
When she realized he was heading back toward the base instead of out to sea, she questioned him, having to shout to be heard over the roaring boat motor. “Where are you going? We need to find the dolphins.”
He shook his head. “No one is safe until we catch Dalton. I’m taking him down.”
She knew her shock must have shown on her face. “But those dolphins—they’re your babies.”
“I can’t take another chance on him getting away. I have to get him this time.” Micah’s face was a hard mask.
She didn’t argue further. She only hoped they weren’t too late. Her captor could be on his way to that remote island he told them about by now. How would Micah react if he was gone?
She didn’t have to find out. They reached the dock and found the maroon boat they were looking for almost as soon as they arrived. Micah didn’t even take time to tie off the boat properly, but threw a nearby dock worker the rope and launched himself off the boat. He landed on top of Dalton before the man knew what hit him. He was still unconscious, Micah holding him tightly by the throat, when a whole fleet of men—SEALs, from the looks of them—ran out onto the dock.
Keilani nearly fainted with relief to see Xavier among them. After a few words with Micah, the men had Dalton Taggert tied securely and were hauling him away. Xavier was the last to leave, speaking to Micah for a moment before leaving with the rest of the men.
Micah stood where they had left him, heaving and staring at her. She almost expected him to collapse.
She didn’t think, only ran into his arms. The stunned kid on the dock still stood staring after them both, holding on to the rope of the bobbing Baja. Keilani didn’t even care as she kissed Micah with every ounce of energy she had left. He kissed her back with a wild tenderness that she relished.
“You’re safe.” He whispered the words against her lips. “Xavier said they have all of his accomplices in custody. They were about to ambush him and come after us, but they were trying to confirm Dalton was the one. I didn’t tell them they would have been too late to save us.”
She only sighed and fell into him, not able to find the words to express her relief. There was only one thing she could think of to say, only one emotion dominating her thoughts.
“I love you, Lieutenant Micah Kent.”
He smiled broadly and kissed her again. “I love you, Dr. Keilani Lucas.”
“Let’s go find your dolphins.”
* * *
They didn’t waste any time. As soon as they could report to the admiral about everything that had happened and all Dalton had said to Keilani, they were off again to look for the dolphins. A crew from investigations was currently looking for Dalton’s wife and daughter, though he didn’t have much hope that they would be found alive. It softened the gut punch just a little to know that Dalton had begun this betrayal with the intent of protecting those he held dear. But he should have known better. He should have trusted his brothers to help him get his family back. He knew there were probably reasons Dalton felt the SEAL team couldn’t have overcome the drug lord he had gotten mixed up with, but Micah was sure they could have.
Watching Keilani in the weak afternoon light, he knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe, but he also understood his SEAL brothers would do the same. Every man on the team would do that much for any loved one of any other member. Where had they lost Dalton’s trust? It was a troubling question.
The afternoon had seemed eternal. The sun was setting over the bay and it was one of the most beautiful sights Micah had ever seen. Why had he never taken the time to appreciate the beauty around him more? He looked at Keilani and knew she was the reason he was noticing now. She had done something remarkable to him. It was almost like he had become a new person in the past few days.
He had noticed her praying on more than one occasion. It made him w
onder what had happened to his own faith. He decided right then to make a renewed effort to prioritize his Lord. Keilani smiled at him as if she knew what he was thinking.
“I’ve been praying for your dolphins.” She looked a little embarrassed at the admission. “If I am right, I think I see them now.”
She pointed off in the distance, and sure enough, he could see an occasional splash following a graceful arc over the water. It might not be them, but his heart raced at the thought that it could be.
After Micah had informed the admiral of all that they knew, the navy insisted on sending along a much bigger boat for transport, hoping to pull in as many dolphins at a time as possible.
The boat actually hadn’t been designed as such, but thanks to some brilliant navy engineers, it was converted into one for dolphin transport in less than an hour. It followed at a sedate pace, so Micah wasn’t getting there as fast as he would have liked. At the sight of the dolphins, however, he increased the throttle and aimed right for them, ignoring the lagging transport boat behind them.
He slowed as they got close, then cut the motor. He gave a shrill whistle, and within seconds several sleek dolphins rocketed toward them like torpedoes. A nose popped up next to the starboard side of the boat and Micah couldn’t stop a smile of relief.
“Nikita! How’s my girl? You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” He ran a hand down the side of her head, and she clicked and squeaked in response. A few more silvery noses broke the surface and Micah greeted the dolphins by name.
Keilani watched them for a moment, smiling as well, and then came over to the side. “My, my! You kids have been out on quite the adventure today, haven’t you?”
“It’s time to go home.” Micah gave them a stern look, and a couple of them lowered their noses to play shy as if they understood.
Sweet, tender emotion swelled within him and when he looked at Keilani, she was watching his face. He was more than just relieved that she was okay. It meant everything to him.
She spoke in a low voice as the transport boat drew close. “Careful. You’re going to lose your reputation as a tough-as-nails navy SEAL.”
Her eyes were smiling and he knew she was teasing him. “I don’t even care right now.” He was smiling right back. “I’m getting my babies back.”
* * *
By the time the dolphins had all been returned to base, Keilani was near collapse. She had never been so mentally and physically exhausted in her whole life. She did, however, utter a prayer of thanks that the dolphins had all been recovered and seemed to be perfectly healthy. It was absolutely amazing that they hadn’t lost a single one.
“Dr. Lucas, the admiral requests to meet with you at oh-seven-hundred tomorrow morning.” The young woman didn’t look her in the eye, but Keilani agreed and thanked her before the uniformed private scuttled off.
“I guess your mission is complete.” Micah stood close behind her, and she felt a squeeze of bittersweet relief at his presence. She was happy to be so close to him, but feared what might happen now. Would this be the last time she saw him? “Maybe you’ve completed your purpose here? I was hoping there might be a reason for you to stay on.”
“Do you think I’m going to be let go, then? That I am no longer needed without a problem to solve?” Keilani was more than a little disappointed, almost panicked.
“I don’t know. I guess we will just have to see what he has to say. But he requested to talk to you, and he admitted you have completed your original purpose here.”
Keilani nodded. “So I’m going to be fired.”
“Not fired. Dismissed.” He was scowling so hard it made her jaw hurt.
“Back to Hawaii for me, then, I suppose.” Her chest squeezed. She had no reason to stay unless Micah gave her one. He seemed to be a different person now that they were back on base.
“There is one other option.” He stared at her intently.
“Oh? And what might that be?” She knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up. He had said he loved her, but it had been an emotional moment. A relationship took time...
“Stay. I know you probably don’t want to wait around on a SEAL to complete active duty, but I would love it if you would. I have to finish out my enlistment, but after that I can apply for early retirement and find a civilian job. It would be a couple of years. But if you’d be willing to wait—well, I want to marry you.”
She tried to hold back her smile. “And what if I don’t want to wait around on you to be finished?”
“I guess I understand that. It’s one of the reasons why I always said I wouldn’t marry. I had just hoped...”
“You’d just hoped what, Lieutenant Kent? That I’d be content to sit around and wait to hear if you were coming home from your latest mission in one piece? That I would hang around and hope that one day your career might be over and you might marry me? What if I just don’t like to wait?”
He looked shocked. “I know we were close to dying there for a while, Keilani, but you said some things and I thought you meant them.”
“You mean, like how I love you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Like that.”
“I did mean them.”
“Then what...?”
She threw her arms around him. “I just don’t want to wait a couple of years. And you don’t have to give up being a SEAL for me, either, Micah Kent. Do what you love. Just love me, too. That’s all I ask. I’m not afraid of being a SEAL wife.”
His expression eased. “You’re sure?”
“I’m absolutely sure.”
He kissed her until her world was spinning. “I’m absolutely sure, too.”
EPILOGUE
The wedding was on a Saturday morning on the Coronado Naval Base with every single navy dolphin in attendance. Keilani walked the brightly lit walkway above the dolphin training pool that had recently been built outside along the beach.
At Keilani’s suggestion, the navy had included more sunshine in the dolphins’ lives by providing them turnout time in a beachside enclosure complete with toys for the dolphins to interact with, much as they might have in the ocean itself. It was the most beautiful thing they had done since she had accepted the permanent position the admiral had offered her as a civilian consultant and public relations director for the marine mammal program. He hadn’t wanted to dismiss her after all, but upgrade her position status from temporary to permanent. Micah was the only person happier about it than Keilani.
Xavier and Emmett stood up with Micah, and the rest of the SEAL team was crowded around close. The team had been so appalled at what Dalton Taggert had done that it had taken no time at all to have him sentenced to life in prison, along with being stripped of all rank and position as a SEAL. There was very nearly a mutiny before it could be properly handled. The report from his lawyer was that he had been drugged and coerced into working for the drug lord when he had been caught alone on the beach one night in the wee hours. No matter what his excuse, he would never be forgiven by the team.
Keilani had flown her grandparents in for the wedding and her best friend, Jacquie, from the islands, as well. Jacquie stood as maid of honor, and if Keilani wasn’t mistaken, she had captured the attention of more than one man on the SEAL team, Emmett included.
She had called her mother, too, thinking that news of her engagement might bring her around at last, but her mother had told her she simply couldn’t fly to California for the wedding. Keilani had been horribly disappointed, but decided she had done all she could do.
She was more than a little surprised when she was walking back down the aisle arm in arm with her new husband and spotted her mother in the back. She stopped Micah in the middle of the aisle and headed toward her.
“Mother? I thought you weren’t coming? I would have had you escorted to the front and seated in a place of honor.” Keilani pulled her into a hug.
Her mothe
r returned her embrace, albeit a little stiffly. “I didn’t deserve that. It was a last-minute decision anyway. I couldn’t miss my only daughter’s wedding.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t. Mother, this is Lieutenant Micah Kent.” She beamed at her new husband while she introduced them. She wasn’t sure when the uniform had stopped bothering her, but now she was proud to have her husband wear it. “Micah, this is my mother, Saraiah Johnston.”
The two shook hands, and then Micah pulled her small frame into an embrace. “I’m so glad you decided to come.”
Her mother answered with a tiny smile. “Me, too.”
It wasn’t until after the reception that Saraiah finally told them the truth. “I’ll be here when you get back from your honeymoon. I decided when George wouldn’t let me come to the wedding that I wasn’t going back. I’m filing for divorce and starting over. All of the things you’ve been trying to tell me finally sank in.”
Keilani’s heart swelled at her mother’s words. “I am so proud of you. I will be thrilled to have you here with us. I can’t wait for you to be a part of my life again.”
Tears fell from her mother’s eyes. “I missed you so much. All out of fear. Now I can never get those years with you back.”
Keilani nodded. “We will do everything we can to make up for it.”
They hugged for several seconds, until Keilani finally turned back to Micah. “We’d better get going.”
Micah led her away to the waiting car, but as they moved toward the future together, Keilani’s heart swelled with wonder. How could it be that in a few short hours she had received the answer to all of her most heartfelt prayers? It was like every dream she had ever wished for had come to pass and now she was so filled with bliss she couldn’t describe it.