Let Freedom Ring

by Weston Parker

  “Well, you were in the brig, sir. I’ve been instructed not to speak to you.”

  “Right. Sure.” I sat back again, raking my hands over my face. “Well, I haven’t gotten much sleep. Mind waking me up when we get to the airfield?”

  “It’s only a few minutes away. We’ll be there before you fall asleep. You have approximately two-and-a-half hours on the plane to San Diego, though.” His eyes widened when he realized what he’d said.

  Sighing as I sat forward again, I clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you let the cat out of the bag. I’m going home then, huh?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know where home is for you.”

  “San Diego.” I rested my head on the back of the front seat and rubbed my burning eyes. “You’re new at this, aren’t you?”

  “It’s my first week on the job, sir.”

  “My name is Lincoln,” I said. “Stop with the ‘sir’ shit.”

  “Okay, Lincoln.” His voice still seemed a little high.

  “You might as well talk to me while we’re stuck together for a few minutes,” I said. “What are you so scared about?”

  “Other than being told to go pick someone up from the brig in the middle of the night?” There was a hint of amusement in his tone.

  I laughed when I realized it had been an attempt at a joke. “That’s better. I’m not going to hurt you. The only reason I was in there was because I tend to do my own thing. Then I started dating a girl who is related to one of the officers.”

  He whistled between his teeth. “An officer’s daughter? No wonder you ended up getting in trouble.”

  After being quiet for a few seconds, he blurted out his next question. “What do you mean when you say you tend to do your own thing?”

  “I mean that I don’t wait for orders instead of doing what needs to be done, but you really shouldn’t take that as advice.”

  “I heard a rumor bad orders had gotten some guys in real danger down there in…” He trailed off for a second. “San Diego. You’re him, aren’t you? The guy who saved that team?”

  “What is it with you people around here? Do you just talk all the time about what happens on every other base?”

  “No, but everyone heard about the mission that went bad. There’s an official statement about it.”

  “Fuck.” I dragged my hands through my hair and over my face again. “What’s it say?”

  He shrugged. “Everyone involved will be dealt with swiftly.”

  “That’s just fucking great.”

  “We’re here,” he said suddenly, slowing the car to a stop. As I got ready to climb out, dead on my fucking feet for more reasons than one, he caught my gaze. “My name is Turner. If you’re that guy they’ve been talking about, it would be my honor to serve with you when you get your own command.”

  A humorless laugh tore out of me before I could stop. “I highly doubt that’s going to happen, Turner. If it does, though, I’ll look you up, okay?”

  He nodded, then saluted me before taking off again. A plane was waiting to take me back home, and exhaustion dragged me under almost the second my ass hit the seat.

  After the past few days, I was surprised that I’d managed to fall asleep so fast or that I slept for so long, but the realization that I was probably about to hear my fate must have finally allowed me to get some rest.

  When I woke up, the plane was touching down. The sun had started to rise, and the airfield was already a blur of activity.

  Few people paid attention to me as I disembarked after being told to report to Charles’ office. He was the last person I wanted to see, but it made sense that he was going to be the first.

  When I walked in without having been given the chance to take a piss or splash water on my face, all the same officers as before were gathered there. Charles gave me one look and sighed as he shook his head.

  “You look like shit, Dobbs.”

  “I was yanked out of a cell at the brig in Washington in the middle of the night. My cellmate liked talking and hadn’t gotten around to letting me fall asleep yet. All things considered, the fact that I’m still standing is a miracle.”

  I knew I shouldn’t be running my mouth, but the man brought out the worst in me. To my surprise, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

  “You’re not wrong,” he said finally. Shuffling some papers in front of him, he laid his hands down on top of them and lifted his eyes back to mine. “We’ve reviewed your case, and we’d like to make you an offer.”

  “Okay,” I replied hesitantly. He wasn’t apologetic about what had happened, but he wasn’t looking at me like he wanted to squish me either. “What’s the offer?

  “We want you to command your own unit. This is your only option. If you don’t take it, you’re out.”

  “Excuse me?” Maybe my lack of sleep had messed with my hearing. “After all this, you’re not going to give me feedback on the investigation or the findings? But you want me to command my own unit?”

  “You already know what happened.” He held my gaze evenly. “We don’t report to you. If you accept our offer, you will continue to report to us. Well, not me. But them.”

  “Charles might actually finally go into retirement now,” one of the officer’s commented. “If you take our offer, that is. If not, he’ll need to look for someone else before he goes anywhere.”

  Charles grunted, but his eyes stayed on mine. “What do you say, Dobbs? Are you finally ready for your own command?”

  My mind spun. Just a few short hours ago, I’d been in a cell, and now he wanted me to make this decision on the fly? “Can I have time to think about it?”

  “No,” he said simply. “The way I see it, a real soldier doesn’t need time to think about what we’re asking of you.”

  “What will it mean for me if I say yes?” I was already sorely aware of what it would mean if I said no. I’d spent the last few days trying to plan around a scenario where I got told to leave.

  Charles didn’t skip a beat. “It would mean a six-month tour in Iraq for starters.”

  I sucked in a breath. After all I’d been through and having had time to come to grips with the thought that I might never go into battle again, a six-month stint in that sandbox sounded like a dream come true.

  It would allow me to show them that I was meant to be a SEAL. Eden and I could clear our names once and for all. More than everything else, I would be getting back to doing what I did best.

  But it would be under my own command. I’d kicked against this for years.

  It would also mean leaving Sofia behind for six months. I doubted they’d give me a chance to speak to her about it before I gave them an answer.

  Six months was enough for her to finish her degree. But it was a long time to ask her to wait for me.

  My cheeks puffed up with air before I blew out a breath. Charles eyed me expectantly, but for once, there was no venom in his gaze. I didn’t feel like his glare was trying to pierce my organs and rip them to shreds.

  Something had changed in him between my leaving there and today. Despite how unbelievably fucking angry I was with the man, looking at him now was more like looking at the instructor I had respected when I’d first arrived.

  Either he was hoping I’d get shot, and that was why he wanted to send me away, or he really believed I could command my own unit. Sofia’s words from that day on the beach played in my mind. She’d said he believed in me but that I was a waste of talent.

  Was I? I didn’t think so, but he did. It had been the crux of our problem, if she was to be believed.

  And I did believe her. I also didn’t want to leave her. Or Eden.

  Charles watched me closely as I turned all this over in my mind. Eventually, he got tired of waiting. He drummed his fingers on the desk before he cocked his head and looked me right in the eyes once more.

  “Well, Dobbs, what’s it going to be?”

  Chapter 36

  Sofia

>   “Can you believe it?” I asked Haley once I’d told her everything I’d learned at the base. “It’s absolutely crazy. He’s supposed to be retired, but he’s been working behind the scenes to get rid of Lincoln.”

  My best friend leaned back against the pillows on her bed, clutching one to her chest, and stared at me with disbelief shining in her wide eyes. “I always knew he would do whatever he thought was necessary to protect you, but this does seem like overkill.”

  “You think?” I groaned, collapsing onto her bed and lying back. “It’s such a mess. I just can’t believe he would do that to someone.”

  “Least of all to one of his precious SEALs,” she murmured. “He lives for those guys.”

  “It figures that he’d treat them all like his sons, except for the one I end up falling for.” I covered my face with one of her pillows, digging deep to find a sliver of calm to grasp onto.

  Haley had still been at the deli when I’d arrived at her place after that meeting with my dad. Having some time alone had been good for me, but I’d been more than ready to talk once she arrived home.

  Armed with a bottle of wine, she’d sat me down and listened patiently as I ranted and raved. It had taken me hours to get everything out, and now I was out of words but still emotional.

  She rolled over to face me, propping her head on the stack of pillows and her hand underneath her cheek. “I know it sucks. Nothing I can say can really make it better, but I don’t think he did it to hurt you.”

  “Maybe he didn’t realize how much it would hurt me, but he knew it would.” That was what made it even worse. “I’m just struggling to wrap my head around it all, you know? Thanks for letting me sleep here tonight. I really wasn’t looking forward to having to go home and starting with round two just yet.”

  “Both of you might have ended up saying things you’d regret.” She smiled. “You know you’re always welcome here. I’m glad you decided to stay.”

  “So am I.” I sighed as I flicked off the lamp on the nightstand on my side of the bed. Haley’s was still on, but it wasn’t very bright all by itself.

  With the room softly lit and the quiet both inside it and out, I couldn’t believe the madness my life had become. Sighing as I wondered when I’d been catapulted into a world where my father was the villain, I folded my hands over my stomach and shook my head.

  “I’m thinking about transferring to a school closer to home,” I said. “I know UCLA isn’t that far away, but I want to be here. You’re here, Lincoln’s here, and Dad’s here. We might be fighting now, but I hope we won’t always be.”

  “Where is this coming from?” she asked quietly. “You’ve been looking forward to going to UCLA since we were juniors.”

  “Yeah, I know. I want to be closer to you all, though. I also want to be able to be there for Lincoln in the coming months. I can’t do that from LA.”

  “Why do you need to be there for him?”

  I shrugged, licking my lips as I tried to verbalize the decision I’d made before she’d gotten home. “One way or the other, I think he’s going to leave the military. I wouldn’t blame him if he did, even if they gave him another chance and didn’t discharge him.”

  “Makes sense.” I heard the concern creeping into her voice. “But transferring to a different school at this point of your degree seems risky. What happens if your dad found out you transferred to be closer to Lincoln? How will that affect your relationship with him?”

  “Honestly? I don’t care what he thinks about it at this point. He made a mistake. A big one. As I said, I hope we’ll move past it, but I don’t know when that’s going to happen. In the meantime, I want to be closer to you and Lincoln. I can help you out with the deli’s marketing and promotion and be there for Linc. Being closer will also help when Dad and I start getting our relationship back on track.”

  “You don’t have to help me,” she said. “It’d be great having you closer, but I think you need to put the time you could spend helping me out toward your studies.”

  “True, but I could do both.”

  She chuckled. “You’re brilliant at school, but not even you are that good. Trying to juggle your studies, promotion for the deli, and whatever is happening with Lincoln and with your dad won’t end well.”

  “Maybe.” I nibbled at the back of my bottom lip. “It doesn’t have to be a full-time thing, though. I could help you out when I have time, be there for Lincoln, and still focus on school.”

  She reached out to squeeze my arm. “Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather you use the time you would have been helping me on your schoolwork. Depending on what happens with Lincoln, he might also need your help more than I do.”

  I snorted. “Even if he does, he’ll never admit it.”

  “Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean he won’t need you.” She paused for a beat. “Do you really think he’ll leave the military?”

  “I don’t know. Whatever he decides, I’ll support him. I just hope he gets to make a decision and that it isn’t made for him.”

  “After everything Eden said, do you think your dad would have changed his mind about him and give him another chance?”

  “I have to believe he will.” I closed my eyes and sent up a brief prayer. “My dad might be strict and set in his ways, but surely, he can’t continue with a crusade as irrational and unreasonable as this one. I have to keep my faith in him. No matter how pissed off I am, I have to believe he’ll do the right thing.”

  “What if his idea of the right thing and yours aren’t the same?”

  Pain lanced through me at the thought. “Then I guess I’ll just have to make peace with the fact that he’s not the person I thought he was. Talking about honor and living with it are two very different things.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Both of us fell silent after that. After a while, Haley flipped her light off too and I felt the mattress move as she got comfortable. “Try to get some sleep, okay? We don’t have to figure everything out today.”

  “Thank God for that,” I said. “Good night, Haley. Thanks again for letting me vent to you.”

  She laughed softly. “Anytime, friend. Any damn time.”

  Despite thinking I wouldn’t be able to sleep, I drifted off surprisingly fast. When I woke up the next morning, Haley was already making coffee.

  It was mid-morning, and she had to rush to open the deli, so we didn’t get much more talking done. I took a quick shower, dressed in a pair of old yoga pants and a tank top I kept at her house precisely for all the nights I’d stayed over spontaneously, and headed home.

  My father’s car was in the driveway when I got there. I hadn’t expected him to be home, but I was kind of glad he was. I had to face him at one point or another. It was probably better to get it over with.

  Dragging in a deep, calming breath, I opened the door and hated the anxiety I felt over having to see my own father. He was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper but looked up as soon as I walked in.

  “We need to talk,” he said, motioning toward the coffeepot. “Fix yourself a cup and come have a seat. Thank you for letting me know you were staying at Haley’s, by the way.”

  I nodded stiffly, taking my seat without getting a dose of caffeine. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Dad’s hazel eyes settled on mine. “I brought Lincoln back.”

  I sat bolt upright, my palms suddenly sweaty. “You did? Where is he? What did you do to him?”

  “I didn’t do anything to him,” he said gruffly. Drumming his fingers on the table, he sighed and ran his other hand through his hair. “Look, I know you and I haven’t seen eye to eye on this matter.”

  “This matter being you trying to destroy my boyfriend’s career?” I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously, Dad. You might as well say it like it is.”

  Dad exhaled loudly, his eyes narrowing on mine. “Did I act brashly when I found out you were seeing him? Yes, but I had my reasons.”

  “Yeah, you think he’s danger
ous because he has the balls to stand up to you.” Deciding that I needed that coffee after all, I shoved my chair back and went to get some. “He’s not dangerous, Dad. Not to me anyway. I respect him for doing what he needs to if it gets the job done.”

  “So do I,” Dad said.

  The words came as such a surprise that I dropped the teaspoon in my hand. It fell to the counter with a tinkering clatter, but I’d get it later. Whirling around, I frowned at my father. “If that’s true, why are you so hellbent on punishing him for it?”

  “I’m not hellbent on punishing him for it.” He scowled but then hung his head and ran his hands over the back of it multiple times. “Jesus. I don’t have to explain myself to you, but let me try. It’s obvious that you still think I’m on the wrong side of this.”

  “Because you are,” I replied simply.

  Dad merely rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not. Lincoln has always had the potential to be great, but he’s disappointed a lot of people over the years.”

  “So that makes it okay to kick him out?”

  “Well, yes.” He held up his hands when I tried to interrupt. “Hear me out, okay? The last thing I want is for the Navy to lose someone who has his potential, but there comes a time when men who don’t realize their potential become dangerous.”

  Genuine sadness darkened his eyes. “I can only train these people for so long. I can make them the best I can, but then it’s up to them. Every once in a while, someone with great instincts and natural talent comes along. It’s always exciting, and everyone always expects great things, but those great things don’t always happen.”

  “Why? Because they don’t follow your timelines about when they have to start climbing the ranks?”

  “No, Sofia.” He huffed out a breath. “It’s not my timelines, and it’s not about climbing the ranks. It’s about egos. Guys like him know how good they are, but that tempts them to act out. They think they can do whatever the hell they want to because their over-inflated egos make them believe they know better than their superiors.”

  “Maybe they do,” I countered.