“Nice to meet you, Matt. I’m Pat, this is Kyle and this is Vic.” I reached out my hand, but he didn’t take it. His hands had an unsteady twitch, and he was rattling his keys.
He nodded his head and we all went inside to order a few sandwiches and beers. Back out on the patio, we made small talk about different Teams we had been on, a few guys we knew in common, and different deployments.
He took a sip of his beer, and his eyes shifted back and forth. “I need to hit the head.”
He stood up and went inside the shop. Barely a few seconds had passed, and an older model black Ford truck barreled out of the parking lot. He’d been on to us.
We didn’t speak; we knew what to do. I threw down some money for a tip and we hightailed it into Kyle’s Escalade.
I could see Matt’s truck entering I-15 freeway going south.
Kyle chased him down the freeway, dodging in and out of cars. Matt didn’t slow down. Where the fuck was he going?
I didn’t have time for this shit. He slowed to enter the 56 West and I took out my pistol and shot out his back right tire.
He pulled to the shoulder of the freeway, Kyle’s Escalade right behind him.
I saw him reach toward his glove compartment. This motherfucker was going to kill himself. Or us.
We all jumped out to the car, with our weapons.
I approached the vehicle. He had the gun aimed right at me. “You have about ten seconds to unfuck yourself. Matt, put down the gun. We’re not here to kill you. Don’t do anything stupid.”
He kept the gun steady. “He sent you. I didn’t talk to anyone.”
“No one sent us. We are the ones that saved Annie. We did some digging. We just want to talk to you.”
With three guns pointed at his head, he didn’t have much choice. Kyle disarmed Matt without a struggle. I slid into the passenger seat of his truck and handed Matt’s keys to Kyle. I told Vic to get Matt’s spare tire just in case a cop drove by and thought we looked suspicious. Kyle stood guard on the side of Matt’s truck.
I needed some answers. “Start talking asshole. Why did you leave her there? She told you her name.”
He blinked. The creases around his burdened eyes were so deep they looked as if they had been beveled with a blade. “First off, it’s not my fault man. I tried to save her. You have to know that. It started out like a standard job. Missing girl, possibly trafficked. Go to the island and see if she’s alive, if you can find her.”
“Who hired you?”
“Her father. Paid three hundred thousand dollars. Taylor, another former Team guy, and I volunteered. Seemed like a piece of cake—go hang out on Curaçao for a month, all expenses paid, drink, snorkel, rescue a girl, come home. We went down there, started fishing around. Asking locals. Visiting brothels. We had a tip that a girl who matched Annie’s description was at this one brothel. We cased the plac. The first time we went in, our only goal was to see if we thought it was her, identify the tattoo and see what kind of shape she was in. The minute I saw her, I was positive it was Annie. Her hazel eyes, hair, tattoo, scar, height. But we were ordered by our bosses to pick other girls that first night and not her. I was so fucking stoked that day; to think I’d found this kidnapped girl and we’d be bringing her home in a week or so. The girl she was with, Nicole, we didn’t even know she was there. That was a stroke of luck finding her. We’d, of course, read about her disappearance in Aruba. I thought I’d be a fucking hero—saving two Americans. Collect her reward too.”
Cars whizzed by on the freeway. I looked in the rear view mirror, and Vic had the car jack out, pretending to get ready to change Matt’s tire. “So what the fuck happened? Why did you leave her there?”
“I didn’t have a fucking choice. We checked in with our bosses after we found her in the brothel and they reported back to her father. We had a conference call with the motherfucker. He asked me how certain I was it was her, if she looked high, her demeanor, what she was wearing. I told him I’d bet my Trident it was his daughter. She was definitely a heroin user. I saw tracks on her arms when the pimp let me check her out. As long as I live, I will never forget the next words out of his mouth. ‘Leave her there. Forget you ever saw her. With any luck, she’ll overdose soon.’ He said that Annie was an embarrassment to their family. It was her fault for being kidnapped because she was drinking underage with her boyfriend on the cruise. And he didn’t want a daughter who was a heroin addict and a prostitute. No man would ever love her, and she would be a burden to him. She was better off dead.”
My pulse quickened, and I wanted to shoot this motherfucker and save a bullet for Annie’s dad. I was a professional warrior; I knew how to control my emotions. But this was unbelievable.
“Believe me. I begged him to reconsider. I told him we could detox her, and that she’d be hailed a survivor. And with therapy she could integrate back into society. But he wouldn’t consider it. He firmly reminded me of the one million dollar non-disclosure agreement I’d signed. I didn’t have a fucking choice. I haven’t ever told anyone, except you guys. You can’t tell anyone—we have an unbreakable code.”
“I won’t.” He was right. We would never repeat what he was telling us to anyone. Especially since he knew we’d been the ones to rescue Annie. He could ruin our careers. But if I hadn’t told him, he would’ve never talked to me. I needed to know the truth about Mr. Hamilton.
“I racked my brain, thinking of anything I could do to save her. Go rogue, convince my partner Taylor to back me. But he wouldn’t even discuss it, and I couldn’t do it myself. We were ordered to go back a final time to verify with one hundred percent certainty that it was Annie. Which we did.”
He paused and I wondered if he was reminiscing about fucking Annie, remembering her and Nicole going to town on each other. His own personal porno. I watched Matt’s thin lips and I pictured them all over Annie’s body. Her stroking his limp dick. My hand was on the trigger of my gun. Give me an excuse to kill you motherfucker. “Leaving them in that room was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Knowing that I’d found them, but was abandoning them to die. I told the girls I’m sorry, and walked out the door. When I returned to the States, I finished my remaining contracts and quit. I couldn’t work with these people with no integrity. Private contract work is nothing like being in the Teams. There’s no morals, no law.”
I sat there in silence. Completely blown away. I couldn’t even process all the emotions I was feeling.
Finally, I broke the silence. “Nicole died. She overdosed six months later. She’d be alive today if you hadn’t been such a pussy.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I figured she did. I fucking hate myself, man. I drank myself into oblivion, started doing coke. Ended up in rehab. Don’t have a girl, or a job, living off the disability I get from the VA. I mean, being on the Teams was my life. I was a great SEAL. I’m sure you guys know that, if you did your research on me. Nothing was more important to me than being the best warrior I could be. I pushed away my girlfriend, my family, my friends. Always used the excuse that she couldn’t be faithful when I was away, or that I would be a horrible husband because of my job. That’s my other regret, besides not saving Annie and Nicole, is not marrying my girlfriend. I stalked my ex on Facebook recently. She’s a great woman, married to a Marine, has two beautiful boys. I fucking loved her, but I completely fucked that relationship up. Cheated on her, lied to her. Thought everyone should kiss the ground I walked on and just take my bullshit, because I was a SEAL. I used to be just like you guys, and now I’m just the old Team guy in the bar, reliving my glory days when I play So Com in my studio apartment.”
I’d had enough. Didn’t want to listen to his sob story anymore, feeling sorry for himself. But every word he said resonated with me. “You could’ve saved her. Despite her dad. At least fucking told someone, anyone she was alive. You condemned her to three more years of hell. And Nicole’s death is on you. There is no excuse for that. ‘I serve with honor on and off the battlefield.’ Rememb
er our code?”
He squinted his eyes. “Don’t fucking judge me. You’re just like me. I didn’t have a choice.”
“No, Matt. I’m nothing like you. I met Annie in a brothel, too. Hired her. But unlike you, I came back. I saved her. I risked my job, my life for her. That’s what we do. That’s our oath.”
“I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own.”
I needed to get the fuck out of his truck. Imagining his hands all over my Annie made me want to pop him in the head. “I won’t tell anyone. Not for your sake, for Annie’s. You better continue to keep your mouth shut.”
We bailed shortly after. I’d given my word to Matt that I wouldn’t tell Annie that I met him. And I never lied to SEALs, even former ones. I had to come up with another route. And I needed to deal with her father. But before I went one step further, I had to figure out how I felt about Annie. It was time for me to step up and commit. To her.
24.
I stopped at the florist near my house to get Annie flowers. I chose a bouquet of wild flowers, nothing too pure and pretty. Carefree, damaged, and finally free, just like her. Matt had rattled me. I didn’t want to end up like him. I was starting to think that Annie was my perfect match, strong, loyal, a survivor. And her fine ass didn’t hurt either.
I opened the door and Annie was sitting out on my small balcony, Trigger at her feet. She wasn’t reading, on her phone, or listening to music. I admired her ability to just enjoy each moment of freedom, without having to always be busy. I needed to learn to do that.
“Hey babe.”
Her face lit up when she saw me. She bounded over to me and gave me a kiss. “These are gorgeous. Thank you. How was work?”
I winced. I hated lying to her. I vowed to be honest with her from now on, but I couldn’t tell her where I’d been. I’d given Matt my word. “Good. An old Team guy stopped by. Hey, let’s get out of here. I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy with work I haven’t taken you anywhere since we’ve been back. Anything you’ve been dying to do since you’ve returned?” I had plenty of suggestions, but they all seemed wrong. My first thought was Sea World but I doubted that Annie wanted to spend the day watching animals kidnapped and forced into captivity to perform tricks for strangers.
“Disneyland? I have to, for Nicole.”
Shit. I hadn’t been to Disneyland since I was a kid. I’d take Annie there since it meant something to her, but I had a better idea. “Pack a bag. Let’s go.”
Her face brightened. I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed making her happy.
I sent Kyle a quick text.
An hour later, we were headed up the I-5 to Anaheim.
We pulled into the Downtown Disney Parking lot and dropped Trigger off at the Disneyland Kennels just right outside the gate. We headed straight over to Disney California Adventure Park. I’d never been here. We used our fast pass for Soarin’ Over California, which I actually loved: seeing all the beautiful parks, lakes, monuments of my home state made me happy to be back home. Normally when I was on leave, I was itching to return back to sea. But for the first time in memory, I was taking joy in everyday life. Spending time with Annie made everything more enjoyable.
We hit some more rides, hopped over to Disneyland, and grabbed a quick bite to eat.
Annie was enjoying herself, but I knew this wasn’t really her scene. She hated crowds, and was pretty jumpy with the loud noises from the rides. She was doing this for Nicole.
“I’m ready to go, Pat. But I need to do something first.”
We walked to the main entrance of Disneyland, and Annie’s eyes were glued to the ground. There were hundreds of tiny memorial pavers. She paced up and down the rows and finally stopped. There was a small one that read: The Race Family. December 8, 2006.
Annie knelt down and traced the stone with her hands. Tears filled her eyes. I didn’t want to ruin her moment, so I stood back, unsure of what to say. She took out some Krazy Glue from her purse. She removed the necklace I gave her in the brothel, took the chain off, and glued it to Nicole’s paver.
Shit, it even made me want to cry.
Annie took a picture of the paver and walked away.
After around ten minutes, Annie stood up. “We can go now.”
“That was sweet, Annie.”
“Yeah. I wanted her to have it. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for her. She always talked about that vacation. How much fun they had all had and she was determined to come back here. I still haven’t seen her parents. Would you go with me to see them?”
“Of course.”
“That would be great. Thank you for taking me.”
I put my arm around her. We picked up Trigger at the kennels, and headed back to the car.
She put her seat belt on. “Where are we staying?”
“I have a surprise for you.”
“I hate surprises. We’re not staying near Disneyland?”
“Why don’t you crash? It’s a long drive. We’ll be there by morning.”
She tapped her fingers on the window. “Okay. This better be good.” She leaned in and gave me a kiss.
I stopped by a drive through Starbucks, ordered a Venti black coffee, and a few bottles of water for the drive.
Eight hours later at six a.m., we had arrived at our destination. She was passed out in the seat next to me.
“Wake up, Sunshine. We’re here.”
She rubbed her eyes, and blinked a few times to gain sight. The vast, pure lake glimmered in the sunrise.
“Pat! Tahoe! You remembered?”
“Of course. I never forget anything. Kyle has a buddy with a cabin in Incline Village. We have it for the whole week.”
“The week? That’s amazing. Don’t you have to go back to work? You’ve been working every day.”
She didn’t know that we had complete block leave, and all the times I’d told her I’d been at work, I was acting on a hunch I had about her family. “We have a week of leave. It’s just you and me.” I paused. I felt horrible keeping this secret from her, but I couldn’t tell her. “Annie. I’ve been lying to you.”
Her face dropped. “About what.”
“I told you that I didn’t want a relationship while I was on the Teams. But, I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’m willing to try.”
She leaned to my seat and wrapped her arms around my neck, planting a kiss on my cheeks. “One thing I learned in captivity was to not focus on the future or the past. Just take one day at a time. I’m happy with you today. We don’t need to plan out the rest of our lives. As long as you want to be with me now, that’s enough for me.”
I kissed her back, couldn’t wait to get her into the cabin. Annie was unlike any girl I’d ever known, she didn’t expect anything of me, didn’t try to change me, and accepted me for who I was. Maybe being with me the three months out of the year that I didn’t deploy would be enough to make her happy. I was crazy about her.
But I had to confront her father, protect her from him. And I knew I would shatter Annie’s carefully rebuilt world.
Kyle left out a detail about the owner of the cabin—apparently the guy was loaded. Probably one of his NFL buddies. This place was on the water in Incline Village, a hotspot of wealthy Silicon Valley executives. My mom and I used to stay in a crappy motel in South Lake Tahoe, but I loved it anyway. This cabin had stonework, beautiful hard wood floors, seven bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a game room, an exercise room, a wine cellar, and a master bedroom with a private fireplace.
I needed to sleep. I let Trigger out back in the yard. “Can you bring Trigger back in when he is done?”
“Yes.”
I brought our bags in, and went upstairs to take a shower.
I took off my clothes and turned on the hot water. Should I confront her dad? It was pointless really. He would either lie and deny it or admit it and retaliate against Matt. No wonder he hated my guts, probably knew I would figur
e his bullshit out. Some may look at us enlisted SEALs as nothing more than brawn, but to get through BUD/S, you had to be intelligent.
But if I told Annie, she would have no one left in her life but me—and that was if she believed me. I thought she would, but you never know. Blood is thicker than water. Who would be there for her when I was gone?
I stepped out of the shower and went into the bedroom. The fireplace was already on. And Annie was sitting on the bed in some damn sexy lingerie. Pink silk nightie trimmed with black lace, split up high on her thigh.
I stopped in the doorway to watch as she smoothed lotion over her legs and it occurred to me that I wouldn't mind seeing her do this every night. I'd heard the poor bastards in team wax poetic about coming home to their wives and it wasn't until I saw her looking at home in the bed that I realized what they meant.
She looked up and saw me watching her. "Hey, hero. What are you doing?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I walked over to the bed and knelt at the edge next to her. She stilled, then set the lotion on the nightstand and angled towards me. I wasn't rushed to fuck her like the day at the beach. It wasn't about satiating a hunger. I wanted to show her what I was feeling, but didn't have the words to say.
She watched me with big eyes while I urged her to lay back on the bed with the press of a hand against her shoulder. With the tips of my fingers I followed the lines of her jaw, down her throat and dipped inside the silk of the lingerie to cup her full breast. Her back arched off of the bed to fill my hand more completely.
God, she was perfect.
I circled her puckered nipple with my finger, teasing it to a point. Her feet grasped for purchase on the slippery sheets of the luxurious bed when I pinched the nipple between two fingers and rolled. She cried out in surprise and I sat beside her to take her into my mouth. She clasped her hands behind my head to hold me to her chest.
I didn't know how much longer I would have with her, if we would make it. I didn't know if I could get her through this shit with her parents or if I'd even survive my next deployment. Both thoughts shot twin sparks of fear through my chest. As I held her in my arms and brought her to the peak of pleasure, I vowed that I would do what I can to keep her safe.
Invincible (The Trident Code) Page 12