Bastard SEAL: A Bad Boy Forbidden Baby Romance (Contains bonus book Based!) (18 page)

We got close to the house and moved up toward the door fast. Travis moved around toward the back of the house, checking the windows as he went. I listened for the signal from him and heard a soft whistle, something that sounded almost like a bird.

I picked the lock in no time and then slowly pushed the door open, moving in.

My gun was out and ready, barrel pointed forward. I stepped into the entryway and shut the door behind me.

Nothing looked different or out of place. Nothing was knocked over or moved at all. The blood in the formal living room was gone, cleaned up by the team Blackfire had sent.

I did a quick sweep of that room and then moved back to the steps and climbed them, staying low and silent. I didn’t hear a single sound from upstairs as I made it to the landing.

I cleared each room, one after the next. Each room looked totally normal, the beds made, everything clean. If something bad had happened in the house, there was no sign of a struggle.

But there was also no sign of Tara’s parents or Coop. Their car was still in the driveway and Coop’s car was parked two streets over, but they were all empty. Once I finished upstairs, I moved back down the steps cautiously.

Travis should have swept the bottom floor, and if anyone was still in the house, we would know by now.

“All clear upstairs,” I called out.

“Captain,” Travis said, and I could hear the pain in his voice. It hit me like a sledgehammer, and I knew. In that instant, I knew. “In here.”

I stepped into the kitchen.

Cooper was propped up against the oven, his throat cut open, a bullet hole in his skull.

I stared down at Coop, my whole body numb. We’d lost comrades before, good men, but Coop was a friend. He was so fucking young, too.

“Looks like it happened in the garage,” Travis said. “I think they cut the throat after they killed him and moved the body here for us to find it.”

“The parents?”

“Nowhere.”

“Fuck.” I could feel the anger washing over me then, replacing the numbness with a fire that threatened to burn the world to ashes. “Fuck. Coop was a good man.”

“Yeah,” Travis said, looking away, “he fucking was.”

“Sweep the place. Take anything that might help. We’ll call Blackfire and have this place cleaned, but we’re going after that.”

“Roger that, cap.” Travis gave Coop one last look and then turned away and left.

I stared down at Coop for another second, anguish and anger rushing through me. Those bastards. I didn’t know how they got the drop on Coop, but he didn’t deserve this. I knelt down and gently shut his eyes.

“Your fight is done, brother,” I whispered.

Then I stood and turned away.

That was the end every SEAL faced at every moment in his job. Every SEAL was trained to face death and to fight on, and I knew that was what Coop had done.

I was going to find Omar and all his men and I was going to kill them, plain and simple. I was going to kill them with my bare hands if I could, and if I couldn’t, I’d use hot steel and explosive powders.

I was fury and death incarnate. Rage flowed through me unchecked, unbounded. I was going to tear them bit by bloody bit until they screamed and perished.

Travis returned a moment later. “Come look, cap.”

I followed him, slowly raging, boiling deep down in my body. Travis led me out into the garage where I was faced with a grisly scene.

There was blood everywhere, all over the floor, on every surface. Something had happened here. Clearly they’d killed Coop, but something else had happened. Objects were knocked over, paint cans upended, sports equipment torn from the walls.

“He struggled,” Travis said.

“Yeah. Wasn’t enough.”

“But look at this.” He crouched down next to something and pointed. “What do you make of it?”

Next to one of the cleaner spots on the floor was a drawing in the blood. It looked like a mitten.

I cocked my head. “I have no clue, but Cooper clearly left this for us.”

“Shit,” Travis said. “It’s like a baseball glove or a mitten.”

“Take a picture. Let’s get out of here.”

Travis nodded and took out his phone.

I left the garage, heading back out of the house. Cooper had struggled and left us a clue, and we were going to use that to find his killers.

This was far from over.

I
woke
up slowly to an empty bed.

As I stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, I remembered everything that had happened in the last day. I remembered the attack, the blood, the bodies, and Emory. I remembered his mouth and his fingers and the incredible bursting buzz that rolled over my spine as I came.

I remembered it all, gripping the sheets.

“Damn,” I said out loud, just to hear my own voice.

For a second, I thought I needed to get up and check on Mason, but then I realized that I had left him at Lindy’s, and a part of me felt awful. I hadn’t been away from Mason for any serious amount of time before. Sure, I’d left him to be watched by Lindy or my parents, but I felt like this was different.

I sat up, groggy but feeling better. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed sleep. I caught sight of a piece of paper on the bed next to me and grabbed it. It was a note from Emory telling me to stay in the room. I sighed, tossing it aside.

What did he think I was going to do, go running around? I knew where he was and understood why he hadn’t woken me. That was probably smart, since I would have tried to insist that he bring me along.

I hated that my parents were in danger. I was so full of worry and fear that I could hardly think.

I got out of bed and used the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stared at the water pouring down from the spigot, letting the room fill with steam from the hot water.

Finally, I worked up the courage to strip down and climb in. The hot water felt incredible, though practically scalding. I stood there letting it cover me, the water rolling down my body, washing away the grime and the sweat.

As I began to wash myself, I heard the door in the other room open. I paused, standing completely still. Fear jolted through me like lightning.

Then someone knocked on the door. “It’s me,” Emory called out.

I let out a breath, relieved. “I’m almost done. You can come in.”

I heard the door open. “We need to talk. Come out.” He shut the door abruptly.

I bit my lip, the fear still lingering there, but I pushed it back. I could handle it, whatever he needed to tell me. I was stronger than I had been, strong enough to handle anything he could throw at me. I had to be. I had no other choice.

I finished rinsing off and got out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around myself and walked out into the main room.

Emory was sitting on the bed, his head hanging in front of him.

“What happened?” I asked, steeling myself.

“Your parents were gone,” he said. “I don’t know where they are.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“Cooper was dead.”

I took a sharp breath. “Shit, Emory.” I went to him and sat down next to him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Coop was a good man, but we need to find your family and finish this now, make his death mean something.”

I leaned against him, trying to take some of his strength. “Okay,” I said. “How can I help?”

“Coop left something behind, a clue.” He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture. “What do you think?”

“Is this blood?”

Emory nodded slowly. “Coop’s own blood most likely. I’d guess this was his final act.”

“It looks like a mitten.”

“That’s what we think.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“Think, Tara. How could that relate to your father?”

I bit my lip. “I’m not sure.”

He stood up and paced across the room. “The man on that business card. What else do you know about him?”

“Nothing,” I said honestly. “Nothing about the guy. Just the company.”

“Tell me everything.”

I leaned back, trying to think. What did I know about them? Dad didn’t talk about his job much, since a lot of his work was highly secretive.

“Dad had been traveling a lot lately, something about a power plant needing to be refurbished,” I said.

Emory paused. “Which plant?”

I shook my head. “I can’t remember. It was a guy’s name, though.”

Emory looked down at his phone and began tapping on it. I stood up and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder. It was a list of nuclear power plants and their locations.

“Donald Cook Power Station,” he read and looked at me. “It’s in Michigan.”

“Yeah. That has to be it,” I said. “Dad was traveling to Michigan a lot.”

“Fuck,” Emory said. “The picture. It’s not a mitten. It’s fucking Michigan.”

I stepped back as it all clicked into place. “They’re attacking that power plant, aren’t they?”

He nodded slowly. “And they’re using your father’s credentials to get in.”

“Oh my god,” I said. “We have to tell someone, Emory.”

“No,” he said forcefully. “I’ll call my commanding officer and we’ll go from there.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay.”

“Sit down, relax, do whatever. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He turned and left the room.

I watched him go, the door clicking shut behind him.

We’d figured it out. We’d gotten some help along the way, but we knew what was happening. For the first time since this all started, we knew where they were going and where they’d be.

For the first time since this all began, an end was in sight. For the first time, I believed we might actually make it out alive.

Mason was safe, and Emory was going to save everyone else.

Emory could do it. All I had to do was trust him, and I did.

“
S
ir
, I think I know what’s happening.”

Blackfire was silent for a second as I looked out over the balcony at the drab motel parking lot. The events of the last day poured through my mind, and I picked it over, choosing only the necessary moments.

“And what’s that, soldier?” he asked.

“Sir, we found a business card on the person of one of the men who attacked us. Tara recognized the company. Apparently they work with her father, who has business dealings with nuclear power plants.”

“Interesting,” Blackfire said. “We haven’t gotten any intel about any imminent attacks.”

“No, because I think this one is happening fast. They’re using covert American agents to do their dirty work.”

“What other evidence do you have?”

“Cooper is dead,” I said, “and Tara’s parents are gone.”

“Shit,” Blackfire said. “Coop was a good soldier.”

“He was, sir.”

“I’ll take care of his family, and a cleanup crew will be dispatched to the Bright house.”

“But sir, he left a small drawing in his own blood. It looks like a mitten, but we believe it’s of Michigan. There’s a power plant in Michigan that Tara’s father was working with only a few weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t we know this already?”

“I think because we were too busy focusing on the revenge aspect of all this. That may have been Omar’s intention all along, to distract us from his real intentions.”

“Damn,” Blackfire said. “Damn that fucking bastard. That clever fucking bastard.”

“What do you think, sir?”

“We have no other good leads,” he said. “I’ll send some backup, and consider any resources we have at your disposal.”

“Roger that, sir.”

“Emory, you must pursue and destroy these bastards. You can’t let them get away with Coop’s death, much less with an attack on American soil.”

“My thoughts exactly, sir.”

“Good luck, soldier.” He hung up the phone.

I felt Travis appear next to me. “We on for this?” he asked.

“We sure as fuck are,” I said. “I’ve got one more call to make. Then we’re heading to Michigan. Get the car ready.”

“Roger that, cap.”

Travis headed off while I dialed another number. It rang, and finally she picked up.

“Navy Intelligence,” Lucy said.

“Lucy, it’s Emory,” I said quickly. “I need some help.”

“You called the right place. What can I do for you?”

“I need surveillance data for the Donald Cook nuclear power plant and all the surrounding hotels. Any suspicious activity, anything needs to come to me immediately.”

“What are we looking for?”

“Omar Hooth and several American associates. Also keep an eye out for Roger and Celine Bright.”

“Okay, Emory. You got it.”

“Thanks, Lucy. Send all updates to this number.” I hung up the phone.

Tara came out of the room, dressed and frowning slightly. “Is everything okay?” she asked me.

“We’re heading to Michigan,” I said. “Navy is looking into surveillance data, trying to pinpoint your parents.”

“Actually, about that. I found something weird.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

She held up one of my phones. “I borrowed this. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Better than using your own.”

She smiled and tapped something. “Here. Take a look. This is my dad’s bank account.”

I looked over her shoulder. “One transaction from today. Is that a gas station?”

“Yeah, it is. I Googled it, and apparently it’s in Michigan.”

“Fuck,” I said. “This can’t be for real.”

“I think they used his card, Emory.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Do you have an address?”

“Yeah, I do.”

I grinned hugely and grabbed her, pulling her against me. I hugged her hard. “Great fucking job.”

“Why would they use his card though?”

“Somebody in Omar’s group royally fucked up. I’m guessing one of the less experienced Americans.” I kissed her hard then, letting my joy overflow against her.

She kissed me back and then slowly pulled away. “So you’re impressed then?” she asked.

“Very impressed.”

“Glad I’m here?”

“Very glad.”

“I knew you would be.”

I grabbed her ass, hard, and grinned. “I thought I was going to be happy you were here for other reasons, but this works out just fine.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on. Let’s get moving. Travis is making lewd gestures at us.”

I looked down and saw Travis making a blowjob face. I flipped him off.

“Let’s go kill some terrorist scumbags.”

“Sounds good to me.”

* * *

T
he sun was dipping
in the sky by the time we finally got to the gas station.

It was a little independently owned thing situated a few miles away from the power plant. As soon as I saw it, I was beyond positive that someone from Omar’s group had been there. He probably thought the transaction would be harder to trace since it wasn’t at one of those large chain stations, but boy was he fucking wrong.

There were probably ten, maybe fifteen chain stations in the area. Whoever it was chose the only station we could very, very easily look up and locate.

Tara and I waited in the car while Travis went in and checked it out. A few minutes later, he returned and leaned up against the window. “Nothing,” he said.

“Nothing?”

“Just a gas station, man,” he said. “No Omar. No terrorists hanging around. Pretty normal.”

I frowned. “They were here.”

“What about that?” Tara asked, pointing.

I followed her gaze. There was a motel a bit farther down the street with a large sign advertising vacancies lit up outside it.

“What about it?” I asked.

“Well, if someone used the station, they could have walked here. Maybe they’re staying at that motel.”

I looked at her and then back at Travis. He shrugged. “Honestly, man, we’re going by the seat of our fucking pants right now,” he said. “Any lead is better than no lead.”

“Okay then,” I said. “Get your shit together, because we’re going on stakeout.”

Travis sighed. “I’ll get supplies.”

“What do we need?” Tara asked.

“Junk food, obviously.” He grinned and walked off.

I climbed back in the car to wait for him. Tara put her hand on my leg, and I grinned at her. “You’re a lot more useful than I thought.”

“I could be wrong, though,” she said.

“Yeah, you could be, but it’s the best guess we have right now. The Navy is analyzing all that data, so hopefully we get a hit soon.”

“Hopefully.” She frowned and moved her hand, looking out the window. “My parents are near here. They’re hostages.”

“Yeah, they are, but they’re useful hostages.”

“So?”

“So, it means Omar isn’t going to hurt them, not yet at least.”

“My mom isn’t useful.”

“If Omar kills your mom, your dad might not cooperate. No, they’re still alive. Maybe a little worse for wear, but they’re alive.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay. I have to believe that. Otherwise, I don’t know what any of this is for.”

“Hey,” I said, pulling her against me. “We’re going to beat this. You’ve got two of the best working on it and more men on the way.”

“I’m just afraid we’re too slow.”

“Don’t be.”

Just then, Travis returned. He pulled open the back door and climbed in. “You two crazy kids ready?” he asked.

“Sure are.” I started up the engine and Tara leaned away, looking back out the window.

I pulled out into traffic and headed down toward the motel. I didn’t know what we’d find, but something about this felt right. Everything about the trail was telling me that we were going the right way, that we were heading in the right direction. It was lucky and winding, but it was right.

My gut was screaming at me to keep going, and I was. Tara was by my side; Travis was ready. This was going to end, and I was going to end it.