Page 13 of Shielding Soledad

Fortunately, Luke let out a cry just then. I rose and scooped him up, taking him for a walk under the trees while I tried to sort through all that had been said.

Alex

“So are playdates in the park a replacement for our poker nights now?” Colin asked. “I figure they must be, since you’ve forced us to take turns hosting them at our own houses since you’ve been back in town.”

“Cut him some slack,” Zach said. “When you’ve got a newborn in the house, you’ll understand how demanding the little bundles are.”

“Soon enough,” Colin said with a grin and a glance toward his wife, who waved and blew him a kiss.

“Take my advice and sleep lots now. Right, Alex?” Chance asked.

“Sure, yeah,” I said, half listening as I focused on Soledad where she sat between Lily and Carolyn. Her attention was directed at the kids as she talked with my in-laws. It looked like a friendly conversation, so I tilted my head, indicating for my brothers to follow me. I didn’t want any of what I had to say to reach Soledad’s ears.

“What’s on your mind?” Colin asked when we’d moved off an additional fifteen feet. All bantering was over as we formed a tight circle.

“I’ll get straight to it. Asking you guys to take over hosting the weekly poker game wasn’t just because I didn’t want the noise to disturb Luke. It’s also because having a bunch of people over would mean I’d have to turn off the alarm to keep anyone from triggering it…and that’s not something I’m willing to do. Not now. There was a situation on my last mission that you all need to be aware of because it might come back to bite me, you, and them.” I nodded to their families.

“Give us the intel,” Zach ordered, all of us alert as if we were on a mission.

I didn’t hesitate. “I turned in a fellow SEAL for misconduct just before we shipped home from the Middle East. Guy by the name of Bruce Lewis. Do you know him?”

“I know Lewis,” Chance said. “He’s a jackass.”

“No denying that, but he’s a well-connected jackass,” I said, “which he thought made him above the rules.”

“So what was his game?” Colin’s skill was stripping everything down and gathering the details.

“He got involved in the opium trade,” I said. “He was even peddling that shit to his fellow SEALs. I realized what was up when I was working with one of the local agricultural cohorts and heard his name mentioned. They compared me to him because we were in the same unit, but I was interested in saffron while Bruce was breaking the rules in a way I couldn’t overlook. So I reported him to our commanding officer.”

“You did the right thing. SEAL units only work if everyone is aboveboard,” Zach declared.

“I thought so,” I agreed, “but it might come back to bite me in the ass. Thanks to his family’s influence, the charges were downgraded and he got away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist for punishment…but they couldn’t get him out of a letter in his permanent file.”

Colin let out a low whistle. “Career-buster.”

“Exactly. And he’s blaming me.”

“So that’s why you needed the security system,” Colin concluded.

Steve sometimes came to our poker nights, so it didn’t surprise me that he would have mentioned my situation to Colin.

“But this might not stop with me. He and I never really talked much, but it’s no secret that our family is tight,” I said, gesturing between us. “As pissed as he is, I don’t think he’d hold back if he saw any way to hurt me, even by proxy. And a piece of shit like that wouldn’t draw the line at hurting women or children either. I’m sorry I’ve put you guys and your families in danger. When I filed the report, I assumed he’d go to jail and that would be the end of it. Even if he did manage to weasel his way out, I never thought this would come back on anyone but me.”

“Not your fault,” Colin said. “Your decision to report him probably saved lives.”

“Yeah, but it’s putting lives at risk now. Theirs.” I gestured to the picnic table where the four women talked while the kids played.

“We’ll protect them. We have before,” Colin said, “and if there’s any guilt here, it lands squarely and solely at Lewis’s feet. Not yours.”

“Colin’s right,” Zach added. “We’ll fend this off if we need to.”

Chance nodded his agreement. “What can we do now?” he asked.

“Locate Bruce. I got a card from him yesterday. There was no postmark on it—he hand delivered it on purpose, just to rattle me and make it clear that he’s nearby. I’m sticking to Soledad and Luke, keeping them inside as much as I can, but I need to know where he is.”

“Have you told Soledad about this?” Zach asked.

“No, and I won’t if I can avoid it.” It would only add another layer of tension on top of a fraught situation between us.

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