Page 25 of Harry

Harry chuckled. “I like them. They’re good kids.”

“Do you want kids?” Wild asked.

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know. It’s a tough decision. Because we’re military, whoever isn’t in the service ends up taking the brunt of the work when we are called out. And we don’t have normal military jobs either. It has to be tough on Ava and Ingrid.”

“True. Ava doesn’t mind, though. To make extra money in the summer and when they have school days off, she keeps six other kids. I told her she doesn’t have to keep up with that, but she wants money to spend, and I get it. She has plans to get a certificate or associate degree when the kids are older and find something else. But she’s happy to keep kids who are around Emma and Lila’s age for now.”

“She’s a good person.”

“She is.” Wild led him out to the backyard. “Tell me about Rory. What do you think is up?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we had sex, and she doesn’t want anything to do with me now.”

“Dude. Do you really think she would blow you off?”

Harry took a swig of beer, trying to wrap his mind around what he knew and what he thought. “I don’t think she would. That’s why this is so disturbing. She doesn’t seem like the type to ghost me. Something happened, Wild. I just don’t know what.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll find her. We’ll figure out what’s going on and make sure you have the answers you need. And Harry, we’re all here for you. Don’t forget that.”

His team was his family. He might still have his parents, but they weren’t close like he and his buddies were. He said goodnight to Wild and Ava, then headed home. When he parked in the lot of his condo, he pulled out his phone and stared at it for a long time. Rory hadn’t called or texted. It didn’t seem right that she was ignoring him. Nothing he knew about her matched with her ignoring him. She wasn’t that way, yet it was beginning to look like she was.

Chapter 18

Lucia checked her phone first thing Wednesday morning. Rory was supposed to have met her at a pizza joint on Monday, but Lucia hadn’t seen her. Then, on Tuesday, Rory didn’t call or text. They didn’t do this to each other now. Sure, back when they’d been in high school and then after, when she’d gone straight to the Navy, and Rory had been in college, they’d lost touch for a while. But now, they were solid and had been for years. For Rory to have blown her off like this was troublesome.

She knew Rory had something she was investigating, but she wasn’t sure what had really happened. The fear Rory felt had driven her to buy a burner cell to carry when she didn’t want her cell phone tracking her movements.

Lucia knew cell phones tracked locations, but so did cars. However, Rory’s car was old and probably lacked GPS tracking capabilities. Tonight, she would have to put in an effort to find Rory.

Once she arrived at the base, she began reading travel warnings the State Department released and then looked into problems other governments highlighted. It helped to understand where local unrest was. Sure, a computer could sift through this stuff, and they had programs that highlighted reports she needed to look at first, but no computer could understand the complexities of running multiple SEAL teams across the globe. The guys could handle themselves, but they needed to understand threat levels in the areas they were traveling through.

Today, she kept getting distracted by thoughts of Rory. At lunch, she found her phone and looked through it, finally calling Rory on both numbers to see if she could get hold of her. It didn’t sit right with her that Rory wasn’t answering.

“Fuck,” she said under her breath.

She heard a shoe scuff behind her and realized she wasn’t alone. “Everything okay, Petty Officer Ochoa?” Wild asked.

Lucia knew Wild and his team well. She also knew none of them scuffed their shoes when they walked unless they wanted to be heard. Wild outranked her, not only because he was a SEAL but because he was damn good at his job.

“Yes, sir.”

Wild held her gaze as he walked past, then paused and turned to face her. His team members were a few paces behind Wild, and they all stopped when he did.

“Ochoa, you don’t look like everything is okay. What’s going on?” Wild asked.

She didn’t want to bother them with her family drama. She was about to tell them she really was fine when Bear stepped closer.

“Listen, we respect you, Lucia. You’re damn good on overwatch. You keep us safe. We know you are here to do your job. Something seems to be off. What is it? We may be able to help.”

She shook her head. “It’s just family drama.”

“Has that Marine you’re dating done something?” Bear asked.

Lucia rolled her eyes. “I haven’t been with her for a while. And no, it’s not about a person I’m dating. It’s my sister. I haven’t heard from her, and we were supposed to get together on Monday, but she’s not answering her phone. I think I just need to go see her.”

“Fuck,” Harry said.

“Yeah, fuck,” Wild added. “This sounds eerily familiar.”

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