Page 138 of Covert Mission

“It started with my father. He beat my mother. It wasn’t until I was fourteen that I was big enough to defend her. That’s when I realized I was crazy strong for my size. Thus, the name Beast, which I got in the Navy.”

I’m breathless, glued to my seat.

“Like I said, I could keep him off of her, but it wasn’t until I was seventeen that I could take her and my brother and leave.”

What a horrible childhood. His pain echoes through me. “Oh, Lucas…”

“Things didn’t get a lot better. It turns out my mom had been stepping out on him their entire marriage. I didn’t know. She didn’t tell me until we left. I never excused my father for being physically violent with my mother, but I didn’t know how to process this. It destroyed my sense of trust for the people that were supposed to be my role models.”

Oh god. I reach for his arm. “Lucas, I’m so sorry.”

He shakes his head, his eyes full of bitter anger. “It is what it is. That’s why I won’t tolerate lying or deceit of any kind.”

I lean back in my seat. Gutted.

I did that to him.

I didn’t lie, but I wasn’t upfront with him. He’s had to make a great sacrifice to open up to me.

“I hope you know that I wouldn’t lie to you. I just couldn’t tell you…”

He looks over at me. “I hope so. I want to believe you’re who you really say you are.”

“I am.”

His jaw hardens, and I see the raw vulnerability in this big, strong man.

“Then, there’s my brother…” he grumbles. “Drew. He fell in love for all the wrong reasons. Shiny object syndrome. And now I’m dealing with the aftermath.”

Lucas reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone and passes it to me. “Open the photos.”

I tap the photo icon. There’s one image.

One.

Not a million photos of random things. No selfies with friends. Nothing fun or trivial.

This fact alone slices my heart. But what’s in the single photo guts me like I’ve been filleted with a dull knife. “Is this him?”

“Yep. That’s my baby brother.”

Baby? They look almost identical. Except for their ink. The other man’s got a sleeve of tattoos on the arm he’s got looped around Lucas’s shoulders. He’s wearing camouflage pants and it looks like they are on a military base. “Where is he now?”

“Serving drinks in a bar on a little island near Puerto Rico.”

“Was he a SEAL also?”

“Yeah.”

“But he’s out?”

“He was discharged for his mental health.” There’s deep emotion in Lucas’s remark. “He blew out of town. I’ve been trying to clean up the mess ever since.”

The pieces are falling into place. “He had a breakdown because of a woman?”

“He was already struggling with PTSD and she took him for everything. Got him five hundred grand in debt. Some of it to loan sharks. He lost his mind, went into psychosis. The Navy had no choice but to discharge him.”

The pain in Lucas’s eyes causes a place deep inside my chest to burn. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s so sad that he lost his career because of her cruel actions.” I’m so pissed on his brother’s behalf my hands tighten on the phone.

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