Page 1 of Harbored by the SEAL
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Sweat pouredfrom the man's face as his mind worked to remember the configuration of the bomb. He knelt down beside it in the dark room, his hands moving with stilted motions as he tried to reconcile his feelings with the beliefs he'd held dear most of his life.
It was he who had put this bomb here five days before, and he remembered the joy and pride that had surged through him when the timer began its countdown. It gave his life meaning. He was doing a great thing.
He closed his eyes tightly and a sob escaped his lips. The conflict he’d been wrestling with since he first saw the woman was eating away at him, consuming his most basic beliefs like a wild conflagration.
She'd been standing on the gangway, one hand in her husband’s. Her resemblance to his grown daughter had nearly knocked the wind out of him. While his higher sense of reasoning knew her death would support his cause, the father in him knew in that instant he couldn't blow up this ship.
That single moment had started a monsoon of doubt that had laughed and crushed his dreams of destruction. The days since he'd seen her had only magnified his initial reaction, causing him to see the humanity in every man and woman around him on the cruise ship.
He had to do something.
He had to stop his comrades from blowing up theGem of the Seas, and he had to do it without them finding out.
Stress was like a vise on the sides of his head, twisting and turning against the pressure of bone. He forced his eyes open and before he could stop himself, cut the wire to defuse the explosive. He began to pant, his breath coming in quick gasps as he forced himself to a stand.
There were many more bombs just like this one. If he truly wanted to save the passengers on board, he had much work to do. He could not think about that right now, could barely stomach what he had to do in this moment alone. He opened the door to the hallway and his jaw dropped. Another man grabbed him by the throat and pushed him back into the dark room.
“Having second thoughts?” he asked.
He opened his mouth to speak, to answer, to explain to his friend this new understanding that what they were about to do was wrong. But his voice wouldn’t work, and he slowly realized he was losing control of his body. There was blood on his friend’s collar, big drops of blood, then a stream, more than just a moment before.
And he realized. The blood loss was his. He was a dead man.
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Sometimes this shitblows me away.
Cowboy stood in his stateroom, a million-dollar view of the Atlantic stretching out in front of him. If you’d told him thirty years ago he’d be on a ship like this — ever — he would’ve said you were wrong.
It was just another in a long line of moments that had surprised him. Hell, the only things his childhood had prepared him for were jail and the opportunity to be a world-class loser like his father, and his father’s father before him.
But that wasn’t what happened. Not by a long fucking shot. He’d gone in the Navy. Become a SEAL. Because if you were going to surprise yourself and actually shoot for something, you may as well shoot for the goddamned stars.
He hadn’t expected to make it.
Sure, he tried like hell. He’d never tried so hard for anything in his whole life. And he was good at it. Better than most.
Who’d have fucking thunk.
The sun moved out from the thinnest veil of clouds, shining to its full splendor as Cowboy's mind wandered over ten years of accomplishment and achievement, culminating in his arrival at HERO Force.
The part of him that would forever be twelve years old wished his old man could see him now, but he hadn’t spoken to his father since he enlisted at eighteen.
The old bastard could be dead by now. And if he was, he would no doubt roll over in his grave if he found out his oldest son was about to take over the whole organization.
No. Not dead. Cowboy would know if Eddie Wilson were gone, like a weight being lifted from his back. His father was alive, but surely didn’t care what had become of his son Leo.
He moved closer to the window and hooked his thumbs on the pockets of his jeans, taking a deep breath in. This wasn’t about his father. This was about him. His lips twitched in an unconscious grin. He was going to be in charge of HERO Force. It was everything he had ever wanted, every wish coming true.
He remembered Jax telling him he was stepping down as their leader.
Do a good job in the Caribbean. We’ll talk when you get back.
Abby held up her hand to cover her eyes.
“Put some clothes on, Leo. I’m not really your wife.”
