Page 17 of SEAL's Target

“Traffic in Oahu is a bitch,” he commented. “I’m used to it, but you’ve got to add in an hour just to go somewhere.”

“I’ve noticed,” Callie said. “I’ve mostly been laying low since I arrived.”

“When did you get here?” he asked.

“A month ago. I temporarily moved back in with my parents after the hijacking,” she explained. “I had to do physical therapy for my arm and couldn’t drive. I met with a psychologist, too, when I was staying with them. Eventually, I went back to my apartment in California, but nothing felt the same. I wasn’t working—traveling,” she clarified. “I just didn’t have it in me to book a bunch of trips and jump headfirst back into that life. I felt like I needed to disappear and just let myself breathe.”

“I can understand that. It was a traumatic experience.”

“You don’t seem traumatized,” she said. “How do you deal with it? I know we can’t be the first people you’ve rescued. You must deal with all sorts of horrors.”

Wyatt lifted a shoulder. “Yes and no. I learned to compartmentalize a lot. When we’re on a mission, I’m laser-focused. The job is the priority. That’s what we train for and how we live. When I’m relaxing on the weekends, like now, I put work aside. That’s not to say I don’t ever have bad memories of missions gone wrong or horrors that we’ve seen.”

“My job as a travel blogger seems so easy in comparison—insignificant, almost.”

“Not insignificant,” he said, glancing over at her. “People deserve a vacation. You helped them get there, showing them how amazing the world can be. It’s not so different than if you wrote a book about your travels. It’s just a different way of sharing the information.”

“I guess so,” she reluctantly said.

“I’d love to see your pictures someday,” Wyatt told her. “We travel everywhere, but it’s for work, not pleasure. I bet you’ve seen some great places. Maybe it’ll give me an idea for an actual vacation sometime.”

Callie cleared her throat. “I actually took my blog down, too, not just my social media channels. I didn’t want the attention,” she explained. “I’ve got all my photos backed-up in the cloud though if you ever really want to look at some of them.”

Wyatt frowned. “Did the press get wind of your blog? Hell. They can be relentless.”

She bit her lip. Callie had no idea who’d been commenting on her pictures. Maybe it was some overzealous reporter itching for a story. It didn’t matter. She’d taken it down for now. “I just needed a change,” she said lightly.

“Understandable. So, what have you been doing here in Oahu?” he asked, glancing over at her. She could smell his spicy, male scent in the confined SUV and felt something stirring in her belly. Wyatt was all male. He looked good in his tank top and board shorts. Healthy and fit. He had a tattoo on his biceps, which surprised her for some reason. The sunglasses and baseball cap made him look younger than he probably was. Callie realized she didn’t know his exact age. She had so many questions, and hopefully today wouldn’t be their first and last date.

“Mostly draining my bank account,” she admitted. “I need a job. I’m used to working for myself, but with taking everything down, I’d have to start something new from scratch. I’ll probably just waitress or something for a while.”

“Is that what you want to do?”

She shrugged. “It’s a job. I’ve got to pay the bills while I figure out my next step. I’ve got money saved up, but it’d be nice to earn some income while I figure out my next move. Maybe I’ll get back to blogging. Maybe I’ll do something entirely different.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded toward the heavy traffic on the highway. “Once we get out of this mess, it’ll be pretty quick to get there.”

“I’m excited to see it. I’ve mostly hit the major tourist attractions since getting here—snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, visiting Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona. Obviously, I’ve been enjoying the beaches in Waikiki.”

“Your friend Alexa, did you know her before you moved to Hawaii?” Wyatt asked.

“No. She’s a neighbor, but we hit it off and became friends pretty quickly. I need to meet more people,” Callie admitted. “I’m a bit of a loner. I used to just meet up with other travelers on my journey. I might sightsee with a new friend for a couple of days, then we’d each be on our way. Nowadays with remote work, you’d be amazed how many people travel all over.”

“I’ll bet. I can’t exactly do that in my line of work.”

She glanced over at him, taking in his strong profile. “Do you get deployed a lot?”

Wyatt kept his eyes on the road. “We do. Sometimes it’s a quick trip, like when you and I first met. We were rolling off another op and ended up getting sent out with another SEAL team to Manila. We’re not typically gone for an extended period of time. I’m sure you’ve met other military servicemembers who are deployed for months at a time. That’s not how we operate.”

“Alexa really liked your friend Austin,” Callie said. “She usually flirts with the bartender there at Coconuts, but I don’t think anything will ever come from that. I’m glad she met your teammate instead.”

Wyatt’s lips quirked. “He enjoyed spending time with her, too.”

“Huh. Well, maybe we can all do something together sometime.”

“That’d be fun,” he easily agreed. “Maybe we can hit the beach and then grill at my place.”

“Oh, our apartment complex has grills, too, I think. I don’t use them, but, just tossing the idea out there.”

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