Page 19 of SEAL's Target

“Damn. I want to kill those guys all over again for hurting you.”

Callie looked shocked for a moment but then laughed. “Geez. I didn’t think I’d approve of such brutality, but honestly? They deserve to die all over again. They killed several passengers on that plane, threatened me, and were nothing but pure evil.”

Wyatt continued walking at Callie’s side, letting her decide what to say next. He’d listen if she wanted to talk about her experience, but he didn’t want to ruin the day by bringing up bad memories for her either.

“I was so surprised when I heard them arguing several rows back,” she admitted, surprising him. “We’d seen them in the airport as well. I felt like I was in a movie. One moment they were yelling at the flight attendant, and then they were storming the front of the plane. I’ve never been so terrified.”

“They were cowards,” Wyatt said, his voice laced with anger. “Men like that put innocent lives on the line for their own sick agenda. They’re everywhere, too. We take out the bad guys in one place and others are springing up right behind them, itching to rise to power.”

“It’s a strange world,” Callie said. “Look at us—we’re here in the forest, enjoying a gorgeous Hawaiian afternoon. Somewhere, someone else is in pain and struggling. Being hurt. Having the worst day of their life. It’s hard to make heads or tails of it.”

“That’s why I have to compartmentalize when I’m on an op. Life goes on at home. My other buddies might be on base here in Hawaii. Regular people are going to work or school. Some might be on vacation or just doing their daily errands. And we’re in the middle of a mission, weapons drawn, full gear, tracking down evil men intent on harming others. I have to focus on the present.” He lifted a shoulder. “That’s why I try to fill my weekends with things I enjoy when I’m here. I know how lucky we are to have this freedom. Some people in other countries live with next-to-nothing.” His gaze flicked over to her. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that, what with all your travels.”

“It’s eye-opening,” she agreed. “I feel like I had so much, depending on where I was. Of course, I visited wealthy areas, too, when I was exploring. Then I felt like I was slumming it,” she joked.

Wyatt looked over at her again, watching her turn her water bottle around in her hands as she talked. Callie liked to stay busy, he observed. She wasn’t fidgety, just seemed to like having something to do. She wasn’t the type of woman to sit still, and he appreciated that. He enjoyed his down time but would much rather go for a jog on the beach or attempt to surf rather than lie out in the sun all day. Once again, he was struck by how much they had in common. Given they met by a chance occurrence, he almost felt like he couldn’t have met a more perfect woman if he tried.

“Are all your friends like you?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You like to stay busy. I can tell, because I’m the same way.”

Wyatt chuckled. “I was just thinking the same thing about you,” he said, noticing the hint of a flush on her cheeks. “And yeah, they are for the most part. I guess you have to be in our line of work. Anyone who wants to drive a desk and push paper wouldn’t fit in on the teams.”

“Yeah. I guess they’d have to become an analyst or something. That’d be an interesting job—not one that I’d want, because again, the sitting still would be pretty awful,” she joked.

“That’s why you were interested in waitressing.”

“Well, yeah. I don’t necessarily want an office job. I’m kind of a wanderer I suppose. I’m responsible,” she quickly said. “I paid rent on my apartment, have a retirement account.”

“I know you’re responsible,” Wyatt assured her.

Callie looked at him in surprise. “Some people didn’t really understand what I did. They thought I was some trust-fund baby with wealthy parents who financed my travels. I made money from advertising. I have a large number of followers—had,” she corrected.

“You seem like you miss it,” he said.

“Yeah. Sort of. Honestly, I’m terrified to just jump on a plane at a moment’s notice and jet off somewhere. I never gave it a second thought before.”

Wyatt glanced over as she paused, watching as Callie bit her lip. She looked visibly upset, and he reached out to comfort her, his hand landing on her back. “I’d be scared as hell,” he admitted. “You were amazing to keep moving forward with your life—not let panic and fear stop you from living.”

“I’m not really living,” she protested. “Sure, I got here, but I feel like I’m hiding out.”

“What are you hiding from?” he asked. Wyatt had asked her that the other day, but she hadn’t given him a clear answer. There had to be a reason she’d stopped doing what she loved. A break in traveling he could understand, but to completely remove her social media altogether? His instincts were telling him something was wrong.

Callie let out a breath. “I got some weird comments on my social media feed a week or so after the hijacking.”

Wyatt tensed, looking over at her. “What do you mean?”

“They were short comments. I know who you are. You were there. I’ll find you. I don’t even know what they were talking about aside from the hijacking. There were others, too, but I didn’t even read them all. It freaked me out. One of them said something like ‘You know who I am.’ That’s the odd thing. I literally have no idea who they are. The hijackers were all killed. Maybe someone just found out I was on the flight and wanted to mess with me.”

“Did you tell the authorities?” Wyatt asked.

“Well, no. I met with them right after the hijacking. I was still in the hospital when an FBI agent came to take my statement. I was already back home in the States by the time I started seeing the comments. It freaked me out. Usually, I just block any weird followers I get. This wasn’t normal creepy or snarky remarks though. It felt...threatening.”

“Can you show me them sometime? You said your social media channels are dark now, but they’re still archived or something, right?”

“Yeah.” She met his gaze, still looking worried. Wyatt hadn’t removed his hand from her back, just kept a steady hand on her as they moved up the trail. They’d been talking for so long, they were almost at the waterfall. He rubbed his hand in small circles, watching as she let out a breath. Doubling up their backpacks was no trouble, and he liked that he was able to lighten her load—both physically and mentally.

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