SEAL’s Love by Leslie North

16

Holed up in his bedroom, Colin and Harper strategized on how to rescue Serenity.

“We need to get in and methodically search the compound, since we don’t know where exactly she’s being held,” Colin said. “But we’ll need a distraction to do that.”

“How about if we pretend to be clients again?” Harper suggested. “I can call and say we’re interested in taking a tour.”

He shook his head, his SEAL instincts on high-alert as he searched for the best way to handle this operation. “I’m guessing whoever is giving the tour won’t let us see areas that are restricted to the public.”

“We could ditch them,” Harper said. “One of us could have a crisis or a question that requires their full attention, distract them while the other checks out the restricted areas. Or—worst-case scenario—you could always go big, tough SEAL on them and knock them out.”

This was not going to be an easy operation. Normally, Colin liked to do things by the book in ways that wouldn’t leave him open to say, a trespassing charge at best, or an assault charge at worst. But knowing that Harper’s sister was in there and in danger, he didn’t want her to lose someone she loved the way he had, so yeah. Screw caution. Sometimes rules were made to be broken. “Okay, so that’s our plan. We go in to take a tour, and then we take out our guide so that we can do a complete search. We just have to hope that it doesn’t raise any red flags if people see us wandering around without a guide—especially in restricted areas.”

“Sebastian’s the one who’d be most likely to run into us walking somewhere where we’re not supposed to be, right? He’d also be the most suspicious if he did see us. We might be able to bluff our way past an ordinary staff person, but Sebastian is suspicious of us already since he had Serenity write that fake note. Is there any way we can lure Sebastian Bone out of the compound first? I mean, it seems like we’ll have an easier time if he’s not around.”

He sighed. “You’re right.” He walked to the door, then gestured for her to follow. “Come on.”

“Where are we going now?” she asked, following him down the stairs.

“I need to talk to my family.”

He went around the house, finding everyone, then gathered them all on the patio out back. This wasn’t the speech he wanted to make, but they needed everyone on the same page if this was going to work. Colin cleared his throat, grateful for Harper’s warmth beside him as he started. “Thanks everyone for coming to this impromptu meeting. This is hard for me to say, but—I’ve been lying to you for the past week. Harper and I aren’t actually a couple. We were using that as a cover story to explain why we were here on the island.”

A small, collective gasp echoed from the crowd, followed by whispers and pointed looks.

“I know. I’m sorry we lied. The truth is, Harper’s the employee of some friends of mine, and I was there when she told them that her sister, Serenity, had gone missing here on the island. I brought her here so she could find out what had happened. Over the past few days, we’ve learned that Serenity has been working for Sebastian Bone at the Wellness Center. She discovered he’s involved with some shady practices and wanted to get on the inside so she could gather up proof. But now Sebastian’s found out that she’s been digging, and we’re worried that he’s holding her captive. In order to get her to safety, we need help.” Colin looked at his father. “Especially yours, Dad.”

Cole stepped forward, an older version of Colin in every way, his gaze darting from his son, to Harper, then back again. “What do you need?”

“For you to lure Sebastian Bone away from his compound so Harper and I can get in there and search for her sister,” Colin said. “I know your friend George is Bone’s landlord, so that should give you an in with him, Dad. Can you get George to set up a meeting with him in the next few days? Get him out of the compound for a while so we can get in and search the place?”

“I don’t know, son,” his father blustered. “This whole thing sounds like a police matter to me, and I don’t want to interfere in a potential crime. It’s too risky.”

“We tried the police already, Dad. They won’t touch the case.” Colin took a deep breath. He’d been expecting this since he and his father never seemed to see eye to eye, but he needed the man’s help, and he was bound and determined to get it, even if he had to beg. For Harper, it would be worth it. “Please, Dad. A woman’s life might be at stake. Trust me. This is what I do for a living. I know what I’m doing.”

“That sounds a bit overdramatic, son.” His father crossed his arms, scowling. “And if the police won’t touch it, why should I?”

“Because I trust Harper when she says the message her sister left her is a cry for help. I trust her the same way you trust Mom. I’m going in, with or without your help. But we’d all have a better shot of getting out safely if you agree to help, Dad.”

His father seemed to take that in a moment, and Colin lived and died in those few seconds.

“Please?” Colin said, his muscles tight. “I know we’re not on the best of terms and we’ve both said things in the past that we regret, but—”

Finally, his dad nodded, his expression serious. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

* * *

Later that night, Colin stood alone on the back patio, waiting for his dad to return from his appointment with George. He took a sip of the whiskey in his hand and stared out at the last streamers of color from the sunset left near the horizon. With luck, George would agree to set up a meeting. That should hopefully give Colin and Harper time to get in and search for her sister.

Harper.

His chest still felt like he’d been punched every time Colin thought about their fight this morning. She’d broken his heart, plain and simple. But then, it was kind of his fault too. He’d known from the start she wasn’t the marriage and forever type of girl. She’d been upfront about that. But he’d gone and fallen for her anyway. And even though she’d told him over and over what kind of future she wanted, he didn’t listen, foolishly thinking he could change her mind.

What an idiot.

“There you are, son,” his dad said, walking out onto the patio with Colin. “I talked to George, and he said he can get Sebastian away from the compound the day after tomorrow. Not for long, only about two hours, including travel time. Hopefully, that’s enough.”

“It’ll have to be. Thanks, Dad.” He’d expected his father to leave then. When he didn’t, Colin offered his dad a whiskey, then poured two fingers into a tumbler before handing it to him. They stood near the railing staring out at the starry sky above the ocean waves.

“About Harper,” his dad said after a long moment, and Colin’s stomach clenched. God, please don’t let this be another lecture about how screwed up he was and what a disappointment he’d been. That was the last thing Colin needed right now. But instead, his father surprised him. “Please don’t make the same mistake I did, son. Don’t give up on having a relationship with the people you love.”

Confused, Colin frowned over at his dad. “You didn’t give up. You and Mom have a great relationship.”

His dad gave him a look, the moonlight throwing his features into sharp relief. “That wasn’t the relationship I was talking about.”

“Oh.” Oh.

Well, shit.

Part of Colin wanted to tell his father where he could get off. Now he wanted to do this? After years of freezing out his son from basically everything to do with their family?

But, after spending time here with them this week, Colin realized that this was the closest he was ever going to come to getting an apology from his dad. And the guy was helping them rescue Serenity, so…

He exhaled slow and stared down at the liquor in his glass. “Truth is, I’m not the one who’s giving up. And you can’t force someone to pick you.”

His dad reached over and clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s true, son. That’s true. But you should also remember that life is short, and we never know how much time we have with someone. You must make the most of what you have.”

Colin hung his head. “Is this about Ellie again?”

“In part, perhaps. I didn’t handle your leaving to join the Navy in the right way. I know that now. It’s just…” His dad shook his head and leaned in beside Colin. “I was scared. I know you’ve been in wars, seen things, lost friends. But there is nothing, nothing, like the pain of losing a child. As a parent, you always expect to go first. When it doesn’t happen that way, everything is wrong. I didn’t…” He stared out at the ocean, the moonlight rippling on the waves. “I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you too. If you’d gone away, gotten yourself killed, I think that would’ve killed me too.” Then Cole snorted and turned away. “Funny thing is, in being such an ass about it, I lost you anyway.”

It took a long moment for Colin to wrap his head around that, to swallow the swelling regret in his chest and get enough air in his lungs to talk again. “You didn’t lose me, Dad. I’m here now, aren’t I?” He huffed out a breath, feeling uncomfortable about all this and needing time to process it. But while he still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt, he did know that a weight seemed to be gone from Colin’s shoulders. There was surprising relief in knowing that his dad hadn’t acted that way because he’d been disappointed or ashamed of Colin and his life choices. He’d reacted out of fear, out of not wanting to lose him. That changed a lot. Changed everything, honestly, though he wasn’t ready to hug and sing Kumbaya and forget it all quite yet either. “Won’t argue the fact that you were an ass, though.”

His dad gave a low chuckle, then leaned in beside him again. “You put on a pretty good show yourself that night, son. Maybe we’re more alike than we want to admit.”

Colin stared down into his drink. “Maybe.”

They stood there like that for a long while, silent in the shadows, not exactly a perfect truce, but as close as they were likely to get. Just two men, doing their best to heal the rift between them, one whiskey and one day at a time.