Second Chance SEAL(150)

She paused, and I knew she had just put it together. “Oh, that’s nice,” she said absently. “Why don’t you two go sit in the living room and talk? I’ll take Mason to the park.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he said.

“That’d be great, Mom,” I said, interrupting him.

“Great. Well, have a nice time.” She walked off and headed upstairs.

Emory looked at me. “Nice lady.”

I rolled my eyes and dragged him into the living room. I pushed him lightly and he dropped onto the couch, grinning at me.

“Okay, we’re here,” I said. “Now talk.”

“Sit down first,” he said, looking serious.

I sat down, my heart racing in my chest.





Chapter 6





Emory





Tara sat down next to me, looking annoyed as hell.

I had to admit, the girl was fucking sexy when she was pissed. She was a good sport following me back from the café like that. I’d completely expected her to rebel at least a few more times, but she managed to question me only once.

Which was impressive. Not many civilians would be willing to go along with an evasive maneuver like that with absolutely zero explanation, especially with a stranger.

Which was why I wanted her to know me better. We really did have a lot in common. Meeting her mother, seeing where she lived, it felt a lot like the way my life looked back before my mother got sick.

But unfortunately, I had to tell Tara what was happening. I’d meant to tell her today regardless. I wished I could keep it away from her, but it would be hard to protect her if she had no clue what I was doing. I couldn’t risk her thinking I was just some psycho and potentially calling the local police on me or some shit like that.

And so I had to tell the girl that she was in mortal danger from a serious terrorist group.

The same terrorist group I had spotted while we were sitting in the café.

It was all but confirmed for me. The man I spotted was sitting at the bus stop across the street, pretending to read the paper, but I would have recognized him anywhere. Omar Vazir Hooth was one of the deadliest members of The Network, and the fact that he was anywhere near Tara meant that her life was in more serious danger than I had thought.

Omar was one of the leaders of The Network, and definitely one of the most radical. In our raid of their organization, I’d killed his brother and several of his cousins personally and had wondered why I’d missed him.

Now I knew. Omar Hooth had been in America this whole time, probably for years. I was willing to bet this thing with Tara was personal revenge for what I’d done to his family, but I couldn’t be sure.

Tara looked at me expectantly, and I wondered how the hell I should phrase this.

“You know I’m a SEAL,” I said.

She nodded. “You told me that already.”

“Well, I specialize in anti-terrorism. The night we met was the night before I deployed into Pakistan.”

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“No. I couldn’t have even if I’d wanted to. But in Pakistan, we went after a terrorist group called The Network. They’re one of the largest and deadliest organizations in the world, and they absolutely hate us.”

“Okay,” she said. “So what?”

“I don’t know how, but The Network figured out my identity. Worse than that, they had spies in the resort we were staying at.”

I saw the wheels turning in her mind. “In India, they were watching you?”

“Yes,” I said. “That was how they found out about you.”

She stared at me, and I could see comprehension dawning on her face. “They know about me?”

“Tara, about two days ago I got a photograph in the mail. It was a picture of you, a recent picture of you. I believe The Network sent it to me as a message.”

She leaned back into the couch, shaking her head. “No way. This is crazy.”

“Stay with me, Tara,” I said. “This is all real.”

“No,” she said. “No. I’m not the target of some terrorist group. You’re crazy.”

“I believe you are. In the past few days, has anyone approached you? Possibly a man that looked Indian, about my height and weight? He likely spoke perfect English.”

She shook her head. “No. Nobody like that.”

“Think harder, Tara. Have you seen anyone following you lately?”

Slowly she nodded. “Oh my god. Yesterday.”

“What happened?”

“Just before you showed up, I was in the park with Mason and I dropped my wallet. A man followed me back to my house to return it.” She looked at me, stunned. “He looked Indian, just like you described. Seemed nice.”