Second Chance SEAL(194)

“Don’t be. You did good finding it.”

I studied the card. It was pretty plain, with only a man’s name on it, a company, and his contact information.

“Donald Richardson,” I read out loud. “Works for Atomic Contracting.” I looked at her, frowning. “I’m not sure what this means.”

She looked surprised. “I do actually.”

I cocked my head at her. “You recognize this guy’s name?”

“Not the name, but the company. They supply parts for nuclear power plants.”

Something clicked inside me, something I didn’t even realize I’d been thinking about.

“How do you know that?” I asked her.

“My dad works with them a lot. He’s something of a middle man, hooking up contractors to local nuclear power plants, mostly in Michigan.”

“Fuck,” I said, the plot falling into place all around me. “Your dad works for nuclear power plants?”

“Not just that,” she said. “Power stations all over the place, but yeah, he does nuclear power too.”

This was it. This was the reason Omar and his people were here. This was the reason they were targeting Tara and her family.

It was a fucking coincidence. Omar could have gone after any of the employees who did Roger Bright’s job, but they decided to target him because of me. They must have seen how it could benefit them: Not only would they get to go after the nuclear power plant, but they’d also get some revenge on me.

How could I have been so fucking stupid? I’d done a background on Tara’s family and seen that her dad worked in the energy sector, but I hadn’t delved any further into his job. I just hadn’t thought it was important. I was so focused on my own relationship with Omar, so convinced that the whole thing was just a personal attack on me, that I had missed this.

I’d missed the obvious. Omar wanted Tara’s father to help them attack a nuclear power plant.

“Fuck,” I said again. “Tara, we have to go.”

“What?”

I finished dressing quickly and Tara followed, sensing my urgency. I quickly left the bathroom with Tara right on my heels. The sleepy teenage girl working at the fast food place gave us a stupid look, like she knew what we’d been doing, but I just ignored it.

I walked fast. “Emory, slow down,” Tara said. “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t see it for the same reason I missed it. You’re too close.”

“You’re freaking me out. Just tell me.”

I pushed open the doors and then stopped and faced her. “It was all about your father, Tara. Omar and his people, they want to use your dad to attack a nuclear power plant.”

She frowned, shaking her head. “I thought they were after me to get revenge on you.”

“That’s what I thought, too. And they probably chose your dad for that reason initially, but there’s a bigger plan happening here. That’s why Omar has been using American terrorists, why he’s risking so much. It’s more important than just personal revenge, although it’s that also.”

Her face slowly dropped as she realized the implications of what I was saying. I could see it etched clearly there, the worry and the fear coming back to her.

“Cooper is with them,” I said. “He’s more than capable.”

“But my parents are in danger.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I think they are. I bet those two guys who attacked us were the only two who even followed. I’m willing to bet Omar is still back in Dayton.”

“Shit,” she said. “Emory, we have to go back. We have to go help my parents.”

“Yeah,” I said, “we fucking do.”

I headed off again with Tara by my side. I could still sense the fear, but there was something else, too.

It was determination.

After everything that had happened, any other normal person would have curled up into a ball and given up. After all the senseless violence and fear, most people would be pretty messed up.

But not Tara. Yeah, she was fucking scared and worried. Of course she was. But she wasn’t giving up, she wasn’t begging for me to call the cops, and she wasn’t backing down. She wanted to run right back into danger to try to help her parents, because that was the type of person she was.

I truly admired that. It was easy for me to go into danger, because that was my job. I lived for danger and putting my life on the line. But Tara, she was just a normal person who got caught up in events so much bigger than she was. Tara was holding on and thriving, and that meant she was exceptional, so fucking exceptional.

We got back to the car. Travis was holding Mason, smiling at us.