THE NEXT DAY, WE DROVE in silence to my tiny one-bedroom apartment in Pacific Beach. It wasn’t much to look at, but it had a small courtyard for Trigger and was close to all the shops and restaurants.

I showed Annie and Gabriel my medals in my apartment. Gabriel was happy to play with a toy SEAL boat I’d bought for him. Annie seemed impressed and asked a ton of questions about my job. I was touched that she seemed to really care about my career, more so than the typical girl. Most Frog Hogs saw us as nothing more than a notch on their bedposts, a real life hero from one of those sappy romance novels. The SEALs in those books had little resemblance to real Team guys. First off, most SEALs never ever told people what we did for a living. I would’ve never told Annie I was a SEAL, but I needed to make her understand I was capable of saving her. I always told everyone I met that I worked at the airport in baggage claim. Another thing, we never gave details about our missions to civilians, whether we were fucking them or not. And we sure as hell didn’t leave our careers to chase women across the world. Most of the authors who wrote that crap had never even met a SEAL, let alone been fucked by one.

I cooked them dinner, nothing fancy just spaghetti and a salad. Gabriel wouldn’t touch the spaghetti but he was happy eating crackers. I enjoyed taking care of them.

Annie reached for her phone. “I have to call home. They’ll worry.”

“Worry about what? You’re with me.”

“After what happened, they freak if I stay too long at yoga.” She picked up her cell phone and dialed.

“Hi, Dad . . . We’re good.”

She shifted her phone to her right ear, probably so I couldn’t hear her dad tell her what a piece of shit I was.

“Whatever, Dad. I gotta go.”

She ended the call and looked out the window.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

I knew her dad must’ve given her a hard time. “What did he say?”

“That you were just a typical SEAL who was going to leave me and cheat on me. ‘Remember where you met him, Annie. That’s not the kind of man you want to get involved with or the type of role model you want for your son.’ Whatever, I don’t care. They’ll get over it. They can’t really pretend to try to protect me from anything. I’ve already survived the worst life imaginable.”

“My offer stands, you both can stay here.”

She reached up and kissed me. “I’d like that.”

We popped in a movie for Gabriel, Turbo. He eventually fell asleep in front of the television.

I opened the door and leashed up Trigger for a quick walk. “I’ll be right back.”

“Can I take a shower?”

I was tempted to jump in with her and see the beads of water glisten off her body. “Make yourself at home.”

Trigger was grateful to spend time with me. Some would say it was stupid to get a dog when I was deployed so much. But Trigger was my family. His loyalty was boundless.

We entered the courtyard and Trigger sniffed a tree. I took my phone out and saw I’d had missed a call from Kyle. I called him back and he picked up on the first ring.

“Hello?” his voice sounded groggy.

“Hey, man. Sorry I missed your call. Annie and Gabriel are here.”

“How’s it going?”

“Yesterday I met her family. Her dad tried to bribe me to stay away from her.”

“What an asshole. You said no, right?”

“Of course I did. But that’s not it. There’s something going on with her parents.”

Kyle’s voice deepened. “Keep talking.”

“I don’t have anything yet, but something doesn’t add up. I mean, I found her and I wasn’t even looking. And Dave mentioned those contractors were looking for her. You’d think with all that money they could find her?”

“I thought they also hired some guy who took their money?” Kyle said.

“That’s what the news stories say, but her dad’s a former Naval Officer—he couldn’t check out this guy’s credentials before giving him three hundred thousand dollars?”

“You’re right. That makes no sense,” Kyle said.

I nodded. “I’m going to put some calls in with some friends who work in security contracting firms. See if they know anything.”

“Let me know if you need anything.” Kyle paused. “I’ll text Dave.” I heard a girl’s voice in the background.

Trigger had done his business and was now flirting with a pug. “Sounds good. Later.”

“Bye.”

I took Trigger back into the apartment, hoping maybe Annie would meet me at the door naked. But she was sitting on my bedspread, wearing a silky blue nightie, and texting on her phone.

I unleashed Trigger. “Anything important?”

“Oh, no. I mean, it’s nothing. Chris just asked where I was because he’d stopped by my parents’ house and they’d said I’d left.”

“He just stops by your house whenever he feels like it?” I clenched my teeth. “Are you fucking kidding me, Annie? Are you still seeing him?”

“No, Pat. Of course not. But we’re still friends. He went through a lot you know, being a suspect, everyone treating him like a murderer. And, I mean, he cares about me.”

“Sure, he does. And he’ll comfort you when I deploy, too. Have you slept with him since you’ve been home?”

“Oh, my God. No! Pat, you’re crazy. We grew up together, our families know each other. He was so distraught when I went missing. It was hard on him, too.”

My head heated up. “I bet. Don’t play me, Annie. This can end now if you’re going to fuck around on me. I don’t need this bullshit, your dad bribing me, worrying about you when I’m in the field—”

“Bribe you? He tried to give you the reward. Which you should take. You deserve it. You can buy a condo with it.”

Figures, I knew my lifestyle would never be enough to satisfy this fucking princess. “I’m sure Chris has a great condo. Maybe even a beachfront house. Go live with him if you don’t like my crappy apartment.”

The strap from her nightie fell off her shoulder and I could see her breasts. Great distraction technique.

“Pat, relax. That’s not what I meant.” She wrapped her naked legs around me. “I know your ex cheated on you. I’m not her. I would never do that to you. But I’m not sorry I texted Chris. He has a girlfriend. There is nothing going on between us. Nothing. I’m only interested in you. I swear.”

This was a mistake. Going to her house, kissing her, inviting her back to my place. Even under the best of circumstances, it was hard to have a successful relationship with a Team guy. We had so much working against us. Her family, her past, my job, the way we met. And I hated to admit it, but it was hard for me to deal with the fact she had been a prostitute. I didn’t blame her for it, nor think less of her. Nothing like that. I understood she had been forced. But at night, the images of all of those other men, random faceless men fucking her, filled my head, like a never-ending movie loop.

I unwrapped her legs. “I don’t know if I can do this. We’re too different.”

“Get over yourself and think of me for a second.”

“I am—”

“No, you’re thinking of how I fit into your life. Think of me. What I want. What I need.”

“I’m tired. I’m going to take a shower and then crash.”

She nodded and I went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. SEALs hated cold showers, reminded us of freezing our balls off in the ocean during BUD/S.

I was trying to push her away. I knew that. I couldn’t risk letting her in and having her betray me also. But hadn’t I already let her in?

I dried off and went back into the bedroom. Annie was lying under the covers, reading a book she must’ve grabbed from my nightstand. I needed to give her—us—a chance.

“Sorry. I trust you. I just don’t trust him, or any guy for that matter. If he’s your friend, I need to meet him.”

Her voice became quiet. “Why?”

“Because I need to look him in the eyes. It’s important to me.”

“Fine. I’ll ask him.”

“Tomorrow. Lunch at two.”

Her fingers moved across her phone. She smiled when she received a reply. Pissed me off. I wanted to be the only one to make her smile.

“He says okay.”

Yeah, I’ll bet. Fucking ‘Jody’, just like we sing about in our cadences—“Your baby was lonely, as lonely could be, Til Jody provided the company.” He’ll be happy to shake my hand tomorrow and fuck my girl when I’m gone.

I wanted to believe her words, the promises she made with her kisses. But now I wasn’t sure. My next deployment wouldn’t be easy. It’s brutal going months without any communication. And if we were deep undercover, that’s exactly what would happen. I’m sure Chris would be waiting with open arms to take care of her.