“Daddy, can I have an ice cream cone?”

My little girl batted her eyelashes at me, and my stone-cold heart expanded despite myself. Today she had dressed like Rey from Star Wars. She looked completely badass. My little warrior. She had me wrapped around her finger. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. 

“Sure, princess. Do you want one, buddy?” I asked Sam.

He shook his head. “No, Daddy. I only want to be a Jedi.”

I smiled. I appreciated my little man’s focus on the task at hand. The Jedi Academy. I had woken them up at five a.m. to make sure we got in line early to register for the Jedi Academy. Sam was so excited to become a Jedi and fight Kylo Ren. I just hoped he didn’t get tempted by the dark side as his dad had.

 I took out a few dollar bills and handed them to the lady who ran the ice cream cart. Two days at Disneyland, and I was already exhausted. In a way, watching my two kids alone was like monitoring my men in the field. I had to know what they were doing every second of the day. And even though I was at an amusement park, I just couldn’t turn off my training. Every person, every attraction, every display was a threat to my family and me. My mind was in overdrive, assessing suspicious people, glancing at hidden nooks and crannies. Sometimes, I wished I could deactivate, just be a normal dad for two days out of the year. 

But that was never a possibility. I was a SEAL. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, until the day I died. And today I was protecting the most important people I would ever protect: my children.

I handed Sienna the vanilla and chocolate-swirl cone. She took a lick, and the ice cream dripped down her chubby cheek. 

Sam pulled on my shorts. “Come on, Daddy. Let’s go. We are going to be late.”

“We’re fine. Check-in is right over there in the Launch Bay.”

But my words did little to soothe Sam. “Daddy, now!”

“Fine, fine.” Warmth filled my chest. Sam was just like me—completely driven. But my happiness was quickly taken from me because I was aware of the reality of my life and my chosen profession. I wanted to be around my kids every day. There has still been no improvement from April. I, of course, wanted her to recover, but selfishly I wanted to get full custody of my kids, which I realized was an impossibility with my job. I took a deep breath and forced myself not to think of the past or the future, but to focus on the present and be happy for this amazing day spent with my kids. 

A day I would remember forever.

Sienna finished her cone, and we walked over to the check-in for the Jedi Academy. I signed my name, and then the main Jedi told my children to sit on a white line, where they would await their Jedi assignments. 

A few other parents milled around, taking pictures. My gut wrenched when I saw a husband and wife laughing with each other. He playfully pinched her, and she smiled and whispered something into his ear. His eyes lit up, and then he kissed her. I clenched my teeth, stifling my jealousy.

I wanted that. I didn’t just want a woman. I wanted a family. Someone to go through life with, someone to have my back. Though my nights with Ashley had been incredible, I could sense that she wasn’t that into me for anything else but sex. I was down to fuck her as long as she would let me, but I wanted more, so much more. I was pretty sure she still thought I was a selfish asshole. And I definitely had been after my divorce. But I had changed. Coming back home after almost dying in battle and having no woman to greet me when my ship came into port gutted me. I had no woman to miss me when I was gone. Mia only had eyes for Grant. They had been through hell and back and were completely solid now.

I couldn’t blame Ashley for not wanting to get involved with a single dad who quite possibly could be raising two young kids on his own. Especially since I deployed so fucking much. But I was worth it. I will worship her and treat her like a queen if she let me. I just wished she would really give me a chance. 

A younger man dressed as a Jedi walked over and addressed the parents. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for bringing your young Jedis here to train with us. Your children are safe with us. Please proceed over to the stage to take pictures. The first three rows are reserved for families of our newest Jedis.”

My throat tightened. I didn’t trust anyone with my children. Anyone. Definitely not some fool in a Jedi suit. I glanced around, and the other parents walked over toward the stage, following each other like mindless cattle, but I stood in front of my children, refusing to take my eyes off of them.

After a few minutes, I was the only parent left. 

My children were now dressed in robes standing in line waiting to get their pictures taken. 

Another Jedi walked over to me. “Sir, would you like to buy a picture package of your children as Jedis?” He flashed pictures of other kids fighting Kylo Ren and Darth Vader.

“Sure.”

“Here is a coupon. Just go inside and pay and then you can meet us over when the performance starts.”

I exhaled. My kids would be fine. This was Disneyland. The happiest place on earth. There was no need for a paranoid prick like me here.

I waved to my kids, and they waved back, and I walked inside to pay for the pictures. 

A few minutes later, I walked back outside. I could no longer see my children, but I told myself that they were fine, so I made my way over to the stage where the rest of the parents were already seated to get ready for the performance.

I sat next to the couple that I had seen earlier. The dad had his phone out ready to film it. 

“My boy, Jared, is so excited. It’s his birthday, and this was all he wanted to do.”

I wasn’t used to people talking to me out of the blue, but this guy clearly wasn’t from around here. “Yeah, my kids can’t wait, too. It’s really great that Disney does this.”

He nodded. After a few more minutes, I saw the original Jedi I had spoken to walk toward the stage, followed by twenty or so kids. I immediately saw Sam, who was smiling proudly in his brown Jedi robe and waving to me. 

But Sienna was nowhere to be found. 

My heart stopped, and my throat burned. Where the fuck was she?

My eyes scanned every little girl on that fucking stage. The main Jedi began to speak, but I ran onto the stage and grabbed Sam.

“Where is Sienna? Sam where is your sister?”

“She went with a Jedi. She was right behind me. He told me he was taking her for special Jedi training.”

Oh my God. What the fuck? My daughter had been kidnapped. I screamed at the main Jedi. “My daughter has been taken. I left her with the other children. She was talking to the Jedi who sold me the pictures. Where is she?”

“Sir, calm down. There must be a mistake. We are the only two Jedis in the show.”

A few security men ran over to me, and the performers stopped the show. An alarm immediately sounded, but I couldn’t hear the blaring noise. I had gone deaf to everything but my panic. 

I began cursing at the Jedis, clutching Sam for dear life. I ran over to where I had last seen my little girl. But she was nowhere to be found. 

My mind raced. I remembered watching a documentary about all the tunnels in Disneyland. She could be anywhere by now. Some sicko could have already taken her out of the park. He could be a child molester, a murderer, a sex trafficker.

All the millions of dollars of training the Navy had given me didn’t mean shit right now. I was helpless.

By now every cop in the park had been alerted, and the entrances had been shut down.

As the police escorted me to a room, I became completely numb. Nothing in my world mattered anymore. My entire life I had trained to protect others in the word. And I couldn't protect my own daughter. 

I was a failure.

My little girl had been taken. On my watch. 

And I would tear up this world to find her. 

I reached and grabbed my phone and shot Ashley a text.