Page 121 of Beast

“You’ll never be away from me. When I was waiting for you to come back for me, I just focused on your energy. I felt your presence. We are connected. Deeply. We will never be apart.”

For the first time in my life, I imagined a life outside of the Teams. Being a SEAL was the only thing I’d ever wanted to do. I thought marrying her would make it easier for me to go, knowing she was taken care of. But I had no desire to go a day without my wife and child by my side.

40

Patrick

AFTER WE LEFT MY MOM’S house, we spent a day in Marin County and then took scenic Highway 1 along the coast back to San Diego. I couldn’t wait to come back from deployment and plan a real honeymoon with Annie. No Caribbean getaway, that was for sure. We talked about spending time in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Half Moon Bay, Big Sur, and Santa Barbara. With Gabriel, of course.

Annie wanted to go straight to her parents’ house. I debated convincing her to wait a few days, but I’m sure she’d fight with me. That was fine. I wanted to get this over with.

I dropped Gabriel and Trigger off at Kyle’s house. I didn’t want Gabriel near Annie’s dad, and luckily she didn’t protest. Gabriel was my son now, and I would protect him. Annie called and told her parents we’d be stopping by for her to pick up the rest of her stuff.

My mind raced. I had to be smart and watch what I said. I’d given Matt my word. I was leaving in a few weeks and I wanted to make sure her father was out of her life.

Before I met Annie, I’d planned to apply to the world famous SEAL Team Six, known as DEVGRU. They were stationed in Virginia Beach and it would be great to put distance between Annie and her dad. I’d just become eligible—they required five years of stellar service in the Teams and the selection process took six to eight months. But those SEALs were the real badass SEALs, the ones who took down Bin Laden during Operation Neptune Spear. It would mean more time training, even less time with Annie. But it was a career goal of mine. I would make my decision once I came back from this next deployment, and I knew Annie would support my choice one hundred percent.

The gate opened to Annie’s parents’ house. Last time I came here, I was nervous. This time, I was pissed.

Let’s roll.

We walked up the stairs to the front door. Before Annie could get out her key, the door opened. Her dad stood in front of us, with his nostrils flaring.

“What are you doing here, Annie? I told you not to set foot again in this house as long as you were seeing him.”

What the fuck? I glared at Annie. I guess we both kept our secrets to protect each other.

“I’m not seeing him, Dad. I’m married to him. He’s my husband.”

Annie’s mom popped around the corner; her eyes bugged out of her expressionless face. “Annie! Baby. How could you elope?”

I still couldn’t figure her mother out—did she know her husband had found her “baby” and left her there to die? Of course, this was the woman who couldn’t wait to redecorate Annie’s room. My impression was she cared more about her image than her own daughter, but what did I know?

Annie’s dad didn’t even acknowledge his wife. “Mr. Walsh, I’d like a word with you.”

“My pleasure.” I’d like a word with him, too. I’d also like to put a bullet in his head.

The asshole took me into his office this time. I’m sure he had a gun under his mahogany desk. I wasn’t worried; my weapon was concealed and accessible.

He sat in his black leather chair and poured himself a shot of whiskey from the bottle on his desk.

He bared his teeth at me. “I thought I told you to stay away from Annie. You trying to get more money out of me, boy? Name your price. Then you can tell Annie you made a mistake and get an annulment.”

“I don’t have a price.”

“Fine, you leave me no other choice than to report you for visiting a brothel. Your career will be ruined and I’ll make damn sure you’re kicked out of the Teams.”

I cocked my head. This guy not only left his daughter and grandson to live in hell, but wanted to ruin any chances she had of happiness. I wasn’t threatened. “No, you won’t. Because I’m not the only one with a secret. I know everything about exactly how hard you tried to save Annie. Do the words Neptune Group mean anything to you?”

His posture slumped and he ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know what you think you know, but you’re wrong. I tried everything to save her. They couldn’t find her; that’s the God’s honest truth.”

“You can lie to me all you want, but we both know you left her there to die. Why? Because you were embarrassed about Gabriel? How can you not love him? He’s your grandson. I’m not an idiot; something didn’t sit right with me. We have eyes everywhere, remember that.”

Eyes steady, he squeezed the whiskey glass, and his knuckles whitened until I was certain something was going to break. “How dare you, you cocky son of a bitch! Come into my house and threaten me? No one would believe you.”

I laughed. “Try me.”

“What do you want, Walsh?”