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The waitress darted over and refilled glasses. Shane waited until she left again to start talking. “What’s his name? And do not hesitate. Tell me.”
She didn’t even have to wage an internal debate. It would all spill out now. “Jeff Horvath.”
Shane exhaled. “And who is Jeff Horvath to you?”
“That’s not exactly an easy question.”
He shoved his plate of uneaten food aside and leaned in on his elbows. “Lucky for you, I have all night. All day tomorrow, too. Talk.”
“He’s a fake SEAL.” The words tumbled out of her then. “You were in the military. Others weren’t. There are men who pretend to be war heroes, special ops guys, and...they lie. They live their entire lives lying and not caring that real people fought and died doing what the liars claim to have done.”
She expected to feel empty and frustrated at having the information pulled out of her, but no. A surge of relief hit her. She’d dealt with this huge weight and all the anger that came along with it for almost a year.
Shane’s eyes narrowed and stayed there. “This Jeff is one of those guys?”
“Yes.”
“Huh, I should have decked him.” Shane dropped his hands to the table. Just inches from hers. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
This was the part he’d hate. She steeled her body for the inevitable yelling. “There’s this website called Wall of Dishonor. It outs men who are pretending to be war heroes.” When he continued to frown, she tried again. “I work for the website. Do research, file Freedom of Information Act requests.”
“You work at a college. At a desk.” His expression went blank. “Didn’t you reiterate that earlier?”
The look on his face didn’t fool her. He was winding up. She could feel the tension twisting the air around them. “Yes, but—”
“What, Makena?”
That tone. Not helpful, but she decided not to point that out, since he looked half-ready to strangle her. “I do this on the side.”
“You tick off men who lie about military service. Men invested in their lies who have everything to lose when you uncover their deceit.” With each word he jammed his fingertip against the table with a thud. “Do you hear the tone of my voice? Can you tell how bad this is?”
“They deserve to be exposed.” She believed that to her core. She’d grown up with a military man. Her father had dedicated his life to his career more than he ever had his family. Early in his service, he’d been stationed in Hawaii and found the perfect military wife who put everything aside for his career. By the time Makena and Holt came along, their parents were entrenched.
Dad was tough and commanding and demanded excellence, something she’d failed at for almost all of her life. Holt had suffered their father’s wrath while she’d been spared. She’d been the disappointment. She flailed and tried to find her way, but got something of a pass from her parents, who never expected much of her anyway. Holt went into the army.
She’d gotten a lot of things wrong in her life, but she understood the military mind-set and the sacrifices. She hated the idea of someone claiming to have served who never did. It was an insult, and she’d spent most of her free time for nearly a year hunting these guys down.
“I’m not denying that guys like Jeff should be exposed.” Shane shook his head. “He deserves to be shamed.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You...are you...” He wiped a hand over his face. “Does Holt know?”
“No.” Her big brother could not know. He would try to control her choices in the name of protecting her.
She understood the tendency, even appreciated the concern, but he had a hard time letting go of his protector mode and realizing she wasn’t a kid anymore. The fact that she’d transferred colleges twice until she found the right fit and moved around in jobs until she landed at the college only supported his point that she was not responsible. But she was. She had a career now, paid rent. She had a purpose.
“You didn’t tell him because you knew he’d lose his mind. That he’d forbid it.”
Forbid. The word sliced through her brain, bringing a wave of anger right behind it. “I’m a grown woman. My big brother doesn’t control what I do.”
This time Shane slammed the side of his hand against the table. “He wants you safe.”
There was a difference between safe and coddled. She wasn’t convinced Holt, or Shane for that matter, always saw the line. “I get that, but he doesn’t get to make choices for me.”
