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“Dad, no.” Kelsey jumped off the couch and went to her father. “You can’t. You just got back. What about…?”
She’d probably intended to say what about her and Eddy, but she’d stopped herself. She was the daughter of a SEAL and knew that his duty always came first. For the same reason, Cole knew there would be no talking Edwin out of the plan he’d formulated. And Cole had to admit that Edwin was right. The only way to bring this to an end was to take a risk and put himself out there.
“When are we doing this?” Cole asked.
“Tomorrow. I want to spend the evening with you all and see this guy for a while.” Edwin lifted Eddy and turned him toward him. The baby put his chubby hands on his grandfather’s cheeks.
“Dad, are you sure about this?” Tears welled in Kelsey’s eyes as she looked between Cole and her father.
“It’s the only way.” Edwin’s answer was firm, but he reached out to touch his daughter’s arm.
“Cole?” She turned and appealed to him. “Can you talk some sense into him?”
He didn’t want her to go through this. It was cruel to get her father back and lose him again so quickly, but Cole understood why it was necessary. All his training told him whose side he had to be on in this, even if that hurt Kelsey.
“He’s right, Kels, but he doesn’t have to go in with nothing.” Cole was already considering ways to help protect Edwin once he was in Dobson’s control. “We’ll need a way to track you. Something they won’t find if you’re searched.”
“I can’t wear a wire,” Edwin cautioned. “Dobson will check for that.”
“True, but we could put a transmitter in your belt, something that will give us GPS coordinates.” The latest chips were almost microscopic and would tuck between layers of leather without being noticed. It was technology the SEALs had recently begun to use. “David left some surveillance items here. I’ll look through them and see what I can work up.”
“Appreciate it, son,” Edwin said, but Kelsey huffed and shot Cole a look.
Cole hadn’t gained any points with her for backing Edwin’s play instead of talking him out of it, but he had a duty to do. Finding and catching the traitor was his responsibility as a SEAL and a citizen, so he’d do what he had to even if that angered Kelsey.
He decided to leave the room, giving father and daughter time together. Despite Edwin calling himsonand obviously trusting him, Cole couldn’t shake the idea that there was a wall between them and him that he wouldn’t be able to climb over no matter what he did or felt for them. It was a depressing thought, since he’d finally realized that he wanted to be a permanent part of Kelsey and Eddy’s lives.
He kept himself busy that evening and stayed up keeping watch after they all went to bed. With all his heart, he wanted to crawl in next to Kelsey and hold her, but he couldn’t offer her any assurances, so he steered clear. They had things to work out, but not now.
At breakfast the following morning, Kelsey made one last fruitless effort to persuade her father to take a different route. Edwin remained adamant that this was the only course of action. Like Cole, he was driven by duty.
While Edwin said goodbye to Eddy, Kelsey caught Cole’s hand and pulled him into the next room.
“Promise me you’ll bring him home with you,” she pleaded with him. She hadn’t slept, that much was clear by the dark circles under her eyes.
“Kels.” He ran his hands down her arms, trying to give her some comfort. “I can’t—”
“Promise me, Cole,” she insisted. “Promise me.”
He knew he shouldn’t. It wasn’t a pledge he could keep. The best-case scenario would mean Dobson taking the bait—and that hinged on Edwin being held back and not allowed to leave with Cole. But he said the words anyway. “I promise to do my best to bring him back to you.”
Her lips flattened into a straight line. She understood the difference between what he’d promised and what she wanted. He pulled her to him for a hug. She came into his arms reluctantly, and then rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds. When she heard her father coming, she quickly straightened and took a step back.
“I’ll wait for you in the truck,” Cole said to Edwin, not wanting to witness the goodbye scene between them. “Raymond and David are en route to protect Kelsey while we’re gone.”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Edwin said, dismissing him.
By the time Edwin joined him in the garage, Raymond and David had pulled in. They saluted the commander and entered the house, which meant that Cole could at least feel good about one thing.Hisfamily would be safe.
On the drive to the base, he and Edwin spoke little until they were within sight of the gates.
“You’ll take care of them,” Edwin said. It wasn’t a question.
“They’remineto protect,” Cole responded, putting emphasis on ‘mine’. He wasn’t going to get into a tug-of-war with Edwin, but he wanted to be clear that he had a place in the family.
“Is that how you see it now?” Edwin didn’t pull any punches, which was a quality that Cole had always respected in him, even when it was directed at him.
“It is,” Cole declared.
