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“I don’t know anyone named Wolford. Quetzalcoatl is a name I know, but I’ve never seen him.” He stopped, then covered his mouth. “Oh, God. You don’t think he has my kid sister and brother?”
“We’re not sure,” said Gator. The young man sat down at the table, his arms folded on top of the table, crying.
“What happened to the kid that was your replacement? Wainwright,” asked Captain Peters. “You wanted off the sub, and I brought in someone else. Where is he?”
“I paid him to switch places with me again. He didn’t understand, but he needed the money.”
It was six hours of sitting and waiting, peppering the young man with questions before Thomas and Ryan returned to the mess.
“You’re up and running,” smiled Ryan. “I made a few improvements that I’ve left with your engineer. He’ll be able to fill you in, but I can promise you that no one will be able to come near this vessel again without you knowing it. And no one will be able to remove anything with our name on it without a shocking surprise.” The captain shook his head, chuckling.
“I love you guys.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“They’ve been gone a while now,” said Lyra. “Is it always like this? Do they just have to leave and not tell us anything?” Bella smiled at the young woman, running a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face.
“Do you like the color they dyed your hair?”
“No. I hate it. My hair is the same color as yours, and I miss it.”
“Let’s get Keegan and Winter up here, and they can fix you right up,” smiled Bella. She turned to Kate, who texted the girls. They promised to be there within thirty minutes. “Now, to answer your question.”
“It’s not an easy question to answer,” said Sophia Ann. “Most of the time, we have some idea of what they’re working on or who they’re going after. It’s necessary. My sister and I both work out at G.R.I.P., so if it’s something with national security or our weapons development, we have to know.”
“But that’s not always the case, right?”
“No, it’s not always the case,” smiled Ajei. “There will be times when they have to leave and can’t tell us where they’re going. When Luke and I were first married, he was a SEAL, and I never knew where he was going. I had to learn to get used to that quickly. When he returned, he couldn’t tell me where he’d been or what he’d done. He’d have nightmares or worse, not able to sleep at all.”
“That must have been horrible for you,” said Lyra.
“No, honey. It was awful for him. I just did what a wife, a partner, should do. I comforted him. I was there for him. I held his hand. I sat with him some nights all night long. If he wanted to talk, I listened. If he didn’t want to talk, we just sat there.”
“Did it stop for him?”
“Not really. He’s just learned to cope better with the memories and nightmares. Believe it or not, all of the men are required to do yoga and meditation once a week, at least. Cait is our instructor, and she’s fabulous.”
“Does she have classes for the women as well?” asked Lyra.
“Absolutely,” laughed Gwen. “Believe me, we all have to let go of some stressors as well. You’re going to meet Winter, but there are a few other women here who were horribly abused. I think we’ve all had our fair share of nightmares.”
“I’m so sorry,” frowned Lyra. “I guess when you’re in the moment of abuse, you don’t think anyone will ever know what you’ve been through.”
“Unfortunately, a lot of women here know what you’ve been through,” said Bella. “My brother protected me for as long as he could. After that, I was fortunate enough to find Razor. The man who was after me was not going to let me get away.”
“Sorry, can we back up? Why do you call him Razor? I thought his name was Diego,” said Lyra.
“It is,” laughed Bella. “Many of the men get names while they’re on the teams. Sometimes, it’s an obvious name, like with Skull. He’s a huge man to be on a Coast Guard vessel. He cracked his skull a lot.”
“Nine was nicknamed for his nine lives,” grinned Erin.
“Miller for his appreciation of beer,” laughed Kari.
“Gator, well, that was because he wasn’t afraid of alligators. They all thought he was a ‘gator whisperer,’” smirked Dylan. “He was so wonderful to me when I got here, helping me to get my son back. I fell in love with that man immediately.”
“When Abe and I met, I just thought he’d be fun to meet for coffee or drinks now and then. My uncle wasn’t as obsessive with my every move back then.”
“What changed?” smiled Bella.
