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“A friend of mine, someone we can trust.”I am trusting him with our lives.The words stopped just shy of rolling off the tip of his tongue.
“Shane, brother! How are you?” Brad answered on the second ring, sounding out of breath.
“Bad time?”
“Nah, just out for a run. What’s up?”
“I need help.”
“When will you be here?”
“Two hours.”
“See you then.”
“Well… that was cryptic. I’m not worried, not at all.” She laughed nervously.
“You shouldn’t be worried. As long as you are with me, you’ll be fine.”
“We’re driving two hours away, you say someone is out to get me but haven’t told me who, and I’m just supposed to go with you. I need to call my father. Can I use your phone?”
“No.”
“Wait, what?”
It was obvious she wasn’t expecting that answer. How could he tell her she couldn’t call her father because her father was dead?
“I’m sorry, Frankie, but I can’t explain right now.”
“You keep saying that. When will you be able to tell me what’s going on?”
“Tonight, once we’re safe and aren’t on the road.”
“I have to tell you, Shane, I don’t feel good about any of this. I wish you would talk to me.”
“Iwilltalk to you. What do you want to know, besides that?”
“Ummm…” She twirled a piece of hair, and it was adorable. “Was it hard to become a SEAL? What did your parents think?”
“My father thought the military was a phase I would outgrow, and my mother wept as if fighting for the red, white, and blue was any more dangerous than what the men in our family did on a daily basis. Murder was commonplace, violence a tradition. I had been trained how to shoot before I was taught how to ride a bike, you know?” He glanced at her, and she nodded, coming from the same lifestyle.
“My childhood made the SEAL process easy. While others felt tortured during BUDS and SQT, I felt at home. It was nothing I hadn’t experienced as a teen and coming of age in my father’s house. It was like a game to me; one I won.”
“Do you like playing games?”
“No. I don’t. The only games I like to play are the ones where I make the rules.”
“I see.”
“Do you?” He seriously doubted that. “The only games I play are the ones I know I’ll win.”
Frankie
The conversation stopped, and Shane turned on the radio. Frankie looked out the window, a feeling of unease settling deep inside. She wanted to call her father and confirm he knew where she was and what was going on. Something wasn’t right, and she wasn’t happy Shane was treating her like a child.
“I need to get gas,” Shane interrupted her thoughts.
“Good, I need to use the bathroom.”
