Bennett and Noah ended up back to back fending off one man after another. Everyone was drunk and the hits and kicks were clumsy and off target. The adrenaline rushing Bennett like a tsunami eased his restlessness. Not as good as sex but satisfying in its own way.
He laughed and head butted the same guy he’d initially punched. A man grabbed him from behind in a wrestling hold that effectively disabled him. Whoever had him was bigger, stronger, and sober.
He was frog-marched toward the entrance, yelling obscenities and threats along the way. Six feet out the door, the man released his hold and shoved Bennett away. He stumbled before getting his feet under him and turned. Noah, his eyes bright and wild, walked out on his own steam. Hollis wandered in circles, rubbing his neck, and Carter sat on the ground, his head between his knees.
The bouncer planted himself like a tree in front of them. “My brother is serving, which is the only reason I’m not calling the po-po to haul your sorry asses in. Now get gone before I change my mind.”
Sometimes retreat was the best and only option. Bennett grabbed Carter’s collar and hauled him to his feet. “Wise advice. Thanks, man.”
Bennett crossed glances with Noah and gestured his head toward Hollis. Noah threw an arm around Hollis’s shoulders and steered him toward the sidewalk. Bennett followed. Carter was close to passing out, but Bennett wanted to get out of retaliation range from the guys at the bar.
They were in a popular area close to the water, and it wasn’t so late to be deserted. Bennett scanned over their group. All of them looked worse for wear. Blood dotted Carter’s shirt. A tickle had Bennett wiping his own nose, his fingers coming away stained red.
An unoccupied bench sat in a small grassy area, and Bennett steered them toward it to regroup. Hollis and Carter were deposited side by side.
“My car. We have to go back for it.” Hollis tried to get up, but he plopped back down, his balance nonexistent.
“None of us are in any shape to drive. I’ll call a cab.” Bennett stepped away.
Carter leaned over and heaved, puke splattering his shoes.
The call made, Bennett went to stand next to Noah, who was looking out over the water. The artificial lights behind them turned the bay black and fathomless. As his adrenaline ebbed, a rhythmic throb in his face and shoulder gained in intensity. Feeling unsteady, Bennett leaned against the light pole.
“Why the SEALs?” Bennett asked. “Why not college?”
“According to my dad, college is a waste of money. You don’t need a college degree to farm. My choice was the military or farming. I’m the only son and my dad expects me to take over.”
“You don’t want that?”
“Not right now. I’m only nineteen. I want to see the world. Do something important before I get caught up in the day-to-day grind of worrying about the weather and crop prices. You think that makes me a selfish asshole?”
“Nope. Makes you normal, I’d say. But why the SEALs?”
“The men in my family have always served. Had an uncle in the First Gulf War. A grandad in Vietnam. All the way back to the American Revolution. Seemed natural to join, and I wanted a challenge. Recruiter told me SEALs was the hardest.” A small self-deprecating laugh emerged like a whisper. “I didn’t know what I was getting into.”
“Regrets?”
“I was regretting it hard when I landed in that damn mud pit and strained my shoulder. But now?” He shrugged. “No regrets. What about you? Why the SEALs?”
Dammit. If he’d been sober, he wouldn’t have allowed curiosity to get the better of him, knowing it could boomerang back around. “I was adopted by an Army veteran. A drill sergeant.”
It was more than he’d admitted to anyone since he’d joined up. But he wouldn’t go further back than the moment Sarge signed the papers making the adoption legal.
“Geez. Did he make you square your sheets and spit shine your shoes?”
The image was so far from reality, Bennett laughed. “Not hardly. He’d turned into one of those hard-core preppers that live off the grid. The smartest SOB I’ve ever met. Taught me how to hunt and survive.”
“He sounds cool. Why didn’t you go into the Army then?”
“Wanted to get the hell out of Mississippi. Thought the Navy was the best way to see the world. Sarge was just happy I didn’t end up in jail.”
“I’ll bet he’s over the moon you made it into the SEAL program.”
Bennett could nod and leave it there, but more leaked out of his beer-weakened defenses. “He died. A couple of years after I joined up. Massive heart attack. It was a while before his niece got worried and found him, and she buried him quick. I was in the middle of the ocean and couldn’t get back for the funeral.”
Sarge’s niece had changed Bennett’s destiny when she’d put him with her uncle. Then, she changed it again when she’d written to him about her uncle’s death and the money he’d left Bennett. Money he didn’t deserve. It was then he’d decided to go for the SEALs. He had nothing to lose but his life and no one to disappoint but himself.
“I’m sorry, man.” Noah’s hand on Bennett’s shoulder imparted a sympathy Bennett hadn’t asked for or needed, yet he was grateful nonetheless.
“It was a long time ago.” The years felt more like weeks in that moment, and he stared into the darkness over the water.
“Have you been back? To Mississippi, I mean.”
A honk came from behind them, saving Bennett from giving Noah a big “hell no.”
A cab waited at the curb. Bennett grabbed Hollis by the upper arm and maneuvered him into the car. Noah did the same with Carter. Bennet took the front seat and prayed no one puked again.
The cabbie was already on the road, knowing where they were headed based on their uniforms.
“Yo, Caldwell,” Hollis said.
“What?” Bennett turned.
Hollis grinned, blood smeared on his teeth from a split lip. “I can’t believe you waded into that fight. Thought for sure you’d desert us. You came in roaring like a grizzly bear. Scared the shit out of me until I realized you were on our side.”
“Yeah, well. You might be an asshole, but you’re our asshole. Noah and I couldn’t leave you hanging.”
Hollis’s head lolled on the headrest. “Thanks, Peaches.”
Bennett met Noah’s eyes, and they both smiled. Their friendship had set deep roots. Bennett’s mission was still about getting himself through BUD/S, but he would do what he could to make sure Noah got through, too.
Chapter 7
Present Day
Harper had done a very bad thing. Misleading, dishonest, manipulative. Her accounting job required scrupulous honesty, and she did her best daily to set a good example for Ben. That hadn’t stopped her from calling Caldwell Survival School and booking a weekend one-on-one survival lesson with Bennett under her mom’s name.
Various scenarios had unspooled through her mind before landing on this one. If she called him, then he could hang up and once he had her number he’d ignore her. If she showed up at the survival school unannounced, privacy was an issue. Plus, he could sic Jack London on her. Although the dog looked more likely to lick her to death than bite. Booking Bennett for a weekend seemed the best option.
Now that the hour was upon her, though, doubts crumbled the logic of her decision. She checked the GPS in her car. He had sent instructions to meet him at a ranger station on the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp. She’d hoped it had gained the name like a big man earned the nickname Tiny, but the farther she traveled on the two-lane road, the denser the trees grew, lending a sinister feel.
Or maybe that was her guilt over the deception. No doubt Bennett was not going to be happy to see her. His last words to her couldn’t be interpreted as anything but a warning. Yet here she was.