Page 2 of Rescued By the SEAL

“That doesn’t sound right, Dad.” I shake my head no. “I don’t believe it, they can’t be what you’re saying. And anyway, even if they are, it doesn’t affect Landon, does it? He isn’t his parents. I shouldn’t have to stop dating him.”

“He will go the same way as them, I can assure you,” Dad insists. “I see this all the time in my line of work. The kids of criminals in gangs always end up going the same way. They don’t stand a chance. Landon will go the same, trust me. Youwillstop dating him. Before you try and argue with me, you’re going to have to. I’ve been offered a better job somewhere else, and I’ve taken it. It’s time for you to start packing because we’re leavingright now. By the morning, we’ll be gone.”

“What are you talking about, Dad? Have you lost your mind? We can’t just go. We have a life here. What about school?”

“You will do better in a school away from Landon.” Dad waves his hand dismissively, treating me like a child whose opinion doesn’t matter. “He’s bringing your grades down anyway and will continue to do so while he’s becoming a criminal over his year off college, or whatever it is he’s supposed to be doing. This isn’t happening, and since you’re still legally a child, I suggest you get on with packing right away or you’ll be moving house with nothing. Thisishappening, so we need to get out of here.”

He storms out of the room, which is the moment I spot all the boxes behind where he was standing. That’s when it hits me hard. This shit is real. This isn’t just my father having a rant. He really is taking me away from here, and I don’t know why. Landon’s parents can’t be criminals. None of that can be the truth. Iknowthose people, and they aren’t like my father, butthey don’t seem like they’re into crime, either. And Landon is perfect. He isn’t a criminal. He’s my entire world.

But now I’m about to lose everything. It’s a gut punch. I actually bend double in pain as the tears start streaming down my face. This has been the best birthday of my entire life, but now it’s turning into the worst. I cling to the bracelet that Landon lovingly clasped around my wrist, knowing that it might well end up being all I have of him from now on.

No, I can’t lose him, my brain screams in determination.He’s the one. My happy ever after. I need to find a way to make it work… somehow…

2

PROLOGUE - LANDON

What’s that?A thick block of ice lies painfully in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know what it is and where it’s come from, but it makes my eyes want to remain closed forever. I’m far too scared to open them and see what the world has for me. I’ve never woken up like this before and it’s terrifying. It’s like some weird premonition that I can’t shake off.

“It must have been my dream,” I mutter encouragingly to myself, trying my hardest to boost up my mood. Since I don’t recall what the hell was going on in my brain as I slept, it’s very possible that it was just a nightmare or something. That doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I have to admit that it causes a shift in my mood all day long. “Just wake up, you fool.”

The moment I pop my eyes open, I lighten up just a little bit. Ofcoursethere isn’t any reason to feel anxious. There’s nothing wrong here at all. It’s just a normal day and my brain playing tricks on me. Honestly, I need to shake this shit off if I’m going to survive all day at work without seeing Heather. Spending the whole day with her yesterday for her birthday was incredible. I wish I could spend the whole summer vacation with her, but Ineed money of my own. I need to make sure that by the time we go to college together, I have everything in place for our future.

My God, I can’t wait for the rest of my life with Heather. It’s going to be incredible, isn’t it? Us against the world, living our best lives possible. I don’t know what I’ll do with my life or where I’ll end up, but as long as I’m with Heather, it’ll be heaven.

“What thefuck?” My mom’s shrill voice rockets up the stairs, actually making me leap out of bed. All of a sudden, I think I might know where that ice block of terror came from. My parents are arguing.Again. I don’t know what it’s about all the time, but it seems to be becoming a regular occurrence and I don’t like it one bit. I need it to end. “What are we going to do?”

I’ve been doing my best to ignore it, really, to act like it isn’t happening because I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it. As an only child, it happens more than I would like, but I really need to know what this is about. Maybe if I can figure out what’s causing all of these issues in their relationship, I can do something to fix it. I don’t know what. At eighteen years old, I don’t suppose I have enough life experience to really help, but I'd like to try. If I can help, I want to.

I creep down the stairs two at a time, trying not to make any noise. Not that I suppose it matters. Mom and Dad are now screaming at one another far too loudly to hear me, but if I want to work out what’s going on, I need to be careful.

“I thought you had him, Bill. I thought that he had all but handed over his goddamn life savings to you. What happened?”

“He caught wind of the scam,” my father replies pathetically, causing my heart to ball up in my throat. “I don’t know. Maybesomeone warned him. I told you that we’ve been targeting too many people in the same area. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Wehaveto get the rich fucks, don’t we? And unfortunately for you, Bill, there’s only one area around here. Now, we’re going to have Hank and his guys here again for the money we owe them and it’ll just get worse. You think he was joking about breaking our legs? That man is an asshole. He will do whatever. That’s why he’s top of the gang, because he’s ruthless.”

“Well, Alice, maybe if you didn’t keep going to him forstuffwithout warning me, then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. I don’t want to scam people to make money for others. I want to keep doing it for us like we always have done, but you’re royally fucking things up for us. You’re going to make all of this fall apart. I’m pretty sure the cops are already sniffing around.”

I clutch my stomach, fearing that I may have heard too much. I thought that this was going to be just normal marital disputes, not some shit-show where they’re involved instuff, which I can only assume means drugs, crime, scams, and gangs. I’m sure there is more, but I don’t even want to know. That isn’t me at all, and to be honest, I never thought it would be them, either. I didn’t think I would ever find myself living in the middle of a nightmare. Our next door neighbor is a police officer, for crying out loud. What the hell do they think they’re playing at? This is a game they definitely can’t win.

I can’t think straight. All I know for sure is that I need to see Heather, so I bolt out the front door, no longer worrying whether my parents know that I’ve overheard them or not. I race next door. A hug from my girlfriend is the only thing that will cure me at the moment. If I don’t get my arms wrapped around her, I don’t know what I’ll do. I need her. I love her. She’s everything.

“Heather.” I bang on the door a few times, hoping her father is at work, but no one answers. “Heather, help. Are you here?”

I try the handle and the door opens widely. I can only assume that Heather is still in bed, in which case I’ll climb in beside her and block out the rest of the world for a while. I know I’ve work to get to, but this is vital at the moment. Yet as I race up the stairs as fast as I can, another unsettling feeling over comes me. This house doesn’t look like it normally does. It’s different… emptier. My God, it’s like I went to sleep with my life all normal and I’ve woken up in a nightmare.

“Heather.” My heart sinks into my shoes as I enter her now very empty bedroom. It’s a shell. Nothing remains. I actually pinch my arm hard to check to see if this really is a dream, but no, I’m wide awake and in hell. “Heather, what the hell?”

A small, white square in the corner of the room catches my eyes and draws me toward it. I don’t get a good feeling as I move, though. It’s almost like I’m walking off the plank to my doom. I know that I’ll get my much-needed answer as to what the hell is going on here, but I’m also awfully aware that I won’t like it. That the answer might fucking kill me.

“A note.” I try to swallow down the thick ball of emotion that lodges in my throat, but it won’t go anywhere. “Oh, God.”

I pull it open carefully, fearfully, and run my eyes over the words, trying to get them to sink in as I read. But they won’t. I honestly don’t think that my brain is able to fully process any of this. It’s too much.

To Landon,

I don’t know what’s happening today. What’s gone from the best birthday in my life is now the worst. As soon as I got inside,my father began ranting about your family, saying that they’recriminals with gang connections…

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