Chapter 40

Danika didn't toss and turn all night. Instead, she got a good night's sleep and went for a jog in the morning. It felt good to get some exercise, even if she did end up walking halfway home.

She texted Thario before leaving her apartment to warn him that she was on her way. Frog greeted her enthusiastically, wagging his tail, excited that she'd come just to see him.

"He likes you," Thario said from his place on the porch.

His fur was soft, and he was very gentle, which surprised her, given his size. "He's a good dog."

She watched as Thario stood, and shock coursed through her. "Oh wow, you're using the…I don't know what to call them."

"Legs, or my prosthetics."

"God, I'm so embarrassed. I forgot the word."

"Don't be. I'd rather you ask and talk about it instead of pretending like it doesn't exist. "

His words made sense and she smiled. "So, how does it feel?"

Thario rolled his eyes. "Eh, I'm getting used to them. The physical therapist wants me to wear them more, so I'm used to them, but not enough to get exhausted."

"That's a fine line."

"It is. I'll probably take them off in a bit, especially if we're just sitting down."

Her lips thinned. "I don't know that I'll be useful."

"Trust me, you will be."

It took Thario about forty minutes of explanation to get her up to speed. Even with that, she felt like she wasn't making progress until she found a list of addresses Ezra used.

"I think I found something." Danika stared at the page of information in front of her. She wasn't sure this had anything to do with Ezra, but it might.

"Send me the page, and I'll check."

She copied the string of numbers and shared it with Thario like he'd shown her before. After hitting send, she stood to take a break. Thario hardly even looked up. He was so engrossed in the information she'd just found.

Frog got up and followed her, so she let him out in the backyard to do his business. She watched from the porch, ready to scoop if needed. It wasn't until she was back inside that Thario called out.

"Hey, Danika, I think you're right. This sounds like him. So we have another name he is operating under."

"That's two names other than Ezra." The sheer embarrassment of not knowing Ezra at all but moving across the ocean for him hit her hard. She'd been so stupid to give up her life to be with him.

"What's wrong?" Thario asked .

She looked up, sadness filling her. "I fucked up moving to England with him. I thought…I don't know what I was thinking. I was younger and unhappy. I wanted some excitement. I thought moving with him would make everything better. But it didn't. I thought I could beat the odds and become someone worthy…that's not the word. Maybe I was just chasing excitement. Instead of getting excitement and a cool life, I ended up locked in a prison of my own making."

Thario shook his head. "Was it really of your own making?"

She shrugged. "I shouldn't have trusted him."

"No, you shouldn't have, but you did, and it didn't work out. You know, we all have things in our lives we regret. Before—" Thario moved his hand to indicate his lack of legs, and Frog sat up. "I'm fine, Frog. Go back to sleep." His gaze turned back to her. "Before this all happened, I screwed around. I never took anything seriously. I thought, hey, I could die at any moment. And when I nearly died, it changed things. I should have been a better person. I made choices that weren't good. That truly was of my own making. This isn't of your making. You trusted someone. That's all."

She shook her head. "I should have known."

"How could you have known? He lied to you, and you believed him. That's all. You didn't know what he was about."

She shook her head. "No, I didn't know what he was about. It just makes me sad that I couldn't escape. Instead, I was right back into being a sucker like almost everyone else I went to school with."

Thario chuckled. "I'd like to have known Sharp from back then. "

She shook her head. "You wouldn't have recognized him. He was a different person."

"I'm sure he was. So was I. I think we all were. Life teaches us lessons, and if we're smart enough, we listen and don't make the same mistakes twice."

Danika felt the weight of her mistakes. Moving to England with Ezra had almost cost her everything. "What lesson should I learn from this?"

Thario shrugged. "Maybe you should learn that you need to trust your inner voice. That means you have to stop and listen."

She nodded. "Thank you for helping me. I would be lost without James, that's for sure."

Thario nodded and turned away, but not before she caught a haunted look in his eyes. Later, once her issues were solved, she would help Thario if she could. She wasn't na?ve enough to think all he needed was a girlfriend. Some problems didn't have easy answers.

"I'll keep an eye on Ezra and his movements. If I see any of these identities we've found for him headed this way, I'll make sure you know. I'm sorry you're dealing with this."

She shrugged. "Being able to depend on you and having James in my life has helped. I feel safer here than I have in a long while. Thank you."

He nodded. "I'll check in later in the week. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to call or text. Though I'm no longer a SEAL, I still have a network of guys willing to help."

"Thank you. I'll be in touch."

She headed out, glad she'd had something to fill her day instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for herself. They also gathered valuable information. Now, they would be better able to track Ezra if he came after her .

Sunday passed quickly, which surprised her, and then she was back at work, filling her time with waiting tables and serving drinks. The bartender, Randall, seemed nice, but she didn't spend too much time chatting with him.

After work on Wednesday, she stepped out of the back room and was about to head out when Randall stopped her. "Someone is here to see you."

Panic slid through her, and she froze. The urge to run hit hard, but she didn't even know who was looking for her. Randall moved to the side, and she spied Ava sitting at the bar. Relief filled her, and she sagged.

"You okay?" Randall asked.

She flashed a smile. "Yes. Thank you."

Ava smiled and waved. "There you are. I thought I missed you."

"Ava, what are you doing here?"

"Ingrid took the kids for the afternoon. I thought I would stop by and find out how you're doing. I just—" Ava stopped talking and glanced around before hopping off the barstool and moving to her. "Sorry, didn't want to shout it. I just found out Sharp's team—James's team—was out."

The mention of James made her insides feel hollow. "Oh, yeah."

"You should have called."

She shrugged. "It's okay."

"Yeah, well, we usually try to get together and bolster each other's spirits when they go out. At least we try to spend the weekend together."

"I was at Thario's on Saturday."

Ava seemed to shake with a shiver as she shook her head. "Oh, really. Wow. He's changed so much since I first met him. I still can't think of him any other way. But people change, and he had enough happen to him…"

A bit of defensiveness rose, but she tamped it down. She hadn't known Thario from back then. Maybe he really had been totally different. "He's a good guy now."

"At least he is for friends. I don't think he's even tried to date. It sucked when it happened."

She nodded. "Yeah, that had to have been a hard time for everyone."

"It was. There are a few people who don't want anything to do with the ones who survived."

Concern filled Danika. "Even James?"

Ava nodded. "Yes. Even James."

Sadness filled her. She knew James had taken the loss hard. If she could take away his pain, she would. Having people hold him responsible for something he'd had no control over was sad.

"How about I take you home and you can shower, then we can spend some time together. Something to help you get your mind off James being gone?"

Though Danika didn't know Ava well, she wanted the company. "That would be great. I'd appreciate the distraction."

"Okay, let's head out."

Having Ava around was nice. They chatted about her kids and how they'd come into her life, which was amazing. She told Danika about going from taking care of kids to being a bookkeeper. That Ava told her plans about wanting to become an accountant gave Danika hope that she could change her trajectory.

"When the guys are gone for a long time, it's hard when they come home."

Danika cocked her head to the side. "Really?"

"Yeah. When it's one or two weeks, it's basically the same, but long deployments, like six or nine months, it's hard."

"I didn't realize there would be a difference. "

Ava shrugged. "I mean, we all grow and change. We don't notice it if we're with the other person. The longest Wild was gone was seven months when he was deployed. I grew during those seven months, taking classes and getting my certificate. I went from keeping kids to working as a bookkeeper. I had to learn how to get along without him at home. The girls' favorite foods changed along with what they wanted to drink from or plates they liked. Then they physically grew. Their taste in music changed, and what they liked to watch on TV was different. He came home, and everything was different. I even had to change bedding because one of the girls got sick, and it was bad. I couldn't get the stain out." Ava's whole body shook as she made a face. "Don't like thinking about that night. It was just something that happened, and he wasn't available at the time, and when he was finally around to talk, I forgot about the change, and he got home, found new bedding, new food in the refrigerator, and the girls were wearing different clothes and acting different. He got mad. It wasn't that he was mad at me. He was angry that he missed things. We worked through it, but it took time, and he had to adjust. Life went on, and he missed almost a full year, and when you have young kids, a month is a long time, and seven months is forever."

"Wow, I guess that would be hard."

Ava nodded. "It's hard, but he makes it worth it because he's such a good guy. So, what did you do with Thario?"

Danika smiled, happy that she'd been helpful to Thario. "I spent the day with him learning how to do secret searches on the internet."

"Really? How secret?"

"I guess some people call it the dark web. We were just using a special browser, but he told me not to do it if I wasn't on one of his computers. Apparently, he can mask his location. I don't understand that part at all, but I understand the other stuff enough that if I were to go back to his place, I could search for almost anyone or anything."

"Wow. So, who were you looking for?"

She blew out a breath. "My ex, Ezra. He was bad. He didn't want to let me go. I was in Savannah before moving here, but I had to run."

"Savannah, Georgia?"

"Yes."

"Oh, nice city. I'd love to visit there."

Danika chuckled. "It was a nice city, but a little dirty in some places. But it was nice and much cheaper than California. There are a lot of bridal parties that go there. The bar I worked at would always have at least one, if not two, come in on a weekend night."

"Oh, fun." Ava leaned in, and her face went serious. "But what happened in Savannah that made you leave?"

Danika shivered. "Ezra found me in Savannah. I'm not sure how he tracked me down. It was closing time, and I looked out a window and saw him across the street. When he saw me looking at him, his lips turned up in a wicked smile. It still haunts me."

"That's creepy."

"Yeah, he was. He kept me chained and did other despicable things. I—" She couldn't say the words. "He was bad."

"I'm glad you are here with James."

Danika nodded. "Yeah, I'm lucky."

"James is a good man."

She nodded. "I'm afraid if Ezra finds me, he'll hurt James and won't let me go. He's not a good person."

Ava's lips thinned. "Do you think he knows you're in California? "

Danika shook her head. "There's no way he knows where I am. I've been careful." She swallowed down the worry. If Ezra did find her, Thario would know before he arrived. Plus, she had James to protect her once he got home. Nothing would go wrong. She was sure of it.