Chapter 56

Dwight “Shine” Boon jerked awake, gasping for breath. It took him a moment to realize he was fine and at home. He wasn’t at risk of dying or being hurt. It had been a dream.

Disgust slid through him. It had been years since his mind had twisted and tied itself in knots over that memory. The nightmare felt real, but that had happened long ago, and the memory should be buried. But it never would go away. Something had triggered his mind to recall that terrible night. What was wrong with him?

He stood, wiping his hand over his face, trying to clear out the weird feelings. Years had passed since he’d woken in a sweaty mess, trying to figure out if she would die or make it to safety.

After he finished brushing his teeth, he stood at the mirror, staring at his reflection. How had he survived? How had they both survived? That one night was forever imprinted on his mind, twisted into the emotions he kept buried deep inside.

One thing the plane crash had given him was the confidence that he could get through BUDs. He had survived the impossible and knew he could survive BUDs. It had kept him going, kept him alive during difficult missions, and he was grateful for the inspiration. But waking up after dreaming that the woman he’d shared his first kiss with was dead shook him to the core.

He pulled on underwear and headed to the kitchen, taking note that he needed to repack his go bag. His last mission had been a shit show. Maybe the dream had crept in because everything had almost gone to total shit. Or the dream could have been random. He needed to chat with someone, but no one currently in his life knew about the crash, and he didn’t want to get into it with anyone he worked with or saw on a regular basis. People always had questions that he didn’t want to answer. He needed to find someone he could talk to who wouldn’t keep bringing it up.

After he drank his first mug of dark brew and ate some breakfast, his phone rang, and he answered, putting it on speaker. “Yo, Sharp. What’s up?”

“Just wondering if you wanted to go for a run or something. Nothing heavy. Just something to get outside and clear your head.”

“Shit. You fucked up too?”

Sharp grunted. “I’m going to check with everyone else and see what they think.”

“I’m up for whatever. Just nothing too long. I’m still sore.”

“Sure. I’ll text you the details.”

“Hey, Sharp.” For a half second, Shine thought about saying something about his dream, but he pushed the thought away.

“Yeah?”

“Nothing. I need this run.”

“Got it. I’ll send you the details.”

He poured up more coffee and then drank it as he stared out the window. That girl on the plane, the one he’d met the last week of camp. Where was she now? Did she have a good life, or had what happened to them still haunt her?

After getting out of the hospital, he’d moved on, not looking back. He knew her name, Rowan. It was hard to forget someone when you lived through a plane crash after spending a week at the same summer camp. They lived in different states, and their lives had never crossed before. He’d been content to just let her slip away. Now he wanted to know more. He should have contacted her years ago, but every time he thought about it, he dismissed the thought because who would want to have that type of reminder in their playing back in their mind over and over again?

He pushed away the thought of her and grabbed a pair of shorts and a T-shirt to workout in. They weren’t doing an official run. It was just guys getting together to blow off steam. Thank goodness they’d come back from that mission. It had sucked majorly. He bet Sharp was feeling the pressure today. The ambush had almost taken them all out. They had to move on and get their head right to get back in the game. It was the only way to survive as a SEAL.

Read Protection for Rowen next to find out what happens.