Page 69 of Her Loving Hero

“Yeah, in most cases they can do welfare checks, but they won’t because it’s Leonard Mazur’s residence. They won’t want to cause problems on a former corrections officer.”

“Even if a child’s welfare is at stake?” Emily bent down and adjusted the feet rests on the wheelchair for Ben.

“They’ve ignored it in the past,” Ben said bitterly.

She was about to ask more when the nurse walked in with some paperwork.

* * *

You could have hearda pin drop after Captain Hale got done speaking. Lieutenant Commander Liam McAllister stood a step to the right and behind the Captain and he was watching all of the Black Dawn and Midnight Delta SEAL team members for their reactions.

“Any questions?” Hale asked.

Not even the smart-ass Drake Avery was willing to say something to lighten the mood. The Captain nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then.” He slapped shut his binder and handed it to Liam as he left the room.

“Now do you have any questions?” Liam asked.

Drake raised his hand. Liam ignored him. “I meant serious questions.”

“The Captain laid out the proof that those two al-Qaeda bastards are planning on making Oman look like they are taking sides against the other Arab countries. But how soon before they will have the targets narrowed down from seven?” Gray asked.

“Hopefully they’ll have it cut down to two or three by the time we land,” Liam answered. “Dex and Clint, you’re going to be coordinating with Kane on this all the way over to Muscat.”

“Wyatt, you were just over there,” Mason turned to him. “Which country do you think these guys want to target? Saudi? UAE? Iraq?”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Wyatt answered the Lieutenant of the Midnight Delta SEAL team. “Anything that got everybody thinking that Oman was in bed with Yemen would destroy the balance of power over there.”

“And if the incident is bad enough, the U.N. and the U.S. will be brought in, and it will be Iraq all over again.”

“So, when do we go wheels up?” Aiden asked.

“You’ve got five hours.”

Dex and Gray cornered Wyatt in the parking lot. “Ben’s coming home today, right?” Gray asked.

“Yep.”

“Is everything settled here? Will your head be in the game?” Gray asked seriously. “Because with your brother being here, it’s a game changer. You can take some leave and sit this one out.”

“I’m good.” He appreciated the man asking. “Kenna’s going to be providing some telephone hand-holding for Emily in case she has any concerns.”

They were all standing around Wyatt’s truck when Dex asked him how Emily was going to handle everything with her volunteering, her sisters coming to town and Ben.

“She told me that the YMCA had always kind of been filling a little of the void she been having since leaving her sister’s behind. What she’s worried about, is keeping up with her job at the bookstore.”

Dex’s phone rang. “It’s Kenna, gotta take it.”

He answered his phone, the he smothered it in his chest. “Make sure Emily knows that she can reach out to Kenna for anything.”

Wyatt nodded as he watched Dex hustle across the parking lot.

“And, since, Emily will not want to be interrupting the new mother, here’s all of Riya’s contacts. Make sure she feels comfortable calling her.” Gray handed him the card he’d been scribbling on.

“Got it.” Wyatt tucked the card into the pocket of his shorts and grinned. Gray sure understood how Emily operated.