The Only Reason: A Novel (Trident Trilogy: Book Two)

  ALSO BY DONNA SCHWARTZE

  Eight Years

  (Trident Trilogy: Book One)

  THE ONLY

  REASON

  A Novel

  SEQUEL TO THE NOVEL EIGHT YEARS

  DONNA SCHWARTZE

  THE ONLY REASON

  TRIDENT TRILOGY

  - BOOK 2 -

  DONNA SCHWARTZE

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, organizations, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. Any trademarks, product names, service marks, and named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are only used for references. This book is intended for adults only due to sensitive language and sexual content.

  Copyright ©2020 by Donna Schwartze

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified, distributed, stored, transmitted in any form or by any means, or adapted without the prior written consent of the author and publisher.

  ISBN: 9798562490162

  Published by Donna Schwartze, 2020

  deschwartze@gmail.com

  For my mom, who taught me the importance of independence and showed me the true power of strength.

  Author’s Note:

  Although you don’t have to read the first book in this series to enjoy this story, I highly recommend it. Eight Years includes background details about the main character’s childhood that will help you understand her current mindset. And you will better understand the action in this book if you know what happened on the last mission. Either way, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this book!

  Buy Eight Years on Amazon.

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  “I am not to speak to you,

  I am to think of you when I sit alone

  or wake at night alone,

  I am to wait,

  I do not doubt I am to meet you again,

  I am to see to it that I do not lose you.”

  — Walt Whitman, “To a Stranger”

  Prologue

  July 31, 2011

  As he climbed down into the dimly lit tunnel, he heard the house explode above him. He instinctively flung his body to the ground and covered his head. The tunnel walls shook violently, but didn’t collapse. He quickly got to his feet and flipped his goggles down to help see through the wall of dust ahead of him. As the tunnel began to clear, he started running. It only took a few minutes for their screaming voices to fade out behind him.

  Chapter One

  Outer Banks, North Carolina

  July 16, 2011

  “Damn, Mills,” Mack said as Millie cut back over the top of the soft wave she was riding and glided perfectly into place next to his board. “You’re getting almost as good as me.”

  Millie plopped down on her board next to him. “Almost? C’mon, Dad. You know I’ve been better than you for quite a while now.”

  “Okay,” Mack said, laughing. “Someone’s getting a little too cocky about her skills.”

  “You know what you always tell me: ‘It’s not bragging if it’s true.’ And I think we both know it’s true.” She tilted her head and smiled angelically at him.

  Mack slapped his huge hand in the water, sending a tidal wave crashing into Millie’s face.

  “Dad! So rude!” Millie tried to return the favor, but Mack quickly grabbed both of her wrists and pulled her board closer to him.

  “You will never be faster than me, grasshopper. Never,” he said as she fruitlessly tried to break his hold. “Do you give?”

  She snarled playfully at him. “Fine. You’re faster than me. Just not on a surfboard.”

  “Millllllllieeeee!” They turned to see a boy from her high school paddling quickly over to them.

  “Hey, Jake,” Millie said, leaning forward to give him a fist bump as he floated up to her.

  “I saw your last ride,” Jake said. “Totally crushed it as usual.”

  Millie looked right at Mack and grinned. “Thanks, Jake. I’ve always said you’re a great judge of surfing skill.”

  “For sure.” Jake sat up on his board and gestured to Mack. “He’s a little old for you, don’t you think?”

  “Eww! You weirdo. He’s my dad,” Millie said, punching Jake in the arm. “Dad, this is Jake.”

  “Oh man. Mr. Marsh. Sorry, dude. I don’t see many dads with that much facial fur. You know?” Jake said, rubbing his hands over his own stubble.

  Mack nodded, making no attempt to shake Jake’s outstretched hand.

  Millie laughed as she looked at Mack’s face. “Uh, Jake. We’re about to paddle in. I’ll catch you later.”

  Jake looked away quickly from Mack’s glaring eyes. “Yeah. Cool, Mill. Have a good ride.”

  As Jake paddled away, Millie looked back at Mack. “Dad. We’re not dating. He’s just a friend.”

  Mack sighed and looked up at the sky. “Do you remember when you were little and you were only friends with girls?” he said wistfully. “Those were good days.”

  Millie rolled her eyes. “One of these days, I’m going to meet a guy you think is good enough for me, and you’re going to beg me to marry him.”

  Mack shook his head. “Never going to happen. Never. There’s not anyone even close to good enough for you.”

  Millie smiled. “Ooh, Dad. Speaking of my girlfriends, did I tell you about Chloe’s birthday party? It was a circus theme. And you know what that means . . .”

  “Clowns,” Mack said, shuddering.

  “Yep. They were all over the place. As much as you hate clowns, you wouldn’t have lasted two seconds at this party.”

  “Millie. They’re clowns. Everyone should hate them. They’re diabolical and evil. I still can’t understand how I raised a daughter who likes clowns.”

  “How is it that you can hunt down terrorists every day on your job and not be scared at all? But you see a big red nose and floppy shoes and you’re terrified?”

  “It’s simple—I can shoot the terrorists. I can’t shoot the clowns,” Mack said. “If I’m ever able to shoot the clowns, it will be a game changer.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Dad.”

  “Mills, are you sure you don’t want a big sweet sixteen party like Chloe’s? Without the clowns, of course.”

  “My birthday was in January.”

  “It’s not too late. The entire year is your sixteenth year. Maybe we can have a party before we go to San Diego in a couple weeks.”

  “I still don’t want a party, Dad. All I want for any birthday is to spend time with you,” Millie said, reaching over to hold his hand. “That and the car you bought me, of course.”

  “Of course,” Mack said, smiling. “It’s not much of a car, but it gets you out of the house and away from Camille until we move this fall. That’s another thing. Are you completely sure you don’t want to do your senior year of high school here? I don’t mind living in the Outer Banks while you finish. We don’t have to live with Camille. We can rent
a place until you graduate, and then move.”

  “Seriously, Dad. I just want to be with you. And I think a fresh start would be the best for us. You know? I want to move to San Diego as soon as we can. I don’t mind finishing high school out there. It’s more about my time with you.”

  Mack nodded. “Well, I don’t officially retire until September, so if you change your mind, it’s fine. We’ll work it out.”

  “I won’t change my mind. I have our move date as September 24. That’s what’s happening.”

  “Okay, princess. As you wish. We’ll go out there the first weekend of August and start looking for a house. We can enroll you in school when we find one.”

  “Will you please, please, please reconsider letting me get my GED and starting UCSD early? I talked to them, and they said I have enough college credits already to get accepted into their oceanography program.”

  Mack took a deep breath. “I know, sweetie, but you’re already so young for your grade. And I thought you hated science.”

  “I don’t hate it. I just think it’s boring in high school. If it’s about the ocean, I will love it. I want to be an ocean conservationist.”

  “You would be great at that. You’ll be amazing at whatever you want to do. Maybe just finish high school and try not to be in such a rush about everything. We’ve got nothing but time ahead of us.”

  “Okay. But you know if I’m in college, we can go surfing between my classes,” Millie said as her eyes started to sparkle mischievously. “And we both know you need as much practice as you can get if you’re going to keep up with me on those breaks in the Pacific.”

  Mack shook his head, trying not to smile. “You know San Diego is where I did my SEAL training. I know that ocean really well. Any home-field advantage you think you have here is going to be completely wiped away when we get out there. I will be the dominant surfer again.”

  “Again?” Millie said. “So you’re admitting you’re not the dominant surfer now.”

  Mack lunged forward quickly, tackling Millie off her board and plunging them both into the water. The ocean swallowed up Millie’s peal of laughter as they went under. Mack surfaced first and pushed their surfboards out of the way as he pulled her up.

  “I will always be the king of the sea,” he said as he lifted her under her arms and tossed her a couple feet away from him.

  Millie giggled. “Okay, Poseidon. You win.”

  Mack reached for her hand and pulled her back to him. “Let’s make a deal. We’ll get out to San Diego in September and chill until the end of the year. You can start school in January at wherever we decide together is the right place.”

  Millie put up her hands for a double high-five. “Deal,” she said as she slapped his hands. “I can’t wait to chill with you—with only you. It sounds like pure heaven.”

  “How many days until it happens?”

  “The board in my bedroom says seventy days.” Millie started her countdown calendar a year before they were scheduled to move. Three hundred and sixty-five days had slowly—excruciatingly so for Millie—become seventy. She couldn’t believe they only had a little over two months until it happened.

  “I can’t wait until it gets here.” Mack kissed her forehead before he helped her back on her board. “Are you done surfing? I’m starving. Maybe we can go to that new burger place.”

  “Ooh. Yeah. And it’s right next to the ice cream shop. Let’s go there for dessert. Their strawberry ice cream is amazing,” Millie said as she started lining up her board. “That’s my favorite flavor.”

  “I know it is, sweetie,” Mack said, smiling as he got back on his own board. “It’s all you’ve eaten since you were a baby.”

  He sighed as she paddled into her last wave of the day. Sometimes his heart physically ached when he watched her. This was one of those times. He would do anything to keep her safe and happy. He couldn’t believe the time was coming where they would get to see each other every day. He waited sixteen years for this day to arrive, and it was almost here.

  Now if I can just get through the next few months without getting killed, he thought as he popped up on his board and rode the next wave into shore.

  Chapter Two

  Millie

  San Diego, California

  2020

  “Have you told him you love him yet?” Mariel peers at me over her wine glass as she takes a long, slow sip. Her expression suggests the correct answer is definitely no.

  “Yes. I have,” I say, draining the last of my martini to prepare for the tongue-lashing I know I’m about to receive.

  “Oh my God, Millie. Why? You’ve only been together—really together—for two months.” She shakes her head with so much force that her dangling earrings slap her repeatedly in the face.

  “I said it because it’s true. I do love him,” I say, quickly adding, “and Mason said it, too. We’re in love. Why is that bad?”

  Mariel has become my best girlfriend since I moved to San Diego six months ago. Let me emphasize “girlfriend” because her husband, Chase, is my best friend. He has been since the day my dad—his best friend—died. I haven’t always made it easy for Chase to love me, but he never gave up, and that’s made me almost as devoted to him as I was to my dad.

  Mariel motions to the waiter to bring her another glass of wine. It’s her third. She usually stops at two. This is obviously about to get serious. “It’s not bad, Millie. It’s just unrealistic. You aren’t living in the real world right now. You’re still recovering from the kidnapping. He’s still adjusting from stepping down as an active SEAL. You both had traumatic, life-changing things happen recently. You shouldn’t be making big decisions.”

  “I don’t think being in love is a decision. It just kind of happens.”

  She rests her chin on her hands as she bats her eyelashes. “Oh, sweetie. That entire statement makes me want to slap you so badly.”

  “What? How long did it take you to realize you were in love with Chase?”

  “I’ll let you know when it happens.” She flashes her most wicked smile at me.

  “Mariel!”

  I’ve known them since I was sixteen. They took me in for a few months after my dad died. They have the most loving marriage I’ve ever seen, but they are complete opposites. Deep down, Chase—like me—is a dreamer. Mariel is not. She’s 100 percent pragmatic all the time. It’s probably why Chase married her. It’s definitely why I value her friendship. She keeps us grounded.

  “Of course I love him, Millie. But it hasn’t always been easy. It took Chase years to adjust to not being active anymore. I’m still not sure he’s there, and it’s been almost ten years. Our marriage has taken a lot of work. A lot. I’m just saying this little blissful bubble you and Mason are in right now isn’t going to last.”

  The waiter thankfully delivers me another martini. “Well even if reality sets in—”

  Before I can finish, Mariel grabs my hand across the table and pats it. “Not if, sweetie. When. When it sets in.”

  “When,” I say sharply. “When it sets in, I’m still going to love him.”

  She sits back and crosses her arms. We stare at each other for a few minutes before she finally says, “And what are you going to say when he asks you to marry him?”

  I roll my eyes so severely, it almost gives me a headache. “Oh my God, Mar. He’s not going to ask me to marry him. You’re drunk.”

  “I am.” She smiles. “But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. That’s what comes after the ‘I love you’: marriage then babies. And I know you’re not ready for all that. Are you?”

  “No. God, no. Not even close.” I’m starting to think the double shot in my second martini was a mistake. My brain is getting fuzzy. “He’s not either. I know that. I mean it’s only been two months.”

  She flings her hands in the air like she’s suddenly conducting an
orchestra. “And finally you say something that makes sense,” she says, slamming her hands back down on the table. She hits them five more times to emphasize each of her next words. “It’s only been two months.”

  “I really hate you right now.” I eat the last olive from my martini and fling the cocktail pick at her.

  She laughs victoriously. “Have you even had a fight with him yet? Do you know enough about each other to disagree on anything?”

  “There is one thing we argue about,” I say slowly.

  “Ooh. Do tell.”

  “Well, you know how independent I am—”

  “Girl, please.” She starts massaging her temples. “I almost killed you during your college years. You put us through hell with your bullshit independence.”

  “I’m not explaining my reasons for that again,” I say, pointing at her. “Let’s stay focused on the present, please.”

  “Fine. Please go on, princess.” She drains the last of her third glass of wine.

  “Well we’ve been having arguments because Mason is overly protective of me, and it’s driving me a little crazy. For some reason, he feels responsible for my kidnapping—even though he wasn’t there. It’s made him start acting like my bodyguard as much as he acts like my boyfriend. He tries to control everything. And I’ve never been very good at being controlled.”

  She takes a deep breath. “Yeah. That’s something Chase and I went through. First, you know that’s just part of who they are. That’s what they do for a living—SEALs protect people. They control people. It’s hard for them to do that at work and then completely turn it off when they get home. It took years for Chase to turn that down and he’s not nearly as alpha as Mason. You probably need to give him a break. But, bottom line, he’s never going to lose that completely. So you either learn how to live with it or the relationship isn’t going to work.”