SEAL Protected Read Online Free Page A

my father. I also remembered how she’d died. An armed man who’d attacked my father when he first became a senator. She’d taken a bullet meant for him and died on the stage in his arms.
     
    I blinked a few times at the memory and jumped a bit when tears slid down my cheeks. I missed my mother, but I hadn’t cried about her in years. Embarrassed, I wiped my eyes and looked back at my father. He coughed, just as embarrassed as I was.
     
    “So, how are they?” I asked. I hadn’t been allowed to ride along to the hospital. Now, Taryn, Cindy, and Tom were all at the hospital and I was here, standing in the main hall with my father.
     
    “Stable, for the most part. Cindy has suffered a nasty head injury and will have to stay a few days. The doctors are waiting for her to wake up to see how it affects her, if at all. Taryn has a minor concussion and a cracked rib, plus extensive bruising on her upper body.” I nodded. I’d figured the first two – I’d been a vet long enough to spot most injuries on humans and animals. “As for Tom, he was wearing a bullet proof vest, that’s why you couldn’t find a bullet hole. He passed out from shock.” I almost smiled at that. It was funny in it's own terrifying sort of way. Shock instead of a wound. I wonder how embarrassed he was over that.
     
    “You can go see them in the morning,” said my father. “But not before, they need their rest. Taryn and Cindy have the same room, so you don’t have to worry about them being alone. As for Tom, I’m sure he’ll survive.” I nodded. “As for the attackers….” He sighed. “I’m sorry for not telling you, and as long as you’re here, I want to explain it all to you. You see, I’m running for senator again, as you know, and there are those who don’t want me to regain my position. My adviser warned me that there were people after me, but I didn’t understand the extent of the danger until tonight. Do you see now why I hired Tom?” I nodded, and, without waiting for more explanation wished him good night and headed up to my room.
     
    It was another hard night of sleeping. My dreams were filled with ‘what ifs’ and worst case scenarios. What if one of my friends had died? That would have been on my head. To never see Cindy or Taryn again would be torture. They were my best friends and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing them. I didn’t know Tom as well, but he seemed decent enough, and he’d saved us at just the right time too. That meant he’d been following us, and while I usually would be angry at that, I couldn’t help but be grateful he’d done so. What would have happened if he hadn’t? The images for the answer filled my dreams as I tossed and turned in my too-large too-cold bed.
     
    When morning came I couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough. First, I’d check on Taryn and Cindy and make sure they were okay. Then, if I had time before work, I’d go see Tom as well. It only seemed right, seeing as he’d saved my life. My lips twitched. A life for a visit – yes, that was completely fair. I almost laughed at the absurdness of it all.
     
    Taryn and Cindy were awake when I walked into their room. They sat together on one bed playing cards and it took me a second to realize they were playing a trading card game. Something with elemental attacks and multicolored hamsters. At least, I thought they looked like hamsters.
     
    “Are you two all right?” I asked, leaning against the door frame. Taryn looked up and flashed me a grin. She tossed another card into the pile.
     
    “Flame thrower,” she said. Cindy groaned and threw down her cards, flopping back. As she did, I caught sight of where they’d shaved her head in order to stitch her up. The short cut hair around the new stitches made me wince. I was the one they’d been after and I’d been the one with the least amount of damage. There weren’t words for how unjust that felt. “We’re pretty good,” said Taryn. “Recovering