Page 8 of Protecting Clove (Loved by the SEAL #5)

B ud stepped into the hall and grabbed his phone from the cubby he’d shoved it in before the meeting. The update from the meeting wasn’t what he was hoping for, but it was expected. They would most likely be headed out to take care of this mess soon.

“Hey, Bud,” Rider called out before he got a chance to check his email from Tex. He stopped and waited for Rider to catch up.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t like the setup. We need to work on breaching something like that.”

The setup was ridiculous. The place where their target lived had a second-floor entrance with a tiny balcony. The stairs leading up were small, and it would be difficult to control the situation. The guy had probably picked that place because it would keep unwanted people out.

“Yeah. I think we can rig something up that will simulate that place and work on breaching the door.”

Trip was right behind them and spoke up. “Maybe we go from the top.”

Rider shook his head and then paused. “How so?”

Kevlar’s team had been in the meeting with them and had caught up. Kevlar stopped beside Bud. “How could you go from the top?”

Rider glanced around. “Let’s head back to our office and figure this out.”

It only took them a few minutes to make it back, and both teams were seated around the white board where Rider had drawn out a rough sketch of the area. The issue was there weren’t enough tall buildings right next to the place they needed to breach.

Zip shook his head. “But the roof is metal. We’d make a lot of noise just being up there.”

MacGyver stood and pointed at the nearby buildings. “That’s why you toss in a couple of flash-bangs from here, then the guys could go in.”

Trip shook his head. “We need more than six men on this.”

Kevlar had his arms crossed as he stared at the board, obviously contemplating the situation. Bud agreed with Trip. They needed three up high for cover and to fill the building with smoke. They needed two to stay on the outside, and then the others to breach.

The building wasn’t a good setup for them. He hoped more targets didn’t figure out this type of building was almost impossible to breach. If they wanted the guy dead, they could just send a drone in to do the dirty work, but they needed information from this guy.

“Agreed,” Kevlar finally said after a long moment. “We need both teams on this operation so we can take this guy alive.”

Rider shrugged. “We should work up a plan and then submit it this afternoon.”

Kevlar nodded. “Exactly.”

They began working on the plan that would have Bud placing the detonator to blow the front door. He hoped they were given the go ahead with their plan because it was good.

Hours later he opened his email and found the note from Tex. Clove’s ex was still in Georgia so he didn’t pose an immediate threat. That made him feel better. Tex said he would keep him updated if the situation changed.

He was amazed at Tex’s ability to keep track of people. The guy was a master at finding people and keeping tabs on them.

Instead of sending a note to Clove, he decided to stop by after work. He’d just stepped out of his truck when he saw something small move around his vehicle. For a second, he expected a dog or other animal, but it was Neo.

“Hey, Neo. Where is—” Before he could finish the sentence, Clove stepped around the side of the truck.

“Neo, what did I say about the street?” Clove’s lips were turned down.

“But he was right here.”

Bud shook his head. “Your mom’s right. You’re too short for drivers to see you. If you want to talk, stay on the sidewalk or in the yard, and I’ll come to you.”

Neo looked disappointed. “Fine, but you’re being way too reactive.”

Clove’s eyes narrowed enough for him to tell she was annoyed but she didn’t say anything. From what he’d seen, she rarely lost her cool with Neo. They seemed to have a good relationship. He remembered as a child all the yelling and screaming from both his parents. He liked Clove’s method better.

“What’s up?” Bud asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk.

“I get to take a test on Friday. They want me to show them what I know. It’s going to be so much fun.”

He smiled at Neo, wondering what kind of test it was. He hoped she did well with it. Of course, she would, unless it was a trick. If they were trying to play a dirty trick on her, he would have words. He might only be the neighbor, but he cared about her.

“Oh, that’s great. What test is it?”

“It’s for placement. The district wants to make sure they have her in the right school.”

“Nice.” He watched as Neo ran off to the porch, where she picked up a book and plopped down on one of the chairs. He turned to Clove. “How did that come about?” Why was he asking questions like he had any say in the process?

“The place she’s at is associated with the district. I guess they sent a note about her.”

“Are you okay with this test thing?”

Clove shrugged. “I guess. I just want her to have as normal of a life as possible. I know making friends will be a huge part of her happiness later in life. But then again, maybe this is the path she is supposed to take. She can play with the children where she’s at, but she flies so high above them when it comes to conversations they don’t know what she is talking about.

She tried to explain electricity and where it came from to one of the kids, but his parents got quite upset when their kid came home telling them about fracking.

She went into all the potential energy sources, but the kid couldn’t pronounce fracking correctly and came up with fucking. The parent was livid.”

Bud chuckled and shook his head. “I bet.”

“At least Neo didn’t get in trouble, but the teachers asked her not to explain difficult subjects to other children. Then she went off on the teachers, telling them energy production wasn’t a difficult subject. Some days are more exhausting than others.”

Another chuckle slipped out as he made his way to the front door. “So I do have news.”

Clove’s breath hitched as worry worked through her. “Yes?”

“He’s in Georgia.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Neo looked up from the book she was reading. “Did you know there is a frog in South America that makes a toxic substance on its skin called batrachotoxin that can kill predators? But you can have one as a pet, and it won’t harm you.”

The information dump from Neo was a little jarring. He knew enough to stay away from poison dart frogs when on missions. “Really? How is it not harmful if you own it as a pet?”

“You just don’t feed it the ants.”

“The ants are toxic?”

“If the frog consumes them, yes. The dart frog can hold the toxin and release it on their skin. Isn’t that cool? They look neat, too. I want to touch one.”

Bud nodded as he stood on the patio holding his stuff. “Okay, so frogs shouldn’t eat ants.

Clove held back that laughter that wanted to escape. The poor man probably didn’t know what he was getting himself into by becoming friends with Neo. The girl had facts and didn’t hesitate to tell others about them.

“That’s cool. I’d like to know more about dart frogs after I put my stuff up. Let me go in and take care of putting away my equipment, then I’ll be out in a moment.”

Neo nodded as she turned back to her book. “Sure.”

Clove would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited to spend more time with Bud.

She knew he was only being nice because of Neo, but still, she liked having him around.

It made her feel special that he cared enough to spend time with her.

But he wasn’t spending time with her, it was Neo he liked seeing.

She knew it. Eventually, she would see him with another woman, and that would hurt, but it was expected.

Bud wasn’t hers, and she didn’t need to pretend he was.