“I’m not hellbent on punishing him for it.” He scowled but then hung his head and ran his hands over the back of it multiple times. “Jesus. I don’t have to explain myself to you, but let me try. It’s obvious that you still think I’m on the wrong side of this.”
“Because you are,” I replied simply.
Dad merely rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not. Lincoln has always had the potential to be great, but he’s disappointed a lot of people over the years.”
“So that makes it okay to kick him out?”
“Well, yes.” He held up his hands when I tried to interrupt. “Hear me out, okay? The last thing I want is for the Navy to lose someone who has his potential, but there comes a time when men who don’t realize their potential become dangerous.”
Genuine sadness darkened his eyes. “I can only train these people for so long. I can make them the best I can, but then it’s up to them. Every once in a while, someone with great instincts and natural talent comes along. It’s always exciting, and everyone always expects great things, but those great things don’t always happen.”
“Why? Because they don’t follow your timelines about when they have to start climbing the ranks?”
“No, Sofia.” He huffed out a breath. “It’s not my timelines, and it’s not about climbing the ranks. It’s about egos. Guys like him know how good they are, but that tempts them to act out. They think they can do whatever the hell they want to because their over-inflated egos make them believe they know better than their superiors.”
“Maybe they do,” I countered.
Dad’s palm slammed into the table. “No, they don’t. It’s that attitude that gets people killed. There’s a hierarchy for a reason. If one person falls out of line, good people die.”
“But Eden said Lincoln saved all those people,” I argued. “No one died because he saved them all.”
“In that instance, yes. It doesn’t always work out that way. He’s gotten lucky, but luck runs out. It’s my job to stop him before that happens.”
“So that’s it?” I sat back, crossing my arms as my chest deflated. “You kicked him out because of something that hasn’t happened yet?”
“No, I reined him in before something like that could happen.” He shook his head, his jaw tight. “The investigation served its purpose. We found out the truth, and we acted accordingly.”
“What does mean?” My head dropped to the side, fear suddenly gripping my heart. “You said you didn’t do anything to him.”
“I didn’t do anything to him,” he muttered. His hands balled into fists as he glared at me. “The Navy needs him, so I gave him a choice.”
“What choice?” My voice was tight and thick with emotion.
Dad’s features relaxed, and I even saw a flash of sympathy in his eyes. “I told him he would have to command his own unit if he wanted to stay.”
“Command his own…” I trailed off, not really believing what I was hearing. “You’re sending him to war to keep him away from me?”
“It’s not to keep him away from you.” His gaze hardened again. “Lincoln has needed a push for a long time. You just happened to be the push he needed.”
“Are you kidding me?” I stepped back, my hip crashing into the counter. A sharp jab traveled up my side, but I didn’t care. “I’m the push he needed? He didn’t need a push, Dad. What’s wrong with being happy with where you are?”
“He wasn’t happy where he was. He was born to lead, Sofia. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have taken control regardless of his rank. As I said, the Navy needs him. It was time for him to finally step up.”
Spiky trickles of terror danced down my spine. “Step up how? Where did you send him?”
“For now?” He sighed, his shoulders coming down as if he felt defeated. “We’ve sent him home, but he’ll be leaving soon. He’ll be gone for six months.”
“Six months?” I whispered. Hot tears jumped to my eyes and welled in the corners before leaking over. “You’re sending him away for half a year because you think it’s time for him to step up? That’s bullshit, Dad. All you’ve done is to force him into a position where he didn’t want to be. After effectively eliminating all his other options by launching an investigation to prevent him from doing something he hadn’t yet done.”
Dad opened his mouth again, presumably to tell me how wrong I was. I didn’t stick around to listen. He’d asked me to hear him out, and I had.
Arguing with him wouldn’t get me anywhere. More importantly, arguing with him wouldn’t keep Lincoln here. If anything, it might just turn his tour into twelve months instead of six.
Obviously, I’d been a fool for believing Dad would do the reasonable thing and admit his mistake. Instead, my own father had gone and corralled the man I loved into an impossible situation.
And in doing so, had put me right there with him.
Chapter 37
Lincoln
Life had a weird way of working itself out sometimes. Less than twelve hours ago, I’d been in a cell convinced that my career had gone up in flames.
I never, for one second, would have guessed what had been about to happen. The weird thing was that once it had, it was like things just fell right into place.
All my doubts about advancing in the Navy had disappeared, and I’d suddenly been able to admit to myself what had been holding me back. Me.
Charles and I had spoken after the meeting let out. He’d stuck by my side as I’d gone through the process. I now knew where I was headed and when. I also knew what was expected of me over the next couple
