Heart of Gold, page 1
Heart of Gold
SEAL Brotherhood: Legacy Series
Book 7
Sharon Hamilton
Sharon Hamilton’s Book List
SEAL BROTHERHOOD BOOKS
SEAL BROTHERHOOD SERIES
Accidental SEAL Book 1
Fallen SEAL Legacy Book 2
SEAL Under Covers Book 3
SEAL The Deal Book 4
Cruisin’ For A SEAL Book 5
SEAL My Destiny Book 6
SEAL of My Heart Book 7
Fredo’s Dream Book 8
SEAL My Love Book 9
SEAL Encounter Prequel to Book 1
SEAL Endeavor Prequel to Book 2
Ultimate SEAL Collection Vol. 1 Books 1-4 /2 Prequels
Ultimate SEAL Collection Vol. 2 Books 5-7
SEAL BROTHERHOOD LEGACY SERIES
Watery Grave Book 1
Honor The Fallen Book 2
Grave Injustice Book 3
Deal With The Devil Book 4
Cruisin’ For Love Book 5
Destiny of Love Book 6
Heart of Gold Book 7
BAD BOYS OF SEAL TEAM 3 SERIES
SEAL’s Promise Book 1
SEAL My Home Book 2
SEAL’s Code Book 3
Big Bad Boys Bundle Books 1-3
BAND OF BACHELORS SERIES
Lucas Book 1
Alex Book 2
Jake Book 3
Jake 2 Book 4
Big Band of Bachelors Bundle
BONE FROG BROTHERHOOD SERIES
New Year’s SEAL Dream Book 1
SEALed At The Altar Book 2
SEALed Forever Book 3
SEAL’s Rescue Book 4
SEALed Protection Book 5
Bone Frog Brotherhood Superbundle
BONE FROG BACHELOR SERIES
Bone Frog Bachelor Book 0.5
Unleashed Book 1
Restored Book 2
Revenge Book 3
Legacy Book 4
SUNSET SEALS SERIES
SEALed at Sunset Book 1
Second Chance SEAL Book 2
Treasure Island SEAL Book 3
Escape to Sunset Book 4
The House at Sunset Beach Book 5
Second Chance Reunion Book 6
Love’s Treasure Book 7
Finding Home Book 8
Sunset SEALs Duet #1
Sunset SEALs Duet #2
LOVE VIXEN
Bone Frog Love
SHADOW SEALS
Shadow of the Heart
Shadow Warrior
SILVER SEALS SERIES
SEAL Love’s Legacy
SLEEPER SEALS SERIES
Bachelor SEAL
STAND ALONE BOOKS & SERIES
SEAL’s Goal: The Beautiful Game
Nashville SEAL: Jameson
True Blue SEALS Zak
Paradise: In Search of Love
Love Me Tender, Love You Hard
NOVELLAS
SEAL You In My Dreams Magnolias and Moonshine
PARANORMALS
GOLDEN VAMPIRES OF TUSCANY SERIES
Honeymoon Bite Book 1
Mortal Bite Book 2
Christmas Bite Book 3
Midnight Bite Book 4
THE GUARDIANS
Heavenly Lover Book 1
Underworld Lover Book 2
Underworld Queen Book 3
Redemption Book 4
FALL FROM GRACE SERIES
Gideon: Heavenly Fall
SUNSET BEACH SERIES
I’ll Always Love You
NOVELLAS
SEAL Of Time Trident Legacy
All of Sharon’s books are available on Audible, narrated by the talented J.D. Hart.
About the Book
Tyler has been a Navy SEAL for nearly ten years and he’s wearing out. The prospect of doing another re-up has him worried that his body, banged up, shot, stabbed and multiple bones broken, can’t take any more. After performing over a thousand HALO jumps in hostile territory and five times that in practice jumps, he thinks perhaps he’s run out of time and is concerned he’ll suffer permanent disabilities if he pushes the envelope too far.
But, like a professional athlete, giving up the life he loves, working out and doing missions with his best buds from SEAL Team 3, something he knew he was made for, he can’t see himself doing anything else. Certainly not anything as exciting.
He has choices, especially if he wants to keep his wife happy, even if he gives up some of the glory and glamor of being a member the elite warrior class. And he would like to be able to chase his three kids around in something other than a wheelchair.
But an enemy from the past has appeared in the shadows, forcing Tyler to make a decision that might ruin his marriage, and cost him his cherished family.
Which is more important, his promise or the safety of the ones he loves?
Begin Reading
Dedication
About the Author
Table of Contents
Copyright © 2023 by Sharon Hamilton
Kobo Edition
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. In many cases, liberties and intentional inaccuracies have been taken with rank, description of duties, locations and aspects of the SEAL community.
License Notes
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Author’s Note
I always dedicate my SEAL Brotherhood books to the brave men and women who defend our shores and keep us safe. Without their sacrifice and that of their families—because a warrior’s fight always includes his or her family—I wouldn’t have the freedom and opportunity to make a living writing these stories. They sometimes pay the ultimate price so we can debate, argue, go have coffee with friends, raise our children, and see them have children of their own.
One of my favorite tributes to warriors resides on many memorials, including one I saw honoring the fallen of WWII on an island in the Pacific:
“When you go home
Tell them of us, and say
For your tomorrow,
We gave our today.”
These are my stories created out of my own imagination. Anything that is inaccurately portrayed is either my mistake or done intentionally to disguise something I might have overheard over a beer or in the corner of one of the hangouts along the Coronado Strand.
I support two main charities. Navy SEAL/UDT Museum operates in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Please learn about this wonderful museum, all run by active and former SEALs and their friends and families, and who rely on public support, not that of the U.S. Government.
www.navysealmuseum.org
I also support Wounded Warriors, who tirelessly bring together the warrior as well as the family members who are just learning to deal with their soldier’s condition and have nowhere to turn. It is a long path to becoming well, but I’ve seen first-hand what this organization does for its warriors and the families who love them. Please give what your heart tells you is right. If you cannot give, volunteer at one of the many service centers all over the United States. Get involved. Do something meaningful for someone who gave so much of themselves, to families who have paid the price for your freedom. You’ll find a family there unlike any other on the planet.
www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Sharon Hamilton’s Book List
About the Book
Copyright Page
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Author
Reviews
SEAL Prayer
Chapter 1
Deep yellow and orange tongues of fire lapped up the sides of the old wooden structure, originally built in the late 1800’s to service the railyards and shipping lines at the Columbia River in Portland’s warehouse district. Once packed with frozen fish and sundries making their way from the Orient or Alaska, now the trendy area had sprouted galleries, high-end loft housing for young yuppies and artists, catering companies hosting exotic food trucks, eclectic restaurants that seemed to pop up and disappear with the same speed, dance clubs, and foreign movie theaters. It even had a live theater/playhouse converted from an old slaughterhouse by the s
ame name.
The building was in a string of galleries that extended several blocks long on both sides.
Some housed artist collectives in a live-work environment, with the showrooms below. But like many of the old structures, this one was just a gallery, refurbished and benefiting from timeworn, wire-encrusted skylights thirty feet in the air, which gave the magic light that was so important to the paintings and artwork it housed.
But this night, midnight, it started in this building first, the fire like a wild snake, seeking out other places it could creep into cracks and overtake a new structure. The beautiful, polished white oak plank flooring buckled and popped nails as the fire traveled over the top like a tiny child’s toy locomotive, leaving a fiery streak in its wake.
Glass broke as windows, one by one, burst open to the cold night air. Even the rain couldn’t stop the spread, hissing and roaring like an angry animal ascending straight from Hell.
The paintings on the walls melted at first, their bright acrylic colors running down in bloody streaks past the canvas, over the walls, and onto the floor, pooling, igniting, and exploding in small balls of fire. Each picture was overtaken, and its demise was celebrated by the demands of the blaze. These works of art were abused, lit up for a few seconds, and then perished in flame.
One by one, the canvases dropped as their wires warped, as their frames charred, and the weight of the melted acrylic from the painting above it pushed them all down.
Within minutes, the entire building was engulfed, spreading to the one next to it and then another, until a paint factory caught and exploded. Oxygen temporarily removed from the air, a brief few seconds of darkness blanketed the landscape before the inferno came back to life with twice the strength.
If left unchecked, it would spread and consume the dozen or so warehouses all the way to the waterway. Sirens in the distance foretold this huge event would be coming to an end within the hour, already leaving behind black, smoldering partial walls while debris still ignited as new food for the fire.
And smoke. Thick, choking smoke so black the stars were invisible.
Diedre Gray was in shock when she got the call from the fire department liaison at one in the morning. Rushing to their bedroom window overlooking the river and downtown areas of Portland, she could see the blaze in the distance. She shared the gallery space with several other painters and a sculptor, but judging from the size and intensity of the blaze, she knew her work was all destroyed. And her paintings were the main draw of the gallery. She and the other artists held events in the space, all of them lovingly restoring and upgrading the building with the magical skylights.
Her heart broke, leaving only a thick, black, charred remnant of her former vibrant self. Twenty years of work, some pieces she never intended on selling, gone. Just gone.
Her husband stood behind her, holding her shoulders with his hands, while she wept. There were no words worthy of use. Nothing was going to stop her sobbing until she was good and done. The grieving process was beginning.
News reports flashed on their television as they listened for information. Her husband agreed with the department spokeswoman that going down there would be pointless and they would just be in the way. Since there wasn’t expected to be any loss of life, pets, or items needing rescue, they’d let the professionals do their job undisturbed by their presence.
She called the other artists, one of whom had moved to San Francisco and was leaving the gallery, informing them of the sad news.
They continued to watch the reports. Earlier, a demonstration downtown in the financial district had left damaged vehicles and glass storefronts behind, including several fires which were quickly extinguished. Fire crews were blocked from entering certain blocks, and the police were relegated to pushing back the mob all the way to the grassy Dickenson Park in the center of the city, where they could be gathered up or dispersed. These demonstrations were now so common people didn’t even pay attention as they re-routed their streets to avoid the confrontations.
Young people had poured out onto the sidewalk as one of the student housing units at Portland State downtown had been set ablaze. The newscaster wasn’t sure what the demonstration was about, as no permit had been obtained and no spokesman had developed, which was also common these days.
The warehouse fire was deemed not connected, but arson was suspected. The protest crowd was trying to avoid the police and were headed that direction. Traffic and fire crews attempted to keep their work area cleared to further demonstrations, even onlookers, but were battling an angry crowd that seemed they wanted to burn down the whole city.
Deidre had cried so much she was now sitting in her flannel nightie in shock. Larry Gray brought her some of her favorite tea, and she sat, holding it, forgetting to sip, until he reminded her.
“Nothing we can do now, Deidre. What a shame.”
“Why would they do that? The spokeswoman said it started with our building, Larry. Who would want to do that? Do you think it’s related to downtown?”
“Makes no difference. A bank, a school dorm, a car dealership, a coffee shop, drug store—they all get hit these days. I just hope everyone gets out alive,” he said, rubbing the back of her neck.
“This is unacceptable. This has to be stopped,” she whispered.
“It would be easier to move, Deidre.”
“No. I’m going to stay and fight.”
“But you don’t even know who to fight. They just want to destroy. It’s a statement that they want it all burned down, ruined. They won’t be controlled.”
“People have died, Larry, so they had the right to protest. Why can’t they leave us alone to just do what we love?”
“It’s evil. And the evil is growing.”
And then she knew what she needed to do next. She would call her son, Navy SEAL Tyler Gray, in Coronado.
But she’d wait until morning.
Chapter 2
Navy SEAL Tyler Gray heard screaming through the connecting wall from his two boys’ bedroom. It was way too early on a Saturday morning. He’d been out late at a bachelor party for one of the tadpoles, new guy on SEAL Team 3, Oscar Ramos, and his head was killing him.
Besides, Kate usually jumped up first in these kinds of mornings to keep the peace between their three children. The boys had been fighting nonstop for weeks now. Oliver was the younger of the two boys, at five, and he competed in sports against his older brother, Grady, who was eight. He could nearly beat his older brother in a timed run and kick a soccer ball farther than most of the kids in his age bracket, as well as several years his senior. It wasn’t something Grady tolerated well. Oliver made sure Grady was in a constant state of irritation and cut him zero slack. If Tyler had had a brother, he’d have been the same way.
But it made for a very noisy household.
Another scream erupted from their room, this time followed by a thump on the floor and then some serious crying.
He reached over to give Kate a hug, but then he remembered she had left before dark, driving up north to attend a catering class taught by a celebrity TV chef. So Tyler was in charge of all three kids all day.
He darted out of bed, shirtless but wearing red, white and blue boxers, and pushed the door to their bedroom so hard it banged against the wall and bent the door stop.
The crying stopped immediately.
Grady sat in the middle of the floor with a bloody nose. Oliver’s right eye was going to be swollen shut soon.
“What the hell?” Tyler barked, barely able to change his language at the last minute to something more appropriate.
That’s when he noticed Oliver silently set a large hardbound book down next to him, which had apparently been the weapon used to cause Grady’s bloody nose.
“He hit me with a book,” Grady shouted, pointing to the Three Musketeers book at Oliver’s side. “He broke my nose!” he said through his bloody sniffles.
Tyler ran to the bathroom between their room and Kendall’s, grabbed a towel, and wet it down, bringing it back to Grady. Holding it up to his oldest son’s nose, Tyler bent his head back.
“Keep this on it for a few minutes. Doesn’t feel broken, Grady. Let’s get the bleeding to stop, and then we’ll sort this out.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Oliver was slowly pushing the large book under his bed with his foot, removing the evidence.
