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“Yeah, buddy. I know. It’s breakfast time.” Laughing, I threw back the covers. The boy could eat. Hell, maybe I’d make steak and eggs for breakfast for both of us.

As soon as my feet hit the floor, what little peace I’d regained was interrupted by a loud booming sound against the door. My reactions were swift. I grabbed the weapon I kept on my nightstand when not housed in my holster and jumped off the bed.

Tank growled, for the first time since I’d rescued him baring his teeth. After heading into the living room, I crept toward thedoor, taking a glance out the front window. There was a second truck parked outside, a make and model I didn’t recognize. Not that I regularly had visitors. I had a feeling that folks knew they weren’t welcome.

I nodded to Tank, who as if by instinct had already taken a position a few feet away from the door, ready to launch toward the unwanted visitors if necessary.

The second I threw open the door, I shoved the weapon in the person’s face.

“Jesus Christ, Lieutenant Rollins.”

Tank growled.

“Go easy, boy,” I told him. The man standing on my doorstep was the last person I’d expected to see. “Commander Jenkins? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I’m beginning to wonder that myself.” He lifted his eyebrow seeing I was dressed in sweatpants and nothing else.

The same awkward tension we’d experienced just before I’d retired kicked in.

“So what are you doing here?” My tone was more demanding.

“Do ya think we could talk about it over a cup of coffee, Lieutenant?”

Whatever the reason that he’d searched through files, maybe even contacting my dad to find me, raised a red flag. I’d left Maryland not long after learning of my uncle’s death. The man had left me his property in Colorado along with a hefty bank account. Since my dad had been estranged from his blood brother for well over two decades, he was still furious I’d decidedto move into the house instead of selling it sight unseen. Maybe I would sell the place, but doing so wasn’t my father’s call. “No longer a lieutenant, Commander.”

He sighed, giving me a hard look before I finally opened the door wider. “You’ll always be a decorated Navy SEAL.”

“Fuck being decorated.” I closed the door behind him, immediately backing away. “Make yourself at home. Let me grab a shirt.”

Tank didn’t budge, staring at the man when I left the room. My pup was no more trusting of anyone than I was, although the commander was a good man and had been an even better leader. I grabbed a shirt, shoving my feet into boots before returning.

“How do you take your coffee, Commander?”

“Just Gray now, Kage. Maybe we should go by first names. We are friends after all.” He looked at me warily. “Just a little cream if you have it.”

Friends.

Men like us didn’t harbor friendships. At least not the one who’d experienced true life nightmares.

I nodded and headed into the kitchen, immediately making a full pot. Something told me I was going to need the extra boost of caffeine. He’d positioned himself at the kitchen table, trying and failing to get Tank to keep from staring at him.

“He doesn’t like strangers,” I told him.

“Neither do you, apparently.”

“Nope. So what are you doing here?” I leaned against the counter, folding my arms.

“You never could stand small talk or bullshit.”

I stared at him. Our last words to each other hadn’t been the best, but that had been years before. Maybe it was time to let things remain in the past. “Not my thing.”

“Fine. I’ll get to the point. I need your help with something, your expertise.”

“On what?”

“A hostage extraction.”

It took a few seconds for my brain to register what he was asking. When it did, I snorted. “I’m a private citizen now, Gray.”