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“Once a Navy SEAL, always a Navy SEAL.”

“So you keep wanting to remind me. I retired several years ago. Remember?”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not the best person for the job.”

The sun continued to rise and I turned my head to stare out the window. “I’m not interested.”

“A lot of money is involved.”

“Money, I have plenty of.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Your uncle.”

Now I glared at him. “You been checking up on me?”

“I had to find you so yeah, I wanted to see what happened in your life.”

“You mean you were trying to find out if I’d eaten a bullet. Right?”

He exhaled. “That too.”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about it.” We’d never seen eye to eye on much of anything. I’d been the SEAL to give him the most hell, to question missions when I should have kept my mouth shut. The single time I had, we’d lost six good men. I’d never forgive myself.

“Would be a waste.”

As usual, the awkwardness between us resurfaced. I’d been surprised over the years I hadn’t been kicked out for insubordination. With the coffee spitting from the final drips, I grabbed two mugs and yanked the carton of half and half from the fridge. After grabbing a kitchen towel for the coffeepot, I placed everything on the table.

While I wasn’t in the mood for company, I sat down to try to ease the tension. “Why do you need my help? What about Maddox or Stone?”

They’d been my two best buddies, men I could count on, even if Maddox had broken my trust a long time ago. We’d gone our separate ways after our scheduled retirements. It happened that way sometimes, the need to be alone to deal with demons stronger than the longing to keep up friendships.

“They’re not right for the job, Kage. You are.”

An angered sigh rose from my throat. A part of me wanted to shove him out the door, but I at least owed it to him to listen to what he had to say. “What are we dealing with?”

He cracked a slight smile of relief. “Do you know the name Randolph Carver?”

“Carver Industries?” The man had developed and manufactured a specialized communications system sought after by various corporations as well as military operations around the world.

“That’s the one.”

“Isn’t he an asshole?”

Gray laughed. “That’s exactly the one. He’s a merciless and very wealthy man.”

“And what?”

“His daughter was kidnapped.”

“For ransom? That has nothing to do with my level of expertise. Besides, why the hell are you involved with a basic kidnapping?”

He shook his head. “The authorities don’t believe it’s a random kidnapping. It’s been two days since the girl’s abduction and there’s been no request for money or anything else. Her father served with me years ago. Hell, we went to boot camp together, service in the same unit for a couple of years.”

“That still doesn’t answer why you’re involved.”

“I’m not going to lie to you. This could be a foreign military operation.”

“Because of the communications systems he sells to outside governments.”