Page 10

I closed in on Keeley cautiously. Just because she hadn’t run out of the room screaming didn’t mean she didn’t want to or wouldn’t. I was almost to the bed when she froze me in my tracks.

“You were upset with me mentioning you raping me. Why?”

“Why? Because it’s fucking abhorrent. I’d cut out my own heart first. Rape is why I left the Marines and went to work with the Patriots,” I snapped.

“What does that mean?” She looked puzzled.

“I’m the oldest of six. I have four brothers and a sister, Bryony. She’s the youngest. My brothers and I all went into the military when we got out of high school. They’re still in, though Bennett is coming up eligible for retirement soon. Almost five years ago, Bryony disappeared. We were going insane, wondering where she was and what was happening. Like your sister, the cops thought she might’ve run off. We knew she would never do that. Once they got over that notion, we were no closer to finding her. We didn’t know what happened to her until a group called the Dark Patriots and a motorcycle club called the Archangel’s Warriors contacted us.

“They informed us that she’d been taken and sold as a sex slave. Unfortunately, in her case, she was raped. At the time of her abduction, she lived in Georgia, where she worked as an accountant. We’d grown up in California, but she moved there when she got out of high school. She was taken from a goddamn mall. She’d gone to her car and was ambushed. She fought and even hurt one, but they knocked her out. They raped her more than once and then transported her to the Middle East to be sold in an auction. It so happened that the Patriots and Warriors were there tracking down the ring, and a couple of women had gone undercover to recover the ones being sold and take down the disgusting ring.

“One of those women is the wife of my boss, Sean, and sister to Undertaker. The Warrior’s woman is the old lady to their computer guru, Smoke. Her name is Everly. She’s on the same level as Smoke when it comes to computers. Anyway, they brought Bryony back to Tennessee with them. My brothers and I couldn’t thank them enough for what they did. Because of what happened, I’ll do everything possible to bring anyone suffering that fate home.”

Keeley had her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes. “Oh my God, Beau, I’m so sorry. Shit, and I accused you of wanting to rape me. I’m sorry. Forgive me.”

As the first tear fell, I broke. I went to her and sat on the edge of the bed. When she didn’t shy away, I gently tugged her to me and wrapped her in my arms.

“Shh, don’t cry. I get it. I know what it must’ve looked like. Now, do you see why we don’t want you risking yourself? Cassidy, Sean’s wife, and Everly were almost violated even though there was a plan and a team there with them. My sister and others were hurt in that terrible way. Over the years, the Warriors and their allies, which include the Patriots, have helped so many victims of violence that it’s mind-boggling. And the number we couldn’t is devastating. You have to let us do this.”

“I hear you, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“I’m not.”

“It’s not your decision, Beau. It’s mine. I don’t know what kind of women you’re used to, but I won’t sit back and do nothing. You mentioned that Sean’s wife and Everly went undercover to bring down the ones who took your sister. Did you ever think that by letting me help, we could do the same thing? If they find me and take me, you can follow me and help me end them,” she said hopefully.

My ire was back at her suggestion. I moved my arms so I could grasp her upper arms. I gave her a slight shake.

“That’s not happening. Do you hear me, Keeley? Over my dead body, you’ll do that. Did you not hear what I said? Cassidy and Everly were almost raped even though they had a team watching their backs. Things can go wrong in an instant. If that’s not bad enough, they could give us the slip, and we could lose you and your sister for good,” I snapped.

“I heard you. However, if it gets Kensy back and helps to eradicate even one trafficking ring, it would be worth it.”

I jerked her tight against me. I knew my fingers were biting into her arms, but I couldn’t help it. Fury and fear battled inside me. The thought of her being violated was too much to handle.

“You think so? Why don’t I let you speak to my sister and see if it is? Or several of our friends’ old ladies who have been raped. They still suffer from nightmares and other issues. They’re fortunate that they were able to find love and have somewhat normal lives, but it wasn’t easy. Bryony still has trouble from time to time.”

“You are assuming that I don’t know what being raped is like or what the aftermath is,” she said softly.

My heart dropped, and I fought to breathe past the constriction in my throat. I saw the truth on her face. She knew, and it wasn’t from secondhand experience.

“Who hurt you like that? When?” I snarled.

“Who and when don’t matter. It’s the fact that I know precisely what can happen. Kensington will have a long, hard road ahead if we save her. I’m not blind to the risks and the work it’ll take, Beau.”

“Who and when matter to me. Why didn’t we know that?” I muttered. It should’ve come up in the background the techs did on her.

When she didn’t answer, I did something I rarely did. I pleaded. “Please, you have to tell me. You’re asking me to let you work with us, to be involved in something utterly dangerous. I’ve got to know, Keeley.”

She sighed, and her body sagged. She nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell you, but you’ve got to give me room to breathe.”

I reluctantly let go and put a foot of space between us. I couldn’t make myself move away further.

“You asked why you didn’t know. Obviously, that remark means the Dark Patriots investigated me. The reason it wasn’t found is that no one knew other than me, my dad, and a select few who would never speak of it. My care afterward was provided by Dad’s friends off the record. It happened a long time ago, when I was sixteen. It was one of those instances when the cautionary tales told by your parents and grown-ups were true. I should’ve known better. I did, but I was a teenager and wanted to have fun for once.

“Dad was strict and wanted my little sister and me to always be at home and learning. He did allow us to attend school. He thought formal education was important, too. However, he didn’t trust people and worked to make us not trust them either. I thought he was being too paranoid. So, one night, I found a way to sneak out to a party with a friend from school while he was out, and Kensington was with him. My friend swore the kids we were to party with were good kids.

“The thing was, they were. The problem was, it wasn’t just them who ended up at the party. A group of college-aged kids crashed it. We had beer there, but they brought the hard stuff and egged the younger ones to drink more. I refused. The beer made me tipsy enough. I was trying to get my friend to leave. She was my ride, so I had no way to go home. It wasn’t like I’d call my dad.”

She paused to take a deep breath. I was holding her hand despite her trying to remove it a couple of times. Tension hummed through her. I knew it was hard for her to talk about. I knew what it took for Bryony to speak about her ordeal.

“There was this older guy who kept talking to me. He offered me more to drink, but I declined. He was giving off creeper vibes to me. I kept evading him, but he’d find me. Finally, I’d had enough. I went to find my friend and tell her that I was leaving. I’d walk home even if it took me all night. When I found her, she was wasted. There was no way she could drive, and she wouldn’t let me drive us.

“I was making my way outside to where the road was. There were vehicles parked everywhere. I thought I was alert enough, but I wasn’t. The guy jumped out from behind a truck. He was on me before it registered that he was there. I started to fight, but he was bigger and stronger, and I was slightly drunk. Even so, I gave him a good fight. He decided to stop my screaming and fighting by slamming my head off the side of the truck. It knocked me unconscious.”

I could tell it was painful for her to talk about. I inched closer, rubbed her hand, and encouraged her. “You’re doing great. Just take your time.” She gave me a tiny smile.

“When I woke up, he had my clothes off and was already inside of me. I pleaded with him to stop and tried to fight, but he held me down until he was done. He raped me right there in the grass where all the cars were parked. Then he stood up, fastened his pants, and smirked at me. He told me he might see me again and then walked off.”

“What did you do? How did you get out of there?” I asked gutturally.

“I got up, found my clothes, dressed, and walked three miles to the house of one of my dad’s friends. She and her husband were part of the prepper community he was a part of. Thank God they were home. They took me in. Angela was an ER nurse, and her husband, Tom, worked for search and rescue. They got in contact with Dad.

“Angela was used to performing rape testing in the ER. She had all kinds of medical supplies as part of their preparations. She administered one and made sure to get samples. I’m not sure how she pulled off getting them tested. She had medications that she gave me to ensure I didn’t get pregnant and that if he’d given me anything, although he did wear a condom, it would treat most things.

“I was a mess for a few days. I didn’t want to see or talk to my dad. He was seething, as you can imagine. I didn’t know the guy who raped me other than his first name and that he supposedly attended a local college. I told Angela that and what he looked like. While I started to heal, Dad and Tom went hunting for him. Somehow, they were able to find him. A couple of weeks afterward, I was shown a picture to verify if the guy they found was him. When I did, they waited, and when the time was right, they took him out in the woods where no one could hear his screams.” She paused as she stared at me.

“You said you didn’t want me to get blood on my hands. I know you were worried about how killing someone would mess with my head. You don’t need to worry about that, Beau. See, I’ve not only watched a man be tortured, but I’ve also participated in his torture, and when the time came, I ended his life. It was cathartic for me, and I believe it helped me heal more than most of the rest.”

I knew my astonishment showed. Her dad had let her do that. She smiled.

“Yeah, my dad let me. The guy’s body was found months later. By then, the animals had ravaged it so much that the police thought he’d gotten lost and been attacked by the wildlife. No police report had been filed about what had happened to me. All my medical and even my counseling were done by a select few who Dad trusted implicitly. I learned from my mistakes, and I grew stronger. So see, if I could handle that at sixteen, I can handle anything now. I made myself into a weapon after that. I took what my dad said even more seriously. When Dad died, I kept up training and learning from others.”

“Christ, please say I can hug you,” I muttered hoarsely.

As soon as she nodded, I pulled her against my chest and wrapped her up. I inhaled deeply to take her scent into my lungs and closed my eyes. Her tale made me want to kill. I gently rocked her from side to side. She brought her arms up to clutch my back. I didn’t know how long we were like that before she pulled away.

“Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it was hard. Please know that I won’t tell anyone unless you permit me to do so. I understand better, but it still scares me to think of you helping or facing them. Does Kensington know what happened to you?”

“She does. When she got older, I told her this as a cautionary tale. She thought Dad was too paranoid and strict, so I had to tell her he had a right to be.”

“Where are Angela, Tom, and the others who helped you?”

“Tom died in a rescue attempt a year after I joined the team. Angela moved to Arizona to live near her sister and her family. Tom and Angela never had kids. John, who provided my counseling, passed away from lung cancer a year after Dad died.”

She was wiggling, so I let go of her. I stood up and paced. I wasn’t sure where we should go from here. First, I had to know if she had forgiven me for lying to her.

“I’m sorry how I’ve handled this whole situation, Keeley. I shouldn’t have lied to you. Undertaker was right. Coming out from the start and explaining who we were and what we did was the way to go. I swear we intended to help you find your sister all along. I especially want to apologize for drugging you. We carry meds like that for emergencies. My fear of you getting out of the car while it was moving made me jump to that. It was wrong. I don’t want you to be afraid of me or anyone else that we work with. What do you say to us starting over?”

She got up off the bed. She didn’t come to me but moved to stand at the window. “Where are we? Why are we here? What’s Heath’s part in this?”

I didn’t like her asking about him. I wanted to ask why, but I bit my tongue. I needed her to forgive my mistakes and let us help her.

“We’re in a house that the Patriots are renting. After I went to Montana, they decided to have an operative here to monitor if anything new happened. While the Spartanburg chapter of the Black Outlaws is gone, other chapters could get nosy, and more people around here could be involved in that kind of life. We want to be sure none of them pick up a trail back to us, the Pagans, or you if they were the ones who took your sister. Heath happens to be the person here at the moment. There are several who are taking turns. I couldn’t have us go to a hotel. They might get suspicious of me carrying an unconscious woman or if you started to scream. Here, we can set up ways to be safer and an alert system if anyone comes snooping.”

She seemed to understand if I interpreted her nod correctly.

“I’d like to introduce you to the bosses. They might have questions for you. Would you be willing to get on a video call with me?”

“Yes. When? Now?”

“In a couple of hours. I have to find out when they’re free. Plus, you need to recover from me knocking you out. I won’t tell them what happened to you when you were a teenager. That means I won’t tell them you’ve been involved in eliminating anyone in the past. If we tell them that, they’ll want to know who and why,” I warned her. Usually, I wouldn’t keep anything from my bosses, but this was different.

“It sounds like they won’t allow it if they don’t know I can handle it and keep my mouth shut. I need it, Beau, so we’ll tell them. It’s not as if they’ll go running to the authorities. Will they?”

“No, they won’t. Believe me. They won’t throw anyone under the proverbial bus for something like that. Now, if you’d killed innocent people, that would be a whole different story.”

“Okay then, I think we’ve covered everything for now. If you don’t mind, I’d like to shower and change. After being on the plane all night, I feel grubby. Then, if we have any coffee around here, I’d love a cup.”

“We have coffee, and you certainly can shower. But there’s one other thing we need to talk about.”

She frowned. “What?”

“If you didn’t know I lied about who I was and knowing Reed, then why were you so pissed at me and took off without saying anything?”

A flash of dismay was there, then gone. She schooled her features to give me a bland look. “It was nothing. I was just over waiting and tired. I took out my frustration on you. I’m sorry.”

I knew she was lying, but why? I considered the risk of pushing her to tell the truth or letting it slide until another time. I chose to wait.

“Your bag is in the closet. The bathroom is through that door. I’ll leave you alone so you can shower. How about I come to get you in twenty minutes? I’ll show you around, and we’ll get that coffee.”

“Sounds like a plan. Twenty minutes will do.”

As I left, I began plotting how to get her to tell me the truth and keep Heath from using his charms on her. I wasn’t about to let him flirt with her.

???

Exactly eighteen minutes later, she opened her bedroom door. I was leaning against the wall, waiting for her. While she showered, I went to warn Heath that she was awake and to keep it professional. He smirked at me but didn’t say anything smart-aleck, which wasn’t like him. Also, I messaged the bosses to ask for a video call so they could talk to Keeley and have her meet them. They’d responded, saying they’d call us in two hours.

I fell into step with her as I pointed to the left. “Right this way. I figured you needed coffee first, followed by the tour. We’re having a call with the bosses in about two hours. I forgot to ask. When was the last time you ate? We can have Heath get us something from town. It’s almost lunchtime.”

“I’m not very hungry. A snack would do for me. However, you guys will probably want food, so feel free to get whatever you want.”

“I ate on the plane, and Heath had breakfast, so I think we’ll be good.”

“That reminds me. How did you beat me here?”

We walked into the kitchen as she asked. Before I could answer, Heath did. He was standing at the island.

“He took a private plane. He could fly nonstop, unlike you.”

She stopped. “The Patriots have a private plane? Wow, you must do well.”

I led her to the coffee pot. A cup was already out for her.

“There’s creamer in the fridge and sugar in that canister. As for the Patriots doing well, we do. However, I want to point out that the plane belongs to one of our bosses’ wives. She’s generous and shares it with us whenever she can,” I confessed.

“Then she must do awfully well.”

“Hadley is the CEO and owner of one of the world’s largest defense contractor companies,” Heath chimed in.

“Wow, good for her. What if Hadley needed the plane?” Keeley asked, pouring the coffee.

“She has priority, but we knew she wouldn’t need it. She just gave birth yesterday to her first child, Travis. She and Griffin are enjoying life as new parents,” I told her.

“Oh, that’s so sweet. So when we have our call, who will I meet?”

“Sean, Gabe, and Undertaker, but I wouldn’t rule out Griff joining.”

“Beau, he shouldn’t leave his wife and son alone to talk to me. She needs him. That’s way more important.”

“She does, and he won’t leave them. He’ll probably do it from home. Let’s not worry about that. If you’ve got your coffee, let’s go on our tour. Heath, she’s fine with a snack right now. Are you good with that, or do you want to get food?”

“We’ve got plenty to snack on. I’m good until dinner time. Let me show you around since I’ve been living here, and Beau saw it hastily after we brought you here. I hope you’ll forgive me for assisting in your kidnapping,” Heath said as he smiled at her. The urge to punch him was back.

He took his time showing us not only the inside but also the outside. It was a great place, private, with no neighbors right up on you, watching everything you did. That was a must for us. When we were done, we went back inside, and together, the three of us found something to snack on. For Keeley, it was a selection of nuts and fruit. Heath and I went for a sandwich.

As we ate, he asked her to tell him about what she did with search and rescue. She told him about her last couple of days at work, which had been busy and dangerous. Every time she talked about what she did, my heart pounded. I kept imagining what could go wrong.

Before we knew it, it was time for our video call. Heath excused himself to another room while we set up my laptop in the living room. He told me to holler if anyone needed him on the call. I think he did it to make her feel more relaxed. Her tension had grown the closer we got to the time. She’d become quieter.

She went to the bathroom right before it was time. After she returned, it was only a few minutes until the chime for the video to start came, and then we found ourselves the focus of four sets of eyes on the screen. I was right. Griffin had joined us from his house. I recognized his home office. I’d been to all of their homes more than a few times. I rested my hand on Keeley’s back and gently rubbed it to help her relax. She was so tense.

“Hey, guys, glad you had time to do this. Let me do the introductions. This is Keeley Mills. Keeley, this is Sean, Griffin, Undertaker, and Gabe. They’re the owners of Dark Patriots.” I pointed at each one and named them off for her.

She gave them a faint smile and nodded as she said, “It’s nice to put faces to the names, gentlemen. I’m glad we could do this. I understand you have a newborn son, Griffin. Congratulations, and I doubly thank you for your time.”

His smile grew bigger. “Thank you, Keeley. Yeah, Travis and his momma are napping at the moment. They got home not long ago from the hospital. I know this is important, but if they need me, I’ll have to excuse myself,” he warned.

“I understand,” she assured him.

There was a brief lull, so I filled it. “I told Keeley about what we do and that I wasn’t honest with her when we met. We’ve been working on ironing out our misunderstandings. She’s still determined to help in the search for her sister, even though it may put a target on her.”

“Keeley, we understand the desire to have a part in finding your sister. Believe me, we do. However, as Beau said, it could backfire and bring you to the attention of the people who took her. Since you’re positive that she didn’t leave of her own free will, the conclusion is she was taken. There’s no good scenario I can think of for someone to do that,” Sean said.

Before Keeley could respond to the warning in his tone, Gabe piped up. “And while you may think you want to be there if we find those responsible and to be a part of their punishment, that isn’t something most people want to experience.”

“They’re right. Have you truly thought this through? As hard as we would try to protect your identity, there are no guarantees,” Griffin added.

I knew they were ensuring she had thought it through, but I could’ve saved them time. She wasn’t about to budge. I opened my mouth to tell them that and to explain why when Undertaker spoke.

“Keeley, I can tell you won’t be persuaded to change your mind. I can respect that. And like Griffin said, we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe, but there are no guarantees. Tell us why you’re sure you can be a part of the process, even the final step.”

“I know that you’re concerned about my mental state as well as your safety. What if I were to run to the cops and tell them what you did? You could all spend the rest of your lives in jail. The only way I can prove that won’t happen is to give you something you can use against me if I were to do that, which I won’t. When I was sixteen, I was raped at a party. I was there without permission or my dad’s knowledge. Afterward, I had to tell him what happened. We didn’t report it to the cops or any official. My dad and a friend eventually found the guy responsible. After I verified they had the right person, they took him into the woods.

“There, he was tortured for three days on and off. After those three days were over, the guy was killed. How do I know this? Because I was there and I had not only a hand in torturing the bastard, I was the one who killed him. There you have it—mutually assured destruction for all of us. If I squeal, you squeal.”

Gabe, Griff, and Sean appeared stunned. Undertaker wore a satisfied smirk. They were silent for a good minute or more before Sean said anything.

“Thank you for sharing that with us. We know that couldn’t have been easy.”

“So damn sorry,” Griffin muttered.

“Glad the bastard paid,” Gabe added.

“I knew you were a warrior woman,” Undertaker said.

She blushed but didn’t say anything.

Gabe cleared his throat. “Keeley, if we allow you to work with us, you have to realize that you would do nothing on your own. You would be partnered with one of our people. Any research you might be inclined to do would be done on our equipment and following our protocols. It’s for everyone’s safety. You wouldn’t go off alone. Assuming we find your sister, we’ll devise the best plan to rescue her and remove those involved.”

“Gabe, whether I work with you or not is my choice. I’m not sure about that allowed remark. If I choose to do it on my own, that’s my choice, and you have no say. I don’t work for you. I’m a capable woman who has a brain. But I think you’re overlooking something key.”

“What would that be?” Sean asked.

“Beau told me about his sister, Bryony, Everly, and your wife, Cassidy. He explained how Everly and Cassidy went undercover, helped bring those responsible for taking his sister to justice, and freed Bryony and others. Beau didn’t like it, but I think you should consider using me as bait. I could essentially do what they did.”

This caused mutters from all four of them, but the real protesting was from me.

“Like hell, we’re doing that! They were damn lucky they didn’t lose Cassidy and Everly or that worse didn’t happen to them. You’ve already suffered being hurt once, Keeley. I’m not going to let you risk it again,” I informed her gruffly.

“You’re not the boss of me, either, Beau. If this is the only option or the consensus is, it’s the best one, then I’m doing it, with or without your approval,” she snapped at me.

“Your sweet ass will be locked down,” I threatened.

“Try it and see what happens,” she shot back.

We snarked back and forth at each other for I don’t know how long before a loud, sharp whistle caught our attention, and we fell mute. We faced the screen. I noted they all wore somewhat amused expressions. I had no idea why. This wasn’t funny.

“I think we’ve heard both your sides. I suggest we set that aside. If we need to consider it, we’ll talk it through. We suggest that if you plan to stay the next few days in Spartanburg, you, Beau, and Heath work together. You don’t want to draw attention to your snooping. Beau, you and Heath know how to avoid that. Keeley, stick with them. Learn from them. We know you have to be back in Missoula by Tuesday. See if you can find anything we missed. If you do, Beau, let us know, and we’ll have another call,” Undertaker said firmly.

I knew the discussion was over. We said our goodbyes after Keeley said she’d stick with us. I knew she’d probably have more to say once we disconnected. As the screen went blank, I prepared for her to speak. I was surprised when she stood up.

“Are we planning to go somewhere in the next few hours?” she asked me.

“No, it’ll probably be best to check out the explosion and fire sites after dark. Why?”

“Then I’ll see what Heath has in the pantry, fridge, and freezer to make us dinner. There’s no need to have something brought from town.”

I followed her from the living room to the kitchen, which was connected to it. “You don’t need to cook for us. We don’t expect that.”

“You might not expect it, but it’ll help to keep me occupied. Plus, I like to cook. It relaxes me.”

Heath came strolling in with an expectant look on his face. No doubt he heard us arguing. “Did I hear someone say something about cooking? I don’t expect you to cook, but I won’t turn down a homemade meal if you’re volunteering. My last one was a couple of months ago when Ben and I went to see Blade, Cassia, and Trinity.”

“Who are they? Your family?” she asked.

“No, not mine. Ben and I served together as Army Rangers. We’re best friends. We both gravitated to each other. Cassia is his sister. Has Beau mentioned the Archangel’s Warriors in Dublin Falls?”

After she nodded, he continued, “One of the members, Blade, ended up married to Cassia. Blade is Justin’s cousin, another guy we work with at the Patriots. Justin’s brother is a Warrior, too. His name is Voodoo. We were there to see them, and their daughter, Trinity, and Cassia fixed a home-cooked meal for us.”

“Wow, are the others all connected like that? I mean, as in family?”

“They’re all family regardless of if it’s by blood or not. We’re lucky that they treat some of us the same. Now, tell me what you’re making. If you need anything from the store, I’ll go get it,” Heath told her eagerly.

I stood there and listened to them talk and laugh as she went through what was available. I fought not to be jealous. It wasn’t easy. In the end, she decided what she was going to make but refused to tell us. As we begged her to tell us, she laughed. Keeley claimed she wanted it to be a surprise. She did write out a short list of things she’d need. Heath took it as soon as she was done and headed to town. I was hoping we’d get to spend some time just talking and getting to know each other while he was gone. The past few days in Montana were what I’d enjoyed the most. I wanted to know everything I could about her. And now that I didn’t have to lie about who I was or what I did, I could do the same with her.

“Let’s go for a walk while we wait for him to return,” I suggested.

“I’d like that,” she responded.