Page 2

Ten years later

I t was the anniversary of their rescue, a date the three of them were celebrating at a Myrtle Beach bar. Cooper Devlin and Liam O’Rourke sat across the table from Grayson. They were also celebrating Cooper finally coming onboard The Phoenix Three, the security company they’d founded that specialized in rescuing missing and kidnapped children.

Grayson settled back in the booth as the waitress set three shot glasses each in front of them. He and Liam had opted out of the military a year ago, but Cooper had stayed with his Army ranger team until recently.

“Here’s to those assholes rotting in prison,” Liam said. He poured the contents of the first shot glass down his throat.

“Fucking A.” Grayson downed his.

When he and Cooper had been locked in a room with another boy who’d been kidnapped a few days before, the three of them had bonded during the time they’d been held prisoner. Turned out the kidnappers had only planned to snatch him and Liam for ransom. As for Cooper, he didn’t come from a wealthy family, so Grayson didn’t even want to think of what would have happened to him if they hadn’t been rescued.

And rescued they were. Instead of the millions the kidnappers had demanded, they’d gotten a long prison sentence.

“Here’s to your father,” Cooper said, raising his second shot glass toward Grayson.

It had been Grayson’s father who’d hired the men who’d rescued them. Both his and Liam’s fathers had immediately agreed to pay the ransom, but when the kidnappers had decided that had been too easy, they’d demanded more. Daniel Montana, a former SEAL, decided he wasn’t going to mess around with his son’s life and had called in some favors. In sending a team to rescue his son, Liam and Cooper had benefited, the team also getting them out of that house.

“May he rest in peace,” Grayson quietly said, then downed the contents of the shot glass. It was still hard to believe his father, a man who’d always been larger than life to Grayson, was gone.

“Amen,” Liam and Cooper said in unison.

“Here’s to finally having Cooper join us,” Liam said.

Grayson pointed his empty shot glass at Cooper. “’Bout time.” When one was kept in a dirty room with two other boys—barely fed, a bucket for a bathroom, and not knowing if they were going to live or die—it was no surprise that a lifelong bond was formed. They weren’t blood brothers, but they were brothers all the same.

“I know.” Cooper twirled his shot glass in a circle. “Things weren’t good with my team, and I couldn’t just walk away.”

“Well, you’re here now. The Phoenix Three are finally together. Oorah,” Liam said, giving the US Marines’ battle cry.

“Hooah.” The Army’s battle cry from Cooper.

Grayson gave the Navy’s. “Hooyah.” He glanced at the two best men he knew. “Did you really think when we were still just boys and made a pact after we were back in our cushy lives that we’d actually make The Phoenix Three happen?”

The name had been Liam’s idea. He’d said they’d risen from the ashes. They’d kept in touch after being rescued, and for each of them, settling back into their privileged lives no longer fit. On a group text one night, Grayson had asked the question that had changed their futures.

Do you think there are other kids out there who need rescuing but don’t have parents with the money to ransom them, or the connections to bring in badass men to save them? Kids like Cooper would have been if not for having been abducted with two rich boys.

Cooper: Maybe we should save them.

How? That from Liam.

Almost instantly, the answer appeared in Grayson’s mind, and his heart had raced—in a good way—as the whole picture was laid out in front of him. Grayson had always been fascinated by his dad’s stories from his SEAL days. That was probably why he could see the answer so clearly. His fingers flew over the keys as he texted his vision.

We learn how to plan missions, how to stage rescues, how to fight. Then we come back together and start a company that saves children who don’t have the kind of families we do or the money to rescue them.

Liam: Again, how do we do that?

Cooper: We join the military.

Grayson grinned at how fast Cooper saw the same answer. Exactly .

And that’s what they did. Grayson joined the Navy, becoming a SEAL. Liam enlisted in the Marines, becoming a Marine Raider, an elite Special Forces unit. Cooper became an Army ranger. As afraid and hungry as Grayson had been during those weeks in that room, it had brought these two men into his life and a mission that gave him immense satisfaction. They’d made an impossible dream come true, and he wouldn’t change a thing.

“To The Phoenix Three,” Cooper said, holding up his third shot glass.

Liam held up his. “To the children we’ll save.”

“Especially the children,” Grayson said.

* * *

The next afternoon, Grayson was in The Phoenix Three office by himself. Cooper was taking a few days to get settled in the apartment he’d rented, and Liam was tracking down a fifteen-year-old runaway.

He glanced out the window, and as it always did when taking in the view, his gaze settled on the ocean, visible over the rooftops. Back when he’d told his father their plans, as expected, his dad had been disappointed that his son wasn’t coming to work at the dealerships, but that hadn’t stopped Daniel Montana from giving his support. Cooper had thought Atlanta would be the best place to base The Phoenix Three, especially since it was close to a major airport. Liam hadn’t cared where they settled on as long as it wasn’t in Kansas and anywhere near the father who’d disowned him.

Grayson’s father, however, meant to keep his son close and had made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. He’d buy a building in Myrtle Beach and charge them a hundred a month. And there was a perfectly good airport in Myrtle Beach.

The ocean was Grayson’s happy place, and he’d been relieved when both his partners agreed to base their company in Myrtle Beach. His father had bought a building three blocks from the beach. The Phoenix Three offices were on the top floor, giving Grayson a view of his beloved ocean. The bottom three floors were rented out to other businesses.

They owned the building now thanks to his father. Grayson had inherited his father’s dealerships, and in his will, Daniel Montana had gifted the building equally to the three of them. Grayson was happy that his father had gotten to know Cooper and Liam, had come to love his two best friends. Damn, he missed his dad.

He walked to the window and stared out. Since he was a year old, it had just been him and his dad. The loss of his father was still fresh, and his throat closed and his eyes burned as he lifted his gaze to the sky. “Hey, old man. You better be happy up there. I’m counting on you getting reprimanded by God for flirting with the pretty angels.”

A soft bell sounded, indicating that someone had pushed the elevator button for the fourth floor. The early warning that someone was coming up to their floor was one of the first security measures they’d installed.

His appointment was on her way up. Over the phone, Harlow Pressley had sounded meek as a mouse with her soft voice that he’d had to strain to hear as she reluctantly answered his preliminary questions. He’d tried to form a picture of her, but all he could see in his mind was…well, a little brown mouse trying to hide in the shadows. She’d sounded desperate, though. Something to do with her son, and he’d agreed to see her.

They hadn’t hired a receptionist yet, so he walked out to the lobby to meet her. A minute later, the elevator door opened, and she froze at seeing him. He hadn’t meant to scare her. Realizing the door was closing, he put his hand out to stop it.

“Miss Pressley?” She’d said she needed help with her son but had refused to say over the phone what that help was, and she’d only said her name was Harlow Pressley. He didn’t know if she was married or single, so he went with the Miss.

She nodded.

“I’m Grayson Montana.” Along with softening his voice, he smiled, hoping it would put her at ease. “You’re right on time.” He stepped back to give her plenty of room to walk past without touching him.

As for his image of a shy mouse, he’d nailed it. She scurried by him, then seemingly at a loss as to where to go, she stilled. Her back was to him, and his gaze took in her hair in a tight bun, the brown print dress that looked at least a size too large that covered her from her neck to an inch below her knees, the beige knit sweater and the brown soft-soled shoes. From the brief glimpse he’d had of her face, he guessed her to be in her mid to late twenties. Why would she dress like that?

He moved around her. “My office is down the hall.” She didn’t respond, just followed him in those quiet old-lady shoes. He walked behind his desk, then waved his hand at one of the chairs facing him. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Water, coffee, a soda?”

“No thank you.” She sat, fussed with the hem of her dress, making sure that it covered her knees, and then pulled her sweater tight around her chest.

He took the opportunity to study her while she was getting settled. She didn’t wear any makeup, not even lipstick, and her skin was pale, as if she never let the sun touch her face. Her hair was honey blond, and he imagined it was pretty when not coiled in a tight ball. It was her eyes that had him blinking in surprise. They were the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. They put him in mind of the sea around the Virgin Islands. Almost turquoise. They were beautiful and unique.

With her dress and sweater fixed to her liking, she stared down at her hands where they were clasped tightly on her lap. Instinctively, he knew he was going to have to treat her with kid gloves. She was pretty, would maybe be beautiful if she wasn’t trying so hard to fade into the woodwork. He couldn’t imagine that she’d always been like this, and he wanted to have a word with whoever had turned her into a scared little mouse.

“Before we start, I need some basic information. Full legal name, address, home and cell phone numbers, and your email address.”

“Why do you need all that?”

“Because you’re asking for our help, so I need to know all the ways I can contact you. I’m not going to show up on your doorstep unannounced, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m sorry,” she said to her knees. Then, still not looking at him, she rattled off all her information.

“Thank you.” From the way she meekly apologized, he guessed she was used to being sorry for something. That didn’t set right with him. He picked up one of his business cards and, after writing on the back, slid it across the desk to her. “I know you have the office number, but my cell phone number’s on the back. You can reach me anytime of the day or night. Now, you mentioned that you needed help with your son,” he said, still keeping his voice soft. “Let’s start with his name.”

“Tyler.” She tucked the card into her purse.

As he had on the phone when she’d called to make an appointment, he had to strain to hear her. He rested his elbows on his desk and leaned toward her. “How old is Tyler?”

“Five.”

They were going to be here all afternoon if she was only going to give him one-word answers. “What is it you need from The Phoenix Three?”

For the first time, her eyes met his, and there was a fierceness in them that surprised him. “I need you to help me get custody of him, Mr. Montana.”

“Grayson.” Getting her to use his first name was one way to get her to start trusting him. “Where is your son now?”

“His father has full custody.”

Oh, boy. The last thing he wanted was to get in the middle of a custody battle. The Phoenix Three specialized in finding children who’d been kidnapped or abducted or were runaways. They did not get involved in family disputes. “Miss Pressley, I think you need a good lawyer.”

“No! You don’t understand, Mr. Montana. I had a good lawyer. It didn’t help.”

“Grayson.” Had she been declared an unfit mother? If so, there was nothing he could do to change that. He should send her on her way, but the desperation in those pretty blue eyes was impossible to turn his back on. He’d talk to her for a little, maybe give her some advice before apologizing for not being able to help her.

“Why don’t you explain your situation.” Ah, hell. There were tears in her eyes now.