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TWENTY

PAUL

I slid the door closed behind me and leaned over the railing near Keith. “Hey, man,” he said but kept his eyes on the busy marina below, “how ya holding up?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Ask me again when this is all over.”

“Shit,” he lowered his head, “I seriously understand that statement.”

“Can I ask you something?” He looked over. “Do you look at me any different from when you knew me before, versus now, I mean? When you think of them ,” I meant the Cartel, “do you think of me?”

He fiddled with the wedding ring he wore on his right hand and seemed to think about his words.

“You know what I see when I look at you Paul? I see a man who gave up everything for Blackstone and your country. Don’t forget how many women you and Chili saved during that time as well.

You played a role for a decade. Put your whole life on pause.

You didn’t have to do it, but you did. To me, that’s a true soldier.

” I pushed back the emotion that had taken me over.

I hated this whole topic, but knew Keith, out of all the guys had been the one who handled my return the easiest.

My son, Nicole, this whole mission played with my head, and I hated the disconnect I seemed to have with John since I’d come back. He was my best friend, my brother, and although it might be on my side, I had to find my way back.

“Thanks, man. I feel like I’m slipping backward.”

Keith stood straight. “What do we do when we slip?”

“I know.” I nodded and knew what I needed to do. “What about?—”

“We’re up, boys,” John shouted from the behind the door, and we were instantly ready to move down to the boat. John handed Nicole her earpiece and told her to hang back and let us know if she recognized anyone. We headed down the back stairs to blend in with the nightlife of the marina.

Mark signaled Selena was coming up to the boat. We sank into the shadows and blended the best we could. We had no idea if we were the only ones watching the slip. I was the closest to the boat and had a good view.

We could hear the baby’s cries as Selena got close.

My stomach took a nosedive, and my heart went with it.

There was my son in a filthy Onesie flopping around on her hip like a rag doll.

His mouth was open, and his cries echoed through the lines of boats.

His face was flushed, and he looked terrified.

Something inside of me shifted, and I saw red.

“Easy, brother,” John said softly in my ear. “Play this out right.”

“I demand to know where Arlo is!” Selena snapped into her phone in English, and I wondered who she was speaking to.

From our research, we knew Arlo was her boyfriend and another one of the Canos’ soldiers.

“You brought me here, and I didn’t sign up for this shit!

” She looked at my boy. “Cállate!” My grip on my handgun tightened when she yelled at my child to shut up. “This wasn’t the deal!”

“Let her onto the boat,” Cole said through our earpieces. “Let’s make sure no one else is coming.”

“I don’t know when he ate last.” She cursed again.

“All he does is scream!” She yelled right in my baby’s face when she spoke.

“I hate this kid. I’m done!” She hopped onto the boat and practically chucked my son on the bench seat.

He struggled to sit up, and when he did, he put his head back and screamed some more.

“I hate you!” Selena whirled with her hand raised to slap him, and then, to my horror, Nicole appeared next to the boat with her hands in the air.

“Everyone hold,” I said quickly as I tried to process what was happening. This was not in the plan. “Nicole, what are you doing?” She didn’t answer, but I knew she could hear me.

“Excuse me?” Nicole called, and Selena quickly snatched up my son and glared at her.

“Go away!”

“Sorry for bothering you,” Nicole pressed, “but I heard your baby crying, and as a mother myself, I recognize the stress you must be under. My daughter has bad colic, and there are times when I think if someone could just see how I was about to lose it and take my child just for a minute so maybe I could think straight. What’s the baby’s name? ”

Selena squeezed her eyes shut as Nicole stepped down onto the boat. “Stop!” she yelled, but Nicole didn’t stop. Panic ripped through me, and I fought to stay still.

“We’re only human,” I heard her say through the screams. “Why don’t I hold the baby for a sec, and you can take a minute to breathe.” Selena shifted my son to her other hip and seemed to be considering the idea.

“Hold,” Cole ordered. “See if she’ll make the transfer.”

Nicole took a step closer. “We mothers need to stick together. Let me help you.” My boy, though still screaming, seemed to have turned his gaze to Nicole.

“Hey, there, sweetheart.” She waved at him and gave him a big smile, and we could hear him hiccup through his wails.

She reached for him, but Selena jumped back.

“Get back!” She reached into her bag and pulled out a gun and pointed it at my son’s head. John’s hand clamped down on my shoulder to hold me in place. “I hate this kid! I hate this place!”

“Hey,” Nicole stepped closer, and my vision blurred for a moment, “point the gun at me, not at the baby. If you want to kill someone, you kill me.”

“Just leave me alone!”

“Selena.” Nicole used her real name, and the woman’s eyes went wide. She swung the gun toward Nicole. “That’s right, keep the gun on me, drive that bullet into my head. If you’re going to be a murderer, do it right.”

“John…” I could barely speak, barely breathe.

“I know.” He kept his hand in place. “She’s got this.”

“If Selena hurts her…” I couldn’t finish the sentence because I couldn’t believe I said it.

Selena shuffled to the side of the boat, the gun still on Nicole. “Who are you?”

“I’m a friend, just trying to help.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Nicole reached for her phone, holding it up for her to see. “Rafael sent me.”

“Smart play,” John grunted.

“I was just talking to him, but he never mentioned you.”

“I was late,” Nicole looked around the boat then back to her, “but I’m here now. Just give me the boy, and you can be done here.”

Selena started to panic, and I knew something was about to happen.

She shook my son, and he screamed even louder, then she hauled back and smacked him across his face with the back of the hand with the gun in it.

Nicole jumped in horror and covered her face while John kept an iron grip on me to stop me from leaping onto the boat.

“That gun’ll go off, Paul,” he hissed, and I could feel his terror.

“He needs to die the way his mama did!” Selena screamed and awkwardly dangled my son over the edge of the boat.

Everything went still inside me. John let me go, and I jumped to my feet.

Nicole’s eyes flew to mine, and she seemed to read my mind.

I raised the gun and drilled a bullet through her temple, and as Selena’s arms gave out, Nicole caught my son, mid-fall.

Selena fell over the side, and Nicole wrapped her arms around his tiny body and pressed him to her.

I leapt aboard the boat before I heard Cole’s command to move. John was right next to me as the rest of the guys ran toward us. I grabbed Nicole by the elbows as she clung to my son and made sure she was all right.

“I’m okay.” Her eyes were glossy, and she was shaking, but she was fine. “It’s okay, sweetie, you’re okay now. It’s okay.” She worked to console him, but he was too far gone.

“Damn.” I huffed and stepped back from them, at a total loss.

John squeezed my shoulder and handed me my bag.

He understood my need for something to do, and I started to plant some evidence that would make it look like Bruno and his soldiers had been there.

They had a style when it came to ransacking a place, and I added one more thing for good measure.

“Is that a York candy wrapper?” Nicole asked.

I didn’t answer her. We didn’t have time.

“Let’s go.” Keith stepped onto the side of the boat and plucked two out of the three little cameras we’d planted. We wanted to see if they took the bait on Bruno. “I don’t trust we haven’t been seen.”

Nicole grabbed the bag Selena had dropped and stuffed in a few diapers along with some salted crackers she had brought.

“Let’s go.” I steered them off the boat and down the shoreline where we carefully made our way back toward the boat we arrived on. It wasn’t easy with my son still wailing, but who could blame him?

I hopped into the boat first and reached for my son, but he had a fistful of her dress and his head was buried into her chest as he cried.

I knew from working at Shadows that our ‘guests’ needed to be handled very carefully, and if they found comfort in one of us, we didn’t intervene.

Besides, now wasn’t the time. Instead, I reached out and practically lifted them both into the boat and down to the seat.

Within seconds, we were idling away from the shore and into the open water. My head spun with how everything went down, and I found myself getting upset with Nicole and how she put herself in danger. At the same time, she’d saved my son from likely drowning.

The guys were on high alert, and I checked to make sure I had a bullet in the chamber. We were far from being safe.

“It’s okay, sweet boy.” Nicole gently rocked him as he held on to her for dear life. “I’ve got you. You’re okay.” She kissed his head then looked at me. His cries seemed a little less loud. “Paul? Can I have your hoodie again?”