Page 6

M addox

My gut told me I was wrong.

Less than two minutes later, another voice sounded from behind me, the man’s amused laugh yanking at my breath.

Someone else had been inside the bar watching the floorshow. The sound of his boots hitting the cheap wooden floor issued enough of a warning I almost reached for my weapon.

Sadly, shooting customers wasn’t taken kindly in a town with a population of barely five thousand. A location where everyone knew everyone. At least that’s the way it seemed.

Jeff shot the newcomer a look and shifted to a full standing position, immediately walking away. As the person approached, I didn’t bother checking to see who it was, preferring to take a long pull on my beer.

“You’re a long way from Baltimore,” I said and threw back the rest of the Jack.

“I never could sneak up on you.” As the man slid onto the barstool next to me, I shook my head. “You’re still a target.”

“You mean the three stooges? They’re nothing.”

“So I gathered.”

It had been a long time since I’d heard my commander’s voice.

“You’re the one who called?” I threw out, as if I cared. Whatever reason had made him determined to find me, I just didn’t care. My past would stay in the past.

“Yeah. You never answer your phone.”

I turned my head, studying my former commander. Gray Jenkins had been a solid leader, a man unafraid of going into the trenches with his men. For that alone, I respected him. “Maybe that’s because I prefer my privacy. You just had to track me down?”

“Yeah, I did.” He motioned to the bartender and ordered a beer. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him have a drink. “You’re not hard to find.”

Maybe my habits were too telling. I’d need to change that. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to think they knew me.

“This about Kage? If it is, I’m not in the mood to hear any shit.”

Kage Rollins, the man I’d once considered a brother. He had been in the sense of a brother in arms, a decorated SEAL who’d trained and served beside me. Sometimes friendships couldn’t handle the treacherous missions doled out on a daily basis.

“You two need to bury the hatchet. You’re both stubborn mules.”

My laugh sounded bitter. Up until a few months ago, we’d both turned a misunderstanding into a level of hatred that almost never cured. “We have our reasons. We talked. We settled shit. We’re not going to be best buddies. That’s all there is to it.”

There was a hell of a lot more to the story and Gray knew it, but the incident that had trashed our relationship would remain dead and buried.

“Well, at least you talked, but that’s not why I’m here.” He immediately wrapped his hand around the cold bottle, closing his eyes when he took a gulp.

“Then why the fuck are you here?” I turned my head, noticing he was glancing around the bar, worried about unwanted ears.

“We have a situation. From what I just witnessed, you’re still in top form.”

“We? Last time I checked, I’m retired.”

His sigh was exasperated. “I need your help with something, Maddox. I won’t lie to you. Your name was first in my mind.”

“Like I said, I’m retired.” The man asking for help was rare.

I’d heard from Kage that his help had been requested on an extraction mission months before, but that didn’t interest me.

Even if Kage had ultimately found the love of his life by doing so.

I had no idea why Gray remained in the business in the first place except that he, like most SEALs, craved the adrenaline rush.

“Hear me out,” Gray said.

“Why should I? If this has anything to do with the Navy, I’m not interested. Kage told me you asked for a favor. Almost got him killed.”

“You’re a fucking hardhead. Goddamn it, Maddox. No one accused you of anything. Why the hell are you so bitter?”

Maybe he was right in that my hesitation was all about being called a traitor when I’d been following orders. The entire situation had been one big fucking mess.

Sadly, the nightmares had prevented me from shutting down the agonizing memories.

I laughed before polishing off my beer. “No one? Try again. I was close to being labeled a war criminal. I lost respect and friendships. Worse, I lost my brothers, two men I would have died for. I think I have every right to be bitter. Now, I’ve got stuff to do.

” I stood, starting to yank out my wallet.

He was quiet for a few seconds.

“This is about El Salvador. This is about getting even.”

Well, holy fuck. My time there had been a nightmare come true.

My actions ceased and I took a deep breath. He knew exactly the one thing that would grab my attention. “Getting even? What about it? I did what was necessary in order to survive. I almost died in the process.”

“But you didn’t get Alfaro and I know you. That’s kept you enraged.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Exhaling, I fisted my hand. Fernando Alfaro had taken what had been left of my humanity.

He’d also killed two talented SEALs in the process.

I’d been held like some caged rat in a sweat box for a few weeks before being rescued.

Weeks of torture and interrogations while plotting to carve out the man’s black heart.

I’d come close, raiding his house and exterminating several of his soldiers.

The fucker had lived because he’d been on vacation.

“I don’t need to remember the shit, Gray.

Just ask the pretty little psychiatrist who stated I needed continued anger management. ”

Gray rubbed his jaw. “I read the report. I know what you’re capable of on both sides of the coin.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning there’s a woman who’s gotten herself into what could end up being a very dangerous situation.”

“A woman. Just any woman?”

“She’s an investigative reporter for the Chicago Sun . A damn good one. Award winning. But she’s ruffled a lot of feathers over the years.”

“And that means what to me?” My patience was already wearing thin. Images flashed into my mind, the kind that had turned me into a killer. I’d tried long and hard to forget the damage inflicted on me so I could try to return to a normal life.

“Sit the fuck down and let me buy you another beer. This could be something involving national security.”

Gray had rarely cussed when almost every other instructor and commanding officer had thrown out curse words with every sentence.

Jeff was watching us intently. I nodded.

One more beer wasn’t going to do a damn thing given my tolerance.

“Alright. Go on.” He knew enough about me to also gather I was a true patriot even after all I’d been through.

“She went down to El Salvador with a team to report on the effect of cartels on children, including with orphanages. The violence has taken a toll, destroying thousands of lives because of Alfaro’s greed.

There have been a few reports of the man farming underage girls from the facilities for use in human trafficking. ”

“Sick fuck.” I wouldn’t put anything past the reprehensible scumbag.

“Yeah, he is.” Gray seemed more nervous than before, lowering his voice. “There’s also some indications he’d kidnapped several women attached to some powerful men.”

“His enemies.”

Gray nodded.

“Let me guess. These women aren’t coming back.”

“No one knows and as you might imagine, Alfaro owns the police in El Salvador. There’s an unconfirmed report Ms. Douglas was provided with information about the situation and is using the stories on orphanages as a cover.”

Something inside forced me to laugh. Not that the subject matter was funny. “A cover? Does she have a death wish?”

“That’s what I asked.” He was staring at his bottle.

“What’s this woman to you?”

“I know her family. They asked if I knew of anyone who could provide protection while encouraging her to leave the country.”

I’d known Gray long enough to know when he was hiding something. “There are about a thousand decent security firms in the country, more if you included those in other countries. You don’t need me.”

“You’re the best tracker in the business. You know the jungles and rainforests like the back of your hand.”

Just the words alone were enough to try to capsize my decent day, memories poking at the festering sores all over again. They’d never gone away and never would. But I certainly didn’t need some damsel in distress reminding me I’d been a damn fool.

I remained quiet, doing nothing more than sipping on my beer.

“Why not Stone or Kage?”

Gray laughed. “Stone is MIA at the moment and Kage is currently embroiled in legislation involving his horse sanctuary. Plus, he has a family now.”

“Horse sanctuary?” Hell, I thought I’d gone out on a limb purchasing my ranch after seeing it online once.

“He didn’t tell you about that?”

“We’re not going to be best friends ever again, Gray.”

“Yeah, well. His uncle thought Kage needed something to fill his life. When he died, he left his ranch to Kage and purchased a sanctuary for him. Plus, he’s got his hands full with a lovely lady he rescued a few months back. You two should talk.”

“We’re done talking. He cleared his conscience.” I found I was gritting out the words. I’d been close to Kage for years, the man more like a brother. One night had changed everything. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He hung his head and I was ready to walk out for a second time. “She did a report a few months back on Alfaro that rattled the man’s cage.” He allowed the comment to hang, slowly turning his head in my direction.

“Uh-huh. I’m not an idiot. No one in the military or the state department would care about some reporter getting tangled in a mess even though it involves Alfaro. Not unless she’d potentially stepped into a cesspool of quicksand. What else? I don’t buy what you’re telling me is the only reason.”

The man did another check that no one was listening. “It’s possible she has access to information regarding Mercury Fulminate.”

What the hell?