Page 1

ONE

MADDOX

Please turn back for a list of trigger warnings.

“ARE YOU SURE you want to do this?” Zeke repeats the same question he’s asked five times already. “I can send someone else. I’m sure?—”

“I’m positive.” I don’t want to hear who he’d send in my place. Don’t want to think about who he believes might be better suited for the task I’ve been assigned. “Eli cleared me three weeks ago, remember?”

Alaskan Security’s resident physician actually gave me more than the all-clear. He gave me a fucking glowing review. Said I tested better now than nine months ago—before I was shot at point blank range and left to die in the snow.

“I remember.” Zeke blows out a sigh, raking one hand through his hair. “Fine. If you say you’re good, then you’re good.”

I wish he sounded like he really believed it, but I’ll take it anyway.

“Agreed.” I lift my brows. “Now can I get the fuck out of here?” I don’t like stalling.

And that’s all my life’s been lately. Stalling.

Biding time while my body healed and recovered.

Waiting for the day I could get back out there doing what I love instead of sitting on the couch eating cookies and watching Netflix.

Watching the world pass me by was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

Not that my life’s been filled with difficulties. I’m one of the few men at Alaskan Security who had an idyllic childhood. One of only a handful with both parents alive, let alone still happily married.

Maybe that’s why the injury I sustained protecting Savannah—Zeke’s now wife, and my close friend—hit me so hard. I’m not used to suffering.

Turns out I don’t fucking like it.

“Yeah. Go.” Zeke motions to the door leading out of the newly renovated gear room at Alaskan Security’s Nashville location. “Don’t let that fucker get anywhere near her.”

A slow smile works across my lips. “I don’t plan on it.”

I grab the bag I packed, haul it over one shoulder, and stride out into the warm fall sun, breathing in a lungful of the sweetly scented air.

I like Nashville. Like the city. Like the weather. Like the new compound where I live and work. Like the people filling it.

But I fucking love what I do. Love being the thing that goes bump in the night. Love knowing I’m the bogeyman for men who need to be wiped from the earth. I love taking them out and sending them where they belong. And I don’t lose a second of sleep over it.

Does that make me a little fucked up? Probably. Does it mean I’ve always been the black sheep of my wealthy, suburban family? Definitely.

It also means these past nine months have been torture. Purposeless and soul sucking.

But they’re over. I’m back and—arguably—better than ever. I can get this one easy job under my belt, prove I’m as good as I’ve ever been, and then everything will be back to normal. Zeke will see I’m not a liability and put me back on the regular roster.

After tossing my bag into the back seat of the dark colored sedan I’ll be using, I get behind the wheel and pull around the large building that’s technically still under construction.

I’m not the only one who’s been busy improving over the past few months.

A whole crew of builders have been hard at work on the warehouse serving as Shadow’s new home base, and the residential housing adjacent to it.

It’s interesting to see how much can be accomplished when a shit ton of money is involved. I watched it happen when Pierce, the owner of Alaskan Security, built the townhouses in Fairbanks where most of Rogue lives, and now I’m watching it happen again here in Nashville.

There’s a total of ten single-family units being built for our team, and five of them are already finished. One of those five is mine since I’ve been grounded and needed a place to stay while I waited out my sentence.

Not anymore.

I roll down the heavily tinted window and swipe my badge to open the gate blocking the property off from the general public, then I’m free. Putting the past nine months farther behind me with every mile I drive.

This isn’t the kind of job I’d normally be excited about taking.

It’s not the kind of job I’d normally be assigned.

Working as a personal bodyguard is more in line with what Alpha and Beta do, but I’m not complaining.

This is a means to an end. A quick way to prove I’m as good as I—and Eli—say I am.

It’s also relatively close to home, making it easier for someone from Shadow to tackle rather than flying in a guy from another team. I can get to where the client lives outside of Memphis in just over two hours by car.

The third, and maybe biggest, reason I’m the one heading to Audrey Hawthorne’s address, is because she’s a friend of Savannah’s.

I’m not naive enough to believe Zeke came up with me being the one to take this job on his own.

I know his wife had a hand in my name being shortlisted.

Savannah and I spend a lot of time together.

She knows just how stir crazy I’ve been.

She also knows I would do anything for her, and she assumes my affection for her will make me more invested in Audrey’s safety.

She’s probably right.

Savannah’s life has been as hard as mine has been easy, and I would do just about anything to make sure she never has to deal with another bad thing. Audrey is her friend, and Audrey will stay her friend—her living, breathing friend.

Anyone who tries to change that will find out the hard way why I’m usually the triggerman when someone has to be taken out.

Because I don’t give a fuck about putting a bullet in the brain where it belongs.

As I close in on the address plugged into my phone’s GPS, I do a lap, circling the area to get a lay of the land and look for anything that stands out. I’m a little surprised to find a suspicious-looking car parked a few houses down from the aging mansion that’s my final destination.

Tapping the screen on the dash, I dial Isaac’s number, waiting for Shadow’s tech lead to answer as I coast past the vehicle in question.

The windows are tinted even darker than mine, making it difficult to see who’s inside, but I’m almost positive it’s a surveillance vehicle.

It’s black and nondescript, with basic rims and dusty paint. Unremarkable by most standards.

Unless you know what you’re looking for.

“Calling already?” Isaac answers as I reach a stop sign. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you… at all, honestly.”

“I wasn’t expecting to call you, but I think I might have company.” I rattle off the location and description of the car as I turn, scanning the surroundings as I work my way along the side street. “Can you run the plate and see if there are any cameras on it?”

“On it.” Isaac hangs up as I reach the closest main road.

Audrey’s first-floor apartment is in an old house that was converted to apartments at least fifty years ago.

And while it’s by no means high-end, it seems to be decently maintained.

The city where it’s located might be close enough to qualify as a suburb of Memphis.

It’s nothing fancy. Mainly strip malls and multi-family housing.

And most of what I’m seeing might even be considered run-down.

But, based on the scaffolding and dumpsters lining the street, the old downtown area seems to be in the process of revitalization.

I mark a few places of interest—grocery store, police station, and a couple gas stations—on my phone, then circle back toward Audrey’s as the sun goes down. I’m pulling into the alley that runs behind her building as Isaac calls back.

I connect the call, studying the rear of the mansion as I ease past. “Find anything interesting?”

“I guess that depends on how you look at things.” The sound of typing carries through the line. “I ran the plate and it came back to a black sedan that matches the car’s description, but the address listed is all the way on the other side of the state.”

“Maybe someone’s visiting family.” I reach the end of the alley and turn in the opposite direction of the car, just in case. “I’m guessing there’s more?”

“There’s for sure more.” Isaac sounds bothered, and he’s a pretty even-keeled guy, so if he’s bothered, then I should be bothered. “We were able to find a camera that has the car within view, but it’s in the distance, so everything’s a little blurry.”

“And?” I check my mirrors, making sure no one’s tailing me, because I’m not liking where this is going.

“And from what we can tell, it pulled into place a few hours ago and no one’s gotten in or out since it parked.” Isaac lays out the reason for his concern.

And it’s a pretty decent reason.

“Well that’s fucking annoying.” I was planning to park my happy ass right in front of Audrey’s house. I’m nothing if not ballsy, and sometimes the best defense is a good offense. If her ex knows she’s got someone with her, the chances he’ll try to cause a problem could go way down.

But now I’m rethinking that plan. At least until I know exactly what I’m dealing with. “Give me a spot to put this thing for now.”

I already passed once in a car that looks a whole hell of a lot similar, so if someone is conducting surveillance, they’re paying just as much attention as I am. I can’t risk them seeing me a second time.

Not yet anyway. Not until I know if my presence will help or hurt.

Isaac directs me to a side street a few blocks away where a number of dark sedans line the curb. I wedge mine into an open spot and wait for the sun to finish its descent while I plan my approach.