Page 30 of The Ranger (Black Hawke Security #5)
JAKE
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W ell, I wasn’t expecting that.
Especially after pissing off half of Josh Hawke’s team when we arrived at the LA warehouse last week. But fuck, the North Koreans had their hands on a top-secret military chip that, had it left US soil, would have been very, very bad.
Like major fuck up.
When my team was briefed and called in, we grabbed our weapons and leaped into the unmarked vehicles outside.
Throw in a pregnant civilian who was in labor and, Jesus fucking Christ, the stakes were bad. I lost my cool.
I wanted these unofficial security guys out of my way. Yeah, I knew who they were, but we—the Marshals—were the only ones with the authority to deal with it.
Legally.
Key word here.
Unfortunately, Chen got away.
I wouldn’t say I agreed to work with the Black Hawke Security team. Josh doesn’t take no for an answer well.
So I’m finding out.
In fact, he never listened. The Navy SEAL and his team plowed ahead using systems that, let’s just say, aren’t government approved (cough) and “together” we were able to track Chen Lee-Park eventually, and he’s now behind bars.
None of those methods will be officially stated on the paperwork.
“Can’t say I’m thrilled at having to circle around the documentation,” I said when I agreed to meet Josh for a beer a few days ago.
“You’d be less happy if your men found footage of Chen boarding a plane and out of your jurisdiction.”
I let out a dry laugh.
“Yeah.” Then I glanced at him. “And ironically, they’d probably send your old team in to sort it out.”
Josh shrugged. “Or me.”
I lifted a brow. “You do black ops privately? For the gov?”
“No,” he smirked.
So that was a yes.
Jesus. I had no idea.
When he sat sipping his beer, I realized he was letting that sink in.
I turned in my seat. “You’re recruiting me.”
Josh, who wore a fitted black T-shirt, looked like a mix between Jason Momoa and Tom Cruise (from the first Top Gun), lay his forearm along the bar and tapped his fingers for the check.
“I need more good men. New expertise for more work that we are being sent, and you fit the bill.” Josh glanced at his watch. “You just saw how we get things done. Like when I was in the Teams but faster. Much fucking faster.”
I couldn’t argue; I’d seen it firsthand.
Josh was right; Chen Lee-Park could have made it out of the country if his guys hadn’t used their technology to track him. Not that we didn’t have even better technology...we just had to abide by laws that a private security company didn’t.
After they hacked into the airport cameras and found him, my team was lined up and ready.
Just by coincidence, of course.
(cough)
So, yeah, all of that was within government capability but much slower.
“I heard you worked with NCMEC for a time?” Josh asked.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led a ten-week national operation to find endangered missing children, and the United States Marshals Service was one of the agencies who assisted.
I was on that team.
The operation was conducted across sixteen states, including Los Angeles. We found critically missing children and were able to raise awareness of the epidemic of missing children in America.
“I did.” I spun my beer on the countertop. “My cousin went missing when I was a kid. It’s why I joined the US Marshal Service.”
“I know.”
Fucker. Of course, he did.
I should’ve known he’d looked into my past. Much of it is locked down because of my job.
Not that it would stop BHS.
“Join my team. I’ll triple your current salary, and you’ll be able to make much more of an impact. Help many more children.”
I thought about it for a long moment while Josh impatiently waited.
“We might work better together on both sides of the aisle. As we did on this job.”
Josh shook his head.
“You haven’t seen the half of it. Only the tip of the iceberg.
” He tossed back his drink, let out a satisfied sigh, then looked me in the eye.
“Think on it. It’s a big decision, I know.
Leaving the SEALs took months. But I need good men to help these kids, and I think you have it in your blood to step outside the boundaries you live within. ”
He was wrong.
I was a rule follower.
I just didn’t agree with all the rules all the time.
Shit...the goddamn SEAL was right again.
Shaking my hand, he dropped a big tip and walked out.
Josh Hawke is a huge man. Over six foot four and built like a brick shithouse. Some would say I was a big guy, and I am, but just for a moment I’d smiled, imagining being on a battlefield with that guy.
Definitely wouldn’t want to be on the other team.
I sat for an hour in the bar after he left, deliberating on my future.
It was a huge decision. I’d risen through the ranks and gotten to a place I was happy, where I thought I was making a difference. Until I saw what else was possible.
Recently, I’d broken up with my girlfriend, and while I was relieved because we seemed to just argue at every turn, I couldn’t help but feel we’d thrown away something.
Something was off, and she didn’t seem to want to work it out, so we parted.
Maybe this was the fresh start I needed.
Mom always told me to sleep on things. Especially big life choices.
“Things always look different in the daylight, son,” she must have said a million times.
Standing in my kitchen, I pick up my phone and text Josh. He’s given me a few days to decide, and I am ready.
Today I’m going to see them all at the wedding, so I might as well break the news to him before I get there.
I’m in.
I drop the phone and head to the shower.
Looks like I’m the newest member of the Black Hawke Security team.
Shit. Now I have to resign.