Page 69 of The Souls We Claim

And with that, I pick her up and take her downstairs.

21

HALO

We finally have a fucking lead the following day, and it needs the kind of precision I’m used to. Stealth entry, extraction, leave no trace. If we do this right, no one will ever know we were there.

Camden, New Jersey, is an hour’s ride from Asbury Park and is considered one of the worst places to live in Jersey because of its murder and crime rate. The good news is that it will make it easier to do what we need to do. People mind their own business in a place like this.

Sitting next to King on one of the side seats, looking out the front window of the van, I can see why. Boarded and semi-demolished buildings flank either side of the road in this part of the city. Rubble spills onto the sidewalk. Darkness hangs dangerously over everything, and there’s an uneasy lack of life. No people on their porches. No vehicles moving. No lights.

Perfect for what we’re here to do.

It’s meant to be a quick in and out for intelligence purposes.

All we need is a lead to my half-brother.

We’ve come in the van because ten bikes and riders in cuts can attract attention. Instead, we’re all dressed in black. Mybody is loaded with weapons. I have knives on my belt, in my boot.

My trusted M4A1 has been cleaned, tested, and loaded. Fucking love it in a close-quarter shoot-out, as its high velocity turns body armor into cheesecake. Ari was making a lasagna while I took it apart and cleaned it at the kitchen table. She didn’t ask why I was cleaning it. Neither did she ask why I was dressed for death.

Instead, she fed me pasta and said whatever I was going out to do probably needed a full stomach.

Fucking good lasagna too.

I keep thinking about listening to her talk to Lola over the baby monitor yesterday.

I want him to think I’m the prettiest woman he knows.

She doesn’t need to try hard. Already know that’s true.

I watched as she danced around to country songs in the kitchen as she cooked. At one point, she picked Lola up and was twirling her around, making them both laugh so hard I forgot I was supposed to be dealing with Dad’s things. I just leaned back in the chair, smiling as I sipped my beer, watching the two of them.

Pure innocence bringing my home alive.

Like the photo frame that appeared in the hallway with pictures of me and Lola. Seemed wrong that Ari wasn’t in there with us.

None of it changes the fact that the very best thing I can do for her, as young as she is, with the past she has, is to put her out into the world so she can choose what and who she really wants next. I’m a safe landing place. I’m better than what she had, yet not as good as she could get.

But I’d be lying to myself if the whole thing didn’t suck. Mom’s gone. Dad’s gone. Soon Ari will be too, taking Lola with her.

And, worse, I’m the one pushing her toward the door.

I guess I face two possible futures. One where I settle down with Ari and Lola, worrying that she’ll leave sooner or later. Or an alternate one where I go on alone, filling the gaps with unemotional sex in between the occasional visit with the two of them.

I should let her go, but…

Which is why I’m now thinking about her instead of the two Sig Sauer P226s on my hips and the ton of ammo I brought with me in case shit turns nasty.

“I’ll lead us in,” I say to no one in particular.

Spark leans forward. “Fuck that shit.I’lllead us in.”

“This is my blood family,” I remind him.

“The very reason you shouldn’t even be here, let alone go first.”

“A Marine versus a SEAL,” Niro says in the tone of a wildlife documentary maker. “Who will win this display of ego?”