Page 9 of Trapped (Sheppard & Sons Investigations #6)

Nathan

W hen Jay asked if I wanted to talk about my anxiety attack, I said no. Then he surprised me by explaining why SSI had delayed my interview. He and Cate were investigating a missing person and were held hostage after their cover was blown. He didn’t go into detail, but they were tortured.

We have more in common than I realized.

“Because of the drug in my system, I couldn’t move. I watched Cate get shot.” I wasn’t hard to see that Jay still carried guilt.

While I appreciated his openness, I wasn’t ready to share yet. Though he’d be the perfect person to talk to if I changed my mind.

Jay’s situation happened more recently than mine, and he watched the woman he loved get shot. I couldn’t help but wonder, how had he healed so fast?

“Do you still have nightmares?” I asked.

“Yeah, but therapy is helping.” He paused. “It also helps that my family understands.”

Therapy and family.

One I had. One I didn’t.

Never had one. I grew up in the system. Lucky for me, I was smart and strong. One talk with a Navy recruiter, and I’d made my career choice.

“You’re lucky.”

Jay’s eyes glazed over for a second before he said, “I am.”

There’s a story there.

Growing up, I prayed for a forever family. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Joining the military was a no-brainer for me—it gave me the family I’d always wanted.

I signed my enlistment papers on my eighteenth birthday.

Two years later I entered BUDS, and fifteen months after that I’d earned my Trident.

Having that pin punched into my chest was my proudest moment. Only I had no one to share it with.

Except my fellow newly pinned SEALs. Some we’d lost, and some I’d lost touch with after they left the Navy, but there was one person I staying in contact with.

Kroupa wasn’t just my teammate; he was a friend.

After we returned to the office, I texted him.

Hey man, it’s been a while. Let’s grab a beer.

His reply came a few minutes later.

Sounds good. How’s SSI?

Good so far. I like being on a team again.

I won’t say I told you so, but...

Yeah yeah. I gotta run. Give the wife a hug for me.

Kroupa had moved just outside of Dallas, to be near his wife’s family after leaving the Navy, and started a dog training business. He specialized in police and search training. I’d stayed with them during my recovery, and he was the reason I was at SSI.

She’ll tell me to say hi, so hi.

I turned off my phone before heading to the SSI training center.

The SSI/Law Enforcement Training Center, also known as SLETC—pronounced as Slet-C—was located at the back end of the SSI property. The construction crews had finished the shoot house construction two weeks ago, and today we’d test it.

“I’ve set the targets,” John said once everyone arrived. “The Sierra team’s up first.”

Sierra was the original team—Jamie, Jack, AJ, and Doug. John was part of the team, but today he’d run training. The newly formed Bravo team consisted of Jaden, Maxwell, me, and the new guy, Matt, another retired SEAL, who was scheduled to start in two weeks.

Today was a combination of testing the new shoot house and working with our new teams. Despite being our first time working together, I trusted Bravo could clear the house without any issues.

“Bravo One,” John said, switching to our call signs.

“Yes, sir,” I answered. Initially, it’d surprised me when they named me team lead, but after thinking about it, it made sense; Jaden was our sniper, and Maxwell had less experience, despite being at SSI the longest.

Having led my SEAL team, I felt confident I could lead the SSI team.

“Prep your team,” John said.

“Yes, sir.”

We walked to the fifty-yard range on the other side of the tall rock and dirt berm to discuss tactics.

“You good?” Jay, Bravo Two, asked. I understood his concern, but I’d been fine since the incident in the car.

“Yes. You have any arguments against covering the door and hall?” It wasn’t an exciting job, but as a Marine Raider, he could clear a room without breaking a sweat. I didn’t have the same blind faith in Maxwell’s skills. I’d need to see her in action and evaluate before trusting her skills.

“I am.”

“Good. Bravo Three, you’ll go in first after Two breaches the door.” After Maxwell nodded, I continued, “I’ll follow and Bravo Two will hold the hall.”

“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison.

We practiced lining up and moving together, miming rifle movements with our hands, while waiting for our turn.

“Bravo Team!” John called over the berm. “You’re up.”

I fist-bumped Jay and Maxwell before following them to the house.

“How’d it go?” Jay asked as we approached the members of Sierra.

“We killed it,” AJ answered with a laugh.

“Funny,” Jay said. The rest of us laughed. Cate rolled her eyes.

“Gear up,” John ordered.

We holstered our blue training pistols and slung our blue training rifles.

The training guns fired non-lethal projectiles and were perfect for close-quarters training with or without human targets.

The plastic paintball-like rounds were bullet-shaped and had a colored, water-soluble marking compound.

We used them because they were faster and more accurate than paintballs.

They hurt more too. Pain is a great training aid.

“Let’s go,” I said, before putting on my protective face shield.

We lined up outside the door. When John was in position on the catwalk, he gave the order to begin.

I signaled to Maxwell; she signaled Jay.

We were ready. After silently counting to three, Jay ripped the door open, and we went to work.

Maxwell was better than I expected, and Jay was exactly what I expected from a spec ops guy.

It was our first training run of any kind, so it wasn’t as smooth as I’d like, but it wasn’t shit either.

When we got back to the front, Jay gave his former team shit. “Which one of you idiots shot a hostage?” he asked, taking his mask off.

“What are you talking about?” Jack asked.

“Poor kid had a hole in his head,” Jay said, grinning.

“You sure that wasn’t you?” AJ asked.

“Wait, I didn’t see a kid,” Doug said.

“Didn’t anyone teach you to identify your target before you fire?” Jay asked.

Before things spiraled out of control, Maxwell reeled Jay in by saying nothing more than his name. “Jaden.”

“He’s fucking with you.” I put their minds at ease.

AJ punched Jay in the arm.

Jay returned the favor.

I just shook my head and watched.

Not what I expected from a small-town family private investigation company. But I liked it.

Back in the office, I showered before scouring the internet for everything I could find on Ashley York. Ignoring the guilt and my conscience calling me a stalker, I scanned her social media accounts and looked into her work history.

I justified my actions by reminding myself that everyone in this day and age did a social media search for the person they were interested in.

Ashley’d be disappointed when she tried to find me. I didn’t have a social media presence. I wasn’t even listed on the SSI website, since they’d removed everyone from the About Us page after what happened with Jay and Cate.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ashley was an open book. Some things I knew from our conversations, like how she’d lost her parents young in a car accident, she was a marketing major in college, and she worked for a marketing firm in Dallas.

In Vegas, she said she’d never been married and didn’t have kids.

Thankfully, the search gave me no reason to believe that either of those things had changed. Not that it mattered, despite what Jay said, I didn’t expect her to forgive me. She was less than receptive when I explained why I had to lie, and I couldn’t, wouldn’t, bother her with the details.

Even if it’d make it easier for her to forgive me . She didn’t need her innocence shattered with my horrific war stories.

“Back to work.” I forced myself to focus on the task at hand.

Ashley spent a lot of time on social media. Not surprising given her career . Making it easy to research the last few months of her life.

The most recent posts caught my attention.

She loved her job, so why is she job hunting ? Going back a little further, there was one post saying she’d broken up with her boyfriend. I scrolled back up and checked the dates. The breakup was six weeks before she moved back home to Weatherford.

The timing set off my alarms. Who was this ex? Was he the reason she lost her job after five years of employment? Did she really move to Weatherford to care for her grandmother, or was there another reason?

A knock on my door interrupted my research.

“Hey Jay.”

“We’re going out for a beer. You in?”

“Let me guess, new guy buys the beer?” I laughed.

“Nah, but we won’t say no if you offer to pick up the first round.”

“Sounds good.” A chance to escape my racing mind while getting to know my new teammates was exactly what I needed. “Where are we going?”

“The Wing Place. We’re heading out now.”

“See you there.” I packed up my laptop, straightened out my desk and killed the light on my way out. “You joining us, Meg?”

“No, you boys have fun.” She kissed Jack and shooed him away from her desk.

The tugging sensation in my gut as I watched them reminded me of what I was missing in my life. Love, support, family.

Jack clapped me on the shoulder and said, “Come on, Blaze. I’ll buy you a beer.” Half the guys at SSI had started using my SEAL nickname.

Seated between Jack and Jay at the high top, I let Jack buy my first drink. Per Jay’s less-than-subtle hint, I offered to pick up the second round.

When our server got tongue-tied while staring at my scar, I turned my face away. It’d been a year, and I still wasn’t used to the stares and expressions of disgust or sympathy. Maybe I never would be.

Kroup’s wife told me once that I had a tendency to scowl at people who stared too long. She’d gently remind me not to intimidate people whenever it happened. I assumed that’s what happened with our server.

“Does that happen a lot?” AJ asked.