Onyx (K19 Security Solutions Book 10)

by Heather Slade

  I remembered seeing it when I stayed at Los Caballeros and said so.

  “See?” said Wasp. “It’s right next door.”

  If he thought that was somehow comforting, he was wrong. I’d been flown across country with no say as to whether I wanted to go after being told I was in danger, and without being able to speak to the only person in this world I thought I could trust.

  There wasn’t anyone or anything that would give me comfort unless Montano was waiting wherever they were taking me, and that, I knew, was impossible.

  By the end of the night, I had to admit I’d been both right and wrong. I was right in knowing Montano wouldn’t be here waiting for me. Wrong in thinking there was no one or nothing else that could comfort me.

  When we pulled through the ranch gates, an inexplicable sense of peace settled over me. It was more than the moonlight illuminating the vineyards. I could only describe it as a feeling opposite of what I’d felt the day I walked into the camp on Canada Lake and knew within minutes I had to get out. When Cowboy pulled up to the main house and cut the engine, I couldn’t wait to go inside.

  Wasp got out, opened the back door, and held his hand out to me. “You’re going to love Mr. and Mrs. Butler. They’re, like, everyone’s favorite grandparents,” he said, leading me up the porch steps.

  The front door opened, and two people younger than what I’d expected came out.

  “Doc!” said Wasp. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “That’s the idea,” the man answered, stepping forward to greet me. “Blanca, I’m Doc Butler, and this is my wife, Merrigan. Welcome to Butler Ranch.”

  “Laird, she’s here,” I heard a woman with a Scottish brogue shout out from inside the house.

  “Hello,” I said when the woman Doc introduced stepped forward too. Instead of shaking my hand, she pulled me into an embrace. “This must be very hard for you. Please know we understand and will answer whatever questions we’re able to.”

  A woman much closer to the age I was expecting came out the door. “There’s the lass,” she said, rushing toward me. “You must be Blanca.” She tucked her arm through mine and led me inside. “I’m Sorcha, and this is my husband, Laird.”

  “Give the girl some space to breathe, Sorcha,” the man said, approaching us. “Welcome to our home.”

  “It’s very kind of you to allow me to stay here. I hope I’m not intruding.” More than intruding, my main concern was that if I were in danger, now they were too.

  “You’ll be staying in the cottage that used to belong to our son Maddox. He and his wife, Alex, have their own estate and winery now,” Sorcha explained. “You’ll have plenty of privacy when you want it, and when you don’t, just come to the main house, and you’ll have the company you’re craving.”

  I looked over at Merrigan, who was smiling indulgently at the older woman. “Kade and I will help her get settled.”

  “Are you hungry, dear?” Sorcha asked.

  “I’m not, but thank you.”

  Wasp and Cowboy were speaking with Merrigan’s husband near the front door when she led me in that direction.

  “We’re on our way out, but you’re in good hands here,” said Wasp.

  “Thank you for all you’ve done for me. Both of you,” I said, looking from him to Cowboy. “And please convey my thanks to Swan as well.” I had to admit I wasn’t disappointed when she didn’t deboard the plane and come with us.

  Merrigan showed me around the “cottage” that was larger than any home I’d ever lived in while Doc fetched my bag.

  We were in the kitchen when he came inside. “Can I get either of you ladies anything?” he asked, walking over to the refrigerator that I saw was well stocked when he opened the door.

  “I’ll have a glass of chardonnay,” Merrigan answered. “Blanca?”

  “I’d like one too, please.”

  “Let’s sit in the other room.”

  Given that I’d downed half my wine before Merrigan and I sat in the living room, I appreciated it when Doc filled my glass a second time before sitting as well.

  “As I said earlier, Doc and I will do our best to answer whatever questions you may have.”

  “I wouldn’t know where to start. Although, I do have a concern about my being here.”

  “Go on.”

  “Wasp told me you believe I’m in danger.”

  “We do.”

  “My question, then, is, why would you bring me to your parents’ home? They seem like such lovely people.” I stopped talking when a look passed between the two. They were both smiling, which unnerved me more.

  Doc looked over at me and, perhaps noticing my scowl, cleared his throat. “I’ll explain.”

  I took another sip of wine.

  “Onyx shared with us that he informed you some about what we do?”

  “He said my sister worked for you.”

  “That’s right,” said Merrigan.

  “You caught the look that passed between my wife and me when you mentioned how lovely my parents are. You’re absolutely right. They are the nicest, most caring people I know. They’re also former intelligence operatives themselves.”

  “Quite formidable ones, in fact,” Merrigan added.

  “While my mother is retired, my father is still quite active in the business. There are few better in the world at what he does.”

  “Few?” teased Merrigan.

  “Okay, maybe one, and even that is questionable.”

  Doc looked directly at me. “The point is for you to understand that you are not compromising their safety by being here. The truth of the matter is, there are few safer places in the world for them and for you.”

  “While Doc and I do not know what your relationship with Onyx is and are not asking you share that with us, I sense you are very worried about him.”

  “I am.”

  “I promise you we will keep you posted on his condition as we know more.”

  “Will I be able to talk to him?”

  Merrigan looked at her husband and then at me. “Not at this time,” she answered.

  31

  Onyx

  “You ready to get out of here?” Monk asked the following day when he walked in not much after dawn.

  “Have you spent so much time here they finally just made you a doctor?”

  He glared at me. “I’m leaving in an hour.”

  “Yeah? Goin’ home, son?”

  “Or somewhere like it.”

  “Give Saylor my best.”

  Monk nodded.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “Only way I see you anymore is if you’re tied to a bed in a hospital.”

  I put my hand on my heart. “Ah, Monk, have you missed me?”

  “Stay away from people with guns,” he said, patting my shoulder.

  “Probably won’t be a problem since I’m sure I’ll be looking for a new career field.”

  “You and me both.”

  I hadn’t heard from Merrigan or anyone else from K19 after he pulled the plug on the computer I was using, and I doubted he had either.

  “See ya, Onyx.”

  “See ya, Monk.”

  He wasn’t gone five minutes before Ranger came in.

  “Are you here to say goodbye too?”

  He cocked his head. “I’m your transport.”

  “Yeah? Where to?”

  “Orders are we’re going back to the camp, and we’ll have company.”

  For a split second, I got my hopes up, but I quickly realized he meant we’d have backup.

  “The surveillance team has already been there. They stripped everything that was there, not knowing if it was something we installed or Trap had. The new system is supposed to be fully functional by the close of business today.”

  “Who’s paying for all this?”

  “What do you mean? K19 is.”

  “Yeah, you still work for them?”

  Ranger shook his head.

  “Now I feel bad. They fire
d you, bro? That ain’t right. Don’t you worry. I’ll get it sorted out. What happened yesterday is on Monk and me.”

  “It’s on Monk, not you, but no, they didn’t fire me.”

  “You quit? What did you go and do that for?”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Hatchet’s bullet got you in the head, not your back.”

  I rubbed the right side of my scalp. “I do have a pretty big lump where somebody hit me.”

  “Shit. I forgot about that. I’ll quit jokin’ around now. I don’t work for them, because I work for you, Onyx. Haven’t you heard? I’m second-in-command.”

  I shook my head. “Prepare to take over the reins, bro.”

  “Not happening. If you leave, I’ll follow.”

  “Yeah? You gonna open that fishing-charter-boat business with me down in the Keys?”

  “Sounds pretty damn good right now.”

  It was after ten before I got word that I was discharged and could go “home.” Like the last time I left this hospital, I didn’t stick around waiting for a wheelchair. I got dressed and walked out like I owned the damned place. Considering how much money this hospital raked in after keeping me here five months, I was probably getting close to being a majority stakeholder.

  A black SUV was waiting at the entrance; Wasp got out of the front passenger seat when we approached. “Shotgun, or do you want to get some work done?”

  “Neither,” I said, opening the back door myself and climbing in.

  Ranger went around the other side and, after getting in, handed me a laptop. “You’ve got some reading to do, boss.”

  “You can go first.”

  “I’ve read it already,” he said, turning his head and looking out the other window.

  “I don’t want to, do I?”

  “Better to just get it over with.”

  After skimming the brief that was over a hundred pages of shit I wished I never knew, I went back and poured over the details of Sofia Descanso’s life as a double agent. The part that hurt the worst and made me feel like a complete asshole, was that our meeting was in no way accidental. The only thing I was thankful for was that I wasn’t the person who’d brought her to K19. If that had been the case, the burden of guilt would’ve consumed me.

  As it was, she came to the team by way of an outfit K19 had worked with in the past, who supplied referrals for flight crews. Given her background check and references were impeccable, no one had looked twice.

  I had no doubt that anyone coming into the organization in the future would experience a vetting like none of us had seen before.

  “Hey, uh, I just got a text from my brother.”

  Evidently, today was my day to have to hear about shit I’d rather not. “And?”

  “He needs a place to stay.”

  “And?” I repeated, this time with emphasis that I hoped came across as I really don’t give a fuck.

  “Would it be a problem if he stayed at the camp?”

  “What’s his security clearance?”

  “Top secret.”

  “Are you shittin’ me?”

  “I’m not. He’s a data and systems engineer.”

  “Run it by the boss.”

  “Do you mean…”

  “I mean Fatale, bro.”

  My family was used to me being in the midst of missions on Christmas, even when I couldn’t get word to them, like this year. I felt guilty as hell, though, that Ranger and Jimmy weren’t able to spend the holiday with their family. Jimmy could have, but when his brother told him we were essentially on lockdown, he said he’d be happier hanging with us anyway.

  Wouldn’t it just fucking figure that Jimmy Messick was the kind of guy that after you met him, he was impossible to hate.

  Like his younger brother, Jimmy was smart, funny, a total bro. That he was going through a messy divorce sucked major balls, especially since he had two young kids. I had a feeling his soon-to-be ex was giving him a hard time about seeing those kids, which made his decision about Christmas an easier one to make.

  It had been three weeks since I left the hospital in Washington, DC, and went back to the camp where everywhere I looked, I was reminded of Blanca. I tried my hardest to remember the fun times we had and push away the memory of her tears the day I broke her music box.

  “How’s it coming along?” Jimmy asked, joining me in the kitchen where I was painstakingly trying to piece the carousel horse back together.

  I looked up at him and shrugged. “There’s a problem.” Before he could ask, I put the key in the bottom, wound it up, and set it back on the counter.

  “Oh, man,” he said, cringing. “That’s pitiful.”

  It was bad enough that I couldn’t get the horse to move up and down on its pole like it had before it broke, but the tune it played sounded like a horror movie track.

  “Have you contacted the guy who made it?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The guy who owns the carousel company.”

  Since Jimmy was rarely obtuse, whatever he was trying to tell me had to be obvious. I just wasn’t following. “Do you know how to get in touch with him?”

  “Yeah, Al. I thought you knew him. You got him to open the ride for Blanca.”

  It figured that Jimmy knew the story. “Does he know how to get in touch with whoever made this thing?” I asked, pointing to the music box that had become my obsession.

  Jimmy laughed. “He made that thing.”

  I shook my head. “I wish I knew what the hell you were talking about.”

  Ranger walked in. “What are you goin’ on about, bro?”

  “Al Jones.”

  “What about him?”

  Jimmy walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. “I don’t know who needs this more, but since there’s only one cold one left, I’m taking it.” He popped it open and took a swig. “Al Jones of the Jones Carousel Company. His family has owned it for three generations. I heard Maisie is taking it over. She’d be the fourth, or fifth, I guess.”

  I looked over at Ranger. Something about what Jimmy said put the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face—the one he quickly tried to mask.

  “Are you saying Al’s family built the carousel at Sherman’s?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “Not only that, Al’s grandfather was Sherman Jones. You know, Sherman.”

  How did I not know any of this? The bigger question was, how come Blanca didn’t?

  “He made those too,” Jimmy said, pointing at the music box I held little hope would ever work again. “Not very many, though. I think he only released one a year.”

  “I had no idea,” Ranger muttered.

  “You weren’t here as much as I was, growing up. Most of the kids who summered here got jobs either at Sherman’s or the Canada Lake store. This one”—Jimmy pointed at his brother—“was always in some high school sport. It was either football, baseball, or track.”

  “I played basketball too.”

  “Helluva lotta good that did him. So, who’s gonna call Al, me?”

  “I can call him,” said Ranger, pulling out his phone. Jimmy turned so his brother couldn’t see him, winked, and gave me a thumbs-up. I had no idea what that meant, but it appeared I’d find out soon enough since two minutes later, Ranger announced we’d been invited over to the Jones’ camp for dinner.

  The minute we walked in, I caught on.

  “Hi, I’m Maisie Ann. I’m Al’s granddaughter. Come on in.”

  “I’m Montano, but most people call me Onyx.” I stepped forward and shook her hand.

  “Hey, Maisie. I don’t know if you remember me—”

  “Ranger Messick, how could I ever forget you? There wasn’t a girl in Fulton County who didn’t have a crush on you.” Maisie turned to Jimmy. “Except Blanca Descanso, that is.”

  Jimmy laughed and walked straight in to talk to Al. When Ranger gave me a slight head nod, I followed.

  “That sure was a romantic thing you did for your girl,” said Al�
��s wife, Mary. “I told my husband he should take lessons from you.”

  “I’m confused,” said Maisie, walking in with her arm through Ranger’s. “Grandpa said you were with Blanca.”

  “That’s right. Stole her clean away from Jimmy.” I nudged him with my elbow.

  “But aren’t you married?” she asked him.

  “Separated, but as far as Blanca is concerned, I haven’t seen her since I graduated from high school.”

  “How did you meet her?” Maisie asked me.

  “I knew her sister.”

  “Oh. Um, what was her name again?”

  “Sofia.”

  “That’s right.”

  By the purse of her lips, I gathered her opinion of Blanca’s twin was about the same as most everyone else in the area.

  “She got a bad rap, that one,” said Al. “But I’ll tell you what; she worked her bottom off for me one summer in order to earn enough money to buy her sister one of those carousel music boxes.” Al looked at me. “Ranger said something happened to it.”

  When I took it out of the bag and set it on the dining room table, Mary gasped. “Oh, it’s worse than I imagined.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” I said, winding it up.

  “I see what you mean,” said Al, picking it up and popping something off the bottom. Whatever he did, made the music stop. Thank God.

  “Any advice?”

  “Well, let me see.” Al put on a pair of glasses and held the horse up to the light. “If you mean to fix it, no.”

  “Do I have any other options?”

  Al shook his head. “These have become quite the collector’s items. No two were alike. You could try going on one of those auction sites and see if anybody’s got one for sale.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  “Yeah? Already looked?”

  The astronomical price people were asking for them was certainly a deterrent. However, the bigger problem for me was that none of the ones being offered looked anything like the one Sofia had given Blanca. “This was her favorite horse to ride on the carousel.”

  Mary and her granddaughter walked over to Al, each putting an arm through one of his.