by Anna Blakely
With a growl, Matt closed the folder and threw it across the room.
Sitting in an overstuffed chair across the room, Derek looked at him from over his laptop and drawled, “I take it you’re done with that one?”
Matt shot up from the couch and glared at the former SEAL. “Kat’s been missing for two goddamn days, Derek. This isn’t the time for fucking jokes.”
“Easy, man. Just tryin’ to lighten the mood.”
“There isn’t a way to lighten the fucking mood.” Matt began pacing the small, open living room.
“I’m just glad Nate doesn’t know what’s going on,” Kole muttered from Gabe’s kitchen table. “That shit with Walker taking Gracie is still too fresh for him. He’d be going about as apeshit as you are if he were here.”
With Zade out of commission and Jake taking some time to check on his pregnant wife, Kole had stepped out from behind the scenes to see what, if anything, he could do to help. Matt was more than grateful for the extra set of eyes. He only wished they’d see something that would help them find Kat and bring her home.
“I feel like we’re wasting our time.” Matt ran a hand over his growing scruff. “This is all shit we already knew. There’s nothing here to help us find Walker or who hired him.”
Gabe came into the room. “Yeah, well…until we get something new, it’s all we’ve got to go on.” He used his thumb to point behind him. “I put shit out for sandwiches in case anyone wants something to eat.”
“I’m game.” Kole stood and stretched. “Haven’t eaten since breakfast this morning. I’m starved.”
The young sniper walked into the kitchen, but Matt remained where he stood. His gut had been churning like crazy with worry for Kat. Last thing he wanted to do was eat.
“You should get a bite, too, Matt,” Gabe suggested. “I don’t remember the last time I saw you eat something.”
“I’m good.”
Gabe’s intense gaze locked on his. “You’re no good to her if you don’t keep your strength up.”
“Appreciate what you’re trying to do, Dawson, but I don’t need a fucking mother hen telling me when to eat.”
“I get it, man, but you can’t let yourself—”
“You get it?” Matt crossed the room until he was in his team leader’s face. “Really? Your woman’s been kidnapped and held against her will by a sadistic fucking killer? You’ve had to listen to her screams as she was under attack, and then sit around with your thumb up your ass for days on end because you had no idea where the fuck your girlfriend was or how to even start looking for her?”
“No,” Gabe admitted. “I don’t know what it’s like to have my girlfriend taken and held hostage.”
“Exactly.” Matt stared him down. “So, until that day comes—”
“I do know, however”—Gabe cut him off— “what it’s like to have my wife taken hostage. To know she was being held at gunpoint by a group of punks spazzed out of their minds on drugs and not be able to do a fucking thing to help her.”
The room went silent.
“Your wife?” Matt frowned. “I didn’t think you were married.”
“I’m not.” The formidable man’s face fell slightly. “Not anymore.”
Matt blinked and took a step back. “Shit, Gabe. I’m…sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Not many people do.”
“What happened?” Kole asked as he stood in the kitchen entryway finishing what was left of his sandwich.
Gabe sighed, resting his hands on his hips. “It was a long time ago. I was away on an op. It went flawlessly, and on the plane ride back, we made plans to celebrate.” He shook his head and let out a humorless laugh. “We were halfway over the Atlantic Ocean when my commander called me on the sat phone. Said the bank where my wife worked at the time was being robbed. Guys had automatic rifles. They’d already taken out the bank manager, the security guard, and two customers.”
“Ah, shit.”
Their team leader nodded. “Those were my first words to him when he called. Later, when I asked why he didn’t wait until we were home to tell me, he said he made the call because, if it were his wife, he’d want to know.”
After several seconds of silence, Matt swallowed and started to ask the hard question. “Did they…”
“SWAT breached before they could hurt anyone else. Ellena made it out unharmed. Physically, anyway.”
The other men’s relief was palpable. “That’s good.”
“Very good.” Gabe smiled sadly. “Elle survived, but unfortunately our marriage didn’t.” He looked around the room. “I only shared that with you, so you’d understand I do know what you’re going through. Maybe not the exact same scenario, but—”
“Close enough.” Matt gave his friend an apologetic look. “Sorry, man. I’m going out of my mind sitting around, waiting for something new to pop up.”
“It just did!” Derek announced excitedly.
All heads turned in his direction.
“What is it?” Matt rushed over. “Did you find Walker?”
“No, but I found the next best thing. Remember I told you I’ve been working trying to locate the holder of the account that Todd Kennedy’s payoffs originated from?”
He nodded, his excitement matching the other man’s. “You found the guy?”
“Took a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would. Whoever set this account up was good. Like, almost better than me, good. They knew how to encrypt and reroute…I’ve been chasin’ my tail for days tryin’ to—”
“Derek!” Matt purposely raised his voice. “Who’s name is on the account?”
With a sly grin, Derek turned his computer around for Matt to see. “Sloane Anderson.”
“Kat’s boss?” Kole asked from behind Matt’s shoulder.
“And her former father-in-law.” Matt nodded. “That son of a bitch.”
“Wait.” Kole sat his paper plate down onto the table. “Why would the guy steal from his own company? Wouldn’t that destroy his business?”
“Wouldn’t matter,” Derek explained. “I’ve seen his company’s financials. Selling that formula to the right people would make him a hell of a lot more money than he’s making now.”
“What about the government contract?” Gabe asked.
Derek snorted. “You know how our government works. They’re not going to pay any more than they have to. Another country’s a different story.”
Matt agreed, “Especially if that country hates the U.S. and plans to use the serum to have stronger forces against us. Countries like that have almost zero regulations when it comes to spending. Even if they didn’t, they’ll fork over the money if it means taking down our military.”
“Anderson must be slated to make fucking bank on this deal,” Kole surmised.
Derek nodded. “That’s my guess.”
“You got an address?” Gabe asked in full team leader mode.
“Already entered into my phone’s GPS app.”
To Gabe, Matt asked, “When do we leave?”
Three hours later, under the cover of the night sky, Matt and the others made their way across Anderson’s vast back yard. Dressed all in black, they kept their guns at the ready as they prepared to breach the private residence.
According to Derek, shutting down Anderson’s security system had been child’s play. Seeing how it took the guy less than two minutes to hack in and disable the property’s entire system, Matt believed him.
Kole had laughed, commenting on how Anderson should’ve paid as close attention to keeping his home secure as he had hiding the electronic trail that led them here in the first place. Matt was just thankful they were here because that meant they were one step closer to finding Kat.
After a semi-silent entrance through the home’s back door, the team walked in the same, straight-line formation they’d use on any other op. Once they’d cleared the spacious main level, the four men spread out as planned.
Kole and Derek took the basement while Matt and
Gabe held their positions in the home’s entryway. Some may think it unnecessary to take such lengthy precautions but keeping each other safe was never a waste of time.
After all, Anderson was involved in a plot to steal a formula, which if sold to the wrong person, could cost American soldiers’ lives. No way in hell would Matt or anyone else enter this bastard’s home without being prepared for the worst.
Once those areas were found to be clear, the team made its way upstairs. Brian, Kat’s deceased husband, had been Sloane Anderson’s only child, and the man had been divorced for several years. According to everything Derek could find on the guy, he wasn’t currently involved in a romantic relationship of any kind, which meant he would most likely be sleeping alone. Still, like with everything else R.I.S.C. related, the guys took nothing for granted.
After clearing the other upstairs rooms, the team stopped outside the set of large, double doors. With Derek having already accessed the floor plans to the home, they knew this was the master suite.
With a single nod, Gabe gave him the go-ahead. Matt wrapped his gloved hand around one of the doors’ knobs, took a breath, and opened the door. Flipping off the flashlight mounted on his gun to help with the element of surprise, Matt got as close to Sloane Anderson’s sleeping form as he could before pressing the end of the barrel to the man’s forehead.
Grimacing, it took the drowsy man a few seconds to realize what had woken him. As soon as he saw Matt and the others, his eyes grew round with fear.
“What the hell?” Anderson yelled as he scrambled to get away from Matt—and his gun.
“Don’t move, asshole.” Matt shifted his gun lower, pointing directly at the man’s heart.
“W-who the hell are you?” Anderson stammered. “What do you want?”
“Who hired you to steal the formula?” Matt got straight to the point.
“Formula? W-what formula?”
“Don’t play fucking games with me,” Matt growled. Pushing the barrel into the guy’s chest, he demanded, “Who. Hired. You?”
“I swear, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Not in the mood to deal with this shit, Matt flipped the safety on his gun, swung it around so it hung off his shoulder, and reached for Anderson. Filling both fists with the front of the asshole’s shirt, Matt picked him up and tossed him to the carpeted floor.
“Ah!” Sloane cried out as he landed with a thud. “Stop!” He tried crab-walking backward. “Y-you can’t do this!”
“Oh, I can.” Matt followed him slowly. “And I will.”
“I have money! In a safe in my office downstairs. It’s all yours if you’ll just go and leave me alone.”
For some reason, that pissed Matt the hell off. “You think this is about money?” He towered over the asshole. Using only one hand this time, Matt reached down and dragged him to his feet. “I don’t want your fucking money, Anderson. I want the name of the person who hired you to pay off Todd Kennedy.”
“I d-don’t—”
Matt’s tight fist cut the lie off as he threw the man to the floor. Ignoring Anderson’s grunts and groans, he lifted him off his feet again, this time shoving the traitorous prick against the bedroom window. The glass cracked from the pressure.
“Stop fucking lying, you sack of shit,” Matt growled in the man’s face. “You paid Kennedy to steal the formula, and then you paid him to try and kill Katherine Marsh.”
“No, I-I—”
Matt pulled his pistol from his holster and shoved the barrel beneath Anderson’s chin. “You think I’m playing?”
“N-no.” The man swallowed hard.
“Good. We know about the secret bank account and that you made two large transfers into one of Todd Kennedy’s. We also know he used that money to pay off most of his wife’s medical bills. You found out she was sick and saw that as your in. Didn’t you?”
When the man didn’t answer immediately, Matt moved his gun away from his face, pointed it at the floor, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit an inch from Anderson’s foot. The man screamed and jumped like a little bitch. Then he pissed all over his expensive silk pajama pants.
“Next one takes off a few toes.”
“All right, all right! I’ll tell you.”
Matt slid a glance to the others who were ready to have his back, if needed, but were also giving him the space he needed to get the answers they’d come for.
Shoulders slumped, the coward folded like a deck of cards. “A-a man named Walker approached me a few weeks ago. Said he had a client who’d pay good money for the formula. Really good money.”
Despite already knowing the guy was guilty, hearing him admit it made Matt want to rip the fucker’s heart out with a spoon. A rusty, jagged spoon.
“So, you agreed.”
“You don’t understand.” Anderson’s desperate eyes pleaded. “The offer…it was more money than every man in this room will ever see in a lifetime. Myself included.”
Matt’s lips rolled inward as he fought the urge to shoot the son of a bitch. Don’t kill him yet. Don’t kill him yet.
Picking up on his internal battle, Gabe joined in on the questioning.
“Why get Kennedy involved? Why not just hand over the formula and cash in on your payday?”
The guy rolled his eyes. “If that were possible, don’t you think I would have?”
“Why couldn’t you? You’re the company’s owner and CEO.”
“Which is exactly why I couldn’t.” Anderson sighed before explaining, “Companies like mine have regulations. A lot of very strict regulations. Because I have such a high stake in the company shares, I’m not allowed to have direct access to any of the projects apart from basic data and progress notes. Neither are any of the members on my board.”
“Checks and balances,” Derek summed it up for the man.
“Exactly.”
“So, you found out about Kennedy’s wife, using that as leverage to get him to do your dirty work,” Gabe recapped. “Why go after Doctor Marsh?”
“The original plan wasn’t to kill her. No one was supposed to die.”
“Except maybe the American soldiers your buyer’s people would kill. But they don’t count, right? Their lives don’t matter to you?”
A flash of recognition passed behind the guilty fucker’s eyes, quickly replaced by an enraged fury.
“My son’s life mattered to me,” the man shot back. “Brian was my only child, and that bitch took advantage of him.”
Matt leaned in, his lips curling into a feral smile. “Call Katherine a bitch one more time, and your toes are going to be the least of your concerns.”
Anderson gave Matt a closer, assessing glance. “You’re him, aren’t you? You’re the man Kat was in love with all those years ago.”
What the fuck? Matt blinked but didn’t otherwise react. “What does your son have to do with any of this?”
“Brian has everything to do with this,” the man hissed. “Katherine Marsh talked him into marrying her. Made everyone think they had a happy life together and then she destroyed him. She got the job she wanted, the money. Her father and I went into business together because I thought, what better way to bring the two families together? But Brian was so unhappy, he shot himself. In his own home. And then that bi...” Anderson stopped himself. “Then Katherine got all his money. Every dime. And you know what she did?”
“She gave it to the person Brian loved.”
Matt’s knowledge of the situation took the man by surprise. “That’s right. She gave it to a man who led a life unworthy of my son.”
“Your son was gay, Sloane. He was in love with Chad Winthrop. That’s why Kat gave him Brian’s inheritance.”
“No. My son was confused, maybe, but he wasn’t—”
“Brian was gay, and you couldn’t accept that. It didn’t fit within your perfect life or your perfect appearances. You threatened to disown him because of it.”
“No. You’re wrong.” The man shook his head, con
tinuing on with his denial.
“Your bigotry and hatred for your son’s lifestyle is what killed him. Not Kat. The only thing she did was try to help your son. But she couldn’t give him the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world.” Matt made sure Anderson was listening before saying, “Your love and acceptance.”
“His secret lifestyle was a disgrace!” Sloane yelled the ridiculous claim. “An embarrassment to the family name.”
This guy made him sick. “He can’t embarrass anyone anymore.”
A tiny spec of emotion snuck through the ignorant man’s expression, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
“Seriously, dude.” Kole spoke up for the first time. “You do realize the Dark Ages were over like…forever ago, right?”
“Explain something to me, Anderson,” Gabe jumped in again, bringing them back on topic. “If you hated Katherine so much, why didn’t you just fire her?”
“You think I didn’t want to? I couldn’t.”
“Why not?” Matt challenged back.
“She’s the best at what she does. Her name was the reason the military commissioned my company for the formulation of the serum in the first place. If I’d fired her, I would have lost the project. My company was counting on it to pull us back into the green.”
Kole shrugged. “What would’ve happened if she’d quit? What would you have done then?”
“She was never going to quit. At least not until the project was complete.”
Matt couldn’t help but ask, “Why not?”
The older man’s eyes stared directly into his. “Because of you.”
It was Matt’s second what the fuck moment in as many minutes. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Think about it, genius. That serum was being created for the military. To give wounded American military members a better chance at survival. You’re military, right?”
“Not anymore.”
“Katherine worked her ass off on this project. Not for me or the company. She did it for you.”
Matt didn’t know what to say to that.
“Didn’t matter to me why the hell she wanted the project to succeed. As long as she made it happen. We used each other, you see. And it was working fine until…”
