Extracting Mateo

by Tl Reeve

  “I never fuckin’ promised, Mattie,” he said. “I distinctly recall refusing to give you my word. Now, I’m going to ask you one more time, to let go of my arm.”

  “It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “The fuck it isn’t.” Noah jerked his arm, pulling from Mateo’s hold before storming away.

  Mateo called out to him as he stormed out of the commissary. He didn’t care. How the fuck dare, that limp, pencil-dick asshole think he could talk to Mateo like he did? No, O’Malley stepped over a line he could never come back from—ever.

  Noah hit his Tac-Com device in his ear. When the operator came online he barked, “Where is Jake O’Malley?”

  “Jake O’Malley is currently in C&C,” the female advised. “Would you like me to connect you, Sir.”

  “Nope,” Noah snapped.

  He disconnected the call before making his way to the bank of elevators off to the side. When he hit the button to call the car, it arrived in under a minute. It took longer for the elevator to drop down to the lowest level, where Command and Control resided than it did to find the rat bastard. Noah tapped his foot impatiently as the car came to a stop and the doors finally opened.

  O’Malley stood off to the side with a tablet in his hand, his finger scrolling through whatever the fuck he was reading. “O’Malley!” Noah made his presence known at the last second, closing the distance between them in a few short strides.

  When O’Malley lifted his head to acknowledge him, Noah punched the fucker in his face. O’Malley fumbled the tablet, dropping it to the hard floor, and the screen shattered. Before Jake could catch his balance, Noah struck again, hitting him in the stomach. A gust of air left O’Malley on a grunt as Noah tagged him again, hitting him in the kidney. Those who were still in C&C stood back, knowing better to get in between the friends and teammates.

  “What the fuck?” O’Malley growled. “What is your problem?”

  “You, O'Malley!” Noah grabbed the front of the man's shirt and jerked him forward, so they were face to face. “You and your fucking mouth. Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “Your 2IC,” O’Malley grunted while trying to break free from Noah’s hold.

  “The fuck you are. You’re nothing but a coward, determined to stomp on everyone else’s happiness because you don’t have the balls to get your ex and child.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Not if you paid me, you piece of shit.”

  Noah kicked O’Malley’s legs out from under him, and they both slammed to the ground. Wasting no time, he punched O’Malley again, taking pleasure in the sound of crunching cartilage when his nose broke. Noah didn’t let up, and he landed several more punches before being dragged off of the other man.

  “Get the fuck off me!” he snarled while attempting to break from the chokehold someone had put him in.

  “Calm the fuck down, Noah. I’ll render you unconscious if you don’t chill the fuck out.” Asher applied more pressure around Noah’s throat, proving his point.

  Knowing his Commander would follow him through on his threat, Noah held his hands up, giving up the struggle. When Asher loosened his hold, he stomped on O’Malley’s chest. “That’s for harassing Mateo, fuckhead.”

  Rae was on the floor, pressing a bunch of tissues to O’Malley’s face as Noah spun away from Jake. She glared at him. “You broke his nose.”

  “He’s lucky I didn’t murder is his ass.” Noah spat at O’Malley who laid on the floor, clutching his chest. He got a sick sort of satisfaction watching O’Malley bleed all over himself.

  “He just attacked me, Asher. It was unprovoked,” O’Malley accused while trying to sit up.

  “Fucking liar. It was provoked when you went to my husband and told him he was putting me and our team at risk for just being with me. What the fuck, O’Malley? Are you so fucking miserable you gotta bring everyone around you down?”

  “Noah,” Asher said in an attempt to placate him.

  It didn’t work. As it was, he still held onto Noah, most likely afraid he’d stomp a mudhole in Jake.

  “Let me go.” Noah glared at Asher. “I’m not you. I’m not going allow O’Malley or any man or woman at this base, or anywhere for that matter, to attempt to come between my spouse and myself because he’s an unhappy douchebag who can’t pull his own head out of his ass.”

  O’Malley stood up on shaking legs. “I want Noah removed from the team, effective immediately.”

  “Fuck you, asshole,” Noah snarled.

  O’Malley ignored him. “He needs to be reevaluated. Maybe see a shrink for PTSD. He obviously has gotten in too deep, and after this shit with his husband...it might be time for Noah to retire.”

  Noah snorted. “You’re not even going to take responsibilities for your own actions, are you?” Noah shook his head, gobsmacked at the actions of a man he used to respect.

  “I told the truth,” O’Malley said.

  “Correction, you were a gigantic asshole,” Noah snapped.

  “That’s enough,” Asher commanded.

  “I’ll write the paperwork up now,” O’Malley stated.

  “No, you won’t,” Asher replied in a clipped tone.

  “You’re going to let him get away with what he just did? Jesus Christ, Asher, he did it in front of everyone.” O’Malley gestured around the room. “He attacked me.”

  “And you don’t think it was provoked?”

  “No, it wasn’t.”

  “And there lays the problem, Jake.”

  O'Malley snorted and banged on his chest with a clenched fist. “I don't have a problem. You've got the problem. All of you do. Bringing civilians into R.O.O.T. They've got no business being here or connected to us. If you need to get your dick wet, go find yourself a whore and pay her.”

  Rae’s face paled, and Asher hissed in displeasure at O’Malley’s proclamation.

  “Except, motherfucker, I don’t do women,” Noah snarled.

  “You’re out of line, Jake. I’d suggest you shut your mouth before you dig the hole you’re standing in any deeper,” Asher warned.

  Movement by the elevator caught his attention. Noah glanced over his shoulder and saw Mateo standing near the door, wide-eyed and stunned. Fucking hell. Noah didn’t want his lover to see him this way. Yet, he also couldn’t allow anyone to talk to his spouse the way Jake had.

  “I won’t apologize,” Noah stated.

  The killer instinct Noah possessed came from years of training. Years of honing his skills until he could pull the trigger without compunction or remorse. Standing in C&C, watching the blood drop from Jake’s face, there’d been nothing. However, having Mateo so close to him, seeing just what Noah had been capable of sent a thread of fear through him. What if he scared Mateo? Made his husband afraid of him? He wouldn’t be able to take it if he pushed Mateo farther away from him.

  Asher sighed. “If anyone should apologize to anyone, it should be me. I should’ve taken care of this when he confronted me about Rae. I’m sorry for allowing this to happen and continue, Noah.”

  Noah nodded, well aware in all the time he’d been with R.O.O.T, Asher had never apologized to or for anything.

  “Why the fuck are you apologizing to him, Asher?” O’Malley chimed in. “He should be dismissed. If we were in the military, he’d be court-martialed.”

  Stupid fucker didn’t realize Noah wasn’t the one in trouble, he was. Noah stepped away from Asher and Jake and shook his head. Jake never did understand when to quit. Too bad he was about to find out the hard way.

  “Jake O’Malley...” Asher glanced up at the wall where a dozen-plus clocks resided before returning his attention to the befuddle 2IC. “As of twenty-one hundred hours, you’re relieved of duty. You will recuse yourself toward your bunk and remain there until further notice.”

  “Excuse me?” Jake growled. “I think you mean Noah, Asher.”

  “No, Jake, I’m sorry, I don’t. I mean you. You’re dismissed until further notice,” Asher stated.
>
  “You can’t do that,” Jake said.

  Asher glared at him as Rae started for the bank of elevators. “I can and just did. You’ll have a chance to plead your case at the review board meeting that’ll be held within the next seventy-two hours.”

  “Fuck you, Asher,” O’Malley said before turning his attention turned back to Noah. “Fuck you, too, Noah, and fuck R.O.O.T.”

  “Go to your room, Jake, or I’ll have you escorted there, and it won’t be a pleasant experience for any of us,” Asher promised.

  It appeared, for a moment or two, O’Malley might defy Asher. Either that or deck their Commander. Noah could see the indecision cross the other man’s face before he turned, storming toward the bank of elevators.

  Rae sighed. “I should go to him. He needs medical treatment,”

  “No,” Asher ordered as he wrapped his hand around Rae’s upper arm, stopping her forward progress. “He’s too unpredictable.”

  “He’s hurt,” Rae said.

  “It’s a broken nose, Rae. He’s survived worse injuries during his military service and at R.O.O.T. He’ll handle it himself,” Asher said his tone firm.

  Rae nodded, but she wasn’t happy. Noah could see it in her expression. “Fine.”

  “Mateo will need to give a statement,” Asher said, the underlying sadness in the other man’s voice tore at Noah.

  Mateo shuffled forward, looking unsure. “I don’t—”

  Noah touched Mateo’s shoulder. “You’re not. This has been building for a while.”

  Asher exhaled loudly. “Noah’s correct, Mateo. Jake involved you. This has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with his own issues he’s yet to deal with. I’m sorry you got pulled into the bullshit, and I hope you don’t think anyone at R.O.O.T feels the way Jake does.”

  Mateo, always the diplomat, smiled and assured Asher this wasn't the case. “I don't blame you or anyone here.” His tone, however, didn't match the words coming out of his mouth. Mateo placated Asher. In all the years Noah had been with Mateo, he understood how much his spouse took upon himself. Being harassed by O'Malley was just another drop in Mateo's bucket, and Noah hated it.

  “You’re not in the wrong, here,” Noah whispered, pulling Mateo aside. “This is all Jake, and I’m sorry you got sucked in.”

  “Get back to work,” Asher ordered, his voice booming through the now silent room. “Show’s over, and you all have units and civilians depending on you to do your job to the best of your ability. Bring them home safe and sound.”

  Asher gathered up Rae and made his way toward the elevators. “You, my lovely fiancée, need to recognize when someone deserves to have the shit kicked out of him.”

  “Asher...”

  Asher inched Rae back into the waiting elevator. “I'm serious—” The doors closed, and Noah turned his attention back to Mateo.

  “How’d—”

  “I called Rae the moment you took off and explained quickly what had happened. I didn’t realize Asher was with her or that they were close by,” Mateo said.

  Noah rubbed the back of his neck. “Dinner is ruined now.”

  Mateo gave a small smile and reassured him. “Only if we let it. From what I’ve been told, from an extremely reliable source, the commissary is open twenty-four hours. We can just go back and get a fresh meal.”

  “So practical.”

  Mateo shrugged. “That’s me.”

  Noah heard a beep in his ear, and a second later a very excited AJ was jabbering a mile a minute in his comms about new information Scotty found on the Breslow family. Specifically, Dario, who quickly became the prime suspect in Mateo's kidnapping. “Dinner is going to have to wait again. I'm sorry, duty calls.”

  Mateo inclined his chin. “I understand. Do you want me to meet you back in your rooms?

  Noah shook his head. “Scotty is requesting both of us. Seems like he was able to find some updated pictures of the guy who took you and possibly an address.”

  Together they walked to the elevator banks, and Noah pressed the button to call the car back down. “I still don’t understand why it’s been so hard to find the guy who kidnapped me.”

  Noah chuckled at his husband’s naivety. If a person wanted to hide, stay off the grid, and avoid detection, it was actually relativity easy to achieve.

  “The last known physical address Scotty uncovered was when he lived with his parents. We sent a small two-man team out to investigate it. The house was sold as a commercial property two years after the father was killed.” Noah smirked. “It currently is home to a very active Proctologist office.”

  “Hopefully, it’s not a shitty location,” Mateo deadpanned.

  Noah snorted. “You really went there.”

  “I surely did. Couldn’t help myself.”

  Noah pushed the button for the floor Scotty and AJ were currently housed on, and the car began its ascent. It felt good to laugh and joke with his spouse, he'd missed the calming ease of being around each other, while not having to fill every single moment with a conversation. Some of their best days were sitting on the couch, sometimes cuddling, sometimes not, enjoying a beer and watching a movie while eating pizza. Those were perfect nights for both of them.

  Noah was always self-assured; some would even call him a cocky bastard. Rarely, did he doubt his choices in life. He did now, and it made him feel compelled to apologize again to his husband.

  “I’m sorry, Mattie. So damn sorry for putting you... I mean, us, in this situation. My decision ten years ago is making you doubt me and our relationship. I hate not having your trust, it’s fucking killing me,” Noah admitted.

  “Believe it or not, I never stopped trusting you. I’m just really pissed off you lied to me, and you didn’t have enough faith in me to tell me what you did for a living or why you did it. I don’t understand what you were afraid of.”

  “Of you getting dragged into this. I never wanted you to get hurt because of me,” Noah admitted.

  “Bullshit,” Mateo stated. “You wanted to control something uncontrollable, mi amor. You do realize I could’ve been walking around this whole time with knowledge of your job and still been a target like I was without it. Having this information, or not, didn’t change a single thing about my life. Could I have prepared better if you’d told me? Sure. But, it doesn’t mean anything. Shit happens whether you’re prepared for it or not. I’d like to think if you’d prepared me for it, I’d have had a fighting chance.”

  “Kind of ironic I didn’t want my work to touch you, and it ended up smacking you right in the face,” Noah said.

  “Yeah. That’s the problem with lies and deceit. They usually end up biting you in the ass, hard,” Mateo proclaimed.

  “Will you ever be able to forgive me? R.O.O.T is my passion, but you, Mattie, you’re my heart,” Noah admitted.

  “We’ll get through this, Noah. I have no doubt. It’s just going to take time, and when I need space, you need to honor my request and back off.”

  Noah nodded. “I can do that.”

  The car jerked to a stop, and the heavy silver doors slid open slowly. AJ stood in the foyer where the bank of elevators was, pacing.

  “’Bout time you slowpokes got here. Scotty is going to bite the nail off his thumb waiting for you two,” AJ said.

  “Calm your britches, kid. Unless Asher placed a supersonic speed on the elevators, they only go so fast.”

  AJ giggled.

  “Anyone else here yet?”

  “Nope. Just you two for now,” AJ said before she turned and skipped down the hall toward the office she and Scotty had claimed.

  “That girl has way too much energy for me,” Mateo muttered under his breath.

  Noah agreed. “Shit, I feel old, just watching her.”

  Mateo chuckled. “You feel old. Please, imagine five classes a day, with twenty-five to thirty teenage students in a confined space, day in and day out, while you’re trying to teach them. Now, that’ll make you feel old.”

 
“You’re not helping.”

  Mateo gave him a look. “I’m sorry, was I supposed to?”

  AJ’s head peeked back out around the door jam. “You guys coming or what?”

  Since the young girl was far enough away to not hear, he said, “Not right now, but maybe later.”

  Mateo threw back his head and laughed freely. A flush of warmth filled Noah at watching his husband be carefree again. “And only if you’re good.”

  Noah snorted and wiggled his brows at his spouse, oozing his cocky confidence. “I’m always good.”

  “Just stop, before your head gets so big, it takes up the entire space,” Mateo teased as they made their way to the office where Scotty and AJ waited.

  “Damn, boy,” Noah said as he stepped into the room. Multiple, recent images of Dario were projected on the screen. Spread out on the large conference table were different bits of information, Noah suspected had everything to do with Dario or the Breslow family. “You’ve been busy.”

  Scotty’s signs came fast and filled with energy, while AJ spoke. “All these pictures are recent. Within the last six months. We need Mateo to confirm if this is our guy or not.”

  Mateo moved closer to the images. Noah knew what Mateo was doing. He was checking his memory against the features in the photos.

  “I also found a couple of addresses. He’s either on six acres in Chesapeake county, or he’s in the mountains of West Virginia. In about an hour, maybe less, I’ll know if the location is occupied.”

  He could be close then, about a thirty-five to forty-minute drive from the base. He hoped, anyway. The perp’s locations must be on the satellite image on the other wall Noah had noticed once he stepped further into the room.

  “We could use drones. Have them do a flyover for both locations and get the intel to us asap.” It would take less time and both locations could be scouted more efficiently without detection.

  “On it,” AJ said while signing to Scotty. “Wait, you can give us orders?”

  “As point on this mission, yes,” Noah said. “Asher can confirm when he arrives. Getting the drones in the air is the priority.”

  On it. Scotty signed.

  AJ continued to explain how Scotty had located this information. For the most part, Noah could give two shits about the how’s and why’s, as long as their digging gave him a location for where the bastard was hiding.