by Cara Carnes
“National parks,” Cord said.
“Why exclude them?” Kamren asked. Everyone looked at one another. “Dad used to go north; past few years I went, too. He hooked up with a new crew up there. They did extreme hikes for enthusiasts in the most rugged wilderness around. That area is the most remote land in the United States. It might be national parkland in theory, but that wouldn’t stop people from using it. That’d help, actually. Pick a remote spot off the common trails, hunker down. If you’re completely off grid, no one would ever find you. Forest rangers are spread too thin, and no one else would have access.”
“It’s brilliant and makes sense, but we scanned the area for encampments and heat signatures,” Mary said. “We may not have hunted it physically, but planes equipped with radars searched the area.”
Kamren nodded. “Survivalists wouldn’t stay above ground. I’m not saying your Collective or whatever would be whacked out like some of those nut jobs, but they might’ve taken over someone’s bunker. Maybe.”
“Like underground bunker?” Bree asked. She darted a wide-eyed expression at Mary and Vi. “The plane we commissioned, the equipment wasn’t ground penetrating, was it?”
“Nope, it sure as fuck wasn’t,” Cord answered.
“Son of a bitch,” Zoey replied. “Does that mean the entire grid we did was bullshit?”
“No,” Gage said. “We would’ve spotted trails, tracks, something if we’d been near a bunker, even underground.”
“But she’s right. We can’t discount the fact that they could be in the zone north of the initial marker,” Vi said. “Thank you, Kamren.”
“I’m not trying to sound like one of those government conspiracy nut jobs, but there could’ve been underground bunkers in the park, right? We wouldn’t know.” She shrugged. “You said your computer was hooked up to all sorts of databases. Maybe it’d know, but Tanner and his crew would be my first go to.”
“Tanner?” Marshall asked.
“Tanner Blevins. He owns Extreme Adventures, or whatever they call themselves. Hiking, hunting. The more remote or riskier, the better. They know the area better than almost anybody I know,” she answered. “He’d help. Call him; tell him I told you to.”
“You know him,” Dallas said.
“Dad and I helped them set their business up,” she said.
“So you know the area they’re in, which is near this?”
“Near is subjective in land like that, but yeah. They’re as nearby as anyone,” she said. “Either way, if they’re underground, there’d be a generator, supplies. Bunkers are typically well stocked, but supplies would get depleted if they’re actually being used. Unless they’re schlepping stuff in from far away, they’d buy local. Folks would remember them, especially if they aren’t the typical prepper type,” she said. “They won’t give the info to just anyone though.”
“We’ll hack into whatever systems we can, ferret out anything usable and go from there,” Zoey said.
Mary and Vi were typing on their keyboards. Cord’s lips thinned. “I never thought about underground. Should have. Sorry, bro. That was my fuck up.”
“We all overlooked it. We were told it was a remote cabin,” Zoey said.
“We’re getting to work on the new angles Kamren gave us. Until then there’s nothing any of you all can do for that. Go away,” Mary said. She put her pen in her mouth and kept typing, clearly dismissing the fact that everyone else was still in the room.
Jud rose with a chuckle, then leaned over, and kissed Vi’s cheek. The woman didn’t even notice. Talk about focused.
Kamren looked around the room as everyone rose. Now what?
She hadn’t realized she voiced the question until Dallas put a hand on her waist and smiled down at her. “Now we wait. Thank you, sweetheart.”
She hadn’t really done anything but figured arguing that fact wouldn’t get her far. It didn’t matter. As long as Dallas’s child was found, that’s what mattered. Nolan and Jesse neared them.
“One problem with this plan, brother,” Nolan said. “Hailey.”
Dallas’s jaw twitched. The only Hailey Kamren knew was Hailey Suthers, but she didn’t have a connection to Dallas. Did she? She’d been with Dylan for a little while, but that’d died out a while back. Kamren hadn’t ever been good at keeping up with the local gossip; that was more Rachelle’s forte.
“I’ll make it work,” Dallas answered.
11
“I’ll make it work,” Dallas repeated into the silence.
Son of a bitch. Would he ever scrape Hailey and the bullshit she’d pulled off? When Dylan settled down with Mary, Dallas had hoped he and his brother had both made a clean break, but Dallas wading into the Marville situation would put him back on her radar.
Hailey Suthers had hooked up with Dylan while Dallas was away on a nasty mission. They’d been thick as thieves and he’d never known. When Dylan had left for a mission, Dallas had landed not long after. Lost in his own head, he’d somehow ended up drugged and in Hailey’s bed. He’d woken up the next morning with zero memory of the night before and a pissed off family.
Fun. Times.
He sensed Kamren’s gaze on him, but she kept silent.
Why the hell had he volunteered to play house with her?
Because he didn’t like the thought of Nolan or Jesse volunteering. Competitiveness with his brothers had been a big issue growing up, mainly because the girls circled like he and his brothers were all roadkill. Him having the same preferences in women as his big brothers didn’t help.
Though neither Nolan or Jesse had mentioned anything, he noticed their interest in the gorgeous female at his side. He didn’t have the right to stake a claim, but for now he didn’t want them closer. She was neck deep in trouble and until he’d waded her to safety, she was his to take care of.
Fuck. He stared at the empty plates in the overflowing trashcan. She’d attacked her food like she hadn’t eaten in a week. His gut twisted, remembering those times all too well. How long had it been? She’d never answered, probably never would.
He’d have to stock up the truck with food from the cafeteria’s supplies. There probably wasn’t much out at her farmhouse. Did the kitchen even work? No matter, he’d set it to rights. He called up the list of things he’d noticed while out there. At least he’d have an excuse to fix a few things now.
“We’ll use renovations on the farmhouse as an excuse to bring operatives in,” he said.
“Renovations?” Kamren’s voice was tight.
“We can’t have me out there and not do some work,” he commented. Hand on her back, he waited out the flash of emotions sweeping across her expressive face.
Confusion, anger, shame.
“We can’t afford renovations,” she commented.
“We’ve got more left-over supplies than we can use,” Nolan said. “Using some of them up would help make way for what we actually need for the new plans out here.”
Kamren glared across the table, her disbelief evident in her narrowed gaze.
“You and Cliff can help,” Dallas said.
“Fine, but I’m doing stuff around here, too. I’m not a charity case,” she returned.
He shaved off a few things from his mental supply list. Baby steps. Though he intended to get the farmhouse fully set to rights, he’d go slow. The condition of her house and the obvious financial woes were big triggers for her. The sooner they got their asses back to Marville, the better.
He avoided any further discussions with his brothers by barreling himself and Kamren out the side exit.
“We need to go see Dani first thing, make sure she’s okay. She can handle her own against Javier, but I still want to check.”
“Let’s slow it down a moment and have a chat, sweetheart.” He dragged her to a halt and cupped her face. “Keeping you safe while we figure out what happened to your dad is my concern. I’ll take on the Marville Dogs when and if they become a problem, but I suspect they’ll back down after my chat
with Dom tomorrow.”
“Dani wanted to go.”
“She’s not in on this trip; maybe next time.” He noted the way she pressed her cheek deeper into his palm, as if starved for physical contact. Her eyes lit up. “You’ve been alone with this a long time, haven’t you, sweetheart?”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“And before that? When he was alive?”
“I did what had to be done.” The non-answer was answer enough. Dallas had lived years in The Collective; he could read between the lines. She’d likely hated every second of her life with her dad, but it was the only family she’d ever had or known.
“Losing a dad hurts like hell. I still wake up thinking about mine, wondering what advice he’d give on things.”
“Like finding your son?” Her cheeks colored as her gaze skittered away quickly. “Sorry, forget I asked. It’s not my business.”
“It is. You’re helping find him, so it’s your business.” He waited til her gaze returned to him. Something flickered there within the blue depths. “Yeah, I wish he was here to help with him. He’d know how to handle whatever we find. He’d know what to say and do. I wish to hell I’d had more time with him.”
“He was an amazing man. I met him a couple time when I was young.”
“Nolan and Jesse mentioned being out there hunting with him.”
She laughed and looked away as her full eyelashes fluttered shut. “I got so pissed at them, you know. I wanted to go hunting with them so bad, but Dad wouldn’t let me, said it was a man-only hunt. They didn’t need any little girls ruining their day.”
“Dad would’ve loved having you there. He used to take Riley out sometimes, even though she was too little to do anything but play with her dolls and make enough noise to scare everything away for miles. He never wanted her to feel left out.” Dallas smiled at the memory. “It hit him hard when we all left for the service. I saw it. Being one of the last to go, I saw it and still left him here. Left everything he’d built for us.”
“Dallas,” she whispered, as if sensing the weight of the admission, the guilt he still clung to.
“I think we all still feel that regret, you know. It’s why…”
“It’s why you’re running a huge-ass, whatever-it-is group on a ranch surrounded by cows?”
Dallas loved the hell out of her honest reply. Too many women chased the tags, wanting to bag a man who’d been a spec ops soldier, or whatever it was they sought. Kamren didn’t know what they did, not enough to care. She’d clearly looked into them enough to have the basics, but she wasn’t asking for more. What he’d done and his last name didn’t matter.
But it should.
He wanted to assure her they could handle Marville, whatever they found with her dad’s death. But after Marla, he couldn’t make empty promises to anyone. Never again. Promises broken resulted in bad things, things that resulted in little boys being raised in hell without a dad. Or a mom.
Dallas forced away the memory of Marla bleeding out on the concrete floor of the warehouse where she’d hung him up like a piece of meat. There’d been no choice that day. Had he known about his son, would he and his brothers have made the same decisions? He couldn’t afford to plow that road, not now. Possibly not ever.
The Camaro growled as it ate up the last strip of road between her and the Sip and Spin. Nervousness crawled through her like a restless rattler as Dallas parked toward the front, beside Dani’s ride. Early evening wasn’t ever a busy time for the local bar, which left Kamren more than a little relieved.
Then she spotted Javier’s ride.
Fuck.
“This is the right play, Kamren,” Dallas said as he wheeled into a parking spot. Actually, he made a spot happen by the trashcans. “You in everyone’s face walking in there sends a message. If you aren’t ready to send it, we’ll wait. Either way, your girl in there’s covered. Gage and a couple other Arsenal operatives are taking turns monitoring her. She’s covered.”
A relieved breath escaped her. She’d insisted they stop so she could check on Dani. Leaving her with the Marville Dogs hadn’t been easy. Even though her best friend liked to pretend she was a hard-ass, Kamren knew better. She’d seen the vulnerable girl lost behind the mask. That was the person she’d come to check on, not the gangster princess everyone else saw.
Dallas slid out of the vehicle like he owned the world. Confidence exuded from him as he appeared at her side and draped a possessive hand around her waist. Caliche gravel crunched beneath her combat boots. The borrowed clothing was a bit tighter around her chest and ass than she’d prefer, but she’d make do. The only important thing was getting a pulse on Dani and the Marville Dogs.
She entered behind Dallas, who somehow covered her entry with his broad body. Remembering they were supposedly a couple now, she gave into the urge to coil her arm around his muscular chest. Her splayed palm trekked downward until she halted at his waist. He dragged her to his side and offered a playful grin. Heat spread through her, an electrical awareness she couldn’t explain.
“You’re back,” Dani commented from behind the bar. “And hooked up. That didn’t take long, but you always were a quick one, Dallas.”
Kamren studied her best friend. Lips thinned, gaze assessing, Dani looked okay, but the tension in her fisted hands and narrowed eyes charged the room with unease. Things hadn’t calmed, not nearly enough.
Dallas ignored Dani’s jibe and headed straight for the Marville Dogs clustered at a table in the corner. Javier and Ralph both rose at his approach. Unease settled in Kamren’s quickened pulse, but she hung back. He knew what he was doing, or so she hoped.
“Dallas,” Javier said. “Didn’t expect you around so soon. You’d best stay away.”
“Funny, was about to say the same thing,” Dallas commented.
Javier took a step forward, into Dallas’s personal space. “I’m thinking you need a lesson in respect.”
“Warning, lessons I give end with body bags.”
The two men stared one another down. Javier broke contact first. Laughter. “Crazy pendejo. Never knew when to back off. For Dom, I’ll leave your ass alone.”
Javier’s statement was met with silence.
Silence.
Lethal, unapologetic quiet.
“See you still got the look Dom taught you down,” Javier said. “Go back to the ranch; suckle up to your big brothers. Marville ain’t your town, ese.”
“It’s my town because it’s my girl’s town. Marville’s on my radar now.” Dallas dragged her against him.
She roped an arm around him and leaned forward until her nose pressed against his chest. Each breath dragged his scent in deeper, soapy musk and sandalwood. His fingers crawled beneath her top as though they belonged there. Fiery heat spread through her as he rubbed and stroked her side.
“Neither of us want fallout,” Dallas said. “You let what went down at your clubhouse go, I make sure the recording from the compound gets wiped.”
“Recording?” Javier’s mouthpiece stepped forward. “What recording?”
“Insurance,” Dallas said as he pulled out a phone. “Your call. There’s one copy, and I’m the one who controls if it gets to Dom. I’ve got zero skin in this, man.”
“This is my town,” Javier declared.
“You and your crew stand down and keep out of our way, we’re good. My girl needs closure on what went down with her dad. The sooner we figure it out, the better it’ll be for everybody. Until then, we’ll be handling things at her place.”
“Shitty-ass place,” Javier commented. “Your girl’s been up in everyone’s business and not tending her own. As for her old man, Marville Dogs ain’t got no part in that shit.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t know what went down,” Dallas countered.
“Not my concern, man. Not yours either. You don’t want a part in that bullshit.”
Frustrated with the fact that Javier apparently knew something and wasn’t sharing, Kamren turned and head
ed back to the bar. Dani slammed a soda in front of her. “Thought you were smarter than to hook up with a Mason, especially that one.”
“Not sure what trouble you have with them, but they’re good people, a fuck-load better than the Marville Dogs.” Kamren sipped on the soda and looked at her friend. “You okay?”
“Javier and I cleared the air; we’re good.” Dani pursed her lips and looked over at the table where Dallas stood circled by Javier and his group. The fact he was surrounded didn’t seem to bother the man.
Kamren’s gaze roamed the building. One of the Arsenal folks was here, but she couldn’t figure out who. If things went south, Dallas wouldn’t be alone. Kamren wasn’t the best fighter, but she could handle her own long enough to keep someone off Dallas.
“Whatever your play is, watch your back. This’ll get to Hailey, and you don’t need that bitch’s brand of trouble on your ass.”
“What’s with him and Hailey? I thought she had hooked up with Dylan.” She scrunched her nose. “He’s way better off with Mary.”
“Girl, that cow played them off one another. Her man Dylan went wheels up to parts unknown for his country and she was in Dallas’s bed within two days.” Dani slammed a bottle down on the table. “Don’t trust him.”
Shock kept her mute as she stared at Dallas from across the room. He’d slept with Hailey when she was hooked up with Dylan?
Her skin crawled. She hadn’t thought of Dallas as a player, but she didn’t really know him, did she? And honestly, she didn’t give a damn who he took to his bed. Clearly Dylan didn’t have a problem with Dallas screwing Hailey. Either that or they’d worked it out. Not her business.
So why did her gut churn at the thought of Hailey touching him? Of him holding Hailey against his side like he’d just held her.
“He’s a player,” Dani said. “Align with them to keep your ass covered. That’s a smart play. Hooking up with him? Not smart.”
