Releasing Raven [Braden Security 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Dale Cadeau

  “I have a situation here. Could one of you spare the time to come to the front and get rid of this young man?”

  Brad could hear a door down the hall open and in a few minutes Angel appeared.

  “What’s the problem, Madge?”

  Madge walked out from behind the desk and pointed a finger at Brad. “He is. He said he was part of your team. With that long shaggy hair of his and those holey jeans, I know that can’t be possible. I asked him nicely to leave, but he wouldn’t until I called one of you. Do you want me to call security? I know you have better things to do than deal with this.”

  Angel just laughed as he looked at Brad standing still in the front office and Madge picking up the phone to call the building security.

  Reaching down, Angel took the phone from Madge and put it down. He tried to wipe the grin off his face, and was somewhat successful as he told her, “I’m sorry to have to tell you he is one of us.”

  “You’re sorry, now that’s not nice.” Brad had a grin also, as he took in the bewildered look Madge was giving Angel.

  Madge looked Brad up and down again asking Angel. “Are you sure? He looks like a beach bum.”

  Angel couldn’t hold it in and let out a loud laugh. The sound brought James and Grant with two strangers behind them from the meeting room.

  “What’s the problem here?” James said in an irritated voice.

  “Madge doesn’t believe Brad is one of us,” Angel told him.

  “Good work, Madge. I know you’re trying to guard our privacy and at any other time, you would be right. But Brad is one of us. I know he doesn’t look it, but he is one of the best snipers around. Don’t let his clothes fool you, with our type of business, he fits into the background just great for us.”

  Madge stood up and looked flushed. “I’m sorry, I made a mess of this, and my first week. I was just trying to do my job.”

  James walked over and put a hand on Madge shoulder, “You did great and until you meet everyone just keep it up and call us. Just wait until you meet Clay, he looked like a member of a biker gang.”

  Madge sat down in her seat. “Thank you, sir, I take my job seriously and will ask more questions before I react and call you first next time. I am so used to doing and asking questions later, that it will be an adjustment.”

  “That would be great.” James turned to Brad, still standing halfway to the front door.

  “It’s your fault, you know,”

  “How is it my fault?” Brad started to follow Grant and Angel back to the meeting room.

  “You could have come a little more dressed up, after all we are having a meeting.” James nodded at the other men standing around, wearing dress pants and shirts, and proceeded to the meeting room.

  In the conference room James took his top seat and gestured for the others to sit.

  “Brad, this is Gabriel and Anthony.” Both men even seated, you could tell that they were very muscular and tall and would be a good fit for Braden Security.

  Brad acknowledged them with a nod of his head in their direction, as he slouched in his chair.

  Both men gave him a nod back.

  “Well now, back to business,” James said as he picked up a folder in front of him on the table.

  “Just a minute, James.” Brad sat up in his seat. “You can’t leave me hanging like this. Who is the woman out there in Grace’s chair?”

  James put the folder down and picked up his coffee cup and sat back and took a sip. “That’s Grace’s replacement.”

  “Don’t you think she is too old?”

  Anthony spoke up before James could. “Let me take this, James, if you don’t mind.”

  When Brad turned his attention to him, Anthony told him. “Madge was our old drill sergeant at our first army base down in Florida. She was a tough nut, but very fair with all the men. As the years went on, she always kept in touch. I think she had a soft spot for Gabriel.” Anthony grinned at Gabriel as he said it, then he turned back to Brad. “The army made her retire at seventy, she was just sitting around her house and going downhill, with nothing to do. So when we met James last week and he was saying he had to replace his receptionist, we told him about Madge.”

  James took over the conversation. “I couldn’t be happier. She makes great coffee and runs the office like a well-oiled ship. And her references were impeccable. We should have had someone like her all along.” James put his coffee cup down and picked up the folder again.

  “Now let’s get on to business.”

  Opening the folder, he picked out two pieces of paper and laid them on the table. He looked at Gabriel. “This document states that you left the army about two years ago. It doesn’t give a reason, and your record is clean, in fact you have a few medals to your credit. Your expertise is in explosives and long rifle.”

  James put the paper down and picked up the other. “Anthony, your papers almost reflect the same as Gabriel, you both always served together after training and your expertise is wiretapping and intelligence. Sam phoned me yesterday and also put her two cents in. That if I didn’t hire you, I would be crazy, and to tell you she always has openings at her training facility.”

  Anthony and Gabriel grinned at the mention of Sam. “Yes, she called us, too, and told us we couldn’t ask for better people to work with. We’ve bummed around for a couple of years, seeing the US and reminding ourselves about everything we were fighting for over there. I have to tell you, our minds weren’t in the right place to be able to go straight into civilian work. We were so frustrated at the waste and bullshit going on that we had to resign. It didn’t matter how up on our game we were, the insurgents always seemed to be two steps ahead of us. It was getting to the point that we were starting to question the orders coming down. That’s when we knew it was time to get out, when we started to suspect and not trust our own. Now we have seen everything the US has to offer and are ready to get to work and do what we love. Protecting people.”

  “Well you came to the right place, that what we do best. With my wife taking up most of my time”—James gave a sly grin—“and Angel and now Clay with having found their life partners, we need to have more feet on the ground and take up the slack, from us not being able, or really wanting to spend that much time on a job now. I don’t know if you know our story.” As James paused, Anthony spoke up,

  “Yes, we heard, it was quite the talk in the army for a while. But with what we started to experience with our orders and what Sam filled us in on, you don’t have to worry, or persuade us that there are some rotten bastards that have their clutches in high places. Sam told us about how you and your team almost brought General Brown down, he was always our number one suspect for leaking information, it happened too many time, and his office seem to have the control over our area. I just wish we had been there to help.”

  James sat back and brushed his hand thought his hair. “It turned out to be a cluster fuck. He got away, but at least he’s on the run now. The higher ups finally believed us and with Laura, Clay’s woman’s information, it finally sealed the deal on them putting him on their shit list. As of now, even with Grant’s digging we, nor the army, can find him.”

  “Well now it’s time to vote.” James looked at Angel, Brad and Grant.

  “I will be giving the okay from Clay, as I already talked to him and he gave the go ahead. So both Clay and I vote yes.”

  Angel stuck out his hand and shook Gabriel and Anthony’s “You’ve got my vote, happy to have you on our team.”

  Brad and Grant followed suit and also shook their hands and welcomed them to Braden Security.

  Gabriel asked, “What’s with the vote? I thought you, James, were the head man?”

  “No, I just assumed the same role I had in our unit, but Braden Security is a true team. We all own part of the company and everyone has the same say in what jobs we take on or who we hire. If you find out after working with us for a while that you like it, I’m sure we can work something out so that you both could buy i
n.”

  “We’d love to, but neither of us has that kind of money. I don’t know how you all did it with just an army pay check.”

  “Well we did have help, none of us had any kind of stake for starting a business. But my brother Chase is an investment whiz and he took what we had and now we are all quite comfortable. If you want, I can get Grant to contact Charlie, who Chase left in charge, and get you started. You don’t need much,”

  “That would be great, we have a little saved, if he’s that great, we really wouldn’t be taking any chances. I’m sure we would like to buy a stake in the company when the time is right.”

  “You better hold that thought until you work with us for a while. We do get some dizzies of jobs, now and them.” Brad twiddled with the pen in front of him on the table, he hadn’t been paying too much attention to the conversation, James noticed.

  “How are you settling in now, Brad, with the new house, now you have it all to yourself?”

  “It’s going okay,” Brad responded, not looking up from the pen in his hand.

  “You seem to have something bothering you. I know it’s not a job, you have a few weeks off.”

  “No, it’s not a job, and the house is fine. Avery and Cyn took me shopping yesterday. I was just thinking about the man I saw come out of Raven’s house yesterday. He’s supposed to be some big shot in politics, but I didn’t like the look of him.”

  “Who’s Raven?” Angel asked, standing up and grabbing the carafe of coffee and filling his cup and with the other’s nod filled theirs also, before he sat down. “I don’t remember you mentioning her name before.”

  “She’s the woman that lives across from my house.”

  “Oh, I remember,” Grant butted in. “I checked her out, when we noticed her watching your house. She was clean, nothing suspicious, she’s a writer I think.”

  “Yeah, that’s Raven. I met her the other day when I helped her nurse get her up off the floor. She’s in a wheelchair and was trying to grab something off a top shelf and ended up upending herself, chair and all. That’s why we didn’t see her out and about, she seems to stick in her house. I think watching us was just something to pass the time. She seems like a great lady, but that brother of hers, I don’t know. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way, and it wasn’t because he was yelling at Raven. I can’t put my finger on it and it’s bugging me.”

  “Do you want me to look into the brother? I didn’t do a full search when her name came up clean,” Grant asked as he pulled out his Blackberry and started to take notes.

  “I hate to ask you, it could be nothing,”

  “I think Grant should take a look. If we would have been more on top of Clay’s Laura, we might have caught the General instead of taking Clay’s word that she was just an accountant and nothing else.” James sat up and looked around the table, “Do you all agree?”

  “Well, I agree, when we are too close to a woman, we seem to not be able to read between the lines. And I for one am tired of being one step behind. Even with Cyn, if we would have probed more into her life, we would have been better prepared,” Angel spoke over the top of his cup after he had taken a sip of coffee.

  “Okay, it’s settled. Grant, if nothing is pressing, look into Raven’s brother and get back to Brad and us. I also would like to be kept informed in case something comes up.” James closed the folders in front of him.

  “Now, we have a job that just came down the pipeline. It’s in California, with no time limit. An actress, who will remain nameless for now, needs protection from a stalker. Her manager has contacted us and would like us to fly out as soon as possible and take over the protection of this actress. It’s going to be a twenty-four hour a day job, so we need more than one person to go and handle this. Right now, Angel and I can’t go with Avery and Cyn pregnant. And truthfully, I would refuse the job, if I had to go. I don’t want to leave Avery alone working a job that doesn’t even have a time frame. That leaves Brad, Grant, or you two.” James looked over at Gabriel and Anthony. “Maybe it’s asking too much for a first assignment. I will understand if you would like something around here to get your feet wet.”

  “No, we’ll take it. We might as well start in feet first. Who do we contact and when do we leave?” Anthony spoke up. “We don’t have any ties here in Detroit yet, so we’re the best to go. Might be fun, seeing how the pampered one percent of the population lives. Do you agree?” He turned to Gabriel.

  “Sure, I’m on board. Just give us the details and we’ll look after it.”

  James pulled a folder from amongst the others in front of him, handing the folder to Anthony. “Here’s all the details that I have. Your contact is in there and your flight is ready whenever you both are. I will call the pilot and have the jet fueled and ready.”

  Anthony and Gabriel stood up accepting the folder from James. “We don’t fly commercial? Wow, you guys really do have made it.”

  James stood up also. “It’s not really a luxury for us. Sometimes we have to be someplace fast and can’t wait for the everyday flights. We found that having our own plane allows us to go where we have to, when we have to. We do get paid very well for our work, so it has become a necessary luxury with our global contacts.”

  “I’m all for it,” Gabriel replied, with Anthony following him to the door.

  “Don’t worry, we have this, and are grateful for the chance to join you guys.”

  “Do a good job, that’s all we ask,” James told them as he watched them leave the room.

  James sat back down and picked up his now cold cup of coffee, took a sip, and shuddered at its taste. “Well what do you think of our new almost partners? I think they will be a great addition to our team.”

  “I think we were lucky to get them, with their skills they could have started up on their own,” Angel agreed.

  “I think they will make great addition, too, but I have to ask about this voting on new hires that you told Anthony about. I don’t remember voting on hiring Madge out there?” Brad asked as he threw his pen he had been playing with on the table.

  “Well, about that. There was a vote, but we didn’t get a say in it. Avery and Cyn found out we were looking to replace Grace, when they found the applications in a file that I left in our living room. I had it with me to sort out, after a late supper with Avery. I got side-tracked and forgot the folder on the table when the evening turned out different then what I expected. I didn’t remember to pick it up the next morning and Cyn and Avery found it. They made the choice for us. All the woman that had applied didn’t seem to meet with their standards. I really was at a loss of what to do. When Anthony and Gabriel suggested Madge, I ran it by the girls. I had her checked out, and the girls approved. What could I say, she was qualified, really, overqualified. The only difference between Madge and the other woman that applied was her age and skill.”

  “Well I don’t think that’s fair. They’re your and Angel’s woman, not mine or Grant’s,” Brad said to James and Angel, “You’re letting yourselves be pussy whipped.”

  Angel turned an angry stare at Brad. “Watch your mouth, these are our women you’re talking about. And if you don’t think it’s fair, I suggest that you met with Avery and Cyn and tell them why you object to hiring Madge. In fact I’ll call them down here now, they’re just up at James penthouse.” Angel pulled his cell phone out. James just sat back and grinned between Angel and Brad.

  “I think Madge is okay. I have no problem with her, so you’re on your own, Brad.” Grant got up from his seat and started for the door. “I’m going to work.”

  Brad slouched down in his chair, “Okay, I’ll let it go, but next time I want a vote, even if it’s with Cyn and Avery.”

  James got up laughing and picking up the files from the table. “Don’t forget when Clay gets back they will have one more vote with Laura. Well I’m off, I have an appointment with my wife for lunch.”

  Angel started to follow James. “Just wait until you add to the voters. You’l
l have a different opinion then.”

  Brad laughed. “I guess we are being taken over and I must admit I like our new members. Hopefully someday I will have the same problem. Enjoy your lunch, I’m going home to arrange for the furniture to be delivered and to look at new trucks on my way.” Brad got up and joined the other men now in the hall.

  “You getting rid of your bike?”

  “No, I’m just finding it too restricting.”

  “It should be enough, since there’s only you, and you have room for one passenger,” Angel teased. “Are you thinking of someone special?”

  “Maybe I am,” Brad replied and hurriedly left them, making his way pass Madge’s desk and out to the elevator.

  Chapter Six

  Raven heard the noise of the motorcycle returning around eight p.m. Raven had been involved in writing a steamy scene and Brad, who seem to be always on her mind, was the main star in her book. She had made herself hot and bothered, as she wrote with Brad taking the role of the hero and her, the heroine. Pushing away from her computer, she wheeled herself to the window and watched Brad park his bike and shake his hair after he took off his helmet. Her view was obstructed when a large black Ram truck pulled in behind him. She watched as a large guy wearing coveralls got out of the truck and walked around the front. After a few minutes, the guy left and jumped into a white van that had pulled up at the end of the driveway. Brad took a walk around the new truck, then walked into his house, and the lights came on.

  Moving away from the window, Raven made her way to the kitchen and turned the lights on. She had been so wrapped up in her writing that it had gotten dark without her noticing and the only light in her house was the light from the computer monitor.

  Digging in the fridge, she pulled out fresh vegetables for a salad, set them on her lap, and grabbed a bowl out with a couple of steaks that she had marinated this morning. She had prepared them, in hopes that Brad would make his way over tonight and she could invite him to share supper like they did last night. She couldn’t remember a supper that she had enjoyed more. The stew had been okay, but Brad’s company, even their disagreements, had been wonderful.