“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t say it. Someday, I’ll tell you more.”
“But not today?”
“No, sweetheart. I’ve already said too much. Now, back to the file.”
Resigned, she began explaining, starting with her first suspicions Victor wasn’t what he appeared. “He was so respectable. The epitome of the upstanding citizen, attending all the required social events and fundraisers. He was the youngest senior partner. Still, something didn’t seem right.”
“And you know this from all the time you spent with him.” It wasn’t a question.
“If you’re asking if I slept with Victor, yes, I did. One time, Quinn. How many women have you been with since me?”
Brushing a strand of hair from her face, he cupped her cheek. “You’re right, sweetheart. Go on.”
Moistening her lips, she drew in a slow breath. “I was already suspicious when he took me to his house after an early dinner. Jamie was staying with a neighbor, so I didn’t have to get home until the next morning.”
“This would be your one time with him, right?”
Ignoring the question, she continued. “Something he said bothered me. I can’t recall what, but the next day, I was left alone long enough to go through his study. I had no idea what to look for. It took less than five minutes to spot the file on his desk. It was right there in front of me and I almost missed it.”
“What was inside?”
“I’ll need to show you. Let me get dressed and take you to it.”
“Meet me in the living room. I need to let Tracker and Fargo know we’re leaving and to stay around to keep watch on Jamie when Wrath drops him off.”
“Um, Quinn?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we stop to pick up some corn chips?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
They’d made it a mile from the house when his phone rang. “It’s Wrath,” he said to Becca before answering. “Do you have Jamie?”
“Where are you?”
“Becca’s taking me to where she hid the file. Why?”
“Jamie isn’t at school.”
Glancing at Becca, he pulled to the side of the road. “Repeat that.”
“Jamie is missing. They’d been searching and were about to call you and Becca when I showed up. They didn’t know he was gone until the kids returned from the playground.”
“Night Devils,” Wrangler ground out, a ball of fury curling in his gut.
“Or the men who roughed up Becca. I’ve already dispatched two teams. We know the location of the Devils clubhouse. Since the school is in the county, I called Ethan. He’s meeting a couple deputies at the school to do a thorough search.”
“Did Grayson give his okay to approach their clubhouse?” Wrangler didn’t care whether he’d given them the nod or not. He’d do whatever it took to get back his son.
“Not yet. He’s at some high-level meeting. But we aren’t waiting. Right now, all we’ll do is recon, learn if Jamie is with Burn and his crew. You need to get Becca somewhere safe. If it is the Night Devils, she could be the next target.”
Wrangler had been on too many missions to count, taken on terrorists, gunrunners, and human traffickers, faced what he thought was certain death. There’d always been a certain level of fear mixed with exhilaration at the prospect of taking out more bad guys. Never had he felt such deep and penetrating terror as what gripped him at that instant.
“We’ll get the file and go back to my place,” Wrangler said. “Fargo and Tracker are already there. Once she’s settled, I’ll meet you at the clubhouse.”
“You need to stay with Becca.”
“No. I need to find my son.”
Setting the phone beside him, Wrangler massaged his temples while drawing in a slow breath, not yet ready to face Becca.
“What is it, Quinn?”
A jolt of fury rocked him at the quiver in her voice. He was supposed to protect his family, keep Becca and Jamie safe. While he’d been locked safely inside his home with her, someone had taken their boy.
Our boy.
Slamming his hands on the steering wheel, he shifted toward Becca. “Jamie’s missing.”
The wild hysteria he’d expected hadn’t materialized. Panicked shock gave way to anger and determination. Wrangler had already learned how strong she was, getting through the last ten years by stoic resolve. He now saw another side. Enraged, ready to fight, do whatever was needed to get Jamie back. She’d even surprised him by pulling a SIG 9mm from her purse, loaded and ready to roll.
Following her directions, he took a winding country road away from town, keeping watch for anyone who might be following. Twenty minutes later, he navigated a long, pot-holed trail, not much wider than his truck. After an almost too tight curve, the road ended in front of a small cabin.
“What is this place?” Wrangler asked.
“My grandfather’s hunting cabin. Other than my parents and brother, no one knows it exists. I haven’t been here in years, except for hiding the file.”
Pushing through overgrown brush to reach the front door, he took the key from her hand, pulled out his own SIG, and stepped inside. Doing a quick check of the rooms, he met her in the kitchen. On her knees, Becca had removed what appeared to be a false baseboard under a cabinet.
“This is where you hid it?”
Reaching into the dark space, she held up the file. “Can you think of a safer place?”
Taking it, he rifled through the contents, his fear increasing with each page. “Shit, Bec. Do you have any idea what you have?”
“I’d assumed it was a chronological record of Victor’s illegal activities.”
Tucking it under his arm, he grabbed her hand. “We’ve got to get this information to Wrath. If Raider can’t decipher it, there are others who can.” He didn’t mention Grayson or the substantial resources at his disposal.
Retracing their path to the main road, he stopped the truck, turning toward Becca. “I’m not the best decoder, but what you found is a schedule of activities, names, amounts, and bank transactions. None of them are small. Victor kept this as protection in case he has a falling out with his partners, or as a way to take them down.”
He laid his hand on the file. “What you took could destroy Victor’s world, as well as his partners. The fact is, if his associates learn he wrote it all down, Victor won’t last more than a couple days, Bec. They’ll eliminate him and anyone who knows what’s inside.”
“Jamie doesn’t know anything, Quinn.”
“But you do.”
From his vantage point above the Night Devils clubhouse, Rock adjusted his night vision binoculars and earpiece. “Nothing from here, Ghost.”
“Roger. Nothing from my position. Gunner?”
“No sign of Jamie. Burn and another member walked out a few minutes ago, then went back inside.”
“Did you recognize the other member, Gunner?”
“Negative, Ghost. And no sign of Jif.”
From his desk at the clubhouse, Wrath touched his earpiece. “Are any of you in a position to move in without detection?”
“Negative for me,” Ghost responded.
“Negative here, Wrath,” Gunner said.
“Affirmative, Wrath. Give me fifteen.”
“Confirm your new location, Rock.”
“Roger that, Prez.”
The sound of his office door opening drew Wrath’s attention. Hiding his surprise at seeing who was with Wrangler, he motioned them to chairs.
Wrangler tossed the file on top of the desk. “Read that. Raider will need to decode, but you’ll get the gist of it.”
Opening the file, he read through each page before punching a button on his phone. “Raider. Need you up here. Stat.” He narrowed his gaze at Wrangler. “Becca shouldn’t be here.”
“She’s as safe here as anywhere else.”
“Don’t be insubordinate. You know why she can’t be here. I’ll have two men follow you back to your place. Tracker and Fargo
know the stakes are higher and will be with you until I give the order to return.”
Shredding fingers through his hair, Wrangler shook his head. “I can’t stay there and do nothing.”
The hidden door to the dungeon, their multimillion dollar communications room downstairs, opened. “What do you need?”
Wrath handed him the file. “Decode this. Get the results back to me.”
Nodding at Wrangler and Becca, Raider took the file, disappearing downstairs.
Focusing back on his brother, Wrath crossed his arms. “You’re too close to be any good right now.”
“Bullshit,” he all but shouted. “Jamie’s my son. What would you do if it were your child? Hunker down at home and wait for everyone else to search?”
Wrath stood, leaning over the desk. “That’s not the point. I made a mistake with Ghost and Dani, ordering others to watch her while Ghost was tasked elsewhere. You know what happened, Wrangler. It was a major error on my part. I will not make the same mistake again.”
Not one member of Eternal Brethren had forgotten how Ghost almost lost Dani. Pacing away, hands fisted at his sides, Wrangler whirled to face his brother.
“Dani and Ghost’s situation was different. They were still trying to work out their relationship.”
Wrath glared at him. “And you two aren’t?”
Wrangler shifted toward Becca, surprised she’d stayed quiet so long. All he got in return was the frantic expression of a mother whose child had been taken.
“Becca and I are working things out.”
“Fine. Continue doing that from your home with two guards and state of the art security system. You’ll be plugged into us twenty-four/seven, hearing everything I do. If you need more men, I’ll send them. Don’t forget your safe room.”
“I don’t need the damn safe room. What I…” Wrangler settled his gaze on Becca. “What we need is Jamie. And you need me.”
“Rock to Wrath. You there, Prez?”
Wrath held up his hand to his brother. “Affirmative. What do you have?”
“Jamie’s not here.”
“You’re certain?”
“Affirmative. I’m within ten feet of their back wall. Shit security here. Burn came out for a smoke. Mario and Jif joined him. Judging from their conversation, they’d just heard about Jamie. I’d bet my lift the Devils didn’t take him.”
“Roger that, Rock. Gunner, can you see the front and back from your position?”
“Affirmative.”
“You stay. Ghost and Rock, return to base with the rest of the men. Repeat. Return to base.”
Getting affirmatives, he lowered himself into his chair. “You’re right. I don’t know how you feel.”
“Damn straight you don’t.”
Jaw tight, Wrath gripped the arms of his chair. “What I need is to know you and Becca are safe. You heard Rock. If it isn’t the Devils, then it’s Ellison. I’m going to follow you, and order Rock and Ghost to join us. We’ll wait for the decoded information from Raider while planning a mission to get Jamie back.”
Rising, he walked around the desk, crouching in front of Becca. “We’ll need to know everything you remember about Victor. Start writing it out when you get to Wrangler’s. The names of his staff members at work, the people he employs at home, who he dates or dated, where he goes. Every detail, no matter how insignificant. The same with Dorn Rawlins and Lew Helms. Somewhere in that triangle we’ll find Jamie.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Becca’s voice trembled, but didn’t break. Wrangler was so damn proud of her.
Setting a hand over hers, Wrath nodded. “I know you will.” Straightening, he faced his brother. “Go straight home. Two men will follow you, and I won’t be far behind. Make sure the safe room is stocked, and…” He swallowed, clasping Wrangler’s shoulder. “Hell, you know the drill. We’ve never failed a mission, and we sure as hell won’t fail this one.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tasked to accompany Wrangler and Becca home, Banner drove in front of the truck while another of the Brethren followed behind. All those in the club had been briefed on the kidnapping, given a copy of Jamie’s picture from one Becca produced. It wasn’t needed. Most all the men had met Wrangler’s son when he’d come to the clubhouse.
“Why didn’t they just take me?”
“Leverage.” Keeping his focus on the road ahead and behind them, Wrangler reached over, placing a hand on her thigh. “They can use Jamie as leverage to make you give up the file. Taking you wouldn’t accomplish much if you refused to give them what they wanted. Can Jamie identify Ellison or his men?”
She glanced down at his hand, setting hers on top. “No. As I said, Victor and I hadn’t been seeing each other long.”
“But you spent the night with him.” It wasn’t an accusation, but had the same effect as a punch to her gut.
Removing her hand, she lifted her chin, staring out the front. “Yes. It was the first night I’d been away from Jamie in over two years. Over four since I’d been with a man. There were nights I felt so alone…” She didn’t finish, unwilling to say more.
Squeezing her thigh before moving his hand back to the steering wheel, he shot her a quick look. “I’m not accusing you of anything, Bec.”
She gave him a hard glare. “Aren’t you?” Shoving aside the cacophony of emotions roiling through her, she looked away. “Yes, I slept with two men since you. If I’d met someone more appealing, there would’ve been three or four, or maybe even five men in my past. My guess is you’ve gone through more than that over the course of a few months.”
A few weeks, but he wouldn’t voice the thought aloud. Wrangler took no pleasure in the number of women he went through trying to rid himself of Becca’s memory. It had been a wasted effort. He should’ve picked up the damn phone when he’d graduated from BUD/S, hired a private investigator to track her down. Instead, he’d been too much of a chickenshit to face the way he’d hurt her. It was a damn miracle she was willing give him another chance.
“I’m so damn sorry for waiting so long.”
Shoving aside the dread at how he might answer, she asked the question which had been burning in her brain. “Would you have ever sought me out, Quinn? I mean, if we hadn’t seen each other in Robbie’s, would you have been curious enough to find me?”
Clenching his jaw, he thought back on his life without her. He’d lived for his duty and his team. The good times he’d expected never came. The women a means of escape, nothing more.
“Not one day passed I didn’t think of you, Bec. My work was, well…it could be all-encompassing. Overwhelming in a way I can’t describe. Few SEAL marriages last more than a few years. Maybe one in ten worked. The stats on a marriage working out in the special ops world are staggering.”
Recalling the guilt and shame which plagued him day after day at leaving Becca, he couldn’t remember another good reason why he hadn’t found her sooner.
“The truth is, I was scared shitless. I didn’t want to learn you were happily married with a house full of kids. Didn’t want to see pictures of you staring into the eyes of another man, giving him the love you once gave me. Where you were concerned, I was always a fucking coward.”
Brows furrowing, she shifted to look at him. The straight nose, solid jawline, hard, angular features were all the same as she remembered. Becca couldn’t recall him ever being afraid of anything. “You were always the most fearless man I knew.”
He snorted out a bitter chuckle. “Except around you.”
Lips parting, jaw dropping, she felt a startled sense of understanding. “That’s why you left without telling me your intentions.”
Continuing behind Banner on a route planned to discourage anyone following, Wrangler tried to shove away the self-loathing at his weakness. “Yes. I couldn’t tell you what I planned. The thought of the disillusionment I’d see, love turning to hate, would’ve destroyed me.”
“And you might’ve stayed.” She didn’t reach for him, couldn�
�t find it in herself to give him comfort.
“At twenty-one, I wasn’t ready to marry, start a family.”
“I never asked you to.”
He blew out a harsh breath. “I know that, Bec. But it was what you wanted.”
“After you established your career. I knew you’d be accepted into BUD/S, and never had a doubt you’d graduate. I would’ve waited for you, Quinn. As long as it took, I would’ve waited.” The last came out in a ragged whisper.
Several minutes of silence passed, their breathing all that interrupted the calm. Lifting a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I hired an investigator not long after joining the Brethren. He found you right away, but I refused to look at the results. A year later, I repeated the process, again refusing to have him send a report.” He snorted. “The P.I. told me I was a fucking idiot. Said if I called again, he’d drive to Liberty Lake and shove the report down my damn throat. My work with the Brethren became almost as all-consuming as with a regular SEAL team.” Wrangler winced, hoping she didn’t catch the error. “I mean, the Brethren are, well…”
“Not a biker gang. Not into illegal activities. Not hampered by the usual laws impeding the FBI or other alphabet government agencies.”
Giving her a blank stare, he waited.
“Come on, Quinn. I’m not stupid. You have a clubhouse built for any kind of invasion. Highly trained men who I’m guessing are still active SEALs or Special Forces. A secret comms room that probably rivals any military facility.” She quirked a brow. “Shall I go on?”
“No. But don’t take it as affirmation of your wild imagination.” Mentally shaking off the shock of her figuring out the mission of the Eternal Brethren, he changed the subject. “Anyway, the short answer is yes. I was ready to learn the truth about you and your life.”
“Why then?”
“Simple. I saw how Wrath, Rock, and Ghost were able to make their marriages work. Granted, they’d been with their wives a short time, but the commitment on both sides couldn’t be missed. I’d made the call to the P.I. He repeated his warning about delivering the report in person if I refused to take it a third time. A few nights later, there you were. I thought you were an apparition. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth, as I learned several minutes later in the parking lot.”
Untamed (Eternal Brethren Military Romantic Suspense Book 4) Page 17
