by L. P. Dover
“Then I guess you’ve made your decision,” she said. “Hopefully, he’ll understand.”
I scoffed. Chris wasn’t the type of man to back down when he wanted something. Not to mention, he had my brother on his side. “So, who did you say could help me?” I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.
She reached for one of the magazines sitting on the coffee table. I watched her flip through the pages until she reached the Most Handsome and Eligible Bachelor list.
“Really?” I grumbled. “Who the hell can help me in there?”
She held up her hand. “Hold on. He’s in here somewhere.”
“Who? George Clooney?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Him,” she said, turning the magazine toward me. “Wade Chandler.”
Eyes wide, I stared at the man on the page. I knew exactly who he was, even though he probably didn’t remember me. He was sexy as hell, and looked exactly like a younger version of his father, Glenn Chandler. “You can’t be serious.”
She stared at his picture, smiling sweetly. “You two were so cute together when you were little, always playing on the beach. I’ll have to find the pictures.”
Now that would be a sight. I had minor flashes in my mind from that time, but I couldn’t remember all the details. It was so long ago.
“You were five years old when we left Charleston,” she continued. “Might not be a bad time to reconnect. He’s kept numerous businesses from tanking.”
I shook my head. “I turned down Glenn’s help when he offered it to me. What’s it going to look like when I go running to Wade?”
She scoffed. “Glenn loves you like a daughter. He knows how stubborn you are. He’ll understand.”
Glenn Chandler had grown up with my father and was one of his closest friends. He used to attend our dinner parties at the White House when he wasn’t busy running Chandler Enterprises. He liked to tell me stories about what it was like to live at the beach and go surfing, which was ultimately what sparked my interest to move back to Charleston. When I’d first started up my shop, Glenn offered to help, but I was too proud to take it.
I stared at Wade’s picture, my insides tearing in all directions. I didn’t want to ask for help, but a part of me knew I needed to. Shutting the magazine, I set it back down on the table. “I’ll think about it. I don’t want to make any decisions right now.”
My mother ran a hand soothingly down my hair. “It’s your choice, sweetheart. I’ll get Noah to invite him to the next dinner party. That way, you can make the choice to talk to him or not.”
I didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Fine,” I gave in. “Let’s talk about something else.” Something other than my failure.
“Okay, we’ll talk about these clothes.” Flipping through my sketchpad, she pointed at one of my bikini designs. “If I wasn’t an old woman, I’d wear something like this.”
Grinning from ear to ear, I nudged her in the side. “You’re not old, Mom. Besides, our house in Charleston is on a private beach. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone.”
She closed the sketchpad. “I’ve lost all hope with that, sweetheart. No one will ever take the place of your father.”
“No, but you can find someone to fill the void. There’s no reason for you to be alone.” As much as I missed my father, and didn’t want to imagine her with another man, I couldn’t be selfish.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let it out slowly. “You’re right, there’s not. Once the holidays are over, I’ll pack up and leave with you. Maybe I can help you get the shop on the right track.”
I held her tight. “Thanks, Mom. I need all the help I can get.” If things continued on a downward spiral, I’d have no choice but to seek out Chandler Enterprises. I just hoped I could do it on my own.
Wade
Blood.
I could smell it in the salty sea air, as if it’d already been spilled. I’d killed more people than I could count. It was what I’d trained for the past twelve years—ever since I was eighteen. The wind whipped by me as I raced across the docks to the row of trees by the marina; the moon, my only beacon of light.
“They’re here.” Ian’s voice echoed in my ear. “And he’s not alone.”
Heart racing, I slunk behind the trees and waited, my hand firmly gripping the cold steel of my Glock. “Where are you?” I asked, pressing the ear piece further into my ear.
“Checking the perimeter. Looks like it’s just the four of them. I’m heading down that way now.”
Ian Chandler was my younger brother by two years, and my partner on more than one occasion. Normally, I wouldn’t ask for help, but with the governor’s daughter being held hostage, I had to work fast. There couldn’t be any mistakes.
“Can you see the boat?” he inquired.
It was hard to miss. Grady Wilburn’s small, white yacht rocked back and forth on the water. The motherfucker even had the gall to name it Killer. “Yep. Just waiting for the cocksuckers to get down here.”
For years, I’d trained to think like a killer, to come up with the most heinous outcomes any murderer could concoct. It was part of what the Circle of Justice—a secret branch of the FBI—wanted me to learn. We hunted the dregs of society and eliminated them. Our ultimate goal was to make our country safer, even if we were considered vigilantes.
The shit that went through my mind would give even the deadliest of criminals a run for their money. That was why I was one of the best. It was what my father did, and what my brothers and I were trained to do. It was a choice we’d all made, a decision none of us have regretted.
When my father asked me to lead the mission, I learned everything there was to know about Grady Wilburn. He was a psychopath, notorious for being violent and unpredictable.
Wilburn had abducted the governor’s six-year-old daughter and the ransom for her safe return was set at ten million dollars. If the governor didn’t comply, Allie Fairchild would die. My job was going to be easy . . . kill the bastard. If I were lucky, I could make him suffer before I completed the job.
I could hear Wilburn and his men marching down the wooden steps to the dock, their hushed voices muddled to my ears. There were four men, with the one in the middle carrying Allie over his shoulders. He was the largest of them all, and had a bald head and dressed in dark clothes. Grady led the front, the evil leer apparent on his face; looking exactly like he did in his pictures, with scraggly brown hair and a lanky body.
The exchange wasn’t supposed to take place for another three hours, but I knew I had to be in place. Wilburn wanted to keep the location a secret, leaving the governor in the dark, but I knew how the cocksucker worked. He’d been in touch with a group in Mexico who were known for child trafficking. All he had to do was get his ten million dollars, kill the governor, and sail down to Mexico to collect even more money. Once he was there, he’d be safe. At least, that’s what the stupid fucker thinks.
Teeth clenched, I wanted to race out there and end them one by one. But for Allie’s sake, I had to be patient. They could start that boat up and be gone before I’d have a chance to save her.
The group had reached the boat. Grady grabbed Allie from the big guy and hauled her over his shoulder, while the others scampered off to their hiding places. The fucker thought he was being smart, but I was one step ahead of him.
Ian joined me and lifted his binoculars. “Damn, you were right the entire time.”
I kept my eyes on the target. “I’m always right.”
“All I can say is they better be paying you the big bucks for this one.”
In fact, the governor was paying me the ten million dollars Grady had requested. I didn’t need the money, but if I was risking my life, and that of my brother’s, I wasn’t about to do it for free. “Don’t worry, we’ll be able to add a nice hunk of change to our bank accounts when we get home.”
“Fuck yeah. I’m ready for a vacation.”
I didn’t even know what it felt like
anymore to go on a vacation. “Head that way.” I pointed at the shrubbery to the right. “One of the bastards went behind that building. Dispose of him, and do it quietly.”
“On it,” he said low, taking off toward the building.
Holstering my Glock, I slid my rifle off my shoulder. The other two were on my side, clearly visible through my night vision scope. The silencer on my rifle was the best of its kind, a guarantee no one would hear the shots. The only sound would be their dead bodies hitting the ground. And with Grady already on the boat, I knew he wouldn’t hear a thing.
I could hear Ian’s breathing through our connection, then the audible snap of a broken neck. “One down, three to go,” Ian said.
With my sights on the bald man who had carried Allie, I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger during my exhale. Before his body could hit the ground, I’d sighted the other henchman and pulled the trigger, watching him fall lifeless to the ground. Killing them wasn’t on the list of hits, but I had no choice. As much as I wanted to deny it, it felt good to off them.
“I’m going in,” I relayed to Ian.
“Be safe, brother. I’ll stand guard outside.”
Gun poised, I hurried across the docks and climbed onto the boat as quietly as I could. Grady was in the main cabin, sitting at a desk, while Allie laid helpless on the floor. Her skin was dirty, and her little pink dress torn with streaks of blood. The horrors she’d had to face weren’t something any child should have to go through. Her body jerked and I knew she was close to waking up.
I wanted Grady to suffer, to die slowly, but with Allie in the same room I couldn’t torture him the way I wanted to. My job was simple; get the job done, no matter the cost. I knew what I had to do, but it went against every grain in my body to give that fucker the easy way out. Storming inside, I held up my gun, finger itching to pull the trigger.
Grady jumped and reached for the gun beside him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I hissed angrily.
He froze, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. Then recognition flashed across his face. “Wait—I know you. What the fuck are you doing here?”
In my seven years of service, I’d never had to go after a kidnapper and save a little girl. My face had always remained anonymous, until now. I could separate myself from the other kills, but this one was different. The rage inside me was overwhelming. There was a darkness hidden beneath the surface that relished in the act of taking lives. I knew once I pulled the trigger, I’d be fulfilled. Happiness for me was killing those who deserved it.
Grady stepped back as I edged closer to him, his soulless eyes studying me from head to toe. He was going to make a move, but it didn’t matter.
“No. The question you should be asking is what I’m going to do to you?” I answered darkly. Allie’s body jerked again and a slight moan escaped her lips. I was running out of time. “You don’t deserve a fast death.”
“I’m not so easy to kill.”
A slow, evil smile spread across my face. “Yes, you are.”
His body tensed. The second he lunged, I pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting him square between the eyes. Blood and brain matter splattered across the wall, but I was immune to the sight of it. His body went down hard, his legs folding at odd angles beneath him.
Thundering footsteps sounded on the wooden dock and Ian burst inside, his eyes finding the carnage. “Target exterminated.”
“Yep,” I said, stepping over Grady’s dead body. Allie moaned again and I carefully picked her up. I brushed the blonde hair off her face and held her close to my chest. She was safe.
“I want my mommy,” she cried.
“You’ll see her soon, sweetheart. I promise.”
Wade
“How did it go?” my father asked. I could see his reflection in the window.
I took one last look of the bustling streets of downtown Charlotte before facing him. “It was different from the usual.” Risky was more like it. If anyone had seen me, my cover would’ve easily been blown. I had a face that was known across the country.
My father sat down in the seat across from my desk. The years had finally caught up to him. He desperately needed a break, and now that he’d handed Chandler Enterprises over to me and retired from the FBI, it was within his grasp. The only problem was making him accept it. “I see that. I’m glad you succeeded. Your brother headed back to Wyoming this morning.”
I nodded. “I know. He’s taking a well-deserved vacation.”
“Which is what you need to be doing. You were gone a lot longer than expected.”
That I had been. I’d needed time to breathe before coming back home. Clenching my teeth, I glanced down at my papers. “I needed some time to think,” I answered. Nothing helped the rage inside me. Usually, I could let off some steam with a quick fuck, but that hadn’t helped this time. I was still on edge.
His brows furrowed. “About what?”
I closed my eyes. “That I’m one fucked up individual. The more I hunt, the less satisfied I become.” Opening my eyes, I stared at him. “They need to suffer, to feel the worst pain imaginable. And when I can’t deliver a full punishment, I feel . . . disgruntled. Restless.”
He nodded. “That they do, son. But time’s usually not on our side. We have no choice but to do it quick. Not unless you’re Preston.”
“No shit.” Preston Hale was one of the most skilled assassins on our team. He was known for doling out painful punishments before he killed. And if I wasn’t so easily recognizable, it’d be simpler. “I wanted to make Grady and his men suffer, but I didn’t get the chance. After the mission was over, I didn’t feel fulfilled. I had all this anger inside of me and I couldn’t let it out.”
My family lived double lives, and sometimes, it took longer to transition back. If my friends and co-workers knew what my brothers and I were, they’d run far and fast. We were killers by trade, but during the day, I was Wade Chandler, owner of Chandler Enterprises, one of the most prestigious investment firms in the country.
Releasing a heavy sigh, I sat down. “Now that I’m back, we need to get down to business. Anything happen while I was gone?”
He shook his head. “Not really. However, I do have some companies I want you to look at. I set my notes on your desk this morning.” He nodded toward the stack of papers and I looked at them, coming across a sheet with Ian’s writing on it.
“What’s this?”
He shrugged. “Some record label your brother’s interested in. You know how Ian is. He loves his music. But I’m leaning more toward the sports arena. The owner of the Carolina Cougars is looking to sell. Might not be a bad idea to get the company involved with the local NFL team.”
I had to agree. The Carolina Cougars were one of the best teams around. “I’ll look into it,” I told him.
He stood and straightened his tie. “Sounds good, son. I’ll let you get back to work. If you need me, I’ll be around.”
I leaned back in my chair as my father walked out. It felt good to be home, back to normalcy. For how long? I didn’t know. Most of the hunts I went on were local, but there were times when the Circle of Justice needed my expertise. I was the best long-range shooter in the group.
The intercom beeped and Mrs. Marshall’s voice came over the speaker. “Mr. Chandler?” “Yes,” I replied.
“You have a call on line three.”
My focus shifted to the phone and I sat up straight. “Did you say line three?” Out of all the phone calls I could receive, I wasn’t expecting to hear a line three call for a long time.
“Yes, sir. Line three.”
Indeed, the button for line three blinked ominously. “Thanks, I’ll get it in a second.”
I stared at the blinking light for what felt like hours. Why the hell would I be getting another call so soon? Line three was protected by the government for official business. If they were calling, that meant there was another top-secret mission. Usually, for everyone in the group, we
had a mutual list of criminals we could hunt down and kill. Any of us could get rid of them; however, there were special missions that sometimes required a specific individual.
With the presidential elections at a close, tensions were high, and I was the one who dealt with all political issues.
Taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone. “Chandler.”
“Good morning.” It was Peter Johnson, one of the leaders of the Circle of Justice. My father was the founder of the group, but now that he was retired, the FBI had appointed Johnson to handle all mission assignments.
“I wish I could say the same,” I replied.
“Sounds like the Fairchild case took a toll on you.”
“Why are you calling, Peter?”
He sighed, and I knew it wasn’t good. “We have a problem. I thought we’d get it handled on our own, but it’s gotten worse. We need you.”
“Who does it involve this time?”
“The POTUS,” he answered, voice tired.
Brina
The sun felt good against my skin, the sand warm beneath my feet. I’d brought my mom to the beach, thinking a day by the ocean would relax me, but I couldn’t stop stressing, not even after drinking three tequila sunrises.
Living in Charleston was heaven. I loved being able to spend time with my mother and get her input on my new designs. With her help, business had picked up a little, but it wasn’t enough. It’d been six months since she told me to seek out Wade Chandler. I didn’t want his help, but if I wanted to keep my business from completely tanking, I had to bite the bullet.
Finishing up my drink, I set the cup down and grabbed my book. Before I could get to the first page, my phone beeped.
Lexi: Heading to Georgia. Sure you don’t need anything?
Chuckling, I shook my head and texted back.
Me: Nope! Have a good 4th of July.
Lexi was my best friend and manager of my shop, Endless Summer. We had both graduated with business degrees, and I’d begged her to work with me when I opened the shop. Eventually, if business picked up, I hoped to make her a partner.
