Retrograde (Galaxy)

by Desiree Holt

  “If everything’s taken care of, why do you need her?”

  “Damn it, Owen.” He wanted to smack his son. “Like I told you, the current situation has changed. We have trouble out there I wasn’t expecting or prepared for.”

  Owen stared at him. “I’m asking you, what current situation? You just said you and Sulzberger managed to shut all the doors on Brianne Hollister’s sister. That’s what he was helping you with. Right?”

  “Right. Until he ran into a problem of his own. Now we may be stuck because of it.”

  “Stuck?” Fear flashed across Owen’s face. “What does that mean exactly?”

  “Warren made sure none of the top firms would let her hire them to look into what happened. However, someone turned her on to a very special firm who took the case and are working to get her answers.”

  “Damn it, Dad. How special? Why are they different?”

  “These are not your average investigators. They’re all former Navy SEALs, the cream of the crop. If anyone can get her the answers she wants, it will be them.”

  “But you told me there was nothing left for anyone to find,” Owen reminded his father.

  “Under normal circumstances, yes, except these people aren’t normal. They don’t understand the meaning of the word ‘no’. Trust me. They know how to do this. They’ll dig and dig and dig until they get what they’re looking for.”

  “Fuck.” Owen resumed pacing. “Just fuck.”

  “A very appropriate word, because if these men uncover anything, we will all be fucked.” He sat down in one of the big armchairs, still holding his drink. “We have to have a plan of action going forward. The first thing we’re going to do is go over every single thing that you did that night, including where you got so drunk and who might have seen you.”

  Owen blew out a breath. “Shit. Can’t you buy off the sister or something?”

  Peter stared at him. “Are you fucking kidding me? Buy her off? Would anything be a better indicator that she’s on the trail of something? I didn’t realize I’d raised such an idiot.”

  Owen wiped his hand over his face then chugged down the rest of his drink and slammed the glass on a small table.

  “I’m not an idiot. Just unlucky. You need to help me fix this. Think of what this would do to Diane.”

  “You should have thought of that before you got involved with Hayden Kellerman. Certainly before you got drunk and got behind the wheel of your car. I have not got one idea what the fuck you were thinking.”

  “I was thinking that if I got rid of the problem, we could cover everything up.”

  “Yeah.” Kendrick rubbed his forehead. “How well did that work out for you?”

  “But I—”

  “Just shut up and sit your goddamn ass down so we can make some plans. Whatever it takes to fix this, you’ll do exactly as I say. Period. Starting with getting your wife up here. Now.”

  * * * *

  Peyton had seldom been so glad to see the end of a day. From the meeting on the plane that morning to meetings with the partners to studying database search results, she felt as if she’d been run over three times by a truck. Possibly the worst moment came in the early evening, at the meeting with Rocket and their attorney, Tom Hernandez. They had stopped to get a quick bite on the way, but now the food sat like lead in her stomach.

  “Just wait until Tom gets everything out before you say anything,” Rocket cautioned.

  “Why? What am I going to say about it? How bad is it? I don’t even know who’s after us. Right?”

  “Just… Keep your shit together.”

  Peyton couldn’t imagine who or what would make Blaze so angry that Rocket had to warn him before revealing the information.

  He looked from Rocket to Tom and back again.

  “Well, somebody better tell me. And yes, I promise to behave. How bad could it be?”

  Rocket waited a moment then nodded to Tom to give him the information.

  “You know,” the attorney said, “you aren’t exactly the word on the street, which is the way you wanted it. Your names are given out only to specific people who are vetted in advance.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know all that. We planned it that way.” He made a motion with his hand to speed it up.

  “I mention that because it would take someone with powerful connections to be able to ferret out this information. It would take a lot of pressure from a powerful source.”

  Blaze huffed his impatience. “Let’s have it already.”

  “The person who’s been digging up info on who you are is your old enemy Warren Sulzberger.”

  Blaze stared at the man for a long moment. Peyton could almost feel the cold anger rising inside him, and a look came over his face that she hoped never to see again. She was stunned by his fury.

  His eyes were filled with rage. “Are you fucking kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?”

  Rocket shook his head. “I wish. But he’s got the connections and can apply pressure.”

  “How did I not know he lives here? How did none of us know? Why didn’t this show on our radar when we decided to settle here? I thought he’d disappeared from sight.” He was clenching his fists, his whole body rigid with anger. Then, with an abrupt movement, he rose from his chair and began to pace the office.

  “He actually lives in Miami,” Rocket told him.

  “He has a large estate there,” Tom added. “He seldom comes up here and my guess was that until all this happened, he had no idea you all had settled here and opened Galaxy.”

  “You can tell me it’s none of my business, and it probably isn’t, but who is Warren Sulzberger? Why is this a big deal?”

  Blaze made a visible effort to control himself.

  “It most certainly is your business, because he’s inserted himself into it.”

  “Sulzberger was a senator from Miami,” Tom explained. “He sat on the Armed Forces committee and was a pretty big cheese on the Hill. Had lots of connections.”

  “So what did he do?”

  She thought Blaze would answer her, but he walked over to the window and stood looking out, still seeming to grapple for control.

  Rocket cleared his throat. “I can tell you that. He was filling his pockets with big bucks by selling information on military missions in trouble spots around the world.”

  Peyton’s jaw dropped. “You have to be kidding. I mean, I’ve read about it in suspense novels, but I kind of had the idea that was just made up as a plot point.”

  “If only.” Rocket took a swallow of coffee from the mug in front of him. “One of the last pieces of information he sold for huge dollars was about a mission in Africa conducted by a SEAL Team.”

  Peyton pushed down the sick feeling rising in her throat.

  “Let me guess. Sulzberger sold the details of the mission to whoever the target was.”

  Rocket nodded. “The whole mission was blown. Everyone was killed except for the team leader and one other SEAL.”

  “The team leader was Blaze,” Tom added, “in case you haven’t gotten the drift by now. Only he and Ace Bluestone survived, and Ace lost both legs.”

  Stunned, Peyton glanced over at Blaze, who was still standing like a mountain of stone, fists clenched, every muscle in his body taut with tension.

  “Oh, lord. Blaze, I am so sorry.”

  One short dip of his head was the only indication he had heard her.

  She looked back at him and Rocket.

  “I don’t remember anything about this in the media, so I guess it was all covered up?”

  Rocket snorted in disgust. “No shit. He had many powerful friends both in and out of government who allowed him to resign, citing health reasons, and swept it all under the covers. Then he took all his ill-gotten millions and opened a lobbying firm where he makes even more money. He knows where so many bodies are buried in Congress that he can effectively twist arms.”

  “But how and why is he involved with this? I promise you neither Dane nor Brianne kne
w who he is.”

  Tom heaved a sigh. “That’s where it gets crazy. From what I’ve learned through my sources, he’s instrumental in putting a lid on the police investigation into Dane’s death and preventing anyone from talking to you or answering your questions.”

  She was stunned. “But he doesn’t even know us.”

  “That’s right,” Rocket agreed. “But he is tight friends with Peter Kendrick. Some have said it was Kendrick’s connections that helped him wriggle out of Congress pretty much unscathed. Now Kendrick is asking for payback.”

  Peyton’s eyes opened wide. “You think Kendrick is involved in Dane’s death?”

  “No, but I’d say there’s a good chance his son, Owen, is. Those pictures that were on your sister’s cell phone of Owen Kendrick and three members of the Tampa Mafia? This is just a guess, but it’s possible Dane went to his boss at the firm, Kendrick, to tell him Owen might be in trouble.”

  “From there,” Tom went on, “I’d guess things went from bad to worse. The so-called accident was meant to kill both of them. If Owen was the driver of that car, I’m guessing he told his father. Peter Kendrick probably did all he could to cover this up, but, Peyton, when you started asking questions and pushing for answers, he needed help to push back. He probably called Sulzberger to get them out of this mess.”

  The room was filled with silence for a long moment. Then Rocket cleared his throat.

  “I can’t imagine anyone so stupid they’d think running down two people could be swept under the table.”

  “Powerful people are used to being able to do anything,” Tom reminded him. “That means ordinary people often get the shaft.”

  Peyton sat quietly, taking it all in and doing her best to maintain a calm she didn’t feel. All she could think of was Brianne still comatose in her hospital bed and Dane’s coffin being lowered into the ground. How utterly lacking in morals and discipline was Owen Kendrick to get involved with the Tampa Mafia, then kill Dane and cripple Brianne to try and keep a lid on it?

  “How did you find out all this?” she asked Tom.

  His mouth curved in a hint of a grin. “I have as many friends in low places as he does. They like to stay in my good graces.”

  Everyone was silent for a long moment. Peyton sat in her chair, fingers twisted together as she tried to control her racing pulse and tamp down the fear gripping her.

  “Motherfuckingsonofabitch.”

  The expletive exploded from Blaze’s mouth like an arrow shot into the air. He turned and looked at Rocket. “I’ll kill him. I will tear every limb from his body, stuff them up his ass and set him on fire.”

  Peyton just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

  “You weren’t on that mission, Rocket, but you saw Ace when he was brought in. I’m fucking damn lucky I didn’t get hurt worse than I was.”

  Rocket nodded. “When we got the full report, I was destroyed. Reading it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.”

  “How the fuck did Sulzberger even know who to ask about this?” Blaze raked his fingers through his hair.

  “Think about it, Blaze.” Tom’s voice was pitched low and steady. “First of all, Kendrick was definitely tying up any and all loose ends. There are people who know us, know Galaxy—although not a lot—who are part of that hidden segment of society that doesn’t broadcast itself. That’s the part of the population that provides us with clients. Plus, a man who made millions selling military secrets to the enemy would certainly know who those people are and be able to connect with them. We’re just lucky we have better connections than he does.”

  “I’d like to grab him and tear off every one of his limbs,” Blaze repeated.

  “No less than he deserves,” Rocket agreed. “But first things first. If Sulzberger is involved in this, Peyton and Brianne both need a lot of protection. Especially Brianne, who is in a very vulnerable position.”

  At that moment, Blaze’s cell rang, and he looked at the readout.

  “It’s the lab. Hey. What did you find?” As he listened, every muscle in his face tightened and a hard look came into his eyes. “Okay. Fine. Email that report to all of us, would you? Thanks for doing it so quickly.”

  When he disconnected, he looked around the table at everyone. If he’d been angry before, he was enraged now. It was a quiet rage—the worst kind, Peyton thought. Now what?

  “The contents of the box weren’t explosives. I guess the person who sent it didn’t want to blow up the hospital.”

  “Then what was in it?” she asked.

  “A powder similar to ricin, only instead of killing you, it just makes you sick.” His hand tightened into fists. “It can paralyze you.”

  Peyton didn’t know if she was going to be sick, or faint, or both.

  “Oh, my god,” she whispered.

  “Fuck.” That was Eagle.

  “Double fuck,” Rocket added.

  “I could kill these fuckers.” Blaze’s voice was cold as ice.

  At least it had cooled his rage, although this might be worse. She watched him pull himself together with obvious effort. Thank god for his SEAL discipline. Her mouth was so dry she had to swallow twice before she could speak.

  “You already moved my sister to a different room and have the Wagner brothers hanging around outside. Should we have more than that?”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “And Rocket’s correct. Between this and Sulzberger, the game has just been upped ten notches, so that’s no longer good enough. For all we know, he’s the one who sent that box. He’s a sneaky fucking bastard with all kinds of connections of the scummiest kind. I’m calling Chuck to let him know things have changed, then, Rocket, I’m calling Leo DeLuca.”

  Rocket’s eyes widened, although so briefly Peyton might have imagined it. Who is Leo DeLuca?

  “Bringing out the big guns, are you?”

  “Figuratively and literally.”

  Peyton wrinkled her forehead. “Who’s Leo?”

  “When we need extra sharp muscle with a lot of backup, he and his guys are the ones we call. They’re also former SEALs. No one gets by them.”

  “Do you have a whole battalion of them just waiting for you to call?”

  Rocket gave a short laugh. “Oh, they aren’t waiting for anything. They’ve got their own agency going. They handle a lot of different assignments.”

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what they were, but if they could keep her sister safe, that was good enough for her.

  “I’ll call Chuck first.” Blaze looked at his watch. “Actually, it’s Alan’s shift right now.” He punched some numbers. “Yo. Alan. Change of plans. Grab your stuff and move into Brianne Hollister’s room. I’m clearing it with my brother. Nobody goes in unless you or your brother has eyes on them every single minute and checks what they’re doing. I’ll have Nolan give you a list of medical personnel assigned to her case so you can check their badges. And make sure they all see your weapon. Right. Okay. Call you back.”

  A tendril of fear crawled up Peyton’s spine. She had thought her sister was in danger before, but now it seemed a new player had entered the game who upped the level of danger considerably.

  “You really think she’s in that much danger?”

  Blaze nodded. “Without a doubt. I know this fucking bastard. He won’t leave it to chance that she’ll regain consciousness and remember anything.”

  Peyton listened as Blaze called the man named Leo and barked some orders at him. Then he called Nolan and filled him in on everything.

  “I don’t want to make your hospital a war zone,” he said, “but I have to protect that woman. Can you cut red tape for me here without getting into trouble? Yeah? Good. Okay, then.” He looked at the other men. “All set. Tom, can you text Leo pictures of Sulzberger and Kendrick? Not that I expect them to show up themselves, but just in case.”

  “Sure. Give me his number.”

  “What about Peyton?” Tom asked. “She’s the real target now. Even if they el
iminate Brianne, they know Peyton won’t stop looking until she has answers and proof. That’s why she hired us.”

  “I’d think both Peter Kendrick and Warren Sulzberger have enough brains to know that if they go after Peyton, we’ll be after them. Sulzberger went to all the trouble to learn who she hired. Now they’ve got the details, so they know this isn’t just your average security agency. They have to know we’d come after them first thing.”

  “If Kendrick’s desperate enough,” Rocket pointed out, “it may be worth the risk. Look at everything he’s done to protect his son so far. Cover up for him.”

  “He should have trained him not to get involved with people like Kellerman in the first place.”

  Tom shook his head. “I have to say I’m really surprised. Kendrick’s firm has a top reputation as litigators and they’re highly respected throughout the Southeast. I don’t see the connection there, either with Kellerman or originally, with Sulzberger.”

  “We’ll just keep digging until we find it,” Rocket assured him.

  “Meanwhile, if Brianne Hollister is sufficiently protected, now we need to focus on Peyton.”

  A muscle twitched in Blaze’s cheek. “You don’t have to worry about her. She won’t be leaving my sight for one second.”

  Tom and Rocket exchanged a look.

  “Well,” Tom drawled. “Okay, then.”

  Rocket nodded. “And you need to take a deep breath. It won’t do us any good if you explode and kill this guy and end up in jail. We know where he is now. We can take care of him.”

  “We’ll see. You just get things set up with Leo. He’s expecting a callback in ten. I’m headed to the hospital. Then we’ll see.”