Battle Scars

by Cara Carnes

  “Good, because none of us want to piss off your man. He almost snapped Cord’s head off earlier. The two headed downstairs into the gym only Jesse’s team uses. Your man was unhappy.” Bree winced. “Then we found out why. Now I’m worried about both of you.”

  Her man. Bree had used the term twice. Both had cast joy within Ellie, but she didn’t want her dear friend worried. “Jesse has a lot of healing to do. A lot of the operatives and veterans here do.”

  “I know. Still.” Bree bit her lip. “He’s so good with you. I hate seeing him still fighting his way out of his head. It’s not fair.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “I won’t risk it happening again. I’m gonna get Rhea to switch out the drones in your house. We have special ones that can knock people out with drugs. We’ll program them to react instantly under certain conditions.” Bree’s eyes widened as she stared off into the corner at the office drone. “Yeah, we can make this work.”

  “Bree, I’m fine. I don’t need drug drones in my bedroom,” Ellie said. “We’re gonna figure this out.”

  “Yeah. We are.” Bree studied Ellie’s face a bit longer before taking a step back.

  Ellie wasn’t used to so many people worrying about her. It hadn’t even occurred to her that they’d be worried about Jesse hurting her again. He’d never, ever intentionally hurt her.

  “She’s fine. You can barely see it with makeup,” Sara said. “Besides, Jesse is a nice guy. He’s not a monster.”

  Sara knew monsters better than anyone her age should. Ellie willed a shift in the conversation. “I promise I won’t be in the office long.”

  “No, no you won’t. You have a clear mandate to do nothing on electronics,” Bree said. “Don’t even get me started about all the reading you’ve been doing lately.”

  “I didn’t read for long,” Ellie argued. “Besides, you never said why you came over earlier.”

  “I didn’t want to upset your mom. They’re starting a debrief of the evidence from the FBI seizure. HERA’s finished with her analysis of the documentation. They figured you’d want to be there.”

  “When?” Ellie looked at the clock on her desk. “Damn. It’s now, isn’t it?”

  Bree nodded. “Go. Sara and I will figure out the payroll. I did it last time and only one commando has yelled at me, so I must’ve done most of it right.”

  “Thank you.” Ellie stood and made her way to where they stood at the door. She leaned in and kissed Ariana’s forehead. “She’s getting bigger every time I see her.”

  “She’s not sleeping through the night anymore,” the girl said. “She’s always crying.”

  Ellie noted the exhaustion on the girl’s face. “Bring her over tonight, and I’ll babysit. Maybe you can head into Nomad and catch a movie.”

  “Thanks! That’d be great.”

  Ignoring the you-shouldn’t-have-offered glower Bree cast her direction, Ellie headed toward the conference room in the other building. Anticipation ignited her pulse. Jesse would be there.

  Smiling, she entered the room and froze. Fallon, Rhea, Nolan, and Jesse sat at the table with Vi and Zoey, who whispered to each other at the head of the table.

  “Hey,” she said. Ellie pulled her hair down to partially cover her eye. Apparently the makeup job she’d attempted hadn’t masked the bruises as well as she’d thought if Bree had seen them.

  “Come sit, Peanut,” Jesse said. He stood and pulled the chair out next to him.

  When she sat, he ran his hand down her hair and gently pulled it back. A feather-soft caress around the bruise awakened her pulse. Their gazes locked, and she felt the remorse and guilt within him as though it were her own.

  “Don’t, Jesse,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”

  “Never again,” he promised. He leaned in and gently kissed the area. “You need any aspirin or anything?”

  “I took some earlier.” Unsure what was happening, but more than ready to move past the incident last night, she looked around. “Where is everyone else?”

  “We’ve already set a few things into motion,” Vi said. “First up for discussion is Carlisle Industries. HERA spewed out a ton of classified documentation. He’s been involved in black ops organizations for other governments for years now. How deep is our exposure with your work, Rhea?”

  The brunette glanced around the room, then paled as she pushed a thumb drive across the table. “Here’s what I know for a fact he took. I was a bit darker in my studies back then, heavily into genetic manipulation and how to affect it on large swaths through gaseous distribution.”

  “So, a dirty bomb,” Fallon said.

  Red rose in the woman’s cheeks, but she nodded and kept her gaze away from the man. “In a manner of speaking, yes. There were flaws with the work, though. I hadn’t learned a few critical components.”

  “But he could have by now,” Jesse said.

  “And likely did,” Zoey added. “He’s got more clout in some circles than The Arsenal does.”

  “Then why haven’t we heard of him?” Nolan asked.

  “Because these circles don’t venture out of their caves until they’re ready to push the kill switch of whatever they’ve concocted,” Fallon said. “I’ve spent half my career taking down clusters of government-funded tech firms who go rogue.”

  “We’re adding Carlisle Industries to the list,” Vi said. “I got a call from Bob an hour ago. I let HERA’s searches be seen to discover who rose to the surface. He has requested we shut Carlisle down, seize all research, and destroy it.”

  “And their work is?” Nolan asked.

  “That’s what we need to find out first, but all indications lead to a genetic weapon of some sort,” Vi said. “Rhea, we’ll need you with Fallon and his team in the field.”

  “No,” Fallon growled. “She’s not field-trained.”

  “Then you’d best keep her safe,” Zoey said. “Until we figure out exactly how Carlisle’s tech affects HERA and our equipment, we can’t risk it going down when you and your team are in the middle of a lab trying to figure out what’s important and what isn’t.”

  “Think I can read,” Fallon said.

  “When do we begin?” Rhea asked.

  “The sooner the better,” Vi said. “This isn’t up for discussion, Fallon. Make it work.”

  Ellie tensed. Rhea wasn’t an operative. Ellie couldn’t imagine how terrifying it’d be to be out in the thick of dangerous operations without any training. What if something went wrong?

  “Now onto Phil Perskins and the FBI evidence we’ve analyzed,” Vi said. “Dallas and Marshall are assisting the FBI with arrests and search warrants on two Marville residents, Lonnie Haskell and Oren Macavoy.”

  “Neither are a surprise,” Nolan commented. “They’re part of the underground gambling ring and heavily into drug running lately, based on what Marcus’s team has uncovered.”

  “Yes. Marcus and his team have gone back undercover with the remnants of the Flores cartel. They’ve reorganized under the leadership of Carla’s uncle. The DEA is running point.”

  “And Raul?” Jesse asked.

  “He’s clear,” Zoey said. “He tapped out of service and refused to continue the assignment. That’s why Marcus and his team are taking over.”

  “And Dom?” Ellie asked. “Did we find anything more about that night? The deaths?”

  And Phil’s videos of me.

  Ellie looked about the room and paused on Nolan. Had they told Vi? Mary and Vi never kept secrets from one another, but the thought that everyone might know was embarrassing. She hoped the videos never came to the surface. Every evidence seizure terrified her.

  Other more important issues were on the forefront right now. Dom might not have been guilty, and she might have had evidence to clear him. Her stomach somersaulted at the idea.

  “Videos on Javier’s cloud showed he’d meant to set Raul up, but he disappeared. Dom was the replacement,” Vi said. “We’ve forwarded all the evidence gathered to Dom’s ne
w defense team—one funded by us.”

  Thank God. Ellie breathed a relieved sigh. The Arsenal always protected the innocent, no matter what.

  “Why?” Nolan asked.

  “Dom wasn’t down with hooking the Marville Dogs up with the cartel,” Zoey said. “It was greed.”

  Greed had stolen years of Dom’s life. Put him in prison. She’d had evidence in her possession that could’ve exonerated him.

  “Don’t blame yourself, Peanut,” Jesse whispered. “You had no way of knowing how deep this went.”

  “Deep is an understatement,” Zoey said. “It took a bit of time to weed through all the videos. We’ll need to turn evidence over to the FBI to get arrest warrants for a few more people for unrelated crimes done in concert with the Marville Dogs, but we were able to access Javier’s videos off the cloud.”

  “Did you find what you needed?” Ellie asked.

  “Yes and no. The files received in the raids gave HERA enough to break the code Phil was using,” Zoey said. “It’s a series of transactions, bank accounts, and a detailed listing of assets sold. Guns. Drugs. People.”

  Ellie watched as the list streamed on the overhead monitors. Long. Extensive.

  “Phil did all this?”

  “No,” Vi answered.

  “What?” Jesse asked.

  “It goes back further than is possible for him to have been at this alone. It’s a large network, larger than we expected. We used the crawler program and tracked all the accounts down,” Zoey said. “Phil’s father was the initial contact for the cartel.”

  Shock rippled through Ellie. Herman Perskins was a monster—one far more dangerous than most because he seemed…

  Normal.

  He went to church every Sunday and attended all the local events—not that there were many. He sat on the school’s board of directors and was always one of the main donors to fundraisers in Nomad.

  “He got me fired,” Ellie whispered, letting the anger fill her. “When Phil accused me of drug addiction, his father vilified me with the board. Said I wasn’t fit to teach the future leaders of Marville.”

  “This will clear your name,” Jesse said. “We won’t stop until it does. You’ll get your job back if that’s what you want.”

  Was it? She’d loved teaching, but she loved The Arsenal more. Unable to think beyond the revelations flashing up on the screen, she shoved the thought aside. “And Dani? And the other girl? Do we have that closed out? Is there enough to get the others?”

  “Yes. Addy is going to establish contact with the other woman after everyone is taken into custody. We’ll offer her protection until everyone’s in prison. She’s…” Vi’s pause drew Ellie’s attention.

  Vi and Mary never paused. They shot straight and never hesitated because every second could mean life or death when in war. This was most certainly a war. “What?”

  “It’s Natalie Steele,” Zoey said.

  “No.” Ellie shook her head. “It can’t be Nat. She’s the sweetest, shyest woman I’ve ever met. She lives across from the school and works there only because she hates leaving her house.”

  She never left her house unless she had to.

  “God, I’m an idiot. It all makes sense now.”

  “You had no way of knowing,” Jesse said as he turned her chair to face him. He rose, lifted her up, then sat with her on his lap.

  “Jesse, you can’t put me in your lap!”

  Nolan chuckled. “I think he just did.”

  “I should be the one to talk to her,” Ellie said. “She knows me. We used to eat together at lunch sometimes.”

  “That’s why you need to not be the one. Dani has a confrontational, defensive personality,” Vi said. “That made Kamren the ideal choice for approach because they are friends. Natalie is shy. She has very few friends from what we’ve seen. She only has one friend she sees regularly.”

  “She used to have two. Me. I abandoned her when I got fired,” Ellie said. “I knew she only had me and Rose, but I holed myself up with my mom and my problems and ignored her.”

  “Don’t,” Jesse growled. “None of this is on you, Peanut. None of it.”

  Ellie felt the weight crushing her, though. The woman had been her friend even though Ellie was married to the monster’s son. Jesus. How had she stood to watch Phil pick her up or drop by and visit? He looked just like his father.

  “We’ll keep her safe until this is over. She’ll be on solid ground,” Nolan promised.

  Ellie nodded. “I need to be the one. She’ll need a friend there. She won’t handle strangers confronting her with this.”

  Everyone looked at one another.

  “Okay,” Nolan said. “You aren’t going in alone, though.”

  “Jesse and his team will be helping the FBI take Phil’s father down,” Vi said. “This is almost over, Ellie.”

  “I can’t ever thank you all enough. None of this would’ve been possible without you. And all the help with Mom.” Ellie sniffled. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank us,” Jesse said. “I love you, Ellie Mae Travers. You’re family. You’ve been family since you knocked Nolan on his ass for me.”

  “Hey now,” Nolan said with a grin. “But he’s right. You’re family.”

  The ride to Marville was quiet. Ellie sat up front with Kamren, who headed straight to Natalie’s house like she’d been there a hundred times. Riley, Brooklyn, and Addy were in the back. It’d taken more than a little convincing for everyone to let a woman-only crew go speak with the woman.

  Not because Jesse and his brothers didn’t think the female operatives could keep Ellie safe. They’d wanted to be there because sitting on the sidelines for a single second of whatever this was went against everything the Masons stood for. Although Herman’s threat still concerned her, she trusted Jesse and everyone at The Arsenal.

  Ellie fiddled with the earpiece hidden by her hair.

  “Stop touching it,” Zoey said through the earpiece. “Every shift is like a jackhammer over here.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You’re going to do fine,” Doctor Sinclair said. “I’ll hear everything said and will help guide you if needed. From what I’ve seen, though, you’ll do fine. Be yourself. Be open and honest with her. Be a friend.”

  A friend. Right.

  Ellie remained silent as the vehicle came to a stop at the small house. Pale blue paint peeled along the old wooden siding. Spots along the angled roof showed bare spots where shingles used to be. Overgrown shrubbery hid most of the structure—which squatted beneath huge pecan and oak trees. With some work it would be a beautiful home.

  Addy, Brooklyn, and Kamren fanned out around the house as though they’d discussed the maneuver. They hadn’t. Ellie’s pulse quickened as she fell into step beside Riley, who stepped in front of her at the last minute so she was the first to take the stairs leading up to the shaded porch.

  Riley opened the screen door and knocked on the wooden door.

  No answer came.

  Ellie knocked. “Natalie. It’s Ellie Travers. Riley and I were in the area and I wanted to check on you.”

  “You don’t live here anymore.” The thick door muffled Natalie’s response. Ellie strained to hear it. “I’m fine. You can go now.”

  “Natalie, honey. We need to talk.” Ellie paused a moment. “Open the door.”

  Moments ticked by. Each one ratcheted up the nervousness crawling through Ellie. A loud grating of metal against metal sounded. A deadbolt.

  Then another. And another.

  Ellie’s heart squeezed as the final of six deadbolts sounded and the door opened an inch. Then two. Another couple later, wide brown eyes gazed at Ellie, then darted to Riley.

  “Hey, Natalie,” Ellie said. “Can we come inside?”

  “Why?”

  “We need to talk, sweetie,” Riley said. “Ellie needs your help.”

  The door opened wider. Natalie Steel swiped her tongue along her thick lips and ran a hand down her straight, dark br
own hair. “I’m not sure how helpful I can be. I’m not good at much.”

  Ellie took the backhanded, self-depreciating statement hard. How many times had she said something similar when she was with Phil? He was always good at making her feel like less than everyone else.

  The woman stood aside. “Come in. I’ll pour some iced tea.”

  Riley and Ellie sat in a living room adorned with white lace doilies on pristine furniture. The interior was immaculate in every way, and nothing like what she’d expected to see. Natalie returned from the back corridor with a silver tray holding three glasses of iced tea. A spoon inside a sugar bowl sat beside them.

  Ellie took a glass and sipped. “Have you heard about Phil’s arrest?”

  “It was mentioned at work,” Natalie said. “I’m glad you’re finally getting the justice you deserve. I never believed the things they said about you.”

  “I know. You’ve always been a good friend to me. I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.” Ellie swallowed. “Truth is, Mom’s been pretty sick for years now. She didn’t want anyone to know, but I’m thinking it’s time I shared that with you.”

  “I’m sorry to hear. Can I help?”

  “No, we’re out at the Mason ranch for now. They’ve got a doctor out there who’s really good with Mom. Doctor Burton drives out every other day and checks on her. She’s…comfortable. Happy.”

  “That’s nice.” Natalie smiled.

  “Natalie, we found some videos,” Riley said. “From a few years ago.”

  The woman paled. “Videos?”

  “Assaults.” Ellie reached out and took Natalie’s trembling hand. “We think one of the women was you.”

  She shook her head and stood. “You’re mistaken. Please leave.”

  “Nat…”

  “Go!” Tears poured down the woman’s face.

  “Lonnie Haskell and Oren Macavoy were taken into custody,” Riley said. “They’re not going to ever hurt you again.”

  The woman sat on the sofa. Eyes wide and teary, she stared at Riley and Ellie like they were aliens.

  “They’re going to arrest Herman Perskins today,” Ellie said, eyes watery. “It’s over, honey, but you’re gonna need to help and make a statement. That’ll make sure all three of them stay away for a long, long time.”