“I claimed you, Finn Crandall. You’ll have to trust me to see you clearly when you can’t. You’re a good man. You are not a failure, you’re a hero. You’re my hero. I love you. You said you love me. I hope that means you like and respect me as well. You like and respect your teammates. None of us see you as a failure. We all see you as a good man. Let us be your mirror because the only thing broken about you is the reflection you see.”
She watched the anguish on his face.
“Please stay with me tonight. You’re sending me away in the morning. Please just let me hold you, nothing more, I’m begging you.”
Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to provide him some comfort when he was feeling such unimaginable pain.
He was beside her on the bed in an instant. “Never, never do you have to beg, lady. I love you. I don’t deserve you, but I need tonight. I need you.”
“You have me.”
Chapter Eleven
“Pops, what the hell did you do?” Angie looked at the two hummer’s parked in the driveway in the front of her grandfather’s ranch house.
“I bought new cars.”
Finn and Sergei smiled as they walked around the huge vehicles. Dasha looked at them with trepidation.
“When did you get these?”
“This morning. I had them delivered.”
“Holy fuck!” Finn and Pop’s heads whipped around to look at her. “What? I’m not allowed to swear? Just how much money did you spend? These are like military vehicles.”
“Closest thing possible,” her grandfather agreed. He looked at Dasha, who was sitting on one of the Adirondack chairs on the porch with her uncle.
“We’re now dealing with a foreign combatant. I want the best equipment possible.”
Angie closed her eyes. Then she looked at her grandfather. “Give me the key,” she demanded.
“What key,” he asked innocently.
“There damn well better be a key.” Finn watched the back and forth between the two Donatelli’s with curiosity, but he finally caught on.
“If she’s talking about what I think she’s talking about. I want to see it too.”
“Not in front of the girl,” Pops said in a hushed tone.
“Dasha,” Angie called out. “Can you get us some lemonade from the refrigerator?”
“Yes,” Dasha called out. As she went into the house, Sergei immediately came down to join them.
“Lou, you going to show them your stash?”
“Yeah, Angie figured it out.”
“Of course, she did,” Sergei said. “Your granddaughter is no fool.”
The older man opened up the back of the black hummer. He pointed to a large steel lockbox. He then handed each of them a key chain with a key fob but no key. Finn pressed the fob, and the lid to the box elevated with a hydraulic hiss.
“Well, we’re ready for Armageddon,” Angie said sarcastically.
Finn moved forward and pulled out one of the four assault rifles. “Four?” he asked.
“My Angela can handle one just fine,” Pops said smiling proudly. Finn’s head spun as he gave Angie a sharp look.
“What?” Angie asked defensively.
“Did you serve?”
“I served under Pops.”
“I made sure she could handle every weapon imaginable. Hell, I fought to have her compete against boys in the 3-Gun Competition. Back then they didn’t have a competition for girls.”
“Pops, he doesn’t need to hear about my childhood.” Angie squirmed. Finn continued to look between her and her grandfather.
“No, tell me more.”
“We don’t have time. We need to get on the road,” she insisted.
“No we don’t, Dasha is getting lemonade remember,” Finn reminded her.
Pops pulled out a Sig Sauer pistol and handed it to her. It felt a little big in her hands. She handed it back to her grandfather.
“I’ll stick with mine.” Finn pulled out the sniper rifle and checked the balance. “Isn’t that overkill?”
“I’d prefer to have too much firepower.”
Crash.
Sergei immediately started talking in Ukrainian, and that was when Angie saw Dasha standing amongst broken glass and a puddle of lemonade. Finn was storing all of the weapons.
“What is this?”
“We need to be safe darlin’,” Pops said.
“Why guns? What wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Pops soothed. Sergei attempted to put his arm around Dasha, and she shoved it off.
“No! You lie. First, we must to leave. Why? What gone wrong?” Tears rolled down her face. “Please, Angie. You tell me truth. Woman to woman. Tell me truth. I know is about my Yulia. Is my Yulia safe?”
Angie walked over to the petite young woman and took her into her arms. “The general doesn’t have your baby. We are still looking for your baby,” Angie assured her.
Dasha collapsed in relief, all of her weight falling onto Angie, causing her to cry out with pain. In a flash, Finn had both Dasha and Angie in each of his arms, helping both to stand.
Sergei pulled Dasha into a bear hug, and Finn held Angie’s trembling form in his arms. “Let’s get you sitting down.” She tried to catch her breath so she could answer him, but couldn’t get the words out. “Fuck this shit.” He picked her up and carried her to the chairs on the porch.
Angie could still hear Ukrainian and tears behind her.
“Are you okay? Talk to me.”
“I’m fine. She just took me by surprise, and hit my ribs wrong.” She flashed Finn a wan smile.
“Are you sure? Do we need to rewrap the bandages? Do you need to get to the doctor?”
Angie gave him a droll stare. “You’re kidding, right? Come on Finn, it was nothing, I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“Dammit Angie, just because everybody else thinks you can move mountains, doesn’t mean it’s true.” Angie melted under his concern. She sat up straight in the chair and then did a slight stretch to one side and then the other.
“Seriously Finn, she didn’t do any permanent damage, I’m fine.”
“Okay then,” he said in a mollified tone. Then he grinned. “By the way, do I call you Annie Oakley?” She buried her head in her hands.
“I would prefer you didn’t. I was actually called Angie Oakley as a kid, and I hated it.” She glanced at the Hummers, and the men were still there. “I hated that Pops entered me in all of those contests. But it was a way to bond with him. Mom and Dad were always busy with their own things, so I was eager to get to do a thing with my granddad, you know?”
“What is the 3-Gun Competition?”
“You have to use a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, and hit a variety of targets in a limited amount of time.”
“How old were you when you started doing that?”
“Oh, I got to start when every girl dreams of shooting a gun—thirteen.” She gave him a sarcastic grin. He grinned.
“Have I told you I like your smile, Crandall?” She wiped her hands on her jeans and stood up.
“Not in the last couple of hours.”
“Well, you should smile more often.”
He grinned.
“I guess we need to get going.”
He watched as they loaded the vehicles, and then gave Angie a chaste kiss good-bye, which he immediately regretted as the cars left his sight. Dammit, he’d be happy when Paul Jackson was taken care of and he could join her.
***
For a man who was retired, Lou Donatelli had a huge network of friends and contacts. Lou told Finn to talk to Max Jenkins, who worked at the strip club. After Finn had dropped off Angie, he stopped by the Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club and spoke to Max about the illustrious Paul Jackson.
Maxine “Max” Jenkins had been very forthcoming about the bastard.
“Sure, he comes in every payday with other jerks from the mayor’s office. Nine times out of ten, we have to cut Jackson off because he gets belligerent. Then he’ll try to paw
the girls, and one of the bouncers will bounce him. None of his supposed friends will lift a finger to help him. We’ll call him a cab.”
“What time does this normally happen?”
“Usually around midnight. I talked to Lou about having the bouncers roughing the fucker up, but he didn’t want me to do anything that might get my liquor license revoked,” she said as she applied her makeup in front of the well-lit mirror.
“He’s right. Letting him know where to find him is help enough.”
Max looked Finn up and down. “Something tells me it’s you knowing where he’s going to be that’s important. You look like someone I would turn to if I were in trouble,” she flirted.
Finn looked apprehensively at one of the women headliners as well as the club owner. “I can hold my own,” he agreed
“I don’t suppose you might be interested in taking a job as a bouncer?”
“No. I have a job.”
“A job as a boyfriend?”
“Ahhh, no?” he said nervously.
Max laughed. “Too bad. How are you connected to Lou?”
“I’m more connected to Angie.”
“Dammit, I was afraid you were going to say that.” But despite her words, her smile was friendly.
“Well, if it weren’t for Angie, I would definitely have to say I would be sticking around for your show.”
“Now aren’t you gallant?”
Finn was amazed he was actually flirting. Hot damn, things were really looking up. He was beginning to enjoy life again.
“I’d appreciate it if you could keep any trouble off the premises.”
“Not a problem, I’ll make sure we keep your club out of it.”
“I’m sure you will.”
***
It was déjà vu all over again, only this time it was Drake Avery lounging against his El Camino.
What the fuck? At least he spotted Drake before he caught sight of him. It gave Finn a few moments to wrap his head around the fact this friend showed up just as he was headed out to bust some heads. Then again, who better to watch your back in a street fight than Drake?
“I see you up there, Crandall! Get your ass down here.” Finn jogged down the steps from his apartment and made his way across the parking lot.
Before Finn could hold out his hand, Drake had him in a bear hug. “Jesus man, you look good. You’ve gotten laid, haven’t you? Goddammit, am I the only man on this team who isn’t getting any?”
Finn worried that Angie wasn’t going to be the only one with broken ribs.
“Let me go, you big oaf.”
“First, answer the fucking question.”
“I didn’t hear a question. You were busy spouting assumptions. What the hell are you doing here? Why are you here tonight?” It was pretty fucking suspicious that he was there hours before he was going to pound the shit out of Paul Jackson.
“Ah, you know how it is. Dec’s been monitoring your phone calls. He heard you talking to that woman’s grandfather. He tattled on you to Mason, and I’m here to make sure you don’t land in jail.”
Finn felt his blood pressure rise to molten lava levels.
“Dec did what? Mason did what? You made the fucking arbitrary decision I couldn’t fucking handle myself? That I’m to nuts too, cope with something so simple as scaring off some little shit heel?” Finn pulled out his phone, threw it on the ground and smashed it to smithereens.
“Jesus man, touchy much?” Drake said staring at the asphalt.
Finn took a swing and stopped himself a half inch from meeting Drake’s jaw. He was pissed, but bloodying up his friend wasn’t going to accomplish anything.
“Good man. Let’s keep all the violence channeled towards the fucker who beat up your woman.” Drake grinned.
“Leave. Just get on a plane and leave.”
“No.”
“You go tell our lieutenant he can piss up a rope!”
“You absolute dumb son of a bitch. Like Mason would ever do what Declan tells him to do. I overheard the conversation. Mason wasn’t going to do anything. He knows you’re a big boy. He told Declan to ‘pound sand.' Actually, I think he told him a hell of a lot more that. He was angry Dec had bugged your phone. But I could also tell he was worried about you. All in all, Mason, being the good little Boy Scout he is, and being the leader he is, was going to leave it in your hands.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I overheard the conversation. I don’t have Mason’s scruples. I’m more of a Declan McAllister type of guy. So I got my happy ass on a plane. First, I wanted to give you the ration of shit you deserved for ducking out on us weeks ago in San Diego. I’m still pissed about that.” Drake relaxed against Finn’s car. “Second, I’m here because I thought what you were going to do was pretty fucking righteous. I wanted in on it but wanted to make sure you didn’t go over the top. Not because you do or don’t have Post Traumatic Stress, but because this is your woman you’re defending, and he almost killed her, and you’re going to have blood in your eye. I’m going to keep you from going over the edge.”
Finn snorted. “Let me see if I’ve got this right. You, Drake Avery, are keeping me from pushing the envelope.”
Drake grinned broadly. “Exactly, I’m glad you understand.”
“I don’t. You don’t push the envelope. You tear it open. How the fuck are you going to help keep me in line?”
“See, that’s where I’m the perfect guy to help. I know about your instincts to kill, and I’ll be able to stop you.”
It kind of made sense. “I’m still pissed at Dec being in my business.”
“Cut Dec some slack, he’s your family, and he’s like the middle child of the family. They’re sneaky, and they just can’t help being who they are.”
“I hate this,” Finn said as he kicked the broken pieces of his phone.
“You’re the one with the paranoid spy as a friend. As for hating it. Well, suck it up, buttercup. No man is an island. We’re all in this together. Kumbaya. And whatever else I need to say to make you stop bitching. I didn’t come here to listen to you whine, I came here to help you beat the hell out of some fucking redneck.”
“That’s rich coming from someone who talks like he’s from the deep south. At least I can understand most Texans when they speak,” Finn said.
“Oh give it a rest. You can understand me just fine. You’re just pissed that most of the time women flock to me because of my accent.”
“From now on all of the women can flock to you all they want. I’ve found the one I care about.”
“Fuck, you too? Finn, I thought we were in this together? I thought we were going to be single forever.”
“I sure as hell hope not. I don’t know where this is headed with Angie, but the idea of remaining single forever doesn’t hold a whole hell of a lot of appeal after meeting her.”
“Damn, I guess it is just Aiden and me then.”
“Guess so.” Finn looked at his watch. “We better get going.” Drake pushed off of the car.
“Let’s take my rental truck, because apparently that’s all they rent here in Texas.”
Finn snorted. “I have one too. I actually got a rental pickup for the night. I figured that driving the El Camino in the area would not be smart.”
“Okay, let’s use that then,” Drake said.
***
Finn had the man’s picture blazed into his brain.
“Stop it!” Drake hit him across the chest.
“What?” Finn rounded on his friend, pissed that his concentration had been interrupted.
“You’re staring a hole into him. He’ll feel you, dude.” Finn leaned back into the driver’s seat. It was true. How many times had they felt when someone was staring, or a gun was trained on them? Prey always had a sixth sense.
“Of course, that dumb shit looks too stupid to notice. He’s already drunk.”
Finn nodded. He’d seen how he had stumbled out of his car on his way into to the club.
“Max called me earlier and asked me to come in. One of the bouncers would take me to the back office.”
“Won’t the mark notice?”
“No. I scoped out the club two days ago. It’s huge, we could have the fifth fleet come in, and nobody would notice.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
They got out of the truck and followed a pack of young men who looked to be celebrating a bachelor party. Finn caught the eye of a man at the door and told him they were there to see Max.
“Gentlemen, follow me.” He took them past the main stage, and through a small door to the right of the bar.
“Finn, it’s good to see you again,” Max said as she enveloped him in a hug. The woman had apparently never heard of a side hug, it was all full frontal contact.
“This is my friend, Drake.” She held out her hand. Finn almost laughed, it was obvious Drake was in the mood for a chest to chest hug if his pout was anything to judge by.
“It’s a pleasure, Drake.”
“I take it Max is short for Maxine?” Drake asked.
“He’s a smart one, good thing he has a cute ass.” Drake flushed.
“I earned that one for pointing out the obvious. Now that you cut me down to size, do I get a hug?”
Max belted out a laugh.
“You get to scare the shit out of some greasy weasel, that is your prize. If you do a good enough job, come see me later, and we’ll talk about your ree-ward,” she said with a wink.
Drake caught her up in a quick hug. “I think I’ll be getting the prize and collecting on y’alls ree-ward soon enough.”
She looked up at him through her lashes, then slanted her gaze over to Finn’s. “Is this boy trustworthy?” Drake gave him a pleading look.
“Not at all,” Finn answered.
“Then I’m sold.” Max smiled. “Here’s the reason I asked you to come in. One of the regulars in there is a bailiff. He said the mayor has been trying to ensure the case gets tried by one particular judge. If Mathers hears the case, you can be damn sure that he’ll swing it so Jackson doesn’t see a day in prison.”
Finn felt his blood boiling again.
“Then it’s simple. After we’re done here tonight, we go after the mayor and the judge,” Drake said as he hit Max’s desk with the flat of his hand.
Her Fierce SEAL: Midnight Delta Book 6 Page 15