“We’ll start with Gary and Leonard,” Nixon announced. “Do you want McKenna to run the searches or is there someone at DHS you have in mind to do it?”
That question was for Alec and the longer the man took to answer, the more Weston studied his friend. There was certainly something working behind his eyes, but it was in the way Alec held himself stiff that worried Weston.
“McKenna,” Alec finally replied.
“There something going on we should be made aware of?” Weston asked.
“Possibly.”
“You care to share?” Weston pressed.
“Not yet.”
Weston thought about Alec’s answer and found it was unacceptable. If there was something going on at DHS he wanted to know. Not for himself, not even for his team, but Silver’s well-being was wrapped up in this case and if something was going on that was going to put her at risk he needed to know.
“Normally I’d appreciate your discretion and wait until you were ready to discuss whatever’s obviously eating at you. But Silver’s ass is out there, she’s swinging. Something I was clear from the beginning I didn’t want. Things have changed and now not only do I not want her in anymore danger, I really don’t want it. So if something’s going on that’s gonna put her out there more than she already is, I need to know. And I need that information now.”
“You don’t say.” Alec’s snide comment was out of character and unappreciated. But before Weston could tell him he needed to check his attitude, Alec went on. “I’m not thrilled about some of the pushback I’m getting. I’m not sure if it’s simply political red tape or if there’s a different reason I’m catching so much shit for pushing this operation.”
“You’re catching shit?” Jameson inquired.
“I wasn’t a few months ago. But the more intel we get and the closer we are to nailing whoever’s in charge, the more shit I’m catching. My boss is getting squirrelly—community leaders are involved and I don’t like it when people around me start shifting their loyalties.”
Weston could understand that. All of it actually—one of the many reasons he himself had turned down offers from DHS and the CIA. Weston had learned a lot during his time in the Navy. More, once he became a member of the Special Forces community. One of those things was, he despised people sitting behind a desk with no real-life or real-time data-making decisions that his ass was going to pay for.
Politics and red tape had no place on the battlefield. Or in this situation, encroaching while they were in the middle of an operation to take down a drug lord.
“You think DHS is gonna pull the plug?” Nixon asked.
Alec didn’t look pleased when he answered. “Possible.”
Weston’s gaze swung to Silver—posture ramrod straight, face pale, eyes round. He understood her fear, she was relying on them to keep her safe. But what she didn’t understand was she had their protection, and the government contract had fuck-all to do with it.
“Doesn’t change a damn thing, Silver,” he told her.
“But if Homeland decided they don’t want to pursue the case, then everything changes.”
“Not a damn thing changes,” he repeated.
“But—”
“Babe, do you think for one second we’d let you swing? Do you think I would? The answer is, fuck no. Contract or no contract, doesn’t matter. DHS pulls out, we go it alone. Either way, you’re protected. Alec knows how to cover his own ass and knows how to play the ridiculous games the government likes to play. That doesn’t touch you.”
“But—”
“Trust me.”
Weston held her eyes, hoping like hell this was not one of the times she decided to throw her attitude and get stubborn. He was quickly learning how to talk her around, but didn’t want to have to do it. He wanted her to trust him instinctively—trust that he would keep her safe.
“Okay.”
Thank fuck.
One step closer.
“A word in private,” Alec said, and Weston turned to see the man was speaking to him.
With a nod, he stood and headed to the sliding glass door. They’d have privacy but he could still keep his eyes on Silver. She may’ve acquiesced but he wasn’t stupid enough to think she wasn’t still scared.
Alec joined Weston on the back deck and turned his back to the window. Whether it was because the other man had sensed Weston’s need to keep an eye on Silver, or if he didn’t want the others to read his lips, he didn’t know and didn’t care.
“What’s on your mind?” Weston prompted when Alec didn’t immediately speak.
“You sure about this?”
Weston’s body jerked as his muscles coiled at Alec’s question. His eyes also narrowed, not liking where the conversation was headed.
“Not sure that’s your business.”
“You’d be wrong, it is. Silver Coyle is caught up in some serious shit. She’s in danger and it’s my job to make sure she’s safe.”
“Wrong. That’s my job. Your job is to clear the way so I can make that happen.”
“This isn’t the sandbox, friend. You’re on US soil.”
Weston didn’t appreciate the reference. He was very aware they weren’t on the battlefield on a sanctioned mission overseas.
“Your point?”
“My point is, the rules of engagement are different. The unfriendlies you take out are American citizens. So, it is my business when I’m the one cleaning up the mess.”
“What the fuck, Alec? You talking about the three dead drug dealers? Three men who kidnapped a woman, planned on killing her, dumping her, then putting one-point-five million dollars’ worth of product on the street to kill hundreds more people? You talking about that fuckin’ mess? Cause I gotta tell you, it was us cleaning up a mess taking out three enemy soldiers who were a direct threat to American lives.”
“Hell no, I’m not talking about Silver’s rescue. I’m talking about you going rogue and making a mess I cannot clean up. I see you’re all fired up to go all-out to protect her. So what I’m asking is, are you sure you wanna put your ass out there for a woman who, last I knew, you could barely tolerate?”
“Told you, shit’s changed.”
“Yeah, saw that in there.”
Now Weston was getting even more pissed. There was something else in Alec’s tone, something he didn’t like.
“Why are you asking me this shit? What’s the real issue here? You gotta thing for Silver I should know about?”
Alec shook his head and frowned. “Clocked her ass the second she hit the conference room. Hard not to notice a woman that hot when she’s all attitude and brave enough to throw it in a room full of men. Thought about it for about five seconds, wondering what—”
“Don’t wanna hear that shit, Alec.”
“Bottom line is, I thought about it. Then I thought twice because that woman uses attitude to cover a soft spot. One I had no intention of looking after. So the thought died. She’s hot as hell, no doubt just as wild. What she isn’t, is a woman who’s practiced enough to know the score. Therefore not my type. So with all that said, I get it why you’d want in there. But you haven’t answered my question. You sure about this? Getting involved with her, knowing you get in deep and go all-out it will be not only your ass, your team’s ass, but mine at your back, cleaning your shit up.”
Weston didn’t have to think about his answer, therefore he didn’t. He gave it to Alec straight.
“You’re correct. The stubborn attitude is bullshit. She hides behind it, but once you crack through just a tiny bit you get to something that’s unbelievably soft. My guess is once I get there and she trusts me, it will be better. It’ll be treasure. So the answer is—yes. I’m sure. I’m also not dumb. So you can stop worrying about imaginary messes and figure out why you’re catching shit at DHS. And while you’re at it, you should consider a career change so you’re not having to deal with government bullshit.”
Alec’s lips tipped up and he chuckled. “That a job of
fer?”
“It is if you want it to be,” Weston told him honestly.
“’Preciate it. But I don’t think Gemini Group could match my salary. Then there’s the cushy office in DC and the company car.”
Alec was so full of shit. He didn’t have a cushy office, he had a fucking cubicle. One in an office in the middle of DC where the traffic was a nightmare, the cost of living was bullshit, and there was nowhere you could go—to a bar or otherwise—where you weren’t running into scheming fake-ass people. Yet, for some reason, Alec stayed. Maybe it was for the money, but for Weston no amount of money would make him do something, live somewhere, or be around people he didn’t like.
“We straight?” Weston asked.
“Yeah. We’re good.”
“How much danger do you think Silver’s really in?”
“On a scale of one to ten? An eleven. Shit’s adding up and what it’s totaling in corruption…. Brace, brother, they think she has something. Which means they aren’t done with her.”
Fuck. There it was—confirmation.
Time to plan.
14
I was dying to ask Weston what he and Alec had talked about out on the back deck but I’d refrained. But now it was hours later, Alec had left to go back to DC, and we were in Weston’s Jeep driving to his office.
We’d been the last to leave the house. Holden had left first saying he needed to go pack because he was leaving that afternoon for a few days. He didn’t say where he was going and I wanted to ask about that, too, but Holden’s schedule was really none of my business so I didn’t ask about that either.
Jameson left to go home and said he’d meet us at the office in a few hours, he needed to help his woman, Kennedy, load her truck. I didn’t ask what they were loading either.
Nixon and Chasin had taken off at the same time, both saying their ‘laters’ at the front door.
The morning had been odd. All of the men had included and openly talked in front of me like I wasn’t a complete stranger. But I’d been lost for most of the conversations because I was. I didn’t know who Kennedy was, but I did know Jameson’s face gentled when he spoke about her. I didn’t know McKenna but I knew she was a computer genius and worked with the guys. I knew she and Nixon were getting married because Nixon had said something about her planning a wedding and he didn’t give a shit what she planned as long as it was exactly what she wanted.
So it was weird to be included but still on the outside. I was used to being a loner and the definition of that meant I kept to myself and didn’t ask questions. But now I had a hundred of them and they were burning in my chest, not because I was being nosy but because it felt good to be around people who openly cared about each other.
“You got a lot going on in your head, babe,” Weston noted.
“What?”
“You’re sitting there staring off into space, quiet. What’s on your mind?”
It shouldn’t have been surprising how much Weston paid attention, yet it still was. It was a little disconcerting I couldn’t seem to hide my mood from him, but more than that, it felt nice to be noticed.
“What did Alec need to talk to you about outside?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“He was checking to see where my head’s at.”
“Where your head’s at?”
“Babe, I’m speakin’ English.”
Okay, that was funny, but mostly annoying.
“I know you are,” I snapped. “But obviously, I don’t understand why Alec was asking you about me. And I really don’t know what it means when you say where your head’s at.”
“He wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting ready to go off the rails leaving a trail of bodies in my wake.”
“Why would he ask that?”
“Because he knows me. He knows you mean something to me. So he needed to ask.”
There was a lot there to sift through. I wasn’t ready to discuss how Alec knew I meant something to Weston, or how he didn’t deny the accusation. Instead, I went straight to the trail of dead bodies.
“That’s ridiculous. You wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I wouldn’t?” he asked and stopped at a red light, one of the very few in Cliff City. “You sat through the meetings at Homeland. You know what I did before I left the Navy. So you gotta know, your statement is false.”
He was right, I had sat through those meetings. I also bickered with him about the planning of the operation. I’d also been adamant I should stay on the team and be the one to recon the suspected boats carrying drugs. He’d been vehemently against that plan. Then he’d straight out said I should be removed completely. It was old news and there was no point rehashing it when I knew he meant that during those meetings they discussed him being a former SEAL.
“You being an ex-SEAL is—”
“Former,” he cut me off.
“What?”
“I’m a former SEAL. Not an ex-SEAL. When I left the Navy I didn’t give up my Trident.”
I knew what a Trident was. I’d seen enough TV shows and movies to know it’s what the gold pin the SEALs wear on their uniforms, but I didn’t understand what the distinction was between former and ex. Both meant he wasn’t one anymore.
“I don’t understand. Just because you still have it doesn’t mean you can use it. Is there really a difference?”
“Babe, it’s not a badge. I didn’t flash it before I made an arrest. I earned it with my blood. It’s a part of who I am, not what I was. I am a SEAL, always will be. But I am no longer in the Navy, therefore I’m former. Never ex. Ex implies you’ve given up the right to be something.”
“Was it hard becoming a SEAL?”
“Hard doesn’t begin to describe it. But when your eye’s on the prize it’s amazing what your body can endure.”
I found that to be interesting and wanted to talk more about what he had to do to become a SEAL but I had a point to make.
“Okay. You being a former SEAL is much different than you killing someone.”
“You can call it whatever name you want, but the result’s the same—in the end, someone’s not breathin’.”
He was right about that. In the end, someone was dead. But there is a huge difference between murdering someone and killing them.
“Fine. But it’s not like you’d kill someone because I was in danger. If Alec knows you then he shouldn’t have had to ask.”
“I wouldn’t?”
There was that question again, only this time it seemed loaded and I was afraid of the answer. Not because what he said would scare me, but what that said about how he felt about me. Which meant, I must’ve misunderstood what he was asking.
“Weston—”
“Straight up, Silver, and you need to understand this. Do not think because I wasn’t the one on that boat taking the shots that I would’ve had an issue taking them. Because I wouldn’t’ve. But at that moment, I was more concerned about getting to you and making sure you were okay. Any other time, it would’ve been me topside taking those fuckers out. And that’s something you’re gonna have to figure out if you’re okay with.” I was getting ready to ask why it would matter how I felt about anything he did when he answered my silent question. “I’ve been honest with you, I’ve told you I want to get to know you better. I want you to get to know me. I was clear when I told you while you’re figuring your shit out I was gonna push forward and work to convince you to take a chance. So this is me doing that—giving you something about me you’re gonna have to deal with. My job’s my job and it’s not going anywhere. Which means, as much as it sucks, the possibility is high, I will have to take a life.”
It seemed even though I didn’t want to think about why Alec thought I meant something to Weston, I couldn’t steer clear of the topic. It was front and center in everything Weston did for me, everything he said, all the ways he was honest with me. He just put it out there.
What guy did that?
Why wasn’t he hiding his fe
elings?
Why wasn’t he playing it cool, acting aloof, making me walk on eggshells trying to figure out if he liked me? Why wasn’t he avoiding topics that had to do with feelings or emotions?
“Don’t most guys try to keep how they feel about a woman a secret?”
“Wouldn’t know. What I do know is, I’m not most guys.”
“No, you’re not,” I grumbled.
“And that pisses you off, why?”
“Because it confuses me that you’re just telling me straight out how you feel and what you want.”
“That confuses you?” He chuckled.
I stopped watching him pulling into a parking space and gave him my best dirty look.
Again, he didn’t wilt under it, he just laughed harder.
“What’s funny?” I unhappily muttered.
“Only you would think me being straight with you is confusing.”
“Well, I don’t know. The last guy I went on a date with kept me guessing if he was going to try to kiss me goodnight. Not that I was going to let him, but I couldn’t get a read all night. One minute hot, the next cold. That’s always been my experience, I never know because they never say anything.”
“That’s fucked.”
“That’s just the way it is. So you being honest about everything, even your feelings, is really damn confusing.”
Weston's Treasure Page 10