Of course neither of us would say or do anything to hurt their feelings when they start their meddling shit.
Not only because Lo and Con would have our asses if we did. But because neither of us would hurt them for the world. But it can get pretty sticky sometimes when they get that bone between their teeth.
I can just imagine his flop sweat over lunch. Just as I can see Lo hightailing it out of there when they started in on the weddings.
It’s just too damn funny, seeing my brothers in their new roles of husbands and family men. I’d seen each of them in battle mode and knew what they were all made of.
Now they were as soft as they were hard, but only when it came to their women. I never believed that such a thing could be possible. That hardened warriors could have it in them to be that… gentle.
Sometimes watching the interplay between them makes me wish for things I know I can’t have. I wouldn’t admit this to any of them, but I’m a little jealous.
I never thought I would want what they have, never believed I could have it. But they make it look so easy, so right. It’s hard not to build dreams around ‘what if’.
I’d been a loner for most of my life, until I met my brothers in fact. We were all so alike that it was easy to think our lives would always take the same path.
We thought we were happy as we were. It was enough to serve our country and stick together as we always did. But I’d bet the guys would say they’d never known true happiness until they met their women.
I wouldn’t blame them; it’s obvious that the women had opened a new chapter in their lives and just when they needed it. Shit had got really heavy these last few years. It seemed like the more evil we fought, the more cropped up.
Now it looked like some of the men we’d trusted to have our backs were dirty as fuck. For men who’d already seen the worst the world had to offer, it was just another knock.
So having the softness of a good woman could only help I guess. And so far the five of them seemed to be happier and the women at least took their minds off all this other shit if only for a while.
It had been just us for so long though I had begun to think none of them would ever get married and settle down.
They never showed an interest, and that was the part that keeps me looking over my shoulder. Ever since we moved to this town, it seems you don’t have to go looking for love, the shit just finds you. And it’s been finding them at an alarming rate.
We’d made a pact never to marry while we were still in, which had made the question null and void. We had a good reason for making that promise to each other.
After seeing what being away from their wives and children had done to some of our colleagues, not to mention what it does to you when you have to tell someone that their loved one wasn’t coming back. None of us wanted to have to do that to each other. Too fucking heartbreaking.
So I’d been perfectly fine with the way things were, just me, and my six brothers. We’d started a business just like we’d planned and thanks to the CO we had this place where we could all live together like we’d wanted after retirement.
For the first year things had stayed the way they always were. And then the guys started getting shanghaied.
I have to admit that they make this being in love shit look good. With our track record it stands to reason that one day I’ll be joining the ranks of the whipped and clueless just like the rest of them, seeing as how we all seem to follow one another in whatever venture is on the menu. But that won’t be for a long-long time if ever.
Although this kind of happiness wasn’t in the works for me any time soon, I was happy for my brothers. Because of them I had more family than I ever expected to have, including a niece that already owns my heart. I’ll let that be enough for now. As long as they were happy I could deal.
Some people may not understand our bond, but my mother couldn’t have birthed a son that would mean more to me than these men that I’ve served with.
Ours is a bond I’m sure will never be broken no matter what. I never had that with any of my so-called relatives in the past. And that was part of the glue that held us all together. The thing that had made us as close as we are today.
Each of us had our own fucked up childhood story to tell. And we’d all found what we needed in our little makeshift family. Nothing was going to change that, and if our family was growing, then so much the better.
After taking my mind off of my worries for a minute, regaling me with the exploits of the rest of the family, Dev left. “I got shit to do bro, can’t hang around here with your lazy ass all day.”
I gave him the finger as he got up to leave and watched him jog back the way he came. Huh, that was easy but I’ll take it. It’s not every day that one of them leaves shit alone, like dogs with a bone every last one of them.
That’s part of who we are, we look out for one another even if it means crossing certain boundaries. Then again we have none, not when it comes to each other.
9
Quinn
I let myself relax now that I had dodged The Spanish Inquisition, and thought of what we had left to do before we could head out. There was no telling how long we would be away, but hopefully it wouldn’t be for too long.
This thing seemed to have a long fucking reach though, and with the tangos involved, there was no telling where this mess would go before it was all said and done.
I hated that my family’s lives were put on hold, because of outside interference. It’s funny that the one thing we had promised each other, had avoided so effortlessly the last ten years or so, had come back to bite us in the ass.
We never wanted any woman we chose to have to go through the horror of war, of having to wait for their man to come home. Never knowing if he would indeed be coming back. Now they’re stuck in the middle of something dark and ugly because someone, an old nemesis, had brought the war to us.
If I could stand in front of this, protect them from it, I would do it in a heartbeat. But now the situation had spread beyond anything we could’ve imagined right here in our homeland, and right in our own backyard to boot.
If we were the types to do half ass jobs then sure it would’ve been over from the moment we suspected that our CO had been murdered. But we’ve had to put our own personal need for vengeance aside for the greater good.
There was a very serious evil being perpetrated beneath our noses and I know that like me, my brothers hadn’t fought for our country just to have assholes pulling that shit on our turf.
It’s not easy holding back and not just going in and taking out the ones we already knew were guilty. But if we got this shit wrong we had more than each other to think about. The backlash if we struck and missed would be horrendous.
It’s obvious that Khalil chose the old man’s hometown to do his dirty deeds as a fuck you to him and us. But there had to be more to it, something we’re missing.
There were too many better options for him and his cohorts to use to run their human trafficking ring, so why here? Why such a hard on for the CO? It was personal, but why? How?
It would be easy to take it at face value that he was just sore about the old man always sending a team to fuck with his shit. But we’d gone after others before and after him and never before has the shit followed us back here.
And that was another worry. How the fuck did he ever find out who we were? Or who the CO was for that matter? That right there was the kicker, the thing that made it so easy for us to accept Mancini’s offer.
It was obvious that we’d been compromised. SEALs don’t even talk about the fact that they’re SEALs. We don’t even really talk about a job after it’s done, because the shit that our team was called on to do was always top secret.
Countries could be destroyed, regimes toppled if our lips got too loose. Then we’d have one of our own coming after us to silence us.
That’s one of those things that those in the know like to keep as well hidden as possible. That’s how we know
that Khalil had help from the inside. Someone who was close to the old man as well as others in high places.
It’s not going to be easy taking care of them all without setting off an international fuck storm, but I won’t stop until we do it. I’m not about to let them win, fuck that.
I sat up when I heard footsteps headed my way. I should’ve known when Dev walked away that easily that something was up. When he came back with the others in tow I wasn’t surprised.
“Let’s go I hear a run is in order.” Lo held his hand out and pulled me up from my perch on the steps. I eyed the rest of them as they lined off behind him in the ‘don’t fuck with me’ pose. Arms folded, legs spread, and a scowl.
“Couldn’t keep your mouth shut could you?” Dev shrugged his shoulder at me and we turned to follow the others. “Come on, a nice run on the beach will do you good. Plus it would give us a chance to see what, if anything is going on down there.”
“I could’ve sworn I turned down this offer.” I scowled at Dev but he of course ignored me. “Stop bitching brother you know the drill. One of us is off all of us are fucked. Here comes the handler.” He moved ahead as Con took his place beside me.
There was no point in arguing so I just fell in beside Connor as we headed for the gate. I guess he got stuck with babysitting duty. They must think I’m really fucked if they were siccing him on me. Lo is our fearless leader in all things military, Con is the one who deals with the more personal disruptions.
“What about the women?” I looked over at him as we jogged out of the yard and headed for the water that was a mere hundred or so feet away. Damn that felt good.
“They’re fine. Davey’s with them and everything’s on lockdown. If anyone gets too close the silent alarm would warn us don’t worry.” The truth is I knew that without asking, but this feeling of impending…something, was fucking with my rationale.
We jogged along the beach going in the opposite direction from where we knew the tunnel ended. No one watching would have the first clue that we even knew that shit existed, but it was broad daylight and we didn’t want to seem too obvious. On the way back we’d be able to see what if anything was going on down that end.
There were a few locals getting some sun, most of whom waved or said hello as we passed by. That was a vast difference from the welcome we’d received when we first relocated here.
They didn’t know what to expect from seven bike riding tattooed men who were built like trucks and always had a stern expression on their faces.
Thankfully the old man had had a few pals here who took it on faith that if the CO had left us his place then we must be the salt of the earth, as he was.
They’d blazed the trail to the others accepting us and now with four of my brothers marrying local girls it was pretty much a cinch.
We even stopped and had a quick chat with a few who knew and were constantly asking about the goings on down by the pier at night, but as usual we played it down.
A few of the old timers had almost got themselves in trouble by trying to tackle the suspicious activities in the past and we’d made a promise to protect them from themselves.
We just gave them the company line that we were on top of it and will let them know when or if we found anything. That seemed to satisfy them and we went on our way.
Connor went back to lecturing my ass and the sweet burn in my legs was welcomed. It had been too fucking long since we’d taken the liberty of a good hard run.
I was beginning to relax a little. The breeze from the water, the sun shining down in all its magnificent glory and Con talking shit next to me as we pounded the sand was working.
It was good to feel the sea air on my face as we ran flat out. It had been a while since we’d come down here for anything other than a stake out.
We had all this beauty right in our own backyard and hadn’t really had the time to enjoy it before this shit fell on us.
Most of my sisters had grown up here and this was a luxury they’d freely enjoyed in the past. Now because of their entanglements with my brothers they couldn’t even step foot out their front door without an armed guard.
It was getting to me so I can only imagine how the others felt, having to curtail their women’s movements. And since the women’s last attempt at mutiny I’m sure they won’t be seeing outside again for a while.
Hopefully this place Mancini was dragging us off to would allow them some freedom, especially little baby Zak.
My poor niece was being held hostage by these fucks and she wasn’t even two years old yet. I’m fucked if anyone’s gonna fuck up her childhood the way mine had been.
Nope, better not go there now either, my insides were fucked up enough as it is, no need to add fuel to the fire by dwelling on just how pissed I am about the situation we were in.
The mood was light and I could hear my brothers ragging each other as per usual. Ty the runt was popping off shit about stamina and old men. Cord tripped his ass in the water causing him to cuss a blue streak, which was good for a round of laughs.
And then we turned around and headed back the way we came, facing the location of the tunnel, and a tight fist wrapped around my heart and squeezed.
“Quinn.” I looked up at Con’s shocked voice as I bent over with my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. It felt like I was about to fucking die.
I shook my head because I couldn’t speak and for some unknown reason there were tears gathered in my eyes. My skin felt hot and my head swam, my vision blurred in and out.
Something had me in its grip and had I been a lesser man I would’ve been scared as fuck. I looked toward the tunnel and the direction of the house we’d raided just a few short months ago, which now felt like years.
There were too many people laying about so once the others gathered around us I kept my unease to myself. “It’s nothing guys, just a little winded.”
Their eyebrows went up because they knew to a man that this was little more than a walk in the park for any of us. Lo shook his head when Ty started to question the truth of my words.
Like a bull in a China shop, Ty isn’t very good with subtleties. And when he got worried as he so obviously was now, his patience tends to fray.
It was burning a hole in his tongue I could tell, but he held in whatever it was he wanted to say. Of course Lo gave Connor who stepped in beside me the ‘look’ as we started running again, back towards the compound.
Con glanced at me and away. “You’ve got ‘til end of day.” I knew what that meant. I’m surprised he was letting me slide that long. But what the hell was I going to tell him, them?
I don’t even know what the hell this is myself. Ergo my reason for avoiding them, which I was doing a fine job of until asshole Dev had to open his trap. This shit made me unfit for any kind of company.
Shit, and we’re expecting the others soon. For the past two days we’ve been waiting for Lyon to make up his mind whether or not he was gonna make the move or not.
I guess he wasn’t as malleable as the mafia don thought. In the few conversations we’d had with him in the last few days, in between the ‘what the fucks’ he’d let it be known that he wasn’t pleased with the idea of running like a bitch as he put it.
Mancini had tried talking some sense into him, but that didn’t work. Now he was on his way there to drag him out of his cave. Good luck with that.
It’s a good bet that no one gets Colton Lyon to do shit he wasn’t inclined to. He may not have served in any military service, but he has the heart of a true warrior. Natural instinct I guess.
Thinking about his shit helped to clear my mind and ease the racing of my heart a bit. I knew that whatever this was, my brothers had my back, but I didn’t want to drag them down with me.
“Is it a vision?” I thought he said I had ‘til end of day? I shook my head, not quite ready to try to explain. Always before I could tell them exactly what I was seeing. This time I wasn’t seeing shit, just feeling. What the fuck was I supposed
to do with that?
“I didn’t think so, you would’ve said. You’re not sick, we were all cleared last checkup. Any ideas?” Dammit. If I tell him to leave it the fuck alone he’d only get the others involved, that or knock me on my ass.
Plus none of us were ever any good at keeping our noses out of each other’s shit. “Nah, I can’t get a bead on it. I know it’s not one of us, that’s all I know.” I didn’t tell him that it was someone close to me though, because who the fuck can that be?
We made it back home and the feeling let up a little but didn’t evaporate as we went back to getting shit ready to leave later tonight when the others showed up, if they ever came.
I was sure of one thing now though. Whatever was fucking with me had something to do with that tunnel. I’d put bank on it.
10
Kelly
I feel sick. Whatever they’d injected me with had a nasty lasting side effect and left a horrible taste in my mouth.
I was able to see the others now and my heart sank. They’d brought us to a house and locked us in a room chained together against the wall.
The smell of fear was heavy in the room. Someone had peed on themself and there was a scent of feces as well in the air.
The girls were all my age or younger, most of them looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen. My mind reeled with all the implications of this.
I didn’t know anyone here, but we all had one thing in common; dread. It was written on the faces of each and every one of us.
I looked around the room, no one was saying anything, but it wasn’t hard to guess what they were thinking. I fought back the fear and tried to remain calm.
There’s never any situation you can’t get yourself out of if you use your head. My daddy taught me that, in fact it was like a mantra for him when I hit my teen years and was allowed out of the house without his or mom’s supervision.
“Does anyone know why this happened or where we are?” I kept my voice low so that it didn’t carry outside the room. I was amazed that it hadn’t shook with fear and nerves.
SEAL Team Seven Books 6&7 Quinn and Devon Page 6