The man sounded as if he was still in the military, but had to be in his late sixties. “Are you on stand-by for assignments from someone?”
“Yes. I was chosen and accepted. If my country needs me, I step up to solve whatever problems I’m given.” He sounded patriotic as if snatching a pregnant woman from a car would make the country safer.
“What does that have to do with shooting at my car?” Max asked growing tired of the clouded answers.
“Just following instructions to take the woman. No one mentioned she’d have SEALs or paramilitary help, we weren’t prepared as you could see.”
Jace snorted. “What’s wrong with pistols?”
“If we knew who we’d be going up against, believe me we would have come better prepared. Failing a mission tastes sour, don’t happen often.”
“Are there a lot of men who operated like you and Southern?”
Franks’ eyes shifted to the left before he met Max’s gaze. “Not sure. We don’t have meetings, or conferences, or anything like that. We’re invisible amongst civilians until we’re needed.”
Max frowned. Sleepers?
“One moment,” Brock said into the phone as he stared at Franks.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Max asked, although he suspected the man hadn’t lied.
Franks gritted his teeth, closed his eyes. “On my daughter’s life, I’m telling the truth. It’s all done anonymously, through texts and private lines. I have no idea who recommended me, or who picks the missions or anything. I get a little extra in my retirement to be ready at all times. Now… please leave my family out of this. Kill me, don’t matter no way, just leave them alone.” He stared at Brock and then looked at Max, pleading with his eyes.
“Just what kind of odd jobs have you been doing?” Max asked.
The man’s face whitened and shut down. “That’s got nothing to do with this here. I’ve been a man of my word, show me if you’re a man of yours.”
Max didn’t expect to get any more from the former soldier and knew if it weren’t for the threat to his family, Franks would have died rather than talked.
“So be it.” Max stood and walked out the door, while Brock spoke on the phone. Outside the room, Max contacted Skinny. “We’re done here, head back to the safe house and relieve Charlene.”
“Yes, Sir. Leave Southern here?”
“Yes. We’ll take care of him.”
Chapter 15.
“The call didn’t come, something went wrong,” Major Jerry Tyler said to the others in the room and threw the glass he’d been drinking across the room into the wall. “Son of a bitch, why can’t anyone do a fucking simple job anymore?”
“Don’t worry, she’s someplace hiding, but will have to come out at some point for doctor visits,” his brother, General Paul Tyler, Pug to friends and family, said and then threw back a shot of bourbon.
“Unless the doctor goes to her,” Jerry said looking at the man who sat smugly in the leather chair sipping aged whiskey.
Pug nodded. “That’s possible. Is this the same bunch that went to her house?”
“No. Can’t find the bastard, he went under. Got some men looking for him though. I want to know what happened.”
“My contact said there’s talk going around that she was raped and never told anybody. Chances are we’re doing this for nothing,” Pug said looking at the others.
“That’s quite a spin on things. Opens the door for a lot of questions and few answers. Why did she wait so long to talk about the rape, she’s what? Four, five months along? Seems she would’ve said something before now,” Jerry said taking a seat to think over this new development. Maybe they could devise an alternate plan to keep the woman from coming forth. It irked him that after all these years, he and his brother still cleaned up bullshit.
“Admiral, what do you think?” Jerry asked his father in a sardonic tone.
Admiral Henry Tyler took another sip of his drink and stared into the cut glass for a few moments. “I think it was a mistake to send the lad after the woman. What if they talk?”
“They won’t,” Jerry said hating his defensive tone. But his father kept making canyon sized mistakes and dragged him and his brother in to clean up the mess.
His dad tipped his head in that condescending manner Jerry hated. “Perhaps. Make sure it doesn’t come back to me, your mother hasn’t been feeling well and cannot handle any additional stress.”
Jerry gritted his teeth and looked at his brother who shook his head, warning him not to argue with the old man. He gulped down his drink and sat back in the chair.
“What do you plan to do now?” his father asked after a few moments of silence.
“Since I don’t know what went wrong, that’ll be my next step. I have some men looking for that extraction team.”
“They won’t find them,” the Admiral said sounding pleased.
“Why not?”
“Because the woman is under the protection of a group of vets who’ve decided to fight back. Didn’t you do your homework before going after the woman? If you had, you’d know about Delgado and Sterling. Former SEALs, who own a veteran club near Bragg.”
Jerry jumped up. “If you knew, why didn’t you tell me when you asked me to take care of this matter for you?”
“I assumed you’d research it before you did anything. That’s normal protocol.”
“For a damn job, or assignment, not a favor,” Jerry yelled.
“Watch your tone, Major,” his father said.
Jerry turned and walked away from the arrogant, jackass who cared nothing for anyone… well that wasn’t true. He cared for someone, just not him.
“That name sounds familiar,” Pug said.
“Yes, it should. Delgado and his team completed a lot of missions that set the standard for SEAL training. The man is fearless and won’t hesitate to take out an enemy.”
“You sound as if you know him personally,” Pug said.
“I’ve met him. He settled in North Carolina, most of his team moved to that area after retiring. He runs a club for vets, Reclamation. The woman in question, her husband was part of Delgado’s team before he died.”
“Shit,” Jerry muttered as the picture cleared. Hell, he lived in Northern Virginia, that information could have saved him time, money and people. Everyone knew SEAL’s protected their own; no wonder he hadn’t heard from Franks. He hoped the man still lived and if he didn’t, he prayed his passing had been quick.
“This changes things,” Pug muttered, looking at Jerry.
“Why? The woman is a threat to my plans and I cannot allow that,” his father said.
Jerry closed his eyes and wished the man would accept responsibility for his mistakes, instead of compounding them. “I’m done.” He hadn’t realized how fed up he’d become until the words slipped from his mouth. But he wouldn’t do anything else to help these hypocrites.
“Excuse me?” his father said in a low, growling tone. When he was younger, Jerry would cringe at the sound. But no longer. He needed to protect his own career and if his father ruined him as he had threatened in the past, so be it.
“You heard me.” He picked up his cap, dusted it off and turned to leave his father’s study.
“You’re not dismissed, soldier!”
“Maybe not, but I’m done cleaning up your projects while you stay squeaky clean. You should’ve told me this information before, not acting as though it’s my damn fault. I’ve got a clusterfuck of my own to take care of now, men to find and keep quiet, no thanks to you.” He looked over his shoulder, felt a smidgeon of satisfaction from his father’s shocked expression and turned to leave.
“Jerry, son… wait. I apologize. You’re right. I should’ve mentioned it, but I didn’t think it was important until I received a few calls from my contacts and they explained the situation down there. Delgado commands a lot of respect in that area, the man helps vets, gives them a place to eat and relive their pasts. But I need that woman sh
ut down, she can’t ever tell who the father of that child is; it’ll kill your mother.”
Chapter 16.
Tamara looked at the couple in the back seat of her car, smiled and waited for Gayle to answer her text. The beep sounded and she read the message.
“Yes, I confirmed the showing today with Terri, asked that she not be at home. She agreed to everything. Is she there?”
Tamara wanted to scream yes the bitch’s car was in the driveway. Instead, she looked over her shoulder at the Gillies. “Excuse me while I go check the lock box to make sure we can enter. As I said earlier, this is one of three houses I have for you to see today.”
“Yes, it looks great from the outside. Can we get out and look around?”
Tamara swallowed her aggravation while wanting to strangle Terri for putting her in this situation. “Sure. Feel free.” She stepped out the car, walked to the front door and rang the bell. A few moments later, Terri answered the door in her pajamas.
“Tamara? What… what… oh my goodness is it today? The showing?” She stepped out and looked at the couple who watched them in surprise.
“Gayle talked to you three hours ago, how could you get the dates mixed up?” If she didn’t want to sell the house fine, but Tamara wasn’t about to play games with the woman.
“I… I thought I had time, and dozed off. Sorry about this, come in, you can still look around.”
“No. I have some other places to show them.” She turned to walk off and Terri stepped onto the porch and spoke to the Gillies’ directly.
“I apologize, the office called to remind me of the showing and I dozed off, it’s my medications. You can look at the house if you’ll just give me a moment to make the bed. It’s a great house.”
Tamara glared at the woman before turning to her clients. She read the curiosity on their faces and knew they wanted to look at the inside.
“It’s okay with us if Ms. Gibbs doesn’t mind.”
Great make her the bad guy in this farce. Forcing a smile she nodded. “Go ahead Terri, we’ll wait until you tell us you’re ready.”
Terri grinned, spun around and went inside.
“I really like the yard, it’s the perfect size, someone spends a lot of time gardening. If the inside is as well taken care of as the outside, then this house will definitely go on our list,” Mrs. Gillies said.
Tamara smiled knowing nothing good would come of this showing.
Two long hours later, Tamara stormed into her office and headed to her desk. Gayle looked up, and followed.
“Oh, oh what did numb-nuts do now?”
Tamara looked up, and shook her head in between deep calming breaths. Anger rocked her core to the point her hands shook. In all the years she’d sold real estate she never tore up a listing contract, until today. She straightened, took a few steps and then stopped as the conversation she’d had with Terri rushed over her.
“I can’t possibly leave now, what if they have questions? As the owner I’m the only one who can answer them,” Terri said in response to Tamara’s polite request that she leave the house.
“Aaargh, that woman,” Tamara growled and hit the desk hurting her hand. “Ow!” she shook her arm to alleviate the pain.
“Calm down, whatever she did, it’s not worth hurting yourself over... right? What did she do?” Gayle asked again.
“What didn’t she do?” Tamara fumed.
“Just stop,” Gayle stood in front of her, blocking her path. “Sit down, I’ll get you something cold to drink and you can get it off your chest. Okay?”
Tamara closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Okay.” She moved to sit in the upholstered armchair in the corner and rubbed her forehead to dislodge the headache formulating behind her eyes.
“Here.” Gayle handed her an ice cold can of tea. “Take a few sips.”
Tamara opened it and drank deep. The chill took the edge from the heat of her temper. She continued drinking until the can emptied.
“She was there when I got there, refused to leave. Bitch pointed out every problem in the house, in a sweet, sickening way of course. Had the nerve to act as if she told me about the leaks and noises in the place. The buyers were horrified, asked to be released from the buyer’s contract.”
“Bitch.”
Tamara nodded. “I apologized to my clients, tore up their contract and dropped them back at their car.”
“They outside?” Gayle looked toward the door as if the couple would walk through any moment.
“No, that was an hour ago. I went back to Terri’s, we got into it.”
“Really? You?”
Tamara waved her off. “Not like that. Geez, Gayle, you know better.”
“I keep hoping you’ll let off some steam in her ass.”
“She lied to me. I tore up the contract and left it on her living room floor. That’ll teach her,” Tamara said ignoring Gayle’s raised brow.
“Yeah, that’ll teach her alright.”
“I don’t mind losing the listing… make sure to take it off the MLS today.”
“Okay, get back to what you were saying.”
“I don’t mind losing the house, but I had some other places to show the Gillies. They never got to see them because of the game she played.”
“They believed her over you?”
“Yes.” That bothered her most of all. To be mocked in her profession, Terri’s performance as a hapless homeowner, taken advantage of by an unscrupulous Realtor had been believable.
“I hope you tell Max about this.”
“What? No. He’s dealing with Adele’s situation now, his plate’s full. Besides, I’m not in high school. I don’t go tattling to my big, strong, boyfriend when someone does something to me. Nope, I’ll handle Terri on my own.” Tamara smiled thinking of the ways she’d get the woman back.
“Ah… suki-suki now. I see that gleam in your eye, bout damn time. If you need a sidekick, let me know, I’ve got your back. That woman’s been asking for a beat-down since she got here.”
Tamara sighed as she looked at Gayle. “I’m not beating anyone.”
“Not physically I know. Maybe emotionally, financially, there are other ways to get your message across without violence,” Gayle said as if instructing a class.
“True. I think I know how to get my point across.”
Chapter 17.
Max strode back into the room. Jace placed tape over Franks’ mouth and the sack over his head. Max waved them out the room. Jace and a few guys would take both men outside of town and release them. Unlike Vincente, these men were pawns and had no dog in this fight. Max figured the next time they met, things would be different.
Brock paused from breaking down his equipment. “Something’s off. I’ve heard there were programs in various branches that utilized sleepers, but not for this kind of assignment. Supposed to be for national security and unless Adele is carrying another Christ, it doesn’t make sense.”
Max sat and watched as Brock turned off the laptop and set it aside. “The key to all of this is the baby. Franks didn’t say he had orders to kill Adele, just to take her unharmed. Is it possible she’s mixed up with a high level, they have an argument or something and he’s trying to get her back?” His phone beeped and he read the text.
“Sounds far-fetched, but I got nothing. I agree the key is the child but Adele’s not thinking clearly right now, she’s getting the past and present confused. If there is a power play going on, we need her help to understand it.”
“Well, damn,” Max said reading the text from Crystal.
“What?”
“Crystal thinks Sergei and Adele had an affair.”
Brock whistled. “Didn’t see that coming. You think he’s the father?”
“Don’t know. How long has he been gone? You know?”
“No. But it’s been a few months. I suppose it’s possible,” Brock said locking his case.
“They were talking about the rape in the club and he became
upset,” Max said and then cursed under his breath. “Gossiping like old… I don’t need this.”
“If he’s the father… he’d be an added layer of protection until we shut this down. The man’s one of the best in the field. His price tag’s high, so he should have some cash stashed to take some time off for family business.”
Max nodded and released a breath. “True, can’t hurt. “Sleepers? Is that what those pins were about?”
“No. Sleepers are invisible. There’d be nothing to identify them. We’re dealing with different groups which don’t make any sense.” Brock shook his head, looking just as confused as Max.
“None of this makes any sense unless she’s pregnant from the President or someone like that, why go through all of this?” Max said as he clapped Brock on the shoulder and left the building. He wasn’t too surprised to see Sergei standing next to his truck. The man looked as if he barely held his temper in check.
“Sergei.” Max nodded a greeting as they drew closer.
“Where’s Adele? She left the hospital this morning with you. Tell me where you took her.”
Max noticed the man didn’t ask. “Are you the father of her child?”
Sergei didn’t blink, but Max sensed the question surprised him. “Could be. Is there a problem?”
“Just that someone’s trying to kill her. That was the reason she landed in the hospital.” Max leaned against his truck.
Sergei frowned and moved to stand in front of him. “I heard she’s been in the hospital because of rape.”
Max read the concern in the other man’s eyes and while he didn’t particularly care one way or the other about Sergei, as a man in love Max empathized. He told him about the break-in, the attack, the gunshots, Charlene discovering Adele and the subsequent stay in the hospital.
“But why? I don’t understand why?”
“She received a note telling her not to have the baby or they’d kill her,” Max said watching for his reaction.
“What?” He looked between Max and Brock. “Someone does not want her to have the child? Why?”
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