“We’re no longer inside brother, it’s us and them now. I think it’s time we use what we learned on their dime and go to war, our own war. I feel like a fucking sitting duck with this back and forth shit and it’s getting us nowhere. I say from here on out we go for first strike and bring these fuckers down.”
“What the fuck are you talking about Cord? Open warfare against the Pentagon?” He’s such a hothead, that’s the difference between my brothers and I. I prefer a systematic destruction of my enemies; they like to go in guns blazing, so of course that’s what he’d think.
“No, just against the ones involved in this no matter how high up the food chain they are. They’ve been calling the shots so far. Whoever is in bed with The Fox has their ducks all in a row. I say we start taking out those fucks one by one starting at their flank. I’ve given this shit a lot of thought and in retrospect we’ve been playing defense this whole time, it’s time we make the first move on these fucks.”
“I see, you’re becoming like Ty, you’re taking lessons from Lyon now.” Ty threw him the finger as he came back into the room. “It’s done and we went over the rooms up there, we’re clear.” Ty dropped into a chair and folded his arms behind his head. “So what have we decided?” He’s been chomping at the bit since our time at Law’s. The fact that the man who’d worked his woman over was gone didn’t make much of a difference to him. Like the rest of us, he wanted the ones pulling the strings.
It was a fact that this thing was hanging over all our heads. It wouldn’t have mattered if they’d only gone after one of our women or all of them. We are a team always, inseparable. I want my happily fucking ever after, and I want it for my brothers and their women.
I want to watch Susie walk down the aisle and put her hand in mine, and I want to do that shit without worrying there’s a gun pointed at my back. “I have an idea-I was just telling the others that we need to take lead on this shit starting now. We have the players, we know some of what they’re up to, but waiting around for them to make the next move isn’t gonna get us any closer to finding out the rest. I say we use what we have now and make a move on them.”
“Sounds good to me. At least we know what would hurt the fuck up and his family, even if we don’t exactly know what the Fox’s stake is in this.” Of course Ty would be on board, no surprise there. But we all needed to be on the same page.
Quinn, Dev and Zak said pretty much the same thing. The only holdouts were Logan and Connor, which was not surprising either. Those two would make great CEOs. Thinking fucks. They like to have everything lined up from beginning to end and I know Lo especially, wouldn’t make a move unless he could see the end result.
No one said anything as we waited. I guess it’s hard to break out of that habit. We’d fit together as a team so well for so long, that it wouldn’t feel right to do anything else this late in the game. We’d planned out our lives together for fuck sake, even going so far as to build our own little compound so we could be together always.
Logan did his pacing shit, which always meant the wheels were turning, and Con tapped his finger on his chin. “Okay, let’s rock.” Lo looked around the room at all of us with that gleam in his eyes.
“As always we watch our six every step of the fucking way. These people have resources we can only dream of. But to tell you the truth, if it comes down to going head to head with them, or telling Gabriella that we have to put off the wedding of her dreams one more time, they’re pretty much fucked.”
“Looks like we’re going rogue.” Connor took his seat and booted up his secure comp. We’d left Davey at my place the last two days since we weren’t sure what we were gonna find in here, so it was just the seven of us sprawled around the room. Each of us had our own special skills when in the field, but for a job like this we were all schooled on how to go digging.
“Okay let’s get to work. We’ll keep searching for what if anything the old man has, but in the meantime let’s get what we can on all the players involved.” Lo pulled up the projector screen we kept hidden in the wall and lit it up. On the screen were the names of everyone involved that we knew of so far. We had their addresses, their numbers, where they worked, who they associated with, down to where they got their laundry done.
I felt the first zing of excitement. This is what I was made for, when I was at my best. That waiting around shit is for the birds, and now that I had something to work for, it made it all the more necessary to be on my best game. “Hooyah.” The others picked up the cry and it resounded around the room. Time to go to war.
“Since these humps are spread all over the place we’re gonna have to do our thing from here using the comps. First we make sure that they’re absolutely secure, Dev that’s you. Quinn I need in-depth runs on all of them running concurrently. Zak, run all their names in the database. I wanna know if any of them have so much as a speeding ticket. I want known associates, going back twenty years. Cross their names, see where they met and what they worked on together. Find the connection.”
“I’ll do the cross.” We got to work to the sound of machines beeping in the background. Not our usual milieu, but it’s what we had to work with. Every once in a while, I looked up at the board, at the faces we had up there. Some of them were the faces of men we’d trusted in the past, men we believed had the nation’s best interest at heart. It was fucked to now learn that they might’ve been looking after their own interests all along while we, and others like us were putting our lives on the line.
The one that bothered me most was the red question mark next to the CO’s old friend’s picture. We still weren’t sure if he was in on what was going on. But since he was Logan’s contact on the inside, and new information had come to light that he should’ve been aware of but hadn’t passed on, there was a question as to his loyalty. It would suck ass if he turned out to be dirty, but I would have no problem putting a cap in his ass if that is the case.
We got down to work using our highly illegal but very effective computers. A job like this was more time consuming than hunting some asshole out to destroy the world. There were pockets of information hidden behind a hundred smoke screens that if you didn’t know what you were looking for, could send you around in circles until you said fuck it and moved on.
I was crossing the names of the players and their known associates and the shit that was unfolding before my eyes only helped to send my pressure through the roof. There was a fuck load of money changing hands between parties, but they were sending the shit through so many channels it would be hard for an inexperienced eye to catch on. Then I peeled back the first layer we’d found so far and that zing became a hum.
“If this shit turns out to be about money, I’m gonna lose my shit. I found the General.” Are you shitting me? These fucks were willing to sell out their country for a few million pieces of fucking paper? We all know the rumors, we’ve heard worse than what’s being reported on the evening news.
If our government was willing to sacrifice a few thousand of its own to build a fucking pipeline in the Middle East, I might hate that shit, but I gotta figure those fucks know what they’re doing. But if these fucks were only out to pad their own bottom line, I’ll end every last one of them myself.
“I told you fucks all along that they were up to no good. Since when do we get called to do a job only to be put on hold? Never.” Ty was right, we dropped the ball on that one.
“Let me see that.” I printed out the list of names for Lo as the others waited. “Son of a bitch.” It was easy to see the connection now where we had missed it before. It wasn’t a well-known fact that the General in question had gone to school with the fuck up, which is our code name for one of the country’s former leaders.
“How did we miss this?”
“We’re fighters Lo, since when have we ever given a second thought to politics?” They kept us so busy who the fuck had time?
“Yeah, but this shit was right under our noses the whole time. Did you find the other one in
there?”
I knew whom he meant without asking. “No, but I still have a ways to go yet.”
“I hope to fuck he’s not caught up in this. I’d hate to think the old man was surrounded by enemies at the end.”
That shit left a bad taste in my mouth and sent my mind down a whole new path. I didn’t say anything about what I was thinking, not yet. I needed to do a little more digging and a lot more thinking before I voiced that particular evil. Because I knew if there was any truth to it, my brothers would be destroyed. Though it was no fault of ours. But if it turned out that the ‘friend’ in question had been the one to set him up, this place was gonna become a battlefield.
“We go back to the beginning, connect the dots.” Lo opened a drawer and pulled a file. Organized fucker that he is you can trust him to have every move written down in there. “Here it is, general Starks made the call about Khalil’s resurfacing. This was a few weeks after we settled in here. A few weeks after that, we were told to stand down until farther notice.”
“Yeah and in the midst of that we learned that the commander may have been murdered, stumbled onto a trafficking ring and have assholes trying to kill us and our women.” It was beginning to look more and more like the place had a direct link to whatever was going on, but how do we connect a small town in Georgia to the middle east and one of the most dangerous men in history?
We threw around some ideas but it was obvious we were still missing way too much of the puzzle and just going around in circles. I tried an old technique that came in handy in the field. I disassociated myself from everything and built the blocks, each in their own place, like with like. Pretty soon a picture was beginning to form in my head and I felt that rush of excitement in the blood. The one that tells me when I’m on the right track!
“It’s not the place, it’s the commander.” How the fuck had that one slip by us? It was glaring us right in the face. “Remember what Lyon said, he asked us if we had all worked for the commander at some point in our career, meaning us Law, and Creed. We know how Lyon got involved, through the Porters. Stockton told Lyon and Ty that the thing with his kid was a favor to the Porters, payback. We know the Porters are in bed with Khalil and how, through the uncle who’s a senator. But we never figured out why here. I mean let’s face it, there are a million better places to run that shit. Who was here before we came?”
“We already thought about that Cord and still couldn’t come up with anything remember? We know Law and Creed worked with the old man over the years, but we don’t know on what.”
“But, Lo what if it was all to do with the Fox? What do you wanna bet that this begins and ends with him?”
“Get those boys on the phone. All our Ops were confidential, but maybe they won’t mind sharing. We’re all playing on the same team now aren’t we?”
CHAPTER 6
CORD
***
“Law, is this phone secure?”
“Unless my nosy ass wife is on the other line. Dana Sue, hang up the damn phone.” We heard a huff and a click on the other end. “You boys having this kinda trouble? Ever since we got back from Lyon’s my place is like fucking Quantico, fucking females are getting into everything.”
“We’re trying to contain ours brother, but we have something more delicate to discuss so be sure your shit is titanium.” There was a series of clicks, a long beeping noise and then clean crisp tone. “We’re good, what you got?”
“We need to know what you and Creed did under the old man’s command. We wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t pertinent to what we’re dealing with here. We kinda have our suspicions but we need verification before we can go forward.”
“Hoo, I guess it’s all good. I’d rather give my loyalty to you guys than those lying fucks in Washington anyway. It was Khalil. He was moving shit through the Congo and we had to head him off. Never did have eyes on the slippery fuck, but we confiscated the merchandise and pulled out. That enough to get you what you need?”
“Yeah brother, and Creed was on that ride with you too wasn’t he?”
“Yes he was, our boys joined forces on that one and a few others, but that was one of the ones we did for your commander. What’re you thinking?”
“We’re thinking whatever this is that’s going on in our backyard has more to do with the commander than the location.”
“What like some kind of beef between the two of them?”
“Something like that.”
“Then I guess you know they go way back, that fucker’s been on the radar going back years, started as a young boy with his old man.”
“He couldn’t have been more than twelve or so back then.”
“Well brother, there’s twelve and there’s twelve.”
“We’ll catch you soon brother got some shit to take care of. You guys found anything yet on your end?”
“Nah, we’re hitting brick walls on every turn. But we already figured someone higher up was pulling the strings.”
“Yeah well hopefully we can get you some answers soon, bye for now.” Lo hung up and turned back to the room.
“Okay, now we have confirmation on that, we know where to look. Law mentioned something about Khalil’s father. Looks like we’re gonna have to go even farther back than we thought. I say we clear our minds of what we know or think we know so far, and go after this thing with new eyes.”
“Yeah, I need a break first.”
“How long this time Dev?” Quinn grinned at me like the jackass he is.
Devon looked at his watch. “Four hours.” He and Quinn have a new game, timing how long I go before needing a Susie fix.
“Fuck off both of you. Nothing to say Tyler?”
“Who me? What could I possibly have to say about your bitch made ass? Pitiful.”
“That would sting if you weren’t such a pussy whipped asshole yourself.”
“I thought we agreed to clean up our language on account of all the kids that are gonna be running around here soon.”
“Please Con, if you hadn’t started this shit we wouldn’t be in this predicament. I think Dani put something in the food she fed us when she first moved in. Has anyone else noticed that except for Nessa who we knew before we moved here, all these women were her friends or knew her in some way?”
“Leave my woman out of this Quinn you fuck.” Con threw something at his head. I left them to their little squabble and went after her. They were right, but they had no idea what was behind my many Susie breaks and they never will. This is one part of my life I won’t be sharing with my brothers.
She’s on a schedule, part of her training regimen. No matter what time of day, or what she’s doing, she has to drop it and follow. Plus I needed her. I am very good at hiding my feelings behind a mask, and right now I’m pissed the fuck off. There’s only one way I know to tame the beast before he rages out of control.
***
My eyes fell on her as soon as I cleared the door to Logan’s place. Just the sight of her took some of the edge off. They were sitting around the living room drinking tea and juice with all their wedding crap spread out on every available surface. A more innocent bunch you’ve yet to meet. Too bad for them they were hooked up with men who clocked their every move and knew that shit for the farce that it was.
“Ladies, what have you been up to this morning?” They looked guilty as hell as they tried to convince me that they’d done nothing more than look through magazines. “Susie.” She blushes so easily, just the mention of her name and her face goes up in flames.
I held my hand out to her as she left her seat to come to me. “Good girl.” I whispered my pleasure in her ear once she reached my side. “She’ll be back after lunch.” Their laughter could mean they didn’t believe me, but whatever. I closed the door to Lo’s place just as Davey was coming up the steps.
“Make sure they behave son.”
“Yeah, just as soon as their husbands teach me how. How come I have to watch them Cord? They don’t ever listen.” Poor ki
d actually looked spooked. “It comes with the territory boy, what have I taught you?”
“Always look after the women.” He grumbled it before going through the door.
“Ready?” I turned my attention back to her as we headed for home. She nodded shyly, the only time she’s timid with me. She knew what was coming. I squeezed her hand for reassurance. With me it’s a mixed bag. She can either expect light fun, or hardcore Dom. She never knew which.
We barely cleared the door before I had her trapped against it with my tongue in her mouth. I let her feel the need in me as my arms went around her. I cautioned myself to hold back just a little. I was in a dangerous mood, and my control, which only she seems able to shake, was barely there. I pulled our mouths apart and nuzzled her soft cheek, before nibbling my way back to the corner of her lips.
“Hmm, I missed you, missed me?” She nodded as her mouth followed mine in search of my tongue. “Come and get it.” I teased her, pulling back just a little, making her work for it. “Quit it Cord.” I love that whine of hers. This morning I’d left her hot and wanting before heading out the door. She was pissed but knew better than to say anything. Now I was going to reward her restraint.
“Take it.” I let her suck my tongue back into her mouth while rubbing my growing cock between her thighs. It always pleased me, her hunger; the hunger that I had awakened in her from the beginning. She goes up in flames so easily, with just a touch. Makes it hard not to fuck into her every chance I get. And those noises she makes, fuck.
“Undress me.” She knew to leave my jeans on for now so she just unzipped me before going after my sweater. When she was done it was my turn to pull her clothes off right there in the living room. “Give me that mouth again.” Walking backwards with our mouths fused I led us to the bedroom. “Do you want me?” she nodded again but this time that wasn’t enough. “Say it.”
Cord SEAL Team Seven (Book 5) Page 8