by Melody Anne
The three men moved through the grounds of the facility and soon found the man they were looking for. They slipped on their special Bluetooth glasses Brackish had made for them with high-definition cameras giving a feed directly back to their tech genius. The glasses were dark enough that no one would see where their eyes were directed.
As they continued their surveillance, they noticed a woman between two men approach the building site.
“They look out of place,” Chad noted.
“Looking into them now,” Brackish said in their earpieces. “Why don’t you take a walk so you’re not sticking out?”
“Got it,” Eyes said. They’d scanned enough of the people at the site to give Brackish some time to work his magic. Now they could survey the center.
The men took the next hour to tour the facility, truly impressed with what the Andersons had done. The people both inside the buildings and walking the grounds seemed satisfied being there. Some were more injured than others and some didn’t look up at them, but others seemed happy, showing them the center was exactly where they needed to be.
By the time they circled back around, Damien had moved away from the building site and was walking with the woman Brackish hadn’t yet identified and what appeared to be her bodyguards.
“I don’t trust them,” Eyes whispered.
“Me neither. They scream dirty,” Sleep said.
“Do you have anything yet?” Chad asked into his mic.
“She’s important,” Brackish said. “She’s a new senator, recently elected under pretty damn suspicious terms. The person she replaced mysteriously died a month ago. Before she was senator no one had heard of her, and then bam, there she was. What’s even more suspicious, and why I’m taking so long, is there’s nothing on her from before a few months ago that’s legit. Yes, she has her social media pages, and yes, there are pictures going back, but it’s all fake. This doesn’t look good for Damien. Why in the hell is he with her? And who in the hell is she?”
Instead of sounding frustrated, Brackish sounded excited. He loved a challenge and apparently he’d been given one.
“Keep digging,” Chad told him.
Brackish laughed. “Duh.”
“You love to use that word,” Chad said with a roll of his eyes.
“That’s because it’s difficult living in this world when you’re as smart as me,” Brackish said.
“Are you ready for a party?” Eyes asked, stopping Chad and Sleep.
“What are you talking about?” Chad asked as he looked around, wondering what in the hell was wrong with his team.
Eyes stopped when they turned a bend and took off his glasses so Chad could look him in the eyes. “We trust each other, right, Chug?”
“Damn straight we do,” Chad easily replied.
“Then get ready,” Eyes said.
Before Chad could even blink, Eyes did a one-eighty and yelled. “D-Train!”
At those words, the group that was slightly ahead of them stopped. Damien Whitfield turned, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. He gazed at Eyes, lost for a moment, before recognition hit.
“Eyes?” Damien questioned.
Chad was stunned. He didn’t know what to say or do. How in the hell did Eyes and Damien know each other? What was going on?
“Just go with it, boss,” Brackish said in his earpiece. “Your heart rate is accelerating. Take a breath and wait this out. We don’t want to be accused of elder abuse.”
“I hate all of these gadgets you put on us,” Chad muttered in a hushed whisper. His reply was a chuckle in his ear.
Damien stepped forward and then shocked both Chad and Sleep when they embraced, giving each other hard slaps on the back.
“Damn, Eyes, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Are you still in the military?” Damien asked, seeming truly delighted to see Eyes.
“Not anymore. I’m a civilian now, living out my retirement years,” Eyes replied.
“Somehow I’m not buying that. You and I aren’t the type of men to retire,” Damien said. He looked over at Chad and Sleep for only a moment, nodding at Chad briefly.
“Want to fill the rest of us in?” Sleep asked, seeming irritated. Chad wasn’t the only one on the outside loop this time.
“Eyes, this is Senator Anna Miller. She’s here for a tour and taking the information back to DC to see if they can emulate what’s been done here for our other centers around the country,” Damien said. “Senator, this is Jon Eisenhart. We served together a long time ago,” Damien added.
Eyes introduced Sleep and Chad. “This is Carl Schwartz. He was on my team for a few years and we rolled out together after Afghanistan. And this is Chad Redington, our tour guide. We heard about the facility and wanted to check it out since we’ve spent some time in recovery centers that weren’t nearly this nice.”
Damien laughed. “I know Chad. He’s married to one of my cousins.”
“I haven’t seen you around much lately,” Chad said as he moved forward and shook Damien’s hand.
The two men with the senator didn’t seem interested in making conversation or introductions so none of them acknowledged them.
“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Senator Miller said, a politician’s plastic smile plastered on her painted red lips. “I’m very impressed with this facility.” Then her eyes zeroed in on Eyes. “I always love meeting soldiers and hearing about what they’ve been through. It was a big part of my platform when I took office.”
Chad was the one to step up at those words. “I heard there was a special election. What made you decide to get into politics?” he asked as if he was doing nothing more than having a polite conversation.
“We’re in a hurry today, so there’s no time to get into that,” Senator Miller smoothly said. “It’s a long, boring story anyway. What’s important is what I plan to do now that I’m here.” Chad wondered if any politician ever gave a direct answer to a question. He’d bet his savings the answer was a solid no 90 percent of the time. They were so smooth at lying, they probably told you they had bagels for breakfast when they’d had a donut. He wasn’t sure they knew how to tell the truth, or if they even knew what the truth was.
“Well, even if it’s boring, I’d sure love to hear about it sometime,” Chad said.
She nodded and looked back at Eyes. “I’m sure it would be much more interesting to talk about you,” she said. “Call my office and let’s talk soon.” She handed him a card. “We really do have to be on our way now, though.”
“I’d love to talk some more later, Eyes,” Damien said.
And then as quickly as they’d run into the group, they were gone.
When Chad, Eyes, and Sleep walked away, Chad found himself confused. He didn’t know what in the hell to think of this situation. When had Eyes and Damien met? How did Damien know a senator? What in the world was going on? He didn’t like feeling as if he had no answers. They made it to their vehicles and Chad stopped.
“Did you know who Damien was before we came here?” Chad asked.
“Yes,” Eyes told him.
“I’m assuming you had a good reason not to tell me,” Chad said.
“Yes,” Eyes said again.
“We’ll have a meeting tomorrow. My next meeting is coming up so I need to roll out,” Chad said. He didn’t allow Eyes to reply. He wasn’t sure what to think right then.
“It will be okay, boss. You have a good, solid team,” Brackish said in his ear, making Chad sigh with frustration. He didn’t reply.
Instead, he climbed into his vehicle, pulled out his earpiece, taking Brackish from his ear and his head, and disconnected the cameras. He was done for the day. He had no idea what in the hell tomorrow would bring, but at least for today he was finished.
He pulled away with one thought — this was all a game changer. He didn’t know what that meant or where it was going to take them from this point on. But it was a game changer. He needed to figure out who the good guys were — and who the bad guys w
ere. It was a toss up at this point.
Chapter Ten
Brackish was feeling damn good on this bright early morning of 0630. He stepped from his truck and stretched his sore muscles. He and the guys had pushed hard the day before, hell, they’d pushed hard all week. Brackish was beyond sexually frustrated, and there was nothing better for squelching the hormones than pushing the body past its normal limits.
But today he was seeing Erin again — and he had her for the entire day. There was a skip in his step as he moved up her walkway to the front door. It had been too long since he’d seen her last, nearly two weeks with both of their work schedules. That was certainly going to have to change. How was he supposed to get to know her if they couldn’t be together? There was only so much communication they could accomplish on the damn phone.
He wasn’t able to knock before the door was flung open, and a bright-eyed Erin stood there, a smile on her lips, a flush in her cheeks. He wanted to push her into the house and find out how comfortable her bed was. Instead, he used a bit of restraint and pulled her forward, giving her one hell of a good morning kiss. He couldn’t wait for the day he did that after a night of making love.
When he let go of Erin, she swayed on her feet. “I could get used to that,” she told him, making his groin tighten.
“Me too,” he said, his voice low and husky. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted a woman like he wanted her. And the oddest sensation of all was that it was about so much more than sex. He liked this woman, and he wanted to do anything he could to be closer to her.
“We’d better get going, or we won’t go anywhere,” he said, the light in her eyes drawing him in.
She looked as if she was hesitating, which awoke every cell in his body, but then she turned with a sigh and shut her front door. “I’m too excited to find out what our next adventure is to give it up,” she told him with slight disappointment.
He knew it wouldn’t take much on his part to convince her to stay in, but he wanted this date. He wanted sex, that was for sure, but it would happen — he had no doubts. They moved to the truck together, and after helping her inside, he rushed around to the driver’s door.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going and why I had to wear comfortable shoes?” she asked.
“Nope. But you’re dressed perfectly for the day,” he assured her.
“I love my pink sneakers. I ordered two more pairs for when these wear out. I’m on my feet at work all day or night.”
“Me too. I prefer boots though. I want to protect the toes,” he told her.
“I can’t stand my feet completely trapped so I’ve never been a fan of boots.”
“What if a snake attacks? Those sneakers won’t keep fangs out,” he said.
“So I’m assuming by that hint, that we’re going to be outside in nature,” she said with a wink.
“Maybe,” he told her. He entered the on-ramp for the freeway.
“We’ve been texting so much while we both work. I was reading through the messages last night and realized I’ve been telling you all about myself, but you haven’t told me much about you,” she said as she leaned her seat back a little, getting more comfortable. He wouldn’t mind leaning it all the way back and joining her.
He shook his head to get those thoughts out of it. They had a long day ahead of them and he wanted to know more about her. Yes, he was sure they’d make love. Each conversation they’d had led up to that. But for the first time in nearly twenty years he wanted it to be lovemaking instead of sex. He wanted to know all about her, and maybe he even wanted to share some of himself as well.
“What do you want to know?” he asked. He felt as if he could tell her anything.
“I don’t know. I just want to learn more about you,” she replied. “Tell me a story, or something that defines you.”
“That’s easier said than done,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll give it a go. I’ve been a free spirit for most of my life. I love adventure. I constantly need to be challenged, and I’m loyal to my friends. It takes a lot to slow me down,” he said with a grin. “And I’m finding that anytime I’m talking to you or around you, I’m in a great mood.”
“I like to move too. If I sit too long, I feel as if I’m wasting my life,” she told him. “And my mood seems to improve around you too.”
“My first memory was when I was three. A lot of people don’t believe me as most people can’t remember anything before they were five years old, but this memory is as clear as a movie in my head. It was the week after my third birthday. I was child number four, the three oldest were all girls. I set off a landslide of boys though, after me there are five more boys and only one more girl. So, of course, I was always trying to keep up with my siblings.”
“Holy cow, you have nine siblings?” she gasped. “I can’t even imagine how tired your poor mother must’ve been.”
“He laughed. “She was great. I don’t know how, but she was great,” he told her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but it’s not everyday you hear about a person with that many siblings,” she said, obviously still in shock over that one. “Finish your story now.”
“I never really thought it strange having that many siblings. It was just what it was. But you’re right, my mom probably was tired,” he admitted. “But back to the story. My sisters were doing some chores on the farm, and I crawled up on the tractor that was filled with hay bales. My dad didn’t see me and he started the tractor. When it pulled forward, I fell off and broke my right arm. It’s why I’m left-handed.” He laughed as he finished the story, remembering how it had felt when that bone had snapped.
“You must’ve panicked your mother,” Erin said with a gasp.
“No. She was a farm wife. I lay there stunned for a second, then jumped to my feet and ran behind the tractor, ticked I was being left behind. I wanted to work like my sisters and they always treated me like a baby.”
“You were practically a baby at three,” Erin told him. “Weren’t you in pain?”
“No, I was full of adrenaline. It was an indication of who I’d be later in life. I’ve always gone a hundred miles an hour. I do get hurt, but I never feel it in the moment. Once the adrenaline fades, then the pain seeps in. But I’ve realized we can feel sorry for ourselves, or we can push forward. All pain fades given enough time. If you focus on the future, you won’t think about the pain of the moment.”
“That’s a good attitude, but it could be very dangerous,” Erin pointed out. “We feel pain for a reason, to let us know we need help.”
“Yeah, but too many people use every little excuse they can to give up. I think they’re more afraid of failure than pain. I don’t want to be that person, and I can’t relate to others who act that way. I come across as cold, but really, I want to see everyone achieve the best self they can. I don’t empathize with quitters.”
“You learned all of that at the age of three?” she questioned.
“No, that was just the beginning of realizing who I was going to be and who I am. Over the years I’ve always woken up at four to five in the morning, every day all year round. A farm takes a lot of work. My dad spent every dime we made on the land, and he made sure we all appreciated it. It housed us, fed us, and taught us how to survive. In reality the land was terrible, in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. By the time I was thirteen, there were ten of us kids. My dad bought a lot more land totaling eight thousand acres, and we ran so much cattle I couldn’t keep count.”
“Did you learn on the land?” she asked.
“Yes. I learned a lot. I wouldn’t take any of it away.”
“I’ve seen farms when I’ve driven past them, but I can’t imagine all of the work it takes to run a place like that. I don’t see how they make a living, let alone take care of a huge family.”
“I guess it goes back to the days we settled the West. You either worked your ass off taking care of your land, your animals, and your crops, or you died. It was that sim
ple. You didn’t have anyone to bail you out, and you didn’t have stores to supplement you if you decided you didn’t want to work. Farm life can be a great learning experience. There are people in cities who have no clue what it takes to get them the food they need to survive.”
“Yeah, I have to admit I’ve complained several times about the cost of vegetables. Now, you’re making me feel guilty about that,” Erin admitted.
“We worked our butts off, but my mom also made sure we had a great education. That meant we got up early, did our farm chores, and went to school all day. Then we’d get home, do more chores, and spend hours on homework. My mom was from Puerto Rico with very little education. She wanted a better life for her children than the one she’d grown up with. She didn’t allow us to settle. We weren’t allowed to have failing grades or we could kiss our already limited free time goodbye. We were taught a hard work ethic and how to exercise our brains just as much. I complained a lot as a kid, but I’m grateful for those lessons now.