Sweet Hart

by Rae Marks

  Sam didn’t even know the kid. Sure, he was tenacious, and Sam respected that. He was hot as fuck—but that shouldn’t matter. What Sam kept coming back to was Brayden saying he’d been emailing Mase for two years.

  When a hero was disgraced like Mase was, that was when people started walking away and forgetting they’d known you. It wasn’t when people reached out and kept reaching out, hoping to open a dialogue. It wasn’t like Brayden could have played a big role in what had happened to Mase as a teenager anyway. The kid had been, well, a kid when his brother had been kicked out.

  “The line is secure. I’ll connect your call,” a voice said before more clicking and finally ringing.

  “Don’t tell me Andreiko and Kozak already folded. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you—”

  “No,” Sam interrupted Jazz. “We have a little hiccup.”

  “You’re trained to handle hiccups.”

  “Not like this. We could be heading straight to FUBAR. I told you Mase’s kid brother came to visit me before I left. We followed him to the airport and he caught a flight to DC. Apparently that wasn’t his final destination.”

  “He’s there?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How?”

  “I was planning on finding out. I assumed it was my phone, so I disabled it. I told the kid to stay in the hotel, but I think he was still able to follow me.”

  “Think? You think? Where the fuck is the Fletch I knew in the army?”

  Sam cringed at the name. He hadn’t liked the nickname when he was in the military and he sure didn’t like it now. It was worse than his call sign.

  “The kid’s a total surprise,” Sam said.

  “He shouldn’t be. He’s Mase’s brother.”

  Sam snorted.

  “Did you just leave the meeting? Where’s Ax?”

  “Ax is with me. I should have left him to guard the kid, but—”

  “No. That would have seemed extreme to Andreiko and his men.”

  Sam’s insides unknotted a little when Jazz agreed with his decision.

  “So you don’t know where he is?”

  “No, but I do have his phone number,”

  “The phone number he left you,” Ax whispered.

  Sam leaned forward, flicked Ax’s ear and gave him a death glare. Ax smiled as he rubbed away the apparent sting.

  “Give it to me. I’ll track it.”

  Sam gave Jazz the phone number then waited impatiently for Jazz to confirm what he already knew.

  “His phone is pinging at Andreiko and Kozak’s compound,” Jazz said.

  “What if Mase’s cover is blown?”

  Sam’s neck was tight with tension as he waited for his commanding officer to tell him to leave his best friend to the wolves. Sam closed his eyes. He’d never disobeyed a direct order, but he wouldn’t leave Mase twisting in the wind.

  “Get him out. Get Mase and his brother out by any means necessary.”

  Sam pulled the phone away from his ear to look at it. Not wanting Jazz to question his decision, Sam readily agreed.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Ax pulled over. The guy had excellent hearing. Since they’d just been given the green light, Ax got out of the car while Sam finished up with Jazz.

  “Report back within thirty minutes. I’ll give you an hour before I start trying to get eyes on the situation.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The trunk clicked open then banged shut as Sam looked at his watch. They were less than ten minutes from the compound. When Ax got back into the driver’s seat, he handed Sam two guns, a few holsters and a knife. Sam had them concealed in seconds.

  “We’ve got thirty minutes,” Sam told Ax.

  Ax pressed his foot on the gas and turned a corner on two wheels.

  “Now you’re in a hurry?”

  “Now we have approval to do what we were gonna do anyway. This is gonna be fun.”

  Sam rolled his eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  Brayden

  His head felt like it might fall off his shoulders. Bray groaned as he tried to lift his chin off his chest. Why was his chin on his chest? Had he fallen asleep? Even with his eyes closed, the room was spinning, so he didn’t attempt to open them.

  When he tried to lift his hands to his head, he realized they were tied to the chair he was sitting on. His ankles were tied too. Had he been captured? No. He was on leave.

  Bray heard someone moving around in the room, so he tried to be still as he quietly assessed all the damage to his body. He had a splitting headache, his ribs hurt and the outer thigh of his left leg was sore as well.

  He couldn’t remember where he was. He was on leave trying to look for…Mase. He almost said the name out loud. He’d heard Mase’s voice. Everything came barreling back to him like getting hit by a truck—meeting Sam, following Sam, losing Sam, finding Sam and finally, finding Mase.

  Was it Mase in the room with him? Bray couldn’t be sure, so he remained still, keeping his eyes and his mouth shut. He just had to wait for Mase. That was what kept playing in his head until his chair jolted, shooting pain up from his knees to his hair.

  “Wake up, faggot,” someone said.

  Bray opened his eyes and looked at the man, but his vision was a little blurry. There was no nausea, which was good. There was no real confusion either, once he’d realized where he was.

  Bray recognized the guy. He’d been at the hotel earlier with Sam. He wasn’t the one who had done all the talking—but he’d been there.

  “Where’s Sam?”

  “You think your gay lover is going to come save you?”

  “Where’s your boss? Is he meeting with Sam?”

  It probably wasn’t the smartest move to remind the guy he was a peon, but Bray refused to take his bait. The guy narrowed his eyes.

  “You think you’re untouchable because you’re gay-fucking that man? My bosses tolerate that faggot because his boss trusts him. If he didn’t bring in so much business and money, they’d slit his throat. Or better, they’d cut off his dick.”

  Bray hoped that wasn’t true.

  “I bet he doesn’t even realize you’re missing” the man continued. “He’s probably moved on to his next victim.”

  Bray swallowed past the knot of fear. He could be right. If he was too much trouble, Sam might just walk away. But Mase wouldn’t. Mase would find a way to at least keep his brother alive. He may have gotten himself into this fix, but for all intents and purposes, Bray was an innocent bystander.

  “I know Sam won’t be happy.” That was probably the truest thing he could say. “He may not have wanted me to follow him here, but he still wants me.”

  Bray attempted to smile but it hurt.

  “You’re disgusting.”

  “I could say the same to you. I’m not sure if you think what you’re wearing is cologne, but the only thing you’ll be attracting is dogs—and probably not even female dogs.”

  He stood and came at Bray, knocking his chair over. Bray felt hands close around his throat as the man’s face blocked out everything else in the room. He opened his mouth to speak, but the door slammed open.

  “Fedir,” someone called.

  Fedir backed off but only after a long hesitation. Bray turned toward the door and saw a large man blocking the entryway. He was imposing with his wide shoulders, dark hair and eyes. The man flicked his finger once at Fedir and Fedir jumped up and lifted Bray’s chair from the floor so he was once again sitting.

  The two men began conversing in Ukrainian. Fedir’s tone voice was defensive as he most likely justified his actions. It was like listening to a child saying ‘he started it’.

  The man in the doorway jerked his head once, signaling for Fedir to leave the room. Fedir did just that, with no hesitation this time.

  “It seems you’re causing a lot of trouble for me today, Mr.…”

  Bray didn’t answer.

  “Shall I just call you Sam’s boy? You’re quite young. I could call you S
am’s little boy.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “I am Oleksiy Kozak. I’ve had business dealings with Sam for almost a year. Now, what shall I call you?”

  “Bray. My name is Bray.”

  “I must apologize for Fedir. Unfortunately, there are many here who don’t understand or do not wish to see the difference between a gay man and a pedophile. I’ve seen similar sentiments in South America, as I’ve spent much time there.”

  Even though he knew it was true that some people had those ideas, the thought was so offensive that it made Bray queasy. He hoped that didn’t have anything to do with the mild concussion he was sure he had.

  “I’m not a child. I’m twenty-six.”

  “You could pass for sixteen.”

  “Is what he said true? Would you slit Sam’s throat if he wasn’t worth so much money?”

  “I am a businessman. I care about what he brings to the negotiation table. Our country is years behind America when comes to these things. People are getting rights in the law but no one wants to actually give it to them.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  “Don’t mistake my willingness to answer your questions. You have no power here. I feel guilt that you were beat by Sergiy, but you brought a gun.”

  “For protection. I wasn’t going to breach your walls or your fence or whatever. If your men hadn’t forced me onto your property, I would have just sat outside waiting for Sam.”

  “But then how would you verify he’s not cheating on you?”

  “I’m not a ninja. I can’t leap over razor wire. And I’m not a hacker. I can’t bypass your gate and security. I was just going to do what I could to make sure Sam was safe.”

  Oleksiy laughed.

  “Even if you were these things, you would not breach our security.”

  “That’s my point. It wasn’t my goal. I just hoped… I don’t even know what I hoped.”

  “Maybe you should find someone safer to love,” Oleksie suggested.

  “Who says I love Sam?”

  “I believe you do. He thinks you follow because you don’t trust him, but you are here to keep him safe. It’s sweet.”

  Bray shook his head. He was attracted to Sam, sure, but there was no way he could be in love with the jerk. He’d only known him a little while, and…

  Bray looked up to see Oleksiy laughing at him. Oleksiy only seemed mildly disgusted when talking about their big, gay relationship.

  It didn’t matter anyway, but Bray did need to stop denying being in love with Sam. It only benefitted Sam if Oleksiy thought Bray was head over heels. It would definitely explain his behavior.

  “What happens now? Is this where you lull me into thinking we’re friends, then you tell me to kill Sam in his sleep?”

  “No. We are not friends and I won’t ask you to kill Sam. He’s been very useful.”

  “And still is useful if you want him alive.”

  “This is not a spy movie, Bray. Sam may be very important to you, but he is of little importance to me except for the connections he brings.”

  “And the money,” Bray said.

  “It’s the same thing. In this business, connections are money.”

  There was a knock on the door before Oleksiy could say any more. He barked something in Ukrainian and the door opened. Fedir leaned into the room and said something that had Oleksiy rising from his chair.

  “I’ll be back in a few moments,” Oleksiy said as he walked out of the room.

  Fedir stepped in and closed the door. Bray sat up straight and raised an eyebrow at him. Fedir’s lip curled in disgust but he didn’t approach Bray. He leaned against the wall beside the doorframe.

  It didn’t seem smart to send the same guy back in to glare at Bray, but then maybe that was all part of the game. If they were playing good cop-bad cop, Bray could play along.

  “Did you miss me?”

  “I missed the chance to stomp all the air from your lungs,” Fedir said through gritted teeth.

  “That might have gotten you into trouble.”

  “If you think Mr. Kozak cares what happens to a little faggot like you, then you’ve lost your mind from the beating Sergiy gave you.”

  “It’s better than losing my balls. This Kozak guy has you on a short leash. Are you guys secret lovers?”

  Fedir straightened away from the wall, but the door opened before he could even take a step. Mase leaned in and said something to Fedir.

  All the air puffed out of Bray’s lungs. Mase looked so grown up. Bray had seen pictures of him in his uniform, but he’d had the military-issue haircut and clean-shaven face. His hair was longer now and he had a beard. His beard was a little longer and more unkempt than Sam’s, but Bray thought it fit the character he seemed to be playing.

  Mase’s gaze flicked to Bray. He waited. Anticipation buzzed in his ears. He opened his mouth to say ‘hello,’ but Mase turned back to Fedir. There had been no spark of recognition. There had been no subtle sign that his brother knew who he was.

  The disappointment had Bray balling his fists. His own brother didn’t recognize him. Bray tried to pull air into his lungs. He’d hoped there would still be at least a fondness between them.

  Bray barely noticed Fedir leaving the room. He looked down at his lap. He couldn’t bring himself to watch his brother walk out of his life a second time. He didn’t look up until the door clicked shut.

  Chapter Ten

  Sam

  Sam was getting ready to dial Kozak’s number when his phone rang. The number that popped up was from the States. He hesitated only a moment before answering.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Sam?”

  “Who the hell is this?”

  “If you have to have a name, you can call me Sin. Is this Sam?”

  There was annoyance in the kid’s voice—as if Sam was the one holding him up rather than the other way around.

  “Depends,” Sam said. “What’s this about?”

  “It’s about Bray. Shit. Did he give you his real name? I assume he did, considering who he’s looking for.”

  Sin wasn’t a name. It was a handle, but with the guy’s bumbling, there was no way he was an operator. He had to be a tech guy, the ace up Brayden’s sleeve.

  “This is Sam.”

  “Bray’s in trouble.”

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  “I wasn’t able to get a hold of him to tell him you’d already left that compound.”

  “That wouldn’t have stopped him. He’s not here for me,” Sam said.

  “Maybe not, but he’s not a one-man army. There are at least forty-three men in that compound.”

  Sam was very interested to know how Sin had come to the figure of forty-three men. Sam would have guessed Kozak had thirty to forty men in the compound, but he had a feeling Sin knew there were exactly forty-three.

  “We’re already on our way back. I’d like to know how you got this number.”

  “Tell him to call me as soon as it’s safe.”

  The line went dead. Sam pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it. After a moment, he programmed in the number Sin had called from. If he traced it, he had no doubt it would lead to a big dead-end, but he kept it anyway.

  “Who was that?” Ax asked.

  “A friend of Brayden Hart’s.”

  “His guardian angel?”

  Sam chuckled at the description, considering the caller’s handle.

  “Said his name was ‘Sin’, but he sounds about twelve, so who the fuck knows.”

  “Better make the call you need to make so they’ll stop ‘questioning’ Bray and open the gate.”

  Sam didn’t have Andreiko’s number. Even if did, he would have called Kozak, because he already knew that Sam Wheeler didn’t fuck around.

  “Mr. Wheeler,” Kozak said.

  Sam had expected conceit or gloating in Kozak’s voice, but it wasn’t there. The man was all business. A bead of sweat trickled down Sam’s neck
, because he had no idea if that was a good sign or a bad sign.

  “Where is he?”

  “Your friend is here. There was apparently a miscommunication.”

  “Well, I’ll be real clear then. We’re pulling up to the compound. Open the gate.”

  “I’ll send someone to meet you.”

  Sam was getting sick of people hanging up on him in the middle of a conversation. He threw his phone onto the seat beside him as Ax pulled up to the gate. Sam adjusted his suit to make sure his back-up weapon was covered, but he held the other in his hand. He wouldn’t be submitting to a pat-down this time. Ax met Sam’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

  “Guess it’s too much to hope for that Mase will be the one he sends,” Ax said.

  “I don’t think our luck’s gonna hold out for that,” Sam tipped up his chin in the direction of the guy making his way toward them.

  Their luck did hold a little, since the guy wasn’t Sergiy.

  “Sure would have been nice to know what we’re walking into,” Ax put the car in gear.

  Ax pulled slowly through the gate. The guy tapped on the window. Ax unlocked the car and the guy slid into the back seat. Sam recognized him from earlier in the day. He’d been with Sergiy. Sam smiled and held up his gun as the man shut his door.

  “You’re one of Sergiy’s lackeys.”

  “I’m Fedir. I’m no one’s lackey. I work for Mr. Kozak.”

  Sam shrugged.

  “You think your gun will do any good? Turn left here,” Fedir told Ax.

  “I’m pretty good with a gun.”

  “Then you might want to teach your little faggot to use one. He brought one here but didn’t know how to use it. He got captured and only managed to get off a couple of shots. Pathetic.”

  “The real question is, did he hit anything?”

  Fedir sneered but didn’t comment. Brayden might not be trained for this scenario, but he was trained for combat. Sam tried to pop the bubble of pride that rose in his chest. Brayden hadn’t gone down without a fight, even though he had probably been up against dozens of men.

  “Maybe Brayden killed Fedir’s boyfriend. He looks heartbroken,” Ax said.

  Fedir lunged forward, but Sam poked him in the ribs with his Sig. That had him leaning back really quick. Fedir may have calmed his temper, but when he looked at Sam, there was no less hatred in his eyes.