Warden tapped his desk. “Talk.”
“Michael Liam Adams. Parents were Irish, but he was born here. Got good grades in school, and then Mom and Dad died. He joined the army after their deaths. During that time, he met and married Isla Monroe. He left after fifteen years, citing his desire to start a family. Mike was thirty-three, and a highly decorated officer. But Mike didn’t leave the life behind. He joined his former captain, who’d formed a mercenary group. AlCorp International.”
Warden and I sat up straight. We’d heard of them.
“Mike works for them?” I demanded.
ACI were well known for their hostage rescues. You want your loved one back alive? You send in ACI, if you could afford them. Composed of special forces soldiers, they were as good as SEAL Team Six or the SAS. Where governments feared to tread, ACI stomped. Their success rate was extreme. Out of all the clients they’d been sent to bring home, they’d lost five. That was it.
In addition, they were well known for apprehending traffickers. In fact, they seemed to have a personal grudge against them. Nobody had any idea why, but ACI went after them hard and without remorse. They brought down anyone connected to them and had exposed some very rich assholes who now sat in a cell.
“He was vital to them, as he was a former member of SEAL Team Six.”
The bombshell dropped, landed, and exploded.
“What the fuck is Mike doing here?” Warden demanded.
“Isla got pregnant, and Raven was born when Mike was thirty-six. Robin came along a year later. By all accounts, the family was overjoyed, but that was only on the surface. While Mike did missions, Isla fell back in with her ex-boyfriend, an addict, Larry. Mike remained unaware until two years ago. He returned from a mission to find a bloodbath at his home.
“Larry got in with some bad people. He’d run up six figures in debt and then robbed a dealer, a punk called Diamond. That asshole came after him and found Larry with Isla and the kids. Diamond killed Isla in front of the kids and Larry, and then Larry. But he didn’t just kill them; he slaughtered and butchered them as a warning to everyone else. Diamond took the girls as payment, intending to sell them,” Cipher said.
“Shit,” I exclaimed.
“Mike lost control, and he and his team pursued Diamond. Diamond had no idea what he’d woken. ACI chased Diamond’s dealers with a fury while they tracked where Diamond was hiding. The rest is supposition. Rumour has it Mike gutted Diamond alive and tore him apart. ACI dismantled the drug trade in their area. The children were unharmed but severely traumatised. Mike left ACI, took the girls, packed shit up, and moved here two years ago.”
Cipher yawned and scratched his stomach.
“How the hell did we miss this?” I asked.
“Because we weren’t looking, and Mike kept under the radar. But that looks to change. Mike took a phone call from Jude Allard last night. Rumours are ACI is searching for a permanent base,” Cipher added.
“They don’t have one?” Warden frowned.
“They rent a warehouse for now, but it’s not big enough for what Allard wants. I hear he’s got a high-end shopping list and they’re looking here for land.”
“Mike still has a connection to them?” I asked.
“Yes. A strong one. Mike’s forty-three years old; he could easily rejoin them. Something tells me he won’t because of his girls, but yeah. Seal Team Six…” Cipher whistled.
“The baddest assholes in the entire fuckin’ forces. They’re on level with Delta Force, and we know those fuckers are lunatics.” Warden shook his head.
“It’s worth creating a relationship with them,” I drawled, and Warden nodded.
“Except we pissed Mike off last night.” Warden looked directly at me. “Dynamo, make things right,” he ordered.
I scowled, but understood Warden was correct. We hunted traffickers, as ACI did. Unfortunately, I’d already tried to make nice, and Mike had ignored me and basically told me to get fucked.
Kids loved toys, correct? What the hell would I know? I didn’t even buy for Maci, Ham, and Grace. Instead, I gave Bryony money to buy what they needed. Now I stood in a damn toy store, wondering what was cool for two little girls. In the end, I grabbed a sales assistant and picked their brain before blowing nearly two hundred bucks on two fuckin’ goth dolls.
Eyes watering at what they each cost, I headed out to Mike’s address, which Cipher had got for me.
Pulling up, I saw it was past five, so they should be home. School was over for the day. Hell, were they even in school, or was it spring break or something? Ham and Maci were now homeschooled after Bryony ripped the principal a new one. Seeing Mike’s black SUV in the driveway made me feel disappointed. I had hoped to avoid this. However, nobody called me a coward.
I swung off the bike as the door opened. I’d prepped myself for it being Mike, but instead Raven stood there. She glared at me in pure dislike.
“I came to apologise,” I said, not liking the haunted bruising around her eyes. I’d done that. The club strongly believed in protecting kids, and I’d caused harm.
“Dad!” Raven yelled and walked away.
