Page 18 of Nightstalker

“Excuse me, what did you say?” I asked. I needed verification; all the sex thoughts of Linc might have muddled my brain.

“Jasmin, dear, I want you to know that I wanted to take you after your parents died. That is not what they wanted and I respected that. Your parents wanted Noah to raise you. He was a good man, one of the best men I had the pleasure of serving with,” my uncle informed me.

If I thought my world was spinning before it was now tilting off its axis. My vision was blurring and I had reached a whole new level of enraged. I had been lied to my whole fucking life! My head was pounding. Another headache was fast approaching. Shit and damn. I could not stop it.

“The fuck you say?” I screamed.

Linc was by my side in a second. Everything was going black. No, no, no, not again. Why was this happening? Why did I keep getting these headaches now, what the fuck was wrong with my head?

***

“You’re safe, I’ve got you, sweet Jasmin,” Linc whispered in my ear.

Why did I keep ending up in Linc’s arms and, more than that, why did I feel so safe and protected when I was? I was not some wilting flower that needed to be taken care of. If one of the other guys had tried to pick me up and whisper in my ear I would have laughed in their face. I felt Linc sit down and settle me in his lap. I opened my eyes, dreading what I would find. My team was looking at the President like it was taking all their control not to snap his neck and my uncle had moisture in his eyes. Talk about testosterone overload.

“Jasmin, I know you are not ready, but when you are I have everything your parents left for you here in the house,” my uncle offered.

“Here? In this house?” I asked.

“Yes, this house belonged to your parents. It was a safe house; it is off the books, owned by a corporation that could not be tracked back to your father,” my uncle explained.

I looked around the house, admiring it in a whole new light. I tried to picture my parents moving around this space but I could not; I have no memory of them. I was a year old when they were killed and never even had a picture of them. I asked Noah when I was a teenager if he had anything of my parents. His answer was simply, no. I never asked again, not wanting to seem ungrateful to the man who took in an orphaned child to raise as his own.

I allowed myself to take comfort in Linc’s arms. Just for a minute, I would allow myself this one weak moment in front of my team. My mind was spinning at warp speed. Suddenly I was too exhausted to even summon up the energy to be angry. Linc tightened his arm around me and gave me a squeeze. Shit and damn! I have turned into a pansy assed girl who needed a man to protect her. Screw that shit, I needed to get ahold of myself.

Before I could get off Linc’s lap, Jax started speaking. “All due respect, Mr. President but what does Jasmin’s personal life have to do with the op?” He looked pissed as shit on my behalf.

“Actually, it has everything to do with Jasmin and your entire team,” he answered. Gerard handed my uncle an 8x10 photo. He looked at it for a moment before he passed it to Z.

“That is my father. I don’t understand,” Z questioned.

“I’m sorry Zane I was not at liberty to tell you. It was a matter of national security. Your father, Rick, was on our team as well.” The President started to walk across the room to the buffet that displayed a variety of liquors. He poured himself a glass of amber liquor before he continued. “We were hot shit,” he said with a chuckle, “The four of us were at the top of our game. Rick, Robert, Noah and I took all the tier one contracts. We had some good times, brothers in every way.”

Z looked like I felt, like he just received a kick to the gut. I started to get up at the same time Linc stood. He balanced me when he placed me on my feet and walked towards his brother.

“Zane?” Linc started.

He was cut off by an explosion of activity. In one smooth move Z used his arm and swept all the knick knacks off the side table he was standing next to. Well damn, I was glad at least one of us could muster the strength to explode. I, on the other hand was, emotionally frozen. I could not form a single word. I had been lied to my entire life. I was now questioning who I was. Over the years I had many names, they changed with every op I was on, but I always knew who I was deep down inside. Now I wasn’t so sure. Zane was in the same boat, he had been lied to as well.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me Tom? All these damn years! Fuck it all to hell. I have trusted you with my brother’s life, my team. FUCK! Why wouldn’t you tell me you served with my father, hell why wouldn’t you just tell me about him?” Z was clenching his fists so tight his knuckles were turning white. His body was coiled and ready to strike. I needed to shut this shit down and fast. Even though we were all here in this house, my house as it turned out, talking about our private lives, Tom, my uncle, was still the President. If Z did something regrettable it would end him.

“Why don’t we move on to what our family ties have to do with national security. And Gerard, I know you are my uncle’s personal protection but I swear to Christ, if you do not move your hand away from your weapon I will shoot your ass dead before you even pull your piece. No joke! Z is not a threat to the President but I can promise I am a threat to you.” I was happy to have found my voice once again.

The president motioned for Gerard to stand down with a nod of his head. Gerard placed his hands in front of his body and clasped them together.

“I know this is hard…” the President started.

“This is all sorts of fucked up is what it is,” Eric chimed in.

“Yes, Eric I agree. Too many God damn secrets have been kept. Zane, it has killed me not to be able to tell you stories about your father. He was a good man, the best sort of man. He would be so proud of the man you have become. And you, Jasmin, my own niece, and I have not been able to hug you in twenty seven years. I had to watch your high school graduation from the back of the auditorium. Your basic training graduation after Noah died, it fucking gutted me to watch you all alone. All for some God forsaken promise and damn secrets.” My uncle was shaking as he spoke. “As far as national security, my team took out Sonreír’s father. He was a drug smuggler and human trafficker. His girls ranged between the ages of ten to sixteen, sick mother fucker. It was a pleasure to put him down like the dog he was.”

“Holy shit,” Colin said. Always stating the obvious.

Holy shit was right! I was trying to connect the dots, but something was just out of reach. I needed to move around and puzzle this out.

“If Rick, Robert, Noah and Tom killed Sonreír’s father he would want revenge. How would he get his revenge?” I asked to no one in particular.

“He would start with the men that killed his father then move to their families if they are not available,” Drew replied.