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He smiled and closed his eyes. As a Delta Force Operator, he knew the value of rest. He’d learned to go to sleep anywhere and under extremely stressful situations. Letting the drugs they’d given him do their thing, he relaxed and slept...
With one eye open and one foot on the ground.
Chapter 3
PJ lay awake early the next morning, having gotten no sleep whatsoever.
After leaving Judge, she’d been cornered by Wiley.
Augustus wanted them to recruit and train an army of assassins and do it quickly. He hadn’t given them a reason why, just the order to get it done.
What was his hurry?
Was he planning something more than the individual hits he’d tasked the assassins to perform? Was he aiming for more of an actual army that could overrun a government or a subset of the establishment?
All the more reason to uncover his true identity as soon as possible.
PJ had no desire to be one of the TCW’s armed radicals, storming the capital of the United States or even the capital of Montana. TCW was well-armed. They had a stockpile of assault rifles and plenty of ammunition for training practice and to conduct a small war. Innocent people could be harmed.
She lay on her bunk in the building with the other recruits, her thoughts churning on what Augustus had in mind. As far as PJ knew, he didn’t confide in his closest leaders until he had a specific task for them to accomplish. Only then did he let them in on his plans. It ensured secrecy. No one could read his mind. All they could do was guess what he had in mind.
Whatever it was, he seemed to require a lot more trained warriors to accomplish his goal.
Thus, Wiley’s insistence on bringing on board the new guy, who apparently had mad skills with a rifle and handgun.
TCW had been successful in training recruits quickly. However, that had happened with a slower acquisition rate. They’d had more time to bring them up to speed with weapons and tactics. They’d also had the task of brainwashing their minds to believe in what they were doing. If that hadn’t been enough to turn their recruits, they’d found the one thing that could hold over their heads to make them do what they were tasked to do or suffer the consequences.
PJ had only been with TCW for a little more than eight months, having been abducted and then coerced into complying with their demands or people she cared about would be killed.
She’d learned the only way out was to bring down Augustus, and thus, the entire organization. Until that happened, her loved ones were at risk.
Going to the police would accomplish nothing. TCW had become good at changing locations quickly. Augustus kept his true identity so secret he could be walking among any population. No one would recognize him as one of the most dangerous men in the northwest.
Until she discovered the man’s identity, PJ was forced to live in the compound and do what she was ordered to do.
She rose before the other recruits, pulled on her boots, swept her hair up into a ponytail and headed for the isolation building where Judge remained locked up. He’d need use of the latrine by now, and they had a lot to accomplish for the day.
When she unlocked the door and opened it, she looked inside and didn’t see Judge in the light shining through the overhead fiberglass panel. She stepped in, frowning.
A hand reached out, grabbed her wrist and yanked it up behind her, pressing it between her shoulder blades.
“Gotcha,” a voice whispered in her ear.
“Are you sure?” she asked, her tone low and deadly.
A moment later, she jabbed her elbow into his gut, stomped on his instep and broke free. Then she turned and swept out her leg, knocking his feet out from under him. Then she threw herself onto him.
At the last second, he rolled onto his back.
She landed on his chest instead of his back, her face inches from his.
He smiled as his hands rested on her hips to steady her. “I wasn’t going to hurt you. I just wanted you to know I’m not completely green. If I’d wanted to, I could’ve immobilized you rather than twisting your arm up behind your back.”
She glared down at him. “Don’t. Ever. Do that again.”
He chuckled. “I admit, I’m impressed. You’re quick.” Judge leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I can be quicker.”
She tried to roll away, but his hands kept her anchored to him. “Let go of me.”
