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I stare after him, my growing realization a boxing match of emotion inside me. What horrible things did he do and experience to drink his way through it all to survive? And my father put him in that place, he made that Rick’s life. Why? Why would he have done that to the man I love?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Savage
Standing on the porch, I dial an old bud who lives in Houston these days. Someone who worked for Tag and walked away. Someone I bonded with over Texas and tornadoes, and we were the tornadoes. Someone on the general’s list with no red dot by his name and dog tag, and I want to keep it that way. Max and I get each other. He’s a killer who’d had enough killing when he met a woman and fell in love. The phone rings twice and then goes to voicemail. I dial another number, his woman’s number. It rings once and a familiar female voice answers. “Savage?”
She sounds nervous and hopeful. That’s not good. Damn it to hell. “Hi, Kelly,” I say. “Where’s Max?”
“I was hoping you were going to tell me you knew.”
Fuck me. Fuck. Fuck. Triple fuck me. “How long has he been missing?”
“He left on a contract job two weeks ago. He said he’d been gone a week.” She sobs. “You’re calling me. That means he’s not coming back, is he?”
I want to lie to her. I want to tell her he abso-fucking-lutely will be back, but I can’t lie either. “He has reason to go into hiding. That means he can’t come to you without putting you in danger. Where are you?”
“A safe house he set-up in New York City. He said to come here if ever he didn’t come back, but now what? I’m here and now what?”
A safe house. He set-up a safe house, and of course, why wouldn’t he? He might not kill for a living any longer, but our pasts are riddled with enemies. Holy hell, is that what I’ve ensured is Candace’s future? “Do you have a new identity and money?”
“Yes. It’s all here, but I don’t want a new identity and money. I want Max.”
“I know,” I say, thinking of all the times I just wanted Candace. “He’s thinking the same of you right now. Write down this number. You have a pen?”
“Yes,” she says. “Ready.”
I hesitate on Blake’s number. He’s tied up chasing a serial killer. I decide on a close second and dictate his wife Kara’s phone number. She’s not only sharp and an ex-FBI agent, she’ll know when, and if, she can tap into Blake’s hacking assets. “Give me fifteen minutes and call that number. That’s Kara, someone I trust, and part of the operation that I work for now: Walker Security. They’re in New York City, too. They’ll help you find Max without risking your safety.”
“Where are you? Can you come here?”
“Not right now. Stay where you are and you can trust Walker Security. I’ll check on you soon. Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.”
We disconnect and I dial Kara. “Savage?”
“I need your help.”
“I’m listening,” she says immediately.
“I believe everyone that worked on a certain black ops team is being killed off.” I explain the entire situation leading up to Kelly. “She’s in New York City at a safe house, but she’s alone and scared. Can you go to her, assess her safety, and help her? I’m hoping like hell Max is really on a job, got wind of the hit list, and he’s going to show back up.”
“I’m on it,” she says. “Blake, as I assume you know, is occupied, but when he’s free I’ll have him look for anything the web can tell us.” We chat a minute more and disconnect. I shove my phone back into my pocket and press my hands to the railing. This is why I stayed away from Candace. I didn’t want this hell to be her hell, but the reality here is that all my hell ties back to her father. He dragged me into this. He dragged her into this. She would have always been in the line of fire, even without me coming home. Worse, she wouldn’t have had me to protect her.
I scrub a hand over my face and accept the hard, cutting reality of a truth that’s hard to suffer through admitting. Maybe, just fucking maybe, had I come home, I could have saved her, taken her away, pulled her out of the line of fire. I can’t blame him. I have to own this and how my actions lead right here, right where we are now. And it’s up to me to get her out of this. Which means I need to find those files I kept.
I beat my mind up, trying to remember which of the places I kept those black ops secrets might hold what we need. Those secrets are the ammunition I need to expose the program and ruin Honest Gabe. Those secrets get rid of him, and with him, the Society. Tag goes away when I kill him. The irony of all of this is that until I find those files, the safest place for Candace is right here, engaged to that piece of shit. That’s killing me. Which is only going to make me enjoy killing him all the more.
