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Lucas nodded in understanding. “You should invite them to the club tonight. Let them get a feel for the situation, see if they pick up on anything the rest of us miss.”
He made a good point. “I’ll bring it up at lunch. They might have other plans tonight. We’re springing this case on them last minute.” But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t ask them to come the following night or see if they could clear their plans. Although, hell, I didn’t know if any of them were involved. Some guys wouldn’t go near a strip club when they’re dating someone.
“Please. The moment you tell them they need to come to a strip club, they’ll run there on three legs.” Lucas cracked up at his own wit.
I snorted a laugh. He likely wasn’t wrong on that front. It’d be good to see those three again. “Yeah, not that I blame them.”
“It’s too bad Wyatt plans to stay behind to meet the spook while we’re at the club. It’d be fun to have the whole Night Terrors crew together again.”
“Yeah, it would be.” We’d been dubbed the Night Terrors because of all our successful nighttime raids and ops. At one point, there were sixteen of us in the squad. Of the original sixteen, only thirteen of us survived. Roman, Liam, and Owen were three of those members. They’d been reassigned when they re-upped two years ago and stationed down here.
For all the hellholes we survived together, I missed our crew. Being reassigned and stationed here in the States, I wouldn’t miss being routinely shot at or the near misses with a mine or IUD. But I would always miss our original crew. We came from all walks of life. And through the fires of hell, we forged a bond deeper than brothers. They were the men I counted on, bled with, fought with, and were a testament to the brotherhood we counted ourselves lucky enough to be a part of. We lived a life most would never understand, which set us apart from the people we fought to protect. But then, most people never knew what it truly meant to be alive.
Be we did. And it made Evan’s loss all the more bittersweet and heart-wrenching. And I couldn’t help but wonder what Evan would make of my kissing Moira.
11
Wyatt and I drove to Capitol Grill, located near Riverfront Park along the banks of the Cooper River. The restaurant was old school, with Formica counters and booths with red leather seating. The greasy smell of fried food and pastries assailed me as we entered. I spotted the guys at the back corner booth.
I couldn’t stop the grin as we approached. Roman had been injured in combat. Then again, how many of us hadn’t been injured? But Roman broke his leg in three places on a mission in Iraq. After healing and rehab at Walter Reed Hospital, he took an assignment training new recruits before deployment. Liam hadn’t wanted to be a lifer. He retired a few years ago, but was working for a government contractor on base. Owen had also retired, but now worked with a contractor, testing new weapons and gear for our armed forces.
“Trouble just blew into our town.” Roman stood with a huge grin. We were about the same height, but Roman had an inch or two on me with his lanky build. His black hair was buzzed even shorter than mine.
I shook his hand and clapped him on the back. “It’s good to see you guys.”
Wyatt and I greeted Liam and Owen in the same manner. Liam had grown out his chestnut beard since last we saw him. And Owen had a full sleeve tattoo now on his left arm.
After we greeted each other and took a seat, Roman leaned forward. “We heard about Evan. Wish you guys would have called us.”
“We would have been at the funeral if we had known,” Liam said, glancing at us, and I flinched. We should have contacted them. “Sorry, it was a blow, and I wasn’t even thinking straight.”
“We realize that. It’s why we’re not busting your balls over it,” Roman stated, handing out menus.
“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Owen solemnly shook his head.
“We can’t either,” Wyatt replied as their waitress appeared. She was a perky blond that both Owen and Liam eyed like they had plans to take her for a test drive.
“Afternoon, fellas. I’m Lisa, and I’ll be taking care of you today. Can I get you started with some drinks?”
“Coke for me,” Roman said.
Needing a clear head for the day’s activities, I ordered a water.
“All right, I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menu and will be back with your drinks in a flash.” She smiled, her ponytail bobbing as she turned and sped away.
I paid her no heed. She wasn’t why we were here.
“Not that we aren’t happy to see you guys, but you put out the bat signal. So, what’s going on?” Roman asked.
I glanced at Wyatt first before responding. “Evan’s final request was that we hand deliver letters to a few people in his life. The first one is Moira Kelly.”
“Moira? Wasn’t that the chick who turned down his proposal?” Liam asked with a scowl.
“She was. But Moira wasn’t the only woman Evan was seeing when he proposed, and that’s why Moira shot down his proposal.” Brows rose around the table at the revelation. And I couldn’t believe that inside of twenty-four hours, I went from cursing her name to defending her. “But Evan’s lousy track record with women isn’t why we asked to meet with you today. We stayed at Moira’s house last night and discovered innocently enough that she’s being stalked.”
“Fuck. You’re serious?” Owen asked, leaning back in his seat.
“Yes. We’ve got our spook doing us two favors. They’re scanning her security system and internet for hacks. And then tonight, Wyatt will meet up with a spook who’s going to conduct a full scan of the property to locate any bugs.” I withdrew the hand-drawn map and laid it on the table. “Lucas already found cameras that are different from her security ones at the vantage points I marked. Whoever this fucker is, he’s watching her every damn move.”
