Chapter 2
The first dropsof rain fall on my windshield, letting me know the storm is approaching faster than the meteorologists expected.
I’ve been through my fair share of storms, but never a category three hurricane.
Turning on my windshield wipers, I pull into the parking lot for the town’s only bar.
My phone dings with a text from Hudson.
ETA is two and a half minutes. I’ll be there in one. Order me a large Guinness.
I chuckle at my best friend’s text before heading inside. There’s no hostess on duty right now, so I walk toward the back of the bar and slide into a booth.
The older man standing behind the bar glances my way and asks, What will you have?”
“One large Guinness, please. Actually, make that two.”
He grunts in response and grabs two beer mugs out of the freezer before filling them with the dark ale.
He brings them over to the table before disappearing behind the double swinging doors that lead to the kitchen.
The bell on the front door rings as my oldest friend walks in with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“See? One minute.”
I haven’t seen him in years, since our tour in the Middle East, but he looks the same as he did back then. Except his hair.
Standing up, I reach out and shake his hand before pulling him into a tight hug.
“Damn, it’s nice to see your goofy ass face again.” Sure, I might tease him, but I mean it. It’s nice to see a familiar face in this small ass town.
He scoffs as he sits down across from me, but his smile grows. “I might have a goofy ass face, but it’s saved your ass many times.”
Lifting my beer glass up, I say, “Here, here.”
We gulp down half of our beer before setting the mugs back down on the table.
“Look at you, Gunny. You got a little Jesus thing going on.” His hair is much longer than it was when we were stationed together, and he’s wearing sandals.
His laugh echoes off the walls. “Don’t worry, civilian life will slowly take over your appearance in a few months. I’d say the first thing would be your beard, but I see you’ve already let that grow.”
“Hell yeah I did. No more shaving, just trimming when it gets unruly.”
His hand runs through his bushy beard. “I let mine grow, but the missus likes it trimmed. Guess it’s about time to trim it down for her again.”
My gaze roams over to his ring finger where a simple platinum wedding band sits.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your wedding.”
“Seeing as you were thousands of miles away on a top secret assignment, I understand. Haley loves the espresso machine you sent us. We use it every day.”
“I’m glad she loves it. The three of us need to get together after this storm blows through.”
“She wanted to come today, but I told her I get you first.”
“I feel so loved to be fought over.”
“There are some things I want to discuss with you privately today. Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s trying to find someone suitable to hook you up with.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “I just got free from a lifetime commitment to Uncle Sam. I need time to experience the single life.”
“Hence why I said no to her tagging along. We’re here for pre-storm drinks, not to get you hitched.”
“Exactly. Let me live a little.”
I down the rest of my beer and signal to the bartender for another round.
It feels good to be officially retired from the Marine Corps. Military life is all I’ve known for the past twenty years. And for that reason, my officer warned me to lie low for a few months and not get into any trouble.
The bartender brings two more beers for us. “Good to see you, Hudson. How’s married life treating you?”
He beams. “It’s great. Better than I ever imagined.”
The bartender laughs. “Careful, Haley will be begging for babies soon.”
Hudson laughs with the bartender. “She already is. She wants two. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get twins. That way, we’re done on the first try.”
I chime in. “With the amount of trouble you caused, you’re likely to get triplets on the first try.”
The bartender roars as Hudson’s face pales.
“Don’t you wish that torture on me, X.”
When more customers come in, the bartender gives us a friendly nod and heads over to them to take their order.
Hudson’s expression changes to a more serious one. “Xavier, you may outrank me, but you’re my best friend, and I have to be honest with you. You look like shit.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks.”
“No, I’m serious. I’m glad you are retired, but your eyes look haunted.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ve seen some shit. You know that.” No one goes to war and comes back unchanged.
“Of course, I know that, but you need to find a new passion. A new purpose for life. The Corps was your other life, and I know you can’t just let it go, but if you dwell on the things that went wrong, you’ll be lost forever.”
His tone is more of a warning than a concern.
I’ve heard stories about veterans that can’t adapt to civilian life, and I don’t want to be another statistic.
“I’ll try to find something productive to occupy my time.”
“Great. Now, what happened last night at the bonfire? You just disappeared.”
Does he have to remind me of her? I’ve never been more turned on by a woman swearing, and I’ve been around military women for the past twenty years.
The way she crossed her arms and glared at me was both humorous and sexy. I had to get away from her before I did something I’d regret.
Besides the fact that I’m twelve years older than her, she literally just broke up with her douchey boyfriend.
Hudson clears his throat. “That bad, or that good? Who is she?”
“The town’s princess wandered off. I was making sure she stayed safe.”
His eyes widen. “What? Why didn’t you message me? I could have been there.”
“She didn’t wander far, just down the beach a little way. Besides, I think she can handle herself. It’s not like the town is massive or in the middle of a gang war.”
He sighs. “Scarlett Island was also your dad’s home.”
That may be true, but I was never close to my father. Which is why I was surprised he left me his house in his will.
Changing the subject, I ask, “Why do we need to keep an eye on her? Clearly, she’s great at her job. She pretty much nailed my profile last night.”
Except I’m not looking to settle down.
“A few months ago, the mayor hired me to look into suspicious notes he received. A week later, the death threats to the family started pouring in. They got more and more personal, especially to Brianna.”
I immediately get into work mode. “Who’s sending the death threats? What do they want?”
He leans in closer to me. “That’s the thing. They aren’t asking for anything. No ransom. No demands. We’re not sure who’s behind the threats, but we suspect it’s the same cartel we had all those problems with six years ago.”
Son of a bitch. It’s going to be a disaster if they made their way into the States.
Six years ago, my team was confident going into the underground bunker. For weeks, we scoped out the place, keeping a close eye on who was coming and going.
The intelligence committee got word that our target was already inside, but purposefully not coming out because they knew we were watching.
I didn’t want to go in blind, but my commanding officer made the call. So, later that night, we started the mission.
Even to this day, six years later, I remember the scared looks on the civilians faces as we pushed our way through the underground compound.
I can remember the fear on the children’s faces as I aimed my gun at the target.
Fucking coward thought he would be spared if he surrounded himself with children.
Little did he know, our orders were clear as day: do not let him get away under any circumstances.
We wouldn’t murder children, but if they helped him escape, things would have been different.
Like all past wars, civilian lives were lost. Women, children, and the elderly. Their decomposing bodies littered the streets, cast to the side without a care in the world.
Those memories were the nightmares that haunted me for years.
I shake those memories away. There’s only one thing I need to know. “Does Brianna know about the death threats?”
Hudson glances toward the front door as the bell rings. “No, and her parents want to keep it that way.”
This doesn’t make sense.
Why would the cartel target a small town like this?
What does Brianna’s family know about them?
I whisper because the bar is getting busier. “How is her family connected to the cartel?”
He shrugs and finishes his beer. “That’s what I’ve been trying to find out.”
“I’ll try to get closer to her and see what I can figure out without raising any alarms.”
“Or falling in love.” He grins, like he’s a comedian that just told the funniest joke.
“You’re hilarious. That won’t be happening.”
I glance toward the front of the bar, where a man is yelling for the bartender.
Hudson rolls his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what I said, and look at me, I’m married and discussing babies.”
The man at the bar continues to yell and cause a scene. By now, the entire bar is quiet and staring at this man.
A woman to his left places her hand on his arm and whispers in his ear.
His face turns beet red as he glares at her. “Shut the fuck up, bitch. I don’t need your opinion.”
I down the rest of my beer, stand, and make my way to the belligerent man with Hudson following close behind.
The big, drunk man doesn’t even look scared as I stand a few feet away from him.
“Can I help you?” He slurs his words, showing how intoxicated he already is.
“Yeah, for starters, you can apologize to the woman you just disrespected.”
He scoffs and glances her way. “What do you think, baby? Should I apologize?”
One glance her way and I know she’s too scared to answer honestly. I might be new to this town, but I don’t and won’t tolerate abuse.
“Hey, big shot, how about you just do what I say, and then call a cab home before the hurricane hits?”
He nods his head slightly and stands, and for a moment, I think he’s actually going to comply, but then one of his fists tightens on my shirt as his other fist makes contact with my cheek.
The woman scrambles to get off her stool and practically runs to the corner of the bar.
Without thinking of the potential consequences, I ball my hand into a fist and throw a punch to give him a matching bruise on his cheek.
He’s too drunk to land another punch on me, but I land one on his ribs and knee him in his balls for good measure.
Maybe next time he’ll think about disrespecting a woman.
Hudson pulls me away as the drunk guy slumps over the stool. “Xavier, I think you’ve proven your point.”
Anger rises inside of me as I think about the last asshole who disrespected a woman in front of me. Unlike last time, I’m going to make sure it never happens again.
“I don’t think I have. Not until he apologizes.”
The drunk man groans as his hands cup his balls. He looks toward the woman who is hiding in the corner, but doesn’t apologize.
“Apologize, asshole.” I demand.
His gaze makes its way to me. His eyes are full of hatred.
He reaches out to grab for me, but I move out of the way of his reach.
The all too familiar blue and red flashing lights travel through the glass windows as several police cars pull into the parking lot.
I lean down closer to the drunk man and whisper, “I guess you can count your lucky stars that the police are here. But one way or another, I intend to get that apology from you.”
I stand up and fix my ripped shirt as best as I can while Hudson chuckles behind me.
“Welcome to small town living, X. Where news travels fast and gossip travels faster.”
The police bound through the front door with their hands on their weapons.
The biggest police officer looks from me to the drunk guy still clenching his balls and says, “Let’s see some IDs, fellas.”
This isn’t the way I wanted to start my new life, and it’s definitely not what I was told to do in any shape or form.
The only thing I can do is hope I don’t have to spend the hurricane in jail.