Chapter 2
Daxton Young had been out on horseback for two hours when he got the text message from his boss, Stone Jacobs.
Need you back at the lodge ASAP. Got a new client.
Since arriving in West Yellowstone, he’d assisted on a couple of assignments but had yet to go solo.
He noted that the text had been sent almost an hour earlier.
With reception spotty at best this far away from town, he hadn’t gotten it immediately.
He reined around the dappled gray appaloosa named Pepper and started back, taking a more direct route than the one he’d followed, meandering along the Madison River.
He’d taken up riding since he’d come to Grand Yellowstone Lodge with his team. Having grown up on military bases, he’d done some riding at the base stables but none since he’d joined the Navy as soon as he’d graduated high school.
The sooner he’d been able to get out of his father’s house, the better for himself and his father. The man had had no patience for a teenage boy—and a rebellious one at that. Hell, he’d had no patience for Dax at any age since he’d taken over as his only parent when Dax had been five years old.
He’d known his father as his father’s troops had known him. Master Gunny, an integral cog in the machine pushing out kids like Dax from recruits to Marines.
Master Gunny hadn’t cut Dax any more slack than he had the other recruits.
He hadn’t shown any more affection either.
Sometimes, Dax had felt his father blamed him for being stuck in the training command because he hadn’t been able to deploy, being a single parent with a small child and no backup to watch Dax should he be gone for months on end.
The animosity he’d felt from his father had started the day his mother had ‘died.’ It hadn’t been until he was fifteen that he’d learned his mother hadn’t died but had abandoned them, leaving Master Gunny to raise his son alone.
Since learning of his mother’s betrayal, Dax couldn’t trust women. Yes, he’d dated, but not for long. And he’d never married. Most of the guys he knew were divorced after their first deployment. Why bother? Women couldn’t be trusted.
As Dax cleared a stand of trees, he nudged Pepper into a gallop, eating up the distance between them and the lodge. Before long, the town of West Yellowstone came into view.
The Grand Yellowstone Lodge stood on the edge of town. Dax didn’t have to ride through the streets to get to the lodge or the barn behind it.
As he neared the barn, he slowed Pepper to a trot and then to a walk, allowing the animal to cool down before coming to a complete halt.
Yes, he needed to get back ASAP, but not at the expense of the animal.
He respected the creature and would do right by it.
Stone would wait. Of all people, he’d understand.
His boss was more of a teammate than a manager. Even when they’d worked as highly trained mercenaries in Afghanistan, Stone had insisted they were a team. Dax would follow the man anywhere. He wasn’t just a teammate. Like the other members, they were brothers.
Now, they were brothers working with the Brotherhood Protectors, not in Afghanistan as hired bodyguards for corporate representatives working on reconstruction contracts.
Already, the team had worked protecting a wolf biologist and a teen counselor on the Wind River Reservation.
Most recently, they’d been on a recovery mission to Canada to retrieve a child kidnapped by her father.
At first, Dax hadn’t been sure he’d want to stay in the remote location of West Yellowstone or how much work could be found for the team.
What they’d done so far made him believe in their worth and eager to help in any situation.
With gaps between assignments, he’d filled his time relearning how to ride and care for horses.
He helped in the barn and the lodge where help was needed, which was a good thing since he’d never been one to kick back and relax.
During his rebellious teens, his father had made it a point to say Dax was too much like his mother, too flighty and never able to sit still. As an adult looking back, he realized he’d picked up more of his father’s traits than he’d realized. He had to keep moving but be productive in the process.
Riding horses was as sedentary as he got.
And he’d found a sense of peace in the process.
So, it wasn’t being still, but he got away from the noise of the town and found a sense of calm he had never known.
Horseback riding at the military base stables had come close, but he’d still been surrounded by the sights and sounds of other people, machinery, aircraft and highways.
When he rode away from West Yellowstone, he could get far enough away from town and the highways that he only heard the sound of the horse’s hooves hitting the hard-packed earth.
His muscles tensed as he neared the barn and his return to purpose and engagement.
John Jacobs met him at the door to the barn. “I’ll take Pepper. Your team has gathered in the conference room in the loft. They’re expecting you.”
Dax frowned. “I take care of my own horse.”
“Duly noted, but I’m sure Pepper won’t mind this once.” Stone’s father winked. “Go on. I’ll be sure to brush him and give him extra feed.”
Dax dismounted and handed over the reins.
The barn had been empty when they’d first arrived at the lodge. No horses, no tack, no hay or sacks of feed.
The plan had been to convert the entire barn into another office for the Brotherhood Protectors.
They’d started the renovations in the loft, closing it off and insulating it for noise and weather. They’d all helped wiring it for electricity and computers, as well as adding a climate-controlled armory to store weapons, ammo and communications equipment.
What had been a drafty barn was now a state-of-the-art facility for the team operations. At least in the loft area.
Once back in his hometown, Stone had wanted to introduce his fiancée, Kyla, to the joys of country living, which meant riding horses and fishing. Which meant leaving the lower half of the barn as a barn.
She’d bought into the horseback riding but was still a work-in-progress when it came to fishing.
Stone had encouraged the others to take up riding horses. In Montana and Wyoming, there were places they couldn’t get to in a truck or SUV. They might be required to go in on horseback or ATVs.
Four-wheeler engines were nosier than horses and would give them away sooner. If they needed to sneak into a compound unannounced, they’d have to drop in via parachute or ride in on horseback.
Dax hadn’t needed to be told twice. On horseback, he could get away and find the peace he’d only dreamed about.
He took the steps up to the loft two at a time, leaned close to the retinal scanner and waited for the application to recognize him and unlock the door.
When he heard the soft click, he pushed through the door and entered the freshly painted conference room.
The other five members of his original team were gathered around the large conference table.
Three women had joined them. Kyla, the former CIA assassin and now an integral member of the Brotherhood Protectors, was there.
She worked closely with Hank Paterson’s computer guy, Swede, helping him with any data mining and research necessary for each operation.
Kyla sat at the conference table, a keyboard in front of her, her monitor the large screen on the wall everyone could view from their seats at the table.
Amanda Small, Carter’s woman, sat beside Carter, and next to her was a woman in a black blazer with hair much like Amanda’s, black and as shiny as onyx.
Unlike Amanda with her bright blue eyes, this woman had eyes so dark brown they rivaled the color of her hair and flashed as she turned her gaze on Dax.
“Dax,” Stone said. “Good. The whole team’s here. Carter, you want to give him the sitrep and bring him up to speed?”
Carter waved a hand toward the stranger with the black hair.
“Our client is Liliana Lightfeather, an independent candidate running for congress in Wyoming. Today, the stage she’d been standing on exploded.
The explosion, plus two other disturbing incidents, lead us to believe someone doesn’t like her or wants to scare her into bowing out of the race or kill her to keep her from winning. ”
Dax shot a glance toward the woman and noted the bruise on her forehead and the smudges of dirt ground into her black suit. “What did they use for explosives?”
“Just got word from the Wyoming State Police Bomb Squad that whoever set the charges used C-4.”
Dax’s eyebrows shot up. “C-4 is a controlled substance, not available to just anyone.”
Kyla nodded. “Swede and I are searching the internet for any news regarding recent thefts of C-4 as well as hoping to identify buyers who might have quantities on hand, so we can have them conduct inventories to ensure they haven’t experienced pilfering.
It will take time to locate a possible source of the C-4. ”
“In the meantime, I can’t stop campaigning,” Liliana Lightfeather sat up straight, her head held high.
“If the person or persons behind the attacks is trying to scare me into withdrawing from the race, it won’t happen.
The voters have the right to determine who will represent them at the national level. ”
“What about the incumbent?” Dax asked.
“She was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and announced her retirement so she can focus on beating cancer and spending time with her family,” Liliana said. “Wyoming only has one seat in the House of Representatives as it’s the smallest state, not in land size, but in population.”
Dax’s eyes narrowed. “And the other candidates?”
“Ronald Merritt, the GOP’s pick to replace the current congresswoman,” Kyla offered.
“And Brad Benton, the Democratic candidate,” Liliana added.
“If you weren’t running as an independent, who is most likely to win?” Stone asked.
“Ronald Merritt. The state leans toward conservative values,” Liliana said.