CHAPTER 2
HUTCH
My eyes snap open, morning light barely diffusing through the windows of my cabin nestled in the wilderness of Alpha Mountain. I can still hear the gunfire that was echoing around me in my dream. But it wasn’t a dream, was it?
It was a memory. If only I could escape my memories in dreamland, but they follow me. They always follow me. Just like the ghosts of the men I served with and lost, follow me wherever I go.
It doesn’t matter how far I run, how many people I help when such a job comes my way, or how far off the grid I go. The ghosts remain.
I pull on a pair of sweatpants, but don’t bother with a shirt as I stride toward the back door of my cabin. The cold air batters against my heated skin the moment I step outside, but I need it. It centers me and reminds me that I’m no longer sweating in the sandbox.
I’m home. Or at least as close to a home as I have.
While I love living on my little slice of mountain, I’m not sure anywhere will feel like home. Not anymore.
As I scrub a hand over my face, I try and push away the feeling of being back there, of the scent of the gunpowder in the air. But it’s like it’s burned into me along with the copper scent of blood. So much blood.
I force myself to open my eyes and look at what is around me, at where I am now. If I don’t then I might lose my grip on the reality of the here and now.
“I’m not there. I’m here,” I mutter to myself, the words repeating in my head as a mantra, a reminder.
I’m not there. I’m here.
I’m not there. I’m here.
In the cold. On the mountain. With my cabin at my back.
There is a dusting of snow on the ground. It’s from days ago and hasn’t melted away yet. My cabin is nestled in a clearing, and while to some the encroaching wilderness would feel oppressive, to me it gives me safety.
Just because woods surround my cabin doesn’t mean I’m not protected. I have a perimeter of cameras set up and I’ve spent a lot of hours roaming my land to ensure I know it like the back of my hand, no matter the season. It makes me feel like I have a little bit of control especially when my mind tries to tell me differently.
Maybe it’s time for me to contact Higgins and see if he has a job that he can send me on. It’s been a few months since he needed me on something, but the feeling of restlessness is something that won’t go away by splitting more wood or checking my perimeter again. The need to do something useful with the skills the American government imbued me with rides me hard.
There wasn’t nearly enough active protecting to do over in the sandbox for me. But here? On my home soil? It’s a different story.
When I was serving, the help I was doing felt more ethereal. I was working to keep my country safe, but from whom? It wasn’t like I ever had enough intel to really know; that was all above my pay grade.
Here? There are people trying to hurt each other, take advantage, and abuse others every single day. Someone needs help, they need protection, they need me. I hate it, but it also gives me a sense of purpose that I need.
My heart aches in my chest because my need to protect another is selfish. It keeps me moving and it helps me to forget, but it also means that another person is experiencing real fear, something they shouldn’t have to navigate.
The cold bites into my skin and I feel like I can breathe again. The gunfire of my past, which always finds me in my dreams, doesn’t echo around me anymore. For a moment, just one single moment, I feel peace.
The sharp, shrill ring from my satellite phone breaks the silence and brings me crashing back down to reality. It’s a reminder that there is no peace to be found, not for anyone. My gut churns because I know it’s Higgins before I even step inside my cabin to answer the call.
As much as I need to take a job, for me, I hate that my help is necessary.
Blake Higgins is a legend, not only across the branches, but in the states as well. I first heard about him while I was serving. His service record and his bravery were the stuff of legends. His name was spoken with respect and pride.
But it was what else that was said about him which interested me. I heard about how when he got out, he brought men together who needed a purpose and dedicated himself to helping people, protecting them, and standing up with them when they needed someone.
When I was discharged, I went right to Denver and to Higgins Security. He wasn’t the only security firm I could have found by any stretch of the imagination. I had also heard about Sullivan Protection, but I’d never been interested in New York City; that was too much hustle and bustle for me. Colorado was more my speed.
Blake didn’t hesitate to give me a job. At first, I stayed in Denver, but it became too much city for me. When I stumbled across Alpha Mountain, I knew I needed the solitude available. My head was busy enough and I could barely stay above the din. Being out here has allowed a little bit of calm to seep in.
I’m now on-call for Higgins Security and I’ve never turned down a job. I also know Higgins probably doesn’t call me for as many jobs as he could because he saw the demons I’m battling in my eyes, just as much as I feel them clawing at my skin. He allows me the space I need while giving me the grace I don’t know how to ask for.
Seeing who is calling has me taking a deep breath and pushing away the shadows of my past; I need to focus. “Higgins,” my voice is gruff the remnants of a distorted sleep clinging to the sound, “what do you need?”
I’ve never known Blake to hesitate, but there’s a weight in the pause before he clears his throat. “I have a job for you,” he starts and before I answer something tells me to wait and hear everything. “I’ll warn you, what I need from you is a little unconventional.”
“I’m listening,” I prompt him.
“I need you to house the client in need of protecting,” there’s something in his voice, something I’m not sure how to interpret even as the thought of my peace, my sanctuary, being encroached on makes my gut churn.
I growl, “You want me to do what?”
There’s no way I heard him correctly and Higgins is asking me to allow my space, my home, to be invaded by the job. It’s not like Higgins doesn’t have safe houses set up already. What could possibly be the reason that the client needs to come here?
The remnants of my dream, which I had been desperately trying to dispel, begins to encroach on me again. I know the bite of the cold air isn’t going to chase it away, not this time. Not again.
“Hutch,” there’s understanding in Blake’s voice, “I know it’s unconventional and not something I’ve ever asked of you before. If it weren’t important, if I didn’t believe that this is the safest thing for the client then I would never ask this of you. I understand the importance of your space, but this is life or death.”
“Life and death isn’t uncommon,” I grumble.
“You’re not wrong,” there’s a hint of amusement in his voice even with the seriousness of the conversation. He sighs and I can almost see his shoulders slump in my mind’s eye. “The woman who called me was on a bus leaving Seattle. Have you seen the news coverage about Luxe Notes?”
The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “I saw the coverage. A whistleblower employee came forward, right?”
“She did,” there’s a knowing in his voice. “The reporter she went to when she discovered the reports and communication about the lies the company had been hiding for years recommended for her to stay at a hotel. She didn’t want to at first, not realizing the danger she was in.” My blood freezes because I know greed is a motivator of violence. “It’s a damn good thing too because last night she got an alert on her phone from her security company.”
I growl, “How many?”
“Three,” there’s a bite in his words and I know they have nothing to do with me. Blake Higgins is pissed that someone went after this woman. I am too.
No one should feel helpless, especially when they’ve done the right thing. From what I’ve seen, Luxe Notes has been fooling the public since it began. Their entire brand was built on being against animal testing and sourcing materials ethically, but they’ve been doing the opposite.
The thought of this woman calling out the company on their lies and then have three men, three fucking men, break into her place? That has to be scary as hell.
“You know they weren’t there for a conversation,” I grit out through my teeth.
Blake grunts before informing me, “No. They were armed and they dismantled her security in less than ten seconds. They were there to take her out.”
While it might not matter, something is niggling at me about the situation. The question is out of my mouth before I can stop it, “Why did she call you?”
“Because Higgins Security is the best.”
“No,” I scoff, “there has to be more to it. You said she was already on a bus toward Denver. How did she know you’d be able or willing to help? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“This is why I know she’ll be safe with you.” It’s not a dig, but it feels a little like one. “Her brother is overseas but told her before a deployment that if she ever needed help then to call me.”
“Shit,” I breathe out.
I glance around my cabin, and I know my answer before I even say it. Hell, he probably knows my answer too.
Like I’m really going to say no to this?
This woman did a brave fucking thing without any clue as to what the consequences could be if the reporter was the one who had to tell her to stay at a hotel. The thought of the men sent after her finding her at home makes my stomach clench.
“Bring her here,” I grit out as I fight off my anger. Before he can say anything, the thought of her being alone out there on a bus has me seeing red and I bark, “Who did you send?”
He chuckles softly. “How did you know I sent anyone to her?”
“Oh please,” I scoff, “there’s no way you would leave her out in the cold.”
“I sent Ellington and Duncan,” he informs me.
“Oh, her rock star let her go out on a job?” I’m joking, kind of.
When Higgins provided security through the guise of a fake girlfriend to a rock star, Hayes Jennings, Ellington was the one he sent out. Working with the artist signed to White Picket Fences Records isn’t uncommon since the guys of Suburban Outcasts, who own the label, are part of the same huge family Higgins and his team are included in.
What no one could have known, at least I don’t think they could have foreseen it, was how hard and fast Hayes would fall for Ellington. The rock star went from a stereotype, going through women like water, to being a one-woman man, but only for Ellington. Considering Ellington’s service record and having met the woman, I’m sure she didn’t make it easy on him.
“Wait,” I snarl, “didn’t she just have her son?”
Higgins sighs, “Yes. They named him Davis,” he informs me. “It wasn’t like I wanted to send her out, but I thought her presence might make this easier. Since they’ve gone on the jet to intercept her instead of riding the bus all the way here, she’ll only be away from the baby for a matter of hours.” He pauses and I can hear the smile in his voice, “Hayes told me that after she gets home to lose their number for a little while.”
I chuckle and shake my head, knowing how deeply in love the men of this strange extended family can be about their women. It’s like it’s a requirement to be part of the inner circle or some shit. Not that I can’t understand it, but I’ve certainly never felt that way about a woman before.
“I’m sure he’ll keep that up until they want a babysitter,” I joke.
“Like that’ll be an issue,” I can hear the smile in his voice. I have no doubt that there are quite a few women of the family who are more than willing to step up and help out when need be. “Charlotte has already offered her babysitting services.”
I feel a ghost of a smile lifting my lips. Charlotte is Blake’s adopted daughter, or adopted sister-in-law, depending on how you look at things. When he met his woman, Margot Reynolds, a child star who went off the rails in her youth before getting her shit together because her sister, Charlotte, needed her, the little girl was only 10. Blake became more than a brother-in-law, but, then again, Margot was more than Charlotte’s sister.
“Then that’s all they need,” my voice is soft.
Charlotte is a sweet kid who has a way about her. She’s smart as hell, but the heart in that girl is unmatched.
Even though I need to be up here on the mountain, I do miss the little glimpse of family I got while I tried to live in Denver.
I clear my throat, refusing to give into the feeling of regret which would be so easy to lean into. It’s better for me out here and I know it.
If only it wasn’t so damn lonely sometimes.
“I’ll get the cabin ready for her,” my voice is gruff as I try to get this conversation back to business.
Because it’s safter that way.
“I’ll be meeting the plane and relieving Ellington. Duncan can inform us then about what he’s found. We’ll put together a plan to neutralize the threat to her while you keep her safe.” His tone is no nonsense, “Expect us in five hours.”
“Roger that.”
I hang up without saying another word. I look around my cabin one more time because this might be the last bit of peace I get for a little while. I’ve never had a woman here before and I know nothing about the one I’ll be protecting.
As I step out onto the back deck again, needing that bite of cold air against my skin to remind me that I’m alive, I wonder if there will ever be a time when I could find the kind of love Blake and his main team have found.
It’s a long shot on my mountain, but a little part of me still hopes.