Tactically Acquired (Owens Protective Services #28)

1. Knight

1

KNIGHT

I hadn’t been back on these streets since Kate had been taken. D.C. was not a place for a guy like me. Corrupt politicians and smarmy lawmakers all out for whatever they could get their hands on…that’s all I would ever see when I looked around the city. What once was a great city where the best of men stood now only held the remnants of what our forefathers hoped this country would one day strive to become.

I hated that I had any part in destroying their framework. Even in my desperate attempts to right the system, I was still responsible for shredding it. I could own up to that—could acknowledge the part I played, while for the greater good, was not what this nation stood for.

I kept to the shadows as I took the stairs two at a time until I reached the roof. As expected, Cash was in his nest just like he was the night before, and the night before that. I’d been watching him for days, waiting for him to make his move. Yet, he laid there, waiting and watching.

It wasn’t until last night that I finally got a glimpse of what he was so desperate to get eyes on. Our father . Michael Gage in the flesh, meeting with someone I couldn’t place. I dug last night, stretching my resources beyond the limits, calling in every favor I had to put a name with a face.

Yet, he was still a mystery.

But fucking Shadow knew who he was. Of course, he did. Shadow had his hands in everything. The question was, did Cash have anything to do with it? He was following him, but was he there for cover, or was he spying on his old man?

I wondered if he suspected that Michael was involved in The Syndicate. I didn’t know the old man very well, but I never would have guessed him to be capable of something like that, and I still wasn’t entirely certain that he was involved in any way. Kavanaugh didn’t seem too convinced either, and it was his father who was shot trying to relay the message.

“Still hanging out on rooftops?” I said as I walked up behind Cash.

He twitched slightly, the only sign that I had taken him by surprise. I got on my belly beside him, pulling out my scope to catch the show along with him. I knew Cash was eyeing me, wondering what the hell I was doing here, but I’d wait for him to actually say the words.

“Any idea who he’s meeting?” I asked.

“A contact.”

“No shit. What’s his name?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be on the fucking roof,” he muttered.

“Are you his cover?”

He didn’t answer right away, and after a moment, I glanced over at him, meeting his steely gaze.

“What exactly are you accusing me of?”

“Not a damn thing. Just wondering if you’re covering his ass or taking him out.”

His jaw clenched as his eyes shifted back to the scope on his rifle. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

“You mean, other than to piss you off?”

He sighed heavily. “Eva sent you.”

“Something like that.”

He was silent for a moment, but I knew it was coming. He couldn’t resist asking. I knew because I’d been there. I’d felt that gut-wrenching loneliness. He was pushing Eva away because he thought it was best for her, because he knew he was only going to make things worse for her until he could put this behind him.

How fucking long would that take?

“How is she?”

“She’s your wife,” I retorted. “I think you know the answer to that.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him blow out a breath, squeezing his eyes tight before getting a grip and returning to his job.

“She’s better off without me,” he muttered.

“I said that once, too.”

“It’s the truth. The things I said to her…”

“Yeah, I never fucked up like that,” I huffed. “I loved my wife too much to ever say the shit you said.”

“It’s not that I don’t love her?—”

“Yeah, because men who are desperately in love with their wives are cruel on purpose,” I retorted. Fuck, I hated getting involved in other people’s drama. But he was my brother now, and I had to do this for Eva and her kids. I thought I had no family left in this world aside from Kate and my kids. Then I found out there were a whole slew of them out there. And somehow, I just couldn’t bail on them.

Shadow walked away from his meeting and then crossed the street. I was torn between chasing the mystery man down and finding out his identity and hanging back with Cash. I was desperate for answers of my own, but I made a promise to Eva, and if I left now, I might just break that promise.

Cash sat up and started taking his rifle apart, tucking it into his case. I watched as he did it with great precision—as if he was back in the field and it was just another day in battle.

“You have no fucking idea what it was like to pull the trigger that day.”

My eyes flashed up to meet his gaze. “How fucking long are you gonna use that excuse?”

I hit the nail on the head, drawing out the anger I needed. “Watch it.”

“Why? Can’t face the truth? You don’t like hearing that you’re hiding behind the choices you made?”

He scoffed out a laugh, shaking his head at me. “You’ve never cared about anyone besides yourself and Kate.”

“That’s probably true.”

“Yet, you have the nerve to stand there and lecture me about hiding? You don’t know the first fucking thing about what it takes to take a stand and fight back when you’ve just lost everything!”

It would be fucking hilarious if it wasn’t still fresh in my mind. “When Kate was taken, I went on a fucking killing spree. I bet you didn’t know that.”

He paused, questions filling his eyes.

“You don’t know all the details because it was all so fucking classified. Your old man was involved. Fucking Shadow,” I scoffed. “He was at the center of it all, working in the background to take down the men who were responsible for trying to unleash a virus on the whole goddamn world. And for what? Political gain. Killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people so they could gain control and get what they wanted. And Kate just happened to be collateral damage because of something I couldn’t leave alone.”

I looked away from him, squeezing my eyes shut as I saw the shot that ended her life on the camera. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t real or if she was alive now. In those months following that horrible moment, I ceased to exist. The man I had become for her was only a shadow of my former self.

“Yeah, I know what you’re going through. I watched my wife get shot in the head on camera. I didn’t pull the trigger, but it was because of me that she was killed.”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “Kate’s alive.”

“I didn’t know that,” I gritted out. “For months, I thought she was dead. The only thing I had was anger and revenge. I pushed my kids away. I didn’t see them. I didn’t talk to anyone. I was barely surviving, just like you are now. And I didn’t stop until I killed every last person involved in her death. I made them all bleed. All those fucking pricks were on display in the most gruesome way so the entire world would know what traitors they were to their country.”

Something sparked in his eyes and he looked up at me with a jerk. “The three heads on spikes on the lawn of the Capitol.”

I nodded, remembering how it felt to end their lives.

“Wait, you said Michael was involved. Shadow . If he was involved, how did you not know it was him at the time?”

“It wasn’t something I found out until later, but it didn’t matter. He walked out of my life a long time ago. I don’t give a fuck what he does anymore.”

He slowly rose to his feet, slinging his rifle case over his shoulder. “Then why the hell are you here?”

“Because while our father means absolutely nothing to me…” I clenched my jaw, my eyes flicking away from his for a moment. “You’re family. Eva is family. I know what I put my kids through. I left them,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “I couldn’t be what they needed without her, and I thought walking away was for the best.”

“Is this your attempt to bring me home? You think you’re going to tell me I’m fucking things up and I’ll realize the error of my ways? And then what? I’ll fling myself at Eva’s feet and beg her to forgive me?”

I shook my head, knowing that would never happen. It wouldn’t have worked on me either. “I’m here to end this. I know what you’re doing. I know what’s at risk.”

He swallowed hard, the truth of my words reflecting in his eyes.

“You might be damn good at hiding the truth, but I know all too well what the hell you’re doing. Noble causes are my specialty. And my curse.”

His eyes dropped to the ground as he shook his head. “There’s only one way to get my family back.”

“I know. Trust me, I fucking know. So, let’s end this.”

His eyes flared to life for the first time since he took that shot and killed his brother.

“Just you and me, brother. To the end.”

He held out his hand and I took it, clasping it in mine. “To the end.”