Chapter 1 #2
Micah Newton pushed the speed limit as much as he dared as he headed north toward Wisconsin. He didn’t want to get pulled over and knew the cops monitored speeders via the tollway, but every nerve in his body screamed at him to reach Bryn as soon as possible.
What was going on? Who had fired shots at her? As much as he wanted answers, his first call was to his boss, Rex Grayson of Grayson’s Guardians.
“Yeah?” Rex’s voice was wary.
“I’ve got a problem.” Micah got straight to the point. “I’m going to need resources to help Bryn Sinclair out of a jam.”
“Tommy’s younger sister? That Bryn Sinclair?” Rex sounded concerned. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure why, but someone fired shots at her. She took off running, and when she was safe, she called me for help.” Micah moved over to get around a semitruck. “I arranged for a rental car using our corporate account. She’s on her way to the Madison airport now.”
Micah wasn’t too concerned about the money, but he didn’t want to hide anything from his boss either. Rex knew Bryn’s older brother, Tommy, had been killed during the exfiltration that had gone sideways. “That’s fine. But who is after her? And why?”
“That’s what I intend to find out.” Micah hated knowing he was so far away. “I just wanted you to know I’m basically hiring us on her behalf.”
“That goes without saying.” Rex shrugged that off, the way Micah knew he would. “We take care of our own. Protecting Bryn is the least we can do.”
“Yeah.” Micah bit back a curse as taillights flared with a traffic jam up ahead. He smacked his palm against the steering wheel. He did not need a construction delay. “I’ve asked her to head south so we can meet halfway.”
“What do you need from me?” Rex asked. “I can see if the other guys are available to help.”
“Don’t worry about that now. I’m the closest, right?” When Rex didn’t argue, he added, “I’ll let you know when I have Bryn.”
“Okay, but if you need anything, I’m just a phone call away,” Rex said.
“Thanks.” Micah ended the call. He knew everyone from the team would gladly help if needed.
Only twelve men and women had survived the horrific exfil that day.
Twelve out of thirty. It was a loss that haunted all of them, but as their captain, Rex had taken it harder than most. The twelve who remained were Rex, Grady, Micah, Stone, Regan, Cameron, Nolan, Houston, Dina, Theo, Teagan, and Zander.
Micah mourned the loss of their team too. They shouldn’t have been ambushed that day. If things had been done properly, but they hadn’t. And good people had been killed as a result of idiots sitting behind a desk who didn’t have a clue.
He swallowed hard and thrust the thought aside.
He couldn’t change the past. All he could do was push forward.
Yet there was no denying his guilt was centered on the fact that he’d made it out alive when Bryn’s brother, Tommy, hadn’t.
He and Tommy had joined the army together.
They had been best friends. If anyone should have died that day, it should have been him.
Not Tommy. Micah didn’t have family who would grieve over his passing.
His mother had dumped him in foster care after his alcoholic father had died.
Last he’d heard, his mother had passed away too.
Not that losing either parent had mattered much to him.
Tommy did. He and Tommy had been very close. So much so that Micah had expected Bryn to hate him for being the one to come home. But she’d surprised him. Her faith in God, her acceptance that Tommy was in a better place now, had humbled him.
Even if Micah didn’t share her steadfast belief.
Traffic around him moved at a crawl. If he had paid closer attention, he’d have noticed the lane closure ahead. When his phone rang, Bryn’s name flashed on the screen. He quickly answered.
“Bryn? Are you okay?”
“I’m in the rental car, yes. Thanks for making the arrangements.” Her voice still sounded strained. “I’m currently driving south on Highway 51.”
“Good. That’s perfect. Do you know the city of Beloit?
It’s on the Illinois-Wisconsin border. It’s not a huge city like Madison, but it’s not that small either.
Let’s meet there.” He breathed a sigh of relief that the congested traffic eased up once he made it through the bottleneck.
“If I’m late, find a public place like a restaurant. ”
“Beloit?” Her tone was hesitant. “I’ve never been there.”
“Me either.” He tried to sound reassuring. “Don’t worry, we’ll be together very soon.”
“I appreciate your help on this, Micah. Thank you.”
“Hey, what are friends for?” He hoped his casual tone didn’t sound forced.
She sniffled, and he hoped she wasn’t crying. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bryn, try not to worry. I promise to keep you safe.”
“I know. I just hope you don’t regret it.” Her comment had him frowning in confusion, but then she added, “I’ll explain everything once I see you.”
He would have preferred to keep her on the line, but he didn’t want either of them to drive distracted, especially as he navigated the construction zone. “I’m looking forward to it. Just relax and keep heading south.”
“I will.” With that, she ended the call.
Micah frowned at the blank screen on his console but squelched the urge to call her back. She was in a rental car and would soon be out of the city. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he felt good about the fact that she’d called him for help.
This was the least he could do for Tommy’s little sister.
As Micah drove, Tommy’s last words echoed in his mind.
The ambush had caught all of them off guard.
When Tommy went down, Micah had spun to return fire, then bent down to hoist his buddy to his feet.
Blood oozed from Tommy’s belly, and the guy had leaned heavily on him as Micah half dragged, half carried him toward the waiting plane.
Rex was standing just inside the plane, grabbing soldiers and pulling them inside between firing rounds over their heads to keep the insurgents at bay.
Then another bullet had struck Tommy, and all of Micah’s strength couldn’t keep him from falling to the ground. Micah knelt beside Tommy, screaming at his buddy to hang on, as he hauled Tommy up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
The sound of gunfire continued to echo around them. Micah still wasn’t sure how he’d found the strength and endurance to carry Tommy all the way up the plank and into the plane. He dropped Tommy on the ground, shouting for Doc, a.k.a. Regan Harmon, for help.
Tommy’s eyes had fluttered open when Doc put pressure on his bleeding wound. For a moment, his buddy looked confused, but then his gaze had focused on Micah. “Take . . . care of . . . Bryn.”
Tommy’s eyes had closed, and within minutes, his buddy was gone.
Take care of Bryn. Take care of Bryn. Take care of Bryn.
The plea echoed in his mind like some sort of mantra. But it was worse now because someone had tried to kill Bryn, and he had no idea who or why.
Beloit was still forty-five miles away. Thankfully, he was moving at a faster pace now. Micah hoped he would reach Beloit at the same time Bryn did. She’d had to backtrack to get to the airport, but from there, the ride down shouldn’t take more than an hour.
An hour that would feel like an eternity.
By the time Micah was fifteen minutes out of Beloit, his nerves were stretched thin. He was reaching over to call Bryn when his phone rang. Seeing her name on the screen, he was struck by a wave of relief.
“Bryn? Are you in Beloit?”
“Yes. I’m at the Turtle Creek Grill. It’s a restaurant in the center of town.” Her voice sounded stronger now. “Do you think you can find it?”
“Absolutely. I’m about fifteen minutes away, maybe less. Go ahead and eat if you’re hungry.”
“I’ll wait for you.” The edge was back in her tone. “I’m at a booth in the back corner.”
“I’ll be there soon.” Now that he wasn’t on the tollway, Micah stomped his foot down on the accelerator. The urge to reach Bryn’s side was strong. He could tell she felt vulnerable after everything that had happened.
“Thanks, Micah.” Once again, she ended the connection before he was ready. Traffic had lightened up the closer he got to the border. He glanced at the signs, hoping to see one for the Turtle Creek Grill.
Thankfully, the restaurant was on the main road going through town. He pulled over and pushed out of the car. Hurrying inside, he swept his gaze over the patrons until he saw Bryn’s shoulder-length red hair.
She rose to her feet as he approached. Then suddenly she was in his arms, holding him tightly. He cradled her close, hoping she wasn’t crying again.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.” He patted her back reassuringly. “You’re safe now.”
“Oh, Micah.” Her voice hitched, and she sniffled again, before lifting her head to look up at him. “I think this is partially my fault.”
“I doubt that.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Let’s get something to eat, okay? Then you can tell me all about it.”
With a nod, she stepped back and swiped at her eyes. Then she slid back into the booth. Micah didn’t take the seat across from her, mostly because he wanted to keep an eye on the front door. Also because he wanted them to be able to speak without anyone overhearing.
They’d barely gotten settled when their server hurried over. She was young and had a purple streak in her hair. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Just water for now.” He glanced at Bryn, who had the menu open on the table before her. “We’ll order food in a few minutes.”
Their server left, returning a moment later with the water. Ignoring the menu, he turned toward Bryn. “What would you like to eat?”
“I’m not hungry.” He scowled and arched a brow. She sighed. “Okay, I’ll have a club sandwich.”
“Great.” He looked at purple streak and said, “We’ll have two club sandwiches with fries.”
“Anything else?”
“Nope.” He waited for her to leave, then turned to Bryn. “Please start at the beginning.”
She nodded and reached for her water. Then she drew in a deep breath. “I work for a PR and marketing firm by the name of Digital Creative Express. It’s co-owned by two men, Richard Freeman and Damien Rochester.”
“Go on,” he encouraged when she fell silent.
“I’m Damien’s personal assistant. I’ve been with him for the past four years.” She stared down at her hands. “I—we were involved briefly, but I ended it a few months ago.”
“Involved?” He battled a wave of jealousy. Bryn’s personal life was none of his business.
“We dated. I know, it was stupid.” She blew out a breath and finally met his gaze. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Anyway, Damien didn’t seem to mind that I ended it. I thought everything was going fine, then he didn’t show up for work yesterday.”
He searched her gaze. “And that’s unusual?”
“Very. Damien never misses work. I keep his calendar. I knew he didn’t have any meetings or trips planned.” She dropped her gaze to her hands. “I called his cell phone, but it went to his voice mail. He doesn’t have a landline, so I kept trying his cell phone without ever getting an answer.”
“Okay.” He frowned. “Maybe the guy was just home sick. Everyone gets sick at some point.”
“I drove past his condo on my way home. His car wasn’t in the garage, and nobody answered the door.
” Her voice dropped. “I wasn’t sure what to think.
Damien and Richard have owned this company for seven years.
I didn’t tell Richard or his assistant Gwen about Damien being gone. I thought I’d just wait another day.”
“Okay, so then what happened?” Micah asked.
“Today the police showed up at the office around lunch time. There was still no sign of Damien, and my calls still went to his voice mail.”
“Why were the police there? Had someone reported him missing?”
“Yes. Apparently, Richard called them.” She met his gaze, tears brimming in her eyes.
“Richard accused me of helping Damien embezzle funds from the company. He demanded to know where Damien was hiding out. I tried to tell him I didn’t know where he was or anything about missing funds, but nobody believed me.
Even Gwen eyed me with suspicion.” She used her napkin to wipe her eyes.
“The police questioned me for hours. Then when I got home, I smelled something funny and knew someone had been inside my house. I didn’t go all the way in.
I stepped back just as the gunman fired. He missed me, and that’s when I ran.”
Micah stared at her in shock. This was far more convoluted than he’d anticipated. “Are you sure Damien didn’t take the money?”
“I don’t know. If he did, I wasn’t involved. I’m innocent, Micah. Of everything except being foolish enough to date my boss.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
“We’ll figure this out.” Micah injected confidence into his tone, but the truth was, he had no idea how they’d manage that. The first item on the agenda would be to try to find Damien.
But deep down, he feared Damien had purposefully set up Bryn to take the fall for his illegal actions.