Shattered Valor (2 page)

He limped over to the phone mounted on the wall over the kitchen counter and punched in Kit’s number.

It rang twice, then a familiar voice said, “Bolanger here.”

“Yo. I’m checking in,” Ty answered, using Pig Spanish, the cryptic version of Spanish their linguist friend, Rocco Silas, taught them. Ty didn’t know who was listening on the phone or whether his conversation was being recorded. The WKBers were in tight collusion with the Afghan warlord, Abdul Baseer al Jahni, and his lieutenant in the US, Amir Hadad. Holbrook might have access to someone who could translate it if they spoke in Arabic. And while he doubted anyone in the WKB could—or would—speak Spanish, using Pig Spanish would certainly slow them down. And it would alert Kit, his team leader and friend, to the fact that there were some security risks at play.

There was a pause on the line. “We’ve been looking for you. Son of a bitch. Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Where are you?”

“Somewhere on the north side of the WKB compound.”

“You safe?”

“Yep. For now. I’m heading into town with Eden and her two friends. They were beaten, Kit. I’m taking them to the clinic.”

“Okay. Val and Kelan are headed your way. Dennis gave us the general direction of where he and his wife dumped you in that pit.” So, his foreman had survived that night. That was good news.

“We’ll be on the road by the time they get here. Have them watch for us.” He described their vehicles. “Listen, Kit, the bastards were in my house. They got to Dennis and his wife. I saw Amir before they tranq’d me,”

“We’ve had your house under surveillance. It’s been quiet.” Again there was a pause on the line. “The Jacksons were in an accident after they left you.”

“Christ. Were they hurt?”

“The brake line in their SUV had been tampered with. They drove off the road west of Centennial. A couple of stout ponderosas blocked their roll down the mountain. Their airbags deployed. Dennis broke a thumb. Kathy has a concussion. Greer’s with them at the hospital. Damn, it’s good to hear your voice, Blade.”

“Likewise.” The conversation was over, but Ty didn’t immediately hang up. “Amir’s mine, Kit.”

“Sorry, bro. I got dibs on the bastard. He shoved a team member of mine into a snake pit, then blew up my sister’s equestrian center.”

“He blew Mandy’s center? Anyone hurt?”

“Fiona’s stepdad died in the explosion. He was setting the bombs.”

“Aw, fuck.” Ty shut his eyes and sighed. The team had only just figured out the connection between girl’s stepdad and Amir shortly before Ty had been dumped in the pit. Fiona was young. Still in college. She had to be devastated by what had happened. He was glad they’d convinced the girl to stay under their protection.

“So you can stand in line for Amir’s head,” Kit continued.

“Or I can get him first.” Ty did hang up then. He turned to see Eden watching him with a strange intensity.

“What language was that?” she asked, eyeing him warily.

“Doesn’t matter. You remember my friends, Val and Kelan?” She nodded. “They’re headed this way. If we cross paths with them before town, they’ll follow us in. I don’t want you to be alarmed if you see a black SUV make a u-turn and get behind you.”

He wanted to put a hand on her shoulder and reassure her everything would be all right now, but he couldn’t risk it. She looked as fragile as a house of cards—any wrong move would make her crumple right before his eyes.

“Go open the back doors to both cars,” he ordered, giving her something to do. “I’ll carry Sherri out. We’ll put one of your friends in the backseat of each vehicle. Do you think Trudy can walk?”

Trudy nodded, answering him herself.

“Great. Then let’s get outta here.” Ty lifted Sherri. The change in position and her added weight made his thigh fight him. He waited a minute for the pain to die down, then carried Eden’s friend out to the car. When he got her settled, he had to pause for a minute, holding his left leg perfectly still while more spasms ripped through it.

Eden was securing Tank in a cage built into the back of her SUV. “Do you need anything from the house? We won’t be coming back here.”

“Just their purses and my backpack. I’ve already loaded the cars with our things.”

He followed her back into the house. She grabbed her backpack and the two purses from the counter. A paper fluttered to the floor. Ty picked it up and shoved it into his pocket.

“Which vehicle do you want me to drive?”

“Take theirs. Here are the keys.” She fished them out of Sherri’s purse.

“Stay close behind me. If you need something, flash your lights. And Eden?” He gave her a hard look. “I’m gonna want the whole story when we get there.”

Once in the girls’ car, he remembered the note. He popped the overhead light on so that he could read it.

“Find Bladen’s ledger or you’ll be fucked over like your friends,”
it read. No signature.

He shoved the note back into his pocket and punched out the light. What the hell had his dad been up to before he died that would draw the attention of the WKB?

CHAPTER TWO

Eden sat outside the room where the sheriff was meeting with Trudy and Sherri. She folded her knees before her on the seat and chewed the cuff of her sleeve. Tank lay on the floor next to her, patiently waiting for whatever would happen next, his big orange eyes watching her. She reached down to pet him. The events of the last few days had been extremely stressful on the two of them. For his sake, she worked to maintain an outward calm.

She sent another glance down the hallway, where Ty and his friends were huddled in conversation. As she watched, the clutch of men broke up and headed her way. She recognized most of them from her visit to Winchester’s bar the night everything went to hell.

The man in the lead, a tall, sun-bleached blond, was one she didn’t know. His cold gaze didn’t stray from her as the distance between them narrowed. The strange, pale blue color of his irises made his persistent gaze more than a little unnerving. He appeared to be in his late thirties, with fine lines about his mouth and deep-set crow’s feet—wrinkles she’d bet he didn’t get from laughing.

He moved as if he was used to controlling both difficult men and situations. He was lean and lethal, though not as tall as the buzz-topped GI Joe walking beside him—Kit, if she remembered his name correctly. Nor was he as tall as Ty, who flanked his other side.

She tore her gaze from the leader’s disturbing stare and looked at Ty, feeling her tension ease when their eyes met. He’d had that effect on her at Winchester’s when the fight began, too.

More than simply being attractive, Bladen carried himself like a warrior, with his wide shoulders and straight posture. He was shirtless still. Various scrapes crisscrossed his chest and arms but did little to camouflage the lean muscles of his torso. She tore her gaze from his ripped body to focus on his face. His gray eyes were direct. His dark auburn hair, cut in a typical Army buzz, was longer on top and short on the sides. His mobile mouth had rounded lips that were quick to smile in that lopsided grin of his.

He wasn’t smiling now.

Unnerved by her reaction to him, Eden tamped that feeling down. He was somehow involved in all of this, which made him far too dangerous to turn to for comfort.

“Eden,” Ty caught her attention, “you know most of these guys. You met them at Winchester’s—Val, Angel, Kelan, and Kit. This is Owen Tremaine.”

Eden sent a quick glance over Ty’s friends. Val, the Viking warrior, Angel, the hot Puerto Rican, Kelan, the deadly Native American, and Kit, the GI Joe, none of whom looked very happy to see her again.

Owen held a hand out to her. “Mr Tremaine,” she said as she shook it. She met his gaze unflinchingly though she wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, out of reach of those eyes.

“‘Owen’, please. Why don’t you tell me what happened. Start with the fight at Winchester’s.”

“Ty was there. Didn’t he tell you?”

An almost invisible wave of tension washed over the man’s face, tightening his features. “He did, but I’d like to hear your observations.” He sat next to her on the row of chairs. The men settled around them. Some leaned against the wall, some sat in the chairs in her row or the one facing it. She looked at Owen, wondering where to begin.

“Miss? Is that your dog?” a nurse interrupted them before she could start.

“Yes.”

“We don’t allow animals in this clinic. He’ll have to wait outside.”

Eden took her wallet from a pocket in her cargo pants. She withdrew a laminated card and handed it to the woman. “He’s a service dog. I’m a certified trainer.”

The nurse reviewed the card, then handed it back to her. “Very good. Usually service dogs wear appropriate vests indicating their status.”

“I have his in the car. I was too worried about my friends to grab it. I can go get it if you like.”

The nurse nodded. “It would be best, next time you’re out that way. Thanks for showing me your credentials.”

“A working dog?” Owen asked when the nurse left. “Is he a pit?”

“He’s a pit bull-bull mastiff mix. There may be some boxer in there somewhere.”

“What are his specialties?”

Proud of her dog, she answered before she thought to be cautious about giving out information. “I’ve trained him to find explosives and most common types of illegal drugs. Lately, we’ve begun working on search and rescue.”

“Impressive. Is that the work you do, Miss—? What did Blade say your last name was?”

Blade? Was that Ty’s nickname? she wondered. It fit him. “He didn’t. It’s Miller. You can call me Eden or Eddie. And yes, that’s the work I want to do. I’m still an apprentice at the moment. Are you with the police, Owen?”

“No.”

“Are you Feds?” She looked from him to the guys.

“No. Why don’t you bring me up to speed from the events that happened at Winchester’s to this morning?”

“Because my problems aren’t any of your business. I’m grateful that Ty could help me bring my friends here, but this is where we part ways. Please don’t trouble yourselves any further on our account.”

“There’s nothing we want less than to get into your business, Eden. Unfortunately, you’ve been thrust into ours. We’re enemies of your enemies. I think it would be best if we worked together.”

She met his eyes and shook her head. “I don’t have enemies. I don’t know the WKB. I don’t do anything with them. I don’t like them. I don’t think about them. In fact, I give them to you—do what you want with them and leave my friends and me out of it. I’m going to help them get home. After that, I’ll be going back to my job in Cheyenne and putting this fun week of terror behind me.”

“And what if the WKB follows you and finishes what they left incomplete here?” Owen asked.

Eden looked from Owen to Ty. “Why would they do that?”

Ty handed her the note he’d picked up at the guesthouse. She read it twice. “This is what they told me when they brought my friends back.” She looked at Ty. “You know, that night at Winchester’s, they were talking about your house before you got there. When you introduced yourself, I thought you were one of them.”

“What did they say?” Ty asked.

Eden shrugged. “I tried to not listen. I was pretty much terrified. By then, I knew we were in a bad situation. I was focused on figuring out how to get the three of us out of there. I’d almost succeeded convincing my friends to leave when you guys showed up.” She paused, giving Val a dark look. He’d had his hands all over Sherri that night. If it weren’t for him, she might have been successful. None of them would be here now if she had. “I knew—I
knew
—you guys were trouble.” She shook her head. She handed the note back to Ty.

“We aren’t half the trouble the WKB is. How is it that you came to be at the bar that night?” Owen asked.

Eden studied Owen, sorely tempted to shut him down. The sheriff was in with her friends. He wouldn’t let Owen and his men bully her. Then again, if the WKB threat was real, she could use a powerful ally.

“My friend, Sherri, made a connection through an online dating service with a man who said he owned a ranch in Wyoming. They’d been building their relationship online for several months. He asked her to come out here and so they could meet in person. She didn’t want to go alone, so Trudy came west with her and I met up with them. We all went to school together. I haven’t seen them since graduation. We were excited to catch up.

“Sherri’s internet flame turned out to be Jefferson Holbrook, but he’d used a different name online. So while Sherri had done her due diligence in researching him, nothing showed up other than a Facebook page that he rarely used. He loaned us his guesthouse. He left the key under the front door mat. The house was fully stocked with everything we’d need. We didn’t meet him in person until we went to Winchester’s.

“We didn’t know her online flame was part of the WKB until he said who he was—you can’t tell from his guesthouse or from the things he mentioned through his fake identity. I knew the WKB were up this way, I just didn’t know where exactly. Nothing in his interactions with Sherri led me to think he’d be one of them.

“When the fight broke out, we got separated. They didn’t come back to the guesthouse. I came into town yesterday to make a missing persons report. I didn’t know what else to do. Their car and all their things were at the house. They wouldn’t have just taken off without them—and me.”