Page 67 of Keeping Collette

“Hound,” she said softly and once he looked at her, she continued. “I can’t imagine how hard this has to be for you, but if anything you find out can help even one family from going through what I am, then surely it’s worth it.”

Hadn’t a lot of what they’d done as SEALs been to save people? To do things that made them uncomfortable at the time, but in the end, saved so many. Of course, this was more personal than anything he’d had to do when he was in the Navy, and his job had been to follow orders. Now he had the freedom to say no.

If the truth be told, she wouldn’t be surprised if he said no. There was a reason he’d stayed away from his family, and if he went and saw his brother, it was sure to open the door to those reasons.

Silence settled around the room as if everyone was aware that there wasn’t anything more to say. That Hound needed to come to this decision by himself.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Hound announced, and relief swept through her.

“Thank you,” she said before anyone else spoke.

“There’s one stipulation though.” Hound looked around the room, and she figured whatever it was, they would all agree to it. “As much as you want to come Deal, and I get the reasoning, but if by chance Jim is there, he will recognize you. No matter how different you think you could make yourself look. He may be a drug addict, but he’s got a fucking safe for a memory. Anything he deems important that he sees or hears gets locked away. I have a feeling yours and Collette’s visit is one of those things.”

“He didn’t pay much attention to us,” Deal said.

“Doesn’t matter. You guys saw him and Mal go at it. He noted your presence. And he likely went back and asked Mal why you were there. It was probably his drugs that you bought.”

“I’m not sending you there alone.” Ox’s tone brooked no argument.

“I’ll go,” Irish volunteered.

“Fine, and you’ll wear the button that Deal wore, so we can hear everything that’s going on.” It looked like Ox wasn’t going to take any chances, which didn’t surprise Collette.

“I’ve made some improvements, and we’ll be able to watch live this time too.” Cass looked up from her computer.

“I’m going as well. And don’t expect me not to,” Deal said. “If things go to shit, you’ll need back up.”

“You’re not doing this without me.” Now Fox was putting his hand up.

“That means I’m coming too,” Jag looked at his friends. “We’re a team. We do this together.”

Once again, Collette was so grateful that she worked with Astrid. The men in the room were going above and beyond for her, and she didn’t know how she could ever thank them for doing this.

She got the feeling they wouldn’t rest until they’d found whoever was taking innocent lives.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The familiar buzz of adrenaline that Deal got whenever they’d been about to breach a building in hostile territory, zipped through his blood. Beside him, Jag was cracking his neck, like he used to do. They might not be the ones walking into the danger zone, but they were going to be ready should they be needed.

They’d parked in a street over from the convenience store. There was a laneway between some houses they could shoot down should they need to. It was also a great spot to catch anyone should they run out the back of the store.

After the initial meeting, they’d taken a week to plan everything out. Cass had been able to provide excellent maps of the area, which was how they’d found the laneway. She’d also sent a drone up to see if Mal still worked at the shop, and if Jim visited him. It turned out that it was a regular hub for drug deals, and Jim had set times he showed up there, which helped them narrow down the time they would arrive and talk to him.

While they’d been watching, they’d seen no activity in terms of trafficking. They were hoping to pick up something while they were all there, but maybe they’d caught them on an off week.

They had contingencies in place if shit hit the fan. Like when they were on missions, the threats could come from anyone, and so they needed to be prepared.

Fox and Angel were in another vehicle parked close to the store. Like the car Deal and Jag were in, they’d all driven beat up looking models that melded into the background and weren’t too obvious for passersby to be suspicious of.

The SUV Hound and Irish were going to arrive in would stand out like a sore thumb, but that was part of the plan as well. In the end, they decided that Hound would portray that he was of the same ilk as his older brother. That the Navy hadn’t been all that great for him and he’d found that supplying drugs was the way to riches. Among other things.

They had to come up with a plausible reason for him to turn up after all the years they’d been apart. How they would get on the subject of Courtney and the other victims was going to be tricky, but Deal trusted that Hound would find a way.

“A minute out.” Hound’s voice came over the comms.

“We’re in position,” Deal responded.

“Confirm, we are too,” Fox said.