Zack hung up the phone and pressed his palms onto the desktop. His sweaty hands stuck to the paper membership log, smearing the newest entry. He needed to get himself under some kind of control before he went back into the training room.
“Hey.” Antoine appeared, still wearing the terrible tracksuit. “Have you reconsidered our situation? I have a deal going down right now, man. Right fucking now. I’m offering a 20 percent cut for our first job together. Whadda ya say?”
If the guy had any clue, he’d realize that Zack’s fisted hands and heavy breathing meant he was two seconds away from wrapping his fingers around that scrawny throat and twisting. “See that training room over there?” He pointed to Garza’s brown-haired head visible through the training room door’s window. “That’s Detective Garza. Would you like to ask him about your deal? I’m sure he’ll have something to say.”
Antoine backed away, hands in the air. “I’m looking out for the newbies. Just don’t blame me when Leroy shows.”
Zack released the sigh of the damned. “Who is Leroy?”
“Leroy is the man, dude. The reason why you need to pay me and my boys for protection.”
Awesome. Local thugs and low-level corruption. “Thanks for the warning.” Then he waved. “Have a nice day.”
Antoine pushed the front door open, pausing to point at Zack. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, man. Leroy doesn’t like being fucked with. He likes to do the fucking.”
Once the door shut, Zack rubbed his neck and stared at the black ceiling marked with silver stars. They glowed in the dark, too. He’d noticed that his first night here when he hadn’t been able to sleep and had come down to work off his restlessness. While he didn’t fight in the ring like Nate, Zack well understood that desperate need to burn off all the emotions that threatened to drown him.
Kells had told them things here would be different. Different way of life, different jobs, different schedules. But Kells had been wrong about one thing. They were in the exact same situation they’d been in for the past five years: completely and utterly fucked. And their dangerous situation had poisoned everything. Not a man standing, either here or in prison, could say he hadn’t lost the things he’d loved the most. Not just their freedom and honor but also everyone they’d loved. Correction: Everyone they still loved.
The clanking of weights hitting metal bars, the grunts coming from the fighting ring, even the hardcore rap music Iron Rack’s was known for had become background noise that barely penetrated Zack’s dark mood. He needed to go back into that room. He needed to be brave. Except bravery was what had landed them all in this hell in an ironic, first-place kind of way.
Zack pushed open the training room door and saw Nate staring at the ground, arms crossed. The rest of the men stood around looking shell-shocked, like they’d just been told all the beautiful women in the world had been sent to the moon. Sarah seemed paler than before, if that was even possible. And Samantha’s gaze bounced between Pete and Nate. “What’s going on?”
Pete tossed Zack a cell phone with a photo of a dead man near a tomb. “Can you ID him?”
“Nope. Who is he?”
“A dead banker,” Ty said. “With the letter B sliced into his hand.”
Zack coughed.
“Does that mean anything to you?” Garza said.
Zack dropped the phone into Garza’s outstretched hand. “Was it his left palm?”
Garza’s head tilt screamed surprise, yet the way he gripped his phone showed defensiveness. “How’d you know?”
“Just a guess. I had a fifty-fifty chance of being right.” Although he was tempted to say more, he wanted to get this over with before losing his nerve. “We have another problem.”
Pete closed his eyes. Ty exhaled like he’d been asked to bleach the locker room bathrooms again. Luke sat on a pile of gym mats, his clipboard next to his ass. Vane muttered under his breath while Calum texted, which seemed to be a constant thing with him. Garza tapped his pencil on his notebook.
Nate was the only one who met Zack’s brown eyes. “What happened?”
“A phone call.” Zack’s next words were going to change everything, and he wouldn’t be able to take them back. “From Leedsville prison. From one of our men. Colonel Jack Keeley.”
“Who is Jack Keeley?” asked Garza.
“Jack was the commander of the second A-team the night we were attacked,” Nate said. Pete’s gaze danced around the room like he was waiting for an ambush. “How the hell did Jack make a phone call?”
“No idea,” Zack said. “All I know is Jack is in solitary confinement for his own safety because someone put a price on his head. And he has no idea who or why.”
Everyone—except for the women—started cussing until Garza raised his hand and the room went quiet. “What does this mean for your other men in prison?”
“I’m not sure,” Zack said. “There wasn’t time to talk.”
“Now what?” Vane held out his palms in a submissive position that wasn’t like him at all. Maybe he was trying to atone for the fact that he was so annoying.
Zack shrugged. “Kells isn’t here. And Nate is the XO.”
“We work the mission,” Nate said. “Luke, where are we on our technology?”
“Nowhere. It’s nothing compared to what I had at Fort Bragg. We have a semi-secure server, and I have a laptop. Our Wi-Fi is spotty, and until I can get more protection, I don’t want anyone, including Kells, tying their computers to the system. I’ve spent most of my time updating the gym’s website to take online membership applications. I was hoping that more memberships meant more IT money for us.”
“Can you get into any…uh…other systems?”
Luke studied Garza before saying, “If you’re asking about my hacking capabilities, it’s not a matter of talent as much as equipment. If I do things that aren’t completely aboveboard, I’ll get caught. I can’t afford to protect myself.”
“Whatever you need, Luke,” Calum said as he texted on his cell phone, “let the IT department at my law firm know. Equipment. Service. Whatever. I’ll text you their number.”
Luke’s eyes widened, and he pulled his buzzing phone out of his pocket.
“And contact the architect who’s working on the renovations here and at Prideaux House. Work with him to see what kind of hardwiring you need in both places.”
“Wow,” Luke said. “Thank you, Mr. Prioleau.”
“What about new burner phones?” Nate asked.
“They’re in my office,” Luke said, “with all of our new numbers preprogrammed. Trade in your old one for a new one. I’ve already texted the new numbers to Garza and Calum.”
“Great,” Nate said. “Pete, you and Vane keep up with the classes. We need that income.”
Pete put his arm around Samantha and nodded.
Nate went over to where Luke sat on the gym mats and took the clipboard. “Ty, I know you have dinner duty tonight, but for now help Cain in those tunnels.” Ty moaned, and Nate added, “If we’re going to use them—and trust me, we will—we need them cleared and mapped out.”
“What about me?” Zack asked.
“Run the main gym and the front desk.” Nate made a few more notes on the clipboard. “You and I are working security at the club tonight.”
“How is this us working the mission?” Vane grumbled.
“It’s not you working the mission. It’s me figuring out what the hell is going on so I can tell you how to work the mission.”
“That’s bullshit,” Zack said.
“It’s not a request, Zack. It’s an order.” Nate studied the room. “Each of you is to do your job as if nothing’s wrong. We’ve no idea who’s watching us, and the last thing we want to show is panic. When I find solid leads, we’ll figure out a plan to take down Remiel.”
“Detective,” Calum said to Garza, “what about that body on Capel land?”
“Sheriff Boudreaux said he’d handle the on-site investigation, but Detective Elliot was assigned the case. He doesn’t know yet about Sarah being in that cemetery, but he does want to interrogate her about what happened at her house.”
“Can you stop Elliot’s interrogation?”
“Not for long. I can give you twenty-four hours. Max. But no more fuck-ups.”
A cell phone started ringing, and Sarah dug through her bag. With a soft “Excuse me,” she left the room.
Zack counted silently while Nate tracked her until the door shut. A good ten seconds. Nate’s interest in Sarah wasn’t good for any of them.
“Are we solid?” Nate refocused on the men. “Can we hold on while I gather more intel?”
“Whatever,” Ty said as he left the room.
“See you tonight, Nate,” Samantha said as she passed him. “I need to go to Juliet’s Lily. Now I’m wishing the club was still closed.”
Vane followed, leaving Zack alone with Nate, Calum, Pete, and Garza.
Zack whistled low. “I wasn’t completely truthful about Jack’s situation. I think you know that, Nate.”
Nate looked at each of them before saying, “The Prince put a price on Jack’s head. As long as Sarah doesn’t solve some seventeenth-century cipher, Jack will live.”
“What cipher?” Calum asked.
Nate quickly told them about Sarah’s research into the Prideaux pirate cipher and the hide sites the cipher protects.
“How do you know what the Prince wants?” Garza asked.
“Cassio. I met him in the cemetery this morning. Then he showed at Sarah’s house and killed the gunman. I couldn’t say anything in front of the other men.”
“Sheeeeeeeeeit.” Garza shook his head. “There was a murder at Sarah’s house today?”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” Pete scowled. “I’m more concerned about the Fianna warrior following Nate.”
“Except,” Garza said, “Detective Elliott doesn’t know that. Nate, do you think Cassio killed this man in the cemetery?”
“No.” Nate took the phone to study the photo again. “This body was staged. The murderer wanted this victim to be found. As far as I know, true Fianna kills are more…discreet.”
“And the gunman’s body at Sarah’s house?” Garza asked.
“Cassio took care of it. Detective Elliott won’t find anything.”
Pete put his hands on his hips and stared at the ceiling. “This is fucked up.”
“There has to be a catch,” Garza said. “There’s always a catch.”
“There is,” Nate said. “Etienne told Sarah if she doesn’t solve the cipher for Remiel, her father will be held in the hospital indefinitely.”
“Is that possible?” Garza asked Calum.
Calum finally put away his phone. “Yes. I’ve read Joe Munro’s commitment paperwork. They’ve built an elder abuse case against Sarah. It doesn’t help that she’s adopted.”
“A criminal case?” Garza asked.
“Possibly,” Calum said. “I haven’t told her yet because I didn’t want to upset her. Joe had a massive seizure and is in the ICU. I know how worried she is about him.”
“I hate keeping secrets, Nate,” Zack said, “but I get why you didn’t mention Cassio in front of the other men.”
“I don’t like secrets either.” Nate’s emerald-colored eyes darkened. “Cassio didn’t just shoot one of Remiel’s mercs, he also let Etienne go. Cassio wanted Etienne to deliver a message from the Prince.”
Calum closed his eyes.
Garza ran a hand through his hair until he looked like a badass porcupine. “I thought we were done with the Fianna?”
“I did too,” Nate said. “Except they’re not done with us.”
“Nate?” Sarah stood in the doorway. “May I speak with you?”
“Yes.” Nate clapped Zack’s shoulder. “Keep the men busy. I’ll return soon with answers.”
“I’ll leave with you, Nate.” Calum nodded at Garza. “Call me if things change with Elliot.”
Garza’s shoulders rose, then lowered in a silent sigh.
Once Calum and Nate left, the detective took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Zack. “I got a call from my contact. No word on who helped Kells get Nate out of prison, but he’s still looking.”
Another dead end? Big fucking surprise. Zack unfolded the document. It was an official form from the Hancock Army Community Health Center. Since Zack could decipher army-speak, he knew what that title meant. It referred to the U.S. Army’s super-secret psychiatric prison hospital on the remote and nearly inaccessible Baker Island nine miles off the coast of Maine.
“According to the prison hospital’s records”—Garza pointed to the document—“Nate is still a patient. Kells and his mystery helper may have gotten Nate a short-term reprieve, but he wasn’t released.”
Zack’s heart began the super-fast ziggity-zag he reserved for combat, fighting in the ring, and making love to… “All this time, while Nate’s been out—”
“Nate was never truly free.”
Zack gave the paper to Garza. “You trust your buddy’s intel?”
“I do.”
“Shit.” Zack hit the mats with his palms, except the sound was more muffled frustration than loud anger. And that’s what he felt like right now. Stuck in this stupid situation with this stupid gym. Completely powerless. Except he’d no business dating self-pity and her baser emotions. Because the most powerless of them all? Nate.
Zack clasped his hands behind his neck and stretched his biceps until he felt his muscles protest. He had another question but hesitated. Garza’s answers offered more problems than solutions.
“What?” Garza refolded the paper and shoved it in his pocket. “I’ve spent enough time with Nate to know mulling when I see it.”
“Sarah mentioned that the man killed on the Isle of Grace was a banker from Charleston.”
Garza found his notebook on top of the gym mats and flipped through it. “Yes. The banker, along with a second man, went missing four days ago. The first case is a homicide. The second man is still missing.”
A panicky feeling lodged in Zack’s gut. “Do you have a name of the missing person?”
“Stuart Pinckney. The bank’s president.”
Zack clenched his fists. “Can you call Detective Waring? Ask him to look into Stuart’s business transactions? Or at least a cell phone check?”
Garza tilted his head. “Why?”
Zack hit the nearby hanging bag. “I need to know if Stuart’s wife is in danger.”
“Do you think what happened to these men is related to what’s going on with Remiel and Nate?”
“Yes.” Zack scraped his head with his nails until they dug into his scalp. “I just don’t know how.”
“I’ll call Waring.” Garza gripped his shoulder. “Why are you interested in Pinckney?”
Zack didn’t want to say this out loud. Hell, he didn’t want to think it. Thinking it would strip him of whatever honor he had left. Thinking it would leave him with an even bigger hole in his heart than he already had. “Because Stuart Pinckney is married to Allison Pinckney.”
“And?”
“Allison is the woman I love.”