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He smirked. “It wasn’t exactly my favorite place to serve. The sand—fuck, sometimes I think I can still feel it biting at my skin, you know?”
“Cash, I didn’t come here to trade war stories.”
“And the people over there, it was so fucking sad to see the way they lived—how they were ruled by fear. It makes you glad to be back here, fighting for something you can put your hands on. Something that you can see made a difference.”
I shifted uncomfortably, wondering why he was telling me about his glory days in the military. Did he think I didn’t trust him as a leader? Because I’d spent a lot of time around Rafe. I knew both menwere ruthless, but Cash had a decency to him that Rafe could never touch.
“There was only one time Sally failed me. Sally’s my rifle?—”
“I know who Sally is,” I interrupted.
“A lady like that knows how to rule you,” he grinned. “But there are times when even a lady can let you down. I was in this village, keeping an eye over the men in my unit from my nest. Some were playing soccer with some local kids, trying to get the people to trust us. And this one kid, scrawny as hell and scared as shit, walks over to one of my guys and starts talking to him. Pretty soon, my guy is leading this kid over to our unit where there are fifteen guys hanging out, having lunch. And that’s when I saw it, the wire sticking out from under his shirt. I thought for sure I was seeing things, so I hesitated, waiting for a better view. The moment his fingers wrapped around the device, I knew what I had to do.” He huffed out a laugh as he stared at his desk. “They gave me the fucking medal of honor for killing a kid. I saved the lives of my men that day, and another unit. And we caught a man that was spying on us, feeding intel to the enemy. There was a ceremony and everything. My parents were so fucking proud.” He shook his head and finally made eye contact again. “There was nothing heroic about me pulling the trigger on a kid. Sometimes, we do things because it’s what has to be done, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t eat at our souls. That’s the cost of war, the part no one tells you about when you enlist—or when you take a job, thinking you’re doing the right thing for the greater good. And those things can drown you until the only way out you can find is at the end of a barrel.”
“You’ve been down that road?”
“Once. The day they gave me that medal. I gave it to my dad and walked away. I never wanted to see it again. I knew I had to make peace with what I had done, and move forward with the intention to never do something that would eat at my soul like that ever again.”
I’d never thought of looking down the end of a barrel, but the drugs were just another form of escape. I was beginning to see that, and learn how to deal with those decisions. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to come back to this life.
“Whatever you decide,” he said, pushing out of his chair. “Your team is waiting for you.”
“Thank you.”
I was just about to leave when an alarm went off. I turned to see what it was, but Cash was reading something on his phone. He immediately picked up the landline and dialed a number.
“This is Cash Owens. I just received an alert about a prisoner.”
My body tensed at his words.
“Why the fuck didn’t you notify us sooner?”
He slammed the phone down, his face serious as he looked at me. “Rico escaped a prisoner transport. He’s been on the run for two days.”
I snatched the phone out of his hands and dialed Sky’s landline. “Hello?”
“Sky, it’s Jack. Rico escaped. I’m coming to get you. Only grab what you need and be ready when I get there.”
“What?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“I’m coming to get you. Hurry!”
I slammed the phone down haphazardly, not even getting the phone in the cradle as I raced for the door. The scanners and codes slowed me down as I tried to get out of the building. As the elevator finally started moving, all I could think about was Sky, and how I couldn’t be late yet again.
39
SKYLAR
I hungup and raced over to Parker, who was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast. “Hey, Jack’s on his way over. I need you to go pack a bag.”
“Mama, what are we doing?”
I knelt down so I was eye level with him, doing my best not to freak him out. “We’re going on a trip. I need you to pack all the stuff you want to bring with you.”
“Like my big Flamingo?”
“Baby, I don’t think we can bring that with us.”
“But, Mama!”
