Page 16 of Grayson

He sat back down to eat the rest of his meal as the others stared at him, waiting for him to finish the story.

“Uh, U-Jin, brother. You need to finish this little story telling session.”

“Oh. Yes. They were talking about Jennifer. The man, Kyle, has put out a reward for her. Twenty-five thousand dollars. That is a lot of money to these men.” One of the men began to regain consciousness and slumped to the floor, holding his head. “The oxygen will return in a moment.”

“Wh-what the fuck? What happened?” he stammered.

“I believe you were telling your friend that someone wants this woman desperately,” said Kai.

“So. So, what! She’s worth a lot of money and they’ll pay,” he said.

“Why are you on this base?” asked Grayson.

“I-I deliver laundry every day. I sometimes get asked questions,” he said. He realized the moment he said it that he’d made a grave error.

“Questions?” frowned Jethro. Jethro was just an Alabama country boy with muscles built from working on a farm, tossing hay bales and riding horses. He didn’t need a weight room. Just point him to something heavy and he’d make it work.

“Look, I need the money. This job doesn’t pay enough.”

“Neither does death,” said Striker.

When the second man stirred, he tried to run, knowing that he wouldn’t live long. Taking their cell phones, U-Jin opened them both in seconds, finding the messages that were sent through a remote server and unknown e-mail address.

“I’ll send these home,” said U-Jin taking a bite of the brownie on his plate. “You take them to the trash. Men who harm my niece do not deserve to live.”

“We’ll take him, sir,” said Kai.

“No,” said Moose. “These men will need to permanently be taken to the trash. You don’t need that on your head right now. We’ve got it.” They watched in awe as Moose and Striker took the two locals out of the building, returning faster than should have been humanly possible.

Kai looked at Grayson and smiled.

“That’s so fucking cool. Please give me a letter of reference when I get out of the Corps.” Grayson laughed, nodding his head. He turned to Jennifer.

“Honey, this changes everything. You’ve got a price on your head now,” he said calmly. She stood, wiping her mouth and lifted the plate to carry it to the bin.

“It changes nothing. I’m staying.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Moose chuckled, shaking his head at Grayson. Striker gave a knowing smile to his son while the other men nodded, understanding his pain.

“Stubborn, pig-headed, unbelievably naïve woman!” he spat.

“Careful. She’s my daughter,” said Moose. “But you’re right. She’s just like her mother. Lucky you. She’ll be a good partner in life, Grayson.”

“Please tell me you don’t agree with her staying,” he frowned.

“The father in me doesn’t agree. But the SEAL, the man does. I’m scared to death for her safety. Scared that Lacroix will find her. And I’m terrified that she might be hurt, again. But I know that you, me, your father, all of these men will risk everything to keep her safe.”

“Son,” said Striker stepping forward. “She deserves the chance to take out Lacroix. This isn’t just about the nuns and the kids. This is about the man that stole something precious from her. Her innocence, her virginity. He made her change from an innocent college kid into a skeptical, suspicious young woman. For that alone I’d kill him.”

“I know. I know but I’ve just now professed my love for her. Told her that I’ve wanted her for so long and she’s going to risk that. She’s willing to throw all that away.” He ducked his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.

“Grayson,” said Gunner to his nephew, “she’s not throwing anything away. How many members of our family, wives, sisters, nieces, cousins, all female, how many have risked their lives for us, for what’s right?”

“I-I don’t know. Dozens? Hundreds?”

“Damn, your women are something else,” smirked Rowe.