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It had been my idea, but Edwin had been instrumental in carrying it out.
Now that he was gone, I ran the whole operation with my two closest men, Yale and Caden.
Speak of the devil. I sank into a seat in the corner of the boxing ring and began unwrapping my hands. Yale appeared, wearing his training clothes. He was already bathed in sweat so he must have gotten to the warehouse early.
“Where’s Caden?” I asked.
Yale paused, swiveling his broad body, scanning the room. He was a handsome man of a little over thirty with a bulky frame and medium brown hair. People liked him, they felt comfortable around him. They liked his Hollywood smile, his almost dazzlingly handsome face, and the glitter of mischief always in his eyes.
“Might be having a smoke.”
I decided to let it rest instead of criticizing Caden for it when he finally showed up. My soldiers needed to keep healthy. Having an occasional smoke was one thing, but I was adamant we didn’t tolerate addiction.
Yale sank down beside me, running a hand over his slick face.
“What’s on the agenda?”
He was my brawn and I had him run most of the physical training. Keeping the men in shape. Caden was my brains and my weapons expert. He was the one I sent in when someone needed an operation done cleanly and quietly.
Yale was effective, but wasn’t very good at being subtle.
The door behind us banged open and Caden strode through. If Yale was the human equivalent of a Golden Retriever, Caden was a black cat with razor sharp claws.
He was well muscled, but slender, and about the same height as me. His skin was pale beige and tattooed down one arm and up his throat to his jaw. His jet black hair was slicked over his head and his eyes were heavy lidded and an oddly bright blue.
Yale was pleasant and conversational.
Caden was a massive asshole with a chip on his shoulder about anything and everything.
But they were both incredibly talented and together they made an unbeatable team.
“You’re late,” I said, rising.
His brow arced. “I was on the phone with Trystan.”
I pulled open the door that led to the shooting range. “What’s the progress report?”
Caden followed me into the hall, Yale tagging along behind him. He was scrolling his phone, likely not even listening. I wondered for a moment just how involved with Candice he was and if this was something I needed to monitor in case it blew up and soured my inner circle.
The corner of his mouth jerked. Yeah, he was definitely texting her.
“Seems to be going well,” Caden said.
Trystan was my third in command, after Yale and Caden, and right now he was out west in Wyoming. Spending his time supervising a new venture we were planning.
Out in the middle of nowhere, I’d purchased several thousand acres and closed it off completely to anyone on the outside. In the center, with the help of some powerful, unnamed people, I was building a training base for hundreds of new soldiers.
It was a labor of love, one that I hoped would pay off.
With that many soldiers, we’d be unstoppable. We could expand up and take Boston, we could move into New York and give the Italians something to worry about. We could become a training ground for private security and put our soldiers into the office of every person in the United States who mattered.
It was a lot to handle.
Maybe that was why I was always so eager to be at home with Clara. I loved listening to her problems and I loved fixing them. It was so much more satisfying.
Figure out how to transport several tons of military-grade equipment thousands of miles? That was a giant fucking knot to untangle.
Figure out what kind of sushi I should order to fix Clara’s bad mood? That was easy and it came with the sweetest smile as a reward.
