Badger Read online

  She spun to see a man she’d never seen before holding a gun to her and Badger. Under her breath she whispered, “Shit.”

  The gunman nodded. “You can swear all you want. And it’s nothing to what you’ll be crying out if you don’t start talking.”

  She held out her hands. “What are you talking about?”

  “The big guy said it already. Where are the coins?”

  She sucked in her breath. “I guess you’re in cahoots with my lovely brother Teddy, are you?”

  The man’s eyebrows rose. “Teddy is a piece of shit.”

  “That he is,” she said cheerfully. “But he’s still my brother.”

  “That’s okay. He’ll spend a lot of years in jail.”

  She frowned. “And you won’t?”

  He shrugged. “It’s Teddy’s word against mine. That means nothing to the lawyers.”

  “You’re Paul’s brother, Jackson, aren’t you?”

  For the first time she saw a crack in the man’s confidence. “What do you know about Paul?”

  “I know you guys hired him to kidnap me, or shall I say, forced him to kidnap me, bring me here so you could get the coins. You’re also the letter writer. Nice touch.”

  The gun waved in front of her. “That wasn’t me. That was your brother Teddy.”

  “But you supplied information and your brother as a victim.”

  “I might have mentioned my brother’s existence to Teddy, but that’s it.”

  Her mind moving quickly, she sorted out how best way to get this guy to admit everything. Because, so far, he was right. It would all just point to her brother.

  “Well, somebody is still paying you.”

  The man’s face split in a grin. “Yeah, somebody is.”

  “That would be my aunt then.”

  Both his eyebrows shot up. “Your aunt’s a good-looking woman.”

  “But then you’re sleeping with her, so you would think that.”

  He frowned. “Enough of this shit. Where the hell are the coins?”

  “Why didn’t my aunt steal them in the first place? She didn’t need you and Teddy involved in this.”

  “She couldn’t find them. Stupid bitch. She had a lot of time where she could have moved things, tucked them away for later. But she never did.”

  That’s about what Kat expected. Her aunt was a piece of work. “They’re in a safe-deposit box at the bank,” she announced. “Why the hell would I keep something so valuable here at the house?”

  “Well then, guess we’re going on a road trip.” He motioned with the gun. “Turn around slowly and make your way down the stairs. No funny tricks. The big guy behind you is already suffering. Don’t know how well he’ll operate if I blow the knee out of his good leg.”

  She could feel Badger stiffen behind her. But she knew it wasn’t because of the threat against him. It was more that this asshole would even attempt to threaten them. She nodded and said, “Okay, but don’t go gun crazy here. My poor place has already been damaged enough.”

  “Yeah, I’ll just torch it after this.”

  Angry, she made her way around Badger and slowly walked down the stairs. Erick and Cade had arrived and were entering the living room. They waved at her as she came around the landing. Badger stomped his way down behind her with his crutches. She knew the gunman wasn’t far behind. She waved in a panic and motioned behind her. The two men stopped in confusion until Badger came into sight, and they saw his face.

  Instantly they disappeared from view. She took the last step down. She wasn’t sure if Badger would try and take the gunman out or wait for help from his friends. As she walked to the front door, she turned to see how Badger was doing.

  He mouthed, Keep going.

  “No talking. And no funny stuff. I didn’t come all this way to lose now.”

  She shrugged, stepped through the front door and held it open for Badger. She couldn’t imagine getting two people into a vehicle while holding a gun on them and expecting them to drive him to the bank. She understood the fear behind a gun, but somehow, over the last few days, she’d even lost a lot of that. She had a lot of respect for the damage the bullets did, but she had more respect for Badger.

  The gunman had no idea what was coming. As Badger stepped out the door, she caught sight of Erick hiding behind the door. As the gunman exited, Badger pivoted, lifted his crutch, slammed it hard against the gunman, at the same time reached out, grabbed him by the wrist and pushed his hand into the sky. Reflexively the gunman fired several shots harmlessly into the air, but he was already falling to the ground as Badger came down hard on his good knee to his chest. The two men flipped and rolled as they fought.

  She slid her knife out of her special ankle sheath and waited for the opportunity. She was damn fed up with being accosted. Especially in her own house. She caught the pain in Badger’s face as he came down hard on his stump and flipped the intruder to his back …

  Jumping in, she held her knife to the stranger’s throat and ordered, “Stop.”

  Both men, chests heaving, stared at her in shock.

  But something in her gaze made them believe her. The attacker relaxed and groaned. “Fucking hell.”

  “Yeah, that’s one way to say it,” Erick said from behind her. He gently motioned Kat out of the way. “Nice job, Doc.” Erick gently removed the gun from the man’s hand and turned it so it faced him.

  Cade arrived to hold the intruder in place as Erick helped Badger to his feet. Kat knew better than to mother him, but, at the same time, the white tautness of his expression spoke volumes.

  Cade turned to her. “Where’d the knife come from?”

  She gave him a bland stare.

  A wicked grin lit his face. “Come on, Doc. Give …”

  She lifted her pant leg to show the hidden sheath. While they watched, she tucked it back into place. They whistled in approval. She stepped back and tapped her heel against the sidewalk. Instantly a blade popped out the toe.

  Fascinated, the men started talking all at once.

  “Have you got a gun in there somewhere?”

  “No, … not on this leg.”

  The grins split their faces in two. “You’ll design me one, right? Where I can keep a blade and a gun without anyone knowing?”

  Cade jumped to the front with his request, but Erick wasn’t far behind. He stared at her leg in fascination. “It completely blends into that scrollwork design. The leg is feminine, practical and extrafunctional. I love it,” he declared. He turned to Badger. “I want one.”

  “A feminine leg?” Kat asked with a straight face.

  The men chuckled. Badger, his color slowly returning, said, “You never told me about these designs.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What was the point? You’re not in the market for anything like this until you get the surgery.”

  Mixed emotions slid over his features.

  Good. Let him stew about that for a bit. After she’d seen the pain he was in, she’d rather have him in bed for a full month to get the tissue to heal properly just to be able to have the surgery but wasn’t sure there was time. If those veins collapsed …

  Stepping back, she pulled the phone from her pocket again and called the detective. Once she brought him up to speed, she turned to the men. “The cops are on the way.” She looked at Badger. “I don’t know if we want to just leave him here, but I really don’t want that piece of shit back in my house.”

  Erick pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket and secured the gunman, leaving him lying on the ground. “He’s not going anywhere.” He glanced around at the house. “You shouldn’t stay here. It’s not horrible, but you’ll need a couple weeks to get it back to normal.”

  “I wonder if it’ll ever be normal,” she said, the shock settling in. “A lot’s happened. I won’t look at it the same way again.”

  Erick nodded. “You’ll need time to get over all this. Once you get everything fixed, it’ll look a lot better.”

  She
wandered the front yard, looking at her house, waiting for the police to arrive. She was glad it was over. She doubted her aunt would cause much trouble. The fact of the matter was, the police had probably already picked her up. If not, they would soon. She didn’t know what the end result would be, but the last thing she wanted was anybody to have another thought about coming back and killing her.

  She walked over to the gunman. “What would you do with the coins?”

  He stared at her. “Sell them of course.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I think I’ll do too. My uncle wanted me to keep them, but it seems like he died for them, and there’s been a lot of hell since.”

  “A lot of lives ruined over something like that,” Badger said. “But if you want to keep them as a memento of your uncle …”

  She shook her head. “I have my memories. I think I’d rather sell them and move on.”

  “They’re worth a shit ton of money,” the gunman roared. “That bitch said I could have half.”

  “Well, since that bitch killed my uncle, chances are we just saved your life,” she snapped. “Because you were never going to get half.”

  The cops pulled up just then. By the time the gunman was led away, the detective was grinning like a madman. “Thanks for this guy. We just picked up your aunt too. Soon as she saw us coming, she knew she was in trouble. She’s already confessed to killing your uncle.”

  Kat nodded. “Of course she did.” She shook her head. “If everybody confesses, do I have to testify?”

  “No, as there wouldn’t be a trial in that case. We’ll need a statement from you though,” he said. “At least now you can relax and move forward with your life.”

  He pulled away with his prisoner, and she watched them disappear down the street.

  Badger wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He tucked her up against his chest. “I’m glad to have that done.”

  She twisted to look at him, to kiss his cheek. “I am too. Just how very sad for my uncle.”

  “A lot of people got caught in that net. Greed will do that.”

  Together they shifted to look at the front of her house. “It wouldn’t be so bad—except for the flooring that has to be redone, then replacing two windows, the hot water heater and the circuit box.”

  “That’s not your problem. The insurance will cover it.”

  She nodded. “But not for weeks.”

  “And that’s why you’ll be my guest for a few weeks.” He wondered what it would take to make her a permanent guest. This was a nice little house, but it was nothing like his place. But, if she rented this, it would give her a nice nest egg in case she ever needed it. Not that he ever wanted to see her in that position. He had plans for her. Long-term plans. He could only hope she’d go along with them.

  She twisted and slipped her arms around his chest and laid her head against his shoulder. “Are you sure you want a guest that long? Although we’ve known each other for a while, we haven’t been together very long.”

  “Yes, we have,” he said comfortably. “We know who each of us is on the inside.”

  She squeezed his torso hard and smiled. “I won’t say no because I love your house.”

  “Hey, you’re supposed to come for me, not for my house.”

  She tilted her head back, looking up at him. “In truth, I think I’m falling in love with you too,” she admitted.

  His heart stopped and then raced forward. He gave her a slow smile and whispered, “I would love that very much.” His hand slid up to hold her head, his fingers stroking through her locks of hair. “For the longest time I didn’t think life would be worth living. I was bent on getting my vengeance any way I could, and I didn’t care if I survived or not. But that’s all changed now. Because of you. I don’t have to do this alone. I can let others help out, and taking care of myself has become a priority. I want a future now. I want a lifetime—with you.” He leaned forward, holding her head steady and kissed her gently on the lips. “You saved my life too. And if you save a life …” He grinned a big fat smile and finished, “… then you’re responsible for the rest of that life.”

  She chuckled and leaned back. “Does that mean you’ll stay close to me so I can do that?” Her tone was warm, sexy.

  His heart melted, and he crushed her against him. “Absolutely.”

  Epilogue

  Erick Fuller hefted his bag in his good arm and walked toward customs. Cade was only a few seconds behind him. They were traveling together but separate. They’d sat in different areas on the plane so nobody could tag them as being together. As soon as Erick cleared customs and headed out toward the front entrance, he took a moment to adjust to the heat. Being in Afghanistan brought back a lot of memories. It had been one of the reasons for the fast decision to come over here. The longer he stayed home and knew this trip was happening, the worse the nightmares would get. He hated to even let anybody know he was having them.

  But his shrink knew. PTSD was a real issue. And nothing seemed to be working for him.

  He was hoping answers would help. While he waited for Cade to join him, he texted Badger that they had landed safely. Confirmation came immediately. Badger would be at the end of his phone at all times, to run control in case they needed anything. This could be a twenty-four-hour trip, or it could be much longer. They were renting a rig and driving out to the area where the incident occurred, would talk with the local villagers and then come home. Okay, so maybe two or three days tops.

  But he didn’t expect it to be any longer than that. Longer would mean they either ran into big trouble or found a big lead. After two years he doubted there were big leads to find, and there was way too much trouble in this part of the world already. He’d like to avoid that if he could.

  They were meeting up with an old connection. Somebody who would supply them with the weapons for the trip. He didn’t want to take the chance of crossing borders and getting stopped. He could have, but it was risky. He traveled under his own passport too. He hadn’t been flagged in England; that had been Badger who had popped up. But then he’d had a few issues, and MI6 always seemed to keep tabs on him. Erick chose to travel under his real name and see what came of it. If anybody asked, he’d tell him this was a nostalgia trip.

  And that was the truth, in part.

  The hot sun beat down on him. Then what the hell did he expect? There was just such a different smell to the air here. He preferred traveling through places like Canada and Siberia. There was a freshness to the coldness there. It brought its own chill but killed off any of the old heavy air that seemed to settle in hot places. And when the wind did come through the hotter climates to clean out the old air, it brought with it sand and dust that choked your throat and filled your lungs and made your nostrils snort futilely for weeks. He couldn’t believe he was back here. It was so not where he wanted to be.

  A hard hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to see Cade. He nodded. “Ready?”

  “Almost. I know you said you wanted to run this with just the two of us. But, before leaving, I got a text from Talon.”

  Erick raised his eyebrows. “I guess we should have expected that after England.”

  Cade nodded. “He wants in.”

  “Not sure that’s a good idea. You heard the audio file yourself.”

  “I know. But I can’t believe Talon, or any of us, had anything to do with the incident.”

  “I’m with you there. I just wish the audio was clear enough to be sure it wasn’t one of us who made the call that gave away our location.”

  “I hear you.”

  Just then a shout sounded from behind them, and Erick turned to see Talon walking toward him. “Wow, he’s fast.”

  “He was already here. Well, close to here anyway. He got in a few hours ago. He’s been waiting for us to land.”

  The men exchanged greetings. Talon smiled at Erick. “I hope this isn’t a problem. I know Cade didn’t get a chance to talk to you before he okayed it for me.”

  Erick shru
gged. “We’re always glad to have you around. We do need to get answers. It just sucks the audio file appeared to come from inside our truck.”

  “I was wondering about that.” Talon motioned toward the parking lot. “I picked up your rental early. I hope that’s okay.”

  “If they gave it to you, that’s fine. But we still have to go meet Shadowbox.”

  Talon chuckled. “Is he still around?”

  “He is indeed. And his prices went up too.”

  “Of course they did.” Talon’s voice turned grim. “I hear you on that audio recording. There’s a part of me that wants to think it’s a fake. Did you even consider that?”

  “I don’t know how they would have done it, but Tesla’s hoping the same thing. She’s doing an analysis of the tape. Chances are, we won’t find anything for a while. She said it didn’t look good. As far as she could tell, it was authentic, at least at this point.”

  “Shit.” Talon shook his head. “Well, I sure as hell didn’t do anything to get our asses kicked.”

  “Neither did we.”

  “And I can swear there’s no way Laszlo would have anything to do with it. He was as loyal as anyone.”

  “Was?” Erick turned to look at him. “Do you know something I don’t know?” he asked in alarm.

  Talon shook his head. “No, Laszlo is fine. I shouldn’t have been speaking in past tense, but I was thinking of back then. I know Laszlo is loyal. He’s gone home to his family in Norway for a while. But, if we need him, he’s there.”

  “He doesn’t know anything about this though, does he?” Cade asked.

  “No, but honestly he approached me over a year ago because he felt somebody had betrayed us too.”

  “What?” Erick stopped and turned to look at Talon. “You never mentioned that.”

  “You were just heading under the knife for another major surgery. Cade here had his back half split open and was lying with traction on both legs at the time. Badger was a huge mess. He’s had how many surgeries, lost his spleen, his leg… No way I could do that to you guys. Now that you’re all back on your feet, and every one of you has the same idea, hell yeah, we need to know. It’s all I could do to hold Laszlo back. If he knew we were here, he’d be here.”