My position was different. I had few responsibilities. Nothing holding me back from doing what I might have to do.
“Do you have suspects yet?” I demanded again. “Names?”
“I can’t discuss that with you.”
“Fine.” I stood. “I guess we’re finished for now. Before I go, I’ll need the key to my storage locker.”
Owen gave me a hard look.
Certain items of mine had been in storage for a long time now. Since I’d left government service. When I’d taken off from Hart County, I’d left those items here, mainly because this place was the closest thing to a home that I had.
I’d given Owen the key so he could stop me from doing exactly this.
“What is it you’re planning to do?” he asked.
“Whatever I have to.”
His eyes narrowed. “Fucking hell. You’re serious about this.”
“I am.”
“Trace asked you to join the Protectors years ago. You have skills they can use. But you saidno. For good reasons. You were true to yourself, and I’ve always respected that.”
I glanced at the wall. “But what the hell do my reasons matter if she gets hurt, and I don’t step up?”
There was a long pause. “This isn’t you, Dean. You’re not Bullseye anymore, and I know you don’t want to be.”
Hearing my old callsign made a muscle in my neck twitch. I resisted the urge to reach for my necklace, holding out my hand instead.
“The key. Please. It’s my property.”
He dropped his volume to a harsh murmur. “You said you closed the door on the man you were. Not that I judged anything you had to do back then, or any choice you made, but… Don’t destroy what you’ve built.”
What I’d built? Like that amounted to anything. Seasonal jobs and fleeting friendships. Freedom and peace of mind meant nothing if it meant turning my back on the only people I cared about.
Turning my back onher.
“Are you planning to make illegal use of what’s in that storage unit?” Owen asked.
“I can’t discuss that with you,” I said, throwing his own words back at him.
Shaking his head, he opened a desk drawer. Pulled out a small keychain with a single key attached. “For the love of all that’s holy, don’t be an idiot.”
“I’ll try.”
“Not a very convincing answer.”
“Best I can do.”
CHAPTER SIX
Dean
My visitto the storage place didn’t take long. I drove through the units, following the signs, until I came to the correct number range.
Everything inside the locker was exactly as I’d left it. If far dustier and cobwebbed than any self-respecting Marine would’ve permitted.
You’re not Bullseye anymore.
