“I know that,” King said matter-of-factly, making everyone laugh.
“Right. Thanks to our Leo-shaped friend, we discovered that Martin was a new addition to the group. The original sixth member was a Marine who served with the other five. Martin joined at the last minute after their guy was killed during a ‘business trip’ near the Colombia-Venezuela border.”
“Yeah, because that’s where all legitimate companies go to do business,” Joker muttered.
“What else did you and Leo find out about these guys?” King asked.
Jack’s expression turned dark. “Our Marines were Raiders.”
“Fuck,” Joker ran a hand through his hair. “Special ops.”
Jay’s stomach dropped. Oh no.
“Yep.” Jack tapped at the screen. “We got parts of a classified document un-redacted and discovered they received an other than honorable discharge during the Siege of Marawi in 2017. A year after that, Bullard Business Import and Export Solutions appeared.”
Ace cursed under his breath. “How much do you want to bet that they don’t so much as consult for Bullard as they created itto cover up their illegal operation? Is that all you could find on them?” he asked Jack.
“A lot of what we’ve found is in connection to previous missions, but something big happened during that siege because not even Leo can find intel on it. All we’ve got are puzzle pieces that don’t fit together.”
Oh damn. He was going to have to do it. Jay’s anxiety shot up, and he met King’s gaze. King didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. His hard blue eyes said it all. The ball was in Jay’s court. Jay closed his eyes and tried to summon courage. He hated this. But they needed him to step up, no matter how uncomfortable or how many painful memories it brought up.
“I…I know a Marine Raider who was at the Siege of Marawi,” Jay said, hating how small his voice sounded.
All eyes were on him, but Ryden was the one Jay turned to for comfort. He held out his hand, his discomfort easing some when Ryden laced their fingers together.
“Who?” Ryden asked softly.
Jay inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and fortified himself before opening them again. “Finch. My brother.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wait,what?
Ryden tried to wrap his head around what he’d just heard. Holy shit. Jaydidhave a brother. Why had Jay never mentioned Finch? Snapping himself out of it, Ryden glanced at the others. The only one who didn’t look surprised was King. Made sense. If someone was going to know anything about anyone, it was King.
“You have a brother?” Ace’s voice was tinged with disbelief as he blinked at Jay, his expression mirroring everyone else’s confusion.
How could Jay have known them for so long and never mention a brother? And a Marine. It was odd, considering where he worked. Everyone seemed to have the same questions in their eyes. There had to be a reason Jay had kept such a significant piece of his life hidden.
“I’m sorry I never talked about Finch,” Jay replied quietly. “It’s…complicated.” His gaze darted to Ryden before moving back to King.
“Are you sure?” King asked. “Because we can find another way.”
Jay shook his head. “We both know this is the best option. If anyone knows anything about what happened, it’ll be Finch.” Hepulled his hand out of Ryden’s and moved it to his lap. Ryden had never seen this uncertain, vulnerable side of Jay. So much was starting to make sense now.
“You think he’ll agree to come in?” King asked.
“Are you kidding? And miss an opportunity to pick my life apart in person?” Jay grumbled. “He’ll be here.”
King sighed. “Jay?—”
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
The room was silent, and Ryden figured they were all probably thinking the same thing. Who was this guy, what had he done, and was there any ass to be kicked? Okay, maybe the last part was just him, but still. Considering how protective these guys were of Jay, perhaps he wasn’t the only one feeling the itch to kick Finch’s ass.
“Excuse me,” Jay said, standing. “I need to make the call.”
As soon as he left, Ryden stood and faced the others. “What the hell was that about?”
