But man, was I wrong.
Turner got trigger happy and Cade went MIA.
My shoulders slump as I turn the key in the ignition of the excavator and stomp the pedal to help it roar to life. The damn thing is always temperamental this time of year.
But I’m pretty sure when my gramps bought it, he wasn’t intending to ever use it for early morning body burying either.
I spend the next twenty minutes digging a hole I know next year’s trees will cover. When I finish, I park the machine, and return to the truck. The rain is still coming down with a vengeance, but I still manage to back up to the hole.
“Let’s roll them off,” I instruct Turner, who’s already a step ahead of me, flinging the door open. “Try not to slide off into the hole yourself.”
“Got it, boss,” Turner grunts, waiting by the bedrail as I unlock the bedcover.
I push it back, and Turner climbs in the back. I let down the tailgate, hop up, and then we begin the methodically gruesome task of tossing bodies into the mass grave.
“Dead weight is the worst weight,” Turner comments as we heave the first one off the back. “Fuck.”
The body hits the bottom of the hole with a strange slopping noise, and I cringe. There’s something about this whole thing that never gets any easier, legitimate or not.
It’s all fuckery.
“Next one,” I grab the ankles of the woman, doing my best not to look at her. I glance over at Turner, who’s eyes are fixated on her neck—the very thing he was trying to prevent. “Look at me, Martin.”
He shakes his head, but I can already see the wires in his brain faltering.
“Martin,” I sharpen my tone. “Eyes.”
He snaps up and meets my gaze. “Shit, sorry.”
I glare at him. “I can’t have you breaking down in the middle of this. If it’s too much go sit in the goddamn truck.”
“No sir, it’s not too much,” Turner shoots right back at me. “I’ve done this plenty of times. Doesn’t bother me.”
He’s lying.
But I just gesture to the body. “One, two, three…” Together, we toss her into the hole with the other. It seems morally wrong to bury a victim with the predator.
But I only let myself feel guilty for a second.
Mostly, because we need to get the job done, but also…
“Do you hear that?” Turner stills, already picking up on the same distant rev of an engine. “Who the fuck is that?”
I turn my head, just in time to catch the bouncing glow of a single headlight and the familiar hum of a four-stroke dirt bike engine.
Fuck. Looks like we have company.
Chapter 2
Jenna
“We can’t confirmor deny the location of a Marine who is AWOL.”
“Stop with the official bullshit.” I stare into the eyes of Cade’s Commanding Officer, Ben Knight, his icy, nearly translucent blue eyes making my stomach churn. “I really need to know my brother is okay.”
He leans forward, his voice lowering. “I met you here as a fucking favor, because Cade is part of my unit. If I knew anything, don’t you think I would bedoingsomething with it, instead of meeting some estranged family member for coffee?”
“I’m not estranged,” I snap back at him. “Your mission failures are what drove him to this in the first place.”
