Edric saw red. Pressure throbbed beneath his skull, and his nostrils flared with pure and utter hatred. Turning, he started for the door but stopped before exiting the room.
He smacked the palm of his hand against the frame’s rough and worn wood as a stream of Turkish curses flew from his mouth. He faced Achim once more.
The other man’s eyes had widened slightly, the emotional outburst clearly taking him by surprise. Filled with rage, Edric at looked down at the dead man.
“We are both as good as dead if we do not find that file.” His twisted mind raced. “Did you see his expression when I told him what would happen to the person who has it? And after, he said ‘forgive me’?”
“Yes. So?”
Edric lifted his gaze to Achim’s. “So, someone he cared about has it. A friend or relative he trusted. Someone he did not want to see get hurt.”
Achim scoffed. “That could be any number of people.”
A moment of thought passed before Edric spoke again. “It would be someone he was close to. We need to look into every aspect of his life. Find out who he saw on a regular basis. Everyone he had contact with.”
“That could take me weeks to do alone. Months, even. I’ll need to bring someone else in to help.”
This made Edric nervous. “Another person means more liability. We cannot afford to take that chance.”
Achim glanced down at the dead man, then back to him. “We can’t afford not to. Trust me, Edric. I know a man who will do this for us. For a hefty price of course.”
His employee’s words did nothing to appease Edric’s paranoia. “You’re certain he can be trusted with something of this magnitude?”
“He’s good. Better than good. His reputation for both skill and discretion far exceeds others like him.”
With no other choice, Edric begrudgingly gave Achim a sharp nod. “Fine. I’ll pay whatever it takes as long as this man is swift. I do not have to tell you how imperative it is that this be taken care of as soon as possible.”
“No, you do not.”
More than ready to be away from the stench of blood and death, Edric turned to leave but paused once more to ask, “This man you speak of. He will need to talk to people who knew Craig Walker. How do you know he will not stand out and raise suspicion?”
Achim gave him a slow grin. “Because he is American.”
Chapter 1
“So, let me get this straight. You walked away from a sure thing, just because she asked you to spout off some BS line while she sucked you off? Dude, that girl was hot…andnaked. What the hell were you thinking?”
Nathan Carter looked at the man sitting to his left as if he’d lost his damn mind. Before becoming Bravo Team’s medic, Matthew Turner had served as a Navy Corpsman, working in the field with both the Navy and Marines during high-risk ops.
Nate had to admit, Matt was a total badass. Though the team had only recently been formed, he was glad the other man was on their side.
When it came to women, however, Turner’s revolving door spun faster than a windmill in a hurricane.
“Fuck, yeah, I walked away,” Nate admitted. “Ain’t no blow job worth falling intothattrap.”
“Oh, I doubt you walked.” Kole Jameson, Nate’s best friend and one of Bravo Team’s two snipers, piped in. “I bet you looked like Scooby-Doo trying to outrun a ghost.”
Nate lifted his beer bottle to his lips and took a swig, giving his teammates plenty of time to laugh at his expense. Didn’t bother him in the least.
Waiting until the chuckles died down, Nate tried his best to educate the men around him. “You fuckers think it’s funny, but I’ve seen the kind of trouble those three little words can cause.”
“Man, I’d have told her I loved her in aheartbeatto get a piece of that action.”
“Sorry, Turner,” Nate told Matt. “I guess my standards are a little higher than yours. I’m sure it’s hard for you to understand, but some of us actually look for more than just a pulse when deciding whether or not to sleep with a woman.”
“Fuck you, Carter,” Matt shot back. “You’re just jealous ’cause I can catch more ass in a month than you can in an entire year.”
“I’d be more concerned about whatelseyou’ve caught,” Zade King, the team’s other sniper, muttered. The former Marine didn’t crack a smile, making his comment even more amusing.
