“Will you guys just shut the fuck up?” Walker’s raised voice bounced off the cabin walls. “Christ, Jason. I don’t know how you work with these guys. It’s like being in a room full of middle schoolers.”
“Middle school?” Matt shot to his feet. “I’ll show you fucking middle school—”
“Sit down, Turner,” Gabe ordered Matt. All eyes turned to him. “You’re all pissed. I get it. I’m not happy about whatever this is either, but an innocent woman’s being held against her will, and someone is after my wife. We need to find out why and how to help her. I know it’s hard, but we need to put our personal shit aside and let Ryker talk.”
“Thank you.”
Gabe shot the other man adon’t fucking push melook.
Clearing his throat, Ryker picked up where he left off. “Like I was saying, Walker was a Marine working in the same FAST as Matt when the special, deep-cover task force was formed. During that time, Adrian’s sister went missing. Authorities believed she’d gotten caught up in a sex-trafficking ring preying on young runaways and prostitutes.”
“Bree wasn’t a fucking prostitute,” Walker said in a low, emotionless voice.
Ah, shit.
Gabe started to get a bad feeling about where Ryker was going with all this but decided to let him finish rather than make assumptions.
“Is that true?” Ellena asked, sitting on the couch in front of where Gabe stood. “Did you really have a sister?”
Gabe saw the first hint of real emotion haunting the grays in Walker’s eyes as the man gave a single nod.
“We learned one of the sex trafficking victims was the sister to an American soldier,” Ryker continued on. “A decorated soldier with specialized skills. We also learned this particular soldier had no other family or real roots planted anywhere, so we—”
“Used him,” Ellena finished the man’s thought. Sympathy mixed with worry for her friend as she turned her head toward Walker. “They used the love and concern you had for your sister and your dedication to your country to manipulate you into giving up your life. Probably offered you the chance to help take down the men who took your sister.”
The look Walker gave Ellena revealed her assessment was spot on.
“Weutilizedhim,” Ryker tried covering his ass.
A humorless laugh came from Walker’s direction.
“Utilized. That’s good, Jason. I’ll have to remember that one.” To the group, he said, “Enough with the PC bullshit. You want to know what happened? I’ll tell you. The government was looking for an easy target, and they found one. As far as the world knows, I’m a traitor and a ruthless murderer.” He scoffed. “At least they’ve got it half-right.”
“You’re not a murderer, Adrian.” Jason looked over at him. “You’re an asset. And a damn good one.”
“I’m every bit the gun for hire I claim to be. The only difference is Uncle Sam signs my paychecks instead of those bastards I pretend to work for.”
“And your sister?’ Ellena asked Walker. “Did you ever find her?”
A muscle in Walker’s jaw twitched. “Yeah. I found her.”
Something akin to sympathy made its way into Gabe’s chest. He couldn’t stand the thought of any woman or child being subjected to the horrifying world of sex trafficking. And though Walker didn’t come right out and say it, he could tell from the man’s expression his sister’s story didn’t have a happy ending.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Nate stood. “You expect us to believe you’re a deep cover agent working on some off-the-books task force for the CIA? You fucking shot me, you prick. Then you kidnapped my wife and handed her over to that fucknut Bukhari.”
Zade, who was usually the more reserved one of the bunch, had a vein in his forehead that looked like it was about to pop. “You murdered an innocent police detective in cold blood less than two feet away from me. Then you put a bullet in my shoulder and took Matt’s wife against her will.”
“Okay, look. I’m sorry I shot you.” Walker looked first at Zade and then Nate. “Sorry for shooting both of you. I was doing my fucking job, and I had to make that shit look legit in order to keep my cover. The fact is, if I’d wanted you dead, you’d be dead, and as for the women…” A look of regret crossed over his pained face as he glanced in Elle’s direction. “I know how it looks, but I did everything I could to keep them safe while they were with those bastards. If you think I enjoyed kidnapping them, you’re wrong. I just didn’t have a choice.”
“You didn’t…” Gabe fisted his hands at his sides to keep from strangling the man with his bare hands. “There’s always a fuckingchoice, Adrian.”
Walker’s gray eyes lifted to meet his. “Not when they own you, there isn’t.”
“You’re saying our government…owns you?” Elle asked, studying the man with an intense stare.
“For the last ten years.” He nodded.
Matt scoffed. “Right.”
