PROLOGUE
NORA
Rain runs down my face, mixing with the tears on my cheeks as I gaze at the graves. Three mounds. Too fresh for gravestones. My younger sister and my parents. All gone within a matter of months. I’m the last one standing in our family.
That alone is a surprise. Weighing the odds, I should be lying in one of those graves. I’m the one with the dangerous job. The one stationed in war zones. They were simply living their lives… until they weren’t.
My sister … God, my sister. I don’t care what the police said; there was no way she was involved in the drug scene. She was taken, and her murder was covered up; that much I know for certain. I saw her autopsy report.
My parents’ deaths were written off as a house fire, but I know better. My father was a stickler for making sure the fire alarms were working. When no batteries were found in them, I knew someone had killed them. Probably because of their unrelenting questions about Willow’s death. Like me, they knew she’d been murdered.
She wasn’t killed in a drug-fuelled rage like they wanted us to believe. Their attempt at a cover-up only confirmed my suspicions that powerful people were at play.
And I’m determined to find out who those people are. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I’ll find a way.
I resigned from the army as soon as I received the news about my sister. I came home for her funeral, but I had to go back to work mynotice. I was a month from the end of my notice when I got the news about my parents. Due to the circumstances, I was allowed to leave early. During the time it took me to arrange my parents’ funerals, I completed all my last checks and handed back all the requested paperwork.
For the first time in six years, I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. And I don’t like it. I thrive on routine.
The ache in my soul and the anger in my heart are the only things keeping me standing. That and the memories of better times when we were all together.
Lost in my thoughts, I don’t hear them until they’re standing on either side of me. I should be terrified when the four huge men surround me, but something in me broke when my family died. Nothing can ever hurt me as much as losing them did.
“Nora Harvey?”
I look at the blond man, his hair plaited like the pictures I’ve seen of Vikings of old.
“That’s me.”
“We’re sorry for your loss,” he murmurs.
I wipe a hand over my cheek. “Thank you. Can I help you with something?”
“Yes. And in return, we’ll help you find who murdered your family.”
I narrow my eyes, wondering how he knows about my family. “Is that right? I think you’d better tell me who you are.”
He smiles and holds out his hand. “My name is Cahir, and these are my brothers.” He motions to each one in turn. “Silas, Cai, and Ramzi. We’re the Cursed Skulls. You may have heard of us.”
I stare at him blankly.
“We take care of certain… situations for governments around the world,” he continues when I just stare at them. “Not that they’d ever acknowledge it. They prefer no official connection to the matters we resolve. And forgive us for approaching you at the funeral, but we weren’t sure where you’d go after this.”
I’m intrigued, wondering what they want with me. Taking a step back to get a better view of them, I cross my arms and study them. They’re all large men, muscular and in their prime. Ink marks them all, but one is almost entirely covered. I doubt there’s an inch of bare skin left.
They don’t look alike, so I assume they’re brothers in arms rather than related by blood. Silas has dark hair and eyes. Cai is a wall of tattoos, his green eyes piercing beneath the black mohawk shaved tight at the sides. The last brother, Ramzi, also has green eyes, but his hair is fiery red. Other than Cai, they all have long hair. I have no doubt thatthey’re all dangerous men, but somehow, I know they mean me no harm.
“When you say you take care of things, does that include hurting innocents?”
They all shake their heads.
“No,” Silas replies. “We go after those who hurt innocent people.”
Tilting my head, I consider them. I know about Black Ops. You can’t be in the military and not know about them. Operators that do what needs to be done, usually with no backup. Those men are a different breed, mostly from military backgrounds.
“And you’ll help me find who killed my family?”
Cahir nods. “You have our word. We’ll use all our resources to help you right this wrong.”
