“Jesus, fuck.” Castello swung toward the voice, his gun pulled from behind his back and up at ready position before Zack’s Texas drawl had registered in his brain. “I could have shot you, idiot.”
“Yup.” Zack agreed, “Wouldn’t change the fact that you, Boss, are either an idiot or a dick.” Zack shrugged, “I haven’t quite decided which yet.”
“How long have you been listening.”
“Long enough.”
The phone buzzed. The tone told him who was calling before he looked at the screen.No, not yet—it’s too soon.But even as his team were getting to their feet, he hit answer on his cell. “Good afternoon, Sir.”
“Moran, I have a plane waiting for you.”
“Where are we going?”
“Kandahar.”The general would only ever give him a destination.
Castello knew all the intel for the job would be available once they boarded the C-130.
“Roger that, Sir.” Castello hit end on the call. Fuck, his gear was in the other room. Nodding to the guys, “We got a job.” Castello headed to grab his stuff, everything in him screamed to stay. But he was a soldier first, he would answer when his country called. No matter what that cost him.
Castello pushed open the door and breathed out a sigh of relief. Axel wasn’t here. But he didn’t want to leave without saying something. After stuffing clothes into his go bag he pulled a pencil and paper from the front pocket.
Axel,
I’m sorry. Duty calls and I have to go.
Take care of yourself.
Cas.
He placed the note on the pillow where Axel was sure to find it.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat that he would never admit to, Cas took one last look at the room where he was sure he was leaving his heart and walked away.
“Dumbass.” Zack muttered as he held the door to the parking area for him.
“Yup,” Castello knew it, he didn’t need Zack to tell him. He would send Rock a message later, although he was sure the other man would know as soon as the exit alarm alerted them to the door opening. “You drive.” Castello ordered, there was something in his eyes, and he wouldn’t be able to see the freaking road. He knew he had to go, the General called and he answered, period. That didn’t stop that ragged hole in his heart from bleeding, though, and damn if he had expected that. But the ache in his chest wasn’t just knowledge that he was sneaking out in the night. It was knowing he didn’t want to, no matter what he told everyone including himself.
“Roger that.” Zack studied his Boss, he opened his mouth to add something more, then closed it again. Now was not the time. He would remind Castello again that he was an idiot to walk away from Axel, but he could do that later. When he didn’t think Castello would shoot his ass so he didn’t have to listen.
Chapter 17
Miami – Two weeks later.
It took four of the assholes to drag him out of the trunk of the car. Axel didn’t know who the fuck they were, and he really didn’t give a shit. As soon as his hands were free, he was coming up swinging.Bastards.He continued to struggle while they pushed him into what felt like a metal chair. The plastic zip ties holding his wrists together were cut, with no care given to avoid causing his skin more damage.Free, now I can fight.But before he could persuade his arms to move past the pain screaming in his hands as the blood flowed again, his arms were forced around the chair and the fucking assholes zip-tied him a-fuckin-gain. The sticky blindfold over his eyes was ripped off, taking some of his hair with it in the process.
“Ow, fucker.” Axel slammed his eyes shut against the light that burned his eyeballs.
“Show some respect.” One of the goons behind him muttered, cuffing the back of his head, hard.
Respect?Axel snorted in his head,respect for fucking who?
“He has balls.”
A gruff, husky voice stated from where Axel thought was in front of him. He forced his eyelids to open the tiniest possible amount. Oh, freaking sweet baby Jesus in a tuxedo tshirt, across from him sat one of the most feared men in Florida.Oh, shit, I’m dead.Axel refused to flinch. Refused to show an ounce of fear. When you were snatched off your bike at traffic lights in downtown Miami, hogtied, stuffed in the trunk of a car, and brought here, if you showed fear, you were dead. Period.
Through the slits of his eyes, Axel studied Brendan Givens, aka The Professional. He should have expected this. Should have known that sources would get back to Givens that Krystal had returned to the US. Damn it, he loved his sister, but she was an idiot for not taking Zeke and the Panthers up on their offer of a safe place to raise her sons in Texas.
“You know who I am?” Givens asked.
