Page 5 of Fighting for Scarlett

Tate would have sworn that the men belonged to Prey Security. Were they involved in whatever was going on with Scarlett? It wouldn’t be the first time that a SEAL team would work with Prey, but he couldn’t figure out what Scarlett could have gotten messed up in that would necessitate a joint Navy Prey mission.

“I'm sure you’ve all heard of Owen “Fox” LeGrand,” their CO said, nodding to the man who had joined him at the head of the table.

Yeah, every SEAL knew of Fox and his team. They were all retired SEALs who had gone to work for Prey. Prey Security was legendary in the special ops world. While the company also worked private security for wealthy clients, their covert ops made them well known in the special forces’ community.

The expression on Fox’s face was tight, as were the expressions on the five other men and three women who had come in with him. Tate recognized the other men. Ryder “Spider” Flynn, Eric “Night” McNamara, Logan “Shark” Kirk, Grayson “Chaos” Simpson, and Charlie “King” Voss. All six men were married with families, and he had no idea how they had managed to make family life work knowing what they did about the world and the evil that permeated it.

While he knew the men, the three women sitting in the room he’d never seen before. The former SEALs looked angrier, but there was fear in the women’s faces, and he wondered who they were to Scarlett. Not family, because there was no way they would be allowed here without high enough security clearances. So, who were they?

“What's going on?” he asked, anxiety mounting inside him. What had happened to Scarlett? And why did he care so much?

Fox’s dark eyes met his and narrowed slightly, but the older man didn't comment, just moved his gaze to take in the entire gathering. “Scarlett Madden is part of Prey Security’s Athena Team,” he said, pointing to the picture of Scarlett on the board and then to the other three women.

Shock would have knocked him over if he wasn’t already sitting down.

Scarlett Madden worked for Prey?

The sweet, innocent woman he had known he was corrupting just by taking her into his bed worked for the best private security company in the world?

How was that possible?

And how had he not seen beneath the pretty pink veneer to the skilled warrior beneath?

Gullible just like his father.

Anger slowly bubbled to life inside him, knowing he’d been played. For months now, he’d been obsessing over Scarlett, thinking she was all soft and perfect, too good for him, and all that time she’d been lying to him.

Okay, lying was a stretch. He hadn't told her much about himself either. They’d laughed and talked, shared some food, then headed back to Scarlett’s house to spend the night.

“She works for Prey?” he asked, needing to hear it said again.

Fox’s eyes narrowed again. “Do you know Scarlett?”

“You're Tate Laurier,” one of the women said. She was a little younger than the others, with long chestnut brown hair and large brown eyes. With her head tilted to the side, she examined him, and he very much felt like a bug under a microscope.

If these women knew his name, then it was obvious Scarlett must have talked to them about him. But what exactly had she said? And more importantly, what was she doing for Prey that had garnered the Navy’s attention?

“What happened to her?” he asked, ignoring both the older man’s question and the young woman’s observation. Angry with Scarlett for not telling him she was part of Prey—unjustified as it might be—didn't mean that his anxiety had disappeared.

“Last night a little before midnight, Scarlett sent out a text to Lucy,” Fox said, nodding to a blonde with light blue eyes. “It just said help. Athena Team does not work in the field, they are primarily a team of scientists who work on processing forensics for Prey. They also do some development work for us. While they are all trained, they rarely have cause to use those skills. Lucy alerted me, and since I live about ten minutes from Scarlett’s house, I went straight there. I found her back door open, a dead body in her bedroom, along with a puddle of blood in the walk-in closet. There was no sign of Scarlett.”

Kidnapping.

Not random if it had been more than one man and she’d been taken.

If it was just some sicko, he would have done what he wanted with her and then killed her.

Fox stood with a piece of paper in his hand and went to the board, pinning up a picture of what was clearly a dead man. The shot between the eyes was a direct kill shot. Scarlett might not spend a lot of time in the field, but she had skills.

“I’m sure you're all familiar with this tattoo,” Fox said, pointing to a mark in the hollow of the dead man’s neck.

As soon as he saw it, Tate knew what it was.

A small gun surrounded by a ring of dynamite.

The symbol of one of the world’s most dangerous weapons traffickers.

Why had the notorious Raul Castillo sent a team after a woman who worked in a lab at Prey? Made zero sense.

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