Page 20 of Walking the Bird

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Alex’s heart raced as he dove off the side of the boat, his gut screaming at him that the drugs sitting on deck were the tip of the preverbal iceberg. The area had been a smugglers hotspot forever, and yet he’d hoped this time away would have been immune to the evil of the world.

Scanning the area beneath him, Alex pushed his body deeper, using the techniques he’d learned in BUDS training to hold his breath. Glancing to his left, he saw Matt tapping at his wrist, reminding him time was nearly up and he would need to resurface for air. With a second scan of the area where Kennedy had cast her hook, Alex was about to head up when he caught the sight of something just outside of a safe distance from him. Clicking a button on his watch, marking the spot with GPS, and pushed the air from his lungs. Alex raced for the surface, all while keeping his bearings on his positing.

Breaking the surface, Alex sucked in a few deep breaths before diving back down, pushing his body toward the spot he’d marked. Matt appeared to his left as he pulled out his knife, severing the cord at the top of another bundle.Pushing back, Alex and Matt watched as the bundle slowly rose in the water before scanning the surrounding water, staring at the dozens of matching bundles surrounding them.

Matt tipped his head back, allowing the ocean to push back his hair as his face broke the surface. He’d let it grow long as of late, something Rayne asked him to do so she could see what he looked like. Pushing his goggles up, he swiped at the salt water on his face as he locked eyes with Logan.

“Gonna need diving equipment. There’s at least a dozen more down there.” Matt grumbled as he hoisted himself out of the water.

“On its way, brother.” Aiden assured, a hint of amusement in his voice, handing Matt a towel as Alex joined them. The pair looked to Aiden as the sound of an approaching boat grew louder.

“What’s so fu…?” Matt trailed off as the speedboat circled around them, the wake rocking the boat, eliciting an oath from his lips and a smile to his face. Recognition hit Matt like a wrecking ball.

“Hide your wives.” Matt teased, standing to his full height and catching the mooring line tossed at him. “And your goats, Tombstone has returned.”

Killing the engine of his boat, Slate doesn’t bother to hide the smile Matt’s teasing created. It’d been years since he’d been called Tombstone, so long he’d nearly forgotten the name.

Jumping onto the deck, he locked hands with Matt, the single man he’d be forever indebted to for rescuing his children. “Haven’t you heard,” Slate began as he pulled his friend in to greet him. “Tombstone died a million years ago, it’s Slate now.”

“Bullshit,” Logan barked from the railing above. “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.”

“Not with the kind of money I’m making these days.”

Scaling down the rail, Logan landed with a thud, spinning on Slate and extending his hand. “If that were the case, we’d all chuck our call signs. You think Aiden sold a kidney to pay for a half a million-dollar wedding?”

“Touché, Viper, touché.” Slate agreed as he took his old friend’s hand.

“It’s good to see you, man. How’ve you been?” Logan regretted not keeping better tabs on Slate once he’d started a family of his own. The pair had once been close, saving each other more than a handful of times.

“It was touch and go there for a while.” Slate admitted, the residual pain from his injuries something he’d learned to live with. “But after Reaper helped get my kids back, I landed this job, bought some property and said goodbye to the States.” It was the watered-down version of what happened. Slate’s wife, although deemed unfit, found some asshole attorney who had dragged him through court for over a year in an attempt to get at least partial custody of their children.

“An expat? Not unheard of for a former SEAL.” Alex added, his familiarity to Slate limited, as he was the one who’d taken his place on the team after the accident. “I’m Havoc, by the way.” Alex extended his hand so as to not appear rude. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Hey, man, good to meet you.” Slate knew all about the man who’d taken over for him as Logan reassured they were in good hands and to focus on getting better.

“So, Chief says you guys caught an interesting fish.”

Hooking his hands on his hips, Zach tipped his head toward the boat behind him. “Come on, let me show you what my wife caught, and you tell me how much shit we’ve stepped in.”

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