Page 2 of Iron Willed Warrior

Today, I would begin the biggest undercover assignment I’d ever undertaken. It was off the books, totally unofficial as far as any FBI records would show. It was the result of months of investigation and effort, with Stanford at the head.

A source had provided new intel recently, and we’d escalated our timetable. Things were suddenly moving fast. Maybe too fast, given Stanford’s lingering worries. But I could do this. We were finally going to turn our investigation into action.

This case was personal for me. Not in a way that would cloud my judgment, but in a way that fueled my fire like nothing else.

“It’s these other people I don’t have faith in,” Stanford said under his breath. “These…Protectors.”

He’d laced that last word with as much derision and skepticism as possible.

The Last Refuge Protectors were a group of vigilantes operating out of Hart County, Colorado. All with military training, like myself. But unlike me, they were wary of the FBI. Our partnership with them was unconventional, to say the least.

On the FBI side, I’d been the natural choice for this undercover assignment, given my contacts and the circumstances at play. But it still hadn’t been easy to convince SAC Stanford to put me in. I didn’t do much undercover work. Certainly not something this deep or this dangerous. I’d served as a Marine in combat, but even then, I’d had my unit to rely on during missions. Not to mention air support.

But this mission wouldn’t have existed at all if not for the Protectors. They also had resources of their own. Gear, weapons, technology, intel.

The truth was that weneededthe Protectors to make this mission happen. Stanford knew that as well as I did.

“I’m not thrilled with it either,” I said. “The decision’s been made, and there’s no going back. As you so often like to tell me.”

“And you always hate hearing it.”

“I do. At least we know River Kwon is legit. He’s married to the lieutenant governor, for heaven’s sake. My best friend. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but he’s a good guy, and that makes me believe the other Protectors are trustworthy as well.”

“Kwon isn’t your partner in this mission, though. You haven’t even met this Cole Bailey character.”

I groaned at the reminder. I had no idea what to make of Cole Bailey yet.

In an ideal world, we would’ve had more time to vet him. But under our time pressure, it wasn’t possible. River had assured me Bailey was the best, and that he’d help us. Noquestion. River had a way of getting on my last nerve, but he was an excellent operative. I trusted his word.

Starting tonight, I would have a week to get to know Bailey—and make sure he understood who was in charge—before we had to go into the lion’s den together.

Stanford folded his hands on the tabletop, expression gruff. “What do we really know about Bailey, apart from his service record and current occupation? Very little.”

“We’ve already discussedall of this.” I kept my voice down, not wanting to draw the attention of our server or the couple of other patrons. But I was beyond frustrated. “Why are you rehashing it now?”

“Because you mean a hell of a lot to me, Brynn. That’s not the kind of thing you and I talk about, and I figure that’s the Marine in us both. We’re hell-raisers when we need to be, but about other things, we’re stoic.”

“Yeah. That’s fair.”

“Truth is, you’ve become like a daughter to me and Marie. I hope you realize that.”

I glanced down at the table, feeling my skin heat. “Thank you. I feel the same.”

“And now I’ve gone and made it awkward.”

I laughed. “Nah, I can handle talking feelings if you can. So long as we don’t make a habit of it.”

He winked. “Not likely.”

The server brought over our lunches. I ate, though I wasn’t feeling all that hungry. A lot of emotions were swirling around in my stomach. Gratitude. Nerves. Uncertainty.

Stanford reached into the messenger bag at his feet and brought out a manila envelope. Set it on the table and rested his hand on top of it. “The identity papers for your cover stories. We used Bailey’s most recent photo from his bounty hunter license. His listed address is in Mexico City, but Icouldn’t risk going through any official channels there for more info. If we’d had more time…”

“We’ll make it work.” I took the envelope and peered quickly inside. It held several documents, as expected. There was also a burner phone, which would be the only means of contact between me and Stanford during this mission. My one remaining tie to the FBI.

“I’ve decided I want your updates daily,” Stanford said.

I gave him a sharp look. “Daily?You’re not serious.”

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