Page 56 of Maddox

“Nope. He just showed up.”

“He has a habit of doing that. I’m surprised you accepted.”

“Why?” I bristled. “Because I shouldn’t consider myself worthy?”

“Jesus, Maddox. I deserved that, but you called me. Remember? You’re way more qualified with extractions than I am.”

My grip on the phone was tight. “Yeah, I did. I’m sorry. Been a hell of a couple days.”

“Just like old times. All I was going to say was that I was surprised given what Alfaro put you through. Is this about seeking revenge?”

“Now, why would I do that? This is about a wayward reporter who decided to place herself in harm’s way.”

“Sounds a lot like a woman I know sleeping beside me in a king-sized bed.”

I was happy for Kage. I truly was. He’d found the love of his life. Was I jealous? Hell, no. I’d simply never anticipated he’d fall for one woman. “She’s a fucking handful.”

“Uh-huh. Which means you don’t want to like her, but you do.”

“I didn’t call you for relationship advice. I can handle her.” I wasn’t about to offer up her name. Not at this point.

“Then why did you call me in the middle of the night?”

As I took another deep swallow of brew, I thought about whether I was doing the right thing. “I need you to do some checking. If you’re not too busy with that horse sanctuary you now own.”

“Gray told you.”

“He did.”

The way he muttered under his breath caused a smile. He was certainly a different man than when I’d known him years before. “What do you need?”

“This needs to remain between us. At least for now.”

“You don’t necessarily trust why our commander tasked you for the mission.”

“You would be correct,” I admitted. “I need to know what kind of radar Alfaro is under and what lengths the DEA is going to in order to track him down.”

“Let me guess. No questions asked.”

My instinct told me Charmaine had no clue what she’d found herself in the middle of. “I can’t give you any details. At least not yet. But it’s possible I’ll need your help later.”

“You got it. I’ll see what I can find. But you’ll owe me.”

“Fine. I’ll owe you. I should be back in the States in a couple days. Call me when you find something.”

“Will do.” Kage remained on the line. “Where are you taking her if you’re successful getting her out?”

“DC. She got herself involved in a national situation.”

“Of course,” he huffed. “Be careful who you trust. Lots of rumors flying around.”

“You don’t need to tell me.”

“If you need some help, give Damon Zephyr a call. He’s currently living in Alexandria, Virginia. He knows people.”

Damon. I hadn’t thought about the man in years. He’d been a part of our unit then suddenly transferred. “I heard through the grapevine he was into criminal activity.”

“Maybe. However, he’s one of us.”

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