Page 8 of Wraith
“I didn’t get to say it earlier but thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” He continued staring into the flames. “We have a long way to go.”
Chapter 3
As Wraith chucked wood into the hearth and lit it, his thoughts were one jumbled mess. Nothing about this sat well with him. He knew, the men after Amelia would not stop and he’d wind up dragged back into the life he’d just sworn to Tex he had left behind. His little stint in Russia told him he’d been way too old for the James Bond bullshit. Aside from his age, Liam no longer had the patience for it either.
But he couldn’t walk away from this.
Doc entered the room, his claws sliding across the hardwood, and lay on the floor beside Wraith. The wolf lifted a paw to Wraith’s thigh which always made Wraith smile. For some reason, whenever he was confused about something, Doc seemed to know. Wraith took a moment to rub the wolf’s belly.
“Yeah, I know,” he said softly as if Doc had asked him a question. “I know I promised. But you have to help those in need, right buddy?”
Doc playfully batted at Wraith’s hand and he chuckled.
That was before Amelia’s presence filled the small space.
When he faced her, Wraith fought to keep his reaction to her dressed in one of his shirts to himself. He knew he shouldn’t stare so he turned again to Doc. But even as he scratched his pet behind the ears, Wraith couldn’t help thinking of the way the white material fell softly against her chocolate thighs.
“You should get some sleep.” Wraith advised. “It’s too late to do much of anything tonight.”
“And you seriously think I’ll be able to sleep?”
“Your mind is all jumbled.” Wraith risked it to look at her again. “I get it. But try.”
Without another word, Wraith left her with Doc and locked himself in the tiny space he’d added to the cabin to be his office. He inhaled, held the breath, exhaled.
What did Leonard get him into? And why send his daughter—his curvy, flawless daughter—to Kirkland Lake? Wraith pressed his back against the door and closed his eyes, trying to calm the trembling in his body. Everything from her thighs, to the swells of her breasts peeking out at the neck of his shirt, to the bare shoulder where the material had fallen away pulled at Wraith.
“This is what happens when you go off to live in the woods.” Wraith muttered. “This is only because she’s the first woman to look at you in a long time. Nothing else.”
Shaking his wrists, Wraith counted three steps from the door then turned left for two steps. He pushed the small sofa out of the way and pulled up the flooring. He knelt and reached into the hole and yanked out a black duffle bag.
Settling it on the floor, he sat and unzipped it. He pulled out a Glock G43, 9mm handgun and ejected the magazine. It was full. Next was a Glock G26. He ensured it was full and set it gently on the floor beside his leg. At the bottom of the bag were two passports and a hundred thousand dollars. Glancing over his shoulders, he quickly carried the bag to his bed and packed some clothing on top of the money, then set the bag by the door.
Wraith couldn’t believe he was just jumping right back into the life. When his time on the JTF2 ended, he swore he was finished. Yet, Wolf called and off he went again. After Russia, he once again promised himself it would be the final time. Then, Leonard’s daughter came knocking and he didn’t even think twice. The truth was, Wraith barely knew Leonard. He’d met the man a couple of times through Cookie on Wolf’s team. But it didn’t stop this mess from landing on his doorstep. The promise was between Tex and Leonard. Wraith thought Tex promising was a bad idea. Leonard was the kind of man who didn’t know when to give up. He stuck his nose in places he shouldn’t and damn the consequences. His kind of living had probably cost him his life.
Sure, Wraith never once thought anything would come of said promise. But in their line of work, anything was possible. He fell into the seat behind his desk and opened his laptop. It took him a bit of work, but he managed to log into a remote server and brought up the chat room. He tapped away at the keyboard, trying to figure out the right algorithms to get a hold of Tex. But the damn hacker set up his location so if anyone tried finding him, it would route them through numerous countries and even then, Tex’s I.P address kept fluctuating. Finally, his old friend’s sleepy eyes filled the screen.
“Wraith? Is that you?” Tex asked. “Do you know what time it is? I have to be on a flight to Germany tomorrow, man. Gimme a break.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t have called you this late if something wasn’t wrong. But you will never guess who showed up on my doorstep earlier tonight.”
“You know I suck at this game.” Tex shifted in his seat and leaned closer to the screen.”
“Leonard’s daughter.”
Tex perked up. “Amelia? I didn’t get a heads up from Leo.”
“Apparently, he sent her to me—which means shit has hit the fan.”
“No shit?”
Wraith pressed his lips into a thin line. “No shit.”
“Have you heard from him?” Tex was busy tapping away at his keyboard. “I figured he’d give me the heads up—you barely knew the guy.”
“The thought had crossed my mind. But you’re kinda far and she lives here.” Wraith rubbed his eyes. “So, it makes a little sense.”
