Chapter 16
“Talk to me.” Colt’s cryptic greeting didn’t surprise Mitch, hell, they’d been friends way too long for anything about Colt Matthews to surprise him. Grayson was putting their dinner in the oven as Colt walked into the room. Selita had made a habit of cooking and freezing dinners for them the year before when they’d spent all their spare hours building the cabin, and she’d continued even after they’d had a fully functioning kitchen. She sent boxes full of meals with them several times a month so their freezer was usually well stocked. They were always grateful and made sure she always got large cash gifts for every holiday, birthday, hell, they’d even given her money for National Peach Lover’s Day last year. She’d always insisted they not pay her, but gifts for “occasions” seemed to be okay. They’d laughed while they’d searched the Internet for an “occasion” the last time they’d felt it was time for another “gift.”
“You’re right, she’s holding back. I didn’t get it all, her thoughts don’t exactly track perfectly when she’s balancing on the edge, man. But she is afraid of getting hurt. She trusted someone before, someone she thought she loved, and got hurt. Whether or not that was Ted Scott, I don’t know yet. But I’ll get it. I need to be able to spend an hour alone with her.” Seeing the look on his friend’s face, he smiled. “Christ, Matthews, lighten the fuck up, will you…I mean, I just want to be able to sit and talk with her. I’ll steer the conversation and get exactly what you need to know, even though I’m fairly certain we already know the gist of it.” Mitch Grayson wasn’t opposed to using his gifts to help others, but he was judicious about allowing anyone outside of a very small circle of close friends to know exactly how strong his skills were. He knew there were a lot of people on both sides who would take great pleasure in using his talents for ill-gotten gains. Hell, he had made certain no one outside of their immediate team had been aware he’d spent time with their upper command and knew exactly which of those pricks would sell him out for thirty pieces of silver.
“Tell me what you got, specifically. Stop dicking around, damn it.” Colt was tired of waiting. He was frustrated with his inability to get through the walls Jenna had built around her heart. He’d known that pulling Grayson in was using an unfair advantage, but this was a battle he didn’t intend to lose. Now that he’d found out the truth about Ted Scott, he’d be tracking back to those responsible for his placement in their unit, something about it just didn’t sit well with him.
“Okay, Jesus, Matthews, get a grip already. She just kept chanting to herself, to ‘remember last time’ and then ‘keep distance.’ But the clincher was at the very end, just as she was falling asleep, she wondered how she was ever going to protect her heart, then admitted to herself that she’d already lost it to you a long time ago and that you are everything she’d dreamt you’d be, and she dreads the devastation she’ll face when it’s all taken away from her. And before you ask, no, I don’t know exactly why she thinks it will be taken away, but my guess is because Ted Scott ripped her innocence and her faith in love from her at a very young age, she has decided that love can’t be trusted.” Then chuckling softly, he added, “But be careful, that’s a mix of psychology and hocus pocus…always a dangerous combination.”
“Spend some time with her tomorrow morning. See if you can get any more. I have some calls to make, I am going to light a fire under Franklin’s ass again. That little prick aide of his didn’t seem all that interested in passing along my message earlier today. But I’ll go over our dear former general’s happy ass if I have to, this is personal. He isn’t going to play this smoke-and-mirrors game with me for long. You get anything on that weasel assistant?” Colt had been trying to warn their former commander for over a year that his disabled “war hero” aide was a dick of the first order. Hell, General Franklin’s ass-hat assistant had his head so far up his boss’s posterior they were both probably having trouble figuring out where one of them ended and the other had begun. Colt, Alex, Zach, and Mitch had all been of the same opinion, all had bad feelings about the guy, and they’d even discussed cutting off contracting with Uncle Sam until the situation was safer. They’d had a couple of missions go south in a big way after he’d joined Franklin’s staff and it seemed just a bit too coincidental for a team who’d been trained tonevertrust a coincidence.
“No, and that really bothers me for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that his past record is so perfect it red flags to me. Nobody has a record that watertight, and his reeks of manufactured.” Grayson was a born skeptic with a finely tuned sixth sense and amazing computer skills, and if he red flagged it, Colt knew they had better sit up and pay attention.
“Manufactured? How could Franklin not notice that?” Colt had known General Franklin for years. It wasn’t like him to be taken in by a fraud.
“No fucking clue, but he is getting older, and I know the last time I spoke with his wife, she made a couple of comments about things he’d ‘forgotten’ that hinted toward concerns for his physical and mental health. I think she was trying to hedge about Alzheimer’s, so it may be that he is just not as sharp as he once was.”
“And if that’s the case, Mr. Big-Shot Aide could be essentially running the show under the guise of protecting his boss’s reputation. Any chance he’s on the take?” Colt knew he was going to have to call in a few favors and have the aide checked out, hell, he was seriously considering sending Grayson to DC for a little personal meet and greet with the guy.
“Fuck, what’s the little wart on Franklin’s ass called anyway? I never can remember the prick’s name,” Grayson asked.
“Theodore James,” Colt answered. Colt was the only member of the team that had actually met the guy face-to-face. He hadn’t been impressed. The guy had obviously had a lot of plastic surgery after being in a land mine explosion in Afghanistan. He’d also lost a leg, but seemed like he got around well on his prosthesis. They hadn’t exactly hit it off that day in Franklin’s office, and things had remained chilly, at best, ever since.
“I’m going to run his name against Ted Scott’s, see if there is any reason to believe they might be connected in any way.” The hair on the back of Mitch’s neck had stood straight up when Colt had said his name, and that was a warning sign it had paid to never ignore. “I have to tell you, something just feels every kind of wrong about this guy. Something tells me there is more to this whole situation than meets the eye.”
“Agreed. Now, I’m going to go check and see if Jenna is ready for some dinner. That smells fantastic, and I’m starving.” Colt started to move from the room when Grayson stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.
“Keep this one, Colt, she’s really special. There is goodness in her that goes bone deep. She loves you, but she’s scared of being hurt again. If you aren’t in this for the long haul, walk away now, she’s too fragile to weather your rejection if she invests another minute in her love for you.” Mitch didn’t like giving unsolicited advice, but he really wanted his friend to know how special Jenna was, and he’d seen Colt fuck then toss women aside for years. They’d all teased him that he seemed like he was “auditioning or trying them on for size,” and then when he found the least little excuse as to why they didn’t “fit,” he tossed them aside. Mitch felt Jenna’s vulnerability, knew she’d never get over Colt walking away from her if this went on any longer.
Colt looked directly into his friend’s eyes for several seconds before speaking. “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll assure you—only once—it’s unfounded. Jenna is the woman I have been searching for my entire life. I have no intention ofeverletting her go. Now, if you are done being a fucking Boy Scout, I’m going to get my woman.” As Colt stomped up the stairs, Mitch smiled to himself.Oh the Mighty Colt Matthews has fallen. Yes, indeed, Mr. Love and Leave ’Em is officially off the market. Mores the better for me!The sad thing was, he didn’t want more women, he just wanted the one who kept running. But after this mess with Jenna was resolved, it was going to be time for a full-court press on his target.Rissa, you can’t run forever.