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- Herausgeber: Valley Publishing Ltd.
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Aiden has high hopes for his own mission, but Las Vegas and a woman accused of killing her own husband wasn’t it. Then he finds out it’s a special request from a man he’s long respected and that the woman in question was his cousin. Even more confusing is the series of other murders that, according to the local law enforcement, are linked to her as well.
Toby’s life has been one long nightmare, and, just when a light shines in to save her, and she hopes she will survive this after all, the cops decide she’s the one who murdered her husband. Hardly … but, if she’d had the guts and the lack of concern for spending the rest of her life in jail for getting justice, then she’d have done it.
But, as it was, if they can’t figure out who and what is going on, she’ll be spending her life in prison regardless. And that would be a shame, considering she’d just met Aiden, one of the most interesting men to cross her path. Now if only he’d been here years ago, before her world went off the rails …
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
Ähnliche
Books in This Series:
Kerrick, Book 1
Griffin, Book 2
Jax, Book 3
Beau, Book 4
Asher, Book 5
Ryker, Book 6
Miles, Book 7
Nico, Book 8
Keane, Book 9
Lennox, Book 10
Gavin, Book 11
Shane, Book 12
Diesel, Book 13
Jerricho, Book 14
Killian, Book 15
Hatch, Book 16
Corbin, Book 17
Aiden, Book 18
The Mavericks, Books 1–2
The Mavericks, Books 3–4
The Mavericks, Books 5–6
The Mavericks, Books 7–8
The Mavericks, Books 9–10
The Mavericks, Books 11–12
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
About Magnus
Sneak Peek from Magnus
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
What happens when the very men—trained to make the hard decisions—come up against the rules and regulations that hold them back from doing what needs to be done? They either stay and work within the constraints given to them or they walk away. Only now, for a select few, they have another option:
The Mavericks. A covert black ops team that steps up and break all the rules … but gets the job done.
Welcome to a new military romance series by USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. A series where you meet new friends and just might get to meet old ones too in this raw and compelling look at the men who keep us safe every day from the darkness where they operate—and live—in the shadows … until someone special helps them step into the light.
Aiden has high hopes for his own mission, but Las Vegas and a woman accused of killing her own husband wasn’t it. Then he finds out it’s a special request from a man he’s long respected and that the woman in question was his cousin. Even more confusing is the series of other murders that, according to the local law enforcement, are linked to her as well.
Toby’s life has been one long nightmare, and, just when a light shines in to save her, and she hopes she will survive this after all, the cops decide she’s the one who murdered her husband. Hardly … but, if she’d had the guts and the lack of concern for spending the rest of her life in jail for getting justice, then she’d have done it.
But, as it was, if they can’t figure out who and what is going on, she’ll be spending her life in prison regardless. And that would be a shame, considering she’d just met Aiden, one of the most interesting men to cross her path. Now if only he’d been here years ago, before her world went off the rails …
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Prologue
Aiden Bronte walked into his bedroom and stretched. The last few days had been calm, relaxing, and he’d even spent some time with family. Hearing the phone ring, he looked to see who it was. “Hey, Mom.”
“How are you doing? Wanted to tell you that your dad and I decided to take a cruise next month.”
“Good,” he said, and then he frowned. “Isn’t that like short notice?”
“I think that’s why your father wants to do it. There was an incredible deal, and he wants to go.”
“Sounds good. Besides, I don’t know where I’ll be next month anyway.”
“Ah, so that means you can’t come with us then.”
“Well, I don’t know that I can or I can’t, but I would say it’s probably a no.”
“Right.”
But she didn’t appear to be concerned; in fact, she appeared to be more than excited.
“If there’s a chance to see you over the next couple days, it would be nice.”
“I’m kinda on call, Mom. We’ll see.” Their call was over soon, and he got up and had a quick shower. When he came out, he’d missed a call. He immediately dialed, and, when Corbin answered the phone, Aiden asked, “Hey, you guys surviving?”
“More than surviving.” Corbin yawned. “Playing house is great. You should try it.”
“Even though she’s got a baby coming?”
“Absolutely. You know me. I never really figured I would have a family at all. So this is just fine.”
“Good. So why the call? What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is you’re shipping out.”
“I am?”
“You are. You ready?”
“Hell, yes. Do I get anybody partnered with me?”
“Well, you do, but, in this case, I’m not so sure how that’ll work. Do you remember Mountain? Mountain Bear Rode?”
Mountain was one of those huge monster-size guys. “Of course. Who doesn’t?”
“He’s supposed to be coming on board with the Mavericks too.”
“Really? I thought the Mavericks were getting their budget slashed. Also I thought Mountain was heading back up north. Canada or someplace?”
“I think something’s afoot with the Mavericks. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on.”
“Interesting,” Aiden said, with a quick frown. “That’s fine, as long as I fulfill my obligation, then I’m free and clear, right?”
“You are, indeed. And believe me. I’ve got Nellie here trying to get me out of it too.”
“Yeah, especially now that you’ve got a family on the way,” he said in a teasing note.
“You’re absolutely right, but Mountain has a different issue altogether, and he needs us. I’m not sure what that deal is, but he’s coming on board to help you first, and you’ll be helping him out too. I just don’t have all the details.”
“Where am I going?” He quickly dressed, while he was talking on the phone.
“You’re leaving in twenty minutes. Mountain will be there, with wheels.”
“And where are we going?”
“Vegas.”
“Vegas? What’s in Vegas?” He was stunned at that location. He’d only been stateside for a few days as it was.
“A series of loan sharks involved in gambling and supposedly an innocent victim in it all.”
“Yeah, in Vegas is there such a thing?”
“It looks like somebody is laundering money.”
“Hardly our deal either.” He frowned. “This sounds bizarre for us.”
“Just like my mission, sometimes strange things happen.”
“Fine. What’s going on?”
“The innocent victim is our card dealer, Toby. She’s been charged with murder, released on bail. I am told that she’s at home in isolation.”
“And we care, why?”
“Well, for one, this is not so much a paid job as it’s something to do with Mountain. Hopefully he’ll tell you more when he picks you up.”
“Is it personal?”
“Very, but also something else.” Corbin sounded frustrated, which was unusual and unnerving.
“Okay,” Aiden said slowly, “that’s just confusing.”
“I know. Sorry. I’m not trying to be cryptic, but I’m just not getting very much in the way of intel either.”
“Hey, that’s not how we’re supposed to work.”
“I know. Believe me. Yet it has to do with Mountain.”
“Fine. So I’m supposed to go to Vegas and to help solve a crime and to free somebody who is supposedly up for attempted murder charges?”
“No, not just attempted murder but first-degree murder.”
“Who did she supposedly kill?”
“Her husband.”
“Well, shit, that alone makes her a good suspect.”
“I know, right? Everybody loves to take out their ex. But, according to her, she had nothing to do with it.”
“You could have sent me anywhere in the world, and you send me to Vegas? You are going soft.”
“I know. Sorry, bro. Not only that but it’s not an op that we normally deal with. But, hey, lots of the cases lately have been pretty off the wall.”
“If you say so,” he snapped. “This is just a BS case.”
“Maybe, but it’s Mountain’s case.”
“But it’s not supposed to be a Mountain case.”
“I know. That’s what’s weird about it. Anyway he’s picking you up in a few minutes. See if you can get more info out of him.”
“Yeah, you can bet I will. And thanks.”
“Once we’re done with this case, I’d like to see you settle close to us.”
“Why would you want that?”
“So you can start a family, and so we can stay friends.”
“Ha, ha. Nobody is in my life. You know that.”
“True. But I also know nobody was in my life when I did my last op too.”
“No way. Somebody charged with murder doesn’t sound like my kind of partner.”
“Well, that’s one of many.”
“What do you mean, one of many?”
“I think they’re looking to pin four murders on her.”
“Jesus Christ. Why?”
“Because they’re all guys she’s dealt cards for. They were at her table, winning big. Yet, when they were found dead, no winnings were on them.”
“So where’s the money then?”
“Believe me. That’s something that everyone would like to know. So add it to your list. Find out where the money went.”
“Great,” he muttered. “I’m out.”
And, with that, he grabbed his travel bag he’d had ready since he got back to his place and locked the front door. He walked down to the curb. He hadn’t even dropped his bag, when Mountain drove up in a military jeep. Aiden took one look, smiled, threw his bag in the back, and laughed. “The only reason you got a jeep is because you can have the roof off and not hit your head.”
Mountain looked at him, and something in his icy gaze warmed slightly. He gave a clipped nod and said, “Nice to see your sense of humor is still there.”
“Well, mine is. Where’s yours?”
“Frozen,” he snapped, “but I’ll give you the details on the drive.”
“You better,” he said, settling into the passenger seat, “because I’m a little confused what kind of a deal this is.”
“In a way you got the lucky job, as you might not even have to assist on the next one,” he said, “because I’ve got something going on in the background that’s big. It’s deep. It’s dark, and I need big-time help. Only no one believes we’ve got a problem, … yet.”
“Good enough,” Aiden said. “You know me. I’m always there for the rescue.”
Chapter 1
Aiden rode in the jeep to the airport, where Mountain put his vehicle into long-term parking. As they walked up to the boarding area with their bags over their shoulders, Aiden asked in a low tone, “When will you tell me what this is all about?”
Mountain gave him a hard look. “You know as much as I do.”
He snorted at that. “Like hell. Apparently you have some connection, so that this is your case.” Aiden hated the fact that the tone of his voice noted this case was supposed to be his.
At that, Mountain shook his head. “No, it’s not my case. It’s your case. I am, however, connected to the case.”
“In what way?”
“Toby is my cousin,” he stated.
Aiden came to a dead stop and looked at him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” Mountain kept walking; Aiden quickly caught up. “I told my father that I would check into it, but he and his brother weren’t happy about that. To them she’s ruining their name. But they also don’t want me involved. They’d rather cut her loose to drown. That’s not my style.”
“I gather you don’t get along?”
“Not enough. Not in a while. And our fathers haven’t gotten along in a long time. I’m not sure they even know what I do.”
“And what about Toby?”
“We used to be close,” Mountain admitted. “I don’t even know why she’s still up in Vegas or what kind of trouble she’s in. She’s a math genius, which has gotten her in trouble before.”
“Well, that would be a good reason to end up in Vegas,” Aiden noted, “as long as she’s not card counting. … I still don’t understand what this has to do with anything else.”
Mountain didn’t say anything for a long moment. They caught their flight at the last minute, entering the plane before the door closed behind them. Finding their seats, they sat down, thankful that it was a short flight.
Aiden looked over at Mountain. “You’ve got some other gig going on?”
“Let’s just say that I’ve tapped into something that could be pretty big and pretty ugly.”
“Tell me more.” Aiden turned in his seat to face his buddy. “Is this known by anybody else?”
“Nope. I’m pretty sure whatever I say will just blow the lid off something, an international joint operation, but I have to get some support for a mission to confirm. It’s bigger than me.”
“And you don’t want to go to your boss?”
“Well, right now,” Mountain replied, his lips twitching, “I don’t really have one.”
“What about the Mavericks?”
“Potentially the Mavericks will have my back on this, but I can’t be sure. It’s one of the reasons I’m doing this job.”
“You know, Corbin told me something about it, but he didn’t really give me any details.”
“No. Not a whole lot of details to give.” At that, Mountain settled into his seat and closed his eyes. “I’m catching five.”
If there was ever an immediate shutdown, that was it. Aiden leaned back, ready for this flight to be over with. Pulling up his cell phone, he quickly sent Corbin a message, confirming they were on the flight. He got a thumbs-up as a reply. He smiled at that, wondering just what his own life would look like after this op. It’s the kind of work he’d been doing for a very long time. However, watching Corbin and his new partner and her very burgeoning belly—who thankfully survived her ordeal in great shape—Aiden had started to wonder about his own future.
He’d often thought that there wouldn’t be one. He’d always gone on missions with the idea, if he were the one who didn’t make it back, it would be okay because he was the one who didn’t have anybody waiting for him. Now, all of a sudden, he kept thinking it would be a hell of a nice thing if he did have somebody waiting for him—something else Corbin had changed for Aiden. And yet that wasn’t necessarily a good thing, particularly when nobody was in his orbit.
He looked over at Mountain, who was starting to stir. Aiden waited until his buddy appeared to be cognizant, but then he hopped up and went to the washroom at the back of the plane. When he returned, Aiden said, “So, tell me more about your cousin.”
“She’s smart, too damn smart.”
At that, Aiden frowned. “Is there such a thing?”
“Yeah, there is,” Mountain confirmed. “She should have been off in university, but her parents wouldn’t pay for her to go. And then, by the time she was old enough and mature enough to tell them to flip off, she no longer knew what she wanted to do. She keeps trying to get rid of her no-good on-and-off-again boyfriend from high school, where that whole scenario sucked from day one. She hooked up with him a couple years ago, where he promptly dumped her and took off with her best friend.”
“Nice guy,” Aiden quipped, “but a story I’d heard many times before, same song, different singers.”
“I know,” he agreed. “Then the bad penny turned up again, and, thing is, they got married, and I don’t know why.”
“Oh, ouch.”
“Yeah. That’s where she got pretty stupid.”
“You just said she was too smart for her own good.”
“I asked her why the hell she was marrying the loser guy, and she told me that she didn’t have any choice.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure. And they only got married a couple weeks ago, and now he’s dead.”
“Okay. So hang on. She married the louse two weeks ago, and now he’s dead, and she’s charged with his murder?”
Mountain nodded. “Right. It all happened so fast that I’m not even sure what the details are, and she hasn’t been talking to me at all.”
“And yet you mentioned you were close.”
“Close as kids and yet not close enough lately apparently.” He growled. “I also told her that I could solve this, and she just gave me a flat stare and told me not to bother.”
“Meaning that she feels guilty and deserves whatever is coming her way?”
“Well, I hadn’t considered it in quite that way,” Mountain replied, “but I guess that’s always one option.”
“Do you really believe she didn’t kill him?”
“She says she didn’t, and I believe her.”
“Okay. Then she feels trapped by something.”
“Toby should never have married him, so I’m not exactly sure what the deal is there.”
“Right. I’ll ask this,” Aiden began, “and you won’t like it.”
At that, Mountain’s jaw twitched. “What else is new?”
“Is there a child involved?”
He looked at him. “That’s not exactly what I thought you would ask.”
“No, but a lot of women would do a lot of things to protect a child.”
“Blackmailed into marrying this guy to protect a child? That doesn’t make much sense.”
“None of this makes any sense,” Aiden agreed, “but it will. You know that we just have to get all the answers, and she apparently isn’t helping out.”
“As far as I know, there’s no child,” Mountain replied.
Aiden continued with his questions. “Could it be that you just don’t know about it yet? Is it likely to be, and none of her family would know about it? Have they not visited her in a long time?”
“No. No one is close. Emotionally, that is. Her parents live in Vegas, but they are worthless. When Toby last got rid of this bad boy, she told me that she had known better than to go back to him and that she wouldn’t do it again. She was making plans for a future. Vegas was not it, but it was a means to the end to get the money to go to college. She wanted to be a scientist.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-eight,” Mountain replied. “And she knew that was a late start for college, but she refused to believe that it was too late.”
“Of course not. So you feel she was pressured into marrying him.”
“Yes. At least, I want to believe that,” he added, “because I don’t want to believe she went back of her own volition.”
“Which you know happens more often than not.”
“Yeah, I get that, but that wasn’t normal for her.”
Aiden paused. “So what was the reason for going back-and-forth?”
“She did tell me that his sister had something to do with her going back to him the last time or the time before that.”
“What did the guy’s sister have to do with it?”
“She has a mental disability, and the boyfriend was responsible for her.”
Aiden frowned. “This bad boy never outgrew his responsibility for somebody who is mentally challenged?” There was no hiding his surprise.
Mountain shrugged. “Apparently he loves his sister.”
“And why would that have anything to do with Toby staying with him?”
“I’m not sure. I do know that she really loved the sister too.”
“That’s a hell of a reason for staying in some crazy guy’s orbit unless …” He stopped, looked over at Mountain. “With the sister having mental limitations, that brings in the ‘child’ feature I mentioned earlier, doesn’t it? Is Toby the kind to protect?”
“Absolutely.” Mountain nodded. “And then something happened, and I’m not sure what.”
“Okay. According to Corbin, the cops are looking at charging Toby with four other potential murder charges.”
“And I don’t get that at all.” Mountain stared ahead. The seat belt light came on, and he added, “We’re getting out of here soon.”
“I still need more of the story.”
“You’ll get it, but from her.”
“Will she talk to you?”
“That’s the hope,” he muttered. “However, at this point in time, I’m not sure I know her at all.”
“And yet you promised you could help fix it.”
“Yeah. And the two fathers wouldn’t take me up on my offer to help her.”
“So, lots of family issues are involved.”
“Yep.”
“What about your parents?”
“What about them?” Mountain replied. “I have nothing to do with them either. My birth mother died giving life to me. My so-called dad remarried soon afterward, getting a housekeeper and cook and babysitter in the bargain. She hated me. I always reminded her of Dad’s first wife.”
Aiden stared at Mountain, surprised.
His buddy shrugged. “The family is messed up, and I mean all of the family.”
“So, Toby’s family too?”
“I would have thought she was the straightest of them all, … but now I’m not so sure.”
Aiden nodded. “Let’s go take a look around Vegas and see what we can find.”
As soon as they landed and walked outside, they headed over to the rental vehicles and picked up an SUV. Mountain looked at it and shook his head. “Couldn’t we get something with no top on it?”
“Like what?” Aiden asked.
“A jeep.”
“You know that won’t be easy. And they didn’t have any cheap jeeps available.”
“Great.”
Aiden watched as Mountain folded his huge frame into the passenger side. With his knees close to his chest, he shook his head and popped the seat as far back as possible, just so he could get his knees down.
“Shit!” he muttered.
“I can see why you don’t like to travel commercial for the same reason.”
“You saw the lack of leg room on the plane,” Mountain noted. “You saw me not move.”
“Right. I guess military transport is a lot easier.”
“And we should have done that,” he replied.
“You’re right. We will next time.”
“I booked it,” Mountain said. “Serves me right.”
Aiden didn’t say anything to that. “I’m hearing an awful lot of guilt in your voice.”
“I don’t even know if it’s guilt,” Mountain admitted. “Toby was the sweetest kid though. And I do feel like something blew up in her world.”
“Of course you do,” Aiden agreed, “but that doesn’t mean you could have stopped it.”
At that, Mountain shook his head and shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I was there to help her out either.”
Aiden wondered what to do with that. Of course it was the truth. It was hard to look at things that went wrong around you and to see that maybe you could have done something to help but didn’t. Too often everybody just kept busy in their own lives. Meanwhile things blew up, before you even had a chance to realize that something needed to be done.
Aiden followed Mountain’s directions until they got to the address they were looking for. Standing outside of the vehicle, Aiden looked up at the small home and asked, “Is it hers?”
“It’s one of her father’s rental properties,” Mountain explained.
“What does her father do?”
“He runs a casino. You’ll find almost everybody here is involved in the industry one way or another.”
“Is that how she got her job?”
“No.” Mountain shook his head. “She wouldn’t take a job from him.” And, with that, Mountain frowned and looked over at Aiden. “Come on. Let’s go hear the story from her firsthand.”
When Toby opened her front door, she stared at Aiden in confusion. Then her gaze landed on Mountain. Her face lit up, but then, almost as if it took a force of will, she wiped it clean and gave him a blank look. “Wow. What the hell brought you back?”
Mountain glared at her. “You knew I would come—as soon as you let me know you were in trouble.”
“Well, I didn’t let you know that I was in trouble, now did I?” she asked in an odd tone, as she walked back into her living room. “You might as well come in though, knowing you won’t leave anytime soon.”
At that, Aiden looked over at Mountain, who just shrugged. “She’s right. I’m not. We have a lot of shit to sort out first.”
Aiden stepped inside, not particularly liking the innuendos floating around him. As he walked in, he looked around the small living room, noting not a whole lot of furniture was here, as if she didn’t have a whole lot of money. He wondered if the cops had looked at any of that, considering how, if she had stolen money from any of these dead gamblers, she sure as hell wasn’t spending any of it. But then that wasn’t necessarily an issue because a lot of people waited until they moved and spent it then.
As he sat down in the living room, he looked over at her. “You obviously know Mountain. I’m Aiden.”
She looked at him and frowned. “I may have heard that name in the past.”
He shrugged. “Mountain and I’ve known each other for a long time.”
She nodded, cast a sideways glance at her cousin, and snapped, “At least he’s good at keeping up with some people.”
Aiden looked from Mountain to Toby and added, “Look. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but I would like to be clear. Get past it, so it doesn’t interfere in our work.”
“Too late,” she stated immediately. “I’m Toby by the way.”
He nodded. “And I am here to help. Mountain is too.”
She shook her head, gazing at the two men. “This isn’t your doing.”
“I told you that you should’ve just asked for my help,” Mountain said.
“That wouldn’t do me any good, would it? And I sure as hell don’t want the families involved.”
“Why don’t you want them involved?” Aiden asked.
She frowned at both men again, then addressed Aiden. “Has Mountain not given you the full details?”
At that, Aiden shook his head. “He’s been remarkably tight-lipped about it all, and it would be really nice to know what the hell is going on.”
The two relatives shared a look, and then her shoulders slumped. “I don’t even know what you’re here for,” she replied. “It’s not as if this is anything you can help with.”
Toby stared at the two men. Her cousin just made her heart ache, bringing up so many hard feelings in so many ways. Yet she couldn’t remember what was the core of it. All of it paled now, given everything that had torn apart her world since then. Except that she was different, and so was he. She sagged into a chair and stared at the newcomer, Aiden. “I get that you’re probably one of those hero kind of guys who’s here to help rescue the damsel in distress,” she stated, “but sometimes no rescue can happen.”
“And sometimes you just need a little faith,” he argued calmly. “I have no intention of failing, regardless of what you may think.”
She stared at him for a moment. “I don’t even know what I think anymore,” she admitted softly. “And, if you think you can do anything to help, that would be lovely.”
“I need to know a few things,” Aiden began. “One, is anything between you and your cousin here that will stop you from helping us or will interfere in our work?”
She smiled. “The only thing between Mountain here and me that’s a problem,” she replied, “is the fact that he told me to walk away from my ex-boyfriend. So, when things changed, and I went back to my ex, I felt like I needed to stay away from Mountain. When you let people know your feelings in a rather strong manner, it’s a little hard to go back to them and ask for help.”
“No, it isn’t,” Mountain countered. “You just move on from the bastard.”
She nodded. “I didn’t kill him, you know?”
“I know you didn’t,” he agreed, looking at her. “I never thought you did.”
“You’re the only one who didn’t then.”
“What I don’t know is why you married him,” Mountain admitted. “I’ve never thought of you as being one of those abused women who couldn’t shake off her abuser.”
She stared at him with an anemic look for a very long time. “No, but I also cared about his sister. Then once the blackmail started—”
“Blackmail?” Aiden pounced.
“And everything I tell you will just make it seem very much like I did kill him,” she protested, turning to address Aiden.
“If we take that off the board,” Aiden suggested, “maybe it will help me understand what’s going on here. So, how about we just start with the truth?”
She sank deeper into her seat, marshaling her thoughts. “He had a sister, … has a sister.”
“Okay,” Aiden replied calmly. “What does she have to do with this?”
“She’s the only reason I went back to him,” she explained, “and only because he blackmailed me, saying that he’d leave her alone if I came back.”
“Leave her alone? How?”
