Chapter 51

Later that day, after eating lunch, resting in Calum’s mansion while the doctor checked her over again, and arguing about moving her things into Calum’s apartment or vice versa, Juliet followed Rafe into Iron Rack’s Gym. She wasn’t feeling great but definitely better.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from this place since she’d never been, but she was surprised by the UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT sign on the front door. “Calum moves fast.”

Rafe’s hand rested on her lower back, and he whispered, “When we’re done—”

“No.” She glanced up at him, laughing. “Not until our wedding night.”

“We waited the first time.” He frowned. “I don’t think—”

She kissed him hard. He tasted like peppermint and fresh air. He held her close enough for her to feel his arousal pressed against her lower stomach.

Calum’s voice rang out. “Enough of that.”

She put her head against Rafe’s chest, loving the steady beat of his heart until she sneezed twice and wrinkled her nose. “Calum, this place smells like feet.”

“Not for long.” Calum stood in front of the check-in desk, texting.

Philip sat in a metal chair nearby, a set of plans on his lap. “In less than two weeks, everything will be up to code, including the HVAC system.”

Nate and Garza came out from the locker room and met them in front. Nate’s nose looked swollen, and his arms were still bandaged, while Garza needed serious concealer to hide the dark circles below his eyes.

“Pete is with Kells and the other men,” Nate said. “Juliet’s idea might work.”

“It will work,” she said. “And Prideaux House?”

“We’re done clearing the three rooms in the attic,” Garza said. “This morning we boxed up everything we could find. I’ll have an officer take down the police tape around the building.”

“Kells and his men can live in the rooms above the gym for a few weeks,” Philip said. “After that, the basic renovations on Prideaux House will be finished and they can move in. It won’t be beautiful, but they’ll have cold running water and a generator.”

“You’re sure you’re on board with all of this?” Rafe asked Garza. “It means covering for Nate’s men and protecting me for however long this takes.”

Garza crossed his arms. “If my choice is between telling my chief about the Fianna or keeping quiet and helping Nate and Pete however I can, I gotta go with the latter. There’s too much at stake.”

“We’re agreed, then?” She looked at each man directly. “We tell no one about who Nate and his men are, no one mentions the Fianna, and we keep to the story that Calum and Carina got Rafe out of prison.”

“Will Carina go for that?” Philip asked.

Calum nodded. “She agreed as long as her party goes on as planned on Sunday.”

Juliet tucked a hair behind her ear. “The fountain is finished. Bob and his team will complete the planting today, and I’ll inspect it when we’re done here. The privacy fence comes down on Sunday morning with plenty of time for the event coordinator to set up for the party.”

“What about Miss Beatrice’s funeral?” Philip asked Calum.

“Monday afternoon at St. John the Baptist Cathedral. Juliet, Miss Nell asked you to handle the flowers.”

“I’d be honored,” she said.

“Also,” Calum said, texting again, “Miss Nell is living with me temporarily. After the funeral, she’s moving to Charleston to live with a cousin. I was hoping you and Rafe could oversee the movers while they pack up Habersham mansion.”

“Of course.” Juliet took Rafe’s hand and squeezed. “It’ll be strange to have no Habersham sisters in the city.”

“Indeed.” Calum put his phone down. “That leaves one more thing. And that thing will be Tuesday. I expect all the men here to be there in tuxedos.”

“For the record,” Nate said, “I don’t have a uniform or a tux.”

“I’ll supply the dress clothes. Six p.m. St. Mary of Sorrows on the Isle of Grace.”

“What’s going on?” Garza asked.

Calum smiled at Juliet. “A wedding.”

Rafe kissed her hand, and all the men clapped, including Philip.

Rafe held out his hand. Philip shook once and looked up at his brother with eyes both sad and happy. “Maybe we can be a family again.”

“I hope so too.”

Philip looked at Calum. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to the mansion to rest.”

“Good idea.” Calum found his phone and texted. “Ivers will pick you up in a minute.”

“Thank you.” Philip stood and nodded to the other men in the room. “I’ll be working on the renovations. Tell Pete that if he thinks of anything else he wants in the gym to let me know.”

Once Philip left, Calum leaned against the counter and crossed one foot over the other. “This plan of Juliet’s is faaaaantastic.”

“Not so sure about that.” Pete came out of the locker room. His face had stitches and scratches, and one arm was in a sling. “I tried my best, but this”—he waved a hand around the worn-out gym with the crazy pirate decor—“can’t be shoved into the comfort zone.”

“Let me talk to them,” she said.

Pete laughed. “If they see Rafe, there’ll be blood.”

“Working with Rafe isn’t an option. And neither is my plan.” She marched to the men’s locker room, and then stopped to look at the group behind her. “Are you coming?”

Pete stared at Rafe. “Blood. Bath.”

“Can’t be that bad,” Garza said.

Rafe laughed. “Colonel Torridan is one of the deadliest SF commanders ever in the U.S. Army.”

“And,” Calum said, leading the way, “prior to Torridan’s wife divorcing him, two of his teams were ambushed, dragged to a POW camp, and sent to prison. Then he got fired.”

Rafe stared at Nate until he said, “I guess if Juliet’s brave enough to go in there, so am I.”

* * *

Kells shoved the envelope, scrawled with the name Juliet, into his rucksack and moved into the center of the locker room. He was still trying to figure out how he and his men had ended up in a rundown gym decked out with Jolly Roger flags and cutlasses on the walls that smelled like ass. To say the last forty-five hours were the worst of his life would be an understatement. First his men had been sent to a holding cell at Fort Bragg. For their own protection, until the trials began. Then they’d learned there’d be no trials. Just dishonorable discharges for all of his men not already in prison.

Kells studied the remaining five soldiers in front of him. The other five had already taken off. “You all have the option of leaving like the others. Go back to your families, figure out the rest of your life.”

“To live in hiding?” Vane straddled a bench and ran his hands over his long brown hair. “In disgrace?”

Although Vane had recently shaved his beard, he’d yet to cut his hair and kept it tied back at the base of his neck. Now that they were in a garrison, Kells should probably have all of his men clean-shaven and buzz-cut. Then again, they were a voluntary, civilian group of men who’d been fucked by their superiors. So maybe the army’s grooming standards didn’t matter.

Kells raised one eyebrow and responded to the sneer in Vane’s voice. “Versus living in a pirate-themed gym with no money, weapons, or contacts while we figure out what to do next.”

“Then what?” Cain sat in a folding chair, his arms draped over his thighs. The geometric tats on his arms trembled beneath the force of his self-control, which was iffy on a good day. Especially if his wife Charlotte wasn’t around. “The world thinks we fucked up.”

“The world knows nothing about it,” Zack said from his dark corner. The tattooed, dark-haired Cajun always kept to the shadows. “It’s all black ops classified bullshit.”

“You’re okay with this?” Ty leaned against a locker and scowled at Zack. Ty’s all-American blond crew cut appearance was at odds with Zack’s bleakness. “Being thought of as trash? Thrown away?”

“No,” Zack said. “But someone set us up. First Nate’s team, and then Jack’s. If this plan works, we may be able to pick the next battle. And we might win.”

“I agree with Zack,” Vane said. “We establish a CP here in Savannah. Regroup. Figure out how to redeem ourselves.”

“Luke?” Kells asked his youngest team member. “I can’t even buy you a laptop. You okay staying, fighting, proving our innocence?”

“Sure.” Luke leaned his chair back and clasped his fingers on his stomach. His high-and-tight jet-black haircut was at odds with his wry smile and blue, almond-shaped eyes. Of all the men in the unit, he’d always been the most upbeat. “I don’t have anyplace else to go, and none of you knows how to snake an Ethernet cable or open your email. I’m kinda the lynchpin to this whole plan. Without me, you’re all screwed.”

Laughter shook the room, and Kells was able to do the regular inhale/exhale thing. It felt like he’d been holding his breath for a year. No, since Nate and Jack’s teams had been taken. Everything changed that night. His command. His career. His men. His marriage.

Although, in some way, Kells’s discharge last night had been a relief. He’d not been looking forward to the trials. They’d found little evidence that the teams had been set up and nothing to support his claim that the men who’d stayed behind at the CP were innocent.

Now that they were out and didn’t have to deal with the stress of being under investigation, they had time to sort through what had happened and decide what to do next. Since the doomed Afghan op, Kells had been reacting. Now he could plan and move forward. He tried not to think about the fact that they had no income, no health insurance, and no weapons.

The locker room door opened, and he blew out a breath. He had a few things to discuss with Nate, including where they were going to live. A moment later, Kells’s hands were fisted and the blood pounded with enough force to rip open his veins.

Juliet Montfort stood near the door. Nate had told Kells to expect Juliet, but Kells hadn’t expected Rafe right behind her. Two other men Kells didn’t recognize were there as well. The room went silent, and his men formed a half-circle behind him. Nate had mentioned that they didn’t know the truth about Rafe’s leaving the unit. Except Kells didn’t care. He’d never forgive Rafe. Deserting an A-team was, in Kells’s humble opinion, grounds for a firing squad.

It wasn’t Rafe’s frown that bothered Kells. It was Juliet’s brown gaze. He remembered what he’d ordered Nate to do. And Kells wasn’t sorry. “What do you want?”

She raised her chin. “I’m not here to accept your apology.”

“You’re not going to get one.”

She crossed her arms. “I have a deal to make. Take it or leave it, I don’t care. But it’s the only one you’ll get.”

“Why are you making this offer?”

“For Nate’s and Pete’s sakes.” She nodded at Cain. “For Charlotte. And Abigail. I understand Liam is still in prison with Jack and the other men and can’t protect her.”

Cain inhaled until he grew almost two inches, his chest wider than two pairs of the lockers behind him. “I can still protect my wife.”

“I’m not just talking about protecting,” she said. “I’m talking about ending the threat.”

“We don’t know who we’re fighting,” Zack said.

“But we do.” Juliet waved to the men behind her. “And we’re here to help.”

“How?” Ty asked.

“By giving you a place to live that’s unobtrusive. By providing you jobs and an identity in the world. By offering information in return for help.”

Kells considered her hard jaw and direct gaze. She wasn’t lying, and she wasn’t afraid. “What’s your offer?”

“First, you stay here in the gym until Prideaux House is ready. Second, the gym is under new management but will still be known as Iron Rack’s.”

Pete came forward, hands settled on his hips. He’d traded his combat pants and T-shirt for gym clothes. He’d even taken out his lip piercings. “We’re going to reopen, keeping it the hard-core workout place it already is. Except for one thing. We’re going to offer self-defense classes—Krav Maga and other things—for men and women. It’s come to my attention recently”—he glanced at Nate and then Juliet—“that we need refreshers in self-defense and basic street fighting. I’m going to retrain you all and turn some of you into instructors. It’ll give us income.”

Nate got in on the convo, saying, “As well as a place to channel our aggression. There’s a fighting ring.”

“You want us to run a self-defense school?” Zack said. “Here? In this dump?”

The smartly dressed man in a beige seersucker suit with a complicated silk-tie knot came forward. “As the owner of said dump, I’d like to add that the gym is undergoing a renovation. Not too much, since I think you’d want to keep the regular daytime clientele.”

“Yeah?” Cain said. “And who the hell are you?”

Juliet put her hand on the man’s shoulder. “Calum Prioleau is the man who owns the gym, the mansion where you’ll be moving to when it’s ready, and the club.”

“What club?” Kells asked.

“The one Rafe will manage,” she said. “The one where your men will take turns working security.”

“Bouncers and gym rats?” Vane laughed until he coughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No,” she said. “Like Pete said, these jobs will give you money and help reestablish your identity in the civilian world. They’re the perfect cover. You can work during the day or at night at the club and still have time for your mission.”

“We’re not working with Montfort,” Kells said.

“Then you can leave,” she said.

“Give us one reason why we should trust Montfort,” Cain said.

“I’ll give you two,” she said with her hands on her hips. “Nate and Pete have spent the last week working and fighting by his side, and they trust him. Second, you’re going to need information. And the club is the best place to find it.”

“Sounds like you’ve figured all this out,” Kells said.

“I have.” She nodded toward the tall Hispanic man in a lightweight jacket, jeans, tie, and holster. Clearly a cop. “Detective Garza understands your situation and is willing to protect you while you figure out what to do next.”

“Why the hell would he do that?” Zack asked.

“Because, gentlemen,” Garza said in a hard-edged voice with a Jersey accent, “in the past twenty-four hours, I’ve met your enemy’s minions. And they’re as badass as they come.”

“There’s something else about the property,” Juliet said. “There are tunnels between this place, the mansion, and the club. They’re not all clear, especially the ones leading to the mansion, but I’m sure you and your men won’t mind helping with that.”

Kells finally looked at Rafe. His brown eyes glowed with resentment. Maybe even hatred. “What do you have to do with all of this?”

“I’m just the man who, with the help of a few friends, defeated my enemy and learned the name of yours.”

“You know who set us up in Afghanistan?” Luke said.

“I do.”

“And?” Kells asked.

“Do you agree to Juliet’s terms or not?”

Kells studied his soldiers. Although he’d been their CO for years, this had to be a joint decision. Once they made it, there was no turning back. “What do you say?”

One by one, his men—including Nate and Pete—nodded. So Kells looked at Juliet. “You have our answer. We agree. We’ll run the gym, live in the mansion, work at the club—”

“And clear the tunnels,” Calum added.

“Yes. Clear the tunnels.” Whatever that meant.

Montfort took Juliet’s hand and, on the exhale, said, “Remiel Marigny.”

“Bullshit,” Zack said. “He’s dead.”

“Even if he wasn’t,” Cain said, “he’s a low-level player. A hack gun runner.”

“I’ve never heard of him,” Luke said.

Vane rolled his eyes while Ty sat on a bench and gave them all the stink eye.

“Colonel?” Juliet prompted. “Do you believe us?”

Kells exhaled and wished he could sleep for the next forty years. “Unfortunately, I do.”

“You can’t be serious,” Zack said. “This is—”

“True.” Kells spoke directly to Juliet. “We accept your offer.”

She nodded. “We’ll leave you with Nate and Pete to get settled.”

“One more thing.” This time Kells looked directly at Montfort. “Is the Fianna in any way involved with our mission? Past or present?”

“No. But if you see a man bow”—Rafe looked at each man in the room—“run.”