CHAPTER NINETEEN

Moose was losing his mind. London was not the place for a man like him. It was rainy, crowded, and cold. Ece's family lived in a large townhome in the posh Notting Hill area of London, which made him feel even more claustrophobic. It was old, with low ceilings and narrow doorways and stairwells. He felt like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.

Ece was out with her mother to shop, like she had been almost every day that they'd been there. He was stuck at home doing nothing. Again. He'd gone for a run. Twice. He'd read three books from her father's library. Now, he was sitting in their bedroom suite, staring out the window at the rain.

Looking down, he noticed that Ece had left her laptop open. Thinking he might shoot the guys an e-mail, he opened it to find something she was working on.

"The men are the most extraordinary of fighters. Former Special Forces operatives, they now are on a different kind of team. One the world needs to know about."

Moose nearly lost his lunch. He stood too quickly, banging his head on the beam above him. He barely noticed. Continuing to read through the document, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was writing about them. She was telling their story despite their demands that she never speak a word of them. She wrote about Turkey, she wrote about Belle Fleur, and she was writing about each of his friends. His teammates. His family.

"Hey, babe! Major? Where are you, babe?" she called. He heard the footsteps and turned, waiting to see her face. "Major, wh-…"

"You fucking liar," he growled.

"Major, I wasn't going to do anything with it," she said with her hands in the air. "I swear, honey."

"Liar," he said again. "You don't write something like this without thinking you're going to do something with it." He turned the laptop to face him and deleted the file. She said nothing, just smirking at him.

"There is such a thing as the cloud, you know."

"I've got it, Moose."

He heard Pigsty's voice in his ear and knew it was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. Everything would be deleted from her files. Everything. He snapped the laptop in half, tossing it to the floor.

"Hey! That's brand new!"

"Sue me," he said, reaching for his things. "I've sat here with you for months now, waiting to go home. Waiting for a sign. This was one helluva a sign, Ece. You used us. You used me. You used my friends, all of us. For what? For a fucking story!"

"I need something for my editor, Moose. They'll leave names out of it."

"No, they won't. They'll dig until they can find what they want and tear us all apart. They'll destroy us, and if they don't, someone else will. I knew you would do this. From the very beginning, I knew you would do this. I don't know why I didn't listen to my instincts."

She huffed, folding her arms as she tossed the shopping bags onto the bed.

"I'll just rewrite it," she said, staring at him.

"You do, and I will kill everyone you love. Everyone. And if you think I won't, just try me. I'll start with those people downstairs and work my way through your family tree until there is nothing left of your DNA. If you attempt to print a story, any story, I will make sure that no one will ever read your shit again. I will spread rumors about you that even your parents will believe."

"Major…"

"Moose. My name is fucking Moose. Use it."

"Your name is Major, and that's what I'll call you," she said defiantly.

"You'll never call me anything ever again," he said, tossing the last of his items in the bag. "If you come near me or my friends and family, if you speak, type, write, telegraph, anything about us, I will hunt you down, you lying, cheating bitch."

Ece stared at the man, swallowing hard. She knew he would follow through on his promises. He was a man who protected fiercely, except if you were his enemy. And right now, she was his enemy.

"I won't try to print the story."

"We'll be watching you, Ece. We'll know when you get a new laptop and when you get back online. We'll know when you try to write under a new name or use a new e-mail address. We will know. If you make a phone call, we'll hear it. If you try to text someone, we'll know it. And when the time comes that I need to put a bullet in your forehead, I will not hesitate. I will gladly rid this earth of a fucking lying bitch reporter."

"You don't have to be so angry. We've had a good time together. We were great in bed," she smiled. He glared at her, making her body turn icy cold.

"No. We were average in bed. I admit I felt something in Turkey, but I think it was all the danger and the circumstances. I should have known that you were nothing to me when I didn't care that you wanted to come to London and work. I had no desire to convince you to stay. In fact, I was ready to tell you I was leaving when you got back today.

"Average. That's all you are, Ece. I seem destined to be with average women. My ex-wife and now you. I should have known to leave you in Turkey. I won't make that mistake again. Now, get out of my fucking way."

She stepped aside as he pushed past her, shoving her onto the bed. He'd never placed his hands on her in anger before. Never. And it scared the shit out of her. She could hear his heavy footsteps going down the steps.

"Major, are you going somewhere?" asked her mother.

"I need to get back to work, ma'am. Thank you for your hospitality, but I hope that I never see your daughter again. She's a lying bitch." With that, he walked out, slamming the door so hard the walls rattled.

Ece's mother stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at her daughter's flushed face.

"Ece? Ece, what the hell just happened?"

"It doesn't matter, Mom. It's done. I need to go out for a while. I've got to find a story to turn in to my editor."

Moose had to get a hotel room at London's Heathrow Airport. His flight to America wouldn't leave until the next day. He didn't care. He was free and feeling better than he had in weeks. Something had been eating at him, something telling him that he needed to go home, but for some reason, he didn't listen. He had been thinking of telling Ece he was going home earlier in the day. He just had to leave this place, and he didn't even know why.

When his cell phone rang, he thought it would be Ece at first, but seeing a Louisiana number, he knew it was one of the guys.

"Yeah."

"Now, baby, that's no way to greet an old woman." He almost cried, shaking his head at the perfect timing of the call.

"Mama Irene, you have no idea how wonderful it is to hear the sound of your voice," he said with a sad smile.

"Well, now. I'd like to believe that, but you're not soundin' like you're glad. Where are you, baby?"

"I'm at the airport in London. I have a flight home tomorrow. Just me." There was silence on the other end of the line, and Moose looked at the screen, worried he'd disconnected her.

"I see. Well, that's alright. It's what was meant to be. I just wanted to be sure you were doin' okay and that you didn't need anything, baby."

"Just some of your cooking, Mama Irene. I'm awful hungry for spicy food and some coconut cake."

"That I can fix," she laughed. "Don't you worry about a thing. You get a good night's rest, and you'll be home in no time. I'll let the boys know, though I s'pect they already know."

"Thank you, Mama Irene."

"You're welcome, baby. And Moose? It wasn't your fault, honey. None of it. You just come on home." The line went dead, and he shook his head.

Damn, he missed them.