Griffin Chapter 1

I was trying not to laugh at Gabe, but it was hard not to. I was waiting for Gemma to slap him or, better yet, hit him over the head with a club. He was in overprotective mode so much with her she was ready to scream or kill. You could see it, not that I could really blame him. She was pregnant with their first baby, and he was excited and scared to be a dad. He didn’t want anything to happen to her or their baby.

I understood his behavior, and so did Sean and Mark. They were dads and had been through it. I hadn’t, but I knew if I ever got the chance to be a dad, I’d probably be the same. Wait, make that worse. The next three and a half months until baby Pagett arrived were going to be long for them and entertaining for the rest of us.

On the other hand, Sean was doing much better with Cassidy this time. They’d announced around Christmas that they were pregnant again. They had chosen not to find out what this baby would be. They wanted to be surprised. The baby was due toward the end of August, and Noah would turn three in October. I thought it was a good age gap. He was close to being fully potty trained, so they’d only have one in diapers.

Our lives overall these days were a far cry from what they were when we all met and became friends. We were all in the Navy and battling our way through SEAL BUD/S training when we met. All we wanted to do was survive those six months of hell. When we did, it was due to us bonding and encouraging each other that made it happen. We became friends for life. They were my brothers in every sense, except we didn’t share the same blood.

I loved their wives like sisters, and their kids were my nephews. I didn’t have any nieces yet. We’d see if I got any this round. I liked to tease them that if they kept it up, they might give the Archangel’s Warriors MC a run for the title as a breeding farm, but there was no way. Those people breed like rabbits. Dublin Falls alone had about fifty kids. I couldn’t keep track anymore. Then add in Hunters Creek, the Pagans, and the Punishers, and it was probably seventy or eighty.

I felt a tug on my pant leg to get my attention. I looked down to find Noah staring up at me. He held out his arms. I knew what that meant. I bent and got him under his arms so I could pick him up. He smiled when we were eye to eye.

“What’s up, little guy?”

“Up.”

“I got you up. Why did you want up?”

“Fly,” he shouted.

I chuckled because I knew that’s what he wanted even before he said it. He loved for me to hold him out and pretend he was a plane and fly him around the room. I swear, if the kid didn’t become a pilot one day, I’d be shocked.

Making sure I had a tight grip on him, I held him out and began to weave him through the air and around the room. He was making engine sounds and laughing loudly. I knew it wouldn’t be long before Caleb, Mark and Sloan’s fifteen-month-old son, would want his turn. Whatever Noah did, Caleb had to copy. I had a feeling those two would cause hell when they were older. God help us all.

I spent over a half hour with those two until their parents told them it was enough and rescued me, as they called it. I told them I didn’t mind, but they still made the boys stop. Sean shook his head.

“Man, you don’t have to do that just because Noah or Caleb ask, you know?”

“I do know, but I don’t mind it unless I’m in the middle of something. Speaking of kids, I have a question. Did you talk to Gabe and give him advice on how to handle this pregnancy so Gemma doesn’t murder him?”

He laughed. “I tried, but you know Midas. Cassidy and Sloan are talking to Gemma to try and explain why he’s that way and how she can keep him from losing his mind or her resorting to murder.”

“I hope they can help.”

Each of us had our nicknames from our time in the Navy. They didn’t get used often anymore, but occasionally, one of us or someone who knew us back then would slip up and use them. Midas was Gabe’s. Sean was Fiend, Mark was Undertaker, and I was Wraith. Reaper, the president of the Iron Punishers MC, used them sometimes. He was a SEAL with us. Actually, Mark was called Undertaker most of the time. His years undercover in an MC had left their mark on him. He’d always been a man to be wary of, but now, he was on a different level of scary.

“Before Noah and then Caleb got a hold of you, you seemed to be thinking awfully hard over here. Mind if I ask what you were thinking about and can I help? It appeared to be heavy thoughts,” Sean inquired.

“I wouldn’t say they were heavy. I was thinking of pregnancies and how everyone is acting, and then I was thinking about kids. I was trying to imagine us like the Warriors. That’s all,” I assured him.

“You find it boring?”

“No, actually I don’t. If anything, I find myself a bit envious, but in a good way. I don’t begrudge any of you what you have. I’m happy as hell about it, but I do wonder sometimes if it’s for me.”

“What do you mean, if it’s for you?” he asked with a frown.

“Not everyone is meant to have a family, to be married. Some are destined to go through life single. I’ve wondered if I want those things because I’ve been conditioned to want them or because I truly desire them. All of you and even our friends in the clubs knew immediately when you met your women that they were the ones for you. Yeah, you denied it and fucked around for a long time, but it wasn’t because you didn’t want Cassidy. You were afraid of what Mark would say or do since she’s his little sister, and you had baggage. I’ve never felt an inkling for a woman like that. It makes me think my destiny is different.”

“Grif, I wouldn’t discount it just yet. Sure, I lusted after women before Cassidy, but when I saw her after she was older, it was nothing as tame as what I felt for those women. It was like a damn Mack truck ran me over. Some of us find it sooner than others. Hell, look at Bull down in Hunters Creek. He wasn’t expecting to find a second chance at love at his age, and you can see how he is with Jocelyn and his younger kids. You’ve got time.”

He was right about Bull, and then there was Bear. Hell yeah, he might be right. Or he could be wrong. I guess only time will tell. Until it happened, I’d keep enjoying my work and life. Which reminded me I had somewhere to be.

???

Thank God it was finally Friday. This week had gone by excruciatingly slowly. I was ready for the weekend. A few beers, watch a game on the television, maybe a nice steak dinner somewhere, and if they had time, hang out with my best friends. Who knows, I might go out and see if I could find some company for at least a night or two. It had been a while. Maybe if I had a good session of fucking, it would relieve this tension that had been building for what felt like weeks.

If we were out in the field, like when we were in the Navy, I’d say our mission was about to go FUBAR, fucked up beyond all repair, and we needed to get the hell out of there. Only we weren’t on a mission, and none of our people at Dark Patriots were doing anything remotely dangerous like that. Not that we didn’t accept missions with risks. We did. When you did off-the-books work for your government, you could find yourself up to your neck in shit really fast, with no one to help you or even acknowledge your existence. However, we weren’t running any of those types of missions at the moment.

I glanced at the clock on my office wall. It was three o’clock. Only two hours to go. Of course, as one of the bosses, if I wanted to leave now, I could, but I didn’t do that. If I expected our people to work, then I would have to do so as well. Looking back at my computer, I tried to read the field report Beau had completed on his last assignment. I’d barely been reading for a minute when there was a knock at the door. I gladly stopped and called out, “Come in.”

The door opened, and in came Abigail. She was one of our two indispensable receptionists, slash assistants, slash researchers, slash whatever else they got their hands on. Abigail had been with us for two and a half years. She was the younger of the two. Margie was an older woman who technically should be retired, but she claimed if she did that, then her husband, Chuck, who was our armorer, would retire, and she’d go insane, stuck at home with him all day. She loved him, but that wasn’t in her marriage vows, according to her.

“Hey, Abigail, whatcha need?”

“Sean wanted me to tell you to meet him and the others in the conference room in ten minutes. You have a conference call. It’s a code black call.”

Code black meant no cell phones or other electronics were to be taken into the room. It would be turned into a SCIF, a sensitive compartmented information facility, which would ensure there were no listening devices and cameras that weren’t ours prior to the call and that the room was sealed so no one could see or hear anything. We usually did this for top-secret meetings or ones involving national security. This news made me perk up with interest.

“Oh yeah, do you know who the call is with?”

She gave me a look that screamed, Is this my first day, and are you kidding me? I know everything. I snorted, which made her lips twitch, but she refused to smile.

“Yes, I know.”

“Do I have to ask you to tell me?”

“I think you should.”

“Fine. Please tell me who the call is with.” I was fighting not to grin.

“It’s with Anderson.”

Oh, that meant it had to be important. Anderson was a shadowy figure who worked for the government. No one knew exactly in what capacity or which agency he was attached to. He seemed to cross all lines and agencies. My interest was piqued, and I grinned at her. “Thank you, Abby.”

She gave me a death glare and then walked out. It wasn’t that we didn’t like each other. In fact, we did, and she was like a sister to us, but when we wanted to tweak her, we called her Abby. She hated it. I knew I’d have to wait for her retaliation for doing it. It would be worth it. I didn’t waste time getting up to head to the conference room after I locked my computer. When I walked in, Sean and Gabe were already there. Gabe grinned at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You called her Abby.”

“Did she come tattle?”

“Nope, I could tell by her face. I wouldn’t accept any coffee or other drinks or food from her for a while. It might be poisoned.”

I groaned. I hadn’t thought of that. Shit, I’d have to bring in my own food and drink and keep it locked up. “Damn,” I muttered. They both laughed. That’s when Mark chose to saunter in.

Looking at him, you had no trouble imagining him as a biker. We were all fit and had tattoos. He went beyond that. Mark gave off the enforcer vibe he earned. He took his seat. “What’re you assholes laughing about?”

“Assholes! Who’re you calling an asshole? It takes one to know one, shithead,” Gabe told him.

“I swear someone just farted. Did you hear it?” Mark asked with a deadpan look.

“Don’t go there. We don’t have time for an insult fest. Anderson will be calling any minute. Hold on to them until we get done, then go wild,” Sean told them. Even though we were all equal partners, Sean was often the one taking a slightly bossier role. That wasn’t to say we shirked work—we didn’t. He seemed to like the role more than we did.

“Did you speak to him?” Mark asked Sean.

“I did, but no, he didn’t give me a hint about what he wanted to talk to us about. All he said was it was extremely important, and it couldn’t wait.”

“How many years have we known him?” Gabe asked.

Thinking back, I was the one to answer him first. “I think it’s been ten or twelve years. Why?”

“You’d think after knowing us that long and following us from the Navy to here, he’d loosen up and let more stuff out. You know, give us a hint or something,” Gabe suggested.

“I don’t think Anderson will ever do that. Hell, his great-niece is married to a Warrior, and he doesn’t let him or his club know more. Zara can’t even tell you which agency he works for. If we ever found out, he’d have to kill us. He’s a shadowy and scary bastard. Thank God he’s on our side and such a patriot that we never have to worry about him betraying his country. If he did, we’d be fucked six ways to Sunday,” Sean added.

I couldn’t disagree with that. Before we could debate more, there was a buzz on the phone at the conference table. We knew what it meant. Immediately, Sean pushed the hidden button on the panel on the table, which locked down the room. Once it was done, he pushed another button, and the screen on the wall came alive. Anderson was staring back at us.

Now, he rarely showed much emotion, but I could tell by how tense his mouth and eyes were that he wasn’t happy, and this was not going to be a fun assignment. “Gentlemen,” he said gruffly. We all greeted him. Once we had the pleasantries out of the way, it was down to business.

“I know it’s Friday and almost the end of your business day, so thank you for arranging this so fast. It couldn’t wait until Monday. If you take this assignment and let me say you’re the only ones I want on it, then by Monday, you’ll have to be deployed, so it means weekend work. I have no idea how long it’ll last.”

“Anderson, we don’t just work Monday through Friday, eight to five. We’re used to weekends and nights. Tell us what we can do for you. Is it an official request situation or an off-the-books one?” Sean asked.

“I know you guys work anytime. I merely wanted you to know what you’re looking at. It’s coming from the top, guys, and while it’s not being touted as an official request and is being treated as off-the-books to a degree, believe me, it’s a damn priority. There’ll be so many goddamn eyes and fingers in it, you won’t be able to fart and them not know. We can’t fuck this up.”

Excitement surged through me. It sounded like my kind of mission. Hell, who was I kidding? It was all our kind of job. I saw the eagerness on Gabe, Sean, and even Mark’s faces. “Don’t keep us in suspense. Tell us,” I said a tad impatiently.

Sean gave me a shut-up look, but I ignored him. While I was usually the quiet one in our group, or at least when around others, it didn’t mean I wasn’t impatient. I just hid it better, usually.

“Alright, Wraith, I’ll get to it. Do you all know who Travis Gerard is?”

This got our attention. Travis Gerard was known to many people all over the world. His company, Gerard Industries, was the biggest provider of weapons and biotech to the US government. The man was a billionaire, and unlike a lot of men who dealt in that kind of work, he was an extreme patriot and a good man by all accounts. He gave millions away every year for research to help the underprivileged, abused, and severely ill in our country and others. If he was involved, then it was extremely important and probably dangerous.

“Hell yeah, we know who he is. We don’t live under a rock. What’s this have to do with him?” Mark asked.

“What I’m about to tell you is beyond top secret. His company is in the process of developing a new weapon for our military. He’s under a time crunch to get it done, tested, and viable. Several threats have been made that could derail the whole thing.”

“Against his developers, researchers, the company, or personal threats?” Sean asked.

“At first, it was the standard protests against them developing anything—you know, the ones who protest everything as the end of the world and that we’re being bullies and murderers for developing weapons for defense in the first place. Those were ignored. Later came the actual vague threats against some of his more well-known researchers and developers. However, now the threat has been made personal, and he’s scared.”

“Doesn’t he have his own security people? I mean, a man like him would have a large detail for him, his home, offices, and his family if he has one,” Mark pointed out.

Anderson nodded. “Yes, he does, and he pays well for some of the best. He wants more, and it so happens that our government agrees. When they were going through the list of possibilities, your name came up, and not just from my recommendation. Mr. Gerard has heard of the Dark Patriots, and he likes what he hears. He knew enough to assure everyone he’d had you guys researched. Although several others in the discussion wanted other groups, he insisted it was you guys. They gave him what he wanted. You don’t piss off a billionaire who keeps our country safe,” he said with a slight smirk.

We chuckled. I could imagine how nervous they’d been. It made me feel proud that our reputation was growing, not only in the private sector but also in the government sector.

“What exactly have the threats been, and how many people do they want us to give them?” Gabe asked.

“The kind where people are taken, body parts removed, and they’re sent back in pieces. Mr. Gerard is freaked out. He wants at least four of you, if not more. At first, he wanted all four of you, but I was able to convince him that your people are highly qualified and it wasn’t possible to take all of you away from the company. I know, I know, you’d do it, and I appreciate it, but Beau, Benedict, and the others I’ve met are all more than capable of handling it. If you find you need more and want to send in all the Alpha team, then so be it. As long as one of you goes with them to start, we should be good.”

“When and where?” Sean asked next.

“On Monday at eight a.m., you’ll need to be at his home in Fairfax, Virginia. I’ll send you the address. His security team will still be involved.”

We groaned. This was gonna be a pain in our asses. In our experience, when you brought in outsiders, the regulars got pissy and tried to exert their authority over stupid stuff.

“Don’t do that. I know what you’re thinking, but that won’t be the case. Mr. Gerard said his people would be under the direction of the Dark Patriots. What you say goes, and anyone giving you too much grief will be fired. He’s not playing around.” That answer made me happier.

Fairfax was a nice area that wasn’t far from Washington, DC, proper. It wasn’t the most affluent area of DC, which surprised me. I would expect a bazillionaire to live in one of those places. Fairfax was a more suburban area and considered a college town, but the small-town feel and the diversity of its community made it great for families. There were over two hundred acres of parks and recreational space. If you didn’t want to drive and deal with DC traffic, you could catch the Metro. It served as a gateway to central and southern Virginia. It was less than three hours from there to us here in Hampton.

“We can do that. What kind of weapons should we bring?” Mark asked.

“Anything you personally prefer to use. Otherwise, he has you covered. Call it a perk of being the developer of so many weapons. Mr. Gerard is not all talk or full of hot air. He walks the walk, meaning he knows how to handle guns, and he’s a hunter, too. You’ll be given quarters on his estate. If you find anything needed for his security there, just tell him, and it’ll be done. In fact, he’s eager to have you thoroughly go over his security measures and people to see if there’s any need to make changes.”

The more he talked, the more I started to like Gerard. I’d seen him on television and in papers and magazines. He was an older gentleman, probably in his mid-sixties. He was distinguished and oozed money and power. I admit I thought he was your typical rich person who was out of touch with reality, but Anderson made it sound like he wasn’t. If he weren’t, then this might be an even better assignment.

We talked for a few more minutes, and then Anderson said goodbye after promising he’d send over the information we needed to get to the estate and onto the property. He said Gerard wanted to brief us personally about the exact nature of the threats and his concerns. It was a little unusual, but if that’s the way he wanted it, so be it. When Anderson hung up, we got down to discussing who would go. I jumped on it right away.

“I think I should go. I can take Beau, Justin, Heath, and Benedict. I think they’re all available right now.”

“Is there a reason you want to go versus one of us?” Sean asked.

“Yes, a few. One, you all have wives and kids. We have no idea how long this assignment will take. You don’t want to be away from them for days or weeks on end.”

“They’ll understand,” Gabe objected.

“They would, but why do it when I have no family other than my parents? You know them. They’re used to not seeing me until they see me. Two, I’ve got an itch. I need something to occupy my time. This is perfect. Those four I named are in the same boat as me. They’re single and always looking for something to do. It’ll give me a chance to see more of how Justin handles himself.”

Justin was a recent recruit. He was related to two members of the Warriors in Dublin Falls. He was Voodoo’s older brother and Blade’s cousin. He’d recently gotten out of the DEA and came to work for us. All the reports on him were excellent, but this would allow one of us to see him in action. Although Justin didn’t say it, we knew he’d gotten tired of being used by the DEA, like he was expendable. We did dangerous work, but we didn’t treat any of our people that way. We’d gotten enough of that ourselves while in the military.

“I like the idea of seeing how Justin does, and the other three are good, really good, so I have no objections to them,” Sean said.

“Agreed. As for you going instead of us, we don’t want you to think we expect it or begrudge going. We’re all here to do the jobs, no matter what. Yes, we have families, but Cassidy and Sloan know the business. Gemma is learning, and she’s adapting fast,” Gabe added.

“I don’t think you expect me to go, and I don’t begrudge it. I wouldn’t offer to do it if I didn’t want to go. So, is that a yes? Can we call those four in here and tell them what we need and shit? We have plans to make before they get caught up in their weekends,” I reminded them.

“I’m fine with you going, but if you find you need more help, don’t fucking not tell us. I’ll come if you happen to need more help,” Mark said with a determined look. I knew that expression. No one would talk him out of it. I nodded in agreement.

Sean and Gabe quickly agreed. We took the room off SCIF mode and called Margie to get her and Abigail to track down our four operatives. Hopefully, they hadn’t left the building for the weekend. A few minutes later, we found out we were in luck. They were all still here.

It was about ten minutes longer before they came filing into the room. They had inquisitive looks on their faces as we directed them to take a seat. Beau was the one to ask what they were all thinking. “So, bosses, what’s about to blow up or go to shit? It has to be big if you call us in here like this.”

We chuckled as Sean said, “Damn right it is. We need you to listen up. We can’t fuck this up. Understand?”

“Understand. Lay it on us,” Benedict added.

It took us less than an hour to lay it out and for me to organize them and plan our trip. Once it was done, they were released to enjoy as much of the weekend as they could. I planned to go home and have those beers and watch a game. It might be the last bit of rest I get for the foreseeable future. I was looking forward to Monday morning.