Griffin Chapter 2

The weekend passed quickly. In some ways, I was grateful. I was bored and this would definitely give me something to do. On the other hand, I didn’t do much to alleviate my dissatisfaction. The idea of going out and seeing if I could find someone to enjoy some time with never happened.

To make sure we got there on time, we left home at four in the morning. That gave us four hours for a trip that should take less than three. If we got there ahead of time, it would give us a little time to scout the area before we met with Mr. Gerard.

The guys and I joked and swapped stories about our time in the military, as well as the assignments we’d been on. Justin had the least of those since he’d only been with us for four months, and a chunk of that had been putting him through our training, although he had been trained by the DEA. Benedict had been with us eight months and his buddy, Heath, ten. Beau was the veteran with two and a half years under his belt. The talk made the time fly, and it served another purpose. It relaxed us one last time before we had to go into work mode.

I drove, so we got there in only two and a half hours. Yeah, I broke the speed limit, but only when it was safe, and there was a low chance of a cop catching us. I’d never hear the end of it from Sean, Mark, and Gabe if I got a damn speeding ticket from the po-po.

We entered Gerard’s neighborhood if you could call it that. It was really a community of a few homes spread out on huge tracts of land, and the homes weren’t small farmhouses either. They were mansions in some cases, or at least high-end expensive homes. The properties were all fenced in with gates. You needed to ring a buzzer to get through them.

We slowly drove around the area. I did that for two reasons. One was to familiarize ourselves with the area and what we had to work with. The other was to see if we attracted anyone’s attention. Were they as alert as they should be? If they were, what would they do about the strange car slowly and obviously casing them?

At Gerard’s place, I saw guards at the gate. I hoped there would be more patrolling of the grounds. The estate appeared to be extensive, and it would be easy to penetrate anywhere along the fence line unless they had cameras covering and alerting them.

I was disappointed when it was close to fifteen minutes before a cop car pulled up behind us with its lights on. We pulled over and waited for the officer to approach. There were two who got out of the patrol car. One was a woman. They cautiously approached our vehicle. We made sure to have our hands in view and not to move suddenly. The male officer came to the driver’s window. I had it rolled down already.

He eyed us suspiciously. I could see why. Five men in a Suburban, dressed mainly all in black with tattoos showing, gave off a vibe that would make him uneasy. When I worked at the office or attended meetings, I wore suits when appropriate, and my tats were covered. It made me more approachable.

“Good morning, Officer. How may we help you?” I asked calmly.

“License and registration. And keep your hands where we can see them,” he said gruffly.

“Of course, Officers. May I ask why you pulled us over? We weren’t speeding or breaking any other laws that I’m aware of,” I said politely as I handed him my license and registration. I couldn’t wait for him to run it. The Suburban was registered to our company. He probably didn’t know who we were, but it would raise questions. The name Dark Patriots always did.

“Just stay here and don’t move,” he snapped before he walked off. His poor partner was left watching us from the passenger side. Heath rolled down his window and smiled at her. “Hello, how did you get stuck with Mr. Happy as a partner?”

There was a flicker of surprise and a twitch of her lips, which made me think she was trying not to smile or laugh. She got it under control quickly, though. “Sir, please stay still and keep your hands where I can see them.”

“Sure thing, but we’d still like to know what we did wrong. Is it illegal in this area to drive down the road and enjoy the views? We didn’t disturb anyone,” he told her.

“Just relax, and we’ll be done soon,” was all she would say.

My patience was starting to run thin. We had work to do. I raised my voice so she could hear me. “Tell your partner to call Mr. Gerard and tell him the Dark Patriots are here. That should clear it up since you have no cause to detain us.”

“Why would Mr. Gerard know who you are?” she asked suspiciously.

“You’ll have to ask him that,” I said, then shut up.

She looked torn for a couple of seconds. Then she hurried back to her partner. I saw him in the mirror arguing with her. She argued back. We waited.

“Great way to start our day,” Beau said.

“Yeah. I want to know, if there’s a credible threat to Gerard and the local cops know about it, why did it take fifteen minutes for any of them to get their asses here? At least one patrol car should be assigned to him. We’re not talking about some rich guy who thinks he’s all that and demands special treatment. He’s responsible for most of the defense of our goddamn country.” I scowled.

“I get it, I do, but we don’t know if he’s involved with the locals or not. Where are his guards? Do they only patrol the grounds? You’d think he’d have some military personnel involved. That doesn’t make sense to me, Wraith,” Beau added with a frown.

He was right. Where were they? His calling me Wraith had evolved since he heard my brothers use it, especially on assignments. It was a habit. I didn’t mind if others did it. In fact, I noticed Heath and Ben had started to do it, too. Justin was still new to me.

“He’s right. Where are they?” Ben muttered.

“Shh, here they come,” Heath said.

I watched them approach the same way they did last time, only now with more caution. The male officer handed me back my stuff. “You’re to go to Mr. Gerard’s estate. We’ll follow you. Just a piece of advice—don’t creep around people’s houses if you don’t want to be pulled over.”

“But it accomplished what I wanted and gave me invaluable information, so I think I’ll keep doing it when I feel it’s necessary. Thanks for the advice, Officer, but I know what I’m doing. Lead on. We have a schedule to keep.” I let the edge of my bite come through. He stiffened, and the looks he’d been giving me when he came back told me he resented us. I wondered what he’d been told about us.

As they walked off, Heath chuckled. “Making friends already, Wraith. I bet the cops and Gerard’s security people will throw us a welcome party.”

The rest of us chuckled. “Yeah, and maybe you’ll even get a kiss outta his partner,” Ben teased his buddy.

“Hey, she was cute. I wouldn’t say no, but I don’t think her partner would appreciate it. Wonder what crawled up his ass?”

“It’s hard to tell. Forget them, and let’s remember why we’re here,” I reminded them.

It was a quick ride the last half mile to Gerard’s place. The squad car followed us right up to the gate. An armed man came to my window. He was studying us and had a frown on his face. “ID,” he barked. I handed him mine.

“All of you,” he said as he eyed my guys. I was starting to get tired of the attitude—first from the cop and now from this guard.

“That’s enough for you to check. Mr. Gerard is expecting us, and we’ve had enough delays. Either call him and open the gate, or we’ll leave. Your choice.”

This guy would be under our command if what Anderson said was true. I didn’t want anyone who was resentful working with us. It could get in the way of the job. Resentment was coming off him in waves. I got it. They weren’t happy to have outsiders helping, and it stung to have those outsiders be in charge, but it was their boss’s call.

“I need all of your IDs, or you’re not passing through these gates,” he said forcefully.

“Call him first and ask if he needs you to see them all,” I pushed back.

It wasn’t that I was being a bastard. I wanted to see if he could be made to ignore security protocols and let us in without seeing all our IDs. He was right to insist on seeing them. Would he bow to pressure and let it slide? If he did, that would be unacceptable. He didn’t realize it, but he was being evaluated. As soon as we hit this neighborhood, my assessment and that of my men had started. I might be taking the lead, but they were working on it just as I was.

He hesitated, then walked off. I saw him on the phone. I assumed he was talking to someone at the house. I sighed. He’d just failed the first part. Not only did he let me back him down, but he also left us unattended. Where was his backup? Someone should be guarding us while he was on the phone. I could take out my gun and shoot him dead.

“This is already shaping up to be a lot of work, Wraith,” Ben muttered.

“Yes, it is. We’ll be earning our money this time,” I told them.

“Hoorah,” Beau said, giving us the Marine cry.

Not to be outdone, I made the Navy’s hooyah call while Ben and Heath uttered the Army’s equivalent, hooah. We all grinned.

It took a minute or so before the guard came back. He was scowling. He handed me my ID and muttered resentfully, “You’re cleared to go in. Head up the drive. When it branches right, go that way. It’ll take you to the house. They’re expecting you.”

“What’s your name?” I asked as I put away my ID.

“It’s Reynolds. Why?”

“I just wanted to know what to call you. I’m Voss. This is Madris,” I pointed to Ben. “And this is Rugger, Powers, and Becker.” I pointed to Heath, Beau, and Justin. We stuck to last names on most jobs.

All he did was grunt and walk off. He must’ve pressed something because the gate began to open. I waited until I could get through it, and then I took off. We left Reynolds and the police behind as we drove up the hill and then to the right. When we got to the top, I could see the house. It was a mansion like I expected, although not as big as some. I’d call it more of a mini mansion. There were several cars in the circular drive in front of it. We found a spot and parked.

I looked at my guys. “Here we go.”

“We’ve got this. Let’s go find out the details and then show them how it’s done,” Beau said confidently.

Giving him a chin lift, I opened my door. We all climbed out and scanned the area. I was noting the locations of the cameras I could see, what kind of cover there was close to the house, and looking for more guards. In the distance, I saw two walking, but they didn’t come toward us. A swift walk up to the double doors, then I rang the doorbell.

Moments later, it opened, but it wasn’t a guard who opened it. It was an older gentleman dressed in a suit. I knew from photos it wasn’t Gerard. He greeted us. “Hello, gentlemen, Mr. Gerard is expecting you. If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you to his study. I’m Porter, Mr. Gerard’s butler. Welcome.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Porter,” I said as we came inside, and then he closed the door. I examined the huge foyer. There wasn’t a guard here, either. I exchanged speaking glances with my men. None of us liked what we saw so far.

We followed Porter out of the foyer and down a long hallway. Off to each side were doors for various rooms. The whole place screamed wealth and privilege, not that I thought Gerard would be living simply. He was as rich as Croesus. I did like the gleaming, rich wood throughout. There were what had to be priceless paintings and pieces of art all over.

Finally, Porter paused before a closed door. He knocked twice, waited a couple of seconds, then opened it. He waved us inside. I went first. As I entered, I saw Gerard moving from behind his desk. There were other men in the room with him. Some I tagged as guards. The others were in suits, and I had no idea who they were. He had a welcoming smile on his face as he reached us.

“Thank you, Porter. Please see that breakfast is ready to be served in thirty minutes. I know you gentlemen got on the road early to get here. You must be starved. I know I am. Oh, how rude of me. I’m Travis Gerard. Welcome. Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable. Can we get you anything?”

I was rather taken aback by how nice and unpretentious he was. I expected the typical attitude we got from the rich and mighty, which was disdain at times or just indifference. He was even holding out his hand. We all shook it.

“Mr. Gerard, thank you, we’re fine. I’m Griffin Voss. This is Beau Powers, Benedict Madris, Heath Rugger, and Justin Becker.”

“Yes, yes, I recognize you from your photos. I’m honored to have the Dark Patriots helping with this. Having one of the founding members is unexpected. Thank you for agreeing to do this. And please, call me Travis. Mr. Gerard sounds so stuffy,” he said with a bigger smile.

I heard a throat clearing, and it sounded disapproving without the words that came out next. It belonged to one of the men in suits. He had a frown on his face as he studied us. “Travis, they’re here to provide added help, although I don’t see why you need them. They’re not here to be your friends. Subordinates should be respectful,” he said snottily.

Gerard frowned at him. “Ansel, don’t. The Dark Patriots are a very welcome addition, and I look forward to seeing what they can do for us. As for first names, I don’t have a stick up my ass about that like you do. You should loosen up.”

I had to fight not to laugh at the look on Ansel’s face. He wasn’t happy. Gerard addressed us again. “Sorry for that. This is Ansel Dewitt. He’s on my board of directors for Gerard Industries and has been my friend for many years. He can be somewhat rude, as you have heard, but he’s a decent guy underneath. Please, take a seat and let me introduce you to the others.”

The other men in the room had remained quiet. We took a seat, placing ourselves close to Gerard. He quickly ran through the other names. The men in suits were more of his board members. The guards I took care to study so I could recall their names. There were three of them. They appeared stoic.

“Okay, I know you must be anxious to hear all the details of what’s been happening. I’ll gladly tell you, but after breakfast. Just understand, I expect there to be some resistance to you being here and to the added security.”

One of the men, I didn’t catch which one, snorted. Gerard nodded. “I know, I know, but she’ll just have to deal with it.”

She? Who the hell was he worried about? He was our package. Why would some woman he was involved with care? I thought he didn’t have a wife. I read something that said she had died years ago.

“She’s gonna lose her mind?” one of the guards, Fletcher, muttered. The other two guards, Ellis and Royce, nodded.

“We’ll handle it, Fletcher. Now, why don’t we all head to the dining room for breakfast? We’ll eat and then talk on a full stomach. We have a lot to cover,” Gerard said, his tone abiding no arguments.

As much as I wanted to get started, I was hungry, and my days in the Navy taught me that you eat and sleep whenever you can because you never know when you might get to again. We followed him out of his study and down yet another hallway to a large dining room. There were silver chafing dishes, I think they were called, set out on a long buffet counter along one wall. The table was set for over a dozen people. Gerard pointed to the food.

“Please, help yourselves. If there’s something you want and it’s not here, just let me know. Our chef is excellent. I’m convinced there’s nothing he can’t make. Don’t be shy.”

The others all seemed to hesitate. Gerard didn’t appear to be upset, and he was waiting for us. He was being a good host rather than an entitled asshole. Deciding to take the lead or we’d never get anywhere, I went to the buffet and picked up a plate. My guys came with me. This unfroze the others, and they moved our way. Soon, there was a low hum of chatter over the selection, which was impressive as hell. I couldn’t think of a single thing missing.

Once we were all seated and eating, I decided to ask the question I’d been thinking since we left the study. “Who were you referring to as being upset?” I asked the man across from me. His name was Maynard. He was a board member. He grimaced when I asked and shifted his gaze to Gerard. It was our host who answered.

“He meant that—.” He was cut off by the door opening and a woman walking in—or, I should say, a woman storming in. She wasn’t happy. That all registered at the same time she did. She was stunning, even with the scowl on her face. Then she knocked all thoughts of her looks right out of my head and stopped any fantasies I might want to have about her.

“Daddy, what in the hell is going on around here? There are guards, the board, and whoever these men are. Here at eight in the morning. What’s wrong?” she asked as she stopped to stare at him with her hand on her hip.

Daddy? I didn’t recall anything I read saying Gerard had any kids. That’s when I noticed another man had entered the room behind her. He had the bodyguard vibe, and he watched her every move.

“Sweetheart, we’re eating. I’ll talk to you about this after we’re done. If you’d like to join us, please do, but we won’t be discussing this over the breakfast table,” Gerard told her. The tone of his voice and the way he was looking at her told me he was serious. I wondered if the spoiled princess would listen.

Yeah, there was no way someone as rich as her father hadn’t made her into a spoiled rotten, useless piece of fluff. You know, the kind only good for decoration and as a way to get in good with her father. I’d dealt with many spoiled brats in this business, and if I never had to again, it would be too soon. God, I should’ve let one of the others come. Was it too late to call and ask them to send Mark? He’d scare the shit out of her. I grinned, thinking about it. She saw it.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Just thinking of one of my partners. He’d love to be here.”

“Why?”

“To scare the shit outta people.”

“Who needs the shit scared out of them?”

“I’m still making the list.”

She glared at me. I didn’t say another word. She rolled her eyes and faced her dad again. “I’ll expect a conversation after this. I need to know what’s going on.”

“You will. Now, sit. I’d like you to meet our guests. Get your food, and then I’ll make introductions.”

I was surprised she didn’t argue with him again. As she passed him, she dropped a kiss on his head, and he patted her back. As she got her food, I couldn’t help but catalog her. She was in her mid-to-late twenties, by my calculation. She was of average height, maybe five six. She had a pale ivory complexion with honey-blond hair in a ponytail that hung to the bottom of her shoulder blades. She had a body that would grab anyone’s attention. She was curvy, which I loved. As beautiful as she was, what really snared my attention were her eyes. They were an electric blue color. They jumped out and didn’t look real. Made me wonder if she wore colored contacts.

As she filled her plate, I noticed her bodyguard moved to hover next to her. She said something to him, but I couldn’t hear what it was. He was frowning and shaking his head. She said something again, more forcefully, and he finally moved away to stand by the wall.

“Rockwell, you’d better grab some food. She’s not going anywhere. Sit, eat, and relax. You don’t know when you’ll get a chance with her,” Gerard told the guard. I saw Rockwell relax a smidge.

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’ve been with us long enough to know to call me Travis. For God’s sake, you’re in my home more than anyone. You practically live here.”

“I’ll try s—, uh Travis.” He caught himself.

As Rockwell got his food, I watched her. She took a seat close to her dad. She was waiting for him to speak. He waited until Rockwell was seated before he did.

“Gentleman, this is my daughter, Hadley. Sweetheart, the men you don’t recognize are from the Dark Patriots. I’ve asked them to come here and help us with a situation. They’ll be working with our men. These are Benedict Madris, Beau Powers, Heath Rugger, Justin Becker, and last but not least, Griffin Voss. Mr. Voss is one of the Patriots’ owners.”

She gave each of us a nod, but when she got to me, she lingered. She was studying me with a slight frown on her face. “Gentlemen, welcome to our home. Daddy, may I ask what situation they’re here to help us with? I can’t think of one that would require you to call the Dark Patriots.”

“Does that mean you know who we are, Ms. Gerard?” I asked. Her tone made it seem like she did, but I didn’t know why she would.

“Actually, I do, Mr. Voss. My father has spoken of your group several times. He’s a great admirer. I’m just at a loss as to why he thinks we need you here. And, like my father, I prefer being called by my first name. Please call me Hadley.”

“Thank you, you can call me Griffin. None of my team stands on formality. My closest brothers and I were surprised to learn your father knew of and requested us.”

“Brothers?”

“Yes, my brothers-in-arms. There are four of us, and we created Dark Patriots together. You might hear me refer to them as Sean, Mark, and Gabe.”

“And pray tell what are you helping Daddy with?” she batted her lashes as she sweetly slipped that into our conversation.

“Stop trying to charm it out of him. It won’t work. I’ll tell you. There’s been another threat. I’m not prepared to overlook it this time, hence the Dark Patriots involvement,” he dad stated.

She stiffened. “When? Why didn’t you tell me? What did this one say they were going to do and why?”

“It was last week. It took a bit of time to get Griffin and his men here. I need to brief them on the situation before I tell you or anyone else more. They’ll be working with our guys and directing this whole operation until we catch whoever made the threats.”

“You think it’s a credible one?” she asked at the same time the guards reacted. They all sent glances our way. They didn’t necessarily look happy, but I think they were trying to stay neutral, all except for Rockwell. He was outright scowling and glaring at me as he met my gaze. He looked back at Gerard.

“Sir, I mean Travis, why bring in outsiders? We have more men we can enlist. And even if we do need them, it doesn’t make sense to put them in charge. They don’t know you, your daughter, or the intricacies of your life like we do.”

“One of the reasons I want them is because they’re outsiders, as you call them. They’ll look at everything we do with fresh, unbiased eyes. I want them to identify our weak spots and fortify them, as well as point out what or who we need to replace. We’ve become lax, and I want it to stop.

“Secondly, they’re in charge because these men are experts in security and defense. Most of them are former military men or have served in key agencies in the field. They’re hands-on kind of men. That’s invaluable. Third, I’ve followed them and their work for a while, and they have impeccable reputations. They get results.”

“Some of us have served as well. I was in the Marines. Do you mind if I ask what makes you so qualified to be in charge?” Rockwell asked me. I could tell it was hard for him not to sneer. I wasn’t sure if Gerard knew it, but his daughter did. She was giving Rockwell a censoring look.

“You can ask. Ben and Heath were part of the Army’s 10th Special Forces Group- Airborne. Justin was in the DEA for many years, and Beau was part of the Marine Raiders. I know you’re familiar with them if you were a Marine,” I told him with satisfaction.

His mouth tightened before he spoke again. “And what was your training? Did you serve, or are you just an owner of the company?”

I gave him a smirk. “I was in the Navy.” I paused. As he gave me a condescending smirk, I continued, “You know, the Navy that the Marines work for. I spent the majority of my years as a Navy SEAL. In fact, all four owners of Dark Patriots were SEALs. It’s how we met and became lifelong friends.”

This news raised murmurs from all around the table. I guess the board and the guards had no idea who or what our company was. Hadley was scrutinizing us more closely. There was a glimmer of respect in her eyes now. I was surprised when she turned to Rockwell and called him out.

“I guess he told you. Navy SEALs, DEA agents, Army Special Forces, and Marine Raiders make them very qualified to lead and assess threats. Don’t be mad. You can’t always be the best every time, Wayne.”

He flushed but didn’t say anything. I caught the smirks on the other guards’ faces. They seemed happy he’d been put in his place. Hmm, that needed exploring. It should’ve all made me happy, but I wasn’t. Hadley had called her bodyguard by his first name. That needed to be explored, too. A relationship between the protected and the protector almost always ended badly. I’d have to watch and see. If I found it to be true, I’d have to have him reassigned.