Prologue

Puzzled, Mountain stared at Chef Elijah. "None of us can figure out why. Why would you do such a thing?" he asked the big, likable man.

Chef shrugged, didn't say anything, and crossed his arms over his chest. He remained silent.

"See? It doesn't make sense. There's no motive. There's absolutely nothing. I don't have a clue why you would even try to knock out Teegan."

"Not saying nothing," Elijah replied through gritted teeth.

Then the door opened, and the colonel stepped in. Mountain stood and tilted his head. "Sir."

"Did you get any answers from him?"

"No, not yet," he replied in frustration.

The CO looked over at Elijah, disappointment evident in his expression. "I don't know what the hell you've been playing at or how long you've been at it," he muttered, "but you've sure as hell disappointed a lot of people."

Elijah closed his eyes and didn't say anything. Mountain watched the two of them, sensing a way-bigger betrayal happening here, as Chef and the CO had been friends for a very long time.

"I'm sorry, sir. He doesn't want to talk, and I've been at it for a couple hours now," Mountain confirmed, as he stretched his large frame.

"Oh, I can talk to him," the colonel declared. "Might be the best thing for both of us. We go way back."

"Not alone, sir," Mountain noted, a warning in his tone.

The CO nodded. "No, of course not." He glared at Elijah. "A damn nuisance this is," he muttered. "And here I was looking forward to my breakfast."

"We can't let him back into the kitchen, not after…"

The colonel shot a hard look at their beloved and trusted chef and then left the room.

Mountain shook his head at Chef. "I don't know what the hell's going on here," he admitted in a low voice, "but I don't believe it for one second."

"Mountain!" The shout came from the other side of the door. As he stepped out to the hallway, leaving a guard on Elijah, Magnus raced toward him. "What's up?" Mountain asked, with a fierce gaze.

"You've got a visitor," he said, "and unfortunately she's hurt."

His eyebrows shot up. "She? Who is it?"

"It's Amelia," Magnus confirmed, as excitement filled his voice—panic too. "She got here on her own, but she's hurt, and she's hurt bad. I've got her in with Sydney, but you need to come—now."