CHATER ONE

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brAXTON

"I 'm sorry. Did we put out a fucking ad in the wanted section?" Decker asks, staring from face to face.

My eyes slide over to Conner, who looks like he was expecting the response.

In fact, I know he was.

The day I approached him, we discussed this. Well, after he interrogated me and asked me how the fuck I found out what they were doing.

They being the Dark Kings .

That was a much longer conversation.

Bottom line, it was a guess of sorts. I mean, he's married to Mia Barrett—nee Mancini, the mafia princess—and owns the most successful private security company in the United States.

Not that Josh Black from Black Hawke Security would agree, but he's a Navy SEAL and we're Marines, so that old argument stands.

Also, a few buddies have left the forces and started working for Barrett. Then I heard he was in Los Angeles on an undercover operation with the Black Hawke team when the Savino mafia had a bit of trouble.

Basically, I put two and two together, hoped like fuck they actually made four, and then went direct to Connor.

Why? Because I'm desperate.

Amy is missing.

Her piece-of-shit mother has gone downhill even further in the five years since I joined the Marines.

Amy is now twenty-one.

And hopefully alive.

A week ago, I was discharged from the Marine Corps after spending two months trying to find out where Amy is.

Her mom won't file a missing person's report, saying she believes Amy is, and I quote, "Just being a disrespectful little bitch and will come home when she needs something."

"Where is she?" I demanded, getting up her face because by this time I was getting really damn worried.

Tracey had stopped contacting my parents, and when I saw the state of her house, I was shocked. It was filthy and in disarray, and so was her person.

"Hopefully stealing drugs from someone else," Tracey slurred.

Drugs?

There was no way Amy was taking drugs.

"I spoke to her a month ago," I yelled. "She was not on fucking drugs."

I was certain I'd know even if it was a phone call from the Middle East.

"You have no idea, Braxton, no idea. Amy is not the innocent girl you once knew. She was a terrible teenager and now at twenty-one, she steals my booze and drugs."

For a moment I haltered, wondering if she might have gone down a dark path, but then Tracey stumbled in front of me and if it wasn't for my reflexes, reaching out and catching the woman who had been standing fucking still, she would have fallen.

Fuck that.

I pushed her onto the sofa and crouched in front of her, the denim of my jeans bunching up, then in a bitter tone asked, "Where is she? And how long has she been gone?"

"I don't know, but if you find her, tell her she owes me a thousand dollars for crack."

Jesus Christ.

I shook my head and accepted the truth. Tracey was a junkie, and while I didn't want to believe Amy had started using, it was possible. Or she was lying like most addicts did.

Amy might have left to get away from her mom, but why wasn't she answering her phone?

Dread laced through me as I thought about other possibilities.

"Did Amy get you drugs?"

Tracey snorted. "Sure, but she stole just as much."

Fuck. Amy had been dragged into this hell life by her mother and not told us. Or me. My heart fucking broke when I realized what had been going on in her life that we weren't aware of.

"Where could she be, Tracey? For fuck's sakes, she could be in danger." I growled, shaking her.

"Ask that loser boyfriend of hers. Riccardo." She pushed me away.

Who the hell is Riccardo?

"Was she going to classes still? I thought she was studying interior decorating?" I asked, wondering why I bothered. Her mother was high as a kite.

"She used the money you gave her to buy drugs. I told you, she's a little bitch."

I stood and walked out of her mother's house, knowing she wasn't going to be any more help.

It took me another twenty-four hours and bruised knuckles, breaking a handful of laws, to find out Riccardo worked as a low-level soldier for the Baldassare crime family.

His primary role was to recruit women...and no one knew what for.

Bullshit.

I knew exactly what they were doing with them. Sex trafficking.

That's when I knew I needed help.

"Just get me inside and I'll do the rest," I say to the Dark Kings, widening my stance as I cross my arms.

Mia glances at Connor.

"Can you reach out to Gianna Baldassare?" he asks. "If there is any risk to your safety, we won't proceed."

Mia's turns to me. "They have your cousin?"

I nod. "She's twenty-one. Been gone almost two months, I guess."

"Oh god, that's horrible," Isabella says.

I know who they all are. Connor fully briefed me.

I need to hit the ground running and get undercover as soon as I can, so if the rest of his team is on board, we won't waste any time with pleasantries. As Marines, they'll know the drill.

If they agree.

"She could be anywhere in the world, Braxton." Mack shakes his head.

Or dead.

But he didn't say that.

I nod my head, my eyes dipping to the floor as my imagination kicks off the nightmares again. I'm well aware of what happens to the young women and children taken off the street. It's terrifying knowing someone you care about is living it right now.

"I know. I'll do whatever it takes to get her back. Just like any of you would," I say, emotion rich in my voice.

"He's right," Summer says, glancing at Mack.

The Marine holds my gaze for a long moment, as Connor stands beside me waiting for his team to have their say.

They work as a unit.

Just as we did in the Marine Corps.

"You'll need support," Mack finally says.

It feels like a question and one I don't know the answer to. I watch him, thinking, wondering if he's offering or telling me I'm a fucking idiot.

Probably both.

"I do, but I will do it without if I have to. I need a door opener. That's all," I say, and my eyes drift back to Mia.

I'm not a manipulator. My nature is to protect—it's why I joined the Marine Corps—so to ask a woman, a fellow Marine's wife, to do something dangerous goes against the grain.

But this is for Amy.

If she's still alive.

I shut my thinking down, not allowing myself to go down that road. I can't. I have to believe she is still alive and needs my help.

I promised her.

I fucking promised her.

"I know I'm asking a lot," I say to Mia, then cast my eyes around the room. "Of all of you. I don't know all the details, but I know you've all been through hell. Help me get inside, then I'll do the rest."

"Bullshit," Nathan growls, lifting his boot onto his knee.

If he expects a reaction, he doesn't get one. I blink. That's it. I'm well aware how powerful and deadly protective of their women these men are, but so am I.

They don't intimidate me.

I respect them.

"If you think you can come in here and ask us to throw one of ours into a crime family alone," Nathan says, shooting Decker a look. "After what we've lived for the past six years, then you're either bullshitting us or on a suicide mission."

"It's the latter," Connor deadpans.

I nearly laugh, but he's not comedic. In fact, there's an aura about him that the rest of us don't have.

Much darker.

His past is heavy on his shoulders. It's a story I may or may never hear, but I don't second guess whether the men in this room know. They do. I can sense the brotherhood.

In a way, I'm envious.

I already miss the camaraderie of the Marine Corps.

I snort. "I'd like to think it's not. I also know the limits of what I can ask of you all."

Decker leans forward and rubs his forehead, then his eyes lift to Connor. A silent conversation takes place between them.

"I'm about to become a father," he rasps. "If Mia agrees to introduce you to the Baldassare crime family, we can support you from here."

"Decker and Nate are compromised in any case," Mack says, and then cool as a cucumber adds, "I met you once. In Afghanistan."

I nod.

He remembers. I wasn't sure if he would. Connor never responded when I brought it up. Just tilted his head, encouraging me to get on with my story.

He gives nothing away, that guy—it probably keeps him alive. Not only is he a Marine, but he's also a powerful businessman. A billionaire.

"So, you're one of us. What these guys are trying to say is, if you need our help to get your cousin out, we will help," Mack says.

My throat tightens.

"Can I help?" Mateo, his stepson, asks.

"No buddy. Not until you are older." Mack smiles over at him. "Enjoy being young with no responsibilities in the meantime."

The kid slumps and Summer, his mom, rubs his head and smiles.

"Damn right." Decker sighs. "I'd love to be a kid again."

I can see he's wary. After being on the run from the Mexicans, I can understand why. And six years undercover? Jesus. I hope it doesn't take that long.

Amy doesn't have that long.

That I am not in denial about.

"Thank you." I nod.

"Looks like the holiday is over." Nathan grins.

"Nathan Walker. If you go back into the field and die before our wedding, I will bring you back to life and kill you myself," Sienna threatens.

He takes her hand and squeezes it before lifting her hand to his lips.

I don't say anything, but I see a degree of eagerness in them to get back into the action. It's addictive. Only a warrior truly understands that.

"I'm not going to die." He says, and Sienna frowns at me. But then her eyes dip and I know she's thinking about Amy.

These are good people.

We all turn to Mia.

"Sweetheart," Connor says, reaching for her, and the former mafia princess lets him pull her back against his chest and wrap his arms around her.

"We have to save her, and it would be nice to see Gianna again. I just don't know how dangerous it would be," Mia says.

"I understand," I reply.

"You won't be unprotected," Mack says. "We will put together a solid plan to get Braxton in and you out."

"Unless it's foolproof, it's not happening," Connor says firmly.

Mia lifts her eyes to mine once more.

"I'll help you," she says. "Gianna Baldassare was a friend growing up. I can introduce you to her and then it's up to you."

I let out a sigh.

That's all I need. An introduction. Gianna is a single woman in her mid-twenties and gorgeous. She's the daughter of the don and ripe to be swept off her feet.

And taken advantage of.

I make no apologies for what I'm about to do. Her family takes and sells human beings. Children. Young women. Young boys. What happens to them is the stuff of nightmares and Amy is alive and suffering. I know it.

I never break a promise.

Amy is mine to protect.

So I'll use whatever and whoever it takes to get her home safely. I know I'm a fucking good-looking asshole and if it means using my body, then I'll do it.

"Thank you," I say and meet every single pair of eyes in the room.

Every member of the Dark Kings nods back at me.

"Welcome to the team," Connor says, reaching out his hand and shaking it.

"Let's get to work," Mack says.