Rushing over to where his teammate stood, Brody followed the man’s line of sight to the open drawer in front of him. His chest tightened when he saw the bulging white envelope lying on top of his wooden silverware tray.
In the center, written in black marker, were the handwritten wordsHis Highness.
His High…
Frowning, Brody opened the drawer below that one and grabbed a pair of metal tongs. Using those to keep from disturbing any possible prints, he carefully lifted the envelope out of the drawer and placed it on the counter.
Cade shot Rocky a look of concern. “You don’t think that thing’s gonna…blow. Do you?”
“My guess is, no.” Rocky stood beside Brody.
“I agree.” A nod from Jagger. “If the guy wanted you dead, he’d have killed you before he split with Ro.”
Brody’s gut churned with dread, just the sound of her name hurting from his need to find her.
“Unless it’s a trap designed to kill us all at once.”
Every man in the room turned to look at Liam, who stared back at them with a lackadaisical expression. “I’m just sayin’…”
Itwouldbe the perfect opportunity to blow them all to hell. But that wasn’t what this was about.
His home. His woman. An envelope in his kitchen with that title...
Using the tongs to flip the envelope over, Brody dumped its contents. A small black cell phone slid onto the counter. With it came an intricate, shiny gold pin.
A pin Brody recognized instantly.
“What’s that?” Cade motioned to the object of Brody’s focus.
Picking it up, he held it beneath the light to get a better view.
“Is that a Master Chief hat pin?” Jagger leaned over Brody’s shoulder for a closer look.
He nodded, a nauseating acceptance running deep and fucking wide. “That’s exactly what this is.”
“Why the hell would someone leave that in your kitchen drawer?” Christian asked the obvious questions. “With a phone?”
Right on cue, the phone began to ring again.
Brody was no longer worried about prints or destroying evidence. He knew there would be none. Keeping the phone on the counter, he tapped the screen to answer the unknown number’s call.
Putting it on speaker, he kept his voice low and steady. “What have you done with Ro?”
A deep chuckle from his past filled the speakers and beyond. “Damn, King. Is that any way to greet an old friend?”
Michael Ainsworth. Former Master Chief in the U.S. Navy, and Brody’s former SEAL Team leader.
Despite already knowing he’s the one who’d be on the other end of the line, the familiar voice sent a cascade of emotions racing through Brody’s veins. Disbelief. Sadness. Anger. Betrayal. Guilt.
Every single negative feeling a person could have struck him all at once.Hard.With his fists curled painfully at his sides, he barely managed to control the murderous rage inside him.
“I’m going to ask you one more time, Michael. Where. Is. Aurora?”
“Relax, Your Highness. Your girlfriend’s still alive. For now.”
“You son of a bitch!” Brody leaned both palms on the counter. Never wanting to kill a man more, he warned his former leader, “Touch her again, and you’re dead.”
The bastard was a dead man either way. That wasn’t even a question. He just didn’t know it.