Recruitment: Regulators Book 1 (a Cowboy Gangster novella) Read online

  “Maybe Axel should stay home, too—with Luke and Hope.”

  “Your kids will be in capable hands,” Cochise said. “Luke is old enough to understand the circumstances, and Hope is just a baby, she doesn’t need to understand.”

  Clint stared at the Egyptian. “You’re not fooling me,” he said low. “I know it’s killing you to have to leave them.”

  Cochise kept his eyes forward. “Wasn’t trying to fool you.”

  “Have you talked to Kane?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really talked to him?” Clint asked. “You have to know this is killing him, too. He loves you too much to tell you. But it may not be good for him to hold it in.”

  “What am I supposed to do about it?”

  “Get it out of him.”

  “How?”

  “Fuck if I know. Use your imagination.”

  Cochise grunted; that was useless advice. He knew how to make a guest talk—but someone he cared about? How did a person inspire someone to talk when torture was off the table?

  • • •

  The two men had hardly arrived at the mansion when Cory showed up, spitting fire. He blew into the room and grabbed Clint by the front of his shirt. “What the fuck, Uncle Clint?”

  Clint broke loose of his grip, startled by the young man’s forcefulness. “What the hell, Corrigan!”

  “You’re leaving?” Cory stepped toward him again. “And you’re taking Axel? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “Corrigan…” Anthony moved his way. “Son, calm down.”

  “You’re not taking Axel out there with you.” Cory jabbed a finger in Clint’s face. “I thought you wanted to keep him safe. Taking him on a job is not keeping him safe!”

  “Axel wants to go,” Clint spoke calmly. “He can take care of himself—you made sure of that. You trained him well.”

  “That kind of training doesn’t prepare him for what’s out there and you know it. Only experience can prepare a person.”

  “Then he’ll get experience.”

  Cory stared at him, eyes ablaze and shining with dampness. “And sometimes experience comes at a steep price.”

  The kid was making him uneasy—was it a mistake to take Axel? If anything happened to him—anything at all—Clint would never forgive himself. The guilt would eat him alive—tear him apart from the inside out; losing Donny had taught him that much.

  Calming a little, Cory met Clint’s stare, eyes pleading. “Please, Uncle Clint… don’t take him.”

  Clint understood where this was coming from. Before Axel—Shay had been his best friend. It was months since his death, but the wounds remained open and raw. He glanced from Cory to Cochise and Angelo. In some more than others. Though they had all loved him, Shay had developed a special bond with those three men.

  The phone call from Cory that fateful night continued to play in Clint’s head. The despair and terror in the young man as he held his dead friend in his lap while he called for help…

  Clint’s chest tightened, his eyes burning at the memory. What if next time it’s you making the call while holding Axel… He banished the horrifying thought as the needling of panic burrowed into his heart.

  “Don’t worry, Corrigan,” Clint spoke low to the young man. “We don’t know yet what kinds of dangers—if any—we’ll encounter on this job. Let’s just wait for the agent and see what he has to say.”

  Cory swallowed and nodded. “If it is dangerous… you’ll leave Axel home?”

  “I can’t promise that. I already told Axel I would take him with me. But we’ll figure everything out after we speak with Alvarez.”

  How would Axel take it if Clint told him he couldn’t come with him on the job?

  You know how he would take it.

  He had just told Cochise in the car that Axel needed this from him—this trust in him. What would it do to their relationship if he took it back? How could he leave if things weren’t right between him and Axel?

  • • •

  “Zoe?” Kane was surprised to see his niece enter the office. “How did you get in town?”

  “Axel gave me a ride.”

  “If I’d known you wanted to come in today, I could’ve given you a ride.”

  Zoe shrugged. “I didn’t know until after you were gone.” She approached the counter and leaned on her elbow, absently messing with some brochures on pet care.

  “What’s on your mind?” Kane smiled.

  Without looking up, she replied quietly, “Axel told me.”

  “Told you what?”

  She raised her eyes. “About Cochise and Clint leaving again… and Axel going with them.”

  “What?” This was the first Kane had heard of it. Surely it couldn’t be right—there was no way Clint would take Axel on a job.

  “Yeah.” Zoe pursed her lips, her normally smooth brow was crinkled and tight. “I don’t know why Clint asked him to go.”

  “It was Clint’s idea?”

  Zoe nodded.

  “I would’ve never thought he’d let Axel go with them—much less ask him to.”

  Fussing with the brochures again, Zoe mumbled, “Why didn’t you and Cochise tell us they were going to leave again?”

  Kane sighed. “They’re going to meet with that agent—Alvarez—tomorrow. I think Cochise wanted to wait until he knew more before he talked to you kids. Did Axel tell you why they were leaving?”

  “Yeah. And I understand. But I still wished they didn’t have to go.”

  “Me, too.” Kane lowered his eyes, his throat tight with an ache.

  Zoe touched his hand. “Are you going to be all right, Uncle Kane? I know how hard it was for you this last time.”

  “It was hard on all of us.”

  “Yeah. But… especially hard on you. It hurt not having Cochise home with us, but it hurt, even more, to see what it was doing to you. I know you tried to hide it, for the most part—for our sake—but we still saw it.”

  “I know.” Kane sank onto the stool behind the counter. “It’s bothering me a lot that Cochise is going away again—a lot more than I’ve admitted to him.”

  “Why don’t you tell him?”

  “I can’t,” Kane whispered. “He has enough to burden him. I won’t add to it.”

  “I think he would want you to be completely honest with him.”

  “Probably. But it won’t do him any good, and it might cause him harm—mentally, emotionally.”

  “What will it do to you, sending him off without really talking about how you feel?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Kane insisted softly, not feeling his words at all. “We got through it before, we will again. At least, this time, we’ll know where he is and what he’s doing. Maybe even stay connected with him.”

  “That’s something,” Zoe murmured. “I couldn’t take it if they just disappeared again.”

  “Cochise promised he would never do that again.”

  “He better not.” Zoe hugged herself. “I’ve never been so scared in my life, except when…” She trembled a little. “… when I saw him get shot and thought…”

  “Yeah, that one tops the list,” Kane whispered as a chill ran down his spine. The finality of that event had cemented just how much he truly loved Cochise—and given him a dark and dire preview of the hell he would suffer should the Egyptian get torn from their lives.

  • • •

  “I can’t believe this.” Max shook his head. “They just got home.”

  “Yeah.” Axel sat at the kitchen table. “But they don’t have a choice—the kids need them.”

  “And you’re going with them?” Horatio asked, a note of shock in his voice.

  “Yes. That’s why I wanted to talk to you about looking after Hope while we were gone.” Before they could respond, Axel added, “I don’t know for sure when we’ll be back. We’ll know more after we meet with the agent. So, you don’t have to answer right now, if you’d rather wait and see—”

  “Of course, we’ll kee
p her.” Max smiled as he peered into the infant car seat. “She’s a delight.”

  Horatio leaned over Max’s shoulder and gazed at the baby. “A perfect angel.”

  “As a parent who has walked the floor with her at three in the morning, I could argue that point.” Axel laughed softly and caressed his palm over Hope’s warm head. “But I won’t. I think she’s perfect, too.”

  “When do you think you’ll be leaving?” Max asked.

  “I don’t know yet. But we should know tomorrow after we speak with Agent Alvarez.”

  Max nodded. “All right. Just let us know. We’re ready to take her any time.”

  Horatio glanced toward the living room where Luke sat on the sofa, watching TV. “How’s Luke taking it? He was pretty upset when Clint was gone this last time.”

  “Him and me, too,” Axel mumbled. “But we explained the situation to him, and he understands. He isn’t happy we’re both going this time, but having been a victim of sex trafficking himself, he’s aware of the nightmare these other kids are facing if we don’t help them. A nightmare they’ve already lived through once. They can’t be left to go through it again.”

  “I agree,” Max said. “It’s beyond my understanding how anyone could do these things to children—or anyone—but especially children. I imagine them to be demon-possessed because no one with even a shred of humanity could commit such atrocities against innocent children.”

  Axel agreed. He didn’t view the traffickers and rapists as “human beings”—and neither did Clint and Cochise. When they took them out, they weren’t disposing of people—but savage beasts.

  CHAPTER 5

  Upon entering the house, Clint went straight to his baby daughter and lifted her from the baby seat, cradling her to his shoulder. She nuzzled his shirt and drifted to sleep. The notion of leaving her again wreaked havoc on his heart. He didn’t want to miss a second of her life but felt like he was losing out on large chunks of it.

  Axel had yet to speak since Clint came through the door. He simply watched him with their daughter. After a few moments, it started to feel as though the younger man was eyeing him more so than watching him.

  “Something on your mind?” Clint spoke soft and low as he rubbed Hope’s back and gently rocked her while walking around the living room.

  “Cory came by earlier.”

  Clint nodded. “I know. I saw him at the mansion.” He looked at Axel. “He isn’t too happy about you going with us.”

  “Yeah, he, uh, made that pretty clear to me, too.”

  “He cares about you a lot.”

  “I know,” Axel said. “Zoe isn’t happy about me going, either. I half expect her and Cory to team up and lock me in a basement somewhere.”

  Clint chuckled. “Wouldn’t put it past them.”

  Axel continued to eye him.

  “Out with it,” Clint said.

  “What?”

  “You’re giving me the stink eye. What’s bothering you?”

  Axel nodded. “Okay. Where did you go this morning? Cory went by the mansion when you should have been there, but you weren’t and hadn’t been.”

  “You’re right.” Clint adjusted the infant and pressed his lips to her head. “We ran an errand before we headed to the mansion.”

  “What errand?”

  “Not important.”

  “Not important… meaning I don’t need to know the details?”

  Clint smiled small and nodded.

  “Was it about the job?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, shouldn’t I need to know?”

  “Not this.”

  “Okay.”

  A quick glance at the younger man assured Clint he wasn’t upset or brooding; Axel understood he couldn’t always know everything. So, he changed the subject.

  “What did Cory say to you?”

  “He requested I leave you at home.”

  Axel looked dubious. “Requested?”

  “Insisted… forcefully.” Clint chuckled.

  “Sounds more like it—considering his mood when he was here.” Axel sobered. “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “About?”

  “About taking me with you.”

  For the most part, honesty was the best policy. “Yes. I’ve had some.”

  “So…” Axel came closer and touched Hope, kissing her head. “Am I staying home?”

  “I said you were coming with me.” Clint shifted and dipped his head, planting a kiss on Axel’s mouth. “I’m a man of my word.”

  “But you’re still having second thoughts?”

  “That’s a given. If you’re by my side in a dangerous situation—I will have second thoughts about you being there. But it doesn’t mean I’ll tell you to leave.”

  Maybe you should leave him home. To be honest, he would feel better if Axel did stay home. Whenever Axel undressed and exposed his scars, Clint was reminded all over again how quickly things could go bad—and how bad they could get. But Axel didn’t want to be coddled or “protected,” he wanted to be at Clint’s side, fighting with him, protecting him as much as he protected Axel.

  If Clint denied him that and attempted to go on coddling him, their relationship would suffer. Maybe fatally suffer. He refused to allow that to happen.

  “Since you haven’t barred me from the mission.” Axel smiled. “I talked to Max and Horatio. Zoe needed a ride into town, and I figured while I was there, I could talk to them about keeping Hope while we were gone. And of course, they were happy to do it. I haven’t spoken to Abel and Devlin yet, but I know they won’t mind Luke staying with them. He practically lives there as it is.”

  Luke came out of his bedroom and down the short hall, pausing at the entrance to the living room, nibbling his lower lip.

  “What is it, son?” Axel asked.

  “I-I was just wondering if…” He bit his lip harder, his words faltering.

  “Spit it out, boy,” Clint drawled with a smile.

  “I was wondering if… when you get back… if we could go visit…”

  Axel frowned. “Visit who?”

  “David and Robby,” Luke mumbled.

  For a split second, Clint drew a blank on the names, then as quickly, it came to him who he was talking about. “The boys Detective Jordan took in?”

  Luke nodded.

  “Uh…” Axel looked at Clint. “Yeah… I don’t see why not. I’d like to see Tad again, too. He’s my little buddy.”

  “I didn’t know you were close with them,” Clint said. “You only met them once, right?”

  Luke shrugged. “Yeah, but… but I liked them. And I don’t think they have any other friends right now. Maybe… maybe sometimes they could come out here… if Detective Jordan will let them.”

  Axel cast Clint another curious look, then smiled at Luke. “Sure. We’d love to have them come for a visit. And I’m sure Wil wouldn’t mind.”

  Luke brightened a bit. “You’ll ask him when you get back?”

  Axel laughed. “Yeah, absolutely.”

  Luke rushed forward and hugged Axel. “Thank you.”

  “You’re… welcome.” Axel hugged him back, brow pinched in amused puzzlement.

  Clint remained equally perplexed by the boy’s excitement.

  • • •

  Cochise’s car was still gone when Kane arrived home after work. Zoe had stayed in town to rehearse with her band, though her words—encouraging Kane to speak honestly with Cochise—remained with him during the drive from the city. He had expected Cochise to be back by now; hours had passed since he and Clint left for the mansion.

  Entering the house, he was met with silence… but for the mewling of Stella and the black demon. Sebastian lumbered into the living room and halted at the sight of the two young cats. He whined as they blocked his path to the kitchen, and upon joining the family, he’d quickly learned who ruled the roost.

  Kane shook his head, smiling. “Go on, big boy.”

  The large dog circled the sofa, opting
for the long way around and avoiding the two felines altogether.

  “You’re no dummy.” Kane chuckled and squatted down as both cats immediately came to him and tried to climb his chest. He laughed and detached them, scratched their backs, then rose to his feet. “Did everyone desert you two?”

  He stepped carefully as the young felines wove between his ankles on his way to the kitchen. A freshly brewed pot of coffee waited for him. The boys were probably next door visiting Axel. If so, they surely knew by now that the men were leaving on another job soon. He supposed it wasn’t a secret, Cochise simply hadn’t gotten around to telling the kids about it.

  Kane poured himself a cup of coffee and walked down the hall. He knocked lightly on John and Donald’s door and received no answer. He looked inside. Empty. When he checked Tae’s room, he found it empty as well—as expected.

  “Guess it’s just you and me,” he spoke to the small cats at his heels and Sebastian who followed behind, keeping a respectable distance from the claw machines.

  Kane opened his bedroom door and halted. The Egyptian lay on the bed, shoes off and stocking ankles crossed, arms tucked under his head as he stared silently at the ceiling. Kane quietly cleared his throat and entered the room, closing the door and the pets outside.

  “You’re here.” He frowned. “Where’s your car?”

  Without looking at him, Cochise mumbled, “The boys took it.”

  “Oh.” Kane set his cup on the bureau and moved to the end of the bed. His fingers brushed Cochise’s toes and he gently squeezed his stocking feet. Cochise lowered his eyes from the ceiling, his stare settling on Kane’s face. Kane rubbed the tops of his feet, sliding his hands around his ankles and up under the cuffs of his pant legs. “Are you okay?”

  Cochise just looked at him.

  Sighing, Kane withdrew his hands from beneath the cuffs and rested his palms on his toes again, lightly massaging the digits through his socks. “Zoe knows you’re leaving. She talked to Axel earlier. And I think the boys may know as well. Not sure. You should talk to them.”

  “After the meeting with Alvarez,” Cochise spoke low, raspy. “We’ll know more then.”