Free Embattled Home by J.M. Madden Page B

she felt heat bloom in her cheeks. She clamped her jaw in desperation, sending pain shooting through the side of her head. Yes, he was cute, but men only brought pain.
    Chad called Duncan, in spite of the crazy hour. “Dude, don’t you ever sleep?”
    The older man chuckled on the other end of the line. “I could ask you the same thing, smartass. What’s going on?”
    Chad filled him in on the details, ending with tonight’s altercation. “I need to get them out of town. And we need to make this bastard squirm.”
    “Agreed on both counts. Has she given us any usable information about his business?”
    “Well,” Chad sighed, “the daughter is a partial stockholder. I think that’s the only reason why he wants her.”
    “Hell.” The silence stretched on the other end of the line. “Okay, how many people do you need?”
    Chad thought for several long seconds. “At least two. Maybe three.”
    “We’ll make it an even four-man squad, that way you’ll have better coverage. I’d rather you have too many than not enough, and this is our fuck-up, so we’ll clean it up. I got your text about the female, and as long as you’re comfortable with Rachel as one of your four, you have my blessing to take her with you. And Zeke.”
    Chad frowned. “I hate to take Zeke away right now. Preston?”
    Duncan paused on the other end of the line. “Preston’s not on anything major. I’ll let him know. Who do you want for your fourth?”
    “Flynn.”
    “Really? Are you sure?”
    “Yes.”
    The former SEAL was a bit of a wild card, but was a truly impressive fighter. He wouldn’t like it where they were going, but he would deal.
    “Done, then. I’ll let them know they’re on. I’ll also start digging a little harder. I’ve got a buddy at the Federal Reserve Board that might be able to look into things.”
    Snorting, Chad shook his head. “Why am I not surprised you have a buddy there? Seems like you have buddies everywhere.”
    Duncan laughed. “Well, yeah. I served for a long time. You know that. Had a lot of men under my command. A lot of them have gone on to other careers. Hell, I’m meeting some of their sons now.”
    Was that a note of sadness he heard in Duncan’s voice? Nah…
    “So, how’s your bum?”
    Duncan snorted. “Well, he’s got issues, but I think he’s reachable. I may have to be out here for a few days.”
    “Okay, we’ll be gone by the time you get back. Do you want to know where?”
    “Nope. The less I know the less I have to testify about. Just stay safe and keep our people safe. Keep your phone on you.”
    “You know I’ll do all of that. Thanks, Dunc. You be safe too.”
    “Will do.”
    Chad hung up his phone slowly, details swimming through his head. The logistics of making six people disappear for an unknown amount of time would not be easy, but he knew he could do it. More importantly, he knew where he could do it.
    Damn, he had a lot of phone calls to make. And very little time to do it.
    *     *     *
    When Duncan returned a few hours later, he half expected Aiden to be gone. He pushed the door in and peered around the little corner to the bed. Aiden lay in the exact position he had been in before. It was as if he’d been so wiped out he didn’t have the energy to even shift.
    Duncan could sympathize. It seemed like he never felt rested anymore.
    Turning, he looked down the hallway to the waiting room. He could park in there for a little while, catch up on some emails. Planting his cane, he started for the room.
    Aiden’s auburn-haired doctor walked out of one of the rooms a little ways down the hallway and turned to the right, her head tilted down to the clipboard in her hand. Since she was going the same direction he was, she hadn’t seen him, which was fine. It gave him a chance to check her out. Although with that long white doctor’s coat on, it was kind of a non-issue. The color of her hair stood out like a neon light though, curling down her back to