Soldier For Hire

Xander sighed, giving into a moment of self-pity before reaching into his shirt pocket for his meds.

He grimaced as he shifted in the bed, his back clenching in an angry spasm, reminding him who was in charge. He washed down the potent painkiller with a generous swallow of his beer.

He was no different than most in his position. His body was screwed and tattooed. Literally. But chicks dig scars, right? Yeah, but did chicks dig drug addicts?

His body had been broken and mended back together again one too many times. The pain was just a part of who he was now. The painkillers were part of his management.

That was the story he told the docs and they’d bought into it for a long time, but then government regs changed and the lockdown on narcotics got downright militant.

He’d gone from getting his shit the legitimate way to paying an exorbitant amount to a man named Pablo who sold him Oxy by the tab.

And he needed more and more just to get through the day.

Okay, and maybe sometimes he took a little more than he needed but who didn’t play fast and loose with prescription drugs these days? Hell, college kids lived off Adderall during exams and that was perfectly fine when everyone knew it was just legal amphetamines. But hey, it’s all good...until they get caught and then mommy and daddy throw a fit, demanding to know how little Johnny got his hands on something so addictive.

Maybe the doc should’ve warned Xander how addictive Oxy could be; maybe it would’ve made him look for an alternative.

Hell, there were a lot of what-ifs but what good did they do? Didn’t change the facts of what’d happened in Tulsa.

Scarlett wanted to know why he’d run?

Because he was guilty.

Not of setting that bomb—No, he’d never do something so cowardly as to kill innocent people.

But make no mistake, he was guilty as hell.

And whoever had set him up knew of his little problem.

Former bomb-squad, Army ranger and current drug addict.

Yeah, his life read like a damn play-by-play for how to draw a direct line toward the easiest chump to take the fall.

The evidence may be circumstantial but Xander would make a terrible witness.

They’d take one look at the evidence—Xander couldn’t account for his whereabouts when the bomb went off because he couldn’t remember shit about that day—and they’d lock him up tight.

The people wanted a head on a spike for what’d happened in Tulsa.

And someone had already prepared Xander’s skull for the presentation.

His eyelids started to drag, his head to bob.

First thing tomorrow, he’d...

And he was out.

The team stared, some frowning, some bewildered.

Zak was the first to break the stunned silence. “No. You’re not going alone. We’re coming with you.”

Scarlett hadn’t slept at all last night. She knew what she needed to do, and she didn’t want anyone else to end up as collateral damage if things went south.

She’d spent the night trying to talk her way out of this one decision but by morning, she’d known there was only one way this situation could go down.

“Look, here’s the situation. I can move faster without a detail slowing me down. Xander is on a ticking clock. If we don’t bring him in, the FBI will take over and any chance Xander has of beating this will disappear.”

Zak narrowed his gaze. “You believe he’s innocent.”

“I don’t know that,” Scarlett said, shaking her head. “But there are questions that I can’t answer and my gut is saying... Hell, I don’t know but I can’t let someone else bring Xander in. If he’s guilty, I need to be the one who brings him in. He’s one of our own.”

“All the more reason why we should help.”

“I need you back at headquarters being my eyes and ears. You’re going to need to run interference if too much attention swivels Xander’s way. Trust me, this is going to be a bitch for everyone involved but I can’t deny that something doesn’t feel right.”

It took a lot to admit that to her team when she’d been the most adamant that they weren’t there to uncover any hidden truths about the case.

She’d learned a long time ago that ignoring her gut was a bad idea, which meant she was about to do something either really stupid or really dangerous—either one would probably kill her career or put her in the ground but she knew it was the right decision.

However, she wasn’t going to put her team at risk. “I don’t need any of you in the direct line of fire. If Xander is right and someone is framing him, that means we could have a snake in our home. If Xander is lying and he’s just trying to save his ass, I need to be the one to bring him down.”

“That’s what I’m talking about, let’s shake out the traitor,” CJ said with a gleeful smile because CJ was a little crazy. “Holyyy shit, I’m ready.”

Zak cast CJ a warning look before returning to Scarlett. “We need a timeframe. How long?”

“FBI is going to start sniffing around after a week. If I haven’t found him by then, there’s nothing else we can do. But until then, you’ve got my six here at HQ. No communication through our regular phones. We’ll use burners for any intel on this mission. Any questions?”

Laird piped in. “Yeah, what happens if he’s actually guilty?”

Scarlett allowed a grim smile. “Then, I’ll do what I do best... Bring the asshole down.”

“Simmer down. He’s not guilty,” Zak said to Laird, then to Scarlett, “I don’t like it. You need backup. Anything could go wrong.”

“Xander isn’t going to hurt me.”

“Well, he did nearly crush your skull,” CJ pointed out with a shrug. “I mean, that was pretty savage.”

“He didn’t nearly crush my skull, CJ. He knocked me out to gain time to get away. It was my stupid mistake to let him get the tactical advantage. I swear, I’ll never live this down.”

The team chuckled in spite of the serious situation but that was their MO. Make jokes before heading into a screwed-up situation.

“Fine. I don’t like it but I see your plan,” Zak said, sighing as he straightened. “We’ll get burners and hold down the fort, make it look like business as usual.”

“Good.” Scarlett released a pent-up breath, relieved. With Zak on board, he’d get the rest of the team in line. “So, from now on, this mission is locked down, eyes only. Code name Double Down.”

CJ grinned. “Yeah baby, ’cuz it’s all or nothing in this game.”

“Exactly,” Scarlett said, nodding. “Any questions?”