Military Man

“Yeah, I know,” Collin said in response to his cousin’s awkward pause. “I’ve got to admit, it’s a hell of a surprise, hearing from you. Uncle Blake said that you had gone off somewhere into the mountains in New Mexico to be by yourself.” He recalled the conversation in its entirety. Blake Jamison had been sincerely worried about his youngest son, not knowing if Emmett was going to permanently withdraw from life, or if he just needed time to come to terms with the things he’d witnessed during the course of his work as an FBI special agent.

“I did.”

He heard Emmett sigh quietly on the other end, as if a part of him still wanted to be back there, hidden in the mountains, away from the world. Collin knew how that could be. There were times when he’d thought seriously about just saying the hell with everything and retreating himself. That usually lasted until the next interesting case came along to challenge him. He was no good with free time. Free time made you think.

“I needed some peace and quiet,” Emmett was saying. As always, his cousin was given to understatement.

For a while there Collin had worried about Emmett’s sanity. Everyone thought about running away, but very few ever did it. Those who did generally invited speculation about the state of their mental health.

But now that Emmett was back, Collin breathed a little easier. “Couldn’t find any, huh?” he joked.

His uncle Blake had told Collin that when Emmett’s older brother, Christopher, had turned up murdered, it just intensified Emmett’s desire to stay away from the world. It was only after his father had made the pilgrimage to his shack to tell him that Christopher had been killed by Jason, the brother both he and Christopher had watched descend into madness, that Emmett had snapped out of his depression and left his self-imposed exile to battle the “bad guys” again. This time, the bad guy was his older brother.

“No, it’s not that,” Emmett responded wearily to his cousin’s joke. “The world just won’t let me alone.” He took a deep breath and reiterated his initial plea. “I need your help in finding Jason.”

Collin didn’t bother saying the obvious, that Emmett had greater resources than him to employ. Or the more obvious, that the FBI was never thrilled having someone from the CIA nosing around. He said, instead, what they both knew to be true.

“Jason’s sick, Emmett. He has been for a long time now.” Jason had been different as a boy, given to hero-worshiping their grandfather to the point that it became a near obsession. All of Farley Jamison’s past history became Jason’s by proxy, to cherish and, more importantly, to vindicate.

“No,” Emmett contradicted, his voice harsh. “He’s evil. You know that.”

Yes, Collin thought, he supposed he did. Accustomed as he was to the ugly underbelly of the world, he still found it hard to pin that label on someone whose blood ran through his own veins.

Pausing, Collin tried to guess at Emmett’s reasons for what he was doing. The brothers had never been particularly close, even as children.

“You afraid the FBI’ll kill Jason if they find him?”

Emmett’s voice was steely as he replied, “No, I’m afraid he’ll wind up killing someone else. He’s my flesh and blood and I don’t want that on my conscience.”

Emmett always had enough conscience for three people, Collin thought. For a man who was only thirty-one, he acted as if he’d been born old. “You’re not your brother’s keeper, Emmett.”

There was another long pause on the other end of the line. Collin wondered if he’d insulted Emmett. After all, he hadn’t seen or spoken to him for a while now and people had a habit of changing.

Everyone but him, he mused.

“Maybe not,” Emmett finally said, “but I’m an FBI agent. What I’m supposed to do is keep the public safe from maniacs like Jason. Frankly, I’m afraid that he’ll surface somewhere and kill Ryan Fortune before I get a chance to take him down.”

Collin was vaguely familiar with Fortune, mainly from newspaper articles. The billionaire rancher was the epitome of generosity, giving to so many charities that the public had lost count. Collin was also aware that there was some sort of a family connection, but he had his own world, his own concerns. The Fortunes were a world apart from him.

“Ryan Fortune? Why?”

In the background, he thought he heard someone call out, “Room Service.” Emmett responded with a crisp, “Later,” before continuing and telling him what he’d pieced together. “Because Grandpa’s stories turned Jason’s mind to the state of an overripe, rotting apple. Because Grandpa blamed the Fortunes for turning him into a pauper and making him live out the rest of his life in that state. Grandpa needed a scapegoat for his problems and an audience to hear about it. Jason adored him and now he thinks he’s bringing some kind of divine justice into play.

“I know him, Collin. Jason’s crazy enough and evil enough to try something desperate. I mean, if he killed Christopher because for some reason Christopher got in the way of his big ‘plans,’ then—”

Collin was quick to stop him. He needed confirmation. “Is that what happened?”

A rare fondness slipped into Emmett’s voice. “You know Christopher. He’s always—” Emmett stopped; Collin could almost feel the other man’s physical pain as he corrected himself “—was always bent on bringing out the best in everyone. He knew Jason was obsessed with avenging Grandpa and followed him down here to Red Rock to talk him out of whatever it was he was planning.” All feeling drained out of his voice. “But nobody messes with Jason. At least, that’s what Jason believes.”

Even as a small boy, Collin remembered, Jason had always been headstrong, always needed to be center stage, or else he was given to destroying the stage.

“So he killed Christopher.” Even though Jason had been arrested and charged with the crime, with most people believing he was guilty, it was still something that Collin found difficult to say.

“And that girl who was posing as his wife,” Emmett interjected. “And that guard who was transporting him to another prison.”

And who knew how many others who hadn’t come to light, Collin couldn’t help thinking.

“Human life means nothing to him,” Emmett said with utter disgust. “And a second transport guard is just barely hanging on.”

“Maybe he can tell you something—” Collin began.

Emmett cut him off. Not because he felt angry or impatient, Collin knew, but because it was the way he was. Clipped and to the point.

Collin knew that was his cousin’s way of keeping everything at bay except for the facts. Emmett was not about to allow his emotions to suck him down to the depths he’d already been pulled to once.

He couldn’t survive a second trip down that far.

“The guard’s in a coma.”

“Oh.” That rather curtailed his ability to talk to the man, Collin thought. “So what exactly do you want from me?”

“I need you to do what you do best,” Emmett told him. “You can get into the mind of a criminal, find him, second guess his next move.”

The words were flattering, but not without foundation. Still, he did that with strangers, getting into their heads, under their skins. But in this case Emmett had an advantage over him. “He’s your brother, shouldn’t you be the one who’s able to—”

Again Emmett cut him short. “Jason’s been a mystery to me from day one. Christopher was the brother I always admired, not Jason.” Collin could hear the pain in his cousin’s voice. “Jason was always evil, always out for just Jason.”

With one notable exception, Collin thought. “Except in the way he felt about your grandfather.”

“I think he saw Grandpa as an extension of himself.” Emmett made his final entreaty. “This is family business, Collin. I need someone on my side.”

It was clear to Collin that even though his cousin was part of the FBI himself, the organization saw them as intruders in this case.

The request was something new for Emmett. Collin knew that his cousin was accustomed to working alone. So much so that the Bureau did not view him as a team player. But Emmett was very good at what he did, which made him a valuable asset to the FBI. Valuable assets were allowed some leeway. So when Emmett had put in for an extended leave of absence, saying he’d needed time to pull himself together, Collin knew the objections had been few. The Bureau did not want to risk having a stressed-out agent amid their number.

For a while there Collin had thought that his cousin’s withdrawal from the world was destined to be a permanent one. And maybe it would have become that eventually, if family honor and Emmett’s own sense of pride hadn’t joined together to pull him out of the tailspin he’d found himself in.

Leaning back, Collin put his feet on his coffee table and formed the only conclusion he could from Emmett’s tone. “I take it our end of the investigation is going to be unofficial.”

Even if it hadn’t been his choice, it would have had to be this way. “You know the Bureau frowns on their operatives handling anything that remotely involves their personal lives.”

The army was the same way. He was going to have to request a leave of absence, Collin thought.

He laughed softly to himself, relishing the image. “So as far as the local law-enforcement officers are concerned, we’re going to be just two pains in the butt for them.”

As always, Emmett put a serious interpretation on the words. “Let me worry about the local law-enforcement officers.”

Swinging his legs off the table, Collin shifted to the edge of the sofa, his attention focused on the nature of Emmett’s words. “You are planning on checking in with them.” He wanted to know.