“Let’s not get into that. The point is, even if things go right, be prepared to reach out and not get anything in return.”
Oh, I was. In fact, not only was I prepared to not get a response, I kind of leaned toward expecting it. Better to not have hopes that wound up getting fulfilled than to be crushed.
But I also was prepared to do whatever it took to have a kid. Financial, gifting, surprises—I did not care what it took to get me pregnant with a child I didn’t have much time for.
This was just the first step of what I knew would be a hell of a story someday. I just wondered how much of a story it would be—and if it would even have a happy ending.
But it was a story I had to set out to make happen, one way or another.
Chapter 2: Burke
BAM!
The last of the terrorists dropped. The boat had petered out in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar, about couple dozen miles off the coast of Morocco. I’d already taken out all but this last ringleader, having successfully infiltrated the boat using the method my boss, Scott, had explained to me several years ago.
Ensuring the all-clear, I hurried to the bottom of the boat and swung open the door. There were about a dozen girls there, ranging in age from probably thirteen to early twenties. Had DOM not tracked down this ring, the girls would have been sold into sex trafficking.
“Scott,” I said into a walkie-talkie, “I got ‘em. Girls are safe.”
Scott didn’t partake much in missions anymore. Women had pulled him and Liam away from their work with D.O.M. Liam had thrown a fit when Scott had gone for his woman, only for him to fall for the exact same thing shortly thereafter. I didn’t really give a fuck what anyone else did with their dick or free time. I did my job, made sure I never broke the rules, and got plenty of pussy otherwise. Scott and Liam could have orgies with their clients for all I cared as long as I got paid when I finished my jobs, which I always did.
“Roger that,” Scott said. “Get ‘em back to land and we’ll get everything taken care of.”
I told the girls to stay down below deck, figuring it was safest in case some unanticipated shit came up—as was the norm. I could never anticipate what would happen, but I could always anticipate that something would happen. I headed to the deck, commandeered the ship, and sailed it back to shore.
A little while later, Scott had procured forces to arrive at the scene. As usual, I slipped out before anyone could thank me. I saw thanks as something to be given when someone went above and beyond the call of duty. This wasn’t me doing anything but my damn job, and I certainly didn’t need thanks for it.
I headed back to one of the many bunkers that DOM had around the world, headed to the bed, collapsed into it, and stared at the ceiling.
This DOM shit…I loved my job. I loved making a fucking difference in the world, and I loved that I wasn’t relegated to some bullshit desk. The money was great and the attachments few.
Though I didn’t emotionally judge Scott and Liam for what they’d done, there was a certain intellectual fascination with their decision. We were, after all, men, prone to falling for women at some point in our lives. Was I due? Certainly, the very fact that Scott and Liam had ditched full-time DOMing for settled life was something that at least prompted the thought.
But for now, nah. I was good with my life. I liked to keep it simple, and adding women and kids to the picture made it less simple. But simple doesn’t always equal happy.
One of the burner phones in the place rang. Only one person could have known the numbers of said phones. I found the one ringing, picked it up, and answered.
“Scott,” I said. I didn’t have to hear his voice to know it was him.
“Burke, did you see any sign of who was leading this charge?”
“No.”
Not that that meant that we didn’t know who was behind it.
“So then we know who it is by the lack of evidence.”
Snake. The longtime rival of DOM, the man who made our lives a living hell, and the one who was responsible for kidnapping the woman that would become Scott’s. Snake had always sort of had an understanding with us that while he would do some abhorrent shit like kidnap girls and sell them, he’d never resort to death.
But after Scott had taken Kaylie right from under him, well, he’d gotten a little bit harder. A little bit crazier. A little bit more unhinged. And in the last few years, I’d seen what an unhinged Snake could look like. It was a Snake that needed to be put down.
In due time, though. The last thing we needed to do was storm the castle before we saw an opportunity.
“Yep,” I simply said on the phone.
“OK. Stand by for now. We’ve got a plane that can take you back to Connecticut. You’re free to do as you wish until then.”
“Good.”
With that, we hung up. I grabbed a hammer, smashed the shit out of the phone, and went to sleep.
When I woke up, I had a text on my actual personal phone. It was from Liam. That was odd—though it wasn’t unheard of for us to send trivial messages to each other, Liam had done so far less since he’d shacked up.
I immediately prepared for a sort of domestic mission, the kind that
