Chapter One
If his presence hadn’t been needed in Texas, Sinjin Acothley would’ve stayed in Mexico a few extra days after his assist in ridding the world of the dangerous scumbag who’d abducted the sister of his military brother, Holden.
He’d earned a little R and R.
A sneer twitched his top lip. That was crazy thinking. Not the ridding part, the R and R part. He didn’t rest or relax, he worked.
Two jobs.
One was on an as-needed basis for an off-the-books operation he’d joined after leaving the military; the other was temporary for a Delta Force buddy who owned a security and investigation company an hour southwest of Houston.
Sinjin had left active duty around the same time as Mac and a few others, but instead of heading to Texas, he and another Delta brother, Hunter, had started working shadow ops for a former colonel.
Since then, the only R and R Sinjin had known wasriddingthe world of madmen withoutregret.
His mother had died at the hands of one. Sinjin was fourteen at the time and ever since that day, he’d vowed to be an instrument of justice.
There hadn’t been any for Evangeline St. John Acothley.
His father hadn’t done a damn thing except hide behind his badge.
“You’re doing it again,” Hunter said, snapping him back to the present. “Get out of that headspace, man. It’s toxic.”
He blinked the bar and grill—Texas Pub—back into focus, and the sound of laughter and chatter returned to his ears.
Agreeing to meet up with a few of the guys upon his return from Mexico was a stupid idea. Hell, he wasn’t going to eat or drink anything, anyway. Sinjin only consumed what he prepared himself. It was too dangerous…in hisotherline of work.
“Sometimes the past is best left in the past.” The concern wrinkling his friend’s brow was as earnest as his words.
A few months back, Hunter had walked away from the shadow organization and began working for Mac. Sinjin had found it odd. He was under the impression the only way a person left black ops was in a black bag.
Suited him just fine. Not Hunter.
Still, the colonel had accepted his buddy’s resignation and had even sent Sinjin to Texas to help Hunter when his woman and her young son were targeted by Tate Ackerman, the leader of a biker gang. The bastard was bad news. An arms dealer, drug dealer, murderer, rapist, with a reach too long for charges to stick.
A madman.
The kind Sinjin normally took out—on foreign soil.
Sanctioned ops excluded anyone in the United States. Colonel Bateman was currently lobbying for an exception where this one percenter leader was concerned, even though the bastard was now behind bars. It was the reason Sinjin was still in Harland County and temporarily employed by his friend.
“Your loner days are over. We’ve got your six,” Mac said, his gaze steady with an unspoken offer to make his position permanent.
The guy was the only other person besides the colonel who knew the real reason Sinjin was in Harland County.
Working for Levi “Mac” McCall at ESI—Eagle Security and Investigation—alongside several of their military brothers, had been a bit of an adjustment from Sinjin’s actual job. But surprisingly, it didn’t suck.
What amazed him the most was how easily he slipped back into his old Delta Force training and had no issues working as part of a team. The past two years, only relying on himself to complete missions hadn’t interfered with any of his ESI orders. Other than his eating habits, he was practically back to his old Delta self.
He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
Still holding Mac’s gaze, he nodded. “Roger that.”
Although he appreciated the offer, he had no intention of staying once his original job was completed. The world revolved around the sun. Life moved on, and so would he.
Just like his neighbor.
The college kid had moved out last week and today, Sinjin had noted, already there was a new car in the driveway. A new tenant had moved in during the few days he’d been gone.
