DOUBLE TROUBLE WITH THE TWIN WOLVES 17
C H A P T E R S E V E N T E E N - - - T O M
As they drove back from the Sixth Street bakery, Pleasant Tea and Coffee, Tom was uncomfortable as hell, even though Tom hadn't found anything happy about the business or the chat they'd just had with Ace. Something about the person made him uncomfortable. He always had an edge to him that made Tom wonder whose side he was truly on. It's like having a crazed, uncontrolled dog in their midst and wondering when it'll cut the crap and bite someone in the face.
He could handle monsters, but what about individuals like Ace, who dabbled in knowledge, power, and control? Those were the absolute worst. He was prepared to face danger. He felt better knowing that there was something practical that could be done right now. A real problem to tackle, a location to visit that could lead to a solution.
The part about the weapons? That he didn't like, but he had to believe Ace wouldn't do anything worse with them than The Arctics would. In any event, Ace was well aware of what he had been holding over Tim's and his heads. He had them by the short hairs, and all they had to do was play along.
They were on their way back when Tom received a phone call from Jerome, his phone buzzing in his pants. They were only a few minutes away from the pub, so Tom simply signaled Tim to gun it, and they arrived faster than if they had stopped to take the call. Jerome was already striding out of the pub to them, looking grimmer than usual, by the time they were parking and removing their helmets.
"What's the matter?" " Tim inquired, and Tom felt the air become strained.
"When I arrived, Maddison had left. Mary stated that she saw her not long ago and urged her to go have some breakfast and rest for a bit. But her jacket has vanished, and the rear door has been left open. I believe she slipped away."
"What the heck happened? " Tom yelled, hurling the helmet onto the bike. "She wouldn't abandon her children like that! And she understands how risky it is to be out right now. Do you have any clue where she may have gone? " Tom inquired, speaking first and then pausing to reply a second later.
Suddenly, his body became cold and stiff, and a profound, foreboding dread washed over him. He didn't know anything was wrong with Maddison, but the prospect of her being in danger was so horrifying to him right now that he couldn't function for a second. When he looked across to Tim, he saw the same emotions reflected in his brother.
Shit, Tom thought gently, folding back his shoulders. Maintain your composure.
"I'm not sure." Mary stated that she just sensed Maddison was concerned about something, which is understandable given the circumstances. We've searched the Bear Den, but she's not there. I've contacted the rest of the men, and they're sending out feelers to see if anyone has seen her about town. Nobody was interested in her. There was a surveillance camera at the entrance she exited from and it’s evident she went on her own will. Do you have any clue why she's running like this? " Jerome inquired, returning inside to give them some solitude.
The tavern was deserted at this time of day, with only Barry leaning on the counter, looking appropriately solemn. Tom took out his phone and dialed Maddison's number, which he had stolen from Tim the day before. It began to ring, and he heard her ring tone at the same moment. Tim was given his phone by Jerome when he took it out of his pocket and held it up.
I've already verified that. She abandoned it here.
Tom looked at his brother and stated unemotionally, "This isn't good."
Tim's eyes widened, and he sprinted passed Tom and Jerome to the door leading upstairs without saying a word. Tom and Jerome exchanged a perplexed glance as they followed him, imitating his hasty movements up the stairs and into Tim and Tom's room. Tim tore through it after grabbing the blanket off the bed they had been sharing with Maddison earlier.
"Where is it, holy sh*t? " He barked.
“What are you looking for?" Jerome inquired.
"My fucking phone. I left it here since I didn't want to wake her awake, but if she saw the messages, dammit.
Tim sank to sit on the edge and grabbed his head after looking under the bed. Tom was dead certain he understood how his brother must have felt at that very moment when his fingers drove into his neck so deeply that his knuckles turned white. He was experiencing a wide range of emotions. He approached Tim while grinning and put his hand on his shoulder to encourage him to talk.
"Come on, tell us. What messages? What would she have seen? ”
Tim raised his head, his face genuinely gloomy. He appeared to have lost all of his blood, leaving just a fearful, agitated shadow behind.
Tim eventually said after a little pause, looking Tom in the green and golden eyes. You may recall Blake Wilby. He questioned, his voice emotionless.
"What about the jerk from the Seventeenth who was back in Iraq? I do, indeed. He was always trying to harm me. But what significance does this have? Tom questioned with a grimace.
"After our previous expedition, there was an accident. an eruption. Tim closed his eyes as though to compose himself and stated, "Blake lost his legs while we were getting air-evac'd to Germany to return home.
“Shit. Tom said, "He was a hassle, but that's harsh," attempting to figure out why Tim was telling him this.
“Yeah. The problem is that he claims it is your fault. He lost his legs because one of the traps we left behind on the last expedition wasn't set properly; when they tried to collect it after the area had been declared secure and under control, it exploded. An investigation was conducted, although it was never particularly successful. That is why you weren't informed. But he now has fresh proof. The whole thing was paid for out of pocket, and it doesn't look good, guy.”
Tom's fingers tightened their hold on Tim's shoulder, forcing Tim to force them apart in order to avoid breaking a bone. The direction this was taking was obvious to him, and he didn't like it one bit. His eyes blazed gold, and a deep growl that was both frightening and alert emerged from his throat.
"What do you mean?”
He has been extorting money from me for the past two years. It was initially nothing too much for me to manage. But he's becoming increasingly avaricious, and it's been going on for too long to ignore. The second "installment" was going to be given to him when we were due to meet yesterday, but I couldn't leave Maddison alone. He's been blowing up my phone ever since I missed it because of this. I believe Madison may have seen the texts and is attempting to take action? She is as obstinate as a mule. Tom, stop the fucking hell! ”
Tom just caught the last few words. He was too preoccupied spinning around and storming out of the room in a rage. The Arctics and Blake would both receive what was coming to them, but he wasn't sure which of them he would knock to the ground first. He would guarantee it.
When Jerome finally caught up with him and stopped him with a hard grasp on his arm, he was already halfway down the hallway.
He told the soldier to enter again.
Tom tensed as he came face to face with Jerome's cool, commanding stare. He had a strong desire to immediately deck his friend and superior officer. Tom eventually relaxed a little and turned around while taking deep breaths as a result of Jerome's refusal to budge and the way he glared him down as he had a million things racing through his brain. Tim had his arms folded across his chest and was standing in the doorway.
Tom raged, "I'm going to fucking murder him. The motherfucker will be dead, I swear. There's no way I could have caused it. Moreover, you shouldn't have been settling his debt. Tim, why did you act in such a stupid manner? ”
Tim raised an eyebrow at him while maintaining his ice-cold composure following his outburst. His expression was now fixed. Tom, because of this. We don't need such garbage, and I'm very sure you'd murder him. not at this time. I agree with you that I should never have acceded to that jerk's demands, but it felt like the less difficult option at the time. I ought to have seen his greedy loutish nature right away and called him out on his bullshit right away. He is currently the least of our issues, though.
Tom said, feeling a tremble in his breast, "We need to locate Maddison."
Now he slumped onto the bed and covered his face with his hands. There seemed to be very nothing they could do to stop this day from going to hell in a handbasket.
"You believe she has your phone, then?" Jerome looked at Tim and questioned.
"Yes... Yes. Shit." He answered, instantly perking up, "She does."
Tim reached for his laptop and yanked it out of his suitcase, quickly turning it on.
"Well, what?”
My phone can be tracked. I've made absolutely sure that no one else can, but if she still has the chip, I can locate her despite the fact that no one else can. It's going to take a little while, though," Tim stated, settling into a chair and focusing on his laptop as if it held the secret to eternal bliss.
Tom raised his head and noticed that the hairs on the back of his neck had started to rise up. He had never experienced such genuine horror before. Yes, he had engaged in combat several times and had worried about his safety and the safety of his comrades as well as if he would survive. He had never, however, lost his composure quite so quickly as when he imagined Maddison being in any danger. He was spit out on the other side in a horrible mess after being chewed up within. It was rendered more worse by the addition of the Blake saga.
"Anything else you two would like to share with me?" Jerome questioned as he stood in the middle of the space.
Tom looked at him and nodded. He had nearly forgotten what they were meant to accomplish in the turmoil and, dare he say it, terror. They barely had a few hours to get dressed, he discovered as he checked his phone.
“Yeah. We visited Ace," Tom remarked.
Jerome's face falling would have been funny at any other time. Now, it only expressed how Tom and Tim felt on the inside. Tom detailed the whole incident to Jerome, including the gritty specifics of what Ace desired at the time. There were never any falsehoods in Squad Six, therefore theoretically he should have kept it a secret. There couldn't be with guys who had to have complete trust in one another. Tom felt confident that Jerome and the rest of the team would stand up for them, just as they had done for Jerome when he and his wife were in the middle of a difficult situation. There are no questions.
As soon as Tom was done, Mitchell, Shaun, and Jordan could be heard descending the stairs with their heavy-booted boots audible to him. Tom couldn't help but grin as the door was thrown wide and the rest of the squad surged in, already dressed in their urban warfare camouflage and prepared to go. He never had to question the team's allegiances when Squad Six was involved.
Jerome turned to the visitors and observed seriously, "Looks like we're going to have a gunfight on our hands, lads."
“Can we take the tank?” Shaun asked, chewing on a toothpick and looking completely unsurprised by the fact that he had seen a tank and that the first news he got when walking into a room was that he’d have to whip out his sniper rifle.
"Are you thinking about switching to heavy artillery?" Mitchell inquired, a nasty smirk on his face.
"Hey, anything gets the job done," Shaun shrugged.
"Found her," Tim said as he rose from his chair.
Tom could feel his jaw set tightly and every muscle in his body tensing the second he turned around, holding the laptop in front of him.
Fuck.
Tom didn't need to hear the words to realize something was wrong.
"She's with Ellia. Exactly where they're going to hit."
She was, of course, present. Because that's precisely how their little love affair had to work—someone had to be constantly in grave peril, or else it just wasn't right. Tom clenched his fists, hunched his shoulders, and didn't swallow the growl. He couldn't live with himself if anything happened to her. And he knew Tim felt the same way.
"Gear up. I'll give the rest of the crew an update. And then kiss your children goodbye. "It may be a long fucking day," Jerome stated solemnly as he clapped Tom on the shoulder.
That jolted Tom out of his melancholy thoughts. He stood up, and nearly simultaneously, he and Tim left the room and went to Maddison's room, where Mary was seated between Ryker and Reidan.
Are we cool? " Tim enquired in a stern voice.
“Always.”
They gave the boys kisses and bear hugs, spending as much time as they could with them to drive away any remaining fear Tom might have had, and then they got to work. They quickly removed their civilian clothing and got dressed, donning harnesses and gear pouches and loaded up from their go-bags. Tim was eager to get moving since he knew that if the rest of the crew was present, they had undoubtedly acquired more assault vehicles and better equipment as well.
The six of them were moving toward the subterranean garage when he muttered, "Lock and load."
Time to have a little fun.
