Fight For Me by Claudia Burgoa

Chapter Two

Harrison

My worst nightmareis working on a mission in New York City. That implies not only putting a lot of civilians in danger but also my family. And today, my nightmare has come true. I’m sweating and it has nothing to do with the eighty-degree weather. Of course, I’m losing my shit and talking nonsense to distract myself.

“Not yet,” I mumble.

It will happen any second now, I murmur.

“Are they ready to deploy?” I continue mumbling shit, watching. Waiting for what feels like fucking forever. “Everyone awaits, sir. All units are ready for your instructions. What is your take on this mission? This doesn’t look good, when the explosion—”

“Shut the fuck up, Everhart,” a voice comes through my earpiece. I adjust it and recognize Mason Bradley’s voice bitching at me. The boss hates when I get too anxious and start talking nonsense. “This isn’t a fucking game with action figures.”

“Or a video game,” Anderson Hawkins, who is on the ground waiting for our informant, states. “I swear to God, I have no idea how I’ve been putting up with your shit for years.”

“Because I’ve saved your ass a few dozen times,” I remind him.

“You want me to kick his ass?” Tiago, who stands next to me, asks in a mocking tone.

“By now, you all should understand that I hate to be on standby,” I remind them.

Tiago, Hawk, and I have been brothers since the Army. Then we moved to the Rangers, and when we retired, we were hired by a secret high intelligence, private security company.

“I need some action,” I mumble through the communicator, my right index finger set on the trigger, my eye trained on the area where Hawk and Bradley wait. “This wait is killing me.”

“No, you don’t want action,” Hawk mumbles back. “If the operation doesn’t run smoothly, I will kill you after my woman kills me. She threatened me with bodily harm if I came home with a scratch.”

“You’re whipped, man,” Tiago says.

We laugh. Aspen, his fiancée, is a foot shorter than him and looks so sweet, but she regularly stands up to the guy and makes him do whatever she wants.

“But he’s right, Everhart. You have to chill. Imagine the nine o’clock headlines,” Tiago paints a tragic picture. “‘Terrorists Taking Over Manhattan’ or ‘A group of Former Rangers Lost Their Shit and Terrorized New York.’ My mama isn’t gonna like that.”

Tiago kicks me with his heavy boots in the ribs. “If you upset my mama, I’ll have to bury you alive. You get me?”

I gasp. “Got it.” I rub the side of my body. “Not that you can take me down, fucker.”

I try to settle down, but it’s fucking impossible. I wouldn’t care to wait in the middle of the Khash Desert in Afghanistan surrounded by terrorists—or to go through caves searching for Taliban leaders. We’ve lived through danger. If we are careful, this could be nothing. I’m sure that’s going to be the result. This isn’t our first job together. They know that I hate lying on the ground watching the action play out from afar. They also know I will wait for as long as it’s needed without saying shit. I understand that not every mission means jumping out of an airplane in the middle of a jungle, shooting up shit, and killing the enemy. Sometimes, like today, I come along just to watch the backs of other security details.

What neither one took into consideration when they set up this mission is that, unlike the rest of our operations, this one is at home. My home. My loved ones are within a thirty-mile radius. What if something goes wrong? I can’t lose any of them. I can’t go through another loss like that—it’ll be worse than when I lost my parents.

My friends, partners, and brothers in blood weren’t here on that tragic Tuesday when the sky lit up, and the towers burned to the ground. 9/11 is a day that we all remember, but one I constantly relive. The scenes are ingrained in my mind, seared with pain and tears. I saw the flames from the street corner as I was on my way to meet my dad. I wanted to discuss my plans to change responsibilities within his company. My life had been set up for me. I would work for him and one day, when he retired, I would take over Everhart Enterprises.

But everything changed when the call came through.

“Son, we’re trapped,” he told me over the phone.

My chest constricted with his words. My stomach churned. It felt as if an entire battalion had punched me in the gut and left me breathless. He gave me so many instructions at once. I still remember each word, each plea, each piece of advice.

“Take care of your brothers, Harry.” Mom implored.

Completely numb, I assured my parents I’d take care of my brothers. I sounded the same way I did when Hunter was only two years old, and Fitz was five, and Scott and I were assigned to babysit them by ourselves. I had no fucking idea what I would do without my parents, but I pretended that everything would work out without them by my side.

“We’ll be okay,” I promised as I watched from the buildings only a few miles away as the raging fire continued to consume the lives of so many people. “I’ll always look after them.”

They ordered me to call Scott and help him come back from Boston. They reminded me that Fitz had a weekly appointment with the allergist on Thursdays. That Hunter would need me more than anyone else.

“We will always watch over you and your brothers,” Mom promised. “Remind them how much we love them.”

“We love you,” they said in unison before hanging up.

“I love you” were the last words I ever heard from them.

“Are we there yet, boss?” I joke, trying to erase those memories and break the fucking tension. I regret not sending my family out of town. Everything would be easier to handle if I knew they were safe.

“It’s almost over,” Tiago informs me as I clean the sweat from my forehead.

We’re on top of one of the tallest buildings in front of Central Park in the middle of August at noon watching, waiting. I’m sweating like a fucking pig.

“Can I complain about the fucking weather?”

“Tiago, you have permission to shoot him if he talks again,” Mason Bradley barks. My ear buzzes after his loud voice comes through. I pull out the communicator for a second, moving the binoculars toward him. His trademark scowl is directed at where he knows I hide. His mouth continues to move.

I place the earpiece back, and I hear shit that makes no sense. “… fucking, Everhart, I swear I’d make the rest of your life miserable.”

“The asphalt is melting,” I complain, waiting for Tiago or Hawk’s comeback. That’s when I spot him. The man we’ve been expecting. My eyes move to the guy with cropped dark hair and a dark camouflage jacket, marching to Hawk. “Our informant is approaching, Hawk.”

Hawk nods once, training his eyes on the man. The moment that they shake hands, I set the timer.

“We have three minutes,” I call through the communicator. “Bradley, do your hacker thing. According to your intel, Kassi’s people might be onto us. Though I was bitching earlier about the lack of action, honestly, I would like to avoid Armageddon.”

Camo-boy sets a black portfolio in front of him. Moving my sight to the left, I spot Bradley tapping his computer urgently.

“Two minutes left,” I warn him. “Can you fucking rush it, geek?”

Bradley’s eyes fixate on his work but the corner of his lip tugs. He tilts his head, his black hair shining against the glare of the sun, and I almost miss the red fucking dot on his shoulder.

“Fuck!” I move my sight, searching for whoever is pointing a laser at his head.

“What are you doing?” Tiago asks as I stand up and pull out my binoculars, searching for the man who might kill the boss.

“Got you fuckers.” I pick up my M24, point at his head, and pull the trigger. Then move the gun, shooting at the guy aiming at Hawk.

“Tiago, send a few men to the building right across the street to clean the area. Mason, hurry. They’re onto us.”

“Done.” Mason jumps out of the seat, shooting us a nod.

Tiago and I wait a few minutes, keeping an eye on Hawk and Mason while they disappear through the crowd without leaving a trace.

“Thank you, gentlemen. This was another successful mission,” Mason announces through the communicator. “The plane is waiting for us. Everhart, are you coming with us? You don’t have to be in Seattle until Wednesday. Everything else can be handled remotely. The Brussels project starts in a week.”

Adjusting my jaw, I rotate my neck to loosen the tension. What the fuck happened to “I will buy part of the company so I can do whatever the fuck I want?” But I get it. There are jobs that we simply have to do ourselves. “I’ll take the offer of staying home for a few days. Call me if you need me though.”

While I gather my equipment, Tiago speaks. “I’ll take Brussels and any other shitty job you have for the next couple of months.”

I secure my gun, close the case, and stand up glaring at him. “What do you want?”

He takes a deep breath and looks at me. “My sister needs help.”

Wiping my forehead, I take a few seconds to think about that sentence. “Wait, fucker. You have a sister?” Wiggling my eyebrows, I grin. “Is she hot?”

“I just said she’s my sister you creepy fuck. Off. Limits.”

“Just a minute. I’ve known you for almost twenty years, and just now you happen to mention a sister?”

He nods once. “Half-sister.” His brows furrow as his eyes divert toward the horizon. “I love my mama, but the family shit is a mess and I keep it as far as possible from my life.”

“Is it safe to assume that your father is alive?” He nods at my question. “So, you have a sister that you just learned about?”

“Look, I’m not going to give you the dirt. Luna…” He rolls his eyes. “That’s my sister’s name, is moving to New York. This is the first time she’s working undercover outside the DC area. We just don’t feel—”

“Wait a minute.” I lift my index finger. “Undercover? What is she? CIA, FBI…”

He exhales heavily. “She’s an FBI agent in the human trafficking department. My sister is a chameleon and can blend in easily. However, she could use a well-known guy to help her navigate the social life in the Big Apple while keeping her safe.”

I let out a chuckle. Shaking my head, I crouch to finish picking up my shit. “I got you, brother. If Hazel, who is like a sister to me, were in her shoes, I’d call you to give me a hand. But are you fucking serious? You want me to babysit?”

“Human fucking trafficking,” Tiago growls at me. “It’s my understanding that she’s trying to become friends with some socialite who is dating the head of one of the big trafficking cells. You know what’s going to happen to her if she gets caught?”

We should take on that mission,I don’t say. She could avoid getting caught, tortured, and killed…Or they might let her live, and she’ll be reliving the hell they put her through for the rest of her life.

“My old man and I don’t see eye to eye,” he continues. “But I care for my sister.”

He stops, closing his eyes as he breathes a couple of times, his rough expression drawn in agony. His eyes open, staring at me in a pleading way I’ve never seen before today. “I trust her. But if I can help to keep her safe…we can’t lose Luna. You get me?”

Placing my hand on top of his shoulder, I squeeze it. “Luna will be okay, brother. I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. I’ll make sure she’s safe. As long as you’re my bitch for the next one hundred years.”

I laugh, moving toward the elevator. “Gotta meet the family for lunch, you want to join?”

“Nah, I’m flying to Florida to check on my momma. I’ll contact you when I get more intel on Luna’s assignment.”

Harrison: On my way to Juanes.

Hazel: You’re joining us for lunch? What happened to the job?

Harrison: I told you it’d be quick.

Hazel: Hooray, you didn’t die today!

Harrison: Order me a shot of your finest tequila if you arrive first, Bumble Bee.

Hazel: I won’t be the first. I’m in the middle of a meeting. Your brother is slaving me. We need help!

Scott: I’ll order a bottle of Don Julio to celebrate. Jensen is waiting for us in the car. We’ll be there before you.

Scott: And we are in the process of hiring a few new employees. Stop complaining, Buttercup.