Yours to Keep by Claudia Burgoa

Chapter Three

Vance

Accordingto The Organization’s intelligence, there might be ten or fifteen of my men in town ready to attack my family. If I hadn’t been sulking for the past few weeks and waiting for Beacon, we could’ve worked together and stopped those guys before they set up camp.

It’s too late for the what-ifs, but is it too late to stop their plans? I hope not. I’m relieved that Mason Bradley, Beacon’s Boss, is in town patrolling. He brought his team along. They’re supposed to be the best. I just hope they can do their job while I do my thing.

Since Beacon’s cabin is thirty minutes north of our property, I drive down to the outskirts to search for the men I believe are hiding, waiting to attack us. It won’t be easy. If I miss any, I hope that Beacon’s boss is good enough. I need him to protect my family before the unit burns the house down.

When I arrive at the cabin, I’m blown away by what I find. “Fucking Beacon!”

He has two cars that are the same make, model, and color. They even have the same plate numbers. When I check, one of them is a fake. There’s another plate underneath. I wonder how often he pretended to be at home, and he was actually here, or maybe in another state. If we get out of this one alive, I’m going to fucking kill him.

I find several armor suits in the closet. I put on one of them, grab a couple of knives and some guns and ammunition. This is a lot better than going home and maybe being seen by whoever is watching the house. When I look in the second garage, I find two motorcycles. I text Lang to find out where the keys are. He responds that the keys are in the office and gives me instructions on where to find an earpiece and how to connect it to hear everything that’s happening during the operation.

For a second, I entertain the possibility of joining The Organization. Would they even give me a job? It’d be worth asking. I’d be working with Beacon. Plus, they have cool toys that I could use while working for them. I drive to Baker’s Creek but take the back roads that I know will lead me to the other side of the mansion. I leave the bike in a secure area and hike to where I think the best place to camp will be. I spot a guy sitting by a rock, and I shoot him in the shoulder. When he turns, I recognize him. Brandon Smith. He’s new to the team.

“Don’t try to shoot, or I’ll kill you,” I warn him.

“You’re going to kill me either way.”

“Probably,” I answer. “How many are with you?”

He shakes his head.

“I’m thinking fourteen,” I guesstimate. “Unless there are more because Crawford decided to recruit new people.”

He stares at me, then says, “They didn’t recruit because you weren’t there. They hoped that you’d come back, but…” He shrugs his good shoulder.

“So, what’s the plan, catch me and torture me?”

“After they kill your family,” he adds.

I could let him live, but if I do, he’ll warn the others. I hate to pull the trigger, but I justify it by reminding myself that he’s here to kill my loved ones. It’s them or us. I choose us. That’s what I tell myself as I make my way to the house, and keep finding my old unit. They’re poorly hidden, sloppy idiots. But it could be they’re too cocky to care because they believe the security team patrolling is gone. Fuck, this is it, the perfect time to attack. I’m about to warn The Organization when the ground shakes.

I crouch, looking at the sky, trying to find where the explosion came from. Fuck, it’s the mansion. My gut clenches. My chest tightens. This can’t be happening. It’s all my fault. I’m praying this is just a nightmare, that my nephews are safe. My brothers. Their wives.

I move my legs as fast as I can, yet I can’t seem to get any closer. My heart slows down slightly when I hear through the earpiece, “Beacon’s studio is down. There are no casualties. I’m launching one of the flying droids. Nathan is launching the second one.”

“Are you sure there aren’t any casualties?” I insist as I get closer to the house.

“None so far. How far out are you?” Lang asks.

“Almost there.”

“I see you,” he says. “This would be a great time to find your people and dispose of them.”

There’s no time to tell him that I’ve been doing just that. There aren’t many left. However, I’m pretty sure Bennett is here, and he’s deadly. From where I stand, I notice two guys climbing the house and a third guy trying to enter through the back.

I think it’s Bennett. I hear gunshots coming from the ice rink construction, but I don’t stop. If they get into the house, my family is gone. When I finally approach them, Bennett holds a high-caliber gun, threatening Grace, Mason Bradley, and a third man I don’t recognize.

When I’m closer, I can hear Bennett’s voice loud and clear. “It’s a rule. No one knows who we are, what we do, and more importantly, no one talks about us, or they die. Vance knew about it. He chose the wrong side. I sent his little brother to the slaughterhouse. I hope he learns how he dies before I find him and kill him.”

I look at the man who I once thought I could learn to love. Without hesitation, I aim at his head and shoot twice. Within seconds, I realize I never loved him. If I had, it wouldn’t be so easy to pull the trigger without saying goodbye or giving him a chance to cause more damage.

He falls to the ground, and I sigh with relief.

Grace turns to look at me, eyes wide. “You okay?”

I nod once and say, “Beacon. Someone should alert him.”

This was a trap, and my little brother is walking into the gates of hell. They should fly me to him, but I can’t go because it would be against the fucking stipulations.

I wish I could say stipulations be damned. Fuck you, William. I’m going to save my brother.

But.

I.

Can’t.

I have to trust him and pray that nothing happens to him.

“We’re already alerting the team,” Mason Bradley assures me. “Do you recognize any of them?”

All of them. I point at the guy who was about to kill them and say, “That was Bennett.”

As they start moving bodies, I follow Harrison Everhart, one of the founders of The Organization. He wants me to identify the bodies. I tell them about the men I took care of on my way to the house. A trail I need to clean up soon. They said the team would do that. I identify the bodies and the injured men they caught. Once we’re done, I head to the cabin with the rest of the team for a meeting.

There are about thirty men and women in the room. I had no idea The Organization had this many people working during the operation. A lot of them blended in so well. I’m impressed. If things weren’t so fucked up and these people weren’t here because of me, I’d ask for a job.

Once everyone settles, Mason Bradley speaks, “We stopped the team from going in today. It might be a trap. Even if it isn’t, we need to study how these men operate. The prisoners might have some intelligence we can use to our advantage.”

I raise my hand.

“Yes?”

“I trained most of them. I know how they operate.”

He nods, and I notice his shoulders relax slightly. “Then let’s get to work. We have twenty-four hours to prepare the team.”

I stand, asking, “Where do you want me? I could fly to them. We just don’t tell Jerome Parrish.”

He shakes his head. “You can’t join us until you talk to a therapist.”

“Excuse me?”

“If you want to be a part of this operation, I need you to talk to a therapist.”

Is he for fucking real? I don’t think so. I never had to see a therapist before. This was nothing compared to what I had to do while stationed in Iraq. Not even when I worked for my unit. Though I want to say, fuck you, I won’t do it, I ask, “Why?”

“You just shot your ex.”

“Technically—”

“You had a close relationship with him,” he interrupts me. “And you killed several men from your former unit. I need you to talk to a professional about it. You’re too emotionally involved, and I can’t afford a mistake.”

I comb my hair with my fingers, trying to calm the fuck down. He’s insane. Where am I supposed to find a therapist at this time?

“No one will see me right now.”

He grins, pulling out his phone. “It’s your lucky day. I have therapists on speed dial.”