Page 9 of Love Me Knot

Knot ends the call, only to make another. “Bev, clear my afternoon. Something’s come up.”

After speaking to his assistant, Knot calls our head of site security. “Frank, Roman Cargill is pulling up in the next two minutes. Let him in the gate and bring him to the war room.”

Cargill. Why do I know that name? I nudge Aaron “Grim” Hosfeld, who’s seated on my right. “Who?” I whisper.

Aaron shrugs, but Sadie, Knot’s second in command, leans forward, whispering around him. “Roman Cargill is the nation’s rebel. He’s from the second most wealthy family in the country and walked away to join the military. An IED resulted in a medical discharge, but he refused to go back to the family business. The family cut him off, and he bankrolled his own company. Cargill is, or was, the CEO of Iron Strike Security.”

That was the PMC group that went under after the ambush, the mission the congressman uses as his pulpit to preach from.

A short, tense wait later, a handsome man in a tailored suit storms through the war room door, led by our head of campus security. Everything about him, from how he’s dressed to how he carries himself, speaks of his top-one-percent upbringing_everything except for his tired yet sharp eyes.

Knot steps forward to shake his hand before introducing the group as a whole. “Roman, these are my team leaders. We were meeting when you called, but given what you told me, I thought it best for them to hang around.”

Cargill nods to us. “I know what you’ve heard on the news, but my people did not fuck up. We’re not_well, were not as big as Knot Corp., so I was handling mission support on that run myself. Despite what you’ve heard, my team did not give up mission details. They were never given any.”

I lean back in my seat, deciding whether I believe this guy. The other team leaders seem to share the same skepticism. Cargill accurately reads the room and directs his comments to us contractors. “I get how this looks. We never should have accepted a contract without detailed parameters, backup plans, or escape routes. We’re a young company. Jobs are few and far between. I’m assuming that’s why we were chosen.”

“Chosen?” Knot asks with drawn brows. “What do you mean?”

Cargill’s blue eyes tighten in anger. “My men were set up.”

The room breaks out in murmurs. Knot holds up a hand to shut us down, but not before someone from another team questions Cargill accusingly. “What do you mean, set up? Your men got out without so much as a scratch.”

Cargill points to the man, not backing down. “Exactly. The Army took the beating, and we took the blame.”

Now, the whole room goes quiet and stays that way until Knot breaks the silence. “I assume you’ve got some evidence, or you wouldn’t be wasting my time?”

“Yes and no,” Cargill answers. “I’ve got an encrypted radio given to my team leader because the Army team refused to let us tie into their comms. I have audio recordings of every interaction between my men and theirs. I also have GPS tracking information, body cam footage, and eyewitness statements from all my men telling me they didn’t fuck this up.”

“No, what you have is a lot of illegal information that would have you brought up on federal charges if it ever came to light,” Aaron accuses.

Cargill stares down the former Marine. “Maybe, but I’m glad I have it all the same.”

“So, what do you want from us?” Knot asks him.

“I want you to find out who set us up and why.”

Knot studies the man for a long breath. “What you’re asking is dangerous and will take a lot of manpower. And last time I checked, you’re broke.”

My ass clenches at my boss’s response. I wouldn’t have expected him to be so cold.

Knot’s comment doesn’t seem to bother Cargill. He only laughs. “You’re not worried, and you’d do it anyway because you’re afraid I’m telling the truth and of what that might mean. Still, you’ll be paid. My father will tolerate many things, but having our name drug through the mud isn’t one of them. As disappointed as he is in my career choice, he doesn’t believe the bad press and will fund this effort to clear Iron Strike and the Cargill name.”

Knot raises his fist to his chin in thought. “I see. I need time to meet with my legal team and intelligence staff. Give me until tomorrow at one. You can return then and share everything you’ve got with my team.”

The battered CEO of Iron Strike sags in relief. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cargill starts to walk out, but Knot stops him. “Hey.”

The man halts at the command, and Knot warns. “If you were set up, someone could be watching you. They’ll know you came here. Watch your six.”

Cargill tips his head and walks away, and Knot drops into a nearby chair and sighs.

Sadie “Fate” Phelps leans forward, her auburn ponytail falling over her shoulder. “What do you think?”

“Cargill knows what he’s doing,” Knot answers. “I don’t know what we can find outside his illegal evidence, but I know the man. There’s no way he would let this happen on his watch.”

Bash opens his mouth for the first time in the meeting. “Say Iron Strike was set up. What would that mean?”

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