Page 53 of Very Special Forces

"Couldyou help me narrow it down?"

"Sure. Ihave nothing better to do."

I wassure that was Maddox's brand of sarcasm but I was happy to ignoreit. "There's another thing. I think the tank is still in Montgomerybut I doubt it'll stay here for long. Whatever or whoever it's beenstolen for, I guess it will be shipped out soon before someonenotices it's gone."

"Wait...no one noticed their tank was stolen?"

"Myclients noticed but their superiors are, as of yet, unaware. Theyneed to get it back before their superiors get thewiser."

Maddoxsighed. "The things you get yourself into. This doesn't sound safeat all."

"I don'tthink it's roaming the streets. The general public aresafe."

"I meantyou. Assuming you track it down, is there any point telling you notto try and retrieve it?"

I blew araspberry into the phone, lightly and not particularly adult-like."I'm not going to try and retrieve it. I can't drive atank."

"Good.You see it, you call your clients to come get it and then you avoidthe area until they're done. Anyone who went to the trouble ofstealing a tank must intend to do their best to keepit."

"Goodpoint." Maddox was right. The tank had to be under armed guard incase of any unforeseen events, like, say, the Army coming toretrieve it. That just added to the difficulties of identifying thelocation and then setting a plan into place to repatriate it.Thankfully, I hadn't been paid a pitiful sum to actually return it."There's another case I'm working on," I told him, changing thesubject quickly before he started making more pertinent pointsabout the last time I had a run-in with rogue soldiers. "I've got alocal background check on this guy but I wonder if there's anythingnationwide you can tap into."

"Give methe name and I'll look into it."

"BryceMaynard. His fiancé is Julia Atwater. Maybe background check hertoo?"

"Whatdid she do?"

"Nothing, it seems, but a check into her history won't hurt.Maybe see if the name Jessica comes up in connection to Bryce too.It's him that I'm concerned about. He's got a temper, verbally andphysically, but there's nothing to suggest he's a serial abuser.Concerns have been raised that he is an abuser and not just a jerk.I'm trying to find out if there's anything concrete that suggestshe is bad news."

Someonein the background on Maddox's end yelled his name. "I have to go.Text me their birthdates and any other personal details and I'llget back to you soon."

"Thanksso much. Oh, one last thing." I gulped. I didn't want to ask but Ihad to. "You didn't RSVP."

"To?"

"Mywedding."

Therewas a long pause, then Maddox exhaled. "I'm not sure I can makeit."

I knewthat might be the answer but it was still disappointing to hear. "Iunderstand," I said, gulping again. If the situation were reversed,I wasn't sure I'd want to attend his wedding either. I didn't evenwant to talk to any of my other exes but there was something aboutMaddox. He was too good a guy to evict from my life; and ourbreakup was too complicated to completely blame anyone for it.Truthfully, it wasn't anyone's fault. It was just sad.

"Talksoon," he said before he hung up.

I tossedthe phone on the seat and turned up the radio, forcing myself toconcentrate on the lyrics so I didn't have to think about thepast.

~

When Ipulled up outside my parents' house in West Montgomery, I could seeI was almost certainly the last to arrive. Solomon's car wasalready there, parked behind Serena and Delgado's. Jord's car wasthere too so Lily was probably with him. Garrett was parked downthe street. I couldn't see Daniel and Alice's car but they mighthave walked.

I hoppedout and walked up the driveway. My parents had recently painted theexterior but the motif remained the same. White with yellow trim.Like a daisy, said my mom. Like an egg, said everyone else. Myparents bought the house early in their marriage and raised fivechildren in it, which kindly imbued it with a lovely feeling ofcoming home. Although these days it felt a lot more crowded, eventhat was nice.

Openingthe front door, I smiled. The older kids, an assortment of niecesand nephews produced by my siblings, were playing a game thatinvolved a lot of giggling and I could hear sports on thetelevision. Most of the adult-sounding noise came from the kitchenso that's where I headed.

"Oh,you're here. Finally," snipped Serena as she stepped into thekitchen. She glanced at her watch and rolled her eyes. "You'relate."

"By tenminutes!"

"Wemanaged to catch our flight, get home, unpack, grocery shop, andstill get here on time." Serena turned away.

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