Page 37 of Renegade

My heart began to race as I looked over at him. He nodded back at me. “Gold and jewels were often used with certain warlords,” he said. “Lots of them were uneducated tribal leaders who had no use for paper which is how they described U.S. currency.”

“That’s accurate. A lot of dealings involved jewels, mostly diamonds, but other jewels as well,” Mark said. “And gold, of course.”

“So, there might have been a rogue CIA faction operating out there that never turned over a cache of jewels to a warlord,” I said. “Maybe, they killed the warlord to shut them up and kept the jewels for themselves?” I stared back at Mark. “Maybe John somehow saw them, so they kidnapped him to cover it up. That’s a possibility, right?”

Mark pursed his lips, not answering for a long time. When he finally sat back in his chair, he shrugged. “I don’t know.”

I paused before voicing my next thought. “Miguel?”

He looked over at me. “Yes?”

I reached out and covered his hand with my own, not caring that Mark was there. “Do you think John would resist if they captured him?”

His eyes held a deep sadness. He nodded. “Yes.”

“Then…he was tortured until he became compliant.” I knew the answer before it ever left his lips.

“It’s entirely possible, Raven.”

Chapter Twelve

MIGUEL

When we finally left Mark’s house, I was more convinced than ever that we’d done the right thing in going to him with our suspicions about John’s disappearance out there. Everything we’d discussed made sense and I was more than ever determined to figure out just what had happened to him. I knew in my heart that he wouldn’t have willingly gone along or in any way been involved with the rogue faction of the CIA, assuming our suspicions were right. And I took Mark at his word, that he would look into everything we’d talked about.

By the time Raven finally pulled up in front of the house, it was almost six-thirty. Fortunately, Dolly was a good person who’d stayed with Raven’s grandmother until we got there. I left him to make our apologies to her and went straight to the kitchen to start making dinner, knowing Raven always liked to spend time with his nana before tucking her in for the night. As I made sandwiches from a leftover ham Dolly had cooked earlier in the week and heated canned tomato soup, I went over everything that had happened today.

The very idea that John had been kidnapped and tortured by the CIA to get him to comply to their wishes, felt like a searing arrow had pierced my chest. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought about how badly he must have been hurt to bend to their will after all these years. We’d all seen the effects of what the CIA called the enhanced interrogation techniques they were all trained in. The empty shells of men who’d been subjected to unfathomable cruelty. It was one of the reasons I’d finishedmy final tour and put my military service in the rearview mirror even though two of my brothers had gone on and signed a new contract to stay and continue to serve. Americans were supposed to be the good guys.

If John had been broken and was with some rogue CIA faction, then it made sense why he hadn’t reached out to us—if he was really working with them. If he’d been tortured—and, God, I hoped he hadn’t—had he turned completely? Maybe they were holding something over his head…another reason for him to become a willing accomplice to whatever they were doing out there. I couldn’t fathom what it could be, though. John had always been a stand-up person and friend to all of us, even though he’d been our leader. He’d put himself in harm’s way to protect our asses out there many times. But then, I didn’t know the extent of what John had endured. None of this made any sense.

I’d given the phone to Mark so that he could have Mac McCallahan take a look at it, hopeful that he’d be able to figure out who’d assembled it and praying it wasn’t rigged to blow up. If something happened to our friend, I couldn’t live with myself. I had to take Mark at his word when he said Mac knew what he was doing, though. I knew just getting the thing out of Raven’s glove compartment would make him feel better and that meant everything to me. The need to protect my partner had never felt more urgent. The fucker in the stairwell was just the kind of person to hurt Raven if we didn’t cooperate with him and I wasn’t about to let that happen. I’d die first.

Raven came back into the kitchen as I sat in the nook scrolling through my phone. He looked haggard even though he was trying not to. I stood up as he walked in and went to the sink to wash his hands. I slid my arms around his middle and kissed the back of his neck. He leaned back into me.

“I love you,” I said against his skin before stepping away.

He shut off the water, grabbing a towel before turning to me. “I love you too, babe. I’d show you how much here and now, but if I don’t get something to eat in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to shrivel up and die.” He grinned which only made me chuckle.

“Well, I hope you like soup and sandwiches.” I pointed at the counter where our sandwiches sat beside a steaming pan of soup. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Oh, God, I could kiss you.” He walked over and brought the sandwiches to the table as I dished up big bowls of aromatic tomato soup. Tabasco and Tapatio were already waiting, so I slid into the booth across from him with the bowls. I watched him pick up one of the two sandwiches I’d put on his plate and peer at the contents. He smiled. “Dolly’s ham with lettuce and cheese? You’re so good to me.” I watched him take a huge bite as I picked up my own sandwich, chuckling. His eyes rolled back in his head as he chewed. Only Raven would be content with a bowl of soup and a couple of sandwiches for dinner. “I wasstarving,” he said around a mouthful of food.

I nodded, chewing my own bite. It was delicious and such a simple meal. “I would have made something more elaborate, but if you’re as hungry as I am, I knew you wouldn’t want to wait.”

He shook his head as he chewed, picking up the soup spoon to dip into the hot soup. He added several squirts of Tabasco, stirring it in before dropping in a few oyster crackers from a bowl I’d set out earlier. We both loved hot sauce, and I counted myself fortunate in that, since it wasn’t that way with every guy I’d fed. I’d grown up on various chilis which my mama had pickled as well as jalapeños, putting them in everything she made. Fresh or jar brand peppers, I enjoyed them all, as did Raven. They’dbeen a staple in every Southwest kitchen, and his mother and grandmother had grown their own, pickled, and dried them. It was a nice thing to share with my partner.

“This is absolutely perfect,” he said, stuffing half of his first sandwich into his mouth and chewing around it. It was a pleasure watching his mouth work and I got a sudden urge to stand up and drag him off to the bedroom to put it to work on something entirely different. After we finished the dishes, I decided that was exactly what I was going to do. I smiled at him, and he looked over at me, cocking his head as he ate.

“What are you thinking?”

“What do you mean?” I tried to infuse just enough curiosity into my words to disguise the downright naughty things which were going through my mind.

“You look devilish,” he said, smiling around his spoon as he swallowed more soup.

I laughed. “Caught me. I was just thinking I love your mouth, and I can’t wait to put it to work on me as soon as we finish eating and clean up tonight.”

“I have to write a review and then I swear I’m all yours.”

---