Page 27 of Irons

“It’s a community of veterans that provide investigative skills and also private security. There’s all kinds of retired special ops agents and they use the community to help victims of domestic violence. Not only do they help rescue them, they provide protection, legal services, and vocational training. If I take this, I’ll have an adorable little log cabin on the lake.” I slid the papers to him and when he saw the salary and benefits offered his eyes grew.

“Wow.” He scratched his beard. “All these benefits too?”

I nodded. “Yes, and they also have other businesses, and I’m sure you’ve heard of Creed’s Motorsports.”

He thought about it for a minute. “Can’t say I have.”

“They have an MC, and they build custom bikes. I’m surprised you’ve not heard of them. They’re in a tiny little town called Cold Springs.”

He was looking down at the papers, but his eyes slowly met mine. “Did you say Cold Springs? As in Cold Springs, Indiana?”

I smirked. “You know it?” I knew he did because he mailed checks to Travis.

He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “What the hell is really going on here, Wrenly?”

I laughed just a little. “Travis is one of the founding partners of the entire thing. In fact, he’s president of the motorcycle business. Before you ask, no I haven’t seen him.”

“So, he all the sudden sends you this job opportunity after all these years?” He sounded like he was suspicious of some sort of nefarious plot.

I shook my head. “No, I was told he was not a part of the recruitment process. He was told about it after they found me and wanted to give me an offer. He has requested to stay out of it, and my decision is based on the actual job opportunity. He was out of the country on business when I was visiting.”

He sat forward. “Alright, so he has nothing to do with it. Did they say anything about him? If he’s okay or anything at all?”

I felt my eyes light up. “Dad, they said he was in Delta Force, and they also said he has a good reputation for being the most patient and kind one of them. I’m so proud of him, he built something amazing with his old Delta Force team. He was a part of one mission in particular that made all of them legends. I didn’t know the names of the operatives on the team, but I heard about it. I always knew he would be something amazing, but I never dreamed he would go this far. I didn’t even know this far existed.”

Dad smiled. “Tony would be proud.”

My heart broke a little when I thought back to those days. His parents spent way too much time fighting over what wouldbe best for their family just to flake out and do nothing for their family at all. Uncle Tony loved Travis as his own son and what Dad said was true. Tony would have been very proud of Travis.

“I can see it written all over your face. You’re accepting the job, aren’t you?” He had a halfhearted smile on his face.

“Yes, I called and left a message for Creed today. I’ll send in my resignation to the FBI tomorrow. Stone also accepted it, and we’ll start the same day. What he offered is kind of like an executive position.” I wanted to add that I couldn’t wait to see Travis, but I kept that to myself.

“Let me ask you this, Wrenly. If Travis wasn’t a part of this, would you still take the job?”

My heart sank. I thought he knew me better than that, I don’t make big decisions like that without being serious about it. “Of course I would still take it. If I wanted to disrupt Travis’s life, I would have went looking years ago. He made his choice and left, so of course I wouldn’t quit the FBI and move all the way to Indiana if I wasn’t serious about the job.”

He leaned forward and squeezed my hand. “I trust you’re making the right decision, I just hope he doesn’t let you down. He left this place and never returned for good reasons. I understand why he never wanted to see his parents again. Hell, if it weren’t for Heather, I’d probably never speak to Paula again. It’s hard to forget how poorly she treated Travis. She literally abandoned him when he needed her most.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then to top it off they both had time for affairs, his dad especially. I can’t believe he had another kid when Travis was only eleven and kept a whole damn family a secret.”

My dad shook his head. “It wasn’t exactly a secret. Tony and I both knew he got Emma pregnant. So did his parents, themarriage was just a sham for the media. By the time it all came out, Travis was gone, and they were divorcing because Paula was pregnant. Well, that and Robert was drinking. It’s a shame, she is active in her daughter’s life and just now cries about all her regrets. I don’t care how much she begs, she will not get his address out of me.”

I hated seeing Paula, but she and Heather were still good friends. My politeness toward Paula was only for Heather’s sake. I respected Heather but could never understand why they were still friends. Heather never met a soul she wouldn’t be friends with because she’s just that amazing, but I’ve had a hard time being anywhere near Paula. I was that way around Robert as well, and maybe worse because he had a three year old son by the time Travis left and never bothered to tell him. Robert and Paula decided not to tell Travis because they figured he would have acted out and they didn’t have the patience for it. They remained close friends after the divorce and all the way up until Robert’s death.

“I guess Heather didn’t witness the worst parts of it.” I said. Just thinking of it made me sad for Travis.

“Let’s change the subject. Why does the name Creed sound so familiar?” Dad asked.

“Oh that, yeah he married Morgan Rossi. I met her and she’s really nice, but pregnant with twins. They’re also adopting the cutest little girl.”

Dad’s eyes grew. “TheMorgan Rossi?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ve heard about their relationship. It has been all over the media.”

Dad started laughing and I was completely lost. “What’s so funny?”

He shook his head. “I wonder how Travis reacted to that one. He had a poster of her in his things when they were sent from Nebraska. He didn’t even want to go through the box and had me throw it out. I went through it to make sure there wasn’t anything important.” He had to wipe a tear away from laughing, but I laughed too.

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