Page 22 of Irons

“Nah man, I’ve known since I saw your face when her picture popped up. I looked at her history and it didn’t take much to figure it out. You always talked about Wrenly when you talked about your best childhood memories. The other guys haven’t added it up yet. So, you’re staying out of it, huh?”

“What do you suggest I do?”

I had spent way too much time locked up in small spaces with my team when we were on missions. After a while we began talking about our biggest regrets. Shelby and Wrenly were mine. I almost killed Shelby, and she endured quite a bit of physical pain because of me. Despite all that, I still thought I hurt Wrenly more. Sometimes when we were sitting around having a beer, we all shared stories about our childhoods. All my happy memories from those days included Wrenly.

“You’re doing the right thing for her, but what about what’s right for you?” He asked.

I turned and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged then took a swig of his beer before he looked at me. “You’re happy leaving that life behind. What toll will having her around take on you? She brings back bad memories.”

“She brings back my best memories, not just the bad ones. At first I avoided her because I didn’t want my bullshit to harm her, but then it was my shame, I guess.”

He nodded as he swallowed a swig and set his beer down. “I know all about that, and eventually the shame fades. I missed out on visiting my mom from the time she first got sick, because I knew coming home would bring them more shame. If I just would have faced it earlier, I would have realized it doesn’t fucking matter. I saw her before she died, but we could have made more memories together if I would have faced it head on instead of avoiding it.”

I shook my head. “Your situation is different. You were completely innocent. I was guilty of more than what I was convicted of, and I can’t take any of it back. I almost killed a girl.”

“Jesus, Irons. You were barely fifteen years old, just lost the only adult you trusted, your parents neglected you, and they even forgot you at the funeral home the night of your Uncle’s visitation. Of course you acted out. What happened that night was a result of your parents behavior. Your girl knows that, seriously. I haven’t even met her and can say that with confidence.”

I thought back to those days and it almost made me sick. I was fourteen years old and having sex. Jesus, there were boys at Creed’s Lake that age and they seem like just babies. It’s still hard to believe I was that bad at such a young age.

“I guess I’ll soon see for myself since Creed is pretty much offering her the world if she takes the job.” I was only being realistic. Nobody in their right mind would turn the offer down.

“That’s only because she’s exactly what we’ve been searching for all these years. It has nothing to do with you and I hope Creed makes that clear.” Magnus said.

He was right. We hadn’t had much luck finding someone like Wrenly. We needed more women operatives. Not to boost any numbers for the sake of political correctness, it was because we truly needed them. When we rescue females from such terrible places they don’t always need to be surrounded by strange men. They need women that can provide just as much protection but also be a source of comfort until we got them home. I couldn’t count how many times I tried to comfort them, and they flinched from my touch. Not only that, but women have a fierceness about them when it comes to such things. They will not back down against the evil men that commit such horrible crimes against other women. According to her profile, Wrenly is just as badass as Bolton.

“He’s going to play it off as if he doesn’t know our past, since it’s not a deciding factor in making the offer.” I assured him.

I decided to change the subject. “Have you gotten any other threats?”

He gave me a short nod. “Yeah, they left one on dad’s porch. It was in the form of a drawing against Morgan. It looked like it could have been drawn by a kid because it was stick figures. Morgan was laying on the ground as someone stabbed her. Creed had it sent to the lab but there wasn’t one fingerprint on it. The scary part was that it was hung on the front porch with a small knife in the wood.”

“It’s amazing how insane these crazed fans really are about someone they don’t even know.” I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.

His phone rang, so he excused himself to take the call. He said it was Creed, so I was pretty sure he had a good reason for calling.

Nerves

Wrenly

I didn’t tell my dad about Travis. I only told him I was scouted for a job in the private sector. He was indifferent, as a dad that never really cared for my career choices. He wanted me to find work closer to home. What he didn’t understand was that home hadn’t felt like home for a long time. Not since Travis left, and especially now that Matt was living in town.

Dad dropped me off at the airport with the promise I’d be back in three days. Stone was flying into Louisville from Louisiana and would arrive a few hours ahead of me. It didn’t go unnoticed that my ticket was first class, especially once I got checked in and especially when I boarded. It was a nice flight, but I was so nervous it was crazy. By the end of the day, I very well could have been looking at Travis. I didn’t know what to think about the invitation. Was I only invited because of Travis? Did he recommend me? Was it because he missed me as much as I missed him? Maybe he dealt solely with the bike business and had no idea I was coming. I had so many questions and hoped they’d be answered soon.

As soon as we landed I sent a text to Stone, and he quickly returned one that told me to meet him at the airport bar just outside the terminal. I grabbed my carry on, which was allI had since it was just a short trip, then made my way off the plane. The bar was easy to find, and I spotted him right away. I quickly noticed he was with two men, both casually dressed and unbelievably gorgeous. Actually, I was a bit taken back by the sight of both of them.

“It’s good to see you again, Wrenly.” Stone shook my hand. “These two men are from Creed’s Lake.”

Stone was smiling so I hoped that was a good indicator.

The super tall man with light brown hair and shocking grey eyes stuck his hand out first. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Josh Magnus, Senior Officer of Operations at Creed's Lake. Sorry Creed couldn’t make it, he’s staying close to home these days. He sends his apologies and will meet us back at the Lake.”

“That’s quite alright, and it’s good to meet you.” I shook his hand in return.

I looked at the man with dark hair and a beard. Handsome as well with very pretty amber eyes. “My name is Mike Axton, the Executive Officer of Creed’s Lake Inc. It’s great to finally meet you. I guess we can be on our way now. Do you have luggage to claim?”

I shook his hand in return. “It’s great to meet you as well, and no, no luggage, just my carry on.”

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