Page 24 of A Touch of Frost
I cocked the gun.
“Frost.” Jesse sounded worried.
“This entire bullshit is cutting into my life.” I explained. “It’s stirring up old demons and I’m not a fan of that. Also, if I don’t race, I lose money for me and my charities. So, lie to me again and I’ll give you a new hole to breathe out of. Now, do I need to repeat myself?”
“The last I know, Striker had him at Mountain Head.” Ray admitted.
“Mountain Head?” I asked. “I thought the team was supposed to be in Romania. Why would he be at Mountain Head?”
“I don’t know how Striker thinks, okay?” Ray slurred. “He claimed the mission went south, but as far as I know, the doctor should have been secure.”
“So, you’re saying Striker has a mole on his team?” I asked.
“I’m saying, y’all should probably take a closer look at Striker.” Ray tried pulling away, but I merely held on tighter. “No one on that squad does anything without his say-so. If anyone stepped out of line, it’s because he told them to or goaded them into it.”
I sighed and glanced over at Jesse, then back at Ray.
“Striker has always been a shady son-of-a-bitch.” He continued. “If he tells you the sky is blue, you should definitely check.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Frost. They’ll kill me.”
I shoved the gun deeper into his temple. “I can’t see the future, Ray. But right now, I’m the one with a gun to your head. Wouldn’t you say that them killing you is a future you problem?”
He grunted. “You don’t seriously think a team like Striker’s would lose a civilian on a babysitting gig, do you? Rumor has it, they didn’t go to Romania—there was no surgery. One of his guys was hurt bad in some shady dealings they were doing and they needed someone who wouldn’t ask questions.”
“So, they tricked an entire military organization to let them take Paul?” Jesse asked.
“Who the hell are you?” Ray grunted.
“I’m the one with the pissed off redhead with the gun to your head.” Jesse replied without batting a lash.
Ray swore. “Something else must have happened and one or more people on that squad is lying. You’re boring a hole into my head—I’ve told you everything I know.”
I released him and holstered the weapon. “You’d better not be lying to me, Ray. Because if you are, I’ll be back.”
“And this time.” Jesse added. “You’ll get more than a broken arm.”
“You son of a bitch!” Ray launched at Jesse.
I grabbed him by the shirt and propelled him back to his stool. “Down boy.”
The fact he’d gotten the shit kicked out of him by a girl seemed to still be a sore spot for him.
Jesse didn’t look as if Ray’s act of anger even phased him. Ray grunted then waved to the bartender who looked at me. I nodded and eased from the stool.
Jesse followed me to where Lizard was seated, flipping through a magazine with a tiny desk lamp.
I set the gun in front of him. “You need to get out of here, Lizard.”
Lizard tilted his head to peer at me in that contemplated way he always did. “There’s nothing left state-side for me, you know that. Right now, I have a job, one that puts a roof over my head and food on the table, so to speak.”
“I told you.” I leaned closed. “Ride with me. I got your back.”
“It wouldn’t feel right.”
“Lizard—how about if I offered you a job?”
