Page 69 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chase

Kalasha Valley, Pakistan

2020

“Are you sure they said it was that house?” I ask Raine as we peer at the house from behind a wall.

“I think. I don’t speak Kalasha. The one guy who spoke a little bit of Urdu said the American lived in this house. But I also gave him a big wad of cash, so there’s a really good chance he was lying.”

As I consider our options, one of my grandma’s sayings pops into my mind: “If you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” In my current predicament, I figure I can replace the word “wise” with “dead.”

“Stay here, Raine,” I say as I start around the wall. “If anything happens to me, leave me here. Get to a satellite-friendly area and call Culver.”

When I get within fifty feet of the house, I see the butt of a rifle poke out through a window. All I can think about is how mad Mariel is going to be if I die. I stop, pull down the scarf from my face, and put my hands slowly in the air.

“My name is Chase Taylor. I’m looking for a man named Mack Marsh.”

There’s a long pause before I hear a familiar voice. “I know what your name is, dumbass. What I can’t figure out is how you found me.”

When I hear his voice—for the first time in nine years—a weird mixture of anger and relief rockets through my body. I put my arms down and watch in shock as the door opens and my best friend walks out. He still looks pretty much the same.

“I don’t know whether to kiss you or kill you,” I say as I put my pistol back in my waistband.

“Your choice,” Mack says, walking down the stairs. “But I’m definitely going to fight you on either one.”

I grab him into a hug. We stand there for a good minute, not saying anything. This is by far the longest hug we’ve ever shared.

“Please tell me Millie’s okay,” he finally says. I let him go and push him back roughly.

“What the fuck, Mack? How could you do this to her?” I say as my anger starts to rise. “How could you do this to me?”

Mack looks down. “You don’t know the whole story.”

“I actually think I do know it now, but frankly, it doesn’t come close to helping me understand. Do you have any idea what you did to her?”

“I saved her life.” Mack looks back up at me with his infamous glare.

I glare back at him. “You took away her life when you died—or disappeared or whatever the fuck you did. And you left me to pick up the pieces. What the fuck?”

Mack’s eyes shift quickly behind me. I turn to see Raine walking toward us—her hands in the air.

“Is she with you?” Mack asks.

“Yeah. Put your hands down, Raine.”

“What happened to Mariel?” Mack asks.

“She’s not my wife, asshole. She’s a CIA agent. By the way, so is your daughter. Do you even know that about her?”

Mack takes a step back. “What? Millie works for the CIA?”

“Yeah. So much for not wanting her in this life. You drove her right to it. Have you not even been keeping up with what she’s doing?”

“Do you see where I’m living? There’s no internet service up here. I haven’t had any news of her or anything else since I left. Honestly, I haven’t really wanted to. It would have been too painful.”

I shake my head. “I thought I knew you better than anyone on earth, but I don’t get you at all right now.”

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