Page 99 of Resistant

I sit back in my chair, my knee bouncing, and I grind my jaw. If he’s Richards, that’s a level of power I can’t fight by myself to get Brynn back. I stare Larry in the eyes for long moments. He doesn’t blink and he doesn’t look away. The table is silent watching our exchange.

“Okay.”

Larry blows out his breath and smiles.

“Welcome to Arcadia, Declan.”

* * *

The next weeks are a whirlwind of dinners, acquiring supplies, and scouting out possible home base properties for me and my team. We found a mansion in the foothills which is both beautiful and imposing.

Riesa’s team is outfitting the property with security gadgets, and weapons. My team and I will head north to extract Nathan. I’ve been traveling, meeting in secret with former men of my platoon, and building my own personal team.

I can’t bring myself to trust the people at Arcadia. I need my brothers at my back. It’s been difficult to find my crew, and I’ve not been surprised to find many of my brothers are still raising hell.

I’ll bring Nathan here to my house in secret. Only a few individuals know about this operation, and I don’t want him to go to a safe house. He’s safer with me.

I’d hoped to live quietly off the grid and decompress and plan Brynn’s extraction, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me. Not if I want Brynn. We are planning on leaving soon, and I find myself on high alert, ready to bug out.

Riesa and I have been driving for two days looking for Josh, the only man who made it out alive and conscious from my only wartime mission.

Riesa is driving and I’m lost in my thoughts remembering that mission, a mission that doesn’t exist in any military records or on any of the Corps’ files.

Officially, all the men in my unit died from multiple IUD strikes in Afghanistan. The real mission took place in Russia. Our unit was deployed to take out a general in the Russian army who was ordered to invade NATO countries. That mission backfired. I still don’t know how they knew we were coming, but we were ambushed.

And while we were able to take out the general and most of his forces, only Josh and I survived. Josh humped me out along with my STABO and we were extracted.

After the dust cleared, we were both honorably discharged, and the mission was wiped from all records.

If anyone looks closely at my files, they will notice that I’d never seen actual combat which is unusual for a medic in the Corps during wartime. It’s something that could draw unwanted attention to me, something that could be my undoing in this senate race.

Riesa has been looking for Josh for two weeks, using the Reform’s version of the dark web and other nefarious means. She got a hit two days ago referencing a marine who asked for help disappearing before shit got real with the Reform.

She pulls off the road behind some trees and we unload the ATV. I pull branches and shrubbery to hide the truck as best I can. We hop on the ATV and Riesa takes off like a demon chasing prey. I clutch her waist in surprise and remind myself never to let her drive me on this thing again. The girl is fucking dangerous.

Forty-five minutes later we pull into a clearing. I get off the ATV and put my hands in the air and loudly recite the Corps creed. I hear a click and tense, waiting to get shot.

I’m unarmed and I hope that it’s Josh here and not some motherfucker I don’t know. A man steps out from the tree line, rifle aimed at my chest.

“Just because you know the creed, doesn’t make you my brother, a hoarse voice calls out.”

“No man, it doesn’t. But a fucked mission in Russia where you saved my ass, does.”

“Take off your cover, marine.”

I throw my baseball hat to the ground, and before I can look at the man, I’m getting squeezed to death in a giant bear hug.

“Fuck, Josh. I didn’t know you liked me that way man. I love you dude, but I don’t like your ugly mug. Plus, I have a thing for pussy.”

A slap on my back nearly throws me to my knees, and I smile at Josh, who’s covered in paint and camo from head to toe.

Riesa sits on the ATV watching our exchange. We purposely left all our arms behind, if Josh came off the grid alone who knows what PTSD could have done to him in all the time the world has gone to shit.

“What the fuck are you doing here Doc?”

“It’s a long story, man. But I need your help. I don’t trust anyone else to have my back. Thing is, I don’t have time to tell you everything. If you are with me, I need you to leave with us now.”

“I got time to pack?”

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