Page 4 of Red Hunt

So, I was intriguing.

I shook my head. Not the reason I was part of the Greyhounds… Now real life waited. A life where I needed to be at Sharon’s in half an hour to catch a ride with her to Whitebrook and visit my grandpa in the hospital.

Everyday things…everyday life.

Pretending I was normal.

Pretending I wasn’t a damaged mess—inside.

Even after all these years. After all the therapy. With all the normalcy surrounding me. All the kindness and love I got to experience from the people of Moon Lake daily.

Even now, I could only pretend. Pretend and hope to be and feel just like them someday.

3

MAX

I stopped my truck in front of the convenience store, rubbed my scratchy eyes, and yawned. I’d already been on the road for hours. But I was almost there. Whitebrook was only half an hour away from Moon Lake. One quick stop at the hospital, then I would finally see my new home…for the time being.

Hopefully, the lodge was habitable because I sorely needed a few hours of quality sleep. I’d bought it sight unseen—a risk but a calculated one. And if worse came to worst, I could always make camp. I’d slept under dangerous circumstances. So even if the house itself turned out to be a dump, I didn’t care. I’d bought it for the location.

Complete solitude…just what I needed to concentrate on our mission and maybe finally learn to relax a little.

The only thing necessary besides silence was a stable internet connection. Then I could hook up my computer to go on the hunt with my teammates.

My phone rang as if I had conjured the call-up, just thinking about my brothers, and I picked it up. “Hey, Goofy.”

“You still on the road?”

“Positive. Just arrived in Whitebrook.” I looked through the windshield at the convenience store.

“You joining us at the hotel?”

“Nope.” Carter had offered to hook me up with a room at the hotel where he was staying, but I declined. I would join them tomorrow.

“I thought Boss wanted to see you right away.”

“Carter? No, he’s cool. You’re the one missing my gorgeous face, aren’t you?” How I loved shooting the shit with my boys.

Goofy chuckled. “Miss you, my ass. And I wouldn’t exactly call your face gorgeous, more like…average.”

That made me smile. It was good to hear his voice. But in all honesty, I couldn’t wait to see them. We both knew and appreciated our tight-knit team, something we’d all missed when we first got out of the military. Now it was our shared mission that kept us thriving and productive members of society while engaging our unique skill sets. All thanks to Carter establishing his company, the Sec Ops Group, and having us join him.

“As much as I appreciate your evaluation of my physique, Goofy, I’m kinda busy. I have a quick interview at the hospital for an EMT job, then I’ll check out the lodge. Seeing your sorry asses in the morning is early enough for me.”

And even though most of our work could be done remotely, nothing beat having my teammates around and working alongside them.

“Roger that. Can’t wait for a SITREP on the new hooch.” He chuckled again.

Yeah, can’t wait. I was just hoping it wasn’t completely run down. Because then, I would be the brunt of the jokes for the coming weeks. And then I probably wouldn’t enjoy having my teammates around so much.

We ended the call, but immediately my phone rang again.

Unknown caller.

“Hey.” The disembodied voice of Matt, one of our government contacts, reverberated through my truck. I immediately clicked the button so he wasn’t on speaker anymore.

I didn’t even know Matt’s full name. Didn’t care either way or the other.

---