Beckham grimaced. “That was a great way to keep my parents off my back while I was in Montana,” she replied. “But it’s not something that I really want to do in the long run.” Beckham paused. “How do you know that’s what I went to school for?”
Six pointed at Lynn. “He’s got a guy. The guy can run fairly decent background checks. He’s also got that lady that he mentioned that gives him the nitty gritty on people. It took us three weeks longer to get info on y’all than it did the other three guys. You are both very careful with the information you share. Y’all are some of those people that he dug deep for. Lynn probably knows everything. I just asked about you. That’s why I know about the park ranger thing. The idea of another woman being in the mix sounds amazing.”
Beckham warmed up a small amount toward the woman, and I ran my hand up and down the length of her back.
I didn’t care what the group knew about me. I owed them a great debt for getting me out of that hellhole and back into my wife’s arms.
“You know why I got him out?” Lynn asked, his eyes going from me to Beckham.
She shook her head. “Yes and no. I know that you got him out because you want him to work for you. I don’t know what kind of work you want him to do. We didn’t get that far.”
“I’m sure that this is something very near and dear to both of your hearts now,” he looked meaningfully at Beckham. “But at this point, I’m tired of all the sex trafficking running through what amounts to my back yard. The old mayor of Kilgore was corrupt, used his position in the city government to get things that he normally wouldn’t be able to get accomplished, accomplished. He’s banded with a few other mayors, city officials, and other important individuals to form a cohesive group that helps these disgusting thugs run their trafficking business through my area. I didn’t like it then, and I sure the fuck don’t like it now.” He paused. “My first step was getting myself elected and becoming a respectable mayor. My next step is to clean up the surrounding area… and then spreading farther out, cleaning up more and more until I feel that I’ve made a difference.”
“And what role would my husband play in this?” she asked quietly.
The baby started to whimper, and I used the break of silence to break him free from his car seat.
He came with a sleepy grunt, and then settled back into my chest, once again going to sleep.
His loud snore caught the attention of the three men in the room.
Bruno, Laric, and Lynn.
“I want me one of those, boss,” Laric teased.
Lynn snorted. “You’d break one of those.”
“I most certainly would not,” Laric countered. “Trouper is just as big as I am, and he looks like he’s doing just fine.”
Lynn grunted and went back to looking at Beckham.
“In short, he would fly us around where we needed to go. Whether it’s to a different area to pick someone up—us as a team, or just an individual. He’d be on standby if we needed him for anything. He’s also got a well of knowledge that I’d like to tap into if on the off chance we need insider knowledge of the Air Force.” He paused. “You, on the other hand, I would like to dig. I want you to look into stuff for me. And yes, you can bring your child to work. Honestly, you can just work from home for all I care. As long as you can help contribute to the cause.”
I knew that he had her.
Sex trafficking was very near and dear to her heart. She hadn’t liked the field aspect of it, but if she could research and do the busy work, she would feel like she was helping.
I knew she felt guilty about leaving.
Especially before the last motherfucker was found.
“And,” Lynn said, “I think that I have some good news for you. The man that you were trying to snag in Florida, the man responsible for Cannel Cantrell’s kidnapping, has been found. He’s actually running his operation in East Texas now. He’ll be our first mark.”
Beckham grinned. “I know. I have information on him that I was compiling. I have been following his whereabouts since everything happened.”
Lynn’s eyes went soft.
He knew what happened to her.
Hell, the only people that probably didn’t know were her family.
“Smashing,” Laric drawled as he took a drink of a beer. A beer that he hadn’t had a moment before. “Now, do you want to be known as the ‘enforcer?’ Or what about the ‘treasurer?’ You can’t be vice president. That’s my job. Bruno’s the ‘pres.’ Though, technically, Lynn should be the president. But he doesn’t want to be. He says he has to do other things. He did say that he’d be a part of our club, though. For appearances’ sake, anyway. He’s low man on the totem pole for that, though.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about half the time,” Bruno grumbled as he finished off his beer and went for another one.
“So, who do you want to be?” Laric pushed, looking at me.
“Why do you have to put labels on it at all?” Six asked curiously. “Just be.”
“Do you even ride, State?” Laric asked.
I felt a strong pulse of anguish pierce through my heart at him calling me ‘State.’ I’d never be ‘State’ again.
That part of my life was gone.
“Don’t call me that,” I growled. “It’s Trouper. Or Troup.”
Laric gave me a thumbs up.
“No State. Got it. Now, have you ever ridden before?” he asked.
I grinned then. “I rode all the time. I just have to find another bike.”
“About that…” Beckham shifted in her seat. “I didn’t sell your bike. I, uh, took out a loan and paid it off while you were in there.”
I looked at her.
“Did you do anything that I asked you to do while I was in there?” I grumbled. “I wanted you to take care of yourself. I wanted to take care of you.”
She hadn’t sold my car. She hadn’t sold my bike.
I mean, I knew why she hadn’t. She knew that I’d loved them.
But I’d also wanted to take care of her. That’d been the only way that I could do it.
“How about we have this discussion later,” she suggested.
The baby that I was holding woke up with a flourish, and everyone blinked in surprise.
Everyone but Beckham, though.
“He wakes up starving,” she sighed. “Just like his father.”
A whisper of warmth flooded through me.
“Speaking of dinner, now that we’ve established that she’ll help, what are we having?” Laric asked.
I easily transferred a really awake, getting madder by the second Hiro to Beckham’s arms. As much as I’d love to help, I just didn’t have the right equipment.
“She didn’t agree yet, moron,” Six said.
“She agreed. I can tell by her body language.”
I looked at my wife.
“I’m in if you’re in,” she whispered.
I nodded once. “I was in or I would’ve never left that hellhole.”
Two hours later, we were on our way to the house that Beckham had rented out in the middle of nowhere.
“This is nice,” I mused as I looked at the small log cabin home in front of us.