Raising a Cowgirl

  No one knew of his existence, since his father had kept the marriage a secret, protecting his brother, his mother, and himself. Javor Dragomir was a name to be feared in his country. Now, Diego Dragomir was the head of the family and nothing was going to stop him until he killed each and every member of the team who took his father.

  It was about honor for his family, and himself. An eye for an eye. He would start with the insignificant men who carried out the orders, then he would move up. Soon the American government would realize their mistake, but not before he took as many lives as he could.

  He knew the team. He had gleefully helped them lose half of it in a bombing. It should have made him feel better, but instead it had infuriated him. This was moving too slow—the bomb had not accomplished wiping them all out as intended.

  When the team returned to the States battered and broken, they disappeared. No one had been able to tell where they had gone.

  As luck would have it, last month someone told him about the wife of one of the dead men, still in the same house, working for the same place her husband had. She would be able to tell him where the hell the rest of the team was.

  Then two days ago his men had gotten a little over-excited because of the knowledge of information she could and would give them—it had been exciting. The ball would finally be rolling.

  She had proven more difficult than anticipated, refusing to tell them anything during her questioning. It was disappointing, but even more disappointing was when he received the call she was dead before telling them a single word. Unacceptable, he thought as he paced the length of his massive office.

  He had taken control of his father’s estate, and so the mansion now belonged to him. It would not take long for the governments of the countries he sold weapons to, to discover he had taken over. He was going to strike fear into the hearts of the enemies before hand.

  He was currently waiting for word of when they had found the child. The men would come for her. He could feel it. The mother planned smartly after their first contact making sure she hid the child well. However, a mere woman was no match for his intelligence. It was just a matter of time before they were right back to where they started. In control and on top.

  He finally had all of their names and they were working through finding the families of each of them. The easiest had been the wife, since she was still residing in her husband’s home.

  His update would be coming in the morning, for now he would wait, but soon his impatience would get the better of him.

  Chapter Six

  Jolie sat on the floor with tears in her eyes. Marie said if she didn’t return that something had gone wrong. She had to wait another few days before she was supposed to call the number given to her.

  Sammi was an angel. Jolie smile and laughed, she met Marie at the VA Center right after her husband died. Jolie was a Social Worker who handled the cases of men with PTSD. They met by chance in the small dining room of the main VA facility in La Hoya. Marie came for grief counseling and was having a bad day.

  She was sitting and staring at the wall by herself, and Jolie had come through to get a can of soda, she had needed the caffeine. When her boss came into the room and whispered into her ear that Marie was the wife of a Team TEN member. Everyone knew about what had happened.

  Jolie had walked over and sat down with the woman who was obviously deep in her grief. It had started from there. The two woman seemed to click. Marie talked to her about her bad days and her good. Jolie had come to love the little girl that belonged to her best friend.

  When she called and asked her to watch Sammi, she had never questioned the reason—until her friend came over. Her face was tear ravaged and she had been tense. Claiming she was not sure what was going on, only that she had been contacted by someone who was threatening her daughter. Jolie wanted to call the police, but Marie had insisted on letting her go to the initial meeting. She would turn her phone onto record hoping she would get enough answers to go to the authorities.

  Marie wasn’t stupid. She knew if she called the Commander, he would have taken care of it all. The only problem was the threat was delivered along with a picture of little Sammi in the daycare center on the base. She felt like running but had no one to run to, except Jolie. Who gladly helped and they worked out a plan together.

  Marie was going to a meeting in a public place, she would keep her phone turned on to recording, and activate the GPS tracker in her phone, and she had even grabbed her late husband’s phone and done the same thing, just in case. One was for back up. She would leave one of them in the car.

  Jolie was to take Sammi to a hotel and check in. She couldn’t tell Marie which one, that way she wouldn’t know. Jolie had her cell turned off just in case someone got a hold of Marie’s phone. Her friend had brought her a brand new pay-as-you-go phone they activated right before Marie left.

  It had been silent all night and all day. Jolie’s nerves were getting ready to break as she stared at the phone, and listened for Sammi to wake from the nap she had laid her down for an hour ago.

  They stayed in the room ordering room service. She wasn’t sure what to do now. The room was paid for through tomorrow. Should she go home, call the base, call anyone. Tears began to threaten again as the fear began to build once more. Something bad had happened to her friend, there was no way in hell Marie would not have called unless she was unable to do so. That thought in itself scared the crap out of her. She wouldn’t allow her mind to go any further.

  Jolie pulled out the letter that Marie had gone over and over with her. The phone number belonged to Gage Loman, Sammi’s godfather, and her late husband's teammate and best friend. He was not in the state, she knew that from the area code, maybe she should call him and see if he could come here. Then at least she wouldn’t feel so helpless. Of course, Marie said only in case of emergency was she to call the number.

  Damn, she was twisting herself into knots just thinking about this. She needed a distraction. Jolie pulled her computer out and turned it on. She couldn’t check emails or anything yet. According to their plan, Jolie was out of state at a funeral right now. It didn’t stop her from looking at what was going on in the world.

  Gage could feel the anger rising in him. This is when he felt the effects of his tours. Shit, he already knew Marie was dead. He knew it, so did the rest of them. To think Sammi was in danger as well was enough to send him over the deep end.

  “What was she trying to say?” David asked.

  “When?” Alex asked.

  “The message to the Commander. What was she trying to say?” David pressed, the guys needed to think. They were going to their house. The place Gage had crashed most of the time. Hell, he practically had his own room. The guest bedroom had some of his clothes in the dresser.

  They were all silent, finally Thane admitted, “Sorry, man, all I heard was she called in to take time off and no one knew where she was.”

  David nodded and pulled out his little pad of paper he carried and took notes on all the time. When they got back into the car, he told them exactly what the Commander said. “She said to the commander, ‘She had to go and pick up an impounded dog name Diego that was sent from overseas. She didn’t know how the baby would react so she had someone watching her.’”

  “It is some kinda code. I have never heard the name before. I think we need to find the baby, and Marie. We head back to the ranch and regroup. It is safe there. Nothing is in any of our names,” Thane said.

  “Agreed,” Gage said his leg bouncing, anxious to get to the house and find Marie. Maybe this had all been a mistake and she was unconscious. His mind still had a hard time thinking of the sweet woman who had taken them all under her wing, and made sure they stayed on the straight and narrow.

  They pulled up to the base house and Gage grimaced a little before opening the door. It looked the same. The small house painted pale yellow. Marie planted flowers in her garden again making it look cheery and welcoming. No matter what else she w
as doing, she had insisted on making sure her home was neat as a pin. They walked up the drive and Gage pulled out his keys.

  He had already attached the key he found in Raiders things, he already had a key to the house, in case he needed a place to crash. He opened the door silently and frowned. The living room was torn up. The couches torn and stuffing all around. As they walked from room to room, they swore at the sight of the destruction.

  “How the fuck did this happen on base housing?” Thane ground out.

  The MPs finally showed up and began to call and process information immediately. Gage and David walked into the small nursery and Gage felt his anger build and explode. They had trashed the place. Gage grabbed a bag, without words he began to pull out clothes that were undamaged, and packing anything the child would need when they found her. There was no other acceptable outcome.

  “Help me,” Gage asked briskly.

  “Sure, uh, what the hell do I pack for a baby,” David said, standing and looking at all of the pink. It looked a little like Pepto Bismol had exploded in the room. The walls were white and pink, checked with flowers all over them.

  “Uh,” Gage said and paused, holding a bunch of tiny little clothes in his arms. “All the clothes, then anything that looks useful.”

  “Okay, so the entire room—correct?” David said.

  “Yeah, we should probably have one of the guys come back and help us. There is this chair thing, the bed, this thing with wheels, and probably some crackers or something.”

  “Crackers? She is only like eight months old, right?” David asked confused.

  “Yeah, but I remember Marie saying she ate constantly when she was born. She will need snacks when we travel,” Gage said.

  “I believe that will be a bottle with formula,” David drawled.

  “Suuurrrreee, just grab it all. Marie will need everything from here,” Gage said absently, David froze and looked at his friend. He was still in denial. Damn, this was going to fucking suck. David was sure she was already dead, but until they were faced with it, Gage had to hold onto the hope that she was still alive.

  Alex and Slone came into the room and began helping them. They turned the house over to the investigators and began to gather things they needed to take. They worked silently together, but David could feel the tension in the room. This was going to be a sucky ass day.

  LC was leaning over Boyscout as he typed the password they all knew into the desktop in the office. One of the investigators was right there, and the Commander had given them all access to help with finding Marie.

  “Checking her email and browsing history,” Boyscout muttered and his hands froze when the background picture came up. It was the team just before their last mission, with a very pregnant Marie laughing in the camera while they all held her off the ground and posed like idiots.

  “Shit,” Boyscout muttered and then began to type on the computer. He was an amazing hacker, had been since he was a kid.

  LC leaned back as Boyscout’s hands flew over the keys bringing up different windows and programs until his head was about ready to pop off. There had to be something here.

  “Nothing, no emails, nothing. It looks like her last time signed on she was shopping for Sammi,” Boyscout said.

  The MP’s radio began to go off, so many people interrupting they couldn’t understand what was going on. He held up his hand when Thane went to demand to know what the hell was going on.

  The rest of the men yelled from the living room and the two men stalked out to where they were standing and waiting. “The local law enforcement is reporting they found a body matching Marie's general description. She was uh… beaten and tortured, then tossed in an alley,” Voodoo stated and looked at Master Chief who was barely holding it together. His neck was red from anger.

  “Where is she?” Master Chief gritted out.

  “Commander is meeting you at the morgue,” the MP said and Master Chief nodded and walked to the door, the rest of them following solemnly as they watched the Master Chief storm to the driver's side of the car and get in. Before they were even in the car, he had started it and had it in gear.

  “Someone needs to get this stuff shipped home. When we find Sammi, we need to get her out of here to somewhere safe. Boyscout, call your dads and brothers, tell them to get to the ranch and increase the security system. We need to have the whole place wired. Sable and Lou need to stay on the ranch until we get back, no one leaves them unprotected. Voodoo, call Dillon and Slade, let them know until we get back we need some help protecting the ranch,” he ordered firmly and they all nodded and began to reach for their phones. “LC, can you call the Commander's office, we need some info about what is going on. David, alert the locals we are coming in and need to have patrols until we get there. Slone, arrange transport for when we find Sammi, we need to be ready to go the minute we find her.”

  He was in the zone—he had to be—a mission needed completed and right now, he could not allow his emotions to take over. This was gonna suck, but Sammi had to be the priority now, if they had tortured Marie, they were going to die, he kept his rage in check as they made their way to the city morgue.

  By the time they arrived things were being done. All the guys were on the phone and had arranged for everything. The Commander and his staff stood on the sidewalk waiting for them. When they pulled up all of the guys hung up their phones and stoically got out of the car and followed the Commander.

  It took a while for them to get things cleared and ready, especially when all of the men insisted on going into the room, they all needed to see her and be there for each other. By the time they were in the room, Gage felt like he was going to puke. The dread that filled him was something he was unable to control.

  He had seen her with Raider, he knew she was gone but this didn’t make it any less painful as they waited. The smells of the cold room were enough to make a person gag. The antiseptic and foul stench of death reminded him too much of the days he had to identify terrorists to make sure they had achieved their target. This was so not the same feeling—far worse.

  David put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed in support, the rest of them were doing the same to each other. And when the technician walked in all of the sucked in a breath.

  “Gentlemen, we need an ID, and if it is her, the detectives are right outside, they have a few questions,” the man said and waited for their acknowledgement.

  Master Chief stood by the head of the victim while the others were spread out. The technician put his hands on the sheet and paused looking up for the nod to let him know they were ready. Never taking his eyes off the sheet, Master Chief nodded and waited.

  When he pulled the sheet down the first thing Gage saw was her curly brown hair and he knew. Marie's battered face looked abnormal because of what she had endured. Master Chief could see the cuts and cigarette burns on her neck and shoulder, and he struggled to keep it together.

  The men shuffled, he could feel the anger radiating and bouncing off the walls, even though everyone remained silent. Master Chief said, “It is Marie Diane Farat.”

  The technician nodded and went to place the sheet back over her face. Master Chief reached up and grasped his arm holding him in place, preventing him from covering her again. “No, we need a minute.”

  “Of course,” the technician said. “If someone could come with me to the lobby where the detectives are waiting?”

  The Commander nodded and followed the technician. The men gathered around the table as they tried to come to terms while staring at the woman they had last seen alive, and the woman that lay before them.

  “We need to get our hands on the reports,” Master Chief said briskly and LC put a hand on his shoulder.

  “It is Marie,” his friend whispered.

  “Is everything else set, do we have transport and security arranged,” Master Chief said and choked down the emotion threatening to erupt.

  “It is Marie,” Voodoo whispered.

  “David, we nee
d to go to the bank, get the documents Raider left,” Master Chief said grimly.

  “It is Marie,” Ice repeated.

  “Goddamn it! I know it is Marie!” Master Chief roared. “How could I not know, I see her. Do you? Her happy face was beaten, her neck and shoulders show where she was cut and burned. DO YOU THINK I DON’T SEE THAT?!”

  Everyone was silent as he had his meltdown. His best friend's sweet and charming wife was dead, tortured. Who could deal with something like that? The tears he thought he was holding at bay were running down his cheeks, his breath getting shallower and shallower until he was in danger of hyperventilating as he screamed loudly his anger and frustration in a voice that sounded like a tortured animal.

  Master Chief felt him, he turned and saw his friend standing there looking at his wife’s body with a flash of anger in his eyes. Then Marie was next to him and she was crying softly, shaking her head.

  “Sammi?” Raider whispered.

  “I will find her,” Master Chief vowed.

  “I know, don’t let this ruin you,” Marie said. “You know, at the end—all I thought about was Sammi and Ted, it was a comfort. But I didn’t tell them anything. Sammi is where she is supposed to be. You will be contacted.”

  “What the fuck does that mean, Rie?!” Master Chief yelled, using her nickname and running a hand through his hair in frustration. The others stood by and waited, they knew who he was talking to, Boyscout was trying to whisper what they were talking about.

  “It means Sammi will find you.” Marie smiled and put a hand to his face. “I know you will be the best father for her.”

  “Father! She has a father!” Master Chief roared.

  “Yes, she does, but one she will not know unless you tell her. And I know you will, but she will still call you daddy, you know. She will need the connection,” Raider said and looked at him sadly.

  “Soon, you have to be ready,” Marie said and looked at something beyond him. “They are looking as well.”