Elite Metal-ARE-epub (37 page)

Don’t be stupid, Beth. It
is
a military base camp.

At this time of morning, all of the cabins were dark save the larger house at the end of the road, which was lit up as if the occupants were throwing a party. On the front porch were two men and a woman who appeared incredibly wide awake, considering the earliness of the hour. Both men stood with arms folded across their impressive chests and wore identical frowns. The dark-haired man with the goatee had a concerned light in his eyes while the blond man at his side looked ready to kick ass. With their stern expressions, it was difficult to tell which one was the man who had yelled at Ant on the phone earlier.

The woman who stood with them was impeccably dressed in a beige pantsuit with matching pumps that fit her slight frame to perfection. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and her expression was eerily blank as she looked at them. For Pete’s sake, she was even wearing makeup. Who was that put together at five in the morning?

For once Beth wished she was fresh from the salon and dressed in her best designer outfit. At Brandon’s side she learned the importance of dressing for success. Look tough, people assumed you were tough. It was all in the presentation. Even a decent pair of heels would have been nice to have on instead of her new drug store flip-flops when facing this welcome wagon.

Ant brought the car to a stop and turned off the engine. He gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. “Stay by me and all will be good.”

She forced herself to smile back and stepped out of the car. Ant jogged around to her side, clasping her hand as they climbed the two steps onto the porch.

The blond man sucked in a breath and his brows lowered as if ready to let loose, but the woman lifted her hand in front of his face and stepped forward.

“Good morning,” she said to Beth. “I’m Poppy Montgomery. This gentleman next to me is Chrome, and that is Steele. Welcome to our little corner of the world.”

“Um.” She exchanged a confused glance with Ant. “Thank you?”

“While Adamantium is debriefing his team leaders on his…mission, join me for some breakfast. You and I can get to know each other better.”

Ant’s hand tightened around hers. “Actually, Poppy, Beth will come with me.”

The blonde’s chilly smile widened. “Isn’t that sweet. You think you have a say.”

“I’ll go,” she said, and turned toward Ant, placing her hand on his cheek. He was already in enough trouble. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just don’t take forever.”

He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a tight hug. “I’ll be less than five,” he said in her ear, but she knew the statement was directed at the men. He kissed her on the forehead and urged her toward Poppy.

She flashed him what she hoped was a confident smile and climbed the stairs.

“Ah, Poppy,” the man introduced as Steele stopped them before they crossed the threshold. He held out his hand, palm up.

Poppy huffed and withdrew a fifty-dollar bill in her pocket and slapped into his palm as the man called Chrome snickered. If possible, her demeanor turned even colder as she turned back to Beth. “Follow me.”

She had mentioned breakfast, but Beth had a suspicion “breakfast” was code for interrogation. That hunch was confirmed when they passed the kitchen and dining room and continued on through a door hidden behind a bookcase and a long corridor tiled in gray slate. Near the end of the hall was a closed door. Poppy punched in a series of numbers on the keypad that released the lock with a
pop
and she gestured for her to proceed.

Beth gazed at the woman’s face for several long seconds. A corner of Poppy’s lips curled and she raised a brow, issuing a silent challenge.

Message received. Enter willingly or be forced.

She sighed and entered the room, drawing up short when she spotted another woman waiting in the room. The newcomer stood in a similar stance as the men she had just met—feet apart, arms folded across her chest, jaded scowl marring her smooth forehead. Her long brown hair with red highlights rippled over her shoulders like a fashion model’s, and a worn T-shirt and jeans fit her fit frame like a second skin. Whoever she was, she appeared more than prepared to hold her own in any confrontation, verbal or physical.

Did they actually believe they’d need to use physical force on her?

The woman smirked and lifted her hands, cracking each knuckle with a
pop-pop-pop
that echoed in the room.

Maybe she should have fought harder to stay by Ant’s side.

Chapter Seven

Beth walked through the door of the main house and Adamantium’s stomach clenched as if it were feeling the effects of a bad batch of clams. The second he lost sight of her, Steele stepped forward and motioned for him to follow with a sharp jerk of his head. Chrome just smirked and took up point behind them.

The fact that both men were stone silent was a good indication of their moods. If history was to hold true, they were waiting to get him confined before ripping him a new asshole. In the mood he was in, he was ready for them to bring their worst.

For such large men, their boots barely made a sound as they walked along the tunnel that connected the main house to the underground bunker. Steele led him right to his office and shut the door behind them after they entered. Chrome stood to the right of Steele’s desk with that same shit-eating grin in place. The fucker had had a grudge against Steele’s team since day one. He had probably pissed his pants with glee when he heard Ant, Ant, of all people, had gone rogue.

Steele turned to face him and snarled, “Explain.”

“How’s this for an explanation?”

Whap.
He hauled off and landed a solid right hook to his commander’s Dudley Do-Right jawline.

Steele stumbled back, and before he was able to get his feet beneath him, Ant grabbed him by the shirtfront and slammed him up against the wall. The jingle of the dog tags hanging around his neck added a musical chime as Ant shook him.

“You son of a bitch motherfucker! I
told
you. I told you after Jason’s death to let me know if Beth contacted me. And you didn’t,” he shouted, spit flying into the commander’s face.

As he continued to shake Steele as if he were a dusty rug, his commander’s eyes widened. “Wait,” he gasped. “She’s
that
Beth?”

“Of course she is, you fucking fuckhead,” he shouted and pulled his fist back for another swing.

Steele’s hand shot up to block the punch while delivering a right jab to Ant’s solar plexus, followed by a hard shove at the chest.

Ant stumbled backward then let loose with an unintelligible roar and dove at his commander, red in his vision and anger on Beth’s behalf fueling his actions.

Steele countered with another shove and sidestepped to the left. “Chrome. Hand.”

“We really need to come up with a new handshake,” Chrome muttered with a chuckle and slowly strode over to wrap his arms around Ant’s torso and drag him back. “Stand down, jarhead.”

“You didn’t tell me and she was left to face the wolves all on her own,” Ant yelled. “Do you have any idea what she’s gone through? Any idea of the hell she was left in with no one to help her? She lost her goddamn child because of you! I should kill you for what happened to her,” he ended with a shout and fought to get another shot at Steele.

“Hold on. Just hold the motherfucking on.” Steele rubbed at his reddened jaw and coughed a few times as he stumbled to his chair and landed with a heavy thud. “Start at the beginning.”

“Beginning of what? The beginning of her nightmare? Jason, the shithead, left behind a huge gambling debt to several bookies. Brandon Chesterfield bought all of his markers and called in the debt when he found out Jason died. With no resources and no support, he took the only thing she had. Her body.”

Steele’s gaze flew to his in alarm. “Jesus, Ant. I didn’t know.”

He shook off Chrome’s hold and braced his hands on the desk. His arms shook with the need to leap across the surface. “You know what else you didn’t know, shithead? She was pregnant, and that bastard made her give up her daughter and used the baby as leverage to keep Beth in line. She’s been in hell for five years because you couldn’t pass along one stupid, fucking message.” He slammed his fist on top of the desk, knocking a stack of papers to the floor. “I could have helped her. I could— I could have…”

Could have what?

What could he have done? It wasn’t as if he had had that kind of money back then to buy off Chesterfield. And sure, he could have taken Beth and run. But then what? The Marines still owned his ass, and at some point, he would’ve had to leave her on her own, defenseless and with a baby. What kind of life would that have been for them?

Fury and rage at himself and the entire fucking situation welled up and grabbed him by the balls, bending him in two as he fought back tears of frustration. He had signed up for the Marines to fight firsthand against the shit and depravity of mankind and stop it before harm could come to the innocent. Beth was as innocent as they came, yet he hadn’t been able to protect her. If it hadn’t been for a chance meeting at a mangy biker bar, she’d still be suffering.

“Ant.” The press of Steele’s hand on the top of his head reminded him that he wasn’t in the room alone, and tears were only for the weak. “I’m so sorry for what she’s gone through, but now you gotta be strong for her. We’ll make this right, brother. I promise.”

“We’ll have to work fast,” Chrome said. “Chesterfield is pulling out all of the stops to find her. And there’s been talk at Bone Daddy’s.”

“What kind of talk?”

Steele waved at a stack of papers near his elbow. “Apparently Chesterfield is into more than gambling. He launders money for several businessmen, including our old friend Korovin—well, at least up until his recent demise. But he still retained Korovin’s contacts, and he’s called in a few heavy hitters to bring Beth in.”

“She must know something,” Chrome interjected. “Why else would he spend so many resources on a whore?”

Ant was out of his seat in a heartbeat and tried to jump the desk. “You motherfucker.”

“Sorry.” Chrome jumped and held up his hands. “Fuck. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

He fought against Steele’s hold. “How was a shit statement like that meant to be interpreted?”

“What I meant was, according to you, Beth was only Chesterfield’s girlfriend, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“A guy like that can get pussy whenever he wants. She’s been with him for a while. Any financial debt she owed should have been paid off a long time ago. Seriously, look at it this way. A guy owes me money and dies. I think the wife is cute and find it poetic justice that I make her work off the funds between the sheets. But after a year or two, the novelty would wear off, and I’d find my shits and giggles elsewhere. Got me? Unless the guy fell in love with her.”

“No way,” Ant spat. “He treats her like an object.”

“Then you can see my point. If he sees her as only an object, and she’s taken from him, sure, I’d be pissed, maybe even a little vengeful, but the brass that’s been arriving since last night tells me there’s more.”

“I tagged all of Chesterfield’s lines of communications. I know he made a few calls, but I haven’t had a chance to dig through all of the recordings yet. What’s been going down?”

“Sterling and Merc were out at Bone Daddy’s last night checking on another case when they spotted Daryl pointing two guys in their direction. They found it suspicious that the men didn’t come up to them, but watched them from across the room, then they disappeared. On their way back here, they felt a shadow tailing them, and low and behold, it was the two goons.” Steele smiled. “Merc
persuaded
them to tell us what’s going down. They’re in the brig now.”

“Fuck.” Ant dropped his head. The whole situation was growing way out of proportion.

“Why are you surprised? Did you think you’d be able to kidnap this guy’s girl and it’d be cool?”

“No. Maybe. All right. Yes.” He blew out a breath. “Look, all that matters to me is that Beth is no longer caught up in his shit, and we make sure her child isn’t harmed.”

Steele sat back and steepled his hands in front of his face. “Now the question remains, why is Chesterfield so hell bent on getting Beth back.”

“Maybe the girls can figure that out,” Chrome added.

“Girls?” That brought Ant’s head up. “What girls?”

“Poppy and Copper are interviewing her now,” Steele replied.

“Copper? She’s with Copper right now?” Ant bolted for the door. “Jesus Christ. What the hell did Beth ever do to you?”

Chapter Eight

Beth crossed her arms over her chest and copied the brunette’s stance. Lesson two she learned from watching Brandon in his business dealings was to never allow your adversary to believe you feared them in any way. No matter how big or dangerous the other man appeared, you held your ground and never backed away.

Of course, on the inside she was scared witless.

Poppy gestured toward a chair. “Beth, please have a seat.”

“I’m fine where I am. Thanks.”

“Copper,” Poppy sighed. “Take a seat and stop looking like…well, you. Please, Beth, sit down.”

Copper snickered and took the chair next to the one Poppy had indicated for Beth. “Beth, huh? Are you the Beth that Ant’s had a hard-on for since I’ve known him?”

The statement made her breath catch, but not because of the crude phraseology.

When Ant had confessed his affections the night before, she didn’t doubt his words, but hearing a confirmation that he had held a torch for her for so long was both a comfort and a burden. If only she was the girl he remembered…

Ha. The “if onlys” and “should haves” were stacking up and making her muscles twitch with the urge to run before any more were added to the pile.

With a last glance toward the door, she perched on the edge of the chair. “We’ve been friends since school,” she said, unwilling to divulge any more information than that.