Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co #6)
Read Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co #6) Online
Authors: Crystal Perkins
Training
the
SECRET
Book
#6 of Corrigan & Co.
By
Crystal Perkins
Copyright © 2015 by Crystal
Perkins
Cover Design by Helen Williams
Ebook
Formatting by Jesse Gordon
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romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands,
media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECRET
A woman who’s
already lost too much, but still has more to give...
The government
couldn't protect a teenage Jade Garrett, but Corrigan & Co.
could. She joined the Society, and has built a life for herself,
surrounded by friends who love her, and the man who doesn’t.
Thinking she’s finally safe, she runs home to her ailing father,
leaving her new life behind.
A man who
escaped his past, but not the hold it has on him...
Nate Anderson
doesn't hesitate to go after Jade, finally admitting that he loves
her. Being with her helps to keep the darkness inside of him at bay,
but he knows it’s only a matter of time before the ugliness of his
past rears its head, demanding payment for his sins.
When one SECRET
is discovered, the rest will follow, and all the training in the
world may not be able to save what’s broken.
Crystal Perkins
The
Griffin Brothers series
Gaming
For Love (The Griffin Brothers #1)
Building
Our Love (The Griffin Brothers #2)
Creating
A Love (The Griffin Brothers #3)
Learning
To Love (The Griffin Brothers #4)
Designing
The Love (The Griffin Brothers #5)
Working
On Love (The Griffin Brothers #6)
Keeping
Their Love (The Griffin Brothers #7)
Corrigan
& Co. series
Fielding
Her SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #1)
Devouring
the SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #2)
Rocking a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #3)
Lessons
in SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #4)
Uncovering
His SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #5)
Publicly, The
Corrigan & Co. Foundation has been supporting women for years.
Secretly, five powerful women led by Jane Corrigan have recruited ten
agents, sending them to rescue women and children in need, and take
down those who exploit the weak. This secret society of women all
have unique skills they’ve brought to the foundation. Additionally,
they’ve all had training in weapons, etiquette, martial arts,
technology, and languages. Helping out friends and family of their
five mentors from time to time is something they were told to expect.
What they didn’t plan for is falling in love.
About the Corrigan & Co. Foundation and the Society:
• Mitchell Corrigan created the Corrigan & Co. Foundation
for his wife as part of his company ten years ago. He stipulated that
the foundation would continue as long as there is a Corrigan woman to
oversee it.
• Jane Corrigan, Cyndi Evans, Maggie Griffin, Mallory Daniels,
and Helen Wilson are the founders of the secret society within the
foundation. They focus on helping women and children, but take on
other missions from time to time.
• While they assist government and private organizations on a
regular basis, they only take referrals for private missions.
• Each founder has recruited, and mentors, two agents.
• The company was founded in Chicago, but has now moved to Las
Vegas, where Mitchell was born. On his deathbed, he asked his
grandson to move the company headquarters to help revive the economy
in his hometown. There are satellite offices all over the world.
• Jane’s grandson, Matt, who is President and CEO of
Corrigan & Co., knows of the society. His friends Nathan and
Aiden, who he brought in when they all left the military, know as
well. This was a decision by the five women when they needed help on
a mission that went bad. They do not know all mission details, but
help when they are asked. Jake Mason is now also part of the Corrigan
security team, and aware of the Society.
For everyone who thinks that they
can’t overcome their past,
or thinks they have
no reason to live. Please know that even in
the
darkness, you’re a light to the world.
Jade
I never thought I’d
be able to come back here. That I’d be allowed back home. Yet here
I am. When I got the call, I hopped on the first plane I could find
using my real last name for the ticket. I know Ainsley will find me,
but I needed a little bit of a head start. This is hard enough as it
is without everyone I know getting involved. I’m going to need help
at some point, but I have to be alone for tonight’s reunion. Even
if I’m battling emotions that I didn’t know were there. As I pull
into the parking lot, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll be able to
get myself out of this rental car.
I’ve dreamed of
coming back here from the time I was forced to leave. Even though
it’s safer for me, now that the man who wanted me dead is gone, I
know I’m still not completely free. There’s always going to be
someone who wants to make a name for themselves, and I’m the
perfect person to help them do that. They won’t get my help,
though. I may be feeling nervous, a little scared even, but no one’s
taking me down—or out—without a fight.
I take a deep breath
and walk inside the gym, ignoring the peeling paint from the sign
above the door that reads “Garrett’s”. That will be one of the
first things I take care of. I have both the means and the motive for
wanting to make this place sparkle. Well, as much as a fighting gym
can
sparkle, yet
still be manly enough for the guys to want to come here to train. It
was once a boxing gym, but since I’ve been gone they’ve expanded
into MMA, and everything else.
I look around as I
enter, and see all the additional work that needs to be done. I can
get it done. I
have
to,
there’s really not another option after all of the trouble I
caused. A big bear of a man stops me before I get too far inside the
first room.
“This isn’t a place
for a girl like you.”
I smile at him. “This
is the place that created me, so I think I belong here more than
anyone else.”
“Jade. Oh my God. It
really is you.”
I turn and run into the
arms of the gray haired man who looks like he’s seen a ghost. “I’m
home, Daddy. Sullivan’s dead, and now I’m home.”
* * *
Nate
Jade disappeared three
days ago. She went completely radio silent, disabling her tracking
device, and taking almost nothing with her. At least Stella says that
almost nothing is gone. No one knows why or how she did it, and I’m
going out of my mind. If she’d just left, that would be one thing.
But she
left
. Not
only her friends, but me too.
I know I kept
pretending there was nothing going on between us, but we both knew I
was lying. Now I have to not only find her, but also prove to her
that she matters to me. I should’ve told her that sooner, and a
part of me has to wonder if she left because I didn’t. Admitting
that I love her would’ve meant eventually telling her everything,
and I know she’d never love me if she knew what I’ve done. Yeah,
I did it to survive, but is that really justification for all the
blood on my hands, or the darkness that nearly consumes me? I don’t
think so, and I doubt she would either. I still should’ve told her
something. I could have probably fucked up worse, but her leaving is
pretty bad.
Helen Wilson is Jade’s
mentor, and she’s called an emergency meeting for all of us. I’m
not surprised that she called it, but I am surprised to walk in and
see the head of WITSEC sitting at the table. I stop and look to my
friend, Matt Corrigan. He shrugs, and motions to the seat next to
him. Once we’re all here, Helen speaks.
“Thank you all for
coming. You all know that Jade has disappeared. I can tell you right
now that I know where she is, and why she’s there.”
“Where, Helen?” I
ask, before I can stop myself.
“She’s gone home,
Nate.”
“To Chicago?”
“No. Jade is not from
Chicago. Diana Jericho was from Chicago, but not Jade.”
“What does some other
chick have to do with Jade?”
“Because Jade is
Diana Jericho. Or at least she was until she joined the Society. That
was Jade’s WITSEC name.”
“That’s all they
need to know Ms. Wilson. They shouldn’t even know that much,” the
fed tells her.
“The fuck we
shouldn’t,” I say, standing so fast that my chair flies back.
“You think you could take me, suit?”
“No, Mr. Anderson. I
don’t think that at all. I think you could help me,
and
Jade, if you could control your temper. But we both know that’s
probably not going to happen.”
“Nate, please sit
down,” Helen tells me as she glares at him. “Jade’s father owns
a boxing gym on the East Coast. Five years ago, a murder took place
outside of the gym. Jade saw it happen and went to the police. The
killer was the head of one of the biggest crime syndicates in the
city, so Jade was immediately put into protective custody. They were
able to protect her long enough for her to testify, and then she was
kidnapped. We helped get her back, and I asked her if she wanted to
join us instead of going back with WITSEC.”
“Who here got her
back from the kidnappers?”
“I did,” Reina
tells me.
“Thank you,” I say,
and then look at Helen. “Why would she bolt now?”