Engaging his Enemy (Shattered SEALs #4) - Amy Gamet Page 0,25

his mind. “Even if you get there late to the party. It’s like they were waiting for you the whole time. He’ll probably put you through the wringer to see if you’re really going to stay.”

“And how do I prove that to him?”

“You show up, again and again. You give him time. Be patient.”

Moto’s throat constricted. “I already missed so goddamn much.”

“But you’re here now.” He clapped Moto on the back. “That’s what matters. The only thing you can control is what happens next.”

Moto nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’ve got it. What about this kid’s mother? She married to somebody else?”

“No.”

“Do you want her to be, or do you want her for yourself?”

He thought of the kiss he’d shared with Davina in the kitchen not two hours before and his decision in the car on the way here. “No. Getting to know my son is what’s important right now.”

“Don’t forget, you’ve got all that time you’re going to be waiting for that kid to come around. You may as well do something worthwhile.” Razorback turned and walked back inside, leaving Moto alone on the thin strip of balcony.

13

The Port of Houston was bigger than the suburb Ben grew up in, a city within a city, the dark night and blanket of foggy humidity giving it an eerie quality that put him on edge. He’d talked his way through the gate easily enough, explaining he was the Realtor on a parcel that was being sold and needed a last-minute walk-through.

He did need to do a walk-through, but he also wanted to see the place for himself as soon as possible. If DeRegina planned to use the old warehouse to import drugs, this place would be ground zero. It was a risky endeavor at a port like this, given the level of security and government inspection, but there were always officials who could be bought.

He took a drag of his cigarette as he moved past a tanker longer than a football field, the blackness of its steel sidewall hovering over his field of vision like the face of a threatening cliff. The warehouse was a full quarter mile from where he’d parked and he walked briskly, aware of the overwhelming silence and lack of activity in this area. A massive container crane stood like a sleeping giant, waiting to spring to life, and his mind whirled through his own culpability in the events of the last few days.

What damage had he done, exactly, to further the spread of drugs into his community? Drugs that boys like Wyatt could take. Drugs that could ruin more lives like they’d nearly ruined his. He took one last drag of his cigarette and pitched it away. He didn’t smoke anymore, yet here he was. He didn’t do a lot of things anymore, but he still remembered.

He remembered how good it felt to get high, to let the real world slip away into some kind of haze that covered all pain and disappointment, quelling his rage. Getting high was the ultimate in irony. There were only good feelings with drugs, but the haze could choke out any semblance of anything real and good, killing the things that mattered most in life.

He thought of Laney. He’d been seeing her for a while after his parents died, though that time in his life was mostly a blur of pot and cocaine. He was convinced they’d been using each other for sex—him to get away from the darkness in his life, if only for an hour or two, her to get away from her drunk-ass father.

Now she was back in his life, her name jumping out at him from his internet search of local lawyers. He didn’t even know she’d moved back to town. She’d gone away to law school, never to be heard from again, yet she was back…a divorced mother determined to save an old friend from prison.

He’d caught her looking at him while they were up on that hill where the federal agent died, the same look she used to give him when she showed up at his door at three in the morning, needing his body just as intensely as he’d needed hers. He couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he showed up on her doorstep now.

He forced the idea from his head, at least for now. He thought of the look on Davina’s face when she thought he was fucking his lawyer. Hah. That wouldn’t solve his problems. He’d made a mess of his life