Bad Men - Piper Stone Page 0,21
specifically?
That was one of the many aspects of information I was determined to secure. The more I knew, the better off we’d be if the shit hit the fan.
And I knew it would be sooner versus later.
My cock twitched just thinking about her, the taste of her sweet pussy as unexpected as my actions. Damn, I’d wanted to do more. I’d been in the field too long, the assignments all keeping me in the darkest corners of the world while other agents worked within the confines of glitz and glamour. A snicker left my lips. As if I would know what the world of glamour was all about.
“Luis Diaz picked me up off the streets when I was twelve years old and barely spoke any English. He thought he could make something of me since I’d insisted that I wasn’t going home. Cuba was a powder keg, my father an asshole, and I wanted nothing to do with the country. I had my sights set on a better life in order to bring my sister to such a fabulous country as America. Things never seem to work out the way you want them to.”
The look on his face was cold, his eyes burning with a fire I hadn’t seen before. I accepted the cold bottle of beer, twisting the cap and watching him intently.
“I knew from minute one that Luis was a dangerous fuck who couldn’t care less about anyone else in his life, but I had few choices. Miami might be a learning ground, but I would likely have ended up dead if I hadn’t been taken under his wing. For his tutelage, he demanded loyalty and I gave it to him, including spending years in a wretched prison, treated like an animal. And still, I remained loyal, never talking to anyone about the organization. I remained his devoted dog right up until the day he betrayed me.”
My eyes opened up wide. It wasn’t my place to pick apart the story, but I heard the anger as well as a hint of remorse in his voice. What the fuck had the man in charge of the Cartel done to him? I rolled my eyes, refusing to get dragged into his drama. As I’d already told him, we weren’t friends. “And the Specialists?” I asked. We all had our own stories of how we were selected.
“You might be surprised just how far-reaching their web is. They found me within two days of leaving Miami. I didn’t give a shit where I went or who I worked for at that point. I simply wanted to kill as many assholes as possible. They offered a lucrative wage. I actually like what I do.”
“So, I guess you got your wish.” I walked into the room, studying him intently.
He took several gulps of beer. “I’ve had difficult assignments, Jack, over the course of eighteen months. Funny thing is I was going to take a few weeks off until Dante called. Guess I’m indebted to the Specialists in the same way as to the Cartel.”
“You and me both.” We both remained quiet for a few minutes.
“What the fuck. I gotta ask. What are you, CIA, disgruntled with the way the country was going?”
I laughed for the first time in what had been ages. “Hell, no. I wouldn’t take that kind of shit job for any amount of money.”
“I know you were Black Ops,” Diego pressed. “I also know that you suddenly disappeared, almost as if you didn’t exist.”
Well, the man had done his homework.
“Yeah, several years. Unlike you, I worked with some good men, my superior taking the time to make certain the men serving under him were prepared for anything.” I hadn’t said the words in so long, they felt awkward.
“Then you disappeared off the grid. That has me curious. For a decorated hero to vanish means someone fucked with you, or that you did something terribly wrong. Which is it?”
“I suggest you stop pressing me, Diego. I don’t like being backed into a corner. I tend to shoot first and ask questions later.”
He held up his hands, his lip curling. “Have it your way. One hard-ass man. Just remember our package doesn’t deserve to be treated like an enemy.”
I took several pulls on the beer, angry with myself for almost exploding. Even though I didn’t like the man, he didn’t deserve the wrath of what had occurred years before. While he was right about the beautiful doctor, I remained on edge about the