Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,20

end of the street. He keyed his remote and waited for the garage door to open before he drove in and shut the door behind him. Once the door was down, he retrieved the letter.

Chapter 6

Drawing a deep breath, he opened the envelope, tugged out a single page, and read the words inscribed by hand.

I was shocked when you contacted me. I feared you had died. I absolve you of any oath you've sworn. I wanted to aid you, and I hope in some small way I did. I can never change what she did to you. You have no idea how much I wished I could.

Circumstances are different since we last met. I am more certain of the concerns I spoke of during those hours. Do not endanger yourself for me. You are free and my heart rejoices for you. Someday perhaps we shall both be free and meet again. Until then, live well.

Pilar

Tempest read the note again and then a third time. No, he would not let her face the complications of her life alone. He was alive because of her, and he'd make sure she was able to live a life she wanted to live. He exited the SUV and grabbed the sacks of groceries from the cab. He stopped when he noticed the alarm to his house had been placed in passive mode. He placed the groceries on the floor and slipped to the side of the garage where he extracted a gun from the underside of a shelving unit.

Soundlessly, he opened the door and stepped into the old house. He rounded the corner and pointed his .45 at the center of a man's chest.

"About time you came in the damn house."

"For fuck's sake, Smoke, I could have killed you." A movement to his left dropped him to the ground in a crouch. His weapon trained on the man behind him.

"Yo, yo! Not a target, dude. He's my partner. If you kill him, Fury will kill you, and then I'll have to kill Fury, and then shit will get messy." Smoke laughed and walked in front of his weapon, taking the bullseye off his partner. "You're pretty fucking touchy. Why are you so jumpy, my man?"

"Why the hell do you think, asshole? Why are you in my safe house?" He stood, still eyeing the smaller man. "Who are you?"

Smoke responded, "Sage Browning, this is someone I've known most of my adult life. What are you calling yourself these days?"

"Pissed." Tempest stood and glared at Smoke. The motherfucker damn near got himself and his partner capped. Fucking idiot.

"Not a good moniker, dude. You need something more manly." Smoke snorted and dropped onto the couch. "I'm here because Sage and I were in the Keys visiting friends, and after we left, we needed a place to chill. Figured I'd use your house for a couple days, except I found your shit in my bedroom––"

Wait, what? "Your bedroom?"

"Well you did say I could use this place whenever I needed to. I really didn't need to, but you've got a great view of the intercoastal, and it's peaceful." Smoke ran his hands through his hair. He was wearing it longer and he'd lightened it.

He took his finger off the weapon's trigger and eyed his old... friend. "Stay the fuck out of my room. There are three other bedrooms."

"Yeah, but they're small, and they have to share a bathroom." Smoke shrugged. "Sue me, I made myself at home. Not like you've been down here in years."

He snarled at his friend. Literally, snarled. "Thanks for the reminder, dickweed."

"Like you need one? Hey, let’s go out for dinner. The Banana Boat up in Boynton Beach has some fantastic Mahi Mahi."

"Can't. I need to do some research." He glanced at Browning. "How do you put up with him?"

The man's fingers and hands flew in American Sign Language. "I ignore him. If you don't, he'll drive you crazy."

Smoke fired back at the guy, "You can't ignore me; I'm special."

He glanced from the Sage to Smoke looking for an explanation for the ASL.

"Sage here has an issue with stuttering caused by a TBI he suffered while serving in the Marines. Nothing that incapacitates him, but it's easier for him to communicate this way."

Tempest extended his hand. "Pleasure."

Browning gripped his hand for a moment before he signed, "Likewise."

"What research do you have to do? We're on down time and bored to fucking tears. Tried to get our friend in the Keys to go deep sea fishing with