Page 4 of Shadow Strike
CHAPTERTWO
Shadow Point Security Compound
Blackridge, Montana
The debrief took forty minutes,which was thirty minutes longer than it needed to be.
CB sat across from Garrett Cross, the SPS commanding officer, and answered questions about the Halverson case.Mack, his team leader, sat next to CB while Garrett read through their post-op notes.
Outside the window, the mountains were lit up gold like someone had left the lights on.CB had missed this view.He hadn’t admitted that when he came back, but it was true.
“Good work,” Garrett said without looking up.“Our client was pleased.Mr.Halverson said, and I quote, ‘Hawk and Grizzly handled my wife’s anxiety with respect, as well as stopping her stalker.She slept through the night for the first time last night.I can’t thank you enough.’”
A brief look up.A nod.Mack, known to clients as Hawk, slapped CB on the back.“You’ve got a way with people.”
Mrs.Halverson had reminded him of plenty of other folks he knew who’d been bullied early in life.All she’d needed was to feel safe.Some outfits treated bodyguard work like a contract.Shadow Point treated it like a responsibility.He appreciated the distinction.
“Now that her stalker is behind bars, she’ll be fine,” CB said.“I referred her to Doc, just in case she experiences any PTSD from the incident.”
Dr.Vivi Montgomery, psychologist and founder of this division of their parent company, Shadow Force International, chose that moment to poke her head in.“CB?You missed your appointment yesterday.”
CB pointed at Mack, more than happy to throw him under the bus.“Blame him.He had me at the range.”
The former Marine sniper held up both hands.“Now, just a minute.It wasn't blocked off on his schedule, and we had paperwork for Garrett to finish, so that was the only time available for target practice.”
Vivi rolled her eyes.“You guys will do anything to get out of having a session with me.You act like I’m the grizzly bear instead of CB.”
CB grinned.Grizzly was his codename because of his size, but they all knew Vivi was the real bear if they missed too many of their required sessions with her.“I’ll stop by later today.”
She pointed her pen at him.“I’m holding you to it.”
He gave her a mock salute, and she disappeared down the hall.
“I’ve got something new,” Garrett said, scrolling on his tablet.“A local bar owner is being targeted with escalating extortion demands.”
“Bar owner?”CB asked.
“Regan Hill.She runs Hill’s Tavern out on the highway.She inherited it from her father.”He slid a single sheet across the desk.“Her mother works there, too, and the last request for payment included a veiled threat.The mother called us and requested you specifically, CB.”
Hill’s had been one of the Canon Outlaws’ hangouts when he was a kid.Much of his family’s history was tied to the Hills and the bar.He scanned the intake form.“I know the place.”
“Lucy, the mother, asked for a consultation.”Garrett paused.“The daughter, Regan, doesn’t know she called us.Mrs.Hill just found out about the extortion threat this morning.She claims Regan can be…independent.She doesn’t like accepting help.We need to handle it carefully.”
Mack raised a brow at CB.“Do you know her?”
CB shook his head, took the sheet, and rose.“I’ve been out of that world since I was eighteen.I’ll look into it.”
On the way to the bar, he did his father’s grocery run.Wade’s live-in assistant had Thursdays off, and someone needed to make sure he wasn’t having one of his bad days, where he didn’t know what year it was or how to open a can of soup.
The stroke had stolen a lot from his dad—memories, names, his role as leader of the Outlaws.It had also taken his ability to drive.CB had garaged Wade’s favorite bike out of sentimentality.His father would never ride it again.He should sell it.
One of these days.
As CB pulled up to the house, he recognized the Harley sitting in the drive without needing to read the plates.It was nearly a match to his father’s.
He sat in his truck for a moment, staring at the house—the white paint his mother had chosen, faded now, the flower boxes under the front windows that nobody planted anymore.The gutters that needed a good cleaning.
He picked up the grocery bags and went inside.
