Her Dominant SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 9) Read online

  Drake bristled. That wasn’t like Darius.

  “Back off, Stanton.”

  “I believe I owe you a few for Rylie.”

  Drake cut his eyes over to Karen. Her lips were twitching. “I take it you flirted with Dare’s girlfriend.”

  “Soon to be wife,” Darius corrected. “He was relentless.”

  “Then call me anything you like.”

  “Uncle Dwake?” He looked down at Bella. Shit, how much did he owe the kid?

  “Yes, Honey. What do you want?”

  “More.” She held out her biscuit.

  “Okay, you want to be paid in biscuits?”

  “She wants more jelly on her biscuit,” Piper explained.

  “Are you paying the kid to like you?” Darius asked.

  “We have a deal, every time I swear, I owe her a dollar.”

  “She’s going to get a Corvette for high school graduation.” Mason whistled.

  “Vette!” Bella clapped.

  “Speaking of which, we have to get hopping on some of your stuff today,” Karen said to Piper.

  “I know. The latest assignment I got was for a book that Granny Laughton had given me, isn’t that cool?”

  “We’ll start after breakfast.” Karen smiled.

  Bella looked around and asked, “What’s a vette?”

  Drake closed his eyes and kept putting butter and jam on a new biscuit. The other one was just too mushy to work with. “Here honey, try this.”

  “Thank you,” she said primly.

  “I’ll explain what a Corvette is after breakfast,” Trenda said.

  “I think we should visit that motel you were telling me about,” Darius said casually.

  “Don’t try it,” Trenda said as she passed the plate of hash browns to him. “Bella hears all. If you want to have a planning session, go to the study after you eat.”

  “But-” Drake started.

  “If you need to do it now, take your food with you.” Trenda’s voice brooked no argument.

  Mason laughed.

  “Before you go, just let me know, is Aiden okay?”

  “He’s fine. He’s just doing guard duty. He’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  Trenda nodded. She started passing food around the table so the men could pile up their plates to take into the study.

  As Mason, Darius, and Drake stood with their plates in hand, Drake stared at Evie. “Well?”

  “Well, what?”

  “Aren’t you coming? We have shit to talk about. We need you.”

  “Uncle Dwake.”

  Dammit.

  He set down his plate and reached for his wallet.

  “Here, Baby.” He knelt in front of Bella. How can a three-year-old have a shit-eating grin?

  “This is different than a dollar. See how it has a picture of Andrew Jackson. It’s worth twenty dollars. That means I get twenty swear words.” He kissed the top of her head, picked up his plate, gave Karen’s hand a squeeze, and ignored the laughter as he walked to the study.

  ***

  They had Clint and Lydia on the computer screen and stood around the desk so they could see them. Evie was standing in front since she was a little thing.

  “The DEA is all over the trailer and the lab like white on rice,” Clint said.

  “Or snow on Tennessee,” Darius quipped.

  “Anyway, Aiden gave a brief statement and then bailed. The agent in charge is pissed, and my contact is calling and whining. I told him that when this shit dies down, we’ll give him more of our time.”

  “Sure, we will,” Drake said.

  Clint took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m kind of hoping we have to be wheels up when the time comes.”

  “I’ll see what I can arrange,” Mason said.

  “So, what’s Aiden’s ETA?” Darius asked.

  “He left twenty minutes ago,” Clint explained. “How long does it take from Harmon’s place to where you are?”

  “Normal time it would be forty-five minutes, in this weather, an hour and a half,” Evie said.

  “He’ll be here in forty-five,” Drake assured her.

  She craned her neck to look at him. He patted her shoulder. “He won’t take any unnecessary chances. He’ll be fine.” Drake turned back to the screen. “Clint, I think there is something weird going on with my dad’s interest in Piper.”

  “Ya think?” Evie muttered.

  Drake resisted the urge to tug at his sister’s hair, it wouldn’t look good in front of his teammates.

  “So, any direction you want me to look into? There’s not much for me to go on,” Clint said in a frustrated voice.

  “Yeah. She inherited some property from our grandmother. It’s on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky in the middle of nowhere. It used to take hours to go and visit her. Mom would put us on the bus up there and sometimes we’d stay for a couple of weeks during the summer.”

  “She had peach trees,” Evie reminded him, “but then they got the rot and died. That’s why nobody’ll buy the place or rent it.”

  “You tried to sell it?” Drake asked, surprised.

  Evie looked guilty.

  Drake looked at Clint. “I think there could be something to this. It’s the only red flag that I can think of.”

  “It makes sense. Also, I talked to the DEA. Harmon’s not implicating his dad or his uncle. He says it’s all on him. I think he’s scared to death of them.”

  “What about the Neo-Nazi’s that are on their way to Jasper Creek?” Mason asked.

  “Looks like you killed the one that would be telling us about it. So, we don’t have concrete evidence that they’re on their way. Unless, Evie?” Clint prompted.

  “Sorry, nothing yet. But I have my feelers out.”

  “I think we need to have Dad stop this happy horseshit. But first for the weaker link in the family food chain.”

  “That’d be Huey. I made a quick call, the man calling himself Airport is still checked in at the motel, but he has two roommates.”

  “That is the dumbest assumed name I’ve ever heard of,” Darius said.

  “No, John Doe and LAX are the two dumbest. Tyson McGhee is the third dumbest in the state of Tennessee,” Drake clarified.

  “I stand corrected.”

  “Evie, how booked up is the motel?”

  “According to the desk manager, Huey was put at the end. They know him and know he’s trouble. The rooms around him are empty.”

  “Smart man,” Drake said.

  “Smart woman,” Evie smirked.

  Clint and Mason laughed.

  “This time you’re not knocking on the door, Drake,” Mason commanded.

  “I sometimes clean the motel. I say I go up there as housekeeping.”

  “God, you’re as bad as he is,” Darius said, not for the first time.

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “We call into the room and say that there’s a fire,” Mason said.

  “Why aren’t we pulling the fire alarm?” Evie asked.

  “All of the occupants would come out,” Drake explained. “If Huey asks why he’s getting a call, we explain that the alarm isn’t working because of the snowstorm. This will get him to at least open the door.”

  “We’ll also have smoke going under the door, that will help prompt him to open the door.”

  “Well, why not just knock on it?” Evie asked reasonably.

  “Evie Lavender, you are not knocking on the door! As a matter of fact, you’re staying here with Aiden!”

  “What do you mean I’m staying here?” Aiden asked as he pushed open the door of the study. “I just had corpse duty. I get to go out on the next mission. Corpse duty says I get first dibs on any mission I want.”

  Drake sighed. He really wanted his normal team on this little outing. Mason must have read his mind because he gave him a steely look. Fine, he’d suck it up.

  “I see you, Avery.” Aiden glared at him. “You need me. I just got done driving in this shit. I’m now a pr
ofessional Tennessee ice and snow driver.”

  “Bullshit, I’m a native,” Drake growled.

  Aiden glared at him. “Fine, I’ve changed my mind. I think making some more time with your sister is much preferable than going anywhere with you.”

  Evie stared at him, aghast. “Fuck you, Aiden O’Malley.” Evie shoved past Mason, Darius, and Drake and stormed out the study door.

  “Ah shit, I didn’t mean that, Drake.” Aiden jabbed his thumb against his temple.

  “I wanted her to blow you off, but not because you were that much of an asshole, go talk to her.”

  Aiden hesitated, looking between the door of the study and the men. “No. Fill me in on the mission.”

  “Okay, let’s plan it out,” Mason said.

  ***

  It went like clockwork.

  They had decided they didn’t need the cover of night because the snowstorm provided them all the cover they needed. So, a little before noon, they arrived at the LeeHy Motel off the Interstate. Evie’s friend was on duty. The woman explained that she had gone a little further and offered better accommodations to the two remaining occupants who were in Huey’s section of the motel. That left just Huey in the ‘C’ Building.

  Mason, Aiden, and Drake headed to the building and got in place. Then Drake would call the day manager as coordinated. She would then dial Huey’s room and claim there was a fire. Darius had actually found the necessary ingredients for a smoke bomb in the gardening shed and kitchen of the Chalet. Not that they wanted actual pops, they just wanted the smoke to appear, so Darius modified the ingredients.

  At the same time the call was being made, Aiden would place three small lengths of hose under the door to pour smoke into the room. Outside the room, three larger devices had smoke pluming so that the men leaving the room would be unable to see anything.

  Drake heard the phone ring.

  “Fire!” someone yelled from inside the room.

  “Look, smoke.”

  “We have to leave.”

  The door opened. Of course, Huey was the first man out the door.

  The man behind him pushed, and Huey went flying into the railing. Drake caught him before he went over. The third man came out more cautiously, and Aiden yanked him into a headlock.

  “Drake?”

  The man that had pushed Huey was fumbling for a gun. Mason pulled it out of his hands. Huey had come out unarmed. Fool. The third man was busy trying to pull Aiden’s arm from around his neck.

  It was interesting. The cautious man was in a suit. He didn’t look like somebody who would be either a bodyguard or an ex-con. No, he looked like someone who was buying and selling. The DEA would love this guy.

  “Come on in, and set a while,” Drake said in an exaggerated accent. He dragged his uncle back into the motel room, while Aiden and Mason each grabbed a man. Drake threw his uncle across the bed. Yeah, he had the Avery height and broad shoulders, but he was a walking poster board for the necessity of work-outs and healthy eating. The man looked like he’d eaten another human being since he’d last seen him.

  “Drake, it’s not me. It’s your dad. I haven’t done anything. Your dad is the one who tried to have you killed. You know I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for you.”

  Drake thought he might have thrown up a bit in his mouth. “Are you for real? You’re the one who beat Harmon and I with the buckle side of your belt when we were five because we were too loud in your house. You were the one who gave me a concussion when I was seven when I touched your new car. You were the one who let your pitbull off the leash when the girls came over.”

  Huey whimpered.

  “But you’re right about one thing. You were a hell of a lot nicer than my old man.”

  “Now, you’re going to tell me about what the hell is going on in Jasper Creek.”

  “I don’t know nothing.”

  Drake pulled out his knife. Huey shuddered, it was like watching Jell-O. “What? What are you going to do with that?”

  “Whatever the hell I want.”

  “You can’t. You’re the law.”

  “What is with you and Harmon? I’m not the law. I’m in the Navy. I’m on leave. And I’m just having a friendly talk with my family. I always use a knife when I talk to family.” He put a knee on the bed and got up real close with the knife.

  “But you’re fancy Navy. You’re a SEAL,” he whined. The man in the suit coughed.

  “That means I know how to cut you up all fancy like. So, tell me what’s going on in Jasper Creek. How many meth labs? Where’s the heroin coming from?” He let the knife tip dig into Huey’s triple chin, a thin trickle of blood dripped onto his shirt.

  “Three, there’s three labs. One’s really big, it’s out near Harmon’s place.”

  “Where are the other two?”

  “One’s out near the Indian Casino. He knows where it is.” He pointed wildly at the man who pushed him. “His brother-in-law is the cook.”

  “You son-of-a-bitch! I’ll kill you!” The man tried to get up out of the little motel chair. Mason shoved him back down.

  “Sit down, and shut up,” Mason growled.

  “That’s two, where’s the third?” Drake demanded. God, he wanted to poke harder with the knife. It was the incident with the pitbull. He still remembered having to jump the dog so it wouldn’t bite Maddie. He had a scar on his arm because of that dog.

  “Harmon knows where the third one is. Lois, his girlfriend’s sister’s boyfriend’s cousin runs it.”

  Drake had to shake his head, to try to get that sentence straight in his mind. It was no use. He’d have to just go question Lois. He sure as hell wasn’t going to sic the DEA on her.

  “The heroin, tell me about the heroin.”

  The suit coughed again. All of the SEALs looked at him.

  “I think you might have something to tell us,” Aiden said jovially.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the businessman said.

  “I have a knife too; do you want to see it?” Aiden asked.

  “I want to cut up my cousin. Don’t waste your time with the suit,” Drake said. He grabbed Huey’s ear and placed his knife against the cartilage. Huey squealed.

  “We buy from him. He has a connection in Lafollette, it’s supposed to be really pure so we can cut it here and make a killing.”

  “Who’s your supplier?” Mason demanded. Aiden and he switched places. Mason towered over the businessman, and Aiden kept the other man sitting in the motel chair.

  “I can’t tell you who my supplier is, they’ll kill me.”

  “You damn well will tell me who you’re dealing with.” Mason grabbed the man up by his arm and stripped off his suit jacket, then ripped off his shirt, leaving him in his tie. “I’m going to let Drake over there start cutting off pieces of you if you don’t tell me who down in Mexico you’re getting your heroin from.”

  Drake loved it. He gave his best crazy grin. The man in the suit was seconds away from pissing himself. Once every six months Mason slipped off the chain, and it was always a beautiful sight to behold.

  “It used to be the Guzman’s, but they’re gone now. I’m dealing with a little guy. His name is Lopez, he’s out of Juarez.”

  “You’re going to meet some friends of mine from the DEA, I’m going to want all of your contact information on this little guy. If you don’t give it to them, I’ll find you, and I’ll let Drake loose on you. You got that?”

  “Are you guys really SEALs?

  Aiden and Drake took a step towards him, as Mason grabbed him by his tie and pulled him upwards. “Yes, we are,” Mason said.

  “I’ll tell everything I know,” the man choked out.

  Mason let go of the tie, and he dropped to the floor. Drake smelled the distinct stench of urine, but it didn’t come from Mason’s victim. He turned around.

  “Oh for God’s sake, Huey. You need to grow a spine.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Piper couldn’t contai
n her excitement.

  “Do you really think I have a shot at a scholarship for Belmont University?” she asked incredulously.

  “I really do. I think you could get a scholarship for a lot of places, but you’ve been eyeing Belmont since I’ve known you,” Karen said.

  “It’s close to home, and it has an excellent education program. But it’s one of the most expensive state universities in Tennessee. I don’t want to be another burden to Drake.” She bit her thumbnail. Karen had been noticing that was an Avery sister trait.

  “How much financial aid would I need to have?”

  Now there was a question. Part of it would depend on proving that she got no support from her parents. If they could make a case that she was on her own, then they could go for state funded housing. That, along with scholarships for her tuition, and she could feasibly end up graduating without student debt.

  “What are you thinking?” Piper asked.

  “I’m still trying to work it out in my head,” Karen answered.

  “I have an idea,” Piper said.

  “What’s that?” Karen asked.

  “Did I tell you about those books that Granny Laughton gave me?”

  Karen shook her head, catching sight of Bella out of the corner of her eye. The little girl had somehow found her nail polish and was bringing it over to her.

  “Some of the books are valuable, I looked them up online. I could sell them and cover some of the costs.”

  “Oh Piper, I don’t want you to have to sell your legacy. Let’s see if we can work something else out.”

  Bella came over and plopped herself between Piper and Karen. She handed Karen a bottle of purple polish, which was perfect because she was running out of red things to wear.

  Where the hell were the men? It had been four hours since they had left.

  “Karen? Polish.” Bella smiled.

  “Yes, Baby, polish.”

  “You do that, I have to finish my homework. Are you going to work next week?”

  “Yes. I couldn’t go because I was taking the pain medication. But I’m weaning off them, so by next week I’ll be able to go back.”

  “If Drake lets you.”

  “Oh, he’ll let me,” Karen said firmly.

  Piper giggled. “He always squirms when you talk like a teacher. I can’t decide if it’s because he really likes it when you do it, or because you’re making him uncomfortable.”