Salvation (The Protectors 2)

“Daisy, she found something.”

I automatically reached for my phone. “What did she find? She didn’t contact me.”

“Not about Seth. About Revay.”

I stilled and then put my phone down on a side table. “She found them,” I said quietly, unable to hide my surprise.

Hawke’s wife’s murder had remained unsolved for years, so one of the things I’d tasked Benny with from day one was trying to find ways to use the limited evidence the police had recovered in the murder to find the men who’d killed the young woman. I had no doubt that Mav had shared the information with Daisy in the hopes that she could find something new. As much as I’d wanted Hawke to get the break he deserved, I hadn’t actually expected it to happen.

“What did she find?”

“A DNA match and a name. In California.”

I nodded as I understood Hawke’s urgency. “Go,” I said. “Find them. And if you need anything…”

“I know,” was all Hawke said. “But I need to know you and Seth are covered.”

“I’ll get someone out here by tonight. We’re good…go.”

Hawke hesitated and then he was stepping back towards the front door. “I already found someone,” he said and then he opened the door. My stomach dropped out at the sight of a man I never expected to see again.

Mace Calhoun.

The very man I’d thought I’d been helping when I recruited him after the brutal rape and murder of his seven-year-old son. The man Benny had used to try to take out Jonas Davenport in exchange for a quarter of a million-dollar payout.

As Mace moved into the room, Hawke gave me a questioning look and I sent him a quick nod. His relief was palpable and I realized how much I truly owed this man. He’d saved me in so many ways even while he’d been suffering through his own personal hell.

Hawke went to his bedroom, presumably to get his stuff together, leaving me and Mace alone. I hadn’t seen Mace for several months – not since he’d asked me to keep an eye on Jonas and his other lover, Cole, while he went to bring Cole’s father to Chicago where Cole had been shot while protecting Jonas from one of the men who’d put a contract out on him.

“You mind?” Mace asked as he motioned to one of the two plush white couches across from one another. I heard Bullet whining excitedly behind the sliding doors leading to Seth’s room, but before I could go over to them and ask Seth if the dog could come out, Seth slid them open and Bullet darted through them. His eyes fell on Mace who was in the process of being checked out by Bullet, but if Seth was at all curious about the other man’s presence, he didn’t show it. His eyes met mine only briefly before he closed the doors again, shutting himself away from us…from me.

I went back to the seating area and dropped down on the couch across from Mace. Bullet had completed his exploration of the heavily tattooed man and came to plop his head on my lap. I let my fingers roam over his head as I studied Mace.

Mace was a larger guy like me, but that was about the extent of our similarities. His arms were covered from wrist to shoulder in tattoos and I’d seen enough of him during training exercises to know they continued along his chest and back. His dark blond hair was on the long side. The ex-cop had been one of my best men and had often worked cases involving crimes against children. I’d thought the jobs would cleanse his soul, but after Jonas accused me of using Mace’s grief over the loss of his son against him, I’d begun to wonder if I’d just fed the darkness inside of him. The way I was just now coming to realize I’d fed my own.

“How are Cole and Jonas?” I asked.

“Good,” Mace responded, his dark eyes studying mine intently. I felt like he was trying to get a read on me. We were both momentarily distracted when Hawke came out of his room, bag in hand. He gave me a quick nod and when Bullet ran up to greet him, he gave the dog an affectionate pat before leaving the room. I shifted my attention back to Mace and did my best not to show my discomfort at his presence.

I’d always kept my distance from all the men who worked for me. It wasn’t because I was on a power trip or anything or felt the need to wrap myself in mystery. I had just been too focused on the job to care about building friendships with any of them. I dealt in death. It wasn’t a “company picnic” kind of business.

“I never got a chance to thank you-” Mace began to say.