Quadruple Duty: All or Nothing

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“True. But do you know the whole story? Of how that happened?”

“Look Markus,” I said, “I don’t even care. Whatever you did back then, it’s not my—”

“I care,” he said very abruptly. The words came out sharp. Crisp. On the verge of anger. “I care very much about what happened because a lot of it was beyond my control.”

He stopped and turned toward me again. I saw the fire of resentment in his eyes now. It was an entirely different look than the haughtiness of before.

“The man I’d started selling those weapons to was a former US Marine. I didn’t realize he was acting with the insurgents. Not until I was too deep. Until it was too late…”

I kept telling myself that his story meant nothing to me. That all I cared about was Kyle, Ryan, and Jason. But to Markus, this was the end-all, be-all. It was the source of his angst, his unrest, his inability to be happy, even in paradise.

To him it was everything.

“I tried to get out. Only I got burned. Men died, Sammara — my men. People got hurt.”

“And what did you do?”

“I continued,” he went on. “I tried to minimize it. Make the most of a bad situation. I formed Di Spatia to get the jump on those who had the jump on me, only I lost it before I had that chance.”

Markus put a staying hand on my shoulder. I wanted to rip it off, but I kept it there and held his gaze.

“Jason Briggs showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time. He showed up while I was fixing things. Making things right.”

I didn’t know if he were lying, or telling the truth. But his eyes…

“Your problems are my problems,” Markus said cryptically. “Briggs is missing right now because of his timing. Because of—”

Something flew between us, moving so fast it was a complete blur. Two giant arms picked Markus up by his shoulders and slammed him downward, into the sand.

“You know where Briggs is!” Dakota shouted. He raised a fist overhead, threateningly. “Did you have something to do with—”

I grabbed his arm and tried pulling it back. I might’ve just as well been wrestling with the Terminator.

“Dakota stop!”

“TELL ME!” my fiancé screamed. “Tell me NOW or—”

All of a sudden he paused, tilting his head curiously at what he saw. Lying in the sand beneath him… Markus Ladrone was actually laughing.

“Good to see you too, Bradley.”

Thirty-Four

SAMMARA

It took a minute for me to calm Dakota down. And another minute to pick Markus up, and help him brush himself off.

“What exactly do you know?” Dakota asked again, trying to control his anger.

“Much more than you,” said Markus. “Mainly because I listen before I act.”

“Are you saying—”

“STOP!” I stepped between them, pushing each of them back with a hand to the chest. “ENOUGH already.”

I was accustomed to stuff like this. Living with four very alpha men, each always thinking they’re right all the time? I’d broken up a lot of brotherly arguments.