Their Masquerade (The American Soldier Collection 6)

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea? Europe can be dangerous for a young, impressionable, American woman,” Deacon asked. Her heart sank even deeper. God, I wish I could tell them how I feel. I wish they would give us a shot. I could make them happy. I know I could.

“She is young and impressionable, but she has a strong head on her shoulders. Michael taught her a lot of self-defense moves, and she trains on a regular basis. I think this will be good for her. Especially with the information that came to my attention. She’d be safer abroad. It’s what I wanted to discuss with the four of you,” Uncle Jeb said. She heard the concern in his voice and she felt the mystery of his statement. She leaned closer, but dare not take another step down the stairs. The old house had creaky floors, and she would get busted in a snap by any of the Marines.

“What exactly is going on, Jeb?” L.T. asked.

“It’s about Michael. He wasn’t supposed to be there that night. He wasn’t working the case anymore because the department felt as if his identity was discovered.”

“What?” Quentin asked.

“The ones responsible snagged him on his way home from the department. It had been weeks since he pulled out of the case. It had something to do with some big-time arms dealer. Michael had his snitches, but Randy thinks that the snitches he had ratted Michael out,” Jeb told them.

“How does Randy know this?” Axel asked, sounding suspicious. Mariah knew that the men didn’t care for Randy. She had hoped that they were just jealous, but their words and actions proved otherwise.

“Randy said that Michael was in too deep. I didn’t want to tell Mariah all the details, but Randy said that the department thinks that Michael was assisting the main arms dealer. They believe that he took a bribe.”

“What? No fucking way,” Quentin stated firmly. Mariah covered her mouth to hide the gasp. No way would Michael help criminals.

“The department was gathering evidence on Michael. Through my own inside sources from the department, it’s believed that Michael was executed by the main operator himself.”

“Holy shit. And the department? Are they going after this guy?” L.T. asked.

There was silence, and Mariah wondered what was happening.

“No. There’s no substantial evidence to prove that Michael was innocent, only that he was doing something illegal. Whether things were planted or he was threatened, I can’t get the facts. The one responsible covered his tracks well. He’s untouchable.”

“Untouchable? How can that be?” Axel asked, sounding very angry.

“The man has never been identified. No one knows what he looks like. The man is involved with some serious heavy stuff. He has the financial backing of numerous big-name companies here in the states and abroad. He is incredibly difficult to get close to. And when I say get close to, I mean, the man has more guards and security than the President of the United States. My little bit of pushing for some answers got me a personal phone call from someone in the Federal government. They told me to back off.”

“Did you talk with Sandman? Maybe he has some input?”

“No. I don’t want to draw any more attention to the case, or place anyone in danger over this. It’s obvious that something is going on and no one wants to talk about it.”

“So Michael’s murder goes unpunished? This guy gets off scot-free and Michael’s reputation will be ruined?” Deacon asked.

“Well, that’s where I was hoping that the four of you could help me. I’m trying to keep this information from getting to Mariah. With your pull in the department and numerous connections, I was hoping we could save Mariah the upset of knowing that her brother was tortured and killed so brutally, and that he was not one of the bad guys.”

“Of course we’ll help. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” L.T. said.

“I don’t want you guys to do any more than that. It’s done. Michael is gone and nothing can bring him back.”

Mariah was shocked at the news. She had been told that Michael was working a case and had gotten caught in the line of fire exchange between the police and the bad guys. The casket had to be closed because of the severity of the multiple gunshot wounds. But the fact was that her brother was tortured, beaten, and then shot execution-style. Who the hell was the man responsible for murdering her brother and for ruining his reputation? How could the laws of this country, this state, allow him to be free? Unidentifiable? What the hell was up with that?

She heard the door to the front room open, and she quickly stood up and tiptoed back to her room. This information didn’t sit right with her. Couldn’t something be done? Obviously there was more to Michael’s warning. He must have known that his identity was compromised. But what had he meant when he said to not trust even the closest of friends?

She headed to her room and lay down on the bed. She would find out more. Her brother was not part of the arms dealing. No way. He was an American soldier. A Marine. What would happen to his reputation? Would people really believe that he was aiding an international criminal? Her head was spinning as the information processed. She would confront her uncle tomorrow, after the men left, and before she headed back to college. This wasn’t over. She would heed her brother’s warning and not trust anyone. Not even L.T., Axel, Quentin, and Deacon. For all she knew, they could have been part of this as well.

Chapter 1

Two Years Later

Mariah looked out at the sunset across the Tuscan sky. The doors to the villa she’d stayed at for the past year remained wide open. She was dressed up for tonight’s event. A gala of sorts hosted by her friend Sienna’s lovers. She smiled when she thought about Sienna and her three men. They absolutely adored one another. When Sienna had first met them, she had instantly fallen for their charms. The fact that they were so well-off and came from families with money was a bonus too. They owned a villa here in Tuscany, an estate in Dallas, Texas, where they were headed next week, and a penthouse in Manhattan.

Mariah looked out toward the rolling, emerald green hills and the winery, owned by Sienna’s men. It was breathtaking here. She truly didn’t want to leave.

She heard the bells begin to ring, indicating that the evening festivities were about to start. She still considered Sienna’s offer of moving here permanently, but she also missed her uncle. As angry as she had been with him for denying her information about her brother Michael’s murder, she’d nearly lost it when she received the phone call two months ago about Uncle Jeb’s accident. It seemed that he was either getting older and more incapable of taking care of himself, or he was lying. She hadn’t believed him, or the ph

one call from L.T.