Garnet (Gems of Wolfe Island)

“For now,” I say simply.

“All right,” Reid says. “In the meantime, we do have a missing woman. Aspen Davis. Garnet from the island. I need you on it.”

Good. A job will help.

“What do you need?”

“I need you to find her. She’s gone, Buck. Zee is beside herself. We told these women we’d protect them. Keep them safe. And Aspen just… She just disappeared into thin air.”

“I’m on it.”

“You’ll be paid handsomely. Your usual rate. Find her. Please, Buck.”

“What resources do I have?”

“Anything you need. Anything. Anything you fucking need.”

“You got it. I’ve got some buddies who might be able to help as well.”

“Absolutely. And once you find her, you give her whatever she wants. Make her happy. Whatever she needs.”

“Got it. I’m on.”

My next phone call is to Phoenix. Leif Ramsey, who also works for the Wolfes. We served together, and we’ve always had each other’s backs. In fact, we’re the only two survivors from our last tour.

“Hey, Buck,” Ramsey says.

“Phoenix, I’m going to need you. The Wolfes have a missing woman.”

“Man, that family can’t catch a break.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Any luck on the Raven?”

I don’t answer right away.

“Buck?”

“The Raven no longer exists. He’s Luke now. Luke Johnson.”

“You found him then?”

“I did. And…”

It’s not easy for me to say. I don’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him. Never did I think he could change. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, right?

“What?”

“He’s alive. And with full immunity.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I’m not. I’ll explain it all to you when I see you. Get to Manhattan as soon as you can. We’ve got a woman to find.”

2

ASPEN

No. This can’t be happening again. I won’t let it happen again.

But it is happening.

All I wanted was to go home. To see the mountains of Colorado. Maybe say hi to my family.

So I left Manhattan, and I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. Why should I? I’m a free citizen of this country. I don’t owe anyone anything.

I don’t have a credit card, so I paid cash for my train ticket. I was supposed to arrive at Union Station in Denver tomorrow.

Instead?

I’m alone.

Alone. In the dark. In a locked room.

At least they didn’t take my clothes this time.

How is this even happening?

I jerk out of my thoughts when someone knocks on the door.

“Go away,” I say.

“Are you decent?” A man’s voice.

“Go away.”

A click. The door opens.

I dart my gaze around, looking for something to use as a weapon. In desperation, I grab the bible from the night table.

Softcover. Damn.

“Hey.” The man enters. “You want some food?”

“Could you just let me out of here? Please?”

“Yeah. We’re going back to Manhattan.”

“But I don’t—”

“Aspen,” he says. “The Wolfes are worried about you.”

“Tell them I’m fine. I just want to see Colorado. I want to see the beauty of my state. The Rockies. The snowcapped mountains. The gorgeous colors.”

He’s handsome, this man. And why that occurs to me I have no idea. He doesn’t respond right away. I clutch the bible to my chest.

“All right,” he says finally. “I’ll take you.”

He’ll take me? And I’m just supposed to trust him? He says he works for the Wolfes. I could easily find out, except he took my phone.

“Who the hell are you?” For some reason, holding the bible gives me courage. “Why did you pull me off that train?”

“Because we thought you were in danger. The Wolfes thought you were in danger.”

“I’m not in danger. I just wanted—”

“I get it. I do. But you left without telling anyone, and there was no way to trace your ticket.”

“Because I paid in cash. I don’t have a credit card. It’s nothing. I wasn’t even gone very long.”

“True enough. But you need to let the Wolfes know when you’re leaving. They freaked out.”

“Look. The Wolfe family got me off that island. But it was also the Wolfe family that got me on that island in the first place.”

“That was their father, Derek Wolf. Reid and his siblings are good people.”

“I appreciate—”

“Do you? Because if you appreciated it, you would’ve let them know you were leaving. They freaked out, Aspen. They put me on the case.”

“So you kidnapped me? Me? When you know my history?”

“I did what I was paid to do. I got you to safety. For all I knew at the time, you had been taken against your will and put on that train again.”

“Well, now you know that’s not the case, Mister”

“Moreno. Antonio Moreno. But I’m called Buck.”

“Mr. Buck.”

“Just Buck.”

I swallow. For the first time, I look at him. Really look at him. He’s tall, at least three inches taller than I am, and I’m no slouch at six feet. Muscled, dark hair, and dark eyes.

A few tingles shoot through me.

Tingles I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel again.

“Please,” I say. “Let me go home. Let me go to Colorado.”

His dark eyes soften. “I’ll talk to the Wolfes.”