Wicked as Sin (Wicked & Devoted 1)

“Happy to.” Caleb kept pace beside him as they used the nail salon beside the grocery store as a thruway to the back of the strip mall. “How have you been getting along with my sons since my retirement?”

One-Mile hesitated. “You want the truth?”

“I don’t want bullshit.”

Fair enough. “They’re all right. But I hired on expecting to work for you.”

“I know. I’m sorry that didn’t happen.”

“I get it. Things change. People move on.”

“But you depended on me—all of you—and I let you down. That’s bugged the hell out of me.” He hesitated. “Did you know Bryant felt the same?”

“No.”

“The evening after I delivered the news in our team meeting, he called to ream me a new asshole.”

Finally, something he respected Bryant for. “I wanted to.”

“I figured you would, so I kept you busy with another job.” Caleb winked.

“Sly dog.”

“I’ve learned a few tricks over the years, but give my sons a fair shake. They’re all-around badasses and good men.”

“Yes, but they’re not you, sir.”

“I appreciate that, but they’ll win you over in time. I’m sure of it. They’re just not used to handling someone who scares them.”

None of them seemed to be shaking in his boots. “Come again?”

“Not literally, but you’re a different breed than their SEAL teammates.”

Those guys were like brothers. Hell, closer than family in some cases. Snipers like him tended to be loners. “You’re saying they don’t know how to relate.”

“Logan is trying. Hunter and Joaquin are watching how you shake out. Bryant is easy for them to understand. He’s damn good at what he does, and he has a noble streak a mile wide…”

While One-Mile himself was morally gray. “Got it.”

“You don’t. They know you’re important. Special. They just don’t know how to take you. And it’s not like any of them are well known for their interpersonal skills.”

One-Mile smiled. “So you’re asking me to be patient?”

“I’d appreciate it. They only took over the business a few months ago. A lot of this is new for them, but especially someone like you.”

One-Mile wasn’t dumb; the colonel was buttering him up, but he understood the basic message. He wasn’t a team player since that wasn’t his role, and that made relating to him difficult. He also had a chip on his shoulder because Bryant had Brea, and he wanted her way more than he should. The colonel’s sons were running a security firm, not overseeing a daytime drama. Hence, Logan’s warning to keep his angst out of the office.

“I’m reserving judgment, doing my job, and keeping my nose clean. Speaking of which…” He scanned the alley behind the grocery store.

It looked typical. A lot of concrete, a couple of dumpsters, painted brick topped by a flat industrial roof. A retaining wall blocked off access to the street behind the strip mall. A residential development lay directly beyond that, leaving the gunman’s easy path of escape an adjacent highway that led straight out of town. It also limited the places One-Mile could set up a shot in the immediate vicinity.

But across from the cookie-cutter neighborhood, he saw possibilities.

“Give me a minute.”

At the colonel’s nod, he jumped and grabbed the top of the eight-foot retaining wall, then hoisted himself up for a look-see over the whole vicinity. To his left, he saw a bank, but he didn’t like the pitch of its roof or close proximity to the grocery store. If Schading was observant enough, he’d be spotted up there. Behind that stood a doctor’s office, but that roofline was also too sloped to provide the proper stability for his setup. He could see rooflines beyond that but didn’t know this part of town well enough to know what businesses they housed.

One-Mile whipped out his phone, found a satellite map, and answered his own question in the next thirty seconds.

He jumped down to join the colonel in the alley once more. “There’s a two-story storage facility across the street about four buildings back. I’d like to set up there.”

The colonel gawked over the wall at the building he’d indicated. “I won’t ask you if you’re crazy. I know the answer.”

One-Mile shrugged. “Not the first time I’ve been accused of that.”

“You know that’s over a thousand feet away.”

He nodded. “I’ve hit double that.”

The colonel sighed, then slapped him on the back. “Which is why I hired you. I respect that you’re not arrogant, just factual.”

“I do my best, sir. Sure there’s no chance you’ll take over the business again?”

“The boys have already renamed it Edgington-Muñoz, so no. I’m out.” He shrugged. “Carlotta and I have decided to travel instead. We’re taking a cruise.”

“I can’t picture you at the buffet before shuffleboard.”

The older man closed his eyes. “It sounds horrible, doesn’t it? But still better than this high-stress, life-and-death shit.” He clapped One-Mile on the back. “I’ll talk to Gaines and get you on that roof. How long do you need to set up?”