Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(72)

“We need you dialed in, Rex. There’s something big in the works, and we’re close to figuring it out, but we need your help. I know you, man. If something happens to any of the women in that shelter, or the kids, you’ll never forgive yourself. I’m not saying whatever’s going on with you isn’t important. I’m sure it’s as important as anything else you’ve ever done. All I’m asking is that you give this situation your attention at the moment. Once we figure it out, you can do whatever it is you need to do. Hell, ask us to help you. All of us will drop everything if you need assistance—but don’t leave us hanging here.”

Black stood in the middle of his bedroom with only a towel around his waist and waited for his handler to say something.

“I hear you,” Rex said in a subdued tone. “And you’re right. I’ve been preoccupied . . . and I’m sorry. It’s a long story, one I’ll share with you at some point, but not now. And it doesn’t matter now anyway, because the lead I thought I had on a cold case went nowhere. What do you need?”

Black sighed. It felt weird to have to tell his handler what was going on in the case. Usually, Rex passed intel to them. For him to ask what they needed was akin to him admitting that he’d checked out. “Whoever the contact is has done something, or is going to do something, to try to force Loretta to sell the building. We need to know what that is.”

“What about the other stuff Pierce told you?” Rex asked.

“Gray gave that info to Meat. We’ve got a description of a middle-aged man who hired him and his friends to harass the residents. I did everything I could think of to get him to tell us the man’s name, but in the end, I believe Brian doesn’t actually know it. Meat will use his facial-recognition software to see what he can find. And he’ll dig deeper than he’s already done to find out who owns all the corporations that bought the surrounding buildings. Apparently, the same person is behind all of them—we assume the mystery contact who hired Brian and his friends. If Meat needs help, I’ll have him call you.”

“Good. And, Black?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re right. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to those women and kids. Thank you for doing what needed to be done.”

“Yeah.”

“One more thing,” Rex said.

Black held back the sigh of frustration. Barely. “What?”

“I may not have been dialed in, but I wasn’t so disconnected that I haven’t taken it upon myself to look into Harlow Reese.”

Black ground his teeth together so hard, he immediately began to get a headache. “I didn’t ask you to do that. And I don’t appreciate it.”

“Be that as it may, I did it anyway. Just like I did with Allye, Chloe, and Morgan. No one fucks with my men, and I know you all don’t see it this way, but I’m protecting you as much as I am the women and children we hunt down.”

Black didn’t respond.

“For the record, I like her. She’s as clean as a whistle. There are absolutely no ghosts lurking in her past. She hasn’t dated anyone long enough for them to be a problem. She isn’t buried in debt. She goes home to Topeka for Christmas every year, and she’s one hell of a chef, if the reviews from the restaurants she worked at are any indication. If you let her get away, I’m going to seriously wonder about your sanity.”

“Fuck you,” Black said without heat. He was pissed that Rex had checked out Harlow, but at the same time, he was relieved to hear she hadn’t had some awful childhood or wouldn’t have any of the crazies she’d dated looking for her. He already knew she was an amazing chef, and he didn’t give a shit about how much money she had. But . . . he knew Rex had done what was necessary to prove he had his Mercenaries’ backs.

“I’ll see what I can find out about this mystery contact.”

“’Preciate it,” Black said.

“Later.”

Black clicked off the phone without saying goodbye to his handler. He didn’t know what was up with Rex, but at least he seemed to be re-engaged now.

He still felt keyed up from his session with Brian and needed to see Harlow more than ever, especially after the intense conversation with Rex.

Quickly getting dressed, he took the time to give Gray a call to update him on the situation with Rex. He then called Meat to give him a heads-up that he was on his way to the shelter. It was five thirty, and Harlow should be getting dinner ready for the residents.

He answered on the first ring. “Meat.”

“Hey. It’s Black. Just letting you know I’m on my way.”

“Great. After talking with Gray, I met with Loretta and got copies of all the offers she’s received on the building. She apologized for not telling us about the offers sooner, but since she wasn’t thinking of selling, she didn’t think it was relevant.”

“She’s considering selling now?” Black asked.

“Shit, I forgot . . . you don’t know. Apparently she was accused of stealing money from the shelter. Someone anonymously reported her. All her funds have been frozen while the state looks into the allegations. She doesn’t have the funds to run First Hope anymore. The place was mostly surviving on grants, and now that the money from the government has stopped, she doesn’t have enough capital to tide her over during a lengthy investigation.”