Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(82)

“You had it out?” Gray asked.

They all knew “having it out” with their handler wasn’t exactly smart.

Black nodded. “I was sick of him slacking off. He said he’d been working on something, but it didn’t pan out.”

“About his wife?” Arrow asked.

Everyone looked at him.

“I told you he started Mountain Mercenaries because his wife disappeared,” Arrow said quietly. “One day she was there, and the next she was gone without a trace. The cops had no leads, and even with a huge reward, they didn’t get any tips that panned out. He hired a private detective, who found what he thought was her trail but lost it when the perps left the United States. Her body was never found, and Rex is convinced she’s still out there somewhere. I’m sure he’s never stopped looking for her.

“Half of the cases we go on are for people hiring us to find their loved ones—but the other half are from Rex’s research into looking for his own wife. He follows leads and inevitably finds other missing children and women. From what I understand, Rex and his wife were madly in love, but when the cops didn’t find any trace of her, they thought he might’ve killed her at one point.”

“So, Black, you think he wasn’t helping on this case because he was looking for his wife?” Meat asked.

Black shook his head. “Maybe. He didn’t say. All he told me was that the lead he had didn’t pan out.”

“Well, shit. That sucks,” Ro said.

“Maybe when this is over, we can get him to let us work on his wife’s case,” Ball said.

“The man hasn’t told us anything about it,” Gray replied with a shake of his head. “What makes you think he’ll be okay with us sitting down and dissecting his personal life the way we do when we investigate a case?”

“Because after all these years, and with all his expertise and connections, he still hasn’t found her,” Arrow said succinctly. “I’m not saying we’ll have any luck, but what can it hurt? The man is obviously messed up inside as a result of not having any information about his wife. If we can give him some closure, don’t you think we owe it to him to try?”

“Absolutely,” Gray said. “But I’m not going to be the one to bring it up.”

Everyone chuckled and agreed.

“Fine. I’ll do it,” Arrow said. “He told me about her after that mission in Venezuela. Remember? I told him we’d heard about an American being with the other kidnapped women, and he asked all sorts of questions about her. I know he thought it might’ve been her. He hasn’t given up trying to find her.”

“What’s her name?” Black asked.

Arrow pressed his lips together and squinted, obviously trying to remember. “Raven,” he finally said.

No one said a word for a long moment. Finally, Black said, “Call Rex, Meat. We need him in the know on this one. We need to find Nolan Woolf. Pronto.”

Meat nodded and reached for his phone even as Black stood.

“Where are you going?” Ball asked, gathering up his stuff.

“There are some things I need to deal with at the range before I head over to the shelter to meet Harlow. I’ll talk with Loretta and see if she knows this Nolan guy.”

“Things with you and Harlow are going well, I take it?” Gray asked with a smirk as he stood to leave.

The five of them left Meat to his research and the call with their handler as they headed out of the bar.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Black told his friend.

Gray pounded him on the back. “Good to hear it.”

“Still doesn’t mean I’m getting married,” Black mumbled, not wanting Gray to get too big of a head, even though he couldn’t deny he wouldn’t mind tying Harlow to him all legal like.

“Didn’t say you were,” Gray said with a smile.

“Speaking of which, you asked Allye yet?” Ro asked.

“Ticktock,” Arrow quipped. “Every day you wait is another day your little peanut grows bigger inside her. And the bigger she gets, the more likely she’ll want to wait.”

“Fuck off,” Gray said, glaring at his friend.

Arrow held up his hands conciliatorily. “Just sayin’.”

“As a matter of fact, if you have to know, I’m taking her up to Denver this weekend. I made reservations at a fancy restaurant and reserved the honeymoon suite at Hotel Teatro. It’s near the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where we’re seeing a show.”

“Awesome,” Arrow said. “Maybe I’ll see if I can get tickets. I’ll take Morgan to the same show, and we can spy on you guys.”

“Asshole,” Gray told his friend and grabbed him around the neck in a headlock.

The two men tussled as the others laughed at their antics. It took another thirty minutes for Black and the others to leave The Pit.

Black was genuinely happy for his friends. He loved Allye, Chloe, and Morgan. Before he’d met Harlow, however, he knew he would’ve been more cynical about all his friends getting hitched. He hadn’t ever felt that bone-deep need to tie himself to anyone. Hell, he was impressed with himself if he stayed with a woman for longer than a few months. But Harlow had already changed him.

Yes, he hadn’t been with her very long, but the thought of anything happening to her made him crazy, and that was a feeling he’d never had before. He’d gone off on missions and hadn’t thought twice about the women he’d been dating until he’d returned home and realized that he probably should call and touch base.