Chapter 1
Walker knew he'd made a mistake the second he stepped inside the barroom. The conversation died and everyone turned to look at him. He had two options. He could turn tail and never come back, or he could remember he had balls and do what he'd traveled thousands of miles and given up his only free weekend in months to accomplish. He shut the door behind him and strode over to the bar. He didn't expect trouble from the patrons. With his two hundred and seventy pounds of solid muscle, not many men provoked a fight. But he might get thrown out before he had a chance to open his mouth.
The bartender folded his arms across his chest and glared at him. "What are you doing here?"
You can take the man out of the agency, but you can't take the agency out of the man.
Like Walker, he was dressed in black head to toe, in a T-shirt and cargo pants. His hair was longer than the buzz cut most of the operatives sported—fractionally. Walker could have picked him out as agency from a mile away.
Before Walker could respond to the bartender's question, a large man with long, graying hair tied back in a ponytail appeared from the back of the bar. He was about the same size as Walker, but whereas Walker was all solid muscle, this man was softer, gentler. At least he didn't look as if he wanted to eviscerate Walker where he stood. "You're supposed to ask them what they want to drink before you interrogate them, Si. We've talked about this before."
Si Raines just growled and stared at Walker. "Is it just you or your team?"
"Just me," Walker assured him, inwardly shuddering at the thought of bringing his team back here this century. He knew he’d taken a risk even setting foot inside J.T.’s bar.
Raines's expression eased a fraction. "I ask again, what are you doing here?"
Walker gave him a steady look. Ask? More like order. "I'm here for a drink."
Raines made no effort to pour him one. "You've come a long way just for a beer."
The large man next to him sighed. "What can I get you?"
Walker scanned the list of IPAs. "Got a local brewery I can try?"
"Coming right up. I'm Howie by the way."
"Walker. Just Walker," he added.
Only his family called him by his first name.
"Any food, Walker?"
Walker remembered how good the food was last time he was here. "A burger would be good."
Howie beamed at him before disappearing through another door.
Raines was still glowering at him. Walker sipped his beer, waiting for whatever came next.
"Go sit down. We'll bring your food over." Raines made no attempt to moderate the order.
Walker was tempted to stand to attention. "Sir, yes sir." But he didn't because he was here to build bridges, not burn them down.
"Thanks," he said.
He was aware of all eyes on him as he took his beer over to an empty table, but he kept his posture loose and his expression friendly. He really didn't want to start a fight. Walker slid into the seat with his back to the wall. If there was going to be trouble, he wanted to see it coming.
And there it was. Three minutes later.
Trouble didn't take long.
Swaggering over as if he owned the place. Which he did.
Walker took a long swallow of beer and wished he'd ordered a second one.
Raines pulled out a seat, turned it around and leaned his forearms on the back. He didn't take his gaze off Walker.
"Let's cut the bullshit. Why are you really here?"
Walker stared back just as steady. "It's none of your business."
Raines's expression darkened. "You walked into my bar. That makes it my business."
It was a fair point. Walker could have picked another bar to have a drink. He chose this one for a reason.
Raines didn't wait for an answer. "I called Jake to ask him why one of his asshole trainees was loose in my bar."
Walker winced. He should have expected Raines would call his former teammate and Walker’s trainer. He'd hoped to keep this trip under the radar, not wanting his teammates to find out where he was.
"Do you know what he said?"
Walker waited, but when no response was forthcoming, he said, "Tell him to get his ass back to Virginia?"
Raines snorted. "He said to go easy on you. That you were a good guy and just had some issues to sort out. Jake's an easy touch."
"He's kind," Walker jumped in to defend his trainer.
"Yeah, he is. But your team saw 'kind' and substituted 'inadequate'."
Raines's tone was steely, and Walker resisted the urge to cower. He kept his mouth shut. That's exactly what they'd done. They’d bullied and sneered at Jake and generally made his life a misery. It was mainly Collins who was always an asshole, but he'd gone along with it because it was easier to keep his mouth shut. Then they got their asses handed to them on a plate by their trainer on a field exercise. Jake had shown them how much they’d learned from just a ‘bartender’.
"I don't need your issues here."
"Then I'll finish my drink and leave."
Walker didn't need the hassle. He knew this had been a shot in the dark and the last thing he needed was Raines’s laser-focused anger. His 'issue' was too new, too raw, to cope with the daylight. He drained the glass and was about to take his leave when the door of the bar opened, letting in a blast of cold air along with a gorgeous man. Walker's breath caught in his throat. This was why he was here. This man was the reason he had given up his free weekend and traveled to a place he knew he wouldn't be welcome.
"Fuck!"
The word was long and drawn out.
Raines looked at him and then back to the man who'd just entered the bar. The guy smiled when he spotted Raines. The smile slipped a little when he spotted Walker, but then it returned. He gestured to the bar and Raines nodded. Walker watched him, transfixed, wishing that smile had been aimed at him.
"He’s your issue?" Raines demanded.
Walker nodded mutely.
Raines gave a long, heavy sigh. "You'd better order another drink, Walker, because you and I are gonna have a little chat."
Another one?
"Do you know who he is?" Walker said without thinking.
Stupid question. Of course Raines knew who he was.
Raines gave him a flat, unfriendly smile. "The guy you want to hit on is my best friend."
Out of the frying pan, Walker, and straight into the fucking fire.
Chapter 2
Jake's information had been sketchy. Mark was ex-agency. Walker spotted that the first time he'd seen Mark. It left an indelible mark on a man.
Walker had been to J.T.’s bar once before, at the conclusion of their fateful field training exercise. Jake had been the ‘package’ to be delivered to the bar. Walker had seen Mark across the barroom and his world had been turned upside down. He’d never believed in love at first sight until then. But Mark didn’t notice him and Walker didn’t get a chance to say even a “Hello,” before they were hurried away.
He'd done a little digging of his own. Mark was around forty if Walker had to guess. He was big and bulky like most of the agency men and still wore his hair in a buzz cut. If Walker hadn't known different, he would have assumed he was part of Raines's team. Mark had left the agency after he was shot, and his right knee had never fully recovered. He’d retrained as a physical therapist and lived quietly in the town for years. Even when Jake took over the bar Mark hadn't frequented the place. It was Raines who'd made contact with him when he needed a therapist.