Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Josh turned and watched Max approach as well. When the German shepherd was close to the kid, he gave him a hand signal to sit. Max stopped on a dime and waited for another command. “Greet, Josh.”
Max turned into a puppy immediately, all wagging tail and lolling tongue of him, and Josh responded like the kid he still was. He dropped to his knees and gave as much affection as he received. When Josh turned a smile in his direction, Logan nodded. Max was working his magic again.
“Let’s get you to school.”
Logan opened the door to his truck and signaled Max to load. He drove a black Ford extended cab, so Max jumped into the second row, making room for Josh, who was entering from the passenger side. When Logan started the truck, he glanced at the diner and caught Jordan watching from the window. She waved and gave him a thumbs-up. Logan shook his head and grinned. Ennis was a nosy town, but it seemed they had a heart of gold at their core.
“That doesn’t look like any army tattoo I’ve seen.”
Logan glanced at his arm. The insignia for his unit was inked on his forearm in a simple design. A Yarborough SF combat knife surrounded by the delta insignia with a lightning bolt. And a date. He’d put it where he would always see it. So, he’d never forget 28 NOV.
“It’s the insignia for Delta Force.”
As he drove, he heard an audible intake of breath from the kid and looked over at him. “I’ve heard about Delta Force. Rumor has it you train here in Montana during the winter.”
They were supposed to be secret maneuvers, but Logan knew better than most that sometimes secrets got out. And when they did, it could turn deadly.
“We do.” He wasn’t gonna lie to the kid. He needed to earn his trust.
“Cool,” Josh mumbled.
“Which way to your school?”
Josh pointed up Main Street. “You’ll hang a left in about three blocks.”
Logan glanced at City Hall as they drove past. Skylar was on her phone, watching him leave with Josh. He flicked two fingers at her as he passed then cleared his throat so he could get down to business. He only had three blocks, so he needed to make it quick.
“You wanna tell me what’s eating at you?”
He felt and saw the kid stiffen. “Nothing. I’m good.”
Logan paused longer than needed at the stop sign and stared at the kid. “You’re far from good, Josh. I know a wounded man when I see him.”
The kid opened his mouth, thought about it, then withdrew further, mumbling, “Turn left up ahead,” as he leaned his head against the window.
At the next left, the school opened up in front of them. He could see Jake standing out front with a phone to his ear and a backpack in hand. Logan was out of time. The drive had been far shorter than he’d thought, so he’d have to go in hard rather than soft to draw out what was bothering the kid. “I know about Chance and the thirty days you’ve got, so when you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here. But don’t bullshit me. You’re in trouble, or you wouldn’t have been picked up for smoking weed. That much I can tell about your family already.”
When he pulled the truck to a stop in front of the school, Jake waited for his brother to exit. Josh stared out the window at his sibling for a moment then grabbed the door handle and opened the door a crack. Logan expected him to exit without a word, but the kid turned back to him with guilt masking his features. “You ever do something that you can’t take back?”
Logan was instantly transported back to the night of 28 NOV. The night he watched half his unit die through the lens of his scope. They’d been on a reconnaissance mission. Gathering intel based off a transmission they’d intercepted. A transmission sent to draw them out. They were only supposed to verify an ISIS operative’s family lived in the village, so they could post a sentry if the man returned. It had been a setup instead, one that resulted in the death of six men. Three of them he considered his family. And a day didn’t go by that he didn’t wish like hell he’d seen both suicide bombers before it was too late. If he had, his brothers, his unit, would still be intact.
“Yeah,” Logan answered. “But the thing about guilt is, it’ll fester until you begin to fuck up. If you fuck up too much, then you’ll spiral out of control. It’s better to get it off your chest, so you can deal with it.”
Josh studied him for a moment. “Is that what you’re doing here? Did you fuck up and begin to spiral?”