“Too late for what?” Wolf asked, his every instinct on high alert. Something bad was happening. Those pictures had sent Leo to a dark place. How much had Leo hidden from him?
Holder stared at Leo. “He’s back. I don’t know why he came to me instead of you, but he’s back.”
“Does someone want to bring me up to speed?” Wolf asked. Something was happening between his brother and Holder, some communication only the two of them understood.
“Yes, I would like to know as well,” Julian said, his eyes darkening. “Is this about what happened in Afghanistan?”
The room got deathly quiet. Jack Barnes studied the crowd, leaning against the wall as though he was perfectly happy to merely observe. Chase stroked Kitten’s hair, but in an almost absentminded fashion. Ben was the only one in motion. He paced, his fists clenching at his sides. Ben had been on Leo’s squad. Ben knew something, and it didn’t seem to be good.
“Why you and not Ben?” Leo asked, suspicion plain in his voice. “I’m much closer to Ben than anyone in our old team.”
“I don’t have an address,” Ben said with a frown. “Chase is completely paranoid. He’s taken us off the grid. Even our money is registered to several holding companies. If you want to find us, you would have to dig for a long time, and even then, Chase would know someone was coming.”
Leo’s eyes rolled. “God, Chase, just get on my couch and never get up again. You’re so wrong.”
Chase shrugged, an elegant movement of his shoulders. He never let up on his petting of Kitten, whose eyes had closed in seeming happiness. “I’m perfectly satisfied with every one of my psychological disorders. So the guy who killed Ada is back. Why now? Holder is fairly high profile. He would be easy to track. You’ve gotten careless, Steve.”
Holder flashed a little sneer Chase’s way. “I’ve gotten into business. People in the real world don’t hide, Dawson.”
“Yes, that’s why they so often get screwed.” Chase made his pronouncement with a look of sympathy for all those who didn’t agree with him.
“I want to know what’s going on with my brother.” If someone didn’t talk soon, Wolf was going to fucking explode.
“Would it do me a bit of good if I told you it isn’t your business, Wolf?” Leo asked.
There it was. That ache in Wolf’s chest that bloomed every time his brother shut him out. Why was he even bothering to try? He should go and pick up Shelley and shove her in his truck and take her right back to Bliss. She would love Bliss. His designer sweetheart would adore being married to a cowboy and living in a ranch hand’s house.
Leo moved in Wolf’s space, his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Forgive me. It’s a force of habit. I’ll get used to this.” He turned to Ben. “We can talk. No one in this room is going to let the story leave here.”
Ben’s face flushed. He looked back at his own brother, who gave him an encouraging smile.
“You can pet Kitten while you talk if you like,” Chase offered.
“God, you’re a pervert,” Ben said, before turning back and addressing the room. “Ada was a translator in Kabul. She was American, but of Iranian descent. She was excellent with languages. And she rather liked bondage.”
Leo took up the story. “I met her when she came into camp. I knew a sub when I saw one. Ben and I had talked about the fact that we’d frequented clubs in the states. You have to understand what it’s like over there, Julian, Jack.”
Jack held up a hand as if to stop Leo. “Son, you don’t have to make a single explanation to me. You took your comfort where you could. No one is going to blame you for that.”
“I didn’t love her,” Leo said, his lips turning down. “She was lovely and submissive, and I needed someone to spend time with. I liked her, but I didn’t love her.”
“I did.” Ben’s words were quiet, a confession. “But she would never have accepted what Chase and I need. She saw Leo and I separately. Never together.”
Holder stared openly at Ben. “I had no idea you were involved with her.”
Ben took a deep breath, old pain obviously surfacing. “She was crazy about Leo. I was secondary. She let me in when she couldn’t have Leo and when she died, Leo made sure no one knew about my relationship with her.”
“I’m sorry, Ben. I thought it was just fun,” Leo said, his eyes grave.
Ben shook his head. “I don’t blame you, man. I never told you. I wanted to die when I found out she was gone and how it had happened. But I never blamed you. And I never once believed you would have left her tied up.”
Leo’s jaw was a hard line, his words precise and controlled. “During the inquiry into Ada’s murder, it was brought up that I might have left her tied up as a punishment. The rope was mine. I had left it there. The JAG prosecutor knew he couldn’t get me for the murder, since I was literally on a mission when she died, but he did accuse me of leaving her alone and vulnerable.”
“You wouldn’t. I would never believe that.” Wolf vehemently denied it. He knew his brother. Leo could be hard on a sub, but he took their safety seriously. He wouldn’t turn his back on a bound sub, much less leave one to go on a mission.
“They tried to say Leo was punishing her,” Ben offered. “I shouldn’t have stayed in. I should have stood up beside you. I should have spoken up for you.”
Leo studied Wolf for a moment. “You believe me?”
How could Leo think for a single second that he didn’t? “Yes. I believe you.”
Leo nodded as though something had settled in his gut. He seemed more comfortable, his words coming easily. “It wouldn’t have helped, Ben. I could have stayed in, too. Our CO was adamant. But I was ready to leave. I was ready to start over. But, Ben, if I had known you loved her, I wouldn’t have kept certain things from you. You have to understand, man, I was trying to protect you.”
“Tell me now.” Ben’s legs were in a hard military stance, his body rigid.
“Whoever killed Ada left a note,” Holder said. “The asshole who sent me the pictures also sent the file. Damn, Leo. Am I the only one who knows this?”
“Outside of the closed hearings, yes. It said Whore. Written in blood. Hers.” Leo shoved his hair back. “It’s why JAG decided it was some Taliban asshole. Ada looked Afghan. We were off base. It would have been easy. I left her there. I should have walked her back, but I got the call, and she didn’t want to leave.”
Ben’s face had gone stark white. “Fuckers. They killed her because she had sex. Hypocrites.”
“I think JAG got it wrong,” Holder said, pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket. “I got this note along with those photos and the file.”
Wolf grabbed it. He was closest to Holder. He had a moment to look at the note, handwritten in an almost childish script.
He’s found another whore. This one will go just like the last.
And there was another photo. One that hadn’t been included in the package Holder had left. It was a picture of Shelley getting off the train right in front of the building that housed The Club. Her face was turned up to the sun, her ivory skin practically glowing, her dark hair a waterfall of ebony.
Wolf felt sick.
Leo snatched it, and his skin paled as he read the words. He passed it to Ben, who sent it to Chase and Julian.
“I’m so sorry,” Holder said, his voice a rumble of Southern sympathy. “I don’t know why he picked me to send it to. I only know that I’ll help you any way I can. I have a whole company that stands ready to help you. We were SEALs together. That’s a brotherhood, man. I couldn’t let you ignore this.”
But he and Leo had blood. Thicker than service. And they had a shared risk. Shelley. The woman they both loved. Wolf stared at his brother, their eyes locking.